Free Web NovelChapter 144: Chapter 144: Devil Bai Wu
The lights in the cell turned to a warm yellow at Bai Wu’s request, and he had Xue Ci arrange for a CD player that wasn’t much less sophisticated than the ones from his previous life.
The CD player was playing light music that the upper classes favored after The Era of the High Tower.
The piece was called "The Passing of Time," with a slow and gentle style that could make people subconsciously relax, yet it also carried a touch of sorrow and a hypnotic allure.
Bai Wu found one thing unchanged: the greater the disparity between the rich and the poor, the more detached from reality the things that the upper echelons listened to and watched. Compared to "The Passing of Time," he preferred the past’s "Reminiscence of the Bygone Years."
Lilith woke up. The warm yellow light didn’t make her feel dazzled, and the soothing music gave her the impression of waking up on a lazy afternoon.
If you ignored the fact that she was tied up.
Bai Wu said,
"You’re awake. Do you like it?"
Lilith was still somewhat unclear about the situation. Bai Wu’s smile, which had seemed detestable in her eyes, now strangely felt somewhat comforting.
"I heard that Madam opened a restaurant on the third level, named after yourself. Who would have thought that the owner of this luxurious restaurant, offering a variety of beverages, would be a high-ranking member of the Tower God Society? You’re also the operator of the gambling house. I truly admire you, Madam."
Gradually regaining full awareness, Lilith’s expression changed as she looked at Bai Wu, realizing she couldn’t muster much strength. Her gaze turned fierce.
"Don’t be nervous. I simply wish to have a cordial conversation with Madam. Of course, I mean cordial in a familial way. Although Madam’s appearance without the mask matches my taste, I can’t accept anyone three years older, let alone seven hundred."
Lilith stared at Bai Wu and said,
"Why can’t I see your Sequence?"
Even if someone had bitten her neck and was draining her blood, Lilith should have been able to easily repel the assailant.
But as Bai Wu drained her blood, she could feel a transfer of life force.
Bai Wu’s life force was rapidly increasing, or more precisely, he was swiftly plundering her own life force.
Lilith’s eyes moved around, sizing up her surroundings. Bai Wu discerned her intentions and said in a gentle tone,
"Give and take. I grew somewhat after leaving the High Tower previously, so if Madam is contemplating making a move, it might be wise to consider whether you can still defeat me. And, the muscle relaxant from the Investigation Corps is quite effective."
After he finished speaking, Lilith was shocked to discover that Bai Wu’s power had jumped from the fourth to the sixth tier.
How much time had passed? This was almost impossible. Consequently, Lilith was certain that Bai Wu held some secrets inside him.
She watched him, convinced that Bai Wu intended to extract information from her. And she, with the Eye of Insight, had always been adept at gathering intelligence.
She had thought this was a cordial negotiation and planned to perhaps counter-extract some information.
"You haven’t told me yet... why can’t I see your Sequence?"
"I don’t have a Sequence."
Actually, Bai Wu was also unsure why Lilith could see his Innate Force, yet couldn’t detect Taotie, Prayle’s Eye, or the Wave Band Interference. Especially since the latter wasn’t within the top hundred Sequences.
Could this all be related to Prayle’s Eye?
"Do you think you can explain what you did to me with a miracle? When you were draining my blood, I could feel my strength being siphoned away as well."
"Really? Then it truly is a miracle happening right by my side."
Bai Wu was neither warm nor fiery. Coupled with the current lighting and music, the two seemed like a couple secretly meeting.
But the pleasant moment was soon spoiled by Bai Wu’s actions.
He took out a needle.
A triangular needle, used for drawing blood—originally a medical tool. If Mr. Bai had used one of this specification, Bai Wu would probably have crossed over earlier, rather than waiting until a criminal shot him dead.
Lilith mockingly taunted,
"You’re going to torture me? With these trifles?"
"Some memories are quite distant, and I’m not clear on the details myself. Recalling the past may inspire new insights. A little action, and I might remember some insignificant techniques."
"Do you think with my power, I would be afraid of these things?"
Even after a portion of her Innate Force was drained by Bai Wu, Lilith’s foundation was still far stronger than that of an ordinary person.
"Indeed, Madam’s strength is formidable, and I’m afraid some torments might have no effect on you, such as the physical force applied to your body, which I do not believe poses any threat to your life, let alone shakes your will."
Bai Wu maintained a comforting smile as he continued,
"But if death is the ultimate fear, then why would there be the saying ’a fate worse than death’ in this world? Perhaps your body can block some harm, but I believe our nerves are all equally sensitive and fragile. We’ve merely strengthened the toughness of our bodies, yet the sensation of pain is absolute. Next, let’s verify that."
