"My identity has been fixed. I have become the curator of the Auction of Pain. I was given a mission, to endure all the pain that everyone else has endured, so that the auction would always have pain-themed items."
"Our entire Twenty District! We have all been cursed!"
It was obvious that Wen Xishu could hear the curator’s anger and humiliation.
"We have lost all our wealth. The only thing we can rely on is pain. All of us in the Twenty District are destined to live with pain; if one day we stop hurting, it means we have lost our value!"
"And me!"
"I am the one who suffers the most out of everyone!"
The curator spoke with such fervor that he almost roared these words.
"The pain you endure to bid on items at the auction will all be reenacted on me!"
"That bastard actually gouged his own eyes! And then there’s Xu04, I’ve criticized her so many times, telling her not to perform seppuku during the auctions! She never listens!"
Wen Xishu said:
"So why has the Twenty District become like this? You don’t know anything about Nineteen District people or Cave Town, but as a native of the Twenty District, you must know something about the issues here?"
Wen Xishu speculated that all of this had something to do with the spirals fusion in the Great Devour.
But spirals fusion... could the root cause be the world of obsession?
Perhaps it was not the spirals fusion in the Great Devour that led to the fusion of the two districts...
But it was the fusion of the two districts that led to the spirals fusion in the Great Devour?
Because one is in the Nineteen District and one is in the Twenty District, it seems like the two districts are very close.
One district is full of happiness, the other is full of pain.
Is it possible that the two sources of creating happiness and creating pain...
Are trying to merge?
The curator said:
"How could I possibly know? I only know that one day, the apocalypse suddenly greeted us!"
"So many monsters from Hujiang began to appear... The people of the Twenty District could only hide."
"But gradually, people discovered that as long as they made themselves more painful, they could gain strength."
"The most absurd thing... is me."
"I don’t know why, but I was chosen to be the curator of the Auction of Pain."
"When others endure pain, at least their pain has a payoff. They can gain strength through their pain."
"But not me... I endure pain only to inject it into the container. The more pain I inject, the better the items at the auction."
It’s rare to see a Bringer of Collapse being played like this.
Of course, Wen Xishu only speculated that the curator was a Bringer of Collapse.
He was ninety-nine percent sure.
But he couldn’t rule out the possibility that the curator wasn’t a Bringer of Collapse.
Wen Xishu said:
"So, the rule of pain in the Twenty District descended, and you can’t offer any clues?"
"Even though you are completely different from others. Others suffer pain but gain rewards, while you suffer pain only to give..."
"It’s obvious you were targeted by the creator of the rules, yet you want to tell me you are completely unaware?"
The curator’s attitude was firm:
"Of course, I know nothing. If you ask me why I am so special and targeted..."
"I think I might be able to share with you my guess."
Wen Xishu said:
"What guess?"
The curator said:
"My mission. I don’t know when, but I was implanted with a mission."
"Only by fulfilling this mission can I leave this place, can I shed the identity of curator."
Wen Xishu said:
"This mission... could it be related to Cave Town?"
The curator nodded:
"Yes, it’s related to Cave Town. Only by eliminating all of Cave Town can I regain my freedom."
"You don’t need to know the reason, I don’t know it myself..."
"You are a warrior, you come from a district that doesn’t belong to us, so... Warrior, great warrior!"
"I hope you can dissolve Cave Town."
"There’s a theory you might consider. I reiterate, these are just speculations. It may not be the truth."
"And I don’t know any truth."
Wen Xishu showed interest and said:
"What theory? Please tell."
The curator said slowly:
"Everyone in Cave Town is very happy, but their misfortune is absorbed by those outside Cave Town."
"This is why our district is in such pain. We are all repaying Cave Town’s debts!"
"We must eliminate Cave Town!"
Wen Xishu is the kind of person who completes tasks as soon as he receives them. He enjoys exploring the stories behind his tasks.
He has also tried asking NPCs to understand the stories... He enjoys the feeling of piecing together fragmented information.
But if an NPC directly gives a long piece of information and shows high integrity and a sense of mission—
This makes Wen Xishu very uncomfortable.
Especially since Wen Xishu speculates that this curator might be a "Bringer of Collapse".
Upon hearing the words "we must eliminate Cave Town", he instead felt...
There must be some evil in Cave Town, but is it really related to your Twenty District?
Are you truly innocent in your suffering under the rule of pain in the Twenty District?
Of course, Wen Xishu still said:
"Alright, I understand. Our conversation should end. Lastly, if I need to collect misfortune as quickly as possible... which Cave Town should I choose?"
The curator thought for a moment and said:
"The depths. I can only tell you, go to the depths of Cave Town... Go to the deepest part of Nineteen District, perhaps there you can uncover the secret."
Wen Xishu thought to himself, it seems like you actually know quite a bit.
You’re just deliberately hiding it, right?
He didn’t show it and asked:
"Is there a way to keep myself intact?"
This is the most crucial question, as long as it’s solved, Cave Town won’t be so daunting, and the truth... will inevitably be revealed.