"I understand. Don’t worry, I will negotiate to reduce the probes and surveillance from the higher-ups as much as possible. If during this process they incur some losses, it’s just the normal cost of exploring the Deceit Tower."
"You won’t be blamed or held accountable for it. I should be able to manage these things."
This was so clever. Wen Xishu really liked talking to such a person. No matter how obscure he was, the other party could understand what he truly wanted to express.
"What’s the relationship between you and my brother?" Wen Xishu decided to be direct.
Wenren Mirror was also very frank: "Before he committed a major mistake, he, Xun Hui, and I were all disciples of the same teacher. I, Xun Hui, and your brother Wen Chaohua were the three personal disciples of the teacher."
"The Wen Family wasn’t considered a big family back then."
"But because Wen Chaohua and I hit it off, and his surname being Wen and mine being Wenren, I felt that this one-character difference was a great fate."
"We became very good friends. I thought it was the kind of friendship where you could entrust your life to the other and be willing to die for each other without hesitation."
"During that time, the Wen Family and the Wenren Family even had thoughts of an alliance through marriage. With the help of the Wenren Family, the Wen Family began to grow stronger and stronger."
"It wasn’t just the Wenren Family; the Xun Family also had a very good relationship with the Wen Family at that time. For certain special reasons, our relationship was believed by everyone to be unshakable."
"Almost everyone thought... the three of us would be lifelong friends, but later, with that incident, everything changed."
"He let down both me and Xun Hui. No matter if he had no other choice in that situation, some things, once done, are done."
Wenren Mirror did not hide his inner disappointment.
Wen Xishu had not expected that the real Enchanting Demon was Wen Chaohua. The Xun Family and the Wenren Family, in a sense, changed their view of the entire Wen Family because of Wen Chaohua alone.
Judging by Wenren Mirror’s reaction, Wen Chaohua’s crime was clearly a major concern in his heart.
He suddenly became curious about the "certain special reasons" Wenren Mirror mentioned. What were these special reasons?
"I hope you can distinguish clearly. My brother is my brother, and I am me. I was still a fool back then. Although his crime also implicated me, I myself am innocent."
Wen Xishu spoke again, and Wenren Mirror nodded, feeling that Wen Xishu was indeed different from what he had imagined.
Wenren Mirror had also wondered whether the intelligent Wen Xishu would resemble Wen Chaohua. But it seemed the two were very different.
Wenren Mirror said:
"Alright, let’s talk. What do you need? I don’t like to owe favors. There’s one thing you said right—he is him, and you are you."
"I can be blunt with him, but with you, I still have to maintain proper courtesy."
Wen Xishu liked this part but remained very cautious:
"Is there any equipment or sequence suitable for me to use?"
If you need something, you must dare to ask. If you hesitate, others might really lower the quality of what they give you.
So Wen Xishu directly asked for equipment and sequences.
Wenren Mirror laughed:
"No problem. Before your next ascent of the tower, I will get you what you need. Don’t worry, it’s definitely not rubbish."
"These items will be very helpful for your climb in the Desire Tower."
Wen Xishu never admitted that he was climbing the Desire Tower, even though Wenren Mirror indicated that he knew about the invitation from Wen Chaohua.
But Wen Xishu still didn’t admit:
"Although I can’t enter the Desire Tower now, it doesn’t mean I can’t in the future, so I’ll accept it."
He didn’t outright deny it, but in terms of words, Wen Xishu didn’t leave any loopholes.
Wenren Mirror said something similar to what Albert had said:
"You don’t trust people. You have deep concerns within, and you are wary of everyone. This is very tiring."
"But it’s very right. Keep it up. At the same time, you must learn to leverage forces and rely on the power behind you."
"Anyway, you can trust the teacher, and what you need to do is make everyone believe that you and the teacher are on the same side."
"Only the teacher can protect us. Only he can protect us."
After saying these words, Wenren Mirror suddenly felt a bit sentimental, as his thoughts drifted seeing that face so similar to Wen Chaohua’s.
Wen Xishu was not stupid and quickly picked up on the implication:
"Us?"
He vaguely sensed that the "certain special reason" might be related to Wenren Mirror’s last words.
