Doomsday Jigsaw Puzzle

Chapter 173: Chapter 173: Seven Disciples Come Together

The world within his consciousness was still the bottom layer’s Eastern Square.

Bai Wu looked at those steles, recalling some details about the Ten of Spades. The child possessed an exceptionally strong imitation ability.

The first glance at the Ten of Spades was him adjusting his smile.

Unlike Yan Jiu’s neurotic and rigid imitation, the changes in the Ten of Spades’ expressions could be said to be very subtle.

At the same time, Bai Wu also noticed that the Ten of Spades’ choice of reading materials was related to crime, and not just any crime, but crimes committed by high-intelligence criminals with historical prototypes. Add to that the child’s sharp powers of observation, and when he grew up, without being exceptionally intelligent, he would definitely not be dull.

In summary, the Ten of Spades was good at disguise, observation, owned a Sequence, and if he really was influenced by some of Bai Wu’s words and climbed over the wall to see something terrible, then the Ten of Spades would be aware of the Doomsday information before everyone else.

Among those he had met so far, whether it be the Investigation Corps, Garrison Corps or even those encountered outside the tower, none fit this profile.

In Bai Wu’s view, this person could only be Cain.

But there was one thing that Bai Wu was very concerned about.

Jing Liu said that she had already met the Ten of Spades.

Although Bai Wu had long been aware of Cain’s existence and had even clashed with him several times, he had never actually seen Cain, not even one of Cain’s incarnations.

Could it be that Jing Liu was mistaken? Could what she meant to express be that she knew of the Ten of Spades, not that she had seen the Ten of Spades?

After thinking it through, Bai Wu felt this was the only possibility, and that only Cain fit this profile.

However, he had forgotten someone of critical importance to him.

...

...

At the bottom layer, in the second hospital, in ward 101.

The hallway was bustling with people coming and going. Although most people possessed an Innate Force of one or two ranks due to mining, it also led to increased conflicts. Violence in the lower layers tended to be more brutal and fierce.

As it has always been, hospitals were never short of business.

After lying there for approximately two hours, Bai Wu had already regained consciousness. ƒгeewebnovёl.com

This was much earlier than Jing Liu’s estimate and also meant that Bai Wu had reached a level of resistance to mental anguish that was so abnormal even "God" could not estimate.

But he did not open his eyes.

It was time for the segment he enjoyed: playing dead and eavesdropping.

The original plan was to decide on the leader of the seventh squad by the afternoon, but his coma had led to the postponement of this matter.

After Yin Shuang briefly gave an oral report of the investigation and the doctor confirmed that Bai Wu was not in any danger but merely in a sleeping state, Wu Jiu had decided to have a chat in the hospital with a few of the older squad members.

They were currently discussing the original intentions of joining the Investigation Corps, and Bai Wu did not want to interrupt at this moment.

"I was born on the third layer, but I don’t like staying there. Both my parents are retired from the Garrison Corps and now have a small business on the third layer. There’s no zest for life there, it’s dull. I joined the Investigation Corps to fight monsters outside the tower. I’m not interested in being a squad leader. Besides, with a brain like Wurou’s and mine, I’m not suited to be a leader," said Wang Shi cheerfully.

"You’re the one with no brains, could you not drag me into it? By the way, I’m only interested in dissecting Evil Fallen," Lin Wurou replied with a sidelong glance at Wang Shi before continuing,

"I don’t want to be the leader either. It’s not because I’m dumb; I just want to be with everyone else. Being a leader is too draining on the brain—oops, too boring. Speaking of leadership... now that you’ve become the deputy legion commander, will you still be able to go out on expeditions with us?"

Wu Jiu said:

"I’ll definitely have more to do than before, but I’ll make sure to set aside fixed times for expeditions. I don’t want to stop at my current realm. The same goes for you all; always think about how you can improve yourselves."

Lying on the hospital bed, Bai Wu almost couldn’t resist chiming in with a "Yay."

As deputy legion commander, Wu Jiu was indeed going to be busier than before.

