Three Towers Game

Chapter 391 The Neglected Girl
Another new day.

Just as the Holy Grail War was always conducted in secret, the commotion in Jiangcheng at night did not attract much attention during the day.

Perhaps because no one died, the explosion in an office building in Jiangcheng was quickly classified as an explosion caused by aging safety facilities.

During the day, Wen Xishu tried searching for news from other cities.

Shenzhen, the city of demons.

Believe it or not, there really are. Although these cities are inaccessible, once Tang Rui leaves the Jiangcheng area, she returns to the true apocalypse.

But in Jiangcheng, it seems that these cities exist and have trade relations.

It seems that everyone in Jiangcheng, except for Tang Rui, is free to travel to other cities.

It was as if the apocalypse had never come.

Besides—the eerie night, the bizarre ghost stories, and the eerie downpour.

Wen Xishu has been in this city for several days, but the rain in the city has never stopped.

He browsed the community posts and found that the people of Jiangcheng had already started using memes.

"At first, people thought it was just an ordinary rainstorm..."

The various tropes from the apocalyptic novels have appeared in Jiangcheng, causing a shortage of goods in the city's supermarkets.

Wen Xishu felt that everything was incredibly real. He rarely encountered such a realistic simulation.

It's as if this river city is a real place.

So much so that Wen Xishu thought that if this was that girl's ability, it would definitely be a top-twenty level ability.

Although everything feels very real, there are also some parts that feel very incongruous.

Just before nightfall, Wen Xishu finished reading all the news and was certain that none of the news reports had mentioned the office building explosion in Jiangcheng's CBD.

It's not that there haven't been any reports, but at least they haven't sparked much discussion. There have been all sorts of strange tales these past few days... but the people of Jiangcheng seem to know nothing about them.

So many days of rain, succubi devouring people, taxi drivers hunting couples, office building explosions... but no one is discussing the ghost stories.

You should know that there were survivors last night; the lawyer witnessed the strange things.

And Teacher Tan witnessed the strange state of his student.

But they all fell silent.

Wen Xishu felt this was unreasonable, so before nightfall, he asked Tang Rui to investigate some things.

……

……

Night fell quickly again.

Tang Rui and Wen Xishu were already familiar with the routine. The two of them sat cross-legged, like a couple in a martial arts world practicing the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra together.

"You were online all day. You wouldn't tell me when I asked you. What did you discover?" Tang Rui said before entering the dream world to begin creating a new villain.

Wen Xishu said:
"I have a guess as to who is causing trouble, but it's just a guess, and I'm not sure if it's what I think it is."

"Anyway, we have to give it a try, but I can remind you of something."

Tang Rui said:

"what?"

Wen Xishu raised a finger:
"Do you remember when we were creating Jiang Zhaonan, we had this option?"

"In Jiang Zhaonan's childhood, there is a second story that describes how Jiang Zhaonan's teacher paid special attention to her and cared for her deeply."

"We now know that this description actually requires guessing in the direction of darkness."

"You... know what that means, right?"

Wen Xishu felt a little guilty; this was like reopening someone's wounds.

Tang Rui smiled:
"Xi Shu, don't overthink it. I've let go of the past. Hmm, I know what you mean. Jiang Zhaonan's teacher may have done something bad to her."

Tang Rui also said what Wen Xishu hadn't said:

"Do you think this is similar to my experience?"

It seems he has truly let go of the past, and Wen Xishu also breathed a sigh of relief.

He said:
"Yes."

"The setting is Jiangcheng. When creating the female ghost story, this option appeared. It might be a coincidence."

Wen Xishu had actually made a guess. But Tang Rui still didn't understand.

Wen Xishu then said:

"By the way, do you think Teacher Tan from the last round actually exists?"

Tang Rui nodded:
"This Jiangcheng is almost identical to the Jiangcheng I know. I suppose the people in Jiangcheng are also the same people from Jiangcheng?"

Wen Xishu said:
"I mean, hypothetically, if we hadn't created Jiang Yaozu in the last round, do you think... Teacher Tan would still exist?"

Tang Rui thought for a moment and nodded:

"She really exists, doesn't she?"

Wen Xishu said:
"Yes, she does exist, but let me guess, your investigation revealed that Teacher Tan and that lawyer from yesterday have forgotten what happened, right?"

Tang Rui said:

"Yes."

Wen Xishu pressed further:
Don't you find it strange?

Tang Rui shook her head:

"It was alright. I remember I did something to make Teacher Tan think it was a dream."

Wen Xishu said:
"Yes, it's a dream, but if you woke up and found that the office building in your dream had really exploded, would you still think the same way?"

"And if I'm not mistaken, Teacher Tan doesn't even remember this incident."

Tang Rui understood:
"Yes, she really doesn't remember, and she doesn't remember my request from yesterday either."

Wen Xishu's expression turned serious:
“You see, she does exist objectively, but her past experiences have changed.”

Tang Rui had already sensed that something was wrong:
"But... what does that prove?"

