Three Towers Game

Chapter 314 The Ghost Knocks on the Door Again

The significance of the market initially lay in providing Wenxi Tree with a sequence suitable for mastering the ultimate techniques.

But now, Wen Xishu has quietly left the bunker.

After exploring the eerie market area, his addiction to towers kicked in, and he embarked on a new challenge.

Unbeknownst to everyone, Dean Wen, who had just been strolling through the market and seemed quite interested in the various sequences... had vanished in the next second.

……

Rest area of the Ghost Tower.

The presence of the market resulted in fewer people in the rest area.

Wen Xishu's appearance went unnoticed.

He is currently preparing for the match in Tianyuan District.

Having acquired two new sequences, Wen Xishu discarded the original two Desire sequences: Sticking to the Rules and Repentance.

Two new sequences have been introduced: Mysterious Sequence 222: The Bewilderment of the Doppelganger, and Mysterious Sequence 159: The Karma of the Avengers.

One allows you to stop being alone, while the other makes your opponent hate you more, thus increasing the damage you inflict.

It is worth mentioning that Wen Xishu made another choice before loading the sequence.

His insane dice have unlocked new options.

The result of this roll of the dice was a completely new number.

Five, six, one.

There are only two options for this point.

Option 1: Unimpeded Passage. (Triggered when at least one six is rolled on each of the three dice; if multiple sixes are rolled, the number of passes increases. Effect: You will receive an invitation at the start of the game, and all three towers will be accessible.)
Receiving an invitation right from the start would be ideal, but Wen Xishu didn't choose that option.

Because he already had an invitation.

This time the level is the fifty-second floor, and Wen Xishu has an invitation on the fifty-second floor.

Wen Xishu received the invitation when he was on the 52nd floor of the Tower of Slaughter, but because the Tower of Slaughter did not have an invitation mechanism, the invitation was stored on the 52nd floor of the Tower of Slaughter.

Now Wen Xishu has finally climbed to this level, and he has already received the invitation.

Of course, at this stage, Wen Xishu is beginning to try to break his dependence on invitations.

For him, clearing the Tower of Ghosts was the most important thing.

Wen Xishu chose the second option, which was also a completely new option.

It is triggered only when the points reach 156.

It was only after this option appeared that Wen Xishu realized...

If we consider the dice as a racetrack, then six is the finish line and one is the starting line.

Five, six, one—it does indeed convey a sense of approaching the end, finally reaching the end, but then suddenly returning to the starting point.

The overall effect is as follows:
"When you select this option, you can try to define a difficulty level coefficient for the upcoming challenge. The difficulty level coefficient can be any level you have challenged before. If the difficulty level coefficient is lower than the current normal difficulty, the reward will not decrease. If the difficulty level coefficient is higher than the current difficulty, the reward will increase."

Wen Xishu understood this description.

Simply put, the current level is 52, so we can assume the difficulty is 52. Wenxi Tree can adjust the difficulty to the level he has challenged before without changing the content or the rewards.

For example, Wenxi Tree can transform the difficulty of a 52-story building into the difficulty of a 7-story Reverse Seven Apartment.

This will significantly reduce the magic resistance requirement and also reduce the monster's stats considerably.

But the most bizarre thing is that the rewards don't decrease as the difficulty decreases.

Wen Xishu had to admit that the Dice of Madness was indeed a genuine cheat device for constellation-level authority.

But Wen Xishu did not choose to lower the difficulty; instead, he chose to increase it.

The difficulty level of the 52nd floor was increased to the 64th floor by Wen Xishu.

Because back on the Ark, Wen Xishu was on the sixty-fourth floor.

He is someone who has challenged a difficulty level of over sixty floors.

Although that challenge had many regrets—Horn disappeared, and the Lord of the Ark was not defeated—…

However, Yuuki ultimately reaped a great harvest, having rescued Sirius.

Wen Xishu doesn't dislike the idea of frying fish with reduced difficulty, but she only does it occasionally.

