Chapter 12: Reversing Fate

“Hello, who is this?”

“Good day, may I ask if you are a doctor at Moen Hospital?”

“Hm? You’ve got the wrong number. I don’t work at Moen Hospital, and I’m not a doctor.”

The call ended quickly. Wen Xishu narrowed his eyes, finding the situation growing more intriguing.

After leaving the old building, he borrowed a phone from a passerby and made a call.

It was the number Jack had left behind for that doctor. But he didn’t find the doctor; it was a wrong number.

“Jack has no reason to lie to me—that wouldn’t fit his character. So it seems this doctor really is suspicious.”

Wen Xishu gazed into the distance. His next destination was the Fourth Nursing Home in Moen City.

Jack’s mother was there.

Suddenly, as if struck by a thought, he quickened his pace, shifting from a slow walk into a sprint.

…

…

Moen City, the old building in the slums.

Wen Xishu’s arrival did not delay Jack’s timing to do certain things.

Unless there was a major shift in logic or guidance, the people in the Desire Tower would follow their original rhythms as much as possible, doing what they were meant to do.

That was their fate.

After Wen Xishu left, Jack snapped out of his daze and decided to go upstairs to mend things with Remian.

At the end of his life, Jack wished to be remembered as a good person by everyone.

But when he stood at the stairwell, he overheard Remian’s phone call to Yulia.

Those hurtful words shattered the self-deception within Jack completely.

Then, as he headed to his room, he just happened to hear his so-called friend Anderson’s speech about friendship.

As death approached, the things he once thought important began to crumble prematurely.

Silent tears fell from Jack’s eyes onto the steps in the hallway.

This world was so cruel. Suddenly, he yearned to see Jennifer.

That was probably the only thing that could give him strength and allow him to glimpse something beautiful. He longed to hear Jennifer’s joyful, childlike laughter.

But at that moment, Jack’s original behavioral logic changed.

He recalled the mysterious man who had given him an invitation.

“Open it only when you can no longer bear the pain and want to see Jennifer.”

He thought he would never need that note, yet he hadn’t expected that man to seem almost prophetic.

Jack already felt the pain overflowing.

He opened the invitation.

“Jack, my friend. By the time you decide to open this, I believe you have understood that you have been deceiving yourself all along.”

“There are many disgusting and terrible people in this world. Being a good person is never wrong, but you shouldn’t fool yourself into believing those inherently wicked.”

“You don’t need to know how I guessed you were silently crying in the hallway, nor that you desperately want to see Jennifer right now.”

“Don’t rush. Jennifer is a good child. She will come to watch your performance, but not yet.”

“She is not the only one worth inviting in your life. Your mother is still waiting for you. Perhaps you should see her first.”

“Also, you will not die from stomach cancer, nor have you ever had it.”

…

“In fact, in the impending chaotic disaster that everyone fears, you are luckier than anyone else.”

“If you want to know everything, set aside your despair for now and go see your mother.”

…

The nursing home was not far from the old building, and Wen Xishu ran all the way.

He was racing against someone.

The formula for creating villains in this world was simple: a harsh and desolate environment, coupled with a little love.

Using that little love, people cling to life and hope despite the adversity.

Then, destroying that love makes them realize they never truly had it. Thus, a wicked villain is born.

Wen Xishu had already confirmed this through Jack—his transformation was inevitable, unrelated to experience.

He also discovered traces of design in Jack’s life.

Remian’s betrayal, Anderson’s lies, Yulia’s disdain—all made sense.

But then, Jack’s mother had an accident and passed away.

All these events happened on the same day. The coincidences were too tight and too many, like a powerful drug altering human nature.

When Wen Xishu heard about the doctor, he wondered how the doctor diagnosed Jack with stomach cancer.

He later confirmed the doctor was likely fake.

If so, many of the day’s coincidences might have been orchestrated.

Jack’s transformation into a monster, destroying all of Jennifer’s bonds, could have been designed as well.

The key to saving Jennifer lay in saving Jack.

“In the Desire Tower, during Jack’s performance, the nursing home staff said over the phone that Jack’s mother had an accident.”

“An accident means the elderly woman didn’t die naturally. It’s reasonable to suspect this was a murder.”

“There’s someone hidden in the shadows trying to destroy Jack.”

“I have to retract my earlier description of the Desire Tower; this place is just as intriguing as the Strange Tower.”

…

…

Moen City, Fourth Nursing Home.

Most of the time, Jack’s mother was in a dazed state, as no doctor had been willing to care for her for some time.

This was typical in nursing homes—many medical staff treated the elderly carelessly. The more troublesome the elderly, the less attention they received.

Those longing for attention gradually became obedient and dull.

Who would willingly send their elderly parents to a nursing home if they were filial or capable?

But Jack’s job often kept him out from dawn till dusk, leaving him no choice but to place his mother in a nursing home.

Some elderly people could attract medical staff’s enthusiasm by unintentionally revealing their savings.

But Jack’s mother clearly was not among them.

Jack was poor. Even though he paid the nursing fees and some extra, he couldn’t change his mother’s circumstances.

However, today, Jack’s mother was no longer alone.

A kind-faced young doctor surprisingly pushed her wheelchair out for a walk.

But when the elevator began ascending to higher floors…

…

She started to feel afraid.

She suddenly remembered she had never seen this doctor before.

When the elevator reached the thirty-seventh floor—the highest in the building—she asked,

“Do... doctor, why are we coming here?”

“For happiness. And glorious evolution, dear elder,” the doctor said with a strange smile.

“I... I don’t understand.”

The “doctor” gently pressed the elderly woman’s shoulder.

“Then let me explain. You are Jack’s mother and also his nourishment. Now is your time to fulfill your value.”

“The world is beginning to change, and Jack is one of those who can change it.”

“But his personality does not favor realizing his gift. He needs some help, and I need some joy.”

The wheelchair neared the edge of the rooftop.

“Your fall will bring about his rise. This is the meaning of motherly love—truly touching, isn’t it?”

The doctor’s tone was like telling a story to a child.

But his actions filled Jack’s mother with terror. She frantically waved her hands to refuse.

The doctor pushed the wheelchair, accelerating toward the rooftop edge. Then he let go, allowing the wheelchair to slide to the edge and fall.

His smile shone brilliantly, as if enjoying a superb comedy.

At that moment, a tremendous force suddenly grabbed him.

The white coat was torn apart by strong hands.

The doctor froze, then a hand gripped his neck and yanked him backward hard.

“I like your way of healing. But unfortunately, you chose the wrong patient.”

He chased, dragged, and then steadied the wheelchair—all in one fluid motion.

For Wen Xishu, who had long dwelled on the edge of death and was adept at extreme sports, this was an easy maneuver.

The “doctor” collapsed to the ground and looked at Wen Xishu, who had appeared out of nowhere, with shock.

He couldn’t believe someone came to stop him at such a critical moment.

This wasn’t the first time he’d done such a thing. How could there be trouble now?

Interestingly, despite Wen Xishu’s violent actions, the doctor, though tall and robust, chose not to fight back.

He even looked somewhat panicked.

Wen Xishu’s actions clearly violated the “Desire Tower’s ban on violence.”

But the rules only constrained the bunker dwellers—that is, the players—not the Tower residents.

Although this doctor was not a player, he was special and did not count as an ordinary Tower resident.

Wen Xishu noticed that the doctor showed no trace of anger.

A mastermind controlling Jack’s fate, faced with violence, wore such an expression.

It intrigued him; it seemed there were unexpected forces within the Desire Tower.