Doomsday Jigsaw Puzzle

Chapter 124: Chapter 124: Tower God Society Revisited

"Talk about the details?"

Bai Wu poured a glass of water for Ye Weiming and Ruan Qingyun, his expression growing more serious.

From the moment he saw the beauty mark, he had felt that those old lechers in the upper echelons were a bit too depraved.

Added to the previous disappearances of Liu Chengzi’s two partners, and the revelation from the Investigation Corps’ Xue Ci and Yun Shu just before leaving the Tower about recent disappearances of young women,

this time, even Dwarf’s Wife might be involved.

With Dwarf’s Wife’s looks, it was normal for that bunch of perverted lechers to take notice of her.

But Bai Wu was puzzled about one thing—why notice her only now? Dwarf’s Wife was slightly older than the captain; if the two were to date, it would be a relationship of an older woman and younger man.

In her prime, she might not have been as womanly as she is now, but she had a charm that now cannot match.

Ruan Qingyun began to relate the details:

"It was about a week ago. Actually, before I came to you, I had already used my own people. Although I don’t have as much power as your captain, I’ve got my own influence. At the bottom level, even he might not have information as up-to-date as mine."

Bai Wu knew this. Ghost Grinding Firm, to dare to use such a name, one must have both money and skill.

"It’s just that my people, anyone who investigates them, have been disappearing one after another. Even those who haven’t disappeared came up with nothing. Their response makes me feel it’s not a force from the lower levels. In the lower levels’ white path, it’s the Investigation Corps, and I’m on good terms with them. As for the black path, small and medium forces are negligible, and there are only five major forces."

"But if you trace their way up, their big bosses are also just people from the third level, and most of them wouldn’t offend me."

Bai Wu nodded; to offend Dwarf’s Wife was to offend Dwarf. Seeing how much Qin Zong trusted Dwarf, it was almost certain Dwarf had secured his position as deputy commander.

Not just any noble would dare to provoke that.

Although ’Dwarf’ comes with a derogatory connotation, and he could be looked down upon by third-level vehicle rental drivers, not everyone with a height below one meter sixty is necessarily Wu Jiu, and this world does not have such a rule.

"It’s not a force from the lower levels, but one from the fourth or even the fifth level," Bai Wu said.

"That seems to be the case."

"So, boss lady, you’re not seeking the captain but coming to me? I’m also a member of the Investigation Corps."

"You command my people. Ghost Grinding Firm has many undercover scouts. What I need is your intellect," Ruan Qingyun said.

Bai Wu roughly understood.

This matter was no small affair. How long had he been in the High Tower, and already there were so many cases of women going missing?

"You don’t want the captain to know?"

"He is also investigating this case, but he doesn’t know I’ve been targeted. He’s someone who does everything personally. With his current status, he doesn’t need to do many things, like venturing outside the Tower, but he still goes with you to do it. So, if we can avoid adding to his troubles, we should try not to let him know."

Bai Wu thought for a moment; Dwarf indeed was that kind of person. The fact that the captain would carry out missions in the white areas showed this.

But this also showed that the captain was not satisfied with his current strength.

"I believe that deliberately hiding something for someone else’s sake is not right. Many foolish decisions are made with the good intention of considering others. However, I will agree to help investigate these cases for you, boss lady. But if I find out that these are more serious than I imagined, I will still tell the captain."

Ruan Qingyun fixed her beautiful eyes on Bai Wu for a few seconds, then nodded and said:

"Okay, I’ll listen to you."

"Then tell me about what we’ve got so far? Where do they usually watch you? Were you alone at the time, or were there people from the firm around you?"

"There were a few companions from the firm protecting me, but they change their faces every time, so sometimes I’m not sure if they’re watching me or not."

Is it an intuitive judgment?

Bai Wu chose to trust Dwarf’s Wife’s intuition and said:

"Then take me with you this time."

"Are you sure?"

"Around what time?"

"Between three and four in the afternoon, there’s a base of our firm in the North District. We’ll pass through a bustling area in the North District on our way there—it’s like a fusion of a job market and a second-hand market, and also the most chaotic place in the North District where lots of information often gets mixed in."

"Then let’s go there together."

Bai Wu glanced at the time and stood up immediately.

Ruan Qingyun didn’t expect this big boy to be so efficient:

"Aren’t you going to prepare anything?"

"Since the other side has spied several times without making a move, it’s probably because of your special status as the boss lady or they’re waiting for the perfect opportunity. I lean towards the latter, so there’s no need to prepare anything special—just do what we normally do."

