An attribute panel just like the card's, except this one shows my personal information.
Talents, inventory... why does this feel so much like a game?
The thought immediately struck Wu Yu.
He looked at his talent, and at a thought, another panel popped up.
[Nameless Chaos] Type: Talent. Quality: None. Effect: After entering the Great Ruins, you may choose a chaos start. Chaos: Completely random. Current status: (Cannot be used before entering the Great Ruins)
The Great Ruins?
Wu Yu spotted the key point.
Ancient mythology had legends of the Yin Ruins, the Returning Ruins, and so on, but he had encountered far more strange variations in the novels he had read.
Then how do I enter the Great Ruins?
Wu Yu vaguely sensed that returning to the ground was inextricably linked to the Great Ruins.
A token... usually represents permission! To enter somewhere, or take up some position.
Wu Yu thought for a moment, then looked at his inventory.
Could he take the things inside it out?
Both his attribute panel and his talent information panel had appeared with a mere thought.
Wu Yu tried saying something silently.
The next instant, a card appeared out of thin air and landed on the table.
Delight crossed Wu Yu's face. Just as he had thought!
He picked up the card and summoned another thought.
[Bronze Token] Uses: 1/1
This doesn't say how to use it either!
Wu Yu frowned.
But no matter what he said in his mind, the card's panel did not change at all.
Creeeak-!
Suddenly, a familiar sound rang out.
Wu Yu's gaze shifted, and the card on the table and the panel instantly vanished.
He turned to look. The Bronze Gate had actually been pushed open, and a figure walked in!
Wu Yu narrowed his eyes slightly and tensed his legs, ready to spring into action.
The newcomer was a middle-aged man wearing a construction helmet, drenched in sweat, with bloodstains still wet on his clothes.
He looked at Wu Yu, and his eyes lit up.
"Young man, where is this?"
"Do... do you know how I can get back? Someone was trying to kill me. I had no choice!"
"I don't have my Communication Watch on me, so I can't even call the police!"
The middle-aged man looked very honest and poured out a stream of anxious words.
Wu Yu stayed silent, extracting information from what he said.
Only once the man stopped did he speak. "Don't panic. I ended up here under the same circumstances."
"Huh? You too!"
The middle-aged man startled, then slumped somewhat.
"Then we're done for. There's nobody to call for help in this damned place. What do we do?"
The middle-aged man's surname was Yu, and his full name was Yu Tiezhu. He had an ordinary family: his wife ran a breakfast shop, he worked on a construction site, and his son and daughter were still in school.
When he got off work that day, someone had suddenly appeared on the site, hacking at everyone he saw with a knife. The workers scattered, and Yu Tiezhu happened to be driving a forklift. Unaware of what was happening, he had run the man over and killed him...
What followed was the same as Wu Yu's experience. He had turned his head and found himself on the Bronze Stairway.
"Young man, do you think we've run into a ghost?"
"This place..."
Yu Tiezhu found a chair and sat down too, swallowing nervously, his face full of worry.
Wu Yu looked toward the entrance, counted the chairs again, and shook his head. "Probably not..."
Before long, the Bronze Gate, which had already closed, was pushed open again.
A man in a suit and glasses walked in. He had deep dark circles under his eyes, but his smart attire clearly suggested a position of some standing.
He surveyed the room, sized up Wu Yu and Yu Tiezhu, then put on a fake smile. After greeting them, he strode over and sat in a chair.
After that, the Bronze Gate kept opening, and people entered one after another.
There were men and women, young and old. The youngest was only nine, while the oldest was a woman in her fifties.
Among them were construction workers like Yu Tiezhu, office workers like the suited man, and students: nine-year-old Bai Xiaotian and sixteen-year-old Chen Lingling.
But... not a single Transcendent!
They're all ordinary people! Something stirred in Wu Yu's mind as he sat silently observing them.
Eventually, all nine people had taken their seats.
Once every seat was occupied, the Bronze Gate remained still.
"It seems only nine people can enter this Mysterious Tower."
The upright-looking man with a square face spoke, his expression serious.
"Everyone, my surname is Liu, and I'm with the Inspection Bureau. I'll take the liberty of leading us for now. Please cooperate!"
"Heh, some contract worker isn't going to scare me."
Nearby, a man with dyed hair sat with his legs crossed. He wore a luxurious black shirt of a kind Wu Yu had seen on his academy classmates before. It was expensive.
The man surnamed Liu frowned, but instead of berating him, he felt around in his breast pocket and pulled out an identification card.
The others looked over. It read "Liu Zheng," third-rank Inspector of the Inspection Bureau.
Seeing that it was genuine, the blue-haired man hurriedly sat up straight, panic in his eyes.