However, after Ruan Qingyun was targeted by Cain, Ghost Grinding Firm temporarily suspended some intelligence services, and Ruan Qingyun himself also began to help Wu Jiu with some matters.

She and Ye Weiming were always quite capable. In the past, Wu Jiu felt he could handle things by himself and refused to let others help.

Now that he had become the deputy commander of the Legion, he had to learn to delegate certain tasks, otherwise he would work himself to death.

So, in a way, he was adding by subtracting. This also amounted to an indirect appeasement of the Ghost Grinding Firm.

Wu Jiu was keen on leaving the tower to investigate, enhance his strength, and explore history. Even after being promoted to captain, he often went to the white area to carry out missions.

He completely disregarded what others thought. In history, there had been a deputy commander like him, criticized for being too passionate about leaving the tower and not taking care of his duties.

Wu Jiu’s gaze turned to Shang Xiaoyi. Scratching his head, Shang Xiaoyi said somewhat sheepishly,

"Although I gained the ability to suppress the madness I feel when I see the Evil Fallen, thanks to the last exploration... it’s still not enough, I am not even as smart as Wurou... I was the last to arrive, I just don’t seem to have what it takes to be a captain, let Yin Shuang do it."

Lin Wurou really wanted to ask, what do you mean ’not even as smart as Wurou’? What has happened to the world? Can’t things ever be right?

Yin Shuang decisively threw out a question:

"Why can’t it be Bai Wu?"

Everyone was stunned for a few seconds.

"This kid... is pretty good, I admit he’s as excellent as I am, but he’s only been here for less than two months... If you subtract the probation period, it’s only like forty days, right? The people beneath might not accept him. Although I also think he’s very suitable. After all, he and I often think alike," Lin Wurou replied.

This time, Bai Wu was truly an innocent victim. However, taking over Wu Jiu’s job wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Wu Jiu remained silent, while Yin Shuang continued,

"There’s no problem with Bai Wu, I stand with Bai Wu. This operation, as well as previous ones, all showed that his insight is far beyond our comparison. Think about it, if it weren’t for Bai Wu, how long do you think we would take to advance to the red area? In every area explored with Bai Wu, wasn’t he always the most crucial?"

Bai Wu hadn’t expected the usually reticent Yin Shuang to hold him in such high regard.

Wu Jiu still didn’t speak, looking towards Wang Shi and Shang Xiaoyi.

Wang Shi said,

"I certainly have no objections, being a captain is a job for you smart folks, Wurou and I are easy-going."

"Damn it! Who’s easy-going with you! I am not!" Lin Wurou glared at Wang Shi angrily.

Shang Xiaoyi went on,

"But if it’s Bai Wu... will everyone really accept him?"

Yin Shuang continued to vehemently support Bai Wu,

"Do we need the approval of a group of people who are afraid to leave the tower? Think about Bai Wu’s strength when he first joined the Investigation Corps. Now, he has surpassed you all. Bai Wu has potential just like the captain. In fact, in terms of analytical ability, he’s even better than the captain."

"I don’t know about other groups, but at least you guys from the Vanguard Group wouldn’t think Bai Wu is inferior to you, right? As for the interrogation group, I think they would accept Bai Wu too. Other groups shouldn’t be a big problem. Anyone who doesn’t accept Bai Wu should just confront him directly, be it a verbal argument or a physical fight."

Yin Shuang’s endorsement made Lin Wurou feel something was off. Wu Jiu thought for a while, then said,

"Let’s wait for Bai Wu to wake up and then discuss it."

Bai Wu didn’t expect Yin Shuang’s words to land him the role of captain. But judging by abilities, he realized he was indeed more suitable than the others who were clinging to their powerful positions.

...

...

Bai Wu was discharged from the hospital in the afternoon and reported his safety to Wu Jiu through the communication device he had given him.

He didn’t do anything else that day, and regarding the matter of becoming captain of the seventh team, Bai Wu neither vied for it nor shirked it, adopting an attitude that left everything up to Dwarf.

