Wen Xishu took a step forward. He didn’t really plan to purify the music box.
Just then, Zheng Zai suddenly spoke:
"I’ll go."
Of the people present, there were two honest men.
One was Mendemuir, the other was Zheng Zai. In Wen Xishu’s view, Zheng Zai was truly honest.
But Mendemuir still needed observation.
Kane had been very domineering from the start, suggesting that the one with the heavier sins would be the team leader. Because in some prisons, there’s this idea that the one with the gravest sins is the boss.
Mendemuir and Kane both ended up here because of women, but Wen Xishu felt that Mendemuir seemed too cowardly. He didn’t dislike cowards, but he hated people who pretended to be cowards.
And Zheng Zai was genuinely honest.
Zheng Zai was already taking steps as he spoke. Wen Xishu’s analysis seemed reasonable to him.
The reason he hesitated for a moment was that he didn’t want to leave too early.
Because of his background, he needed many achievements to get the treatment of a regular person.
So Zheng Zai wanted to stay until the end to achieve the highest possible completion.
Only then could he potentially regain honor, break away from his father’s negative influence, and—receive treatment.
But Zheng Zai truly believed and was grateful for what Wen Xishu said.
After his habit of eating human flesh was exposed, someone was still willing to be so kind to him. Zheng Zai was willing to take risks for such a person.
Zheng Zai said:
"Climbing such a high shelf might be difficult for you all, but I can do it."
"If I die, I won’t blame anyone. Brother Wen’s analysis makes sense. But even if he’s wrong, don’t hold it against him."
"If I survive, proving Brother Wen was right, I want to bring him back with me."
Wen Xishu wasn’t particularly moved, but Zheng Zai’s words made him think of Jack.
Jack from the Desire Tower, when he saw someone breaking in, his first reaction was to ask if they needed help.
Strangely, Wen Xishu had a feeling...
Zheng Zai, although he wouldn’t change like Jack did, was probably at a turning point where his personality might drastically change.
If at this moment—
No one cared about him, no one paid attention to him.
Zheng Zai was about to sprint, but Kane suddenly also stepped forward, realizing that if he didn’t decide now, he might not make it back!
Everyone who came to the Deceit Tower aimed to change their fate, hoping to become a new legend of the Bunker like Wen Xishu, to make a name for themselves in the Bunker.
But to change your fate, you first need to be alive.
Seeing those eerie tentacles, Kane got scared. He just wanted to return alive, even with the lowest completion rate.
Kane hastily said:
"I’ll go! Don’t fight me for it!"
Wen Xishu wanted this result. He originally planned to stop Zheng Zai. On his sacrificial list of teammates, Zheng Zai was currently last.
If he performed well, Wen Xishu might even remove Zheng Zai from the list.
"Brother Zheng, it’s fine if you go purify the box, but since Kane wants the chance, let him have it. I don’t think you want to settle for the lower completion rewards, do you?"
Wen Xishu grasped everyone’s psychology.
Sure enough, Zheng Zai stopped moving.
Climbing the shelf wouldn’t be easy for Kane, at least not as easily as for Zheng Zai, who could climb like a wildcat up a tree.
But as a criminal daring enough to come to Deceit Tower, Kane’s physical fitness was undeniable. Although slow, he could climb up little by little using the books.
A few minutes later, utterly out of breath, he finally reached the top of the huge bookshelf.
Close up, he saw the intricate design of the music box.
Wen Xishu guessed that the story here was about a girl being subjected to something horrible by a beast.
Four rooms, four stories. Put together, they formed the "birdcage."
But he still couldn’t figure out the exact purpose of the music box.
Just as he was thinking that Kane was about to purify the music box, and Kane was thinking he could finally leave this hellish place—
The music box suddenly started playing again, the same youthful, vibrant tune from break time.
Kane froze; he hadn’t touched the music box, nor had he chosen to purify anything.
Meanwhile, no one else in the room had made that choice.
This unpredictable event made Kane curse inwardly, and he had no choice but to speed up towards the music box.
But he was still too slow.
In the center of the room, on the bookshelf, under the lamp, on the desk, around the legs of the chair... black smoke appeared everywhere.
The monster was about to emerge.
[Good child, good child! You’re such a good child! Just behave and your grades will definitely be good!]
The slimy, nauseating voice echoed again.
Wen Xishu looked around and quickly chose to run towards the bookshelf, hiding between the books.
By then, Park Mi-hye had already decided to follow Wen Xishu, doing whatever Wen Xishu did.
Mendemuir and Zheng Zai followed suit, hiding in the bookshelf.
Only Kane, who had already climbed to the top of the shelf, couldn’t get away in time.
He was discovered.
Twisted, slimy, writhing tentacles lunged at Kane with inhuman speed.
As Kane’s flesh was pierced, the surrounding black smoke also converged.
They were attracted to the flesh.
From Kane’s orifices... or rather, any gap in his upper or lower body, the tentacles filled and penetrated.
Kane died more gruesomely than Sita, not even having time to scream.
The monster he encountered was several times that of Sita’s.
His hand desperately tried to reach the music box, but unfortunately, he died at the top of the shelf before he could touch it.
No one saw this scene, only droplets of blood fell from the top of the shelf.
Hiding between the books at the bottom of the shelf, everyone exchanged glances, as did Wen Xishu, mimicking a look of surprise.
He had come intending to kill after all.
The second to die was Kane.
The youthful music ended. Mendemuir and Park Mi-hye both looked at Wen Xishu with questioning eyes.
Wen Xishu pretended to be scared:
"Oh no... I didn’t expect this. We need to speed things up!"
"If no one else goes, then I will."
Once the music ended, the monster hidden in the black smoke also vanished.
At this point, Wen Xishu pretended to climb in fear.
Park Mi-hye hurriedly said:
"Wen Xishu, what’s happening! You need to tell us!"
She was genuinely terrified.
Wen Xishu said:
"It’s an anti-idle mechanism! Besides the four walls closing in, the room has its own anti-idle mechanism. If we waste time and don’t purify the items..."
"It triggers the mechanism, causing widespread monster appearances, probably in areas we’ve already been, making our available space smaller and smaller!"
"We must purify quickly! Kane was just too slow! He shouldn’t have hesitated so much up there!"
"This room has periodic anti-idle checks!"
With this reasonable analysis, everyone understood. Why did Kane’s purification lead to widespread monster occurrences in various places, while Sita’s only drew the monster from the item?
It turned out Kane hadn’t managed to purify in time, and the previous monster appearance was due to a different mechanism!
Time was of the essence!
Seeing Wen Xishu climb slowly, Park Mi-hye and Mendemuir couldn’t sit still!
Mendemuir didn’t bother pretending anymore:
"Sorry! I want to live!"
He actually grabbed Wen Xishu’s leg and dragged him down.
Wen Xishu almost couldn’t suppress his smile.
"Let you be the next one to die then."