Chapter Summaries

Bunker officials debated treating the lower levels with medicine brought by Wen Xishu, then arranged to claim credit for the response while he endured interrogation. Publicity for Wen Xishu was already spreading among patients, despite the upper levels’ efforts to promote themselves.

• The Administration Bureau's Fifth Bureau director questioned whether lower-level people deserved the medicine, but the Security Bureau's Sixth Bureau director warned that the epidemic might signal the Great Devourment.
• The Security Bureau's Second Bureau director and the Administration Bureau's First Bureau director agreed to send doctors and medicine to the lower levels, while the Fifth Bureau director promised publicity for the treatment.
• Wen Xishu provoked his interrogator, Xie Changfeng, to delay the use of truth serum, and Xie Changfeng beat him.
• Doctors began distributing medicine at the second-floor hospital as Security Bureau and Administration Bureau vehicles broadcast messages claiming credit for the response.
• Patients receiving medicine continued to associate it with Wen Xishu, whose publicity had begun before the upper levels made their decision.

Sha Ruijing launched a publicity campaign to protect Wen Xishu after Wen brought back a Level Six Hospital and abundant supplies from the Strange Tower. As the Bunker’s residents hailed Wen as a hero, his fate remained undecided because the person who could determine it had not yet appeared.

• Sha Ruijing prepared three publicity plans for Wen Xishu, depending on how many resources he returned with.
• After learning Wen Xishu had brought back a Level Six Hospital and a vast supply of resources, Sha Ruijing immediately launched his most extravagant campaign.
• Sha Ruijing’s team spread stories portraying Wen Xishu as the Bunker’s savior while refusing to whitewash the Wen family.
• Rumors and praise for Wen Xishu spread across the Bunker’s second level, and residents demanded the chance to thank him.
• Wen Xishu remained unaware of his growing fame while being interrogated on the fourth level, and the person who could decide his fate had yet to appear.

As the Level Six Hospital’s medicine saved people on the lower levels, Yue Yun found new resolve and Jiang Xue insisted on pursuing the Tower of Desire Academy despite her brother’s fears. Wen Xishu remained under brutal interrogation on the Fourth Level, growing too weak to resist as Xie Changfeng prepared to escalate.

• Yue Yun’s mother recovered after taking the medicine, and Yue Yun resolved to work hard and repay Wen Xishu for giving him another chance at the academy.
• Jiang Xue recovered while Jiang He urged her to avoid the Tower of Desire Academy, but she insisted she would climb the Bunker’s ranks despite the dangers.
• Jiang He embraced Jiang Xue, unable to change her mind, and prayed that her career would go smoothly.
• Wen Xishu continued to be beaten by Xie Changfeng during his interrogation and feared that Xie Changfeng would use drugs once he lost consciousness.

Liu Jinsen searched for Albert Napolitano to help protect Wen Xishu, while Albert discussed Wen Xishu’s sudden rise and the doubts surrounding the Wen family with Wen Renjing. Albert decided to meet Wen Xishu and investigate the Security Bureau, as Wen Renjing left to handle a dangerous chain mission.

• Liu Jinsen failed to enter Three Towers Academy, contacted Xun Hui through the Xun family, and continued trying to help Wen Xishu.
• Albert Napolitano played chess with Wen Renjing in a park at Tower of Desire Academy.
• Wen Renjing told Albert that a level-six building had appeared on the Bunker’s second level and questioned whether Wen Xishu’s success came from his own ability.
• Wen Renjing described the strange changes in Wen Chaohua and his younger brother, and Albert decided to meet Wen Xishu himself.
• Wen Renjing said he would join a troublesome chain mission and left the investigation of Wen Chaohua to Albert.
• Albert agreed to handle the matter and said he would inspect the Security Bureau’s safety.

Wen Xishu endured Xie Changfeng’s interrogation and truth serum without revealing anything, slipping into memories of Wen Chaohua as his consciousness faded. Albert Napolitano arrived and took him away, leaving Xie Changfeng to suspect that the rumors about Albert bringing the Three Towers’ power into the Bunker were true.

• Xie Changfeng ordered Wen Xishu to be injected with truth serum after failing to get answers through torture.
• As the serum took effect, Wen Xishu remembered Wen Chaohua’s childhood promise to keep a secret and remained silent.
• The medical officer increased the truth serum dosage, but Wen Xishu still revealed nothing.
• Albert Napolitano broke into the Security Bureau, confronted Xie Changfeng and the medical staff, and said he was taking Wen Xishu to use Three Towers Academy’s remaining enrollment spot.
• Xie Changfeng recognized Albert and realized the rumors about him using Three Towers’ power in the Bunker might be true.

