"Name."
"Wen Xishu."
"Age."
"Eighteen."
"Gender."
"Bottom of the version list."
"What?" The clerk at the Three Towers Game Distribution Office was taken aback.
"I mean male, isn't it obvious from my appearance?" Wen Xishu answered with a smile.
"No, no, no, there are currently twenty-nine known genders in the Bunker... If you are male, you better clearly state you are male."
The clerk was the same one who had interviewed Park Young-soo not long ago.
Thirty years old, very much like the big company interviewers Xishu remembered, a bit greasy, very friendly when smiling, but with a kind of numbness when stern.
"Isn't the normal procedure to first allocate which Tower to go to?" Wen Xishu asked.
The clerk responded fairly calmly:
"Students of Desire Tower Academy and Slaughter Tower Academy are directly allocated according to their academy."
"As for others, generally speaking, for their first climb, we have Tower Climbers complete some questionnaires."
"Those with belligerent personalities or great combat insight, we send to Slaughter Tower."
"Those who make others feel comfortable, we arrange for Desire Tower."
Wen Xishu added with a smile:
"And those with unusual talents?"
The clerk rubbed his forehead and said:
"Yes, every now and then, I see all sorts of... different kinds of talents."
"On the dopamine secretion pleasure ranking, the third place is smoking, with a value of 220. The second place is paying off debt, with a value of 225."
"But the first place, love between men and women, has a value of 550. The pleasure is overwhelmingly higher."
"This has led people to generally believe that making the Three Tower People fall in love is the most direct way to please them."
"So many people think they're suited for Desire Tower."
"Um, most importantly, the Bunker high-ups think this is reasonable."
"Indeed, quite a few men and women have brought back substantial resources from Desire Tower... It has contributed significantly to humanity."
"This also made me an expert in assessing talent at a young age."
This clerk was very talkative.
Generally, clerks are impatient and serious.
Like the previous applicant, the Bunker citizen from South Korea, Park Young-soo, who tried to transfer from Slaughter Tower to Desire Tower, making him very impatient.
But Wen Xishu was different, not because he was kind or handsome.
The real reason—there was a heads-up from above.
...
...
A few hours ago, Wen Xishu had undergone interrogation.
Perhaps the high-ups feared he might go mad again, so the interrogation was not intense.
At least, no brain-damaging truth serums were used on him.
This was thanks to Wen Xishu's half-mad, half-sane act. He had only one response during the interrogation:
"I need to enter Deceit Tower to recall clues about Wen Chaohua."
Of course, this was merely a delaying tactic, and a poor one at that.
But Wen Xishu was confident there were only two outcomes:
One: The Bunker high-ups aren't that stupid and don't believe Wen Xishu's nonsense at all.
So he doesn't make it to Chapter four. The protagonist dies. End of story.
Two: Wen Chaohua is extremely important.
To find Wen Chaohua, the Bunker high-ups would take any risk.
Even a clumsy reason like "I need to enter Deceit Tower to recall clues," they would gamble on.
Wen Xishu chose the second option.
The person who left those three strange "dice" in his simple-minded brother's mind was definitely no ordinary person.
He bet correctly, but this didn't mean his situation was safe.
Shortly after the interrogation, a high-ranking officer from Bunker Security Bureau came to see Wen Xishu.
It was a man with a particularly stern face, a sturdy build, and a certain military demeanor.
In that cramped, dim room, the cold and tough officer said:
"From today onward, I am in charge of your matters. My name is Liu Jinsen, you can call me Mr. Liu."
Mr. Liu was direct:
"If you want to avoid death, you need to do two things."
"First, survive Deceit Tower. Otherwise, you're just dying in a different place."
"Second, Bunker citizens can stay in the Three Towers for a maximum of seven days."
"You need to recall clues about the heinous criminal Wen Chaohua within seven days."
"I don't believe a person like Wen Chaohua would leave clues on you."
"But my superior is adamant, so I hope you really can provide some clues."
