Never before had there been anyone like Number 245, who revitalized his dead-end gamble and, after fooling everyone, still reaped huge rewards.
So, he couldn’t possibly allow someone as capable and resourceful as Number 245 to accidentally become infected with the zombie virus.
The crowd was in an uproar.
A new generation’s champion had his leg broken by a sweeping kick, and the wealthy all misjudged the situation.
Yet, as a result, they found this even more interesting. They cursed, they were angry, but they were also exhilarated.
They all congratulated Charles for finding such premium zombies.
Charles made a huge profit.
And Wen Xishu’s status kept rising. Charles even handed over the writing work of various scripts to Wen Xishu.
Wen Xishu also successfully achieved the first thing he aimed to do—gain trust.
On the third day of the game, Wen Xishu used different identities to complete several thrilling matches.
Charles’ account assets skyrocketed uncontrollably, a feeling that made the wealthy addicted, and the sensation of controlling everything at will made Charles addicted as well.
All of this stemmed from Wen Xishu.
Charles thought that through women and food, he had control over Wen Xishu, but in reality, Wen Xishu was also manipulating Charles’ desires.
This was a game about desires. Some were consumed by their desires, becoming part of the game, while others used desire as a weapon to break the game’s shackles.
On the third night, Wen Xishu finally got the chance to have a conversation with Charles.
After winning a lot of wealth for Charles, and with his superb acting convincing Charles that he indeed enjoyed fighting and was addicted to the pleasure of combat, Charles had no choice but to reward the one who continuously captivated the wealthy for him.
Wen Xishu offered strategies and fought bravely, doing all the work of both a civil and military official. Naturally, Charles had to keep increasing the rewards.
Aside from removing the collar, Charles could fulfill almost all of Wen Xishu’s requests.
Hence, on the third night, Wen Xishu had dinner with Charles.
Charles already felt that Number 245 was a smart person and that they had reached a win-win cooperation.
Moreover, he had the remote control in his hand. What could Number 245 do?
Wen Xishu also indicated that he had more suitable scripts that would definitely get the wealthy inflamed with excitement.
So, driven by desire, Charles Yang finally gave Wen Xishu the opportunity to meet.
...
...
Golden Mansion, top floor.
The luxurious dining table was longer than any stretch limo Wen Xishu had seen, and the table was filled with food that shouldn’t exist in the apocalypse according to Wen Xishu’s understanding.
Charles said:
"Don’t be surprised, my friend. You are my valuable ally, and you deserve the best food I can offer."
"Recently, in the South District of Wind City, there has been a pretty good merchant. He seems very keen on opening various business channels and can always bring out some pre-apocalypse goods. Quite interesting, isn’t it? It seems he has invested all his assets into this."
"I think he will soon become part of this world, just like some people before him. This world always has newcomers."
"The assets of these newcomers are very valuable and can be exchanged for many interesting things."
Wen Xishu was slightly surprised in his heart. Was he talking about Ye Lingfeng?
Could it be that the game’s NPCs, no, it should be the main storyline NPCs, could sense certain things?
"But I believe you are not a newcomer. We’ve dealt with newcomers before, and they all have a unique asset value scent. But you don’t."
At this moment, Wen Xishu couldn’t help but ask:
"Asset value? Isn’t that just money?"
Charles shook his head and revealed part of the game’s secrets:
"To us, it’s money, but for newcomers, it is a driving force for sacrificing desires. It’s the core of this world."
"Let me tell you a secret. This world always randomly summons some guys trying to overthrow our rule of the world."
"Odd, isn’t it? But the world favors us. Those summoned guys are always linked to asset value."
"That thing is also the world’s way of consuming them."
"This world simultaneously summons outsiders and devours them. We have gradually gotten used to it."
"The desires of those newcomers bring new things to this world, like these delicacies."
"But that has nothing to do with us, Charles. Shouldn’t we toast?"
Wen Xishu was secretly shocked.
The NPCs of this world, no, to be exact, the main storyline NPCs could actually perceive the existence of players.
Players, naturally being the Bunker People, the Bunker Tower Climbers constantly coming to this level but continuously getting lost in their desires.
The main storyline NPCs originally thought the Bunker Tower Climbers would threaten their enjoyment of this apocalypse they had created.
But in reality, they found that these newcomers wouldn’t need them to act; they would eventually get lost in their own desires.
Wen Xishu suddenly felt that this was not a game. This was a super twisted area. And these NPCs were not NPCs but real humans.
But if this was a super twisted area, a real place existing in the future Three Towers War...
Then being placed on the fifteenth floor of the Deceit Tower seemed a bit underrating. To know that this place could reverse devour the Bunker People, using asset value to materialize their inner desires and then turn the Bunker People into residents here...
This kind of area ranking only fifteenth, even Wen Xishu thought it was too low.
However, these were not Wen Xishu’s immediate concerns.
Wen Xishu raised his glass and toasted with Charles.
At this moment, Wen Xishu suddenly attacked, catching Charles off guard.
The maximum level of attributes combined with the explosive power of an extreme kick made Wen Xishu appear like he teleported, directly using a hand chop to stab at Charles’ throat.
Charles’ first reaction was confusion, looking at Number 245, who charged forward with a murderous look, wondering if the guy had gone mad.
The second reaction made him realize that everything Number 245 did was for this moment to get close to him. This despicable worm dared try to betray him!
The third reaction made him think of issuing a threat but then he realized he couldn’t threaten Number 245.
Not long ago, fearing his subordinates’ mistakes might accidentally kill Number 245 and turn him into a real zombie—this had happened often before. So this time, he couldn’t let such an incident occur.
Number 245 was his top cash cow, even a strategic partner.
Thus, the trigger mechanisms for Number 245’s explosive collar and various penalties were all in Charles’ own hands, with no backups.
This meant that no one else could threaten Number 245. Therefore, if Number 245 killed him now, even with the collar, he would be safe.
There was no fourth reaction.
No matter how fast Charles was, he couldn’t match the speed of Wen Xishu’s sudden assault after raising his glass.
To gain all the information about the "game," this time Wen Xishu decided not to rely on the Phoenix Glove’s solution.
So he wouldn’t give Charles any chance. He couldn’t risk Charles having other means, like voice or other subtle actions to activate the detonator.
Though considering the possibility of using the bizarre serial mental barrage to gain extra information, Wen Xishu still decided on safety first.
Therefore, he reversed the roles and directly killed Charles.
Everything happened so fast, just like Wen Xishu’s performance in the ring.
Charles looked at Wen Xishu in horror, death not closing his eyes.
[You have once again successfully read your opponent’s desires, using them to achieve true freedom. With false performances, keen insight, and strong survival abilities, you have combined all these perfectly and defeated a formidable enemy once again. You have realized the world’s distortion and gradually felt the approach of the apocalypse, perhaps originating from an extremely evil and absurd plan.]
[Dig out all the secrets in the Golden Mansion. They’re not hard to find. The main story and subsequent levels await you. But now, you can discover the hidden Easter eggs in this game through other channels, to understand the origin of everything.]
[Congratulations, you have obtained the invitation letter·John the Genius’s Worries.]
Charles was dead, and at the same time, an invitation letter appeared in Wen Xishu’s hand.
Now he finally had the chance to understand the game’s origins.
"How does this game affect reality? Is it real, or is it indeed just a game? I can finally know everything." Wen Xishu said.