Doomsday Jigsaw Puzzle

Chapter 174: Chapter 174: Strange Tales of the School

Bai Wu cautiously stood up.

He was now a master of Level Six Innate Force, and unless he encountered mutants from Level Seven to Nine with troublesome Mutation Entries of Evil Fallen, he didn’t need to worry too much.

But it is said that caution is the parent of safety, and the sound of bouncing balls coming from outside the room made Bai Wu feel that something was off.

There were no footsteps, but there was some kind of painful moaning. It was as if someone had fallen from a high place.

Even the sound of impact had a dull quality to it.

Thump!

Thump!

It sounded like bouncing balls, but also like something else.

Bai Wu, with a bit of curiosity, carefully moved to the door of the storeroom. At this time, the Evil Fallen bouncing the ball in the gym seemed to have noticed the noise.

It stopped bouncing the ball.

Bai Wu held his breath, with all senses alert, but he couldn’t detect any information.

"This is rather strange... Could this place be shielding my perception of the Innate Force? Let’s see what’s outside the door first."

The storage room door was an old-fashioned security door with a peephole at the top. Considering this place might very well be in the Violet Zone, Bai Wu chose to be very cautious and peeked outside through the peephole.

His eye pressed against the peephole, and to his surprise... It seemed to be blocked, he couldn’t see the scene of the gym outside, everything was pitch black.

But then the message that popped up in his eyes made him realize something was wrong.

["You moved into a new apartment building and happily decorated your place. You even installed a fancy security door, but strangely, every time you looked through the peephole, all you could see was a blood-red color. Thinking the door was broken, you replaced it again. Yet when you looked through the peephole, it was still just blood-red, no matter morning, evening, or even midnight. Every time you looked through the peephole, there was just that blood-red color. Can you guess why?"]

Bang!

Upon seeing the prompt from his eyes, Bai Wu did not hesitate to kick open the door of the storeroom; fortunately, although this door was part of the scene, it could still be opened by force.

As the door flew open, Bai Wu saw an Evil Fallen without a head, stark-naked from the neck up, holding something round and bumpy in its arms.

The headless Evil Fallen was sent flying along with the door by Bai Wu’s kick.

Bai Wu glanced over and saw that what the Evil Fallen was holding was a human head. The eyes on the head were devoid of whites, as if they were covered in resentment, pitch-black.

The light outside the gym was bright, and the reason Bai Wu could only see darkness through the peephole just now was that the Evil Fallen was holding the head, pressing its black eyes against the peephole.

The question given by Prayle’s Eye was simple: because the next-door neighbor had red eye disease. He stared with crimson eyes, his gaze fixed on the peephole of the security door in the story for twenty-four hours.

Bai Wu didn’t feel anything in particular, as the level of this Evil Fallen didn’t seem very high.

But the area that this gym belonged to should have been at least the Violet Zone. He scanned around and quickly realized that he was in danger.

Inside the entire gym, numerous headless corpses were strewn about in disarray, and around the basketball hoops, the baskets generally used to hold basketballs were filled with various human heads.

They had their black eyes wide open, all staring intently at Bai Wu.

"Have you seen my head?" The head in the hands of the Evil Fallen suddenly asked a question.

It got up from the ground, the head it was holding showing a confused expression.

At this moment, all the heads in the basketball hoop also revealed expressions of confusion.

"You must be wondering why a level-five Evil Fallen would turn this stadium into a purple zone and let the only eyes that love you give you a hint. The Evil Fallen is not the only thing you need to worry about. I believe you have already realized quite profoundly that the rules of the zone are what matter the most. Do not casually say unfavorable things in this place, as they may come true. Remember, it’s ’words coming true,’ not ’words becoming laws.’ Only the things that are detrimental to you will be fulfilled."

A level-five Evil Fallen, with just one non-lethal perfect Mutation Entry—Skullduggery.

Looking at the remarks from Prayle’s Eye, Bai Wu guessed that this stadium, perhaps even this school, had some special rules.

The Evil Fallen in this place might not be frightening, but acting rashly could lead to death by the strange rules.

It can be basically concluded that the danger level of areas outside the tower consists of two parts: one is the rules, and the other is the Evil Fallen. Generally speaking, a blue zone could be more dangerous than a purple zone because of the rules.