Wen Xishu said:
"Let's enter the dream first."

……

……

Overwhelmed with mixed feelings, Wen Xishu soon drifted into a dream.

Wen Xishu skillfully began to create the third villain.

This time, he sat upright in front of the control panel and operated it skillfully.

Please select your target gender.

Wen Xishu chose the woman without hesitation.

Sure enough, the girl's voice on the electronic screen began to show anticipation:
"Hey, sister, are you going to create another pitiful girl? Don't try to save her, that's not what she wants. Ghost stories should be about slaughtering everything in their path. If she's redeemed, she'll just become scrap."

Tang Rui really wanted to speak, really wanted to ask this girl what she was trying to do.

However, Wen Xishu is the main character now.

Wen Xishu didn't ask any more questions and quickly began selecting other information.

For his first choice, he selected A: The girl's father always got along well with the neighbors.

The deductions then follow:
The girl's father knew his wife was having an affair with the neighbor next door, but to beg her to stay home, he always turned a blind eye. Sometimes, he would even cleverly find excuses to go out, giving his wife and the neighbor time to be together.

[Girl unlocks a new trait: integration.]

After choosing the family members, the main event quickly followed.

That is, the girl's childhood experiences.

[Please select Jiang Keren's childhood experiences (multiple selections allowed).]

[Experience 1: Jiang Keren is very likable; she receives several times more fatherly love than others.]

[Experience Two: Jiang Keren has a very talented mother who always helps Jiang Keren build good relationships.]

[Experience 3: Jiang Keren's teacher paid close attention to her and always showed her extra care.]

[Experience 4: Jiang Keren's younger siblings especially love and care for her.]

"Option two from the round before last has become option three in this round... It's just a name change, everything else is exactly the same."

Tang Rui's voice appeared in Wen Xishu's mind.

Wen Xishu also had a feeling that he had guessed correctly, and this time, Tang Rui also noticed something was wrong.

That option reappeared.

The other three options essentially mean the same thing. Jiang Keren's mother is... very good at seducing men. And Jiang Keren's characteristic is "integration."

This skill will likely allow Jiang Keren to integrate into many families.

As a result, Jiang Keren received "several times the fatherly love," because she had more than one father. Naturally, her mother also used her body to help Jiang Keren get into various prestigious schools.

Correspondingly, with so many fathers, there were also many brothers and sisters.

Therefore, the other three options are all the same, but only experience three is what Wen Xishu values ​​the most.

Because experience three is exactly the same as Jiang Zhaonan's childhood experience two in the previous round.

Wen Xishu decisively chose this one.

Subsequently, unsurprisingly, Wen Xishu and Tang Rui both witnessed Jiang Keren's tragic childhood experiences—a pitiful girl who encountered a beastly tutor.

Tang Rui actually experienced this.

I may say I've let go, but the scars in my heart will always remain. Sometimes, when I stroll through the rainy nights of Wuhan, I think back to my past experiences.

There's a feeling that no matter how long the rain lasts, it won't wash away the filth on your body.

No girl can truly let go of such a past.

The girl's laughter came from the electronic screen:
"Sister, you didn't avoid this option. It seems you really forgot."

Tang Rui did not respond, nor did Wen Xishu.

But Wen Xishu, overwhelmed with mixed feelings, has begun to communicate with Tang Rui.

"Tang Rui... I already have the answer."

Next, a third round of selection was needed, but after Wen Xishu finished the second round, he had already made up his mind about one thing.

He believed his guess.

"What answer?" Tang Rui asked, puzzled.

“I know who this girl is now. Jiang Yaozu’s last word, ‘revenge,’ truly meant revenge. Even when he became a monster and a legend, he still received the teacher’s approval, and he was grateful to us. In his final self-destruction, he desperately uttered that word.”

"revenge."

Tang Rui was still confused:

"Is this revenge against me? Is the girl hiding behind the scenes a relative of one of the people I killed?"

Wen Xishu slowly shook his head:
"No, that's not it. Actually, she has nothing to do with you. If we have to say what the connection is, you and I have both met her and helped her."

“Think back carefully. On that rainy night, we went to a place together and killed that beast who had bullied you back then.”

"There was actually one other person there at the time."

The torrential rain outside was suddenly greeted by a clap of thunder.

The thunder came at just the right moment, like a deliberate reminder.

Tang Rui suddenly felt a sense of fear.

For Luta, that heavy rain was something she never forgot, but it had indeed been a long time since then.

But it was only at this moment that she remembered something.

Yes, there was a girl in that heavy rain.

That rainy night, some people were trembling in the underground parking garage trying to avoid the rain, while others were rolling up their bedding and running away in the subway station...

There are also people like Yan Zhihai who lie on the terrace of their villa, listening to the rain under a huge outdoor parasol.

Tang Rui remembered everything.

At that moment, she only cared about Yan Zhihai, the man who had humiliated her years ago. That night, she was a vengeful spirit.

