Chapter 27: The Old Madman and the Young Madman

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He woke up.

Wen Xishu felt thirsty. Upon waking, his instinct was to find water, but he immediately realized he was not in his own home.

In his previous world, he had a decent enough apartment. In a small, third-tier town, he would habitually reach for the bedside cabinet every morning upon waking.

Because that was where he always kept his water.

But now, as Wen Xishu opened his eyes, he was met with the face of an elderly man with sharp, angular features.

He actually found him somewhat familiar.

Wen Xishu wanted to pinch himself to check if he was dreaming, but his entire body erupted in pain.

"They actually beat me to death, and now I’ve transmigrated into the world of *One Piece*!?"

Albert Napolitano let out a puzzled, "Hm? What’s that? Is that some trendy novel? I love novels, do share it with me."

Wen Xishu took a closer look... and ultimately realized this was not the world of *One Piece*, and he had not died.

The old man before him simply resembled "Dark King" Rayleigh, the misguided mentor figure from the manga *One Piece* in his previous world.

"Who are you? Where am I..."

Wen Xishu was startled. Before he could finish his question, he suddenly saw a barrage of text floating in the air.

[Hahahahahaha, this kid doesn't think he's dead, does he? And that he’s transmigrated like a character in a novel? This is too hilarious.]

Mental Barrage.

When someone is experiencing extreme emotions—such as intense joy, grief, fear, or anger—their specific inner thoughts manifest as a barrage of text.

Just like that, Wen Xishu saw the text floating above the man's head, followed by a string of "Hahahahahaha" messages.

At the same time, Wen Xishu heard the sound of "Hahahahahaha" echoing in his ears.

The handsome old man in Wen Xishu's eyes was indeed genuinely happy—exquisitely happy.

It was as if his waking up was something truly worth celebrating.

Wen Xishu, however, was bewildered.

He knew that the barrage he had just seen was the effect of the Strange Sequence 37: Mental Barrage.

But wasn't that ability supposed to only function within the Strange Tower, one of the Three Towers?

Wen Xishu widened his eyes, at a loss for what to do.

At this moment, Albert spoke:

"Interesting, truly interesting. Little one, does your Sequence allow you to see some sort of special mental byproduct? Your eyes suggest you’ve seen something."

"You just looked at the top of my head."

Wen Xishu was shocked again. His eyes had only flickered for a split second; he hadn't even tilted his head.

What kind of observation skill was this?

"Is it one of those eyes I’ve read about in novels that can see 'notes' or 'annotations'? Where the content and style of the notes vary?"

"Well? How do the notes evaluate me? A handsome old man? How many more years do I have to live? I hope my fetishes aren't exposed, right? Which floor of the Strange Tower did you acquire this from?"

"Looking at your shocked expression, don't tell me I actually guessed it. I've read similar novels. Oh my, there are no secrets in front of eyes like that. Should I dig them out?"

Albert brought his face close to Wen Xishu, observing him like a rare, never-before-seen species.

For the first time, Wen Xishu felt offended by an old lunatic. Usually, he was the craziest one, the one who toyed with others.

Now, this old man was toying with him.

He took a deep breath.

"No. My Sequence is quite ordinary. Shouldn't you tell me where I am and who you are?"

Albert really wanted to gouge out Wen Xishu's eyeballs.

His current behavior made Wen Xishu feel like he had suddenly transmigrated into *Naruto*, becoming Sasuke Uchiha about to have his eyes gouged out by Itachi Uchiha.

Albert had already used his fingers to pry open Wen Xishu’s eyelids.

"Wouldn't it be wonderful if the things in novels were real?"

Wen Xishu suppressed the urge to let the veins on his forehead pop.

"Where am I, and who are you?"

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He didn't want to repeat that question again. Albert laughed heartily and said:

"You should be more polite to your savior. My name is Albert, just an ordinary old man. As for this place, it is the Three Towers Academy."

Three Towers Academy, a Level 7 facility...

Wen Xishu suddenly understood the profound nature of Level 7 facilities.

He didn't know much about other Level 7 facilities, but the Three Towers Academy, despite being located within a bunker, could harness the power of the Three Towers within its grounds.

That was why he could see Albert’s mental barrage.

Wen Xishu’s mind raced. He immediately realized it was Albert, someone from the Three Towers Academy, who had taken him from Xie Changfeng of the Bunker Security Bureau’s First Division.

He looked at Albert and, after a moment of thought, asked:

"Are you the Headmaster?"

"Yes, though I don't really manage much. The people under me handle all that."

"Thank you for saving me. What do I need to do to repay you?"

Having been saved and owing a debt, the first thing Wen Xishu thought of was the price he would have to pay.

He felt no sense of security. In his view, saving him must be for the purpose of a transaction.

People simply don't do things that offer them no benefit and offend others.

Albert stroked his chin.

"What could you possibly pay me with, little one?"

"Tell me what you need first," Wen Xishu retorted, skilled at bargaining.

Albert looked at Wen Xishu.

"It’s a good thing you aren't some monster from the Strange Tower; otherwise, your heart would surely be very twisted. How much insecurity and distrust of others must you harbor?"

These words made Wen Xishu uncomfortable. The reason for his discomfort was that he felt the man had hit the mark.

For some reason, he felt like he was being seen through while in front of Albert.

Seeing that Wen Xishu remained silent, Albert knew this was a defensive posture.

"Don't be nervous. Since I saved you, it’s unlikely I would kill you in the short term."

