Three Towers Game

Chapter 347 Bunker Love Story
The day after Wen Xishu returned, the entire bunker celebrated the miracle he had brought.

Meanwhile, Yoshiki Miyamoto was tortured to death.

The Miyamoto family probably guessed what was going on, but dared not make any rash moves.

Soon after, the Miyamoto family began trying to contact Wen Xishu, hoping to get him to come and have a talk with them.

Unable to find Wen Xishu, they contacted William Hawkner.

In fact, William Hawkner and Wen Xishu have some personal relationship now. Wen Xishu has high hopes for this future richest man in the world.

Money can influence everything, including the gods of the Yuuki Shrine.

If it weren't for William Hockner, Wen Xishu wouldn't have been able to raise the status of those who climbed the Ghost Tower so quickly.

William Hawkner could almost bypass the Inner Court to see him.

But just because something is easy to do doesn't mean it should appear easy to do.

William Hawkner said to the head of the Miyamoto family:
"This is a difficult matter."

After extorting a large sum of money from the Miyamoto family with this one sentence, he went to Wen Xishu's location and told her that he had extorted a large sum of money from the Miyamoto family, but whether or not to meet her was entirely up to Wen Xishu.

William Hawkner had also figured out how to take the money and do nothing.

Wen Xishu liked this person's honesty and his style of being upfront about even accepting bribes and being greedy for money.

But... he refused to meet the Miyamoto family.

The reason is that he has already started climbing the tower.

……

……

Most of the time, Wen Xishu was in a situation where his friends were recuperating in the bunker while he was climbing the tower.

But there are also a few times when he is resting while his friends are climbing the tower.

Wen Xishu rejected the Miyamoto family, saying he had started climbing the tower, but that wasn't actually the case.

He was waiting for a few people to return.

In fact, during yesterday's conversation, Wenren Jing also mentioned something that was rather worrying.

Evelyn hasn't returned for four days.

This is an extremely dangerous number; one can only stay in the Three Towers for a maximum of seven days, and many people will not stay for the maximum time.

At least Evelyn and the old headmaster are not the type to stay for the full seven days.

Another one is the old principal, who has been here for three days. Wen Xishu is waiting to work with the old principal to handle some miscellaneous tasks in the bunker.

At the same time, Wen Xishu also thought of something else: whether the cost of using "Time Annotation" might be related to the Honkai.

He wanted to ask some questions about the "source of the Honkai" that Evelyn was investigating.

But Evelyn and the old headmaster were not there. He rarely had such a time, being in the bunker while everyone else was climbing the tower.

……

……

Actually, it wasn't just the principal and Evelyn.

While Wen Xiange stabilized the situation by risking his life, a few of Wen Xishu's friends were unable to handle the widespread low morale and chose to climb the tower.

Zheng is that kind of person.

Zheng is currently ranked fourth on the Tower of Ghosts ladder, making him practically Wen Xishu's protégé. This comes amidst widespread negative speculation about Wen Xishu's disappearance from the ladder…

He was at his wits' end.

He was a man of few words, not good with speech. In fact, he had wondered at the time if Wen Xishu was dead.

But he couldn't keep everyone calm like Wen Xiange.

All he could do was, if Brother Wen really died... he should at least inherit his spirit of climbing towers without regard for his life, and risking his life without climbing towers.

then……

He embarked on his journey through the Tower of Ghosts.

The Tower of Mystery has twenty-four floors.

This wasn't Zheng Zai's highest level; each time he climbed the tower, the level fluctuated. However, facing twenty-four levels, Zheng Zai knew very well that this was a potentially fatal tower-climbing journey.

There are many tasks on the 24th floor. The task Zheng was assigned this time was called "The Bizarre Court".

This task is not complicated.

On the first day of the mission, Zheng was required to visit twelve households to observe the family atmosphere.

By observing the living atmosphere of twelve families and gathering various information, they determined who were good people and who were bad people, and sentenced them accordingly.

If given to someone who was once a good person and was acquitted by Zheng Zai, Zheng Zai will unlock some of their experiences and learn more about the true history.

However, if certain people are wrongly judged, such as allowing evildoers to escape punishment while good people are punished, it will attack and corrupt Zheng Zai's spirit, making him paranoid and more likely to make wrong judgments.

Some families seem harmonious and loving, but they may have a basement where you can see marks on the wife's body from domestic violence.

Some families seem very disharmonious; they might smash bowls while eating, and the father might point at his daughter's head and berate her for being useless, telling her to get out of the house.

However, upon closer observation, it can be discovered that the father would secretly go to his daughter's workplace, hand the money to her colleague, and then ask the colleague to use various methods to give the money to his daughter.