What he was looking forward to was even greater excitement.

Getting back to the main point, after the options are determined by the inverted dice and the sequence is prepared...

Wen Xishu began to interpret the mission.

This mission, judging from its name alone, is going down the path of the supernatural and horror.

Welcome to the 52nd floor (difficulty increased to 64th floor). This floor's quest name: The Haunted Bar.

Have you ever heard of the Ghost Festival? In Longxia, there is a festival for ghosts. Legend has it that on this day, the gates of hell open wide, and evil spirits return to the human world to do many things.

This was undoubtedly a terrifying day. The most terrifying thing was that you and your friends were trapped in a closed bar. A rule told you that if you stepped out of the room, you would surely die. On the streets where ghosts had descended, you would die instantly...

But is it truly safe inside the house? Ghosts, carrying their hatred and resentment, have come to claim lives. Faced with this vengeful plague, how many of you will survive?

Please survive the night of Ghost Festival; if you can discover more of its secrets, all the better.

[Affection levels for this level: Aquarius, Virgo.]

After reading this option, Wen Xishu's first reaction was... No need for combat, that's good. It seems like this level requires some brainpower.

He then discovered that the task description had a thoughtfully added hint—

This level is related to your favorability rating.

Aquarius, Virgo?
It seems quite difficult for these to appear at the same time.

"Is it related to Virgo and lonely girls? It's hard to say... As for Aquarius."

Wen Xishu's impression of Aquarius was that she was a wicked woman, a pure person who liked to collect wicked people.

"It looks like I'll have to protect quite a few people."

"Also, the phrase 'fierce ghost plague' is quite strange. Does it mean... ghosts are as terrifying as a plague? Or is there really a plague called fierce ghosts that has descended?"

Wen Xishu frowned.

Such haphazard analysis will obviously yield no results.

As it turns out, the interpretation of a task and the actual performance you deliver can be two completely different stories.

Without much thought, Wen Xishu launched the login device.

……

The scene suddenly changed, and after a familiar dizziness, Wen Xishu opened her eyes.

Not long ago it was a bustling market, but suddenly I found myself in a bar with flashing lights that gave off a cold and gloomy feeling.

From the outside, the bar is a solitary two-story brick building standing on a secluded street corner.

The sign reads "Haven." It doesn't sound like a bar name; it sounds more like the name of a beverage shop.

The neon lights on the bar sign were missing a few letters, flickering on and off in the thick fog of the Ghost Festival night, emitting an ominous hissing sound.

The heavy oak door was tightly shut, with a rusty metal grille installed on the outside.

Wen Xishu looked around; it was dark and cramped.

The interior has no nightclub atmosphere whatsoever, relying solely on a few emergency lights at the bar and a few flickering candles for illumination.

The air was murky, mixed with the smell of cheap liquor residue, sweat, and a faint musty odor.

This looks like a bar on the verge of closing down.

Just as Wen Xishu had guessed, there were other people in the bar.

Everyone else was also looking at Wen Xishu.

But soon, their gazes changed again.

The first to speak was a middle-aged man with a fierce expression.

"Gentlemen, what are you going to do with me here? Do you know I'm a police officer?"

The man was nearly 50 years old, with a robust physique, a fierce look on his face, and a wary gaze.

He was wearing a durable jacket, and his waist was bulging. Wen Xishu guessed that this man was carrying a gun.

Logically speaking, Wen Xishu shouldn't care about guns, but without the power of the three phases, he would probably die if his head was blown off.

"You mean... you were also kidnapped?" a doctor asked.

The man who spoke was in his early forties, with a refined demeanor. He wore frameless glasses, a wrinkled shirt and sweater vest, and a stethoscope around his neck.

The man was clearly relieved when he heard that there were police officers.

“My name is Chen Ming. I am a doctor. Actually, this bar is not unfamiliar to me. After my wife died, I often had a drink here because it is the place where I first met her.”

"But everyone, I'm also very confused. How did I wake up here?"

