Chapter Forty-Seven: The Mysterious Boy Reappears

(It's time once again for a late-night bonus chapter.)

Desire Tower Rest Area.

Wen Xishu arrived at this place once more. Unlike last time, the sixth floor was a level that most people could access.

Below the twentieth floor of the Desire Tower, it was essentially a completely risk-free zone.

Those familiar calls and shouts appeared once again.

"Looking for a guide on how to turn Miyazaki Yataka gay!"

"Twelfth floor, selling tips for the mission 'Corporate War: Destroying Jingdong'! Only requires a stand-up comedian! Guaranteed to work, contact me for names!"

Wen Xishu couldn't help but sigh. This was the Desire Tower's rest area, and the atmosphere was truly wonderful.

It was worth mentioning that after most people descended into a certain area of the rest area, they were unwilling to leave that specific zone.

After all, people within the same zone indicated similar level ranges. During the brief one-hour window, everyone was naturally willing to communicate and form teams with those of comparable levels.

Of course, a small number of people would visit the rest areas of higher-level zones to seek advice from veterans.

However, such instances were rare.

Yet Wen Xishu truly intended to take a look toward the Heavenly Origin zone.

Along the way, he spotted quite a few people from the Desire Tower Academy. These students were very eager to display their Three Towers Academy student IDs. There were both men and women.

Wen Xishu didn't care. He walked toward the Heavenly Origin zone, wondering if he would run into any interesting people.

He didn't have much interest in the academy students, unless a Terror Tower Academy appeared in the future.

He soon reached the Heavenly Origin zone.

To Wen Xishu's surprise... he bumped into acquaintances this time.

"Yo, youngster, didn't expect to see you again."

The man speaking still wore a full smile, making him feel very approachable.

The woman beside him remained as cold as frost, but upon seeing Wen Xishu, she also smiled and nodded.

As luck would have it, these two were precisely the same pair Wen Xishu had encountered last time—

Ji Boda, Liu Ruyan.

Wen Xishu also wore a smile:

"Meeting the two of you again. I'm just wandering around this time. What floor are the two of you on?"

Liu Ruyan replied:

"Twenty-sixth floor."

Wen Xishu remembered that Ji Boda and Liu Ruyan traded various guides and intelligence, so he wondered if he should inquire first.

Unlike last time, when Wen Xishu had obtained an invitation letter and directly knew the mission target was Desire Jennifer.

This time, the invitation letter was given right at the start, to the extent that he hadn't unlocked the mission target's name.

He would only be able to obtain clues after entering the Desire Tower world.

Therefore, Wen Xishu said:

"Respected seniors, do you happen to have any intelligence this time? I'd like to ask for some guidance."

Ji Boda smiled:

"Little friend, do you still plan to use guides in exchange for guides this time?"

Wen Xishu suddenly noticed something else. That was the brooch pinned to the chests of both Ji Boda and Liu Ruyan.

"The two of you... are teachers at the Desire Tower Academy?"

Ji Boda nodded in great satisfaction:

"Last time I was thinking, such an outstanding young man, why aren't you from our academy?"

"Since you can recognize our accessories, I suppose you are also from the Desire Tower Academy?"

Wen Xishu didn't answer the question, but instead asked another:

"Did the two of you borrow some prop from the Supplies Department... Why are you always able to match into the same instance?"

Liu Ruyan and Ji Boda were now even more certain that this kid belonged to the Desire Tower Academy.

Liu Ruyan's expression softened quite a bit:

"A purple-tier prop, the Mandarin Duck Locks. It allows two people of different genders to go to the same zone and execute the same mission. It must be used before entering the Three Towers."

Wen Xishu broadened his horizons:

"This item... does it belong to the two of you? Or old principal Albert?"

Ji Boda said:

"It's ours. My wife and I obtained this prop after completing ten consecutive love-related missions."

"It's rumored there are also the Comrades' Wrinklets. They have a similar effect, but are limited to the same gender."

"The old principal seems to possess that particular item."

Wen Xishu suddenly smiled:

"Supposing, and I'm just supposing, as a student of the academy, could I borrow this prop from the two of you?"

Ji Boda laughed heartily:

"Hahahaha, that won't do. The Supplies Department has asked us for this item several times, but we never agreed to lend it out."

"The atmosphere in the Desire Tower Academy is a bit wayward... Eh, recent students are increasingly fond of taking shortcuts. This tendency to take shortcuts fosters other crooked trends."

"Exploring the Desire Tower is a sacred endeavor. Other props are fine, but items like this that allow men and women to enter a certain zone together—you students... only ever use them to do *that* kind of thing."