"I quite like the culture of the youth. Sadly, there aren't many anime or novels in the bunker. I enjoy imitating characters from various stories. Lately, I’ve been playing the role of a benevolent character."

What was this, an "old otaku" in terms of age?

Wen Xishu couldn't have imagined that the Headmaster had such youthful hobbies.

"I don't expect you to do anything for me, so... just be a good student for now. For the Slaughter Tower Academy midterm assessment, I need you to produce results worth my protection."

"I don't care what secrets you carry. While you were unconscious, I could have easily asked them out of you."

Wen Xishu muttered to himself, *bad.*

At that time, he had been injected with so much truth serum... he was in a state where he would answer anything anyone asked.

Although Albert said that, Wen Xishu didn't know what kind of person Albert truly was.

He did not trust Albert.

"You probably already asked, didn't you?"

Albert maintained his hearty smile.

"I have no interest in the secrets of Wen Zhaohua."

Wen Xishu didn't quite believe him, but he still asked:

"Why? Wasn't the value in saving me to obtain information about him?"

Albert shook his head.

"Why couldn't it be that I simply wanted to confirm if there was a student worth admitting to the academy?"

Wen Xishu remained silent, and Albert sighed.

"It seems that if you aren't forced to give up some secrets, you’ll feel my actions are illogical."

This time, Wen Xishu nodded. Albert found it interesting; he also wanted to test Wen Xishu.

"Then tell me, in your eyes, what is the relationship between the Strange Tower, the Desire Tower, and the Slaughter Tower? Although this is your first time climbing the tower, I want to know if you already have your own way of understanding the Three Towers."

Wen Xishu didn't refuse; after all, he didn't need to divulge his own experiences.

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Albert seemed to be deliberately avoiding that point as well, allowing Wen Xishu to retain a portion of his privacy.

At the same time, although Wen Xishu didn't know how legendary this old headmaster was, anyone who could rescue him from the Bunker Security Bureau was certainly no simple man.

He decided to cherish the opportunity and demonstrate some value beyond just clues about Wen Zhaohua in front of this headmaster.

After pondering for a moment, Wen Xishu said:

"At first, I thought the Desire Tower and the Strange Tower were in a cause-and-effect relationship. The Desire Tower is the cause, and the Strange Tower is the effect."

"Because, as far as I understand, the events in the Desire Tower occur before those in the Strange Tower."

"The Desire Tower world is a normal world, while the Strange Tower world is a distorted one. Logically speaking, it should always be normal first, then distorted, right?"

Wen Xishu deliberately acted as if he hadn't been to the Desire Tower, pretending he was merely inferring.

He continued, "But that’s only on the surface. In reality, they are mutually causative."

"If you follow the chronological order and explore the Desire Tower first, you might never find the source of the crisis."

"Um... let me just give a random example."

"Who would have thought that in the Desire Tower world, a destitute circus performer would kill all of his neighbors?"

"But in the Strange Tower, you might face this murderous, strange entity right from the start. The mission information would tell you directly that this person is the big boss."

"So, if you had the chance to go to the corresponding area in the Desire Tower, wouldn't you know better what to do than anyone else?"

"Viewed in this light, the Strange Tower becomes the cause, and the Desire Tower, despite its timeline being earlier, becomes the effect."

"It's like the Yin-Yang fish; it’s hard to say for sure which is the cause and which is the effect."

"The significance of the Strange Tower is like providing a direction for investigating the Desire Tower. Perhaps with this direction, one could change the fate of the creatures in the Strange Tower at the source?"

"Behind those strange creatures are their own stories. The endings to these stories are clearly bad, but perhaps the Desire Tower can change their endings."

"So here, the Desire Tower becomes the cause again, but in the end, you still have to find the key people from the Strange Tower."

"Therefore, I think exploring the Strange Tower should come before the Desire Tower."

Albert’s eyes lit up. To have such insights on his first climb was truly rare.

He could tell that this child was deliberately withholding some things.

But that didn't matter. The fact that this child, having only climbed the tower once, could have such cognition meant he was undoubtedly excellent at thinking and summarizing.

Albert was very satisfied.

Although he didn't know that not long ago, Wen Xishu’s understanding of the Desire Tower and the Slaughter Tower was merely, "One is just go in and fight, the other is also just go in and fight."

Wen Xishu continued, "As for the Slaughter Tower, I don't know much, but I imagine the targets there have become even more desperate, even more disgusted with the world, to the point where they kill anyone they see. In that case, its timeline should also be after the Desire Tower."

"Based on my understanding, the Slaughter Tower is full of monsters, and encountering them means fighting and killing."

"The information fragments you get are severely lacking; it’s very hard to know what these monsters have been through."

"So you can only choose to fight them—to slaughter."

"But in the Strange Tower, although they are also monsters, if you can find the patterns, you can gain quite a few clues."

"This helps us... try to reverse everything from the Desire Tower?"

"So in my view, the one that should be explored most—or rather, the one that should be explored first—might be the Strange Tower."

Having said this, Wen Xishu added a disclaimer, "Of course, this is all just my speculation. After all, I haven't earned the qualification to enter the Desire Tower."

Albert applauded, his eyes full of approval.

"Excellent. It seems admitting you was the right choice. Your understanding of the Three Towers far exceeds my expectations."

"However, humanity is not as foolish as you think. We are not unaware of the order in which the Three Towers should be explored."

Wen Xishu’s expression unconsciously became more serious as Albert continued.

"There is just one very critical point that you likely do not know."

"And it is precisely because of this that our progress in exploring the Strange Tower lags far behind the other two towers."

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