Chapter 3: Level 4 Integrity

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“Name.”
“Wen Xishu.”
“Age.”
“Eighteen.”
“Gender.”
“Lowest version.”
“What on earth?” The clerk at the Three Towers Game Allocation Office was momentarily confused.
“I mean male. Isn’t it obvious from my appearance?” Wen Xishu answered with a smile.
“No, no, no. Currently, the bunker recognizes twenty-nine genders... If you are male, you’d better explicitly say so.”
This clerk was the same person who had recently interviewed Park Changshuang.
Around thirty years old, he resembled the corporate interviewers Wen Xishu had in mind — a bit greasy, friendly when smiling, yet showing a numbness when serious.
“Isn’t the normal procedure to assign which tower to enter first?” Wen Xishu asked.
The clerk responded quite kindly:
“Students from the Desire Tower Academy and the Slaughter Tower Academy are assigned according to their academies.”
“As for others, generally, when entering the tower for the first time, we ask them to fill out a questionnaire.”
“Those with aggressive personalities or strong combat aptitude are sent to the Slaughter Tower.”
“Those with a pleasant demeanor are assigned to the Desire Tower.”
Wen Xishu chuckled and added,
“And those with special talents?”
The clerk rubbed his forehead:
“Yes, from time to time, I see various... talents of different sizes.”
“In the dopamine pleasure ranking, third place is smoking, scoring 220; second place is paying off debts, scoring 225.”
“But the top spot, love between men and women, scores 550. The pleasure gained is overwhelmingly higher.”
“This has led people to commonly believe that pleasing the Three Towers’ people and giving them love is the most direct method.”
“So many well-endowed men and women think they are best suited for the Desire Tower.”
“Well, the key is that the bunker’s higher-ups find this quite reasonable.”
“Indeed, many men have brought back rich supplies from the Desire Tower relying on their ‘assets,’ and women with their own charms — making considerable contributions to humanity.”
“That’s also how I became an expert in evaluating ‘talents’ at a young age.”
This clerk was quite talkative.
Generally, clerks were impatient and stern.
For example, the last applicant who tried to transfer from the Slaughter Tower to the Desire Tower, Park Changshuang, was very impatient himself.
But Wen Xishu was different—not because he was kind, handsome, heavily armed, or uniquely gifted.
The real reason was that he had been given a heads-up from above.

...

A few hours earlier, Wen Xishu had endured an interrogation.
Perhaps the higher-ups feared him slipping back into madness, so the interrogation was not too harsh.
At least, no brain-damaging truth serum or similar was administered.
This was partly due to Wen Xishu’s half-mad, half-clear-headed act. During the interrogation, he only gave one answer:

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“I have to enter the Phantom Tower to recall clues about Wen Chaohua.”
Of course, this was a stalling tactic, and a poor one at that.
Yet Wen Xishu was certain there were only two possible outcomes:
One: The bunker’s higher-ups were not fools and didn’t believe his nonsense at all.
In which case, he wouldn’t live past Chapter Four — the protagonist would die, and the book would end.
Two: Wen Chaohua was extremely important.
The bunker’s higher-ups would risk anything to find Wen Chaohua.
Even if the reason was a clumsy one like “only by entering the Phantom Tower can the clues be remembered,” they would believe it and take the gamble.
Wen Xishu chose the second option.
Only someone extraordinary could have left those three strange “dice” in his intellectually disabled brother’s mind.
He had bet correctly, but that didn’t mean his situation had become safe.
Shortly after the interrogation, a high-ranking officer in bunker security came to see Wen Xishu.
He was a stern-faced, burly man with a strong military aura.
In a cramped, dimly lit room, the cold officer said:
“From today on, I’m responsible for your case. My name is Liu Jinsen. You can call me Officer Liu.”
Officer Liu got straight to the point:
“There are two things you must do to avoid death.”
“First, survive the Phantom Tower. Otherwise, you’re just dying somewhere else.”
“Second, bunker citizens can stay in the Three Towers for no more than seven days.”
“You must recall clues about the heinous criminal Wen Chaohua within those seven days.”
“I don’t believe someone like Wen Chaohua would leave clues on you.”
“But my superiors are adamant. Since that’s the case, I hope you really do have clues.”
Wen Xishu didn’t dislike Officer Liu as a temporary superior. At least his instructions were clear.
He didn’t waste the opportunity:
“Suppose, I mean suppose, I refuse to provide clues about Wen Chaohua, would I die even if I successfully explore the Phantom Tower?”
Liu Jinsen was not surprised by Wen Xishu’s mention of “refusing to provide clues.”
In fact, he was convinced Wen Xishu knew nothing and just wanted to gamble on the Phantom Tower to seize a chance at survival.
“The odds are over ninety-nine percent.”
“The remaining one percent is if you bring back some very important items.”
Wen Xishu asked:
“For example?”
Liu Jinsen remained cold but was forthcoming:
“The lower bunker is currently plagued by disease and badly needs medicine. If you reach a Level Four reward, you will survive no matter what.”
Wen Xishu pressed:
“Level Four reward?”
Liu Jinsen paused for a second at the seemingly basic question:
“Looks like you’ve never entered a tower before.”
Wen Xishu shrugged.
Liu Jinsen recited as if from a textbook:

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“Exploring the Three Towers grants different levels of rewards based on your performance.”
“Level One completeness grants enough basic rations and supplies to sustain a ‘family of three’ for three days.”
“Level Two grants enough basic rations and supplies to sustain an ‘extended family’ for three days, along with some daily necessities.”
“Level Three adds some items, equipment, and facilities on top of the first two levels.”
“Level Four provides supplies sufficient for a ‘community’ to survive seven days, plus some advanced civilized items, equipment, and facilities.”
“Level Five adds some cross-era ‘technologies’ or items, facilities, and equipment beyond Level Four.”
“Level Six grants enough supplies to sustain an entire ‘bunker tier’ for a certain period.”
“And brings items, technology, or facilities capable of sparking a revolution in human bunker civilization.”
“As for acquiring skills, attributes, or items inside the Three Towers, that’s assessed by a separate system.”
“There is actually a Level Seven completeness, but that can only be achieved in restricted tiers of the Three Towers.”
“You’re just starting out, so your initial tier won’t be too high.”
Liu Jinsen paused briefly:
“If you can’t provide clues about Wen Chaohua and want to survive, you can’t just trade one life for another.”
“You’ll have to trade one life for a hundred.”
“Or even more.”
Wen Xishu recalled certain Su brothers—one a prime minister, the other constantly causing trouble, with the former patching up the mess.
Right now, he felt like the younger brother forced to pay for the elder’s recklessness.
He would have to bring back enough supplies to sustain hundreds of people, saving them just to survive himself.
Of course, there was a shortcut: fabricate clues about Wen Chaohua.
But the higher-ups were not fools; Wen Xishu couldn’t overplay his credibility.
And the countless experts on the ladder rankings hadn’t changed the harsh lives of the bunker’s lower classes...
This meant Level Four rewards were by no means easy for even the top experts.
To survive the Phantom Tower and achieve Level Four rewards as a rookie seemed like a fantasy.
Wen Xishu found Liu Jinsen all the more agreeable.
On one hand, he was reliable and answered every question from a death row prisoner.
On the other, Officer Liu actually believed Wen Xishu’s chances were as high as one percent.

...

Back at the Three Towers Game Allocation Office, the clerk’s words pulled Wen Xishu’s thoughts back.
“You have a good appearance; looks actually matter more. You’re very suitable for the Desire Tower.”
“If you survive the Phantom Tower and come back, I can adjust your physical data records.”
“Those under the protection of important figures enjoy this privilege, as long as the data isn’t too ridiculous.”
“Like that official Wang from the bunker’s Commerce Bureau—his son is only 1.58 meters tall, but I listed him as eighteen in the relevant stats, and even then, he thought it wasn’t enough.”
Children of officials get sent to the Desire Tower, while common folk are sent to the Slaughter Tower as beasts of burden? The bunker’s corruption was severe...
But cleaning up bunker politics wasn’t Wen Xishu’s immediate concern.
He interrupted the talkative clerk:
“Assign me to enter the tower first. I want to contribute to the bunker people today.”