A needle pricked Lilith’s forehead.
A small stream of brilliant red quickly flowed from Lilith’s forehead, her beautiful face resembling a parched Earth, and upon this barren land, suddenly appeared a well.
Well Water burst forth from the depths, the flowing beautiful red altering with the contours of a face, changing with the struggle and breath of a person, like rivers dividing and spreading into many branches.
It was also like the red paint spilled on a canvas by an artist, creating a disordered beauty.
This needle seemed to pierce right into the nerve endings, as Bai Wu’s expression showed appreciation and encouragement:
"It’s okay, you can cry out."
Lilith could not have imagined that a mere needle could cause her such agony. It was like a scythe from the Underworld had hooked onto a part of her Soul, then fiercely tore at it.
This was just the first needle, then there was the second, the third, the fourth...
Bai Wu’s movements were very gentle, and when Lilith wanted to struggle violently, he softly said,
"Struggling can spread the pain. Although I have bound you, and you cannot struggle much, you might feel a bit better by screaming out."
"However, if you scream, your gums and tongue will be exposed, and those are very sensitive areas."
Lilith was convulsing and trembling all over.
Under the effect of the Muscle Relaxant, it was difficult for her to mount any effective resistance, but resistance itself was pointless.
Bai Wu was now stronger than she was.
Yun Shu and Xue Ci in the distant monitoring room couldn’t bear to watch any longer; Bai Wu was simply possessed by a demon.
For some reason, the normally kind and benevolent-looking Bai Wu was even more terrifying while doing these things—perhaps due to the contrast.
Tian Xun frowned deeply:
"This kid is only nineteen years old. Where did he learn such perverse abilities? This is simply... demonic."
Lilith’s cries grew even more harrowing.
Because Bai Wu’s needle had pricked her ears.
"You will find that the healing brought on by your Innate Force may not be such a good thing, because sometimes the healing process is more painful than the damage itself."
"Fortunately, my memory is quite good, and I’m fairly accurate with the acupoints. The pain I provide will far exceed the discomfort of flesh healing itself, leaving you with no time to attend to the other pain."
"Hmm, where to next? The ten fingers are connected to the heart, and Madam’s hands are so beautiful."
Yun Shu hurriedly turned off the monitor, feeling that continued watching would leave her with a psychological scar. The Bai Wu of today had also deeply shocked Xue Ci; this careless yet sinister nature made his spine chill.
Tian Xun continued:
"If only it were half... no, if only one quarter of the pain, it could be more widely applied. What Bai Wu used must be an ancient method from the Pre-Tower Era called the Punishment of Thorns."
"Has he been reading some bizarre book lately?"
Tian Xun muttered to himself because Yun Shu and Xue Ci did not respond.
After a long while, they turned the surveillance screen back on.
Bai Wu was slowly wiping Lilith’s face with a towel, his movements as gentle as a father treating his daughter.
Lilith’s face no longer bore traces of blood, but her whole body was shaking continuously, her expression on the verge of breaking down, showing none of her former composure. Clearly, during the time the trio had turned off the monitor, Bai Wu had done something terrifying.
The three who had initially had a good impression of Bai Wu looked at each other, feeling like they were watching a horror film.
Bai Wu was speaking softly to Lilith.
All the needles that had been on Lilith’s body had been removed by Bai Wu. When she could no longer bear the pain and gave up resisting, Bai Wu checked his watch:
"Not bad, you lasted about ten seconds longer than I did the first time I went through it... Considering that you are naturally stronger than I was back then, I suggest you give it another try, madam? Shall we go through the process again, aiming to last a bit longer this time?"
This statement scared Lilith out of her wits. In her eyes, Bai Wu had become warped, almost like a demon that could rival Cain... even surpassing him.
She shook her head repeatedly, but Bai Wu seemed not to notice and asked with apparent concern:
"Your forehead is covered in sweat, do you need to drink some water and take a break?"
"Madam, guess how long it’s been? I’ll tell you, it’s been four minutes. Let’s rest for thirty seconds and continue, hmm, there’s still plenty of time before evening, we have six or seven hours left, we can take our time."
In reality, it had been far longer than four minutes. Under the intense agony, Lilith had lost all concept of time.
She only knew she felt as though she had endured for a long time, but now, knowing that only four minutes had passed, she realized there were countless more four-minute intervals waiting for her.