"I carry a massive sin, as the brother of the extremely evil criminal Wen Chaohua. So, both the Bunker Security Bureau and the Civil Affairs Bureau want to dig out Wen Chaohua’s secret from me. I can’t easily trust people."
"But what I don’t understand is, in your words ’us’... do you mean you and Xun Hui?"
Wenren Mirror was slightly surprised—this Wen Xishu was much smarter than he had imagined. This capability to make connections reminded him again of Wen Chaohua.
"There are some things I can’t say too much about. Wen Xishu, I wish you to become the first person of the Deceit Tower. Although your start is impressive... "
"You are not the first person of the Deceit Tower yet. You are not even qualified to know this secret."
"But if you can continue to impress everyone, proving to me and Xun Hui that you are that person, I will tell you everything I know."
Wen Xishu didn’t want to wait until next time:
"At least tell me... what makes you and Xun Hui feel like you need protection? I’m guessing, it’s definitely not the Bunker Security Bureau or Civil Affairs Bureau."
Wenren Mirror shook his head:
"The sins you bear are enough to keep you busy. Some things that are too terrifying should wait until you are ready."
"Alright, I should go now. Thanks again for your help. I hope... perhaps in the future, I can get news of Tang Rui from someone else."
"I’ve always felt guilty. I was too dismissive of what I did to her. Thank you."
Wen Xishu knew this was a subtle way to ask him to leave, so he had to choose to depart.
However, he did not give up thinking. He loathed cliffhangers. Wenren Mirror had underestimated Wen Xishu’s ability to connect things.
On his way out, Wen Xishu unexpectedly thought of some deeply terrifying things.
"Yes, the key information is ’the first person’."
"Although Wenren Mirror wouldn’t say, he implied that this is a crisis targeting the ’first person’."
"In other words, the ’first person’ in each of the Three Towers will encounter a crisis that only Albert can solve. So, what ability does this old madman Albert have?"
"Yes, he climbed to the 96th floor of the Slaughter Tower... from what I know, it’s rumored that at this level, people can bring a certain percentage of the Three Towers’ panel attributes into reality."
"Wait, the books in the library recorded that Xun Hui was the first person of the Slaughter Tower, ranked first on the ladder. Xun Hui climbed to the 57th floor. Wenren Mirror, as the first person of the Desire Tower, climbed to over 60 floors..."
"And as a hidden existence, no longer on the list, the old madman climbed to the 96th floor. In other words, the old madman is a retired player, off the list, not the ranked first person, but the Bunker’s first person."
"The first persons on the list are in the 50s and 60s floors, but the Bunker’s first person is in the 90s... really strange. The gap is just too huge. There actually hasn’t been anyone reaching those floors in the middle?"
Wen Xishu had a bit of a clue. He recalled what the guide said—that there were still a few terrifying entities in the Bunker.
These entities were not the typical Security Bureau chiefs or Civil Affairs Bureau heads.
But he dared not think too deeply about it, because just as Wenren Mirror said, the thoughts that stemmed from this line of thinking... were horrifying.
...
...
It was nightfall.
Wen Xishu had returned to the dormitory.
The course tomorrow was light, just some theory lessons on the correct use of tradable sequences in the Slaughter Tower, and some compendium of monsters’ weaknesses.
Wen Xishu was actually interested in these things, but he had something else he wanted to do more tomorrow.
Tomorrow afternoon, Wen Xishu, Yue Yun, and Nissen planned to take a break and go play on the second floor.
They were naturally heading to the Capsize Cabin. It was said that there was a long queue outside the Capsize Cabin now, with a lot of people waiting to see how it would capsize.
Although the faces of those who came out of the cabin were not very pleasant, there were still many people wanting to go. Wen Xishu also wanted to figure out how this contraption could make money for him, and in what way exactly.
But that was for tomorrow.
Tonight, Wen Xishu decided to challenge the "Academy’s Secret Treasure" again. With a higher Anti-Magic Value, he planned to go back to the top floor of the library to interpret the shadow left after the clover stopped spinning.
Even if it was just one more word, it would likely provide a lot of information.