Albert rescued the unconscious Wen Xishu from the First Bureau interrogation room with Liu Jinsen and his agents providing cover. He carried Wen Xishu back toward Three Towers Academy after agreeing that Wen Xishu would regularly enter the Strange Tower, and began considering his next admission interview.

• Albert warned Xie Changfeng that he would take Wen Xishu, while the fifty-four guards outside lay unconscious.
• Liu Jinsen arrived with elite First Bureau agents and claimed they were protecting Albert, allowing Albert to carry Wen Xishu out.
• Liu Jinsen told Albert that Wen Xishu had to enter the Strange Tower regularly, and Albert accepted the arrangement.
• Albert carried Wen Xishu toward Three Towers Academy and reflected that he had already wanted to rescue him and was satisfied with his first interview.

After Albert rescued Wen Xishu and brought him to Three Towers Academy, he asked the young man to explain his understanding of the Three Towers. Albert praised Wen Xishu’s insight but revealed that an unknown crucial factor had made humanity’s exploration of the Strange Tower lag behind the others.

• Wen Xishu woke in Three Towers Academy and realized Albert Napolitano had rescued him from the Bunker Security Bureau.
• Albert identified himself as the academy’s Principal and asked Wen Xishu to repay his protection by performing well in the midterm assessment.
• Wen Xishu explained that the Strange Tower and Desire Tower were mutually informative, and that exploring the Strange Tower first could help change the fate of its creatures.
• Wen Xishu speculated that the Slaughter Tower offered fewer clues and argued that the Strange Tower might be the most important tower to explore first.
• Albert praised Wen Xishu’s reasoning, then said a crucial point he did not know had caused humanity’s exploration of the Strange Tower to fall behind the other towers.

Albert explained that the Strange Tower appeared later than the Desire and Slaughter Towers, leaving humanity committed to the other systems before it could explore the Strange Tower. Wen Xishu learned that Albert had reached the Slaughter Tower’s ninety-sixth floor, and Albert welcomed him to Three Towers Academy while looking forward to his first semester.

• Albert told Wen Xishu that entering the Strange Tower reset abilities and attributes, and that the tower had appeared after the other two.
• Albert explained that he had focused on the Slaughter Tower because he believed its powers would help humanity face its future.
• Wen Xishu asked how far Albert had climbed, and Albert revealed he was stuck on the ninety-sixth floor.
• Wen Xishu’s shock triggered Mental Barrage, exposing his thoughts to Albert, who delighted in the Eerie Sequence.
• Albert welcomed Wen Xishu to Three Towers Academy, confirmed he had passed the test, and said he expected great things from him.

Albert warned Wen Xishu that powerful families might target him because of the Wen family’s past and urged him to uncover the truth for himself. He gave Wen Xishu the temporary name Wen Xun and challenged him to become strong enough to reclaim his real name by the first semester’s midterm, leaving his academy placement unresolved.

• Albert told Wen Xishu to change his name and explained that some major families knew the Wen family’s secret.
• Wen Xishu asked what crimes Wen Chaohua and the Wen family had committed, but Albert encouraged him to investigate rather than accept others’ accounts.
• Albert said Wen Xishu would need to grow strong enough within half a semester to reclaim his name and hinted that the academy had a hidden way to help him.
• Albert named Wen Xishu Wen Xun, a name reflecting his expectations and his three former students.
• Wen Xishu asked whether he would be assigned to the Tower of Slaughter Academy or the Tower of Desire Academy, and Albert smiled without answering.

Wen Xishu met his new roommates, Yue Yun and Nissen, at Three Towers Academy and learned about a hidden academy treasure that generations of students had failed to find. He joined them in searching for it that night, suspecting the treasure might be the way Albert had mentioned to help students grow stronger.

• Wen Xishu introduced himself to Yue Yun, who revealed that he aimed to surpass Wen Xishu.
• Nissen arrived at the dorm rapping, introduced himself, and explained that he had been admitted to Tower of Slaughter Academy after excelling in simulations.
• Nissen told Wen Xishu and Yue Yun that freshmen would soon take a low-level Slaughter Tower trial and that the academy had a long-hidden treasure.
• Nissen invited Wen Xishu and Yue Yun to search for the treasure with students from neighboring classes that night, and Yue Yun agreed.
• Wen Xishu remembered Albert's hint about a way for students to grow stronger and agreed to join the search.

Wen Xishu, Yue Yun, and Nissen toured Three Towers Academy and planned to search for its nighttime treasure. In the library, Wen Xishu discovered that he could still see Mental Barrage in the academy area and began to suspect the treasure was connected to the eerie.