Since they decided to target Dwarf’s Wife, Bai Wu felt that no matter how prominent Dwarf’s Wife’s status in the underworld was, in the eyes of the major forces, she was just a piece of driftwood.

The reason they hadn’t made a move could be other dark schemes at play.

...

...

Ruan Qingyun admired Bai Wu’s style of taking immediate action.

She took Bai Wu to a relatively nice clothing store on the lower levels and got him an outfit that was trending among the miners there.

Most of the ensemble was probably out of fashion on the third level a few years ago, but resources on the lower levels were like that—the so-called "middle class" of the lower levels mostly wore things discarded by the third level.

Bai Wu didn’t mind—in fact, he was savoring the easy life on the boss lady’s dime, a sweet deal indeed.

The main flow of people in the Eastern District centers around Eastern Square, where you need to go to access the Teleportation Stele to leave the tower.

The people of the North District, on the other hand, mostly congregate at the "Stinky Ditch," which is the combination of a second-hand market and job market Ruan Qingyun had mentioned.

The Stinky Ditch isn’t actually a ditch filled with filth, though it is dirty and disorderly—that’s not why it’s called Stinky Ditch.

Bai Wu’s home is in the southwest corner of the South District, so it takes some time to get to the Stinky Ditch of the North District.

When the two arrived, it was already four in the afternoon.

The Stinky Ditch is large, divided into two parts: the task market, also known as the job market, and the street vendor area.

Unlike the Mercenary Association, whose tasks mainly involve going outside the tower, the tasks posted at the Stinky Ditch task market are mostly inside the tower.

Originally, Ruan Qingyun thought Bai Wu would be interested in the odd and exotic goods, but he didn’t even spare them a glance. Instead, he looked towards the task market.

So, Ruan Qingyun took Bai Wu to the task market.

This was an eye-opening experience for Bai Wu. One of the tasks read:

"Buying a this-life retribution for an old acquaintance’s daughter. Price negotiable, every day at four in the afternoon, go to the Good People Casino in the North District, table number four." ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

Bai Wu was a bit confused.

Ruan Qingyun said, "Don’t understand?"

"What’s this-life retribution?"

"It’s just slang—this-life retribution is about causing harm, and an old acquaintance’s daughter refers to the wife or daughter of an enemy. Apart from this-life retribution, there’s also ’transmigration of souls,’ which means taking someone’s life. There’s another type of commission called ’flower from the other shore,’ to put it simply, it means cutting someone off at the roots."

Bai Wu frowned, "Doesn’t anyone step in?"

"Of course, they do. But many things are beyond reach. The commissions you see here all have middlemen, and the Investigation Corps can only manage to catch these middlemen. If a middleman gets caught, the only thing that’s certain is it’ll create even more chaos."

"The several squad leaders of the Investigation Corps have indeed reached an agreement with some major forces of the Stinky Ditch to keep the number of commissions below a certain threshold each month. This too is a compromise because the lower levels have too many people—so many that the Investigation Corps can’t possibly manage them all."

Ruan Qingyun’s gaze was slightly melancholic:

"Your captain left us because he wanted to gain power in a larger system, to rectify the lower class. As for me, I’ve been trying to arrange my own informants in the lower class to coordinate with him."

Bai Wu roughly understood, the cases written on the commission were very few.

For most people in the lower class who ignored the law, they could kill someone themselves, they would definitely not issue a commission.

So although there were many commissions from the gutter, the real crimes were much more numerous.

It wasn’t that the upper class was corrupt and evil, so the lower class was clean. Most of the time, the lower and upper classes were mutually disdainful, but both had significant issues.

Bai Wu now understood even more what his captain meant when he said, "Don’t think about these things before you have enough power to change the system," as well as the helplessness it contained.

He no longer thought about these things, because the "Watchers" had appeared.

Just as Bai Wu noticed someone was paying attention to Dwarf’s Wife, Ruan Qingyun also naturally walked up to Bai Wu’s side and said softly:

"They’re here."

Bai Wu was slightly surprised, Dwarf’s Wife’s observation skills were nearly as strong as his own.

In the gutter task area, Bai Wu noticed there were roughly three to four people sizing up those around them, with most of their gazes landing on women.

Their gaze dwelled on Dwarf’s Wife the longest.

[They’re from an organization you’ve already encountered.]

An organization I’ve encountered?

The Investigation Corps definitely not, Garrison Corps shouldn’t be either. Tower God Society?

Bai Wu quickly noticed the tattoos, even though these people didn’t expose too many tattoos, but with just a part, he could recognize it as the tattoo of the Tower God Society.

