Chapter 39: The East and the Parrot

The Bunker Security Bureau had certainly spared no expense.

To team up with Wen Xishu, one first had to enter the rest area, which meant entering the Weird Tower an hour later.

The probability of being matched to the same floor in the Weird Tower was one in seven, and the chance of being matched to the same specific zone was even lower. In other words, perhaps only one in a hundred people could successfully match with Wen Xishu. And even then, that relied on precisely calculating the time Wen Xishu entered the tower.

Furthermore, if Wen Xishu chose to breach the agreement and refuse to join a team, these people would likely be thrown into mortal danger for nothing.

Even if they did manage to form a team... whether they could observe Wen Xishu's actions, find clues about Wen Zhaohua, or survive to bring that information back—these were all unknowns.

Under such circumstances, the Bunker Security Bureau was still willing to deploy a vast amount of manpower into the Weird Tower, squandering significant resources on criminals, bottom-tier degenerates, and the destitute, effectively paying "blood money" to ensure they would, if possible, team up with Wen Xishu.

Wen Xishu only had to simulate the scenario briefly to realize how terrifyingly high these costs were. At the same time, he was acutely aware that with such a high price tag, if he failed to cooperate, the Security Bureau would have no shortage of excuses to make things difficult for him.

He had not yet demonstrated enough value for Albert to go to great lengths to protect him.

After mulling it over, Wen Xishu raised his hand. He did not know what method the Bunker Security Bureau used to verify whether he had teamed up with anyone, but ultimately, to avoid unnecessary trouble, he decided to join forces with others for this operation. After all, for Wen Xishu, teaming up was not an unacceptable proposition.

He raised his hand and even walked around a small area, calling out:

"Sixth floor, anyone else receive the mission 'The Fallen Parrot'? Want to team up? I have a feeling this is a mission well-suited for a group."

The place Wen Xishu was heading to this time was not a Western-style settlement like Mohn City. The region he was about to enter was called Jiangcheng.

Judging by the name, this place corresponded to a city in his own country from his previous life. This came as a surprise and a delight to Wen Xishu, as he really wanted to eat some hometown cuisine. However, the mission description struck him as somewhat cryptic; for the first time, he found himself unable to fully grasp the meaning.

This made him think that perhaps teaming up would allow for a brainstorming session.

The mission description read as follows:

[A parrot cage is a very interesting kind of cage. It does not look like a cage; it is merely a perch. It does not know what the world is like, assuming that all perches are the same. Other birds also do not know that life within such a perch is like this. Just as they do not know that parrots can fall to their deaths. Please go to the parrot cage in Jiangcheng and find at least one contaminated item. Perhaps you can change its fate, or perhaps you will die inside? I also look forward to you finding all the contaminated items.]

The location of the mission was Jiangcheng. Wen Xishu did not know what kind of place Jiangcheng was; did everyone there love keeping birds? And the target of this mission was actually non-human?

If it wasn't about birds but rather some metaphorical text, it would be quite baffling, as the mission on the sixth floor seemed more cryptic than the description for the twenty-first floor.

If that were the case, Wen Xishu could only interpret it as an "Eastern characteristic."

It was likely that, deep down, Chinese people feared direct speech because, in the ancient environment, there were many things one "could not say." Yet, people loved to talk, so they developed a penchant for criticizing the locust tree to scold the mulberry, using sarcasm, and turning everything into a reading comprehension test. This was by no means a disparagement.

Because only this great nation of Jiuzhou could play with these linguistic nuances to such perfection, turning them into a form of literary art that was truly a sight to behold. When it came to wordplay, the depth of interpretation possible in the Chinese language was absolutely the best in the world.

"I’d like to see what kind of parrot you are."

Wen Xishu became interested.

Around him, several people gradually gathered.

"Whoa, hey, hey, hey! Hello, hello! My name is Kane. Brother, we’re really fated to meet; we actually have the same mission."

Five people.

What Wen Xishu hadn't expected was that five people would appear here. He knew his luck was bad, but he hadn't expected it to be *this* bad.

Liu Jinsen had specifically instructed him to accept team invitations and not hide his mission location. Wen Xishu had done as told; although he accepted the team on the surface and wasn't resistant, he thought to himself, *It couldn't be that unlucky, right? Out of so many floors and so many zones, someone just happens to be on the same floor and in the same zone as me?*

Wen Xishu had clearly underestimated his own luck.

The "Topsy-Turvy Dice" had listed the option "It Never Rains but It Pours," which seemed to be a hint.

The five people moved closer to Wen Xishu, bringing the team total to six. Of course, it was possible there were seven, eight, or nine others who simply didn't want to join a team.

Wen Xishu could vaguely sense that with the Three Towers Academy also announcing new credit reward mechanisms, the Bunker Security Bureau and the Administration Bureau would likely ramp up efforts to incentivize people to explore the Weird Tower. It might not be long before a Weird Tower Leaderboard appeared, and perhaps then he would be able to see which floor Wen Zhaohua had reached.

Wen Xishu shook hands with Kane.

"My name is..."

He hesitated. Naturally, he did not want to reveal his real name. But firstly, he realized there were undoubtedly spies present who already knew his identity. Secondly, once he entered the Three Towers game, his ID would likely be exposed anyway, so Wen Xishu decided to be honest:

"My name is Wen Xishu."

His voice was soft, but for a split second, the people around him all froze.

"You... what did you say your name was?" The speaker was a man with an Indian accent. His expression convinced Wen Xishu that he was definitely not a spy.

However, Wen Xishu was also certain that this Indian man was no good. The man didn't have the stereotypical "scent of curry," but rather something else—the stench of animal feces.

There was one woman among the five, and the way the Indian man looked at her had the distinct quality of a predator eyeing its prey. Wen Xishu inexplicably recalled various outrageous behaviors associated with that particular demographic.

Why would a human being reek of animal excrement?

Wen Xishu said, "Just the same name, don't worry about it."

This put the people around him at ease, though some were clearly disappointed.

The fact that these people didn't suspect him after he mentioned the name coincidence was telling. In reality, the name "Wen Xishu," under the operations of the Sha Ruijing team, had become extremely famous. The level of fame was aimed directly at deification.

Among the lower-class people, those with religious backgrounds carried a bit of superstition. They believed the name "Wen Xishu" could protect them. Therefore, many who had recently learned of Wen Xishu's deeds decided to change their names to "Wen Xishu" plus some symbol. If they could successfully return from the Weird Tower and complete registration with the Guide, there would likely be a whole bunch of Wen Xishus in the bunker.

Much like how, in his previous life, there were "branches" of Daniel Wu all over the world.

Furthermore, another reason these people didn't suspect him much was the stereotype that Wen Xishu could not possibly be on such a low floor.

So, after Wen Xishu mentioned the name coincidence, the people around him didn't have much of a reaction. Some even looked disappointed, as they had hoped that if it really were *the* Wen Xishu from the bunker, they could consider themselves lucky.

The Indian man said, "My name is Sita, friend. I used to be a zookeeper. Hehehe, I spent time on the fourth floor's functional level because... because I did some 'loving' things to the animals, and I was arrested."

"What about you guys? What reason brought you to the Weird Tower?"

*Did some... loving things to the animals.*

Wen Xishu offered a stiff, insincere smile.

He wasn't surprised by the man's self-disclosure or his crime; what surprised him was that he had figured it out—judging by the calm reactions of those around him, there wasn't a single decent person in the group. They were all villains, and each one likely possessed a deadly skill.