The purpose was to prevent his daughter from thinking that the money came from her father, and to protect her self-esteem.

Of course, not all families exhibit this contrast. When you notice a contrast in certain families, you might encounter those that seem perfectly normal and harmonious, yet exude a slightly eerie atmosphere, making you wonder if there's something wrong with them...

In reality, there is no problem.

In short, all twelve families have problems, some of which are serious and involve crimes, requiring Zheng to impose penalties.

Some cases are purely due to the generation gap between two generations. People who care deeply about their family members but cannot understand each other have conflicts and need Zheng to provide the "truth".

If this task were given to Wen Xishu, who has a perfect score in reading comprehension, is extremely observant, and can even violently generate comments, it would be incredibly easy.

But Zheng Zai is easily deceived.

He has made three wrong judgments in a row.

For example, in the first case, Zheng made a good family wrongly convicted because all the neighbors said that someone in this family would cry every night, which was suspected to be domestic violence.

Zheng imposed punishments, thus turning good people into evil ones.

He also contracted the "madness" buff as a result.

There are different levels of madness; the higher the level, the greater the likelihood of malicious judgments or bizarre rulings.

Under mental torture, Zheng Zai had the urge to "sentence them all to death" more than once.

He seemed to sense a tremendous public opinion sweeping over him.

It's as if countless people are shouting loudly behind us:

"Death penalty! Death penalty! Death penalty!"

Yes, he is about to face the verdict of the fourth family. According to the information Zheng has gathered so far, this family consists of three people: the father and mother are divorced, the child lives with the mother, and it is suspected that the mother had an affair. After learning the truth, the father believes that the child is not his.

Zheng is about to make a judgment on this family, determining who is good and who is bad, and giving corresponding punishments.

Zheng had already made three mistakes, and after his mind was corrupted, he wanted to sentence the entire family of three to death more than once.

I could even hear babbling in my ears...

"They all deserve to die! The young deserve to die! The old deserve to die! The men deserve to die! The women deserve to die! Guilty! Guilty! All of them are guilty!"

Just like internet sentencing, there are only two paths: acquittal and death penalty.

Of course, Zheng had more than one such voice in his mind.

"Women are innocent! I cannot participate in the hunt for women!"

"What do you mean women are innocent! It's clearly men who are the vulnerable group!"

"That bastard deserves to die, that bitch deserves to die, and that bastard beast deserves to die!" It was as if tens of thousands of people were shouting in his mind.

Zheng was overwhelmed by the continuous mistakes, leaving him at a loss and under immense pressure, even contemplating suicide.

But at that moment, Zheng suddenly received a message.

[Since Wenxi Tree has reached level seven completion, everyone in the bunker will receive the reward 'Dual Voices of Desire'.]

The following is a description of the double-voiced desire.

Zheng suddenly perked up.

"That's great! That's great! Brother Wen is still alive! He's still alive! Not only is he alive, but he also brought the faction rewards. This is wonderful!"

The anger in his heart was temporarily suppressed at this moment because of the news that his best friend was alive.

Jung Jae-ye finally resisted the mental pollution caused by his delirium and began to recall the details...

But he still couldn't make a judgment.

He soon discovered that although he possessed Brother Wen's theories and was not afraid of the supernatural, and could even devour supernatural beings, he still lacked the ability to judge human nature.

If the verdict is wrong, he could become a "gendered convict," a "wholesaler of indiscriminate death sentences," and so on.

Zheng was plunged into despair.

The eeriness of the Tower of Ghosts made him realize that his talent was insufficient.

He did not collapse because he was in danger, but he did collapse because he controlled the lives and deaths of others.

"What should I do... what should I do... what information did I miss? Where did I go wrong?"

Inside the enormous, eerie courtroom, Zheng Zai's expression gradually contorted into a ferocious grimace.

Just before he was about to lose control, he suddenly noticed a message in the lower right corner of his field of vision.

The strange desire to use two voices.

Wenxi Tree wasn't the first to use the universal feature that was unlocked by Wenxi Tree!

Just before Zheng was on the verge of collapse, he discovered that the Twin Voices of Desire were already activated.

This is a very difficult thing.

First, both parties need to climb the tower at the same time. One party needs to climb the Tower of Deception and the other needs to climb the Tower of Lust. They also need to be on the same floor. Even if they are on the same floor, it depends on whether they are on the same mission.

Even if they are on the same mission... it depends on whether the two people have a relationship.

The better the relationship, the longer the call can last.

Wen Xishu did indeed clear the way, enabling the cross-tower joint operation of the Desire Tower and the Ghost Tower to go from zero to one.

However, the stringent conditions also prevent many people from experiencing this feature.