Towards the end of the call, Bai Wu asked Dwarf to contact all interrogation groups to pay attention to the missing persons cases on the third and bottom floors, focusing especially on recent disappearances.

After leaving the hospital, Bai Wu headed to the scavenging port.

This place not only has quite a few non-Spirit Possession items and a small amount of Spirit Possession items, but also some books that the third layer no longer wants.

The reason they are not wanted is mainly because production exceeds sales, making them unsellable, so they circulate to the lower levels at a certain price.

Unlike clothing and other daily necessities, entertainment materials, such as books, do not increase in price at the lower levels; in fact, they become even cheaper.

This is because, apart from mining, the most common activities in people’s spare time are sleeping and procreation.

As for reading books to improve oneself, this seemed to the miners, who went out to mine every day, a very boring and time-wasting pursuit.

But still, some people would buy books, whether it’s the exploratory stories written by third-rate novelists, etiquette-related books of the upper levels, or some industry-related books, to pass the time and to understand the lifestyle of the high ranking, in hopes of clinging to their coattails someday.

What Bai Wu bought were history books.

He had both official histories and unofficial histories, with one aim being to expand his own knowledge base, mostly focusing on the period about ninety years ago.

He wanted to see if he could find any valuable information.

However, after buying a pile of books and spending an evening to finish reading them, he found that he could not find any information about Gu Hailin and his people at all.

At least not in the official histories.

In other books, there was a novel that seemed to be based on Gu Hailin as the main character, called "Light of the Investigation Corps," which described the character as being as swift as light.

Unfortunately, this was pure escapism. It told the story of how Light of the Investigation Corps, Gu Sui Feng, with the power of Sequence 19 God of Destruction, Sequence 59 Instant Shadow, advanced from a small-time thug at the bottom to a manager with the fastest speed and the most powerful destructive force.

The story was toxic, with the character having Sequences yet not exploring the Doomsday Ruins, instead focusing on how to climb the ranks, a much smaller scope that completely mismatched the real person. As for why it was about becoming a manager and not a ruler, it was because they were afraid of being removed.

In any case, after browsing through a lot of stories, official histories, unofficial histories, and old soldiers’ investigation journals, Bai Wu found only some insignificant clues about Gu Hailin.

The details of the joint Legion extermination operation of that year were no longer verifiable. Bai Wu had no choice but to give up the search.

Unless he could meet Gu Hailin and ask him directly.

But even if he really used the phone booth to travel back to ninety years ago, Bai Wu didn’t believe that Gu Hailin and his remnants could survive for long.

...

...

The next day at five in the morning, Bai Wu woke up after about six hours of sleep.

The huge ceiling of the top layer, simulating the night sky at this moment, made the entire bottom of the High Tower dim and without light.

There were still many people entering and exiting the tower at Eastern Square, and Bai Wu also decided to exit the tower at this time.

This time he put on a mask again, changing into the same masked cloak outfit he wore during live broadcasting.

Because Bai Wu decided to venture into the areas inside the Traction Disc.

He wasn’t sure how many areas Cain had left behind in the Traction Disc, but in order to understand the secrets of the farm as much as possible, Bai Wu decided to look for Cain. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

Based on the intelligence he had received before, he deduced that Cain had died three times already. His original body should have returned to the High Tower by now.

That’s also why Bai Wu had asked Dwarf to pay attention to the recent missing persons cases. Anyone who had been missing for a while but suddenly reappeared could be suspected of being an incarnation of Cain.

Cain was very powerful; in Bai Wu’s view, the full strength of this Deceiver was definitely above that of a team captain.

But Lilith had mentioned that Cain climbed up to the sixth level along the elevator shaft, which led to Cain going through a weakened period of nearly seven hundred years.

Cain had been to the sixth level, and Black Jack had been to the farm.

Bai Wu hoped they were the same person, so that finding Cain would mean unlocking a part of the puzzle at this stage.

The investigator on duty at night at Eastern Square was a new face.

This investigator didn’t like to make arbitrary judgments like his daytime colleagues; when Bai Wu headed for the blue stele, he kindly reminded Bai Wu that the blue area was very dangerous.

