The malice of the Balance Curse, Wen Xishu suddenly understood.
Relying on his own abilities, he defeated the first level almost without any waves.
But what if it were someone else?
If it were other weaker individuals coming here, under such trust from Devon, Cavendish, Elsa, and the others...
Devon would definitely sacrifice himself to protect the miracle-bringing commander they see.
The other members would be the same.
But... when you're truly moved by your companions' selflessness, really feel the sense of security and trust from them—
The malice begins.
At this moment, this choice would surely be incredibly difficult for the average person.
Even Wen Xishu kept thinking about why the favorability increased so quickly, questioning if something troublesome awaited him?
Even though he was prepared for this in advance, this moment was still somewhat troubling for him.
Three thousand six hundred seconds, one hour, curses appeared above everyone's heads.
The hacker named Borg looked at everyone's expressions and sighed:
"Turns out, you don't know about the Balance Curse. Seeing you open the door, I was actually quite surprised; seeing you celebrate victory, I was surprised again; I thought... commander, you already obtained a higher population quota."
"But turns out, you simply knew nothing."
Borg's words indicated he knew something.
Wen Xishu said:
"Could you please elaborate? I want to understand the details of the Balance Curse."
Borg said:
"I don't know where this curse comes from, but the place I once lived... was affected by the curse, making it dangerous; every one of us lived in constant fear."
"The place I used to live was a small town where everyone lived harmoniously."
"I won't delve into the past too much. To save time, commander, I'll tell you directly—the Balance Curse is a life-and-death balance curse."
"When the curse descends, the number of living people within the curse's range becomes a constant..."
"Once a new living person appears within the range, one person must die."
"This is the Level 1 curse state."
"The place we were in had already reached the Level 2 curse state."
"Not just living people, if animals enter our territory, the same applies."
"In other words, even if a mouse enters the town, if it is not expelled within an hour, one person will die."
"We built a tight fence along the boundary of the curse range..."
Wen Xishu interrupted the conversation:
"Wait, balance of life and death, since if there is one more living person, one person will die..."
"What if you leave here?"
Borg looked at Wen Xishu and shook his head:
"Of course, we've thought about leaving... but the effect of life balance is—once a person leaves, a creature is randomly born within."
"This creature could very likely be a bizarre monster."
"With so many elderly, sick, and disabled, there are thousands in the town..."
"And outside it's an apocalyptic wasteland, full of monsters."
"We've been living in such an environment, the curse of the balance forcing us into a dilemma."
"Until one day, rumors spread that someone could help us escape the Balance Curse, those willing to contribute and become tavern heroes could be led by the tavern's commander to find a way to break the curse."
"But the tavern... was also affected by the curse."
"However, it seems the curse is weak, only at the initial Level 1 stage."
"Thinking back now, I fear the place I came from has reached Level 3, right?"
Borg smiled, but his smile was very bitter.
This mission in the world of Obsession World is about to unfold.
Wen Xishu found it hard to imagine how the real Desire Tower would be.
He was silent for a while, unable to think of a solution.
Thirty-five minutes remaining until the Balance Curse takes effect.
During this process, everyone's heart is filled with agony.
Wen Xishu kept doing mental work for himself.
"Sacrifice."
"Maybe the game tests whether you can be an absolutely calm leader in the apocalypse."
"Perhaps the essence of this game is sacrifice."
"It's a game of personal emotions and human destiny."
"Sacrifice those with mediocre roles, those I can completely replace... Devon, keep Elsa and evolved Cavendish, along with the new Borg."
"They're not familiar with me; all together, it's less than a night's acquaintance, isn't it?"
Just do this, sacrifice will be fine.
Actually, Wen Xishu could do this. But he kept struggling with it.
If truly in an extreme situation, forced to sacrifice, he would surely know what to do.
But has it truly come to that? Is there truly no other way?
At this moment, Colonel Devon stood up:
"Haha, commander, your power truly amazes people."
"Unlike the guide, which said you needed our help... but in the last level, I was just a hindrance."
"Your power is too strong; I believe you don't need me... don't need me to lead everyone forward."
"So, leave me behind!"
Colonel Devon bowed to Wen Xishu.
Wen Xishu even saw the bullet screen, but he couldn't touch it.
[Perhaps my mission ends here; I should also go... accompany my soldiers.]
This was Colonel Devon's inner thought.
Undoubtedly, all of this came from the heart.
But the more sincere it was, the less Wen Xishu wanted such a person to die.
An answer formed in Wen Xishu's mind.
"The key to solving the problem lies in the population quota. How to acquire the population quota? Borg, do you know?"