Wen Xishu didn't dislike Mr. Liu, his temporary superior. At least the two suggestions were clear.
Wen Xishu didn't waste the opportunity:
"If, I mean if, I refuse to provide clues about Wen Chaohua, will I still die even if I successfully explore Deceit Tower?"
Liu Jinsen wasn't surprised by Wen Xishu's "refusal to provide clues about Wen Chaohua" statement.
In fact, he was certain Wen Xishu knew nothing and was just trying to survive by exploring Deceit Tower.
"That possibility is over ninety-nine percent."
"The remaining one percent is if you bring back something very important."
Wen Xishu asked:
"Like what?"
Liu Jinsen, still cold, didn't hesitate to answer:
"There's been an outbreak of disease recently in the lower levels of the Bunker, and medicine is scarce. If you can achieve a Level 4 reward, you can definitely survive."
Wen Xishu inquired further:
"Level 4 reward?"
Liu Jinsen paused for a second, answering the nearly obvious question:
"It seems you've never climbed a Tower before."
Wen Xishu shrugged.
Liu Jinsen recited as if from a textbook:
"Exploring the Three Towers, you will receive rewards of different levels based on your performance."
"Level 1 completion provides basic rations and supplies for a family of three for three days."
"Level 2 completion provides basic rations and supplies for a large family for three days, including some household items."
"Level 3 completion, in addition to the previous levels, offers some items, equipment, and facilities."
"Level 4 completion provides resources for a small neighborhood for seven days, plus some advanced civilization items, equipment, and facilities."
"Level 5 completion, building on Level 4, brings back certain ground-breaking 'technologies' or equipment and facilities."
"Level 6 completion gives enough resources to sustain the entire 'Bunker level' for a certain period."
"And introduces revolutionary items or technologies, facilities for the Bunker civilization."
"As for the skills, attributes, and items obtained within the Three Towers, that's judged by a different criterion."
"In fact, there's a Level 7 completion, but that can only be achieved within a limited tier of the Three Towers."
"You're new to the Three Towers, so your initial tier won't be too high."
Liu Jinsen paused slightly:
"If you can't provide clues about Wen Chaohua and want to survive, you can't rely on a one-for-one life exchange. You need a one-for-a-hundred life exchange."
"Or even more."
Wen Xishu thought of a certain Su family brother; the younger brother serves as a prime minister in court, while the older brother constantly causes trouble, and the younger brother covers it up.
He felt now like the older brother was causing trouble, and the younger brother had to pay for it.
He would have to bring back enough resources to sustain hundreds of people, save hundreds of lives to survive.
Of course, there was a shortcut, which was fabricating clues about Wen Chaohua.
But the high-ups weren't fools; the credibility of his statements couldn't be overstretched.
And all those experts on the Celestial Ladder List hadn't changed the dire living conditions of the lower Bunker people...
This indicated that achieving a Level 4 reward wasn't easy even for experts.
To survive in Deceit Tower and achieve a Level 4 reward as a newbie seemed almost utopian.
Wen Xishu grew more impressed with Liu Jinsen.
For one, this man was very reliable, answering every question a death row inmate had.
On the other hand, this Mr. Liu believed his odds of success were as high as one percent.
...
...
Three Towers Game Distribution Office.
The clerk's words brought Wen Xishu back from his thoughts.
"You look good, and appearance matters even more. You're well-suited for Desire Tower."
"If you return alive from Deceit Tower, I can tweak some of the data on your profile for you."
"People favored by the big shots have this privilege, as long as the data isn't too outrageous."
"Like Manager Wang from the Bunker Industrial and Commercial Bureau, his son is only five foot two, but I put down six feet on the relevant value, and he still wasn't satisfied."
The offspring of officials get fast-tracked to Desire Tower? Ordinary people go to Slaughter Tower to toil? The Bunker is truly corrupt...
However, dealing with Bunker corruption wasn't Wen Xishu's concern for now.
He interrupted the talkative clerk:
"Just arrange my Tower climb. I want to contribute to the Bunker people today."