At this moment, in the investigator’s eyes, Bai Wu looked like a mercenary who had received a lucrative job in the dead of night, one who looked only at the price and not the risks.

There will always be people who don’t watch previous live streams, and even popular figures eventually get forgotten over time.

The investigator did not recognize Constantine.

Bai Wu agreed that the blue zone was dangerous, but the queue for the white zone’s stele was long, and since he used the Traction Disc, it was uncertain which zone he would end up in.

After activating the Traction Disc, Bai Wu frowned at the purple halo rushing towards him.

This disciple... was actually hiding in the purple zone?

The investigator looked at Bai Wu in horror, not knowing why someone entering from the blue stele would be enveloped in a purple light.

By the time he returned to his senses, the strangely dressed Masked Man had been taken away by the stele.

"Eh... may you be human in your next life, and live on the third level,"

The investigator obviously mistook him for someone who had committed suicide outside the tower.

...

...

Every time someone enters the outside of the tower, it seems their consciousness enters a world, waiting for the corresponding color mist to dissipate.

The stele emitted a purple glow, and Bai Wu initially thought he would see a vast expanse of purple upon entering the consciousness space.

But this time, he encountered an unprecedented chaotic scene.

White light, blue light, purple light, red light flashed alternately, popping in and out of existence in this space.

Seeing this strange sight, Bai Wu did not have time to think before the various lights in his consciousness slowly began to fade.

Sounds of a bouncing basketball reached his ears, and when he opened his eyes, Bai Wu’s vision was filled with darkness.

"A storage room... basketball sounds, am I in the gymnasium?"

With Enhanced Vision, Bai Wu could make out things in the dark; he was indeed in a storage room. When he looked toward the door, Bai Wu saw the following information.

[Baichuan University Affiliated Middle School is a very interesting school, filled with scum, freaks, geniuses, villains, poor creatures, and all sorts of abnormals we can think of. Of course, there are also many students who genuinely study. But now, everyone has turned into Evil Fallen. Who said Evil Fallen can’t read, study, or take exams? There are so many campus legends that you might encounter a different bizarre event every day, or they might take turns appearing. The seven disciples of The Deceiver have all become a disadvantaged group here.]

Baichuan University Affiliated Middle School?

Bai Wu smiled bitterly; wasn’t this... the Red Zone that the Traveler had mentioned? The super dangerous school with a thousand Evil Fallen?

"With basketball noises outside, it’s better for me not to go out for now. It seems that this area should be purple, and the reason it is listed as a Red disaster level in the Traveler’s records may be because... this school is actually divided into many areas?"

"But if that’s the case, the Evil Fallen shouldn’t be able to cross areas, unless... part of this place was purified by a Doomsday Fragment?"

In his consciousness, Bai Wu saw many colors and soon inferred that different areas of the school might have different disaster levels.

Perhaps the teaching building is a Red Zone, maybe the student dormitories are Blue Zones, and the sports field is a White Zone.

This was like before in the zoo, which was a Blue Zone, but outside there was the Circus, an abandoned amusement park, a haunted house.

Normally, there are boundaries between areas, but what if someone used a Doomsday Fragment to break these boundaries?

Meanwhile, Bai Wu thought of something else:

"Seven disciples... well done, although I know you like to entice students like Bai Xiaoyu, Elijah, Dandelion, you’ve gone and found seven disciples in the school, truly leading them astray."

For some reason, Bai Wu felt like laughing.

Placed in their own areas, the disciples are powerful beings—Dandelion, Elijah, Violet, even Lilith in human form.

But the note mentioned that these seven disciples have become a disadvantaged group in this school. What kind of school is this?

"This is getting interesting, anyway... I should figure out which areas I can go to and which are forbidden."

(Today there was only one Chapter. I couldn’t stay awake at eleven o’clock and fell asleep... emmm When I woke up, it was too late to code a second Chapter. Besides, this part of the story is quite complicated; I need to organize it as well, so I’m taking a leave.)