But she wasn't the only one that night. In fact, the moment she arrived at the scene...

At the moment the thunder struck, there was actually a little girl trembling with fear beside Yan Zhihai.

At that moment, Yan Zhihai had just finished a phone call with the little girl's parents. The sight of the little girl's eyes gradually losing their sparkle after he hung up only fueled Yan Zhihai's excitement.

Then, he and Wen Xishu arrived and killed Yan Zhihai.

"It's that child...?" Tang Rui asked incredulously.

It's unimaginable that the cycle of creating ghost stories that I'm suffering from is related to that child.

Wen Xishu said:
"These are all my guesses, I have no evidence. But after thinking about it, it's probably that child."

“That child must have also been bullied and abused by Yan Zhihai, and perhaps even suffered greater blows than you.”

Tang Rui did not refute.

She had always lived in darkness, so she had an unusual resistance to it. In fact, in her pitiful life, Yan Zhihai, that beast, was not the most hateful person.

Her parents are.

She had never experienced the warmth of family. She had endured so much hardship and loneliness that she could talk about those things back then with a smile.

But what if she had experienced it? What if her parents loved her very much?

All the pain will be concentrated on one person.

"Yan Zhihai is dead, but his sins have not been fully accounted for. He has hurt more than just you."

"Imagine if my purpose in life is revenge, but one day, the person I long to avenge is killed by someone else."

"Some people might be grateful to you, but there's always another possibility—that person will resent you for taking away their right to revenge."

Wen Xishu thought of the old principal. Although the old principal had let go of his hatred and had a bigger goal, if he found out in the future that someone had really avenged him and deprived him of the right to take revenge himself... he would probably still be unwilling.
Hearing Xishu's words, Tang Rui was at a loss for words.

Wen Xishu said:
"Of course, I don't know if this is correct, because I have no evidence. I just made a guess based on the coincidence that an option appeared twice and the word Jiang Yaozu said before he died."

After a long silence, Tang Rui said:
“I think you might be right, Wen Xishu, let’s get started quickly. I want to go back to that rainy night.”

"If she desires revenge, I will give her the opportunity to do so."

For a seasoned expert like Wen Xishu, Tang Rui's exclusive mission was not particularly difficult to solve, so Wen Xishu basically grasped the key in just three rounds.

He could even deduce the predicaments Tang Rui might face.

Wen Xishu said softly:
"Tang Rui, you'd better think this through. Maybe... you'll switch identities. Maybe you'll experience certain things again. You'll feel the hatred in that child's heart. Some of the emotional impact might be very strong."

Tang Rui suddenly gave a self-deprecating laugh:

"It's ok."

"Wen Xishu, if it weren't for you, I probably would never have imagined the truth. But I still have one question: why didn't she just kill Yan Zhihai in Jiangcheng?"

Wen Xishu said:
"She needs your abilities. Her abilities are extraordinary, but she lacks something, and your complex emotions might be able to fill that gap."

“At first I was puzzled as to why the creative rights to the villain were given to you. It’s because you have a lot of feelings, and you can let her experience certain emotions.”

Tang Rui still didn't understand:

"how do you know?"

Wen Xishu said:
"Teacher Tan, and that lawyer, they themselves did not have the experience, but after creating the ghost story, they had a corresponding past."

"This Jiangcheng is a parallel universe version of Jiangcheng, where everyone is clean and innocent. Killing a clean and innocent Yan Zhihai would be meaningless to her."

"Your mixed feelings are the key to everything."

Tang Rui admired Wen Xishu very much because she herself could never understand these questions, nor could she comprehend how Wen Xishu came up with them.

Wen Xishu actually used game-like thinking to reverse-engineer.

Based on game logic, since this journey is Tang Rui's exclusive mission, the final reward must be related to Tang Rui. Tang Rui is the protagonist.

The first time, he redeemed Tang Rui, and Tang Rui was promoted in the Tower of Slaughter.

If Tang Rui completes her assigned task the second time, she might evolve again.

The overwhelming emotions were merely a powerful form of mental intrusion, but now, Tang Rui was trapped in an environment that felt almost real.

The target is a terrifying entity that seems capable of creating tangible scenarios. This perfectly complements the complex mix of emotions.

Wen Xishu was even a little looking forward to... what Tang Rui would be like in her complete form if the mission was completed.

If the two can be combined, it would be almost a super Red House on the level of Charlie. In the future Three Towers battlefield, Tang Rui, who has undergone a second evolution, will definitely be a powerful force that one can rely on.

Of course, all of this depends on how the "revenge" unfolds later.

Soon, Wen Xishu had made all her choices.

Another urban legend has been born.

The two successfully left the dream. Wen Xishu said:
"A new game has started. Hopefully, this time it will be the last."

Killing, imprisonment, redemption—all these methods were tried once, and all failed.

All Wen Xishu could think of was revenge.

However, he wasn't sure if the girl hiding behind the scenes would appear tonight.

(End of this chapter)