Bunker Security Bureau, Second Division.
Through the surveillance, Liu Jinsen knew that Wen Xishu had already entered the Three-Tower World.
Wen Xishu was now his responsibility, and almost everything else was irrelevant.
He didn't want it this way; if he could, he wished to do more for the people at the bottom.
But orders from the higher-ups left him no choice but to obey.
After confirming that Wen Xishu had climbed the tower, he made a phone call.
"Mr. Liu, why are you calling? Is there any medicine available?"
The voice on the other end sounded excited, but Liu Jinsen's words dashed his hopes:
"Sorry, no one has brought back any medicine yet."
Liu Jinsen's call was to the Bunker Health Bureau.
Currently, an epidemic was raging on the lower residential levels, infecting many people.
The medicine for the lower levels was in critically short supply.
The disease continued to spread rapidly due to the high population density, making full quarantine impossible.
Especially those white and black individuals at the bunker's lower levels; they cherished their freedom and often resisted quarantine, citing human rights.
This only exacerbated the severity of the outbreak.
"How is the situation now?"
"Terrible. We are severely short on medicine. The lower levels are too densely populated, and the disease is spreading too fast. I've heard that even the upper levels... have been affected?"
Liu Jinsen didn't answer this question, and the person from the health bureau continued:
"To be honest, we all feel like giving up; after all, this isn't the first plague we've faced."
"But before, it was mainly the elderly who suffered. This time, young people are also affected."
"If we don't save these young people, there won't be enough tower explorations... triggering a Great Devouring could have unimaginable consequences."
Liu Jinsen merely responded with a hum.
Yes, the bunker had faced devastating diseases before, but they primarily took the lives of the elderly.
The higher-ups in the bunker didn't care about this.
It was like how, before the bunker era, an official from a certain island country thought that the pandemic could solve the aging problem...
They believed that if the elderly died, it was no big deal, and there was no need to deal with it unless the elderly were willing to work until the age of seventy, seventy-five, or even eighty...
But this time was different; this time, many young people in the bunker were also affected.
If enough medicine could not be secured quickly to contain the outbreak, the decrease in the young population would lead to fewer core members available to explore the Three Towers.
Insufficient tower explorations would trigger a Great Devouring... a huge disaster for the human camp.
"Mr. Liu, if I had the ability, I would want to gamble my life in the Slaughter Tower."
"At this point, whoever brings back medicine is a hero!" the health bureau staff sighed over the phone.
Liu Jinsen just calmly replied:
"Got it. Thanks for your hard work."
He hung up the phone.
Right now, he really wished he could go to the Slaughter Tower, fight desperately, and bring back even a small amount of medicine.
But now, he could do nothing because his superiors had ordered him to focus all his attention on one person.
Wen Xishu.
As a pragmatist, Liu Jinsen wouldn't pin his hopes on something so whimsical.
For instance, expecting Wen Xishu to bring something back from the Deceit Tower.
In fact, he didn't even believe Wen Xishu would return alive.
...
...
Wen Xishu was certainly not dead yet, but he had no confidence in how long he could survive.
Faced with the option of "whether to throw the dice," he chose yes without a doubt.
When confronting new things, he was as bold as investors facing a bull market.
After all, even without rolling the dice, given the existing risks, the chances of him clearing the Deceit Tower were very slim.
So, why not use some unknown means and take a gamble?
Wen Xishu gambled, and the result was—those who gamble never end well.
The dice results, three ones.
Red dice, white dice, black dice, all three dice showed one.
[Please choose one of the following effects.]
[1: Triple High. (Tower levels x3, triggered when all three dice show the same number.)]
[2: Triune Power. (Able to use abilities and rules of three tower types simultaneously, triggered when all three dice show the same number.)]
[3: Minimalism. (Level too low to obtain description. Triggered when all three dice numbers are less than five.)]
[Due to the lack of current factions and low level, "Triune Power" and "Minimalism" cannot be triggered. This tower's level x3.]
Thus, the novice, with zero Anti-Magic Value and level one, was inexplicably transported to the twenty-first floor of the Deceit Tower.
This was a level that many newcomers and even many veterans could not reach for a long time.
The reason it was the twenty-first floor and not the third floor was because the levels for accessing the Three Towers randomly fluctuated within a certain range.
Newcomers would wander between the first and seventh floors, with a rare unlucky few being assigned to the sixth or seventh floors.
Wen Xishu was originally supposed to go to the seventh floor; now it became the twenty-first floor.