Wen Xishu could roughly guess what *that* kind of thing was.

Things like "Come on, I'll take you to open a room in the Desire Tower world," and so on.

Liu Ruyan also added:

"Although exploring the Desire Tower is simple, it shouldn't be gamified. In this regard, the children of the Desire Tower Academy fall short compared to those of the Slaughter Tower Academy."

Because they lack a sense of crisis. Wen Xishu made a mental evaluation.

He didn't plan to waste any more time and asked:

"I truly am a student of the Three Towers Academy, but this time I don't have any intelligence to exchange. Yet I really want to know about the guide for a certain area in River City on the sixth floor."

Ji Boda and Liu Ruyan exchanged glances. They hadn't expected this youth to span such a vast range of tower climbing.

At the same time, the two decided to ask the doubt they hadn't voiced last time:

"Little friend, what level of completion did you achieve last time?"

This was a critical question. Wen Xishu pondered, if I say level six...

That would basically be equivalent to blowing my own cover, right?

Yet saying level five or level four didn't seem appropriate either, as he wasn't sure whether level five or four facilities had recently appeared in the bunker.

However, these two might very well know.

So in this situation, lying might leave the other party with a bad impression.

A person's value is sometimes self-bestowed. Wen Xishu was the type of person who would never keep a low profile when he should be high-profile.

Take the present moment, for instance. He knew that if he acted with low profile, it might instead result in being looked down upon by the other party.

In a place like the academy, you either respect backgrounds or you respect talent. If you are too mediocre, the teachers will look down on you just the same.

Wen Xishu thought for a moment and said:

"Apologies, although the two of you are my teachers, I really cannot answer this question."

Ji Boda was clearly somewhat displeased.

Last time, the academy wasn't open yet, so it was fine if you were a prospective freshman who didn't know my identity. But now that you've enrolled and know I'm a teacher, what airs are you putting on with me?

Of course, his facial expression didn't change, and the smile remained plastered on his face.

However, Wen Xishu's next sentence immediately made Ji Boda and Liu Ruyan change their attitude:

"I promised the old principal that all my achievements are classified. But I do share a bond of fate with the two teachers."

"Therefore, if Teacher Ji and Teacher Liu insist on checking, you can only trouble yourselves to ask Principal Albert."

Liu Ruyan was someone capable of observing subtle changes in facial expressions. She noticed the utter calm and composure with which Wen Xishu spoke Albert's name, and instantly realized this kid wasn't lying.

Ji Boda looked at Liu Ruyan for verification, and Liu Ruyan nodded slightly.

Ji Boda was shocked.

What kind of freshman level warranted being personally overseen by the old principal?

Having classified achievements was unheard of! If not for the fact that this youth had previously left a stellar impression on Ji Boda, and his wife Liu Ruyan had hinted that the other party wasn't lying...

Ji Boda would have thought the kid was just acting cool.

Yet acting cool in the academy usually took the form of—"My dad is an official at such-and-such bureau," and the like. No freshman would ever dare use Albert directly as their backing.

"Then, you should at least tell us your name."

Wen Xishu still shook his head:

"Teacher, even just a name conceals secrets. You'll still have to ask the principal for that."

He remained calm and composed, neither servile nor overbearing.

This greatly piqued Ji Boda's interest. Ji Boda thought to himself, even a name is a secret?

Does the bunker really have such an awesome family? Even the Wen and Xun families couldn't pull this off.

Wen Xishu's name truly was a secret.

Because a simple check would reveal that Wen Xun belonged to the Slaughter Tower Academy.

For a student of the Slaughter Tower Academy to appear in the Desire Tower rest area was inherently unreasonable.

Therefore, Wen Xishu shifted this problem onto Albert. At the same time, he was utilizing the pair of Liu and Ji.

Facing Albert, Wen Xishu wasn't afraid of exposing his secrets. Before an entity of that level, merely facing them gave him the sensation of being completely seen through.

As it happened, Wen Xishu also deeply wished to use the Liu-Ji pair to probe Albert's attitude and appropriately demonstrate some value before Albert.

When everyone suspects you harbor some secret capable of surviving a desperate situation... you had best actually harbor such a secret.

"What is it you want to know?" Ji Boda realized he wouldn't be able to pry anything out.

He might as well help this youth out and then ask the old principal after the Desire Tower mission was completed.

However, the old principal was elusive, and that crazy phone call from the "mysterious CEO" was impossible to get through to anyway. Who knew if he'd happen to run into the old principal.

