"I can take away one... hehe, you can have a good night’s sleep."
Without a doubt, another choice had arrived. Choosing incorrectly could lead to eternal damnation. Choosing correctly... might not necessarily lead to something good either.
Wen Xishu said:
"Can you tell me, how many dirty things are in the house? I can give you more food and water. You can stay longer."
The homeless man shook his head:
"Sorry, I can’t tell you that. I can only take one away."
The chance to eliminate a ’dirty thing’ without wasting bullets was indeed very important.
Maybe someone else would just open the door.
But Wen Xishu didn’t do that. He realized it was a probability problem.
First, there was no doubt that Takahashi Fumihiko and Takahashi Mariko, both in the house, were ’dirty things.’
If it weren’t for the homeless man, Wen Xishu would have already achieved a certain balance.
If the homeless man took Takahashi Fumihiko, that would be fine. After all, he had already found a way to extend Mariko’s dormant period.
But if... the homeless man took Mariko.
Then he would have to use bullets to sleep peacefully, because the one keeping Takahashi Fumihiko in check, Mariko, would be gone.
"So, based on this judgment, the appearance of the homeless man is actually a trap. On the surface, it seems like the homeless man can take away a ’dirty thing,’ which is beneficial to me. But in reality, it might put me in danger."
Having thought of this, Wen Xishu decisively said:
"Sorry, there’s no dirty thing in my house. I can’t entertain you for now. Please leave."
After saying that, Wen Xishu left the door and returned to the living room, continuing to wait for the next visitor.
A few minutes later, the homeless man at the door disappeared.
At this moment, a scene that made Wen Xishu feel a chill appeared.
The television suddenly lit up. The picture on the television showed the homeless man picking up things.
Meanwhile, the television added a rule.
[Homeless people do exist, but there are also fake homeless people. Please identify them carefully. Additionally, whenever the TV adds a rule, it will always be accompanied by a picture.]
Upon hearing this, Wen Xishu had an urge to smash the television.
"Why didn’t you tell me such an important rule earlier?"
Although Wen Xishu had found it strange earlier, why was there always an image on the TV before, but not for the homeless man?
Moreover, the TV always had a post hoc style, but just now, it supplemented the rule for the homeless man so timely...
Turns out it was all fake.
The TV hadn’t been on at all just now. The voice on the TV was just the fake homeless man outside mimicking it.
"Damn, nearly got deceived by that fake homeless man."
Even though Wen Xishu had noticed the anomalies with the TV, he still believed that scene with the fake homeless man just now.
But luckily, by calculating the pros and cons, he ultimately refused the homeless man.
"So those who know the rules... are not just me, but also the monsters outside."
Wen Xishu felt this sensation for the first time. In the past, monsters were NPCs under the rule mechanism. The rules were a means for players to cheat, iron laws restricting NPC behavior.
But now, the monsters on the forty-second floor were almost indistinguishable from players.
More like one side attacking, one side defending.
They could also take advantage of the rules.
And they might even know the rules better than you do.
Just like the fake homeless man just now, it knew "the TV can add rules," and it knew "when the TV adds a rule, it will definitely be accompanied by a picture."
Moreover, it knew that as the owner of the house, Wen Xishu did not know the second point...
So it dared to risk it, pulling such a stunt on Wen Xishu.
If Wen Xishu had carelessly opened the door, the game would have been over.
"I need to think from more angles." Wen Xishu reflected on the difficulty of this survival.
At this time, only fifty minutes had passed. It was just half-past ten now.
In a certain sense, this was true deep night.
"Based on my experience, probably after seven in the evening counts as night, and six in the morning marks the end of the night."
"Damn, not mentioning six more days, just today has only passed for a little over three hours."
Wen Xishu could have given up.
He had already found a balance. He, Takahashi Mariko, and Takahashi Fumihiko were in a delicate balance.
Tonight, he could have ignored any knocks on the door.
But now Wen Xishu realized, among those knocking, there might be delivery persons, homeless men... these unique functional existences.
Missing them might lead to missing certain choices. It’s possible that there might be some special function individuals knocking later.
So every knock on the door at night, Wen Xishu had to pay attention to, at least take a look.
The most crucial point—
"Where are the people? Is there no one in this game? After so many knocks, is there not a single real person?"
No matter how bizarre the Deceit Tower was, it ultimately had to involve a certain person, right?
If there were no real people, what would the forty-second floor of Desire Tower be like?
"If I want to get a high score, I must find a real person. Maybe only then can I get an invitation."
That being said, Wen Xishu genuinely felt... at this time, a person’s appearance would be unreasonable.
This night was truly a parade of a hundred monsters. Where could you find a person?
Wen Xishu thought of the maze Takahashi Fumihiko mentioned not long ago in the house.
It seemed the people and ghosts outside were in a maze.
"Looks like I need to ask Takahashi Fumihiko more questions."
Due to the earlier inside-outside joint attack by the two Takahashi Fumihikos, Wen Xishu had forgotten one thing...
And that was to ask the most human-like Takahashi Fumihiko about the outside.
Given that Takahashi Fumihiko was also one of ’them,’ Wen Xishu knew those words might not be trustworthy.
But still, it was worth asking.
However, just as Wen Xishu was about to ask, a knock came from the door. A new visitor had arrived.