At that moment, she broke down. Even with a Heart Like Still Water, she couldn’t contain her fear of Bai Wu.
Bai Wu showed no mercy to Lilith. What she had done to Dwarf in comparison to what Cain had done was the true act of heart-piercing cruelty.
However, Lilith’s breakdown came much sooner than he had expected.
Next, they began discussing some serious matters.
In the friendly and warm atmosphere created by Bai Wu, their conversation no longer faced any barriers, and Lilith was almost completely candid. freewebnoveℓ.com
"What is the name of the head of the Tower God Society?"
"I don’t know... He was already the head of the Tower God Society when I met him. We never use real names, I call him Chairman, and he calls me Emissary."
"It seems the Chairman is not Cain," Bai Wu said, stroking his chin.
"Cain... Cain is someone even more powerful than the Chairman."
"What do you know about Cain? As a friend of the madam, I hope you won’t deceive me," Bai Wu said, caressing Lilith’s beautiful face, and she fearfully replied:
"What would you like to know..."
"Where is Cain now? The manager who died on the fourth level, that was Cain, right? And why was Cain able to escape after being killed by the captain once? What is his ability?"
There were many questions.
Lilith earnestly answered them one by one:
"He’s outside the Tower... I don’t know the specific area, but most of the time, he’s outside... He takes some people away from the High Tower, and under his influence, they become the Evil Fallen, which allows him to acquire the power of the Evil Fallen."
Bai Wu roughly understood. Cain’s Sequence "The Deceiver" might be able to obtain some form of power from those who are deceived.
If those deceived become Evil Fallen, can he then use the entries of Evil Fallen? In that case, Dandelion’s hyper-regeneration, Cain should possess it too.
But the fact that your captain could kill Cain last time proves that Cain doesn’t have this ability.
Moreover, how many people has Cain tricked over the past seven hundred years? Cain is strong, but not as overwhelmingly powerful as Bai Wu speculates.
It seems that on Cain, there are exceedingly great limitations. All of this pertains to Cain’s second ability.
"The reason why he could survive after your captain killed him is because... his vitality no longer relies on organs and the body."
"What do you mean by that?"
"The body to him is just a shell... as long as his true form is not dead, he will not die."
"Where is the true form hidden?"
"I don’t know... it might be inside the Tower or outside the Tower."
"How many bodies can he possess at the same time?"
"Three."
Lilith was very surprised as to why Bai Wu was certain that Cain could simultaneously occupy more than one body.
Bai Wu just felt that the manager who committed suicide yet disguised it as being murdered by someone must have been premeditated for a long time.
And recently, the captain had also killed one of Cain’s bodies.
The body in the Martial Training Area, the body of the fourth-floor manager, and the body in the Noble Academy on the third floor, which had been killed by the captain.
"Does the strength of a body determine how much power from Evil Fallen it can use?"
Lilith was surprised again and then nodded her head.
"So, has he always been looking for a powerful body to serve as a vessel? And that’s why your gaze fell upon the captain?"
"Yes... yes."
"What are the limitations of taking over a body as a vessel? He can’t possibly just take it forcibly from anyone he fancies."
"Not until all three bodies are destroyed can he look for a new body, and after the destruction of all three bodies, he must use his true form to seek three new bodies within a certain time. But I don’t know what limitations there are on how to take over another’s body..."
How long is ’a certain time’? What does the true form look like? Lilith doesn’t know these things.
Just like Bai Xiaoyu who was trapped by Cain for seven hundred years without ever seeing what Cain looked like; Lilith, even though she knew more than Bai Xiaoyu as one of the disciples, had also never come into contact with Cain’s true form.
Everything Lilith said was true.
Bai Wu furrowed his brow.
Cain gave him the feeling of being like the ultimate boss in some games. It’s insufficient to kill him once, you have to kill him three times.
After the three times, you still have to kill a final version.
But as far as is currently known, Cain has already destroyed two bodies, only after the last one is destroyed can he look for a new body, and it must be with his true form taking action.
"This should be within the top fifty Sequences, most likely Sequence thirty-six: Three Souls Transmigration. But as for this Sequence, it’s also only explained by a single sentence, able to take others’ bodies. The interval of spellcasting is still unclear."
"The most crucial point is, Lilith doesn’t even know what Cain looks like. But perhaps seven hundred years ago when Cain roamed from city to city, he used his true form. That is to say, by finding some Evil Fallen similar to Dandelion, perhaps clues about Cain could be extracted from their mouths."
Having some idea of what to look for, Bai Wu turned to Lilith and asked the last question:
"Why can you and Cain live forever?"