Wen Xishu stated:

"I don't know much about this zone mission... but the rough keywords are: sixth floor, young girl, falling, parrot, River City."

Ji Boda and Liu Ruyan exchanged glances once more. Wasn't this precisely the mission that had filled Wenren Jing with guilt for so long?

Wenren Jing had many regrets in his lifetime, but this mission could be considered at the level of a white moonlight.

It was a colossal regret from Wenren Jing's earliest days of tower climbing.

"Regarding this mission, we do know a little. But unfortunately, I cannot tell you how to proceed."

"That little girl named Tang Rui, she didn't want love."

"You know Wenren Jing, right?"

Wen Xishu nodded. Ji Boda continued:

"The heartthrob of this academy, the premier figure of the Desire Tower, demonstrated immense talent very early on."

"He constantly kept in mind that the Desire Tower is a tower of love. He used love to heal others."

"Of course, not the kind of... sordid means that many of our students nowadays think it is."

"Wenren Jing was adept at comforting people, and coupled with his peerless appearance, he resembled a man who had walked straight out of a dream."

Wen Xishu thought to himself, for the word "peerless" to be applied to a male, this Wenren Jing must truly be extraordinary.

"When dealing with Tang Rui, he discovered that Tang Rui had suicidal thoughts. At that time, he was very arrogant. He believed all suicidal tendencies stemmed from not being recognized and valued by the world."

"He thought the problems in the education of her original family were what led the young girl to seek death."

"While there were certainly aspects of that, Wenren Jing was very naive back then, believing all problems could be resolved simply by having someone love her."

"Over the course of seven days, he took Tang Rui to experience all romantic things."

"She loved fine food, so Wenren Jing cooked the most delicious meal she had ever eaten in her life for her."

"She loved to sing. Although her voice wasn't very good, Wenren Jing still invited her to sing together in an open-air park, attracting applause from numerous tourists."

"She wanted to travel far and wide to take a look, but due to zone map restrictions, some places were inaccessible and Wenren Jing couldn't achieve it. So within the shortest possible time, he personally used a massive canvas to paint several views he considered the most beautiful in the world."

"He gave that little girl named Tang Rui... what could be described as the romance countless women dream of in their hearts."

"And he genuinely saw a light appear in Tang Rui's eyes."

"Yet in the end, Wenren Jing paid the price for his rashness. Mission completion level: level one completion."

"Even though that girl was exceptionally happy, having been loved by a man so outstanding he felt unreal, it still—remained merely the lowest completion level."

Ji Boda said:

"Wenren Jing was depressed for a very long time, and finally understood that what the girl wanted wasn't love, or... she wasn't such a superficial existence."

"The suffering she endured was of an entirely different kind."

"Wenren Jing later stated—

Every mission in the Desire Tower must be approached with sincerity. I overestimated my own charm, believing love could sweep away all the shadows in a girl's heart.

But it isn't so. Many people's lives are filled with suffering, and they never even get the chance to experience love, let alone suffer from a lack of it.

I grieve for my perfunctory attitude, and I became a jerk who doesn't know how the poor suffer when they lack grain. I grieve even more for her ending."

Wen Xishu was puzzled:

"How did he know the ending?"

Wen Xishu now knew the mission target was named Tang Rui, and he added:

"Generally speaking, once this mission is completed, you return directly. The target's ultimate ending... we actually don't know, do we?"

Ji Boda nodded:

"Indeed. But Wenren Jing later learned of the girl's ending during other missions in River City, on a later timeline."

"You might not know this, seeing as you're just a freshman who has recently started climbing the tower, right?"

"In reality, the possibility of anchoring exists within the Desire Tower. Wenren Jing blamed himself deeply, thinking that if only he could have been a bit more sincere and anchored that story..."

"Perhaps the girl wouldn't have died."

At this moment, Liu Ruyan spoke up unprompted:

"Wenren Jing... perhaps he also harbored some affection for that girl."

Ji Boda was slightly startled and looked at Liu Ruyan.

Liu Ruyan sighed:

"In the process of giving love to others, one often feels loved in return."

"He cared so much about that little girl, inevitably because that little girl had also captured his heart. Only, he knew clearly that a deep chasm lay between them."

"Many bunker people develop feelings for Three Tower people, but Wenren Jing knew very well he could not do so."

"He said later, he sincerely hoped someone could anchor that story and change that girl's ending."

"Yet to this day, no one has accomplished that. No one has changed that little girl's ending."

(The weight of two chapters to help you sleep~ But don't panic, hold tight to the author, there will still be updates during the day.)