• Nissen explained that the treasure appeared only at night and that special signs would reveal an entrance, so Yue Yun suggested they explore the academy first.
• The three toured the department and academy areas, learning where Tower powers were permitted and visiting the library.
• At the library, Luo Xian silently insulted Jiang Xue, and Wen Xishu noticed her Mental Barrage despite being in an academy area.
• Wen Xishu wondered whether the Eerie Sequence worked throughout Three Towers Academy and whether the treasure was related to the eerie.
• The three settled down to read: Nissen chose a freshman guide, Yue Yun a sequence compendium, and Wen Xishu a monster compendium.

Wen Xishu discovered that Slaughter Jack was a powerful, unconquered Leader whose second phase involved an Eerie Sequence resembling his Mental Barrage, and he worried about what giving Jack the ability had cost him. After learning how the academy’s credit system and Slaughter Tower training worked, Wen Xishu planned to test whether Slaughter Tower equipment could be used in other towers.

• Wen Xishu read the monster compendium and found that Slaughter Jack was a Leader-class monster whose curses could alter fate through an Eerie Sequence.
• Wen Xishu wondered whether Jack had lost Mental Barrage by giving the sequence to him and realized he needed to learn more about his body and the world.
• Nissen explained that academy students earned credits through independent Slaughter Tower exploration and combat tests, and proposed that he, Wen Xishu, and Yue Yun team up.
• Wen Xishu agreed outwardly but realized he needed a Slaughter Tower Login Device, so he would have to ask Albert to get one for him.
• Wen Xishu considered borrowing Slaughter Tower equipment and using it in the Strange Tower before taking it into the Desire Tower to overpower weaker opponents.

Wen Xishu tested where his Eerie Sequence worked and concluded that the academy’s treasure might be an invisible area above the ground. He and Yue Yun and Nissen climbed toward the library rooftop to investigate the brass clover and the strange aura overhead.

• Wen Xishu went to the academy boundary and confirmed that his Sequence stopped working there, narrowing its effective range to areas where Three Towers attributes could be used.
• Yue Yun, Wen Xishu, and Nissen reunited outside the library and compared their observations about the academy at night.
• Wen Xishu argued that the library’s brass clover represented the academy’s layout and suggested that a missing department area might be suspended in the sky.
• Wen Xishu proposed that the treasure was an invisible area detectable only by approaching it, and the three decided to climb the library.
• Nissen led Yue Yun and Wen Xishu up the library exterior, while Wen Xishu sensed a familiar aura as they neared the rooftop.

Wen Xishu, Yue Yun, and Nissen waited atop the library until the brass clover stopped and cast a door-shaped shadow. Wen Xishu recognized a few characters in the strange writing and began to suspect they formed a message, but the door’s purpose remained unknown.

• Wen Xishu noticed the brass clover slowing, so he, Yue Yun, and Nissen waited on the library roof until it stopped.
• The clover’s shadows fell across three places, including a door-shaped shadow on the library roof, where Yue Yun and Nissen saw strange writing.
• The writing disturbed Yue Yun and Nissen, and Wen Xishu warned them to look away unless they could recognize its characters.
• Wen Xishu said he recognized a few characters: “teacher, core, supreme, authority, cleanse,” while Yue Yun and Nissen could read none.
• Yue Yun promised to reveal his secret after the midterm exam if they remained friends, and Wen Xishu began forming a possible meaning from the characters.

After Wen Xishu and Yue Yun abandoned their attempt to open the sealed treasure beneath the library, Albert summoned Wen Xishu and assigned him to explore the Strange Tower instead of attending his first class. Wen Xishu learned the Bunker Security Bureau also wanted to speak with him and answered a call from Liu Jinsen.

• Wen Xishu, Yue Yun, and Nissen ended their treasure hunt after deciding they needed greater Magic Resistance to decipher the clues and open the hidden entrance.
• Two days later, Jabbar brought Wen Xishu to Albert’s office under the pretense of completing his records.
• Albert told Wen Xishu that a new rule would award double credits to students who explored the Strange Tower and declared it his first-class assignment.
• Albert used his Level Six Mysterious CEO Call to connect Wen Xishu with Liu Jinsen and Sha Ruijing, who had things to say to him.
• Wen Xishu picked up the phone and greeted Officer Liu.

Liu Jinsen told Wen Xishu that powerful factions still wanted to seize him because of Wen Chaohua’s secret, and that he must enter the Strange Tower every seven days. Wen Xishu learned that the higher-ups planned to place potential teammates around him as watchers, leaving him to prepare for the next expedition.

