The delinquent kid was battered and bruised, but he survived. Wen Xishu remembered that in the last round of the story gathering, the rule was to increase the "scale" of the malevolent acts.
This meant that the targets of the evil deeds expanded from single individuals to multiple ones... but this round didn’t introduce such a rule.
However, it didn’t prohibit it either.
"I understand now... So this is how it works! I know what to do!"
Wen Xishu began his tale.
"This story is very boring, not crazy at all. It’s about how I got to a mysterious story gathering."
The male lecturer thought, here we go again? Is he going to mock the audience again? But he quickly realized that the man’s focus wasn’t on the audience.
"In the story gathering, eight people would tell stories, and once told, the stories would manifest as real-life accidents."
"Everyone in the gathering, aside from me, came from a small town. They were inherently kind, but were twisted into madness and evil by the host of the story gathering, causing them to act against their true nature, performing various outrageous deeds."
"A former kindergarten teacher began to break up families like a prostitute."
"A kid who was originally kind-hearted became like the delinquent kid, wreaking havoc everywhere."
"Even a lecturer with a promising future and outstanding eloquence suddenly started having wicked thoughts."
"There are many such examples; they were all supposed to be good people."
Wen Xishu paused here.
The Knight behind him did not react, which meant Wen Xishu was not lying and thus did not need to be put to death.
Everything he said was true!
The male lecturer thoroughly understood the implications of Wen Xishu’s words.
He was shocked:
"I... I have been twisted?"
The delinquent kid pondered:
"I am a good kid?"
He found it somewhat laughable. With all the judgments he had received, how could he possibly be a good kid?
The male lecturer also found it ridiculous. He played with women because he liked it, how could it be from a twisted mind?
But the key point was...
In this place, one could not lie.
As fantastical as Wen Xishu’s story sounded, under the rules, he could only speak the truth.
[He’s got guts! Was he just guessing earlier? But he actually dared to say it out loud!]
[This guy is ruthless, ruthless to himself! This is way more hardcore than the guy who ate shit!]
[So, should we help him? Should we help him? I think I’m no longer afraid!]
[Interesting, who is toying with us? I want to toy with them too!]
Due to the audience’s sociopathy level being at two hundred percent...
The fear within the sociopaths began to slowly dissipate.
They even found Wen Xishu’s approach quite amusing.
This, of course, surprised Wen Xishu.
"But now, they have all become bad people and sacrifices to the story gathering."
Wen Xishu continued to narrate:
"Even though I have no personal feud with the person behind this, I have started to destroy the story gathering. I have begun to recruit those who were twisted by them."
"I will gradually, piece by piece, dismantle the meticulous constructions of their domain."
"They play the villain among all beings, the source of the town’s tragedy and disaster. From now on, I will be their nightmare."
Wen Xishu still wasn’t dead.
This meant that indeed, an evildoer existed in the town, someone who had twisted everyone’s hearts.
It also meant that Wen Xishu’s actions were truly aimed at combating this malevolent entity.
Despite the story requirement being to narrate one’s evil deeds, Wen Xishu always knew that evil and justice were merely a matter of perspective.
Each of his stories had actually been about enforcing his own sense of justice.
Saving Jennifer, saving the An Family Brothers, saving the audience, dismantling the story gathering...
These acts could be seen as justice, but from another perspective, they could also be considered evil deeds.
Having understood this rule deeply, Wen Xishu was naturally immune to being sentenced to death by the rules.
Indeed, his actions could be considered—evil deeds targeting the host of the story gathering.
The delinquent kid and the male lecturer were stunned.
"What he said is true? Does this kid want me dead?"
"So, there’s a powerful entity capable of twisting all of us... but now, this kid doesn’t have to face that entity, and me and that cursed boy have a fifty percent chance of facing it?"
The male lecturer felt utterly nauseated.
Because no matter who it was, facing such a mysterious, powerful host of the story gathering would be an exercise in futility, right?
In a sense, this story greatly desecrated the host of the story gathering.
Entering that room... would mean certain death?
Thus, Wen Xishu’s story was not about brilliance, but about using the rules to eliminate his opponent?
"Please, please don’t let me draw that room." The male lecturer could only pray.
Wen Xishu’s story, however, was far from over.
"Next, there was the second person I antagonized, the grandfather of two friends of mine... hmm, a man who aspired to become a god."
"We actually had no personal conflict, but I took away the two key ingredients for his deification, his two grandsons."
"As a result, his Grand Chaos Plan was put on hold, at least... he gave up on the optimal version. Although he rose later, I had still delayed him. I antagonized him."
"The evil I did to him nearly ruined his grand plan, but he was always someone with a backup plan."
The Grand Chaos Plan, An Rongzai.
Yes, this was Wen Xishu’s strategy.
The last round, the method of piecing multiple stories together by the delinquent kid had inspired Wen Xishu.
This round, it was highly likely that Wen Xishu himself would not enter his own incident room.
So, how could he defeat the "Master of the Castle"?
Simply put, by adding more elements to the room.
"Oh, and there was once a bride passing by a place, my friend and I thought the bride seemed quite rich... so we killed her entourage and divided her coffin."
"In an orphanage, I took away all of a little girl’s toys, killed her only friend, oh, and also killed her."
"I once encountered a woman who liked to seduce people with shoes... but this woman ended up stored in numerous jars, longing for resurrection. Unfortunately, I destroyed all the contents of the jars and absorbed them."
"The woman thus perished."
[What is he talking about? There’s no continuity to his story.]
[What is he doing?]
[Does he think piling up evil deeds together qualifies as being insane?]
The audience had no idea what Wen Xishu was doing.
Wen Xishu’s idea was simple—call for help.
The Master of the Castle might be supremely powerful, so Wen Xishu put An Rongzai, the Ghost Bride, Jiang Qing, and the Shoe Woman together... just for one reason, to ensure the death of the Master of the Castle.
He also feared some individuals could be bewitched by the Master of the Castle.
Of course, if the opponent could truly beguile all the mighty adversaries Wen Xishu had encountered so far, even some unbeatable ones...
Then Wen Xishu would indeed deserve death for his bad luck, facing such a powerful entity.
But Wen Xishu thought the possibility was low since this was just the thirtieth floor of the Deceit Tower.
"Since you’ve messed up the order, barring me from entering my room... then sorry, I’ll just add more people to my room."
The story ended.
Owing to its chaotic nature—with a new story every few moments and the audience’s aversion to crossing the Master of the Castle—Wen Xishu’s anticipation score plummeted from 400 to 24.
With the anticipation score plummeting, the male lecturer and the delinquent kid perceived a glimmer of hope.
Wen Xishu could be voted to death, and the other person could be killed by the beings Wen Xishu had listed in his room...
This would leave only one survivor among the three.
Which meant victory for them!
Thus, the key issue became avoiding Wen Xishu’s room.
This round would determine the outcome!
The male lecturer and the delinquent kid began telling their stories.
Meanwhile, Wen Xishu noticed...
"I’ve added so many people to that room, including the Master of the Castle, but there was no reaction from the dagger..."
"But with just one Wen Chaohua, there was such a big reaction, I need to seriously assess what level my brother, who came with me at the start, is at."
Wen Xishu no longer had any interest in listening to the others’ stories.
He now just wanted to await the grand melee of monsters.
(For the next few days, updates are likely to be as short as today. However, no hiatus!)