"Turns out it’s the Tower God Society. A cult that dares to attack the Garrison Corps and the Investigation Corps directly, it’s not too far-fetched for them to abduct Dwarf’s Wife. It’s just that the Tower God Society might not be the mastermind, they’re just a tool, perhaps the person holding the tool is a ruler from the fifth level."

Bai Wu had already shifted his gaze away.

"Notice anything?" Ruan Qingyun’s gaze was also quite natural, as if she hadn’t noticed being watched.

"A little discovery, have you heard of the Tower God Society?"

"A cult active among nobles, they don’t really operate much in the lower class."

They don’t really operate much in the lower class.

Bai Wu believed Dwarf’s Wife’s words had some basis, which puzzled him, as the information from Liu Chengzi and the Interrogation Team suggested that those who were seizing beautiful girls from the lower class to take them to the higher class should be frequently occurring.

"Could it be not all one group? Did the Tower God Society also know that the old lechers in the upper class started to lose control again, so they took advantage of the chaos to abduct Dwarf’s Wife and then frame someone else? If that’s the case... then their actions would lead to Dwarf hating the upper class, something I can’t help but think about, who exactly is the chairman of the Tower God Society."

Ruan Qingyun noticed Bai Wu was silent, so she asked:

"Is there trouble?"

"There is a bit, something I can’t figure out, it feels like everything is piling up. Boss lady, it’s best if you hire a few experts of the third order or stronger to protect you."

"Do you suspect the Tower God Society?"

"Hmm, but I haven’t understood their motives, I just have a very bad premonition."

"Regarding your premonition, how likely do you think it is to come true?"

"I don’t know, it’s too chaotic."

A host of ideas emerged in Bai Wu’s mind, the sudden intervention of the Tower God Society made him foresee that his opponent might resort to rather extreme measures this time.

Although Bai Wu still appeared the same as usual, his tone was quite serious, which made Ruan Qingyun realize that this big boy was warning her.

"Do you think I should notify him?"

"Captain? Yes, the Tower God Society once launched an assassination attempt on me directly on the streets of the third floor, they’re crazy," Bai Wu said in a low voice.

Ruan Qingyun nodded.

"Alright, I got it. I’ll contact him after we go back."

Bai Wu felt slightly relieved.

...

...

Outside the tower, one week ago, the white zone.

In seven hours, the mine would have to be closed, because after seven hours, the number would be active for seventy-two hours.

Countless miners were working hard to extract ores, although most of the time, whether they slacked off or were diligent, the Tower Currency they received was the same. But if they occasionally mined some rare ores with colors, they would choose to bring them back into the tower to sell for a good price.

So for most people, mining was just a safety net, and striking a good vein was the main source of income.

The higher-ups responsible for supervision were also happy to see this; rare ores were scarce, but they stimulated the miners not to slack off and to swing their pickaxes diligently.

Deep in the mine.

A tall, thin man, swinging a pickaxe, said:

"You bewitched my people, then had them notify me to meet you, just to have me dress like some lowly commoner and join you in mining?"

Another person, wearing a mask with a grotesquely twisted smile painted on it, said:

"Lowly commoner? In the eyes of the tower god, are there ranks of nobility and lowliness among his people?"

"Of course, people are born unequal. I can listen to the Divine Revelations of the tower god, my people can listen to my teachings, and those ant-like commoners are the sacrifices presented to me by my people."

The masked man made a ’tsk tsk’ noise:

"You might be even crazier than me. However, doing the work of an ant every now and then, swinging the pickaxe, will make you more divine, and people will revere you more. They prefer a god tainted with dust to one high above."

Watching the tall man nodding unconsciously, the masked man continued,

"I’ve contacted you this time because I need you to do me a favor."

"The sect taught me one thing: that one must learn to love oneself to be loved by others," the tall man said expressionlessly.

"Of course, I will also do you a favor. A universal request, as long as it’s within my capabilities," the masked man shrugged his shoulders.

"A fair trade, what would you have me do?"

"Firstly, I need a sedative, a sedative of the kind used outside the tower."

"That’s a forbidden substance. Only the Investigation Corps and Garrison Corps are allowed to have it."

"But you are the spokesperson for the god, you couldn’t fail to get it, could you?"

"God is omnipotent, and so am I." The tall man put down his pickaxe and looked at the masked man with a proud expression, before continuing,

"Is that all you require?"

"Secondly, I need you to abduct a woman at a specific time."

"What are you planning?"

"A game is about making the player make interesting choices, and I, well, I love to set up multiple-choice questions for people."