Chapter 42: The Bloody Prologue
Page (1/3)
“Teammate One.”
Those words surfaced in Wen Xishu’s mind, and he was delighted.
The possibility that Xita was a spy planted by the higher-ups was extremely slim, but Wen Xishu did not like him. If someone like that died, then so be it. Wen Xishu felt no pity.
On the contrary, now that he knew this place truly was dangerous, his heart was practically singing.
No matter how vividly a person had stood out before, they might not survive even a minute after entering the Strange Tower. It was wonderful.
That meant he might only need to exploit the rules, using inducement and deception, to turn this multiplayer game into a solo game.
If he did not harbor some hidden secret, if he were as popular as Wenren Jing, Wen Xishu would not mind forming bonds of comradeship in the Three Towers.
But if these people posed any possibility of harming him, if they were tools sent by the higher-ups to investigate him—
Even if they were most likely innocent, Wen Xishu would not care in the slightest. Certainly, in many stories, the protagonists had a perfect, dependable companion.
But Wen Xishu did not believe that kind of luck would ever belong to him.
Xita’s body instantly became riddled with holes, as though it had been pierced through by countless sharp objects. The music box grew louder and louder.
Wen Xishu could not identify the tune, but it seemed to be a school song—the sort of thing played during recess, with uplifting lyrics and a youthful, energetic voice.
The first teammate died so abruptly that the others were left bewildered.
Wen Xishu had not seen what happened. He had simply chosen to hide, while the others had not reacted as quickly. As a result, they were able to witness that strange and horrifying scene.
When Xita chose to purify the object, an incorrect purification caused a mass of black smoke to emerge from within it. Then, through the hazy smoke, countless tentacles pierced into Xita through his mouth, ears, nostrils, eyes, and even…
His lower body.
One tentacle entered through his mouth, while another emerged from it, like two trains traveling in opposite directions.
Xita died.
The tentacles continued to ravage his flesh.
At that moment, Park Mihee, the team leader, shouted, “Quick! Hide! Wen Xishu is hiding! Do what he did!”
Her words had an effect.
Kane and Mendemuir also chose to hide at once. The enormous room contained many obstacles that could block one’s view: table legs, scattered stationery, the corners of walls, and so on.
In short, they had to find a way to keep themselves out of the tentacles’ line of sight.
Jeong Jae reacted the fastest.
He was the first to charge toward Xita, but his body was extraordinarily agile, and his awareness of fear was unusually sharp.
Driven by his hunger for flesh, he came to his senses in an instant, startled by the sense of danger brought on by that uncanny aura.
Fear made him calm.
He regained control of his body, and the capabilities of that body seemed to have been greatly enhanced.
Page (1/3)
Page (2/3)
Like a beast, Jeong Jae dodged the thrust of a tentacle. Then, with astonishing speed, he climbed onto a desk far taller than himself, as nimbly as a leopard scaling a tree.
The monster within his clothes continued to torment Xita.
Only after Xita had died completely, utterly, did the monster slowly crawl back beneath the clothes.
Silence.
The music box had been growing louder and louder. The song inside had finished once and begun again.
But gradually, as everyone hid themselves, the music box also quieted.
In the end, silence prevailed.
Another minute passed before Wen Xishu emerged.
The room contained both desks and office tables, and there was a blind spot between an office table and a bookcase.
Park Mihee had followed Wen Xishu closely, so the blind spot contained the two of them.
Wen Xishu smiled. “The captain has remarkably keen instincts. I hid because I was afraid, but I never expected you to figure out that hiding was the only way to survive.”
Park Mihee naturally had little to say. She merely gave Wen Xishu a long, penetrating look. She believed that Xita’s death had most likely been orchestrated by Wen Xishu.
He knew how to make someone die beneath the rules of the Strange Tower.
The truth was not like that—Xita had simply brought about his own death—but Wen Xishu’s decision to hide had indeed allowed everyone else to survive.
In these circumstances, Xita had not wanted to become someone Wen Xishu despised.
Seeing Park Mihee and Wen Xishu return to the center of the study, Kane emerged from beside the legs of the desk, while Mendemuir appeared from beside the legs of the office table.
From Xita’s death, Wen Xishu deduced the following information:
“There are many contaminated objects. These objects may all give off the aura of sin. But only one object truly needs to be purified. Choosing incorrectly means death.”
“The game is already obvious. Find the object, then play hide-and-seek. You have to search, and you have to hide.”
“As long as I don’t tell them the rules… or deliberately lure them into purifying the wrong object with false rules, they’ll all die.”
Wen Xishu was still considering whether he should do exactly that. If he did, how should he carry it out?
But before he could think it through, the sound of flesh being chewed suddenly drew his attention.
Jeong Jae had jumped down from the desk, more than three meters high, and was now devouring meat like a starving hound.
The meat was not someone else’s.
It was Xita’s.
In truth, the scent of animal excrement emanating from Xita had attracted Jeong Jae long ago.
The sight made everyone take a step back. No matter how vicious one might be, it was impossible to remain composed after seeing someone gnawing on human flesh with one’s own eyes.
Yet Wen Xishu was the exception.
He had not seen how Jeong Jae had evaded the tentacles and escaped with such agility. But he remembered one thing: Jeong Jae had been very close to Xita at the time. Under those circumstances…
Page (2/3)
Page (3/3)
Jeong Jae had still managed to reach the relatively distant desk.
It was simply inconceivable.
This man possessed astonishing explosive power.
The iron muzzle covering Jeong Jae’s face had long since disappeared. Clearly, he had torn it apart through brute force.
Combining this with Jeong Jae’s earlier behavior—
Wen Xishu formed a hypothesis.
This was not an illness.
This was a Sequence. An uncanny Sequence.
When Jeong Jae first explored the Strange Tower, he had most likely obtained a Sequence with extremely severe side effects.
Wen Xishu also remembered something else: Jeong Jae still possessed reason. It was merely that his desires had forced his body to act.
So Wen Xishu slowly walked over to him.
He revealed the same warm smile he had once shown Jennifer.
Whether he had been facing Jennifer or Jeong Jae now, Wen Xishu was not, in truth, someone who wanted to be warm toward others.
He understood perfectly well that Jennifer, Jack, and Jeong Jae at this moment were all tools he could use to survive.
“Take your time eating, Jeong Jae. Don’t be afraid that we’ll do anything to you. If you truly can’t suppress the desire in your heart, then stop trying to suppress it.”
“Sometimes, people need to let loose and vent in moderation. Only by willingly releasing the monster within you can you gain the ability to lock it away again.”
“But if it escapes on its own, beyond your control, then it may already be too late.”
“Is it good? Is it enough? Would you like a bite of mine?”
Wen Xishu rolled up his sleeve.
His smile was as radiant as Wenren Jing’s. When Wenren Jing had faced the people of the Desire Tower within the Desire Tower, she had worn the same brilliant, tender smile.
At that moment, tears suddenly glimmered in Jeong Jae’s eyes.
He truly had not wanted anyone to see his monstrous side, but he really could not control it.
When he had bitten into Xita, his heart had been filled with despair. He had even wondered whether he would become a monster in the eyes of all his teammates.
But then Wen Xishu appeared.
As though carrying a halo of holy light.
Page (3/3)