"I have a duty to provide assistance and protection to every citizen of the Zhu Xia Federation. There's no need to be afraid."
Inspector Liu shook his head, then said gravely, "In my case, an unfamiliar man drew a knife and started attacking people for no reason. I shot him dead to save them. I imagine you all experienced something similar."
As he spoke,
Inspector Liu took a handgun from his waist.
Several faces changed.
Yu Tiezhu trembled and hurriedly said, "Sir Liu, I... I turn myself in! I really didn't see him, and I ended up running him over!"
"Just call me Inspector Liu!"
Liu Zheng reassured him, "In a life-threatening emergency, every Federation citizen has the right to unrestricted self-defense. You don't need to turn yourself in, because you committed no crime."
"Huh? I'm all right?"
Yu Tiezhu immediately relaxed and drew several deep breaths.
"As long as I'm all right, as long as I'm all right! It's my daughter's birthday today. I was hoping to go home and celebrate with her."
"It was the same for me. A mysterious person appeared and attacked me."
Wu Yu spoke up too, briefly outlining what had happened.
Seeing this,
the others began speaking in turn. Their experiences were broadly similar.
A man in animal skins had appeared from nowhere and started slashing at everyone he saw!
"We all experienced the same thing. It seems we've encountered the same supernatural phenomenon."
Inspector Liu said solemnly, "Rest assured, everyone. The Inspection Bureau will find us and launch a rescue as soon as possible!"
"We don't yet understand the situation, so please stay calm!"
Inspector Liu reassured them, "Since more than one person can see this Tower, the Inspection Bureau will certainly be able to gather information about it!"
"Perhaps a helicopter will come and take us away in another half hour."
After those gentle words, everyone visibly calmed down.
Wu Yu observed them for quite a while and noticed some interesting things.
Despite being only nine, Bai Xiaotian was neither frightened nor nervous. Instead, his large eyes darted around, seemingly fascinated by his surroundings.
By contrast, the blue-haired man in his twenties looked indifferent and acted flippant, but his legs were actually trembling, and he could not sit still.
The sixteen-year-old girl beside him kept her head lowered and clutched the hem of her skirt, her fair little face filled with fear.
"Don't be scared, miss. I'll protect you!"
Blue Hair spoke with a grin, waggling his eyebrows.
Earlier, Chen Lingling had introduced herself as a secondary academy student. She had attended an anime convention and was preparing to go home when she was attacked on the way...
She wore clogs and a black schoolgirl uniform, her hair long, straight, and black. There was no telling which anime character she was portraying.
Nearby, the suited man who had introduced himself as "Lin Yu" looked half asleep.
Aside from those few, everyone gathered around Inspector Liu for protection: Yu Tiezhu, a fat man who said he was a chef, and finally a middle-aged woman wearing a gold necklace who claimed to own a prosthetics shop.
"Sir Liu, should I hand this over?"
Just then, Yu Tiezhu approached nervously, a card appearing in his hand. He explained that after he had run over the man in animal skins, a card had flown out of nowhere and landed on him.
At his words, the people present exchanged varied looks.
The middle-aged woman and the fat chef immediately chimed in, saying the same thing had happened to them.
Inspector Liu smiled gently. "We don't understand the situation yet, so keep them with you for now! Whatever changes may occur later, the Inspection Bureau will always prioritize protecting citizens and safeguarding their rights!"
"Speaking of which, you should all have seen those mysterious panels too!"
"Yes, yes!"
Bai Xiaotian raised his hand and said excitedly, "They're just like a game! Have we entered a game?"
"Young Xiaotian's guess is one possibility."
"But this might also be a powerful Transcendent's prank!"
Inspector Liu nodded and said, "Judging by the panels, everyone should have a talent and a [Bronze Token]."
"Would a Transcendent really play a prank like this?"
"Inspector Liu, what game panels are you talking about?"
Not all nine of them understood the concept.
Inspector Liu remained patient, teaching the middle-aged woman, the fat chef, and the others how to open their panels with a thought.
Wu Yu looked at them.
Some did not care, like Yu Tiezhu, whose only concern was getting home to his daughter.
Some were excited, like Bai Xiaotian and Blue Hair.
Others wore grave expressions, their thoughts unreadable.
Without exception, those panels belonged exclusively to their owners. Only they could see them.
It seems only I can see my panel too.
How much of what these people said was true? A nine-year-old boy could not only kill someone, but remain completely unfazed and this excited...
Wu Yu understood, and like the others, took out his [Bronze Token] to examine it.
"My talent is [Accelerated Learning], blue quality! Awesome!"
Bai Xiaotian spoke excitedly, proudly announcing his attributes.