Upon seeing the doctor produce his ID card and introduce himself, the policeman's hostile demeanor lessened.

"My name is Zhang Qiang."

The policeman only revealed his name; clearly, he was somewhat surprised to be there all of a sudden.

Wen Xishu realized... perhaps everyone had suddenly arrived here after waking up from a nap.

The End of xx? Let's all play a survival game? Something with ghosts?

He found it somewhat interesting.

Soon, the third person began to speak. This was the oldest person there, nearly sixty years old. Wen Xishu stared at him carefully for a long time, confirming that this was just a strange old man, not the old man who sold tea.

"You... just call me Old Zhou. I'm just like everyone else, I suddenly got here. We... we're not all kidnapped, are we?"

Old Zhou said with some trepidation.

He was around 60 years old, with sparse, gray hair. He wore a faded old priest's robe, a worn-out cross on his chest, and always clutched a string of tattered rosary beads in his hand, his knuckles white from the force of his grip.

The fourth person was the youngest, a girl.

"I...you can just call me Xiaoya. I'm a nurse...I don't know how I got here. I've never been here before."

Xiaoya looked to be in her early twenties, with a haggard face and dark circles under her eyes. She kept unconsciously rubbing the cuffs of her nurse's uniform.

Wen Xishu silently noted down the information.

"No matter what happens next... Doctor Chen Ming is the most suspicious."

"No one else knows about the bar, but Chen Ming is the only one who has been here."

Of course, there were more people in the room than just that. Soon, a man named Afei, who was about the same age as Xiaoya, spoke up:
"My name is Afei. I'm a tech geek. I was playing games at home when I started to wonder if I had suddenly died. How did I wake up to find you all here... and this place I've never been before?"

Ah Fei was in his early twenties, pale and thin, huddled in a hoodie, wearing headphones that were almost out of power, with a laptop lying in front of him, which was also almost out of power.

On the computer screen, some kind of circuit diagram appeared.

The last person, the sixth person, also spoke:

"So, you're all victims?"

The sixth person, around 50 years old, was well-maintained but couldn't hide his recent disheveled state. He wore an expensive cashmere sweater, a gold watch on his wrist, and his eyes were shrewd and calculating, with a hint of arrogance.

"My name is Li Wei, and I'm a businessman. I'm quite busy. I'll be leaving now." The sixth man saw that this was just a dilapidated bar with an odd atmosphere and didn't think it was a very secure prison.

So he went to the door and tried to open the bar door.

Everyone has finished introducing themselves.

Wen Xishu suddenly stopped Li Wei:
“Mr. Li, don’t rush off. My name is Wen Xishu, and I’m a teacher. If you go out now, something bad might happen.”

Since everyone is pretending to be innocent and acting like a victim...

So Wen Xishu had no choice but to take charge of the game himself.

Upon hearing that something bad was going to happen outside, Li Wei scoffed:

"What bad thing could happen?"

Wen Xishu said:
"Everyone, what day is it today?"

With the mission details explained, Wen Xishu naturally knew that the theme of this mission was related to the Ghost Festival in Longxia.

Sure enough, as soon as he said that, some people's expressions changed immediately.

Xiaoya's face was deathly pale, and even the sixty-year-old priest, Old Zhou, was trembling.

Doctor Chen Ming raised his head:
"Today is the first day of the Ghost Festival. Teacher Wen, do you also believe in these nonsense stories?"

first day?
It seems that Longxia's Ghost Festival is different from the Ghost Festival in my previous life.

Wen Xishu said:
The era when "Confucius did not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits" has passed. The end times are here, haven't you experienced enough outrageous things?

These words were so convincing that the arrogant businessman Li Wei immediately dared not go any further.

"The apocalypse has turned many things that only existed in our imagination into reality..."

"Everyone, don't you think it's terrifying that we've inexplicably ended up here?"

"If we could just open the door and leave, wouldn't the people who kidnapped us be incredibly stupid?"

Li Wei immediately shrank back and sat back in his original seat.