• Liu Jinsen explained that the Old Principal and the directors of the First Bureau and Sixth Bureau had secured Wen Xishu’s temporary freedom, with Sha Ruijing helping protect him through his reputation in the lower levels.
• Liu Jinsen said Wen Xishu was caught in a struggle between factions and would have to grow stronger by exploring the Strange Tower every seven days.
• Wen Xishu asked what Wen Chaohua had done, and Liu Jinsen said Wen Chaohua had caused countless deaths and nearly irreversible losses during Three Towers explorations.
• Liu Jinsen warned Wen Xishu that the next expedition would begin in the Rest Area, where the higher-ups hoped he would accept team invitations from people they had arranged to monitor him.
• Wen Xishu asked what would happen if he killed his teammates, and Liu Jinsen urged him not to harm people who might be risking their lives to atone or change their fate.
• Wen Xishu told Liu Jinsen he would not use violence against teammates, while privately acknowledging he would show no mercy if they threatened his life.

Wen Xishu learned from Albert that Wen Chaohua had excelled across the Strange, Slaughter, and Desire Towers, then prepared to enter the Three Towers Game for special coursework. He left his dormmates a vague note, borrowed an unassuming pair of gloves from the Materials Department, and arrived in the Rest Area with access to Floor 7.

• Albert told Wen Xishu that Wen Chaohua had used another Three Towers identity, ranked around the twenties in the Slaughter Tower and Desire Tower, and might have been the Strange Tower’s top explorer.
• Albert said Wen Xishu’s talent made him suited to exploring the Strange Tower before tackling the Slaughter Tower, then privately remarked that Wen Xishu was even crazier than Wen Chaohua.
• Yue Yun and Nissen found Wen Xishu’s note about confidential special coursework, and Yue Yun took it as motivation to push himself harder while Nissen eagerly awaited Wen Xishu’s return.
• Wen Xishu went to the Materials Department and borrowed the white-card gloves Forgot My Keys, which had Attack +5 and dealt extra damage to doors.
• Wen Xishu activated his Login Device and entered the Rest Area, where the system detected his Madman’s Dice and offered to roll it.

Wen Xishu rolled three sixes on the Mad Dice and chose abilities that let him use three tower systems and begin with an Invitation Letter. He entered the Strange Tower’s sixth-floor Rest Area, where the hostile crowd and his own premonition suggested the coming mission would be deadly.

• Wen Xishu rolled triple sixes and reviewed seven powerful Mad Dice effects, including an extra choice that did not consume a selection.
• Wen Xishu chose Three-Phase Power and Unimpeded Passage, hoping to access abilities from the Slaughter Tower and Desire Tower and unlock hidden storylines with an Invitation Letter.
• Wen Xishu arrived in the Strange Tower’s Rest Area, positioned dozens of meters from the center among people exploring the sixth floor.
• Wen Xishu noticed the rough, threatening crowd watching him and sensed that the mission had a high mortality rate.

Wen Xishu agreed to team up for the Strange Tower mission Falling Parrot in Jiangcheng City, despite realizing the Bunker Security Bureau had spent heavily to arrange the opportunity. He met five other players and revealed his name, then learned the team appeared to consist entirely of criminals.

• Wen Xishu decided to cooperate with the people the Bunker Security Bureau had arranged for his mission.
• He announced that he was seeking teammates for the sixth-floor Falling Parrot mission in Jiangcheng City.
• Five players gathered, bringing the team to six members, and Wen Xishu accepted Kane's handshake.
• Wen Xishu gave his name, but the others dismissed him as someone who merely shared the famous name.
• Sita introduced himself as a former zoo manager arrested for abusing animals, and Wen Xishu sensed that the other teammates were also dangerous criminals.

Wen Xishu learned the crimes and pasts of his new companions in Strange Tower while weighing whether Park Mihee was an informant. The group’s attention turned to their final prisoner, whose mouth was sealed by an iron mask.

• Kane described luring thirteen women with promises of a better life and killing them to sell their organs, while Wen Xishu considered how Level Five hospitals enabled such an industry.
• Kane asked Wen Xishu about his crime, and Wen Xishu gave a strange account of his family’s deaths that unnerved the group.
• Mendemuer insisted his ex-wife had falsely accused him of abuse, and Kane offered to teach him how to deal with her.
• Park Mihee said she had bribed and extorted officials, then described how powerful people exposed her blackmail scheme and took her videotapes.
• Wen Xishu suspected Park Mihee was being too honest, and the group turned to the last prisoner, whose mouth was locked behind an iron mask.