Proof of All Evils

Proof of All Evils

The insects had grown quite large.

Each one was now half the height of a person.

Their carapaces were incredibly hard; a single strike with the club left the webbing between Wang Wen's thumb and index finger numb.

They were also becoming faster, nearly reaching Wang Wen several times.

He knew it was time to stop.

He retreated to a safe distance, ensuring the insects couldn't reach him for a while, and summoned his drone to check his points.

His three-digit balance, which had been stretched thin after buying a phone and a translator, had returned to five digits after this session.

The sight of over thirty thousand points left Wang Wen momentarily dazed.

To earn thirty thousand points in a single level purely by killing enemies for World Tower rewards was almost unimaginable within the first hundred floors.

Normal tower-climbing income usually amounted to thirty to fifty thousand points after a week of climbing to around the two-hundredth floor.

That figure included the combined profits from both kills and items.

Yet here he was, earning thirty thousand just by swatting bugs in a single level!

Wang Wen couldn't tell if he was unlucky or blessed.

He only knew that such a wonderful floor was something he wanted more of!

Not far away.

The big-headed youth was still fearlessly swinging his blunt weapon, even though not even the world's number one player from twenty years in the future would dare to keep fighting after the insects had reached this speed.

The outcome, naturally, went without saying.

Before long, his head was clamped by an insect that had grown increasingly fast.

"BANG!"

Most of the insect's body exploded, leaving only a fragment of its mouthparts hanging off the youth's head.

All sorts of strange fluids drenched his head and face once again.

Struggling to rip the mouthparts off, his smooth, large forehead covered in blood, the big-headed youth finally gave up. He retreated to the center of the hall, looking around at the insects with lingering fear, forgetting even to wipe the foul-smelling slime from his face.

Wang Wen picked up the youth's sleeve and handed it to him. "This is the second time I've saved you. Wipe yourself off and leave the tower; you can't keep fighting here."

The big-headed youth took his sleeve to wipe his face, sighing deeply, "So you really are a good person!"

"Hey, hey." Wang Wen wasn't pleased to hear that. "I saved you out of kindness, don't go insulting me."

The youth shook his head, looking at Wang Wen with a complex expression. "Honestly, I feel guilty. I misunderstood you earlier, thinking you were just snatching insects because you thought I was an easy target."

"It's fine, it's in the past." Wang Wen checked the remaining bullets in his pocket, loaded two into his shotgun, and aimed at the nearest insect to practice his aim and feel.

His current body couldn't support long-term shooting practice, and opportunities to find such good targets scattered everywhere were rare.

He hadn't been able to recover his marksmanship from his past life, so it was good to have a chance to practice now.

The big-headed youth watched him practice from the side, stubbornly insisting, "If not for this second time, maybe it would have passed, but now I feel I must do something to repay you, otherwise my conscience won't be at ease."

Wang Wen lowered his muzzle and looked at him strangely. "What do you want to do? Let me state first that I'm not that kind of person."

The youth was stunned for a moment, then quickly seemed to understand something. His face flushed bright red as he argued loudly, "I'm not either! I mean, is there anything I can do to repay you? Like food, water, or medicine? Don't even mention ammo; I don't even have a gun."

"Forget it, just go." Wang Wen shrugged and continued practicing his aim.

Seeing the youth look somewhat dejected.

A very similar conversation flashed through his mind.

He spoke casually, "Come to think of it, I actually do need something. Do you have any items that can take photos or record memories? The kind that can be brought in and out of the tower freely."

Wang Wen had only asked out of habit.

He wanted to put a perfect, subtle end to the other person's disappointment.

But when the other party thought about it, his eyes lit up. "I almost forgot I had this!"

The big-headed youth unhooked a pendant from his neck and handed it to the gaping Wang Wen.

He said happily, "Here! It's a rare item from the 110th floor, [Proof of All Evils]. It should roughly meet your needs!"

Wang Wen took the pendant, the drone's scanning beam fell upon it, and he received the mechanical voice's introduction in his ear.

[Proof of All Evils]: Press the red button to record a 360-degree scene; press the green button to release the recording at any time, allowing one to be immersed in the scene and observe every realistic detail.

"Alright, repayment complete, I feel much better!" The big-headed youth bid Wang Wen a happy farewell, found his drone to announce his exit from the tower, and vanished into white light five seconds later.

He seemed accustomed to being a loner and didn't suggest exchanging contact information.

Since the other party didn't bring it up, Wang Wen naturally wouldn't take the initiative.

Watching the youth leave, he looked down at the item in his hand and suddenly felt the urge to keep it for himself.

Would it be a loss to trade such a useful thing for a master key?

In his past life, this gadget had been driven to an astronomical price by people with ulterior motives.

No idea what they do with so many of them.

Solving crimes?

Don't get it, don't get it.

He chuckled and said to the aircraft, "Return to the tenth floor."

[Returning to a previous tower floor will lock you at the target level, preventing further climbing until the weekend reset. Mr. Jia, do you confirm?]

"Confirm!"

A stream of light flashed by.

Wang Wen stood once again on the road of the tenth floor where the battle against the biker gang had taken place.

The pile of corpses from before hadn't rotted yet; they could still be used a few more times.

But he didn't want to climb anymore.

Standing outside the guardrail, he shouted toward the villa, "I've brought what you wanted, come out and get it!"

The gunman from before walked cautiously to the villa window and peered out.

Seeing Wang Wen, he appeared very excited.

He vaulted directly out of the window.

He walked to the guardrail, paused, then ran back to the window and jumped inside.

A moment later, as if a switch had been flipped, the guardrail slowly parted to both sides.

The gunman didn't want to climb either.

But having lived in the villa for a long time, he was very familiar with its various structures; there was clearly a switch inside the villa to control the guardrail.

Wang Wen generously handed the Proof of All Evils to the gunman who rushed out of the villa.

The man took it, summoned his aircraft to scan it, and his face lit up with surprise.

"It's actually a rare item from the 110th floor! This is far better than I imagined!"

The gunman excitedly grabbed Wang Wen's hand and shook it up and down. "You really are a good person!"

"Sure, sure." Wang Wen replied with a helpless, perfunctory shrug. "Good person, good person, my whole family is full of good people."

"I thought there was no hope after so long!" The gunman pulled a yellowish key from his pocket and placed it in Wang Wen's palm. "I never expected you to actually come back! I am truly moved and overwhelmed!"

Wang Wen raised his left eyebrow, unable to understand why he was so emotional.

The gunman took a deep breath, calmed his emotions, and explained to Wang Wen, "Sorry, you might find it hard to understand how much I cherish people and things that keep their promises. It has to do with the environment I grew up in; there was just too much backstabbing."

He extended his hand flat toward Wang Wen and smiled. "Let's reintroduce ourselves. The eldest young master of Tiansheng Group, Qin Wuzheng."

Hearing this.

Wang Wen's heart skipped a beat.

On the surface, however, he didn't show any reaction, shaking the other man's hand calmly.

He listened as the man poured out his heart, saying he was tired of the backstabbing and power struggles with his younger brother, which was why he had hidden here.

He had stayed for over half a year.

In the quiet days, he had figured many things out.

He was ready to leave.

He had wanted to record this experience as a memento.

Without a suitable item, he had been reluctant to leave the tower.

Until now, having received Wang Wen's item.

Qin Wuzheng said he could finally leave.

"What is your name and where do you live?" Qin Wuzheng asked Wang Wen. "After we leave the tower, I will grant you a fortune."

Wang Wen smiled and held up the master key in his hand. "No need. This transaction is enough."

The eldest young master of Tiansheng?

As for fortune, that's really hard to say.