The Strong Reign Supreme

Strength is King

After this encounter, Wang Wen felt more than ever that his current body was truly pathetic.

To be forced into such a state by a group of street thugs—it was equivalent to being forced to use brute force to clear a floor that was clearly designed for skill-based tactics.

Experienced climbers all know that climbing the tower is like a long-distance run; aside from the strength required for certain integer floors, physical stamina is the most critical factor.

How one conserves stamina on the lower floors determines the height one can eventually hope to reach.

Never mind using brute force on skill floors; even on integer floors, one should use skill whenever possible. Brute force is always the absolute last resort.

And yet, here he was, struggling against mere street thugs.

"My body is too weak. I used just a little bit of effort and ended up like this."

Wang Wen felt that strengthening his physique was an urgent priority.

Training is a lifelong endeavor, but for now, he needed a faster method.

Certain items within the World Tower would be perfect for this.

If he didn't enter the tower himself, there would always be others who could do it for him.

Seeing the old man staring at him with a strange expression while holding his teacup, Wang Wen smiled. "Of course, regardless of which plan we choose, what I just mentioned are the ultimate goals. A ten-thousand-story building starts from the ground; no plan can be accomplished overnight."

The old man set his teacup down with a sharp clack and retorted, "If I didn't remember that this is your allotted chat time, I would have thrown you out the front door just now! Can you stop spouting nonsense?"

Wang Wen: "Fine, let's be serious. I need a fixed five-man team to help me enter the tower. There are two options: first, the people belong to me, and the tower rewards belong to you; second, the people belong to you, and the tower rewards belong to me."

"I want both the people and the rewards. What leverage do you have to negotiate with me?"

"The second piece of intelligence I'm giving you."

"Do you have more intelligence like this?"

"At the very least, more than just this one."

"Don't you find it ridiculous to come and discuss this with me without any trump cards? You should know, I could easily obtain all your intelligence and then make you vanish from this world."

"Does the First Consortium prefer intelligence or tangible rewards?"

"With intelligence, rewards naturally follow."

"If you only know which floor has which item but not the specific method to obtain it, how many people do you think could actually find it?"

"You will tell me."

"If I know it means certain death, why would I tell you?"

"Then go ahead and die. It makes no difference to me. We haven't lost anything. There is so much intelligence in this world; we aren't lacking one like you."

The old man sipped his tea leisurely, ignoring Wang Wen's glare.

After thinking for a while.

Wang Wen smiled.

He nodded and said, "I've learned my lesson. You are right; any negotiation should be built upon relatively equal strength."

"I didn't say anything." The old man looked somewhat smug that he could make the perpetually arrogant Wang Wen back down. "I'm just an idle old man poking fun at a reckless young man."

"Next time we discuss this, I will be prepared." Wang Wen stood up and walked toward the door.

"Wang Wen." The old man looked down at his teacup and said pointedly, "Whatever decision you make, remember: you owe no one, and no one owes you. Do not let emotions dictate your actions. I know you have secrets, and not forcing them out of you is the last bit of kindness this old man has for you. Don't test me again. I am, after all, the Department Head of the Intelligence Department of the First Consortium, Gu Jianbing."

The old man's voice was calm, yet his presence was like a thousand armies or a giant wave crashing against the shore, ringing out like a blade.

Wang Wen stopped in his tracks.

After a moment of silence, he left behind one sentence before continuing out the door.

"In the second piece of intelligence, if you really encounter that mechanism, don't rush when you reach the final step of the standard solution. First, go to the third stone tile from the left and try pressing it. If it can be pressed, there will be a pill-shaped item inside. Have them bring it out, and you can soak it in water to drink. It's good for the body."

The old man's eyes widened, and he stood up abruptly.

But Wang Wen had already vanished from sight.

The old man pressed his palm against the teacup, struggling to control the trembling of his body.

It wasn't fear, but rage.

His voice seemed to emanate from the depths of his soul: "You are courting death!"

In this world, all climbers capable of breaking through different tower floors have very clear definitions.

Those who break through the 100th floor are generally only known within their own "unit," such as an academy, a corporation, or a residential district.

By the 200th floor, they become famous within their entire region because they are required to register their information with the Regional Security Department. This is an obligation; if concealed, they are placed on a list of untrustworthy individuals, and they must bear the consequences themselves. The harshest penalties include imprisonment and the confiscation of all assets under their name.

Of course, as long as one registers, there is no issue. They are not required to do anything; on the contrary, they receive various subsidies and tax reduction policies. This is a right.

Climbers going higher:

300th floor: Famous throughout the land, either the East or the West.

400th floor: World-famous.

500th floor: Elites fully cultivated by large-scale corporations.

Floor 600: The world's top-tier teams.

Floor 700: Rewriting history.

Floor 800: Blank.

Floor 900: Heh.

By an unwritten rule, everyone likes to refer to anything above the 500th floor as the "Super-High Floors."

It is evident that everyone who breaks through to the Super-High Floors is essentially an insider cultivated by a conglomerate or organization.

The possibility of finding an unorganized "rogue cultivator" in the outside world is practically zero.

The resources available to ordinary people simply cannot be compared to those of large conglomerates.

Even with Wang Wen's mind full of intelligence and thousands of tower-climbing experiences, it is incredibly difficult and overwhelming to assemble a qualified team of tower climbers without the backing of a financial group.

To put it simply: he has no money.

No money means no training grounds, no equipment, no food, and no medicine.

Naturally, that means no people.

He dare not continue to expose himself in the short term; he has already attracted the attention of many, especially Intelligence Department Department Head Gu Jianbing. He truly does not want to push the old man into becoming an adversary.

If he were to go to war with the Intelligence Department.

Then many of the things he has done would become meaningless.

Wang Wen returned to the academy.

His brows were furrowed.

The situation seemed to have reached a dead end.

It appeared there was no better solution than for him to enter the tower personally.

He ran into the department head.

The department head looked at him with a strange expression and said, "Perfect, people from the Regional Security Department are here asking questions. Go to the dean's office."

People from the Regional Security Department?

Wang Wen nodded, frowning, and headed to the dean's office.

Inside the dean's office, three uniformed guards were speaking with the dean.

After Wang Wen arrived and knocked on the door, the dean stood up and said to the guards, "The person involved is here. You can ask him yourselves. I will state beforehand: regarding such a heinous incident occurring around the academy, I reserve the right to appeal against your dereliction of duty."

The guard in the center looked displeased. He turned to Wang Wen and said, "Wang Wen, is it? Around 2:00 PM four days ago, where were you?"

Wang Wen glanced at the dean's expression and replied to the guard, "I don't know. Not long ago, I was attacked by a knife-wielding thug at the academy gate and was hospitalized for several days. I just got discharged, so I can't remember which day is which."

The guard asking the questions was so annoyed his nose went crooked.

The security of this area was under their jurisdiction. If a heinous incident involving a knife-wielding thug attacking an academy student really happened at the academy gate, they wouldn't be able to escape at least a charge of dereliction of duty.

A female guard among them, who was taking notes in a notebook, spoke up with displeasure, "Wang Wen, I'm warning you to cooperate properly. You are currently suspected of intentional homicide, and we can take you back to the Regional Security Department for interrogation at any time!"