Free Web NovelChapter 193: Chapter 193: Rulers’ Meeting
The principal died.
As if by perfect coincidence, the moment Jiang Yimi felt the death of the principal and retracted the curse, the bell signaling the end of class rang out.
Seven hundred years of resentment slowly subsided with the prolonged ring of the bell.
Darkness dissipated, countless blood vessels slashed by bone spurs flowed with foul, black blood. In the entire office building, the blood vessels that had covered all the doors began to shrink bit by bit. A giant body composed of several eyes was their endpoint, and just like that body, they began to wither, to decay, to fade away. The eyes of the Leviathan, which had hatched on the blood vessels, became dull and ultimately succumbed to deathly stillness.
In the end, Bai Wu’s gaze fell upon the principal’s true form, which had crawled out to the open space outside the office building.
Its body consisted of a massive eye, even larger than Bai Wu’s body after the Evil Fallen Transformation, as well as six relatively smaller eyes.
They were connected, like a grotesque tumor.
The eyes began to slowly fall off the conglomerate, and faintly, Bai Wu could still make out the human skeletal outlines behind the eyes.
Under the "Doctor’s" modifications, seven Angel Envoys were transformed with the help of the Stitched Sequence to become a legendary monster—Leviathan.
But now they were dead.
[Michel, Morgan, Fro, Arthur, Colina, Quinn, Boyce. Seven hundred years ago, as participants in the plan to destroy the old world, they originally belonged to the fifth layer’s rulers, of course, at that time, humanity hadn’t entirely entered the High Tower, and there wasn’t yet talk of rulers.
But little cheats, well, they always have a way of deceiving others, just as you snatched Dandelion’s first love, he also snatched these seven destroyers. The school was merely an incubation ground, if they hadn’t been unlucky enough to meet little misfortune, the changes in this place over seven hundred years would have been much more than just the red zone.
We might as well call this story the tale of little misfortune and the seven big eyes.
Now the story has ended, hurry up and open the box!]
Bai Wu didn’t find it surprising, and the reason he hadn’t probed deeper into the details was that this time was different from the incident with Dandelion.
The kind soul he had encountered wasn’t in the other party’s hands.
Of course, Bai Wu had to admit that this area was very dangerous. There were many things that couldn’t be confirmed in advance.
Over seven hundred years, Jiang Yimi’s personality had changed slightly, it’s possible she would have been gone the moment she infiltrated the forbidden area.
The reason he had killed the principal so cleanly and decisively was that from the Manor area, he knew that Cain’s focus had shifted.
It was no longer a test of his own nature, but a start to make his heart loathe the rulers of the fifth layer.
So Bai Wu didn’t need to guess to know that the experiences of the disciples this time must have been related to the rulers.
The eyes provided confirmation.
Jiang Yimi watched the principal’s decaying remains slowly dissolve, and her expression gradually returned to calm.
A few minutes later, she spoke:
"I, I... can we now return everything to how it was? Will everything in the school... be restored?"
"Most of it can be, although we’re still missing a piece that can turn the Evil Fallen back into humans."
Bai Wu had already seen a piece with a bird pattern emerge from the part of the principal’s body that was dissipating. With this piece, the barriers between areas, whether passage rights or the limits of the Fragment’s power, had all vanished.
He picked up the piece.
Flowers, birds, insects, and fish, now only the fish remain. This fragment was once very important, but after the other three pieces were collected, it seemed less so.
"Now only the dormitory area is left. Although the Lantern Bearer might be more challenging to deal with than the principal, it’s not a big problem. We can now use the power of the Doomsday Fragment."
The Lantern Bearer originated from the kind thoughts that separated out when Jiang Yimi suffered an episode of her fusion illness. It is considered the strongest entity in the dormitory area, belonging both to the Evil Fallen and to some sort of rule byproduct.
Despite the formidable opponent, after dealing with the principal and securing a fragment, Bai Wu was now in an invincible position.
All the distorted rules of the school could be cleansed, and all the teachers and students felt an affinity for him.
That feeling of purifying an entire area in one go gave Bai Wu a glimpse of a possibility.
In the sea of blood-colored clouds, he had lied to Gu Hailin.
The refuge was fake, humanity had not escaped the High Tower. Gu Qingyu had not led humans to wage war outside the tower.
But perhaps, he could build a refuge himself.
...
...
High Tower, fifth level.
The No. 94 pyramidal spire had always been considered a sacred place in the hearts of many administrators. They dreamt that one day they too would earn the favor of the rulers and gain the opportunity to receive a pass card for the pyramidal spire.
This pyramidal spire rose 300 meters high. It was the tallest of all the spires in both the fifth and fourth levels.
On the 96th floor of the pyramidal spire, there was a conference room that only those with the highest authority could enter.
This conference room was furnished with nothing more than a massive round table made of an unknown metal.
And eight seats.
The eight people hadn’t come together for a meeting in a very long time. For them, stepping out of the forbidden grounds of their own manors meant that there had been some kind of change in this High Tower, or in their own powers.
If one of them initiated a Black Tower meeting, it meant that the destiny of all humanity was under some sort of threat.
After many years, the eight individuals from the fifth level of the High Tower finally convened under one roof.
Yan, Wang, Qin, Zhong, Pang, Liu, Zheng, Xie. The nameplates on the table didn’t list their full names; they were marked only with surnames.
They were the true rulers of these eight families.
In the elimination hundreds of years ago, they had used every means available to become Eternal Beings for their families and had taken control of the eight powers.
They survived the power struggles among seventy-two individuals and had held the position of rulers for hundreds of years since then.
Among them were those who indulged in luxury and corruption, but they all possessed abilities beyond the reach of ordinary people.
Especially absolute power.
"This damn eternal life prevents me from seeing you all age; what a pity," said the speaker, a fat man sitting behind the Zhong family nameplate.
"At your age, why do you still love showing off so much, especially to us? What are you really boasting about?" In terms of appearance, this ruler from the Yan family was much superior.
Seven hundred years ago, many women were crazy for him; some were even willing to become his experiments for the sake of love.
"We haven’t met in a long time, and since you’re here, let’s not waste time, as I have a lot of research to do."
The ruler of the Xie Family had always been somewhat aloof throughout the past seven hundred years. He controlled over ninety percent of the weaponry resources and technology in the entire High Tower, although these technologies were useless outside the tower and humans had also awakened the powerful Innate Force and Sequence. Yet, these weapons and equipment still posed a great threat within the tower.
The ruler of the Qin Family was a middle-aged man in his forties, or at least, that was his appearance, his true age being over seven hundred. He had an authoritative demeanor, and compared to the rest, he seemed more like a military man:
"The last time we gathered was ninety years ago. We originally thought that the event from ninety years ago would allow the people inside the tower to develop peacefully. But now it seems that we have underestimated the deep-rooted desire for exploration in the human heart."
The ruler of the Pang Family said: ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
"The desire for exploration in the human heart? Every desire’s fulfillment requires power. I’ve heard