Yu Tiezhu scratched his head and asked, "What does quality mean? Mine says my talent is [Nine Oxen's Strength]."
"Mine is [Handy]. You can open a detailed panel! Handy is white quality. It lets me cook more steadily and quickly!"
"So that's how it works! [Nine Oxen's Strength] says it's green and adds a thousand jin of strength."
Of the nine people, some remained silent, while others excitedly discussed their attributes.
Bai Xiaotian could not demonstrate his talent for the moment, but Yu Tiezhu eagerly tried his and discovered that he could easily lift the fat chef, who weighed over two hundred jin!
"This is easier than hauling bricks! Wonderful! Now I can do three times as much work on the site!"
Yu Tiezhu grew excited too.
With this miraculous ability, he could earn a great deal of money. His daughter's medical treatment and school fees would no longer be a problem!
"With this talent, am I a Transcendent now? What would I count as... an immortal cultivator or a martial artist?"
"Not necessarily. Brother Tiezhu, your strength is still far below a Formal Martial Artist's, though it's certainly fine for construction work."
"Maybe this Tower can give us even more!"
Watching the others display their talents, each with its own strengths, Wu Yu frowned slightly.
Everyone else's talent has a color quality, but mine says none... is that because [Nameless Chaos] is special? Because I haven't triggered a Great Ruins start?
But the question is, where are the Great Ruins?
While he was thinking, Blue Hair suddenly leaned over and asked curiously, "Hey, man, what's your talent?"
"..."
Wu Yu smiled faintly but did not answer.
"Stingy bastard."
Blue Hair muttered under his breath, then craned his neck and began asking about the others.
Suddenly!
Bang!
The Tower shook. Dazzling light emerged from the stone table, gathering into a nebula!
"What is that?!"
Everyone startled, only to see a panel appear above the nebula, with lines of information scrolling across it.
"Arrival in [Great Ruins] imminent!" "Checking credentials! World tier: Bronze!" "Arrival countdown: 10, 9, 8, 7..."
The same countdown as before appeared.
"What are the Great Ruins?!"
The middle-aged woman cried out.
Unfortunately, no one answered. Only Inspector Liu called out, "Everyone, stay calm! This might be the same situation as before!"
The next moment, the countdown ended!
Cold, but not shaking.
Wu Yu abruptly opened his eyes and looked around.
He discovered that they had arrived on a plain. A broad dirt road lay beneath their feet, flanked by weed-choked wasteland.
Woods and tall mountains were visible ahead, nothing like the surroundings of River City that he knew!
This definitely isn't River City. We might not even be on Blue Star anymore!
Wu Yu considered the situation calmly, his mind filled with the words "Great Ruins."
If these are the Great Ruins, then my talent...
An idea struck him, and he immediately opened his talent panel.
[Nameless Chaos] Type: Talent. Quality: None. Effect: Upon entering the Great Ruins, you may select a chaos starting scenario. Chaos: Completely random. Current: (Not selected)
Unlike before, [Nameless Chaos] shone with endlessly cycling colors.
White, green, blue, purple, gold, red, black...
Looking thoughtful, Wu Yu immediately said in his mind, Select!
The next moment, a new panel appeared to one side.
[Please select!] [Option one: You appear to be merely a college student who has blood drawn and studies, but you are actually Poop Superman, hiding on Blue Star. You possess the purple talent [Enchanted Poop] and carry a "Pupu Gun" and 100 "Poop Bullets."] [Option two: You appear frail, but you are actually a successor of Bajiquan who has grasped overt force. You possess the white talent [Cauldron-Lifting Strength], carry a "Baji Battle Saber," and have mastered "Bajiquan" (Beginner).] [Option three: You appear to be an ordinary civilian, but you are actually an elite soldier making his return as the Dragon King. You possess the green talent [Firearms Proficiency], carry an "M14 Automatic Rifle" and 100 "rifle rounds," and have mastered "Basic Combat."] [Option four: You are a mortal, but also an immortal cultivator hidden in the mundane world. You possess the purple talent [Five-Thunder Spirit Body], have mastered "Fivefold Lightning Whip," and carry a "Storage Bag," "100 pills," and "100 spirit stones."] [Option five: You are human, but also a monster. You possess the gold talent [Twisted Ascension]. Selecting this option will immediately transform you into the twisted creature "Godspawn." This mutation is irreversible.] [Option six: You are human, but also a Sin Immortal fallen into the mortal world. You possess the red talent [Mountain-Sea Sigil] (includes a curse), have mastered a random life-bound sigil, and carry "high-grade spirit wine x100," "Exquisite Food x100," and "Moon Palace's Little Story After the Rain x1."] [Option seven: Inherit an existing starting scenario (Unavailable).]
Before you continue