At this moment, Chen Ming nodded:
"Teacher Wen, you're right. But how do we get out of this predicament now?"

"We can't just wait here, can we?"

Just then, the lights in the bar suddenly started flashing continuously.

The gramophone in the bar suddenly started playing music that sent chills down your spine.

"I... want to forget you."

This is a lyric, with a somewhat melancholic tone. The singer is a man, and he uses a theatrical style.

After the lyrics ended, the phonograph emitted an electromagnetic sound, followed by a somewhat mocking instruction.

"Welcome here, you scheming folks."

"The Ghost Festival has arrived, the gates of hell are wide open, and countless ghosts roam freely. Thank you, great tower! For making the fears that exist in our hearts real!"

"Next, let's insert the first rule."

"The first person to try to enter the bar is about to arrive. Please judge together whether it is a human or a ghost."

"If you all think it's a ghost, then congratulations, it will die instantly."

"Then let the game begin."

Wen Xishu immediately understood; so that's how it was.

If everyone believes the person outside the door is a ghost, then regardless of whether they are human or ghost, the person outside the door will be instantly killed.

But isn't this too simple?

"What do you mean? Does this game think we're idiots?"

“Since the ghost will die as long as we believe the person outside the door is a ghost, why don’t we just assume everyone we meet tonight is a ghost?” said Officer Zhang Qiang.

Wen Xishu also found it strange.

This looks like another fake human game, very similar to the "open the door and release fake humans" mechanic from Kashima Night...

But if the rules are actually simpler, then the difficulty of these fifty-odd levels seems far too easy.

Not right.

Wen Xishu asked:
"What would be the cost of killing the wrong person?"

Everyone was silent.

Wen Xishu continued:
"The game isn't that simple, everyone. Let's assume ghosts really exist in this world, then as for Ghost Festival..."

"Will the people we mistakenly killed today become ghosts too?"

"Who can guarantee that there will be no consequences for wrongful killing?"

"And there's one more terrifying thing."

Xiaoya asked in a trembling voice:

"What...what happened?"

Wen Xishu's calm and rationality clearly made him the backbone of the group.

"The phonograph said that everyone agreed it was a ghost... and that's how you kill both ghosts and people."

"What we can be sure of is that if everyone agrees that it is a person, then the door will open, and if it really is a person, then we will have saved a person."

"If it's a ghost, we'll be killed."

Wen Xishu looked around:
"But there's another situation where some people think it's a ghost, and others think it's a person?"

"The phonograph didn't say what would happen in this situation."

Zhang Qiang said angrily:

"Bullshit, the situation you described doesn't exist. As long as we agree, the situation you described won't happen."

Yes, everyone is in agreement. If I vote against it, you vote against it too; if I vote for it, you vote for it too. In this way... there won't be a situation where both "oppose" and "for" are present at the same time.

But then Xi Shu sneered:

"Suppose one of us misses someone very much... and that person is knocking on the door, what should we do?"

It's different from the level with the fake man.

Wen Xishu realized that each character in this project should have their own story.

He kept a close eye on the doctor, Chen Ming, who was just as calm as he was.

Zhang Qiang also had problems. The rules were clearly not clearly explained, and the consequences of a wrong judgment are not ignored just because they are not mentioned.

But he was already impatient to kill everything that existed outside the door.

Wen Xishu certainly remembered that this challenge was closely related to Aquarius.

In other words, in this level, your teammates might all be villains.

Perhaps their story is more terrifying than the ghost outside the door.

This is different from the trial of the fake man, where you are the sole decision-maker. In this trial, Wen Xishu is merely a voter.

There are currently three possible scenarios.

If everyone votes against it, both the people and the ghosts outside will die.

Unanimously in favor, the door is open; anyone can come in, and anyone who is evil will be wiped out.

There is another situation where some people agree and some people disagree.

What will happen in this situation?

Boom, boom, boom.

The familiar knocking sound brought back memories of the night on Deer Island for Wen Xishu.