The Straggler

Stragglers

"I didn't know anyone was here. I knocked, but there was no answer." Wang Wen dropped the stick and raised his hands, trying his best to appear harmless.

The gunman at the top of the stairs didn't show his face, saying in a muffled voice, "Just because there's no answer, you can break in through the window?"

Wang Wen thought for a moment.

He said innocently, "I was so hungry I had to resort to such desperate measures. I'm very sorry, I'll leave immediately."

The gunman didn't say much more, tilting his gun barrel to signal his permission.

Wang Wen slowly bent down, dragging the stick as he backed away inch by inch, only turning to climb back out once he reached the window.

It wasn't until he was outside and had found cover that he raised his voice to call inside: "Are you a straggler? Do you need any help?"

The gunman inside was silent for a moment before saying coldly, "I don't know what you're talking about. Leave now or I'll shoot."

Wang Wen quietly pulled out a small Mirror and extended it past his cover to observe the room: "Brother, give me a chance. I'm serious. Food, water, medicine, even weapons and ammo—I can bring you whatever you need, as long as you're willing to talk."

The gunman thought for a long time this time; perhaps he really was lacking some essential items. He finally relented, asking suspiciously, "How did you know?"

Wang Wen felt relieved.

As long as the other party was willing to communicate, things would be easy.

He answered the question loudly: "The Speedster Gang outside clearly can't understand our language, so it's highly probable this floor is based on a foreign language. I didn't bring any equipment like a Synchronous Translator, so I knew the moment you spoke."

A faint sound of a fist hitting a wall came from inside the villa.

One could imagine how frustrated the gunman felt.

However, he was a straightforward person; since his identity had been exposed, he stopped making excuses. He was just curious why Wang Wen hadn't left despite having already cleared the floor. Could it be that he also wanted to become a straggler and stay in the World Tower forever?

Wang Wen explained, "I need a Universal Key."

Upon hearing this, the other party immediately said, "No problem. I'll give you a Universal Key. How long will it take you to return here?"

"That depends on what you need." Wang Wen glanced at the small Mirror: "If you want something from above the hundredth floor, we might never see each other again. Once the reset happens on Sunday, I won't be able to come back."

"You're only within the first hundred floors?" The gunman was shocked: "Then how do you have such a big mouth? And how do you know so much about stragglers?"

Wang Wen said calmly, "I just wanted to stop within the first hundred floors this week. Besides, being a straggler isn't some great secret; plenty of homeless wanderers love to play this game."

The gunman seemed to have been touched on a sore spot and shouted angrily, "I am not a homeless beggar!"

"Alright, alright." Wang Wen offered a casual word of comfort and got back to the point: "So, what exactly do you want?"

The gunman hesitated, saying, "I'm not sure if there are any within the first hundred floors, but I want an item that can take photos and bring them out of the tower."

Wang Wen frowned: "You mean an item like a smartphone?"

"I know it's difficult. It doesn't have to be electronic; a regular film camera would work too," the gunman added.

"That's a very unconventional, special item." Wang Wen searched his memory: "I can only say I'll try my best to help you look for it, but I can't guarantee I'll find one."

"It doesn't matter if you can't find it."

The first half of the gunman's sentence made Wang Wen feel warm inside.

The second half was a total killjoy: "Anyway, I won't give you the Universal Key until you bring me what I want."

"Hey, hey." Wang Wen protested unhappily: "Universal Keys are a dime a dozen on the market; they only cost a few hundred points at most. What you're asking for isn't exactly common!"

The gunman knew he was being a bit unreasonable.

He asked, "Then what do you want? I can't just give it to you—what if you run off?"

"At least pay a deposit!" Wang Wen's small Mirror was fixed steadily on that long-barreled shotgun.

The eleventh floor of the World Tower.

Another familiar floor of scattered traps.

With the hammer handle on his left shoulder and the gun in his right hand, Wang Wen tapped left and right, easily dismantling all the traps.

The twelfth floor.

His luck was bad, and he encountered a speed-based trap.

There was no choice but to put his head down and run.

Most of the stamina he had built up along the way was reluctantly sacrificed.

The thirteenth floor.

A timed secret room with scientific puzzles.

There was no danger before the time ran out, so one could solve the puzzles in peace; those with strong nerves could even eat, drink, and rest.

Once the time was up, the entire secret room would collapse.

Unless one's strength was so great that they could ignore earthquakes and falling rocks, it would be a blast.

The fourteenth floor.

Illusion.

The content was quite ordinary, though it would be inaccurate to say it had no effect on Wang Wen's mental energy.

At the very least, it made him feel drowsy and eager to sleep.

The fifteenth floor.

Wang Wen's favorite wilderness survival series.

He ate and drank happily, needing only to find the entrance to the next floor before midnight or noon.

The sixteenth, seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth floors.

The all-around tower climber passed through them smoothly without the slightest hesitation.

The twentieth floor.

A round number, a violent floor.

Before the entrance, the micro-scanning drone arranged for him to be randomly assigned to a team with a vacancy, as per the usual routine.

Wang Wen slung his shotgun over his shoulder using the strap, gripped the hammer handle, and stepped inside.

He had passed nine consecutive floors without encountering any that might contain photography props.

He hoped the remaining eighty floors would bring good news.

Otherwise, he would have no choice but to pocket the deposit with great reluctance.

Light and shadow swirled before his eyes.

When he reappeared, he was already standing in a spacious, clean white hall.

As Wang Wen took in the scene before him, he suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu.

Just like the tenth floor before, there were three men and one woman chatting in the hall.

What was even more terrifying was that, setting the men aside for a moment.

The woman was that same woman again!

Wang Wen felt as if his head were about to explode.

The other party noticed the newcomer, looked up, and was also slightly taken aback.

She immediately flashed a beautiful smile, so enchanting that the three men beside her were practically drooling.

But that was all.

She did not make a deliberate effort to greet him.

Wang Wen was even less likely to take the initiative to acknowledge their acquaintance.

The two sides reached a silent understanding: neither would expose the other.

Femme Fatale would not expose Wang Wen's strength.

Wang Wen would not expose Femme Fatale's strength.

He stood quietly, holding his club, waiting for the men and the woman to trigger the level.

He heard one of the men, a middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, say to the girl in a very familiar tone: "That's right, girls should smile more. Look at you, you look so pretty when you smile. Don't be nervous, big brother here will carry you through this low-level stage!"

The girl nodded, full of gratitude, and said: "Thank you, big brother."

A single sentence made the man in gold-rimmed glasses smile so hard his eyes disappeared. Turning back to see Wang Wen, he said cheerfully: "Alright, we have enough people, let's begin."

His gaze lingered for a split second on the gun barrel protruding from behind Wang Wen's back before shifting away dismissively, and he summoned the drone to announce the start of the level.

[Twentieth floor, start]

As the drone's mechanical voice fell, so did the walls of the hall.

The once pristine white walls seemed to come alive, writhing and trembling as they peeled away.

Every piece of "wall" that hit the ground unfurled various mouthparts and appendages, some even spreading transparent wings several times larger than their own bodies.

Bugs!

Dense, swarming bugs!

The girl immediately screamed in terror.