Zheng was surprised to find a message in the lower right corner of his vision.

He tried to focus his gaze on that spot, but in an instant... Zheng's murmurs in his mind suddenly decreased in volume.

A familiar voice appeared in Zheng's mind.

"Hey, it really works! Let me guess, you're Zheng Zai, right!"

Time seemed to slow down, and Zheng felt as if the sound was heavenly music when he heard it.

"Ah... Ah Miao?"

"Hey, it's me! Wow, we have so much time to chat, that's great! What happened to you over there? Is there anything I can help you with?"

Zheng's mind went blank for a moment.

"No... wait, Ah Miao, what are you doing in the Tower of Desire? Why are you climbing the tower too?"

Ah Miao excitedly said:
“I’ve been keeping an eye on you, Zheng Zai. You look fierce, but you have a really good heart. I noticed you when Ashu hid his name on the Heavenly Ladder Ranking.”

To be precise, it's not just that I noticed you, it's that I've been watching you all along.

Ah Miao wanted to say that, but then she felt it might be too unreserved.

"You looked so listless back then, it was heartbreaking to see. Then you started climbing the tower. I know you so well."

"You must be thinking that since Ashu has met with misfortune, you want to follow in Ashu's footsteps, right?"

Zheng had never felt this way before; his heart was beating even faster than when he ate that strange grandfather that night.

Ah Miao's voice is like sunshine, making people feel warm and comfortable.

“I thought to myself, I have to do that too. But I know I’m not cut out to climb the Tower of Ghosts; courage is just the most basic requirement for climbing the Tower of Ghosts.”

"Besides, I want to see you."

Zheng Zai felt as if something was stuck in his throat, and he couldn't speak.

“I used to climb the Tower of Desire, but then something happened and I had to risk my life in the Tower of Ghosts. Later, Ashu arranged for me to work at the Bunker Security Bureau, but everyone advised me not to risk my life, saying that the Tower of Ghosts was already full of people, and that I should just focus on climbing the Tower of Desire instead, saying that I had an inspiring power.”

"Hey, so I started climbing the Tower of Desire. Although I was confused, I always tried my best to help the people in the Tower of Desire, and I never thought about enjoying myself or anything like that."

"Jung Jae, has anyone ever praised you as a great person who makes others feel safe?"

Zheng shook his head, and after a long while, he said:
"Everyone is afraid of me and says I'm a freak."

"Then you must have put in a lot of effort to continue loving everyone," A-Miao said with a smile.

These words, however, left Zheng Zai in a daze.

When the sunlight shines into the deepest part of your heart, besides the warmth, the child hidden deep within will surely feel a sharp pain.

Zheng felt a bit of pain. In this environment on the verge of collapse, hearing A Miao's words made him want to cry.

“We should thank Ashu; he gave us the courage to face life, right?” Amiao said.

She spoke for a very long time. Normally, even with both voices activated, she couldn't say this much.

Unless, you have very deep feelings for someone.

Zheng nodded:
"Yes, I have always been grateful to Brother Wen."

Ah Miao said:

"I actually... also thought that Ashu was dead at that time. I don't have the same fanatical faith as the Venerable One."

“Zheng Zai, life is very short, especially in our time. You never know when you might suddenly be gone.”

"But thankfully, Ashu came back and brought a new miracle."

"I want to help you! What's the situation on your end? Do you need my help?"

When Ah-Miao mentioned that she might suddenly disappear one day, Zheng Zai actually thought that Ah-Miao's next sentence would be something else.

But Ah Miao only expressed her gratitude for Brother Wen's safe return.

He felt a faint sense of loss.

But soon, he realized... that there were some things he should say himself.

In particular, when he noticed that the call had lasted so long, he suddenly said:

“Ah Miao, after we get back to the bunker, I think… I… I have so much to say to you.”

Ah Miao smiled sweetly:
"Alright, but now you need to give me some clues. I'm not here to just coast along in the Tower of Desire!"

Zheng has completely recovered:
"no problem!"

With A-Miao's help, he can activate the skill "Adjournment," allowing A-Miao to conduct a targeted investigation into the truth behind these families in the Desire Tower.

It turns out that miracles really do happen in life, and Zheng is incredibly grateful to Wen Xishu at this moment.

In his mind, this was a stroke of good luck, a turn of events that brought him from the brink of collapse in the face of a wrong verdict to a glimmer of hope.

Brother Wen saved my life again.

Now, he feels that if he joins forces with A-Miao... they can find the complete plot.

Perhaps, I can become the second person after Brother Wen to achieve Level 6 completion in the Tower of Ghosts!
(There are still many details to be perfected in the new dungeon, so let's write about other characters for now.)
(End of this chapter)