Without a doubt, based on the principle that the higher the level, the stronger the monsters—
Although he didn't know which area he was heading to, it was definitely a place where monsters could kill him instantly.
"Wen Chaohua really is my dear brother, such a pro at setting me up."
Complaining in his mind, Wen Xishu wasn't too upset.
In his eyes, the dice's ability was like a bug-level hack.
He could vaguely sense that he could use the abilities and rules of all three towers simultaneously, which was simply an insane power.
If the Desire Tower's sequence is in the Slaughter Tower, wouldn't it be like a walking Enchanting Demon?
If the Slaughter Tower's sequence is in the Desire Tower, wouldn't it be like a Cultivator descending to an ordinary world?
Of course, Wen Xishu didn't know the specific operational details either; as a novice, he was not yet prepared for certain prerequisites.
The scene around him was constantly changing, countless white lines crisscrossing to build the area he was about to reach.
And there was a new message in his mind.
[Task Description: Welcome to the Deceit Tower. You have received a distress signal from Jennifer, a resident of the twenty-first floor of the Deceit Tower.
On the twenty-first floor of the Deceit Tower, there is a special old building that occasionally emits sounds of sinister laughter.
You have infiltrated the old building and successfully contacted Jennifer. But this already polluted building seems different from when you came.
The way out has become eerie and complicated.
Taking Jennifer out of this building will yield a higher evaluation, or your ability might only be enough to escape alone.
Of course, we also look forward to you making more extreme moves.]
This message quickly disappeared from his mind, and Wen Xishu began his first Three-Tower game.
...
...
Deceit Tower, twenty-first floor.
Location, Mo'en City slum area, Jennifer's home.
Wen Xishu was indeed a bit surprised that his starting point was the comfort zone of Old Wang from next door—under the bed.
He was lying under the bed, one hand supporting his body and the other covering a little girl's mouth.
This little girl had freckles that Westerners considered cute, a ponytail, and blinking big eyes that should have been beautiful.
But the fear in her eyes made her face look slightly horrifying.
Their situation was quite dire.
"Jennifer—where are you? Say something!"
"My dear Jen—ni—fer! I will find you, I can almost hear your heartbeat, hehe."
A man's voice came from nearby, filled with a kind of perverted excitement.
Wen Xishu quickly understood the situation. The Three Towers was not a single tower, it encompassed an entire world.
A specific region on a specific level might just be a corner of that vast world.
His task was a rescue mission, and the girl hiding with him under the bed was presumably Jennifer.
And the man calling out for Jennifer was likely a dangerous individual.
The reason Jennifer needed to escape this building.
Wen Xishu was about to speak, to ask Jennifer for some details. But just as he was about to open his mouth, a sense of danger hit him like a tidal wave.
In his past life, Wen Xishu's name frequently appeared and disappeared on the book of life and death. His video comment section was filled with remarks like "waiting to attend the funeral."
This had given him an extraordinary sense of death.
Wen Xishu noticed that Jennifer was holding a phone, the phone set to silent mode.
And his hand was covering Jennifer's mouth.
A chill of death enveloped Wen Xishu, but he forced himself to stay still.
He even breathed lightly.
"Jennifer! Where are you! Let me hear your voice, okay!" The creepy man's shout came again.
Wen Xishu hadn't expected the game to be so malicious, with a potential kill right at the start. No wonder no one wanted to come to the Deceit Tower.
Jennifer's silent phone, the hand covering her mouth, and the man's words...
It all suggested that if anyone spoke, the man would hear it.
Evidently, the man's hearing couldn't be only targeting Jennifer.
If a Tower Climber were here and habitually spoke...
Then the man would likely burst in and find Jennifer.
The game would end immediately.
Of course, it was also possible to use force to deal with the monster and clear the level forcefully.
But Wen Xishu's Anti-Magic Value was 0.
And this was the twenty-first floor of the Deceit Tower, requiring a high Anti-Magic Value which he didn't have.
Low Anti-Magic Value would have many negative effects—
Unable to see the normal analysis of items, unable to harm enemies, enemies could kill him instantly, sometimes the world would become indescribable...
In conclusion, Wen Xishu didn't have the feasibility of clearing the level with force, at least not at this stage.
The creepy man's voice was getting louder, not because he was shouting harder, but because he was getting... closer.
Staying hidden under the bed meant certain death.
But if they recklessly left the bed, the noise would immediately attract the creepy man.
This was almost a dead end.