But in the current purple zone, there was only one level-five Evil Fallen. This means there must be some extremely terrifying rule, so much so that Evil Fallen are not needed for this place to be classified as a purple zone.

"Can you help me find my head? Have you seen my head?" the Evil Fallen asked again.

"Yes, I can, but you need to tell me what your head looks like. Where and around when did you last see your head? When did you realize you were missing your head?"

Bai Wu responded according to his thinking while also pondering the oddity of this area, including what consequences it would have if he chose to forcefully kill this Evil Fallen.

He tried to step backward out of the gym, but it was as if an invisible wall had suddenly appeared behind him, blocking his body and preventing any movement backward.

"Did you see my head?" the Evil Fallen raised the head in its hands high and spoke again.

The face on that head became arrogant, as if something Bai Wu inadvertently did had put it in an advantageous position.

Noticing this, Bai Wu frowned.

"This person is somewhat similar to ’Telephone Face’ and Violet, all having special rule powers. Could it be I need to correctly answer its questions to leave this place?"

He took another look at the pile of heads in the basket.

"Wait, the ’words coming true’ mentioned by the eyes... Could it be that whatever is said here has to be fulfilled, or perhaps will come true?"

Suddenly, Bai Wu thought of something.

The reason he couldn’t move was that he had answered the Evil Fallen’s question, which in logic meant he had agreed to help the Evil Fallen find its head.

"So I can’t leave the gym until I find the Evil Fallen’s head?"

He didn’t feel afraid afterward; where normal people would find fear, Bai Wu felt excited.

Bai Wu was now very excited.

Especially since the Evil Fallen deliberately held the head in its hands and then asked him if he had seen its head.

"If my deduction is correct, that this place carries a sort of self-fulfilling effect when it comes to one’s own misfortune along with rules for logical reversal, then I just narrowly escaped death."

The basket was filled with many heads, and the Evil Fallen also held a head as if it were a paddle, showing that by some transformed rule, the head in its hands was not a head, but a ball.

It was using the head as a ball to play with.

By deliberately lifting the head in its hands, the Evil Fallen was making a suggestive implication. If at that time, one followed its words and replied—your head is in your hands, it is equivalent to establishing a logic where the head is a ball.

Words coming true means that statements detrimental to oneself will also become reality, detrimental logics and rules will appear.

This would result in one’s own head falling off from its neck to be used as a ball by the Evil Fallen.

Bai Wu laughed. This place really could kill with mere words. After spouting so much for so long, he was nearly taken down by someone else’s verbal trap.

"I didn’t see it, I’ve asked just now, and you need to tell me where you lost your head."

"My head... It’s gone. How about... you lend me yours? Once I find it... I’ll return it to you?" the head in Evil Fallen’s hands, opened its eyes wide.

Bai Wu could feel that the other party was trying to trick him into misspeaking.

The other party possessed the Skullduggery Mutation Entry, he guessed that this entry might allow the separation of body and head, and enable one to take possession of a stolen head with their own will.

But he didn’t have this entry, and if he carelessly agreed to Evil Fallen’s request, once he lent out his head, he would undoubtedly die.

"I won’t lend it. You can tell me when you lost your head, and I might be able to help you find it, just might, don’t get your hopes up."

Given the possibility of speaking things into existence in this place, Bai Wu became cautious with his words.

Evil Fallen seemed surprised, had this person realized the gym’s rules?

Bai Wu thought while stalling:

"Besides the time and place where you lost your head, you’d better also tell me traits like hair style, if you have single or double eyelids, how wide is your forehead? What about your cheekbones? Do you have a double chin or a single chin? Does your nose have any distinct features? Do you look like Guo Degang or Kris Wu? Or perhaps a smiling Fat Tiger, and so on."

Evil Fallen didn’t speak, one hand cradling the head while the other pointed towards the direction of the sports field.

Bai Wu didn’t know that it was the direction of the sports field, but it suddenly occurred to him, was Evil Fallen here, playing with a head as if it were a ball, because its head had been played with as a ball by someone else?

"Have you ever said something like, if you lose, you’d chop off your head and give it to someone to use as a ball?"

Bai Wu was now very particular, fearing that the rules here would interpret things as literally as an internet troll, so even with examples and guesses, he only used the second person.

It was just speculation, but to his surprise, Evil Fallen showed an expression of grief and anger: freewebnσvel.cѳm

"Give me your head! Give me your head! I’ll give you the ball back, and you give me back my head, okay?"

"Firstly, my head is mine, not yours, so there’s no question of giving it back, and secondly, no way, beat it."

Evil Fallen instantly switched from grief and anger to a sort of resentment, his dark eyes staring at Bai Wu. But obviously, he seemed to realize that the person before him had figured out the rules.

If he couldn’t get this person to say something self-damaging, he couldn’t steal the other’s head.

However, Bai Wu’s situation was also grim, it seemed he couldn’t leave this place unless he helped Evil Fallen find its head.

The head was outside the gymnasium, but he just couldn’t leave this place.

One thing was certain, even if physically killing this Evil Fallen had an effect, he currently couldn’t do it.

"What’s your name? Tell me your name, and when I’ve collected enough clues, I will tell you how to find your head," Bai Wu suddenly asked.

"Fu Senwen."

Quite cooperative, Bai Wu then pointed at the head in Fu Senwen’s hands and asked:

"You can be called Fu Senwen, but what about him? Is he Fu Senwen? Is this head, Fu Senwen’s head?"

The head in Fu Senwen’s hands once again showed a look of grief and anger:

"This is not my head! I want my head... give me back my head!"

Bai Wu ignored the other’s irrational fussing and continued:

"You think this isn’t your head because you believe your head represents your will, then does that mean his head represents his will? Is it him asking me to find his head, or is it you asking me to find your head? I must remind you, I only agreed to your request, but I didn’t agree to his."

This question suddenly stumped Fu Senwen, who subconsciously said:

"It’s me... I want to find my head."

"Who are you? Are you the one who asked me the question and asked me to find the head?"

"Yes."

"Are you Fu Senwen?"

"I am Fu Senwen... I want to find my head! Give me your head! I’ll give the ball to you!" Fu Senwen seemed a bit out of sorts.

As if he was a bit tangled by Bai Wu’s questioning.

"So the one answering this question, it’s Fu Senwen?"

Fu Senwen felt it should be correct but also felt something was off.

"Yes..."

"Does this mean that from this head’s mouth, Fu Senwen himself is telling me that Fu Senwen requests me to find his head?"

"Yes..."

"So whose hands is Fu Senwen’s head in?" freёwebnovel.com

"Fu Senwen’s head is in... my hands..."

"You said it, not me. Congratulations, you’ve found it."

Feeling the pressure behind him disappear, Bai Wu didn’t say another word and bolted straight away.

By the time Fu Senwen came to his senses, Bai Wu’s silhouette had already vanished.

His hand held a head that was clearly someone else’s. How had it become his own? His head, it was supposed to be outside being kicked around as a ball...

This Evil Fallen wasn’t a Fragment Guardian, and Bai Wu had no interest in killing it. Through this Evil Fallen, he had roughly understood how terrifying the school was.

The emphasis on being cautious in speech was important, but in this area, one had to watch their words.

Because anything detrimental to oneself coming from one’s own mouth would come true.

This might not be the only rule; the school might be hiding many more strange and peculiar rules.

Outside the gymnasium was the soccer field, and from a distance, Bai Wu saw a group of Evil Fallen kicking a head around—

[You’ve indecisively dealt with a campus urban legend—The Unfulfilled Head Collector. You can go to the sports field and have a friendly match with the Evil Fallen, win that head, or you can put that aside for now and do something else?]

Why were these students using the head of the Evil Fallen from the gym as a ball? Was it just because Fu Senwen said that phrase?

"Forget it, let’s leave it for now."

Bai Wu chose not to go to the sports field to play soccer. Fu Senwen’s head might have a special purpose, but having been kicked for seven hundred years, it won’t make much difference to wait a little longer.

Bai Wu found the Prince of Tennis style deadly soccer intriguing to watch, but he had no interest in taking part.

Standing outside the gym at this moment, Bai Wu decided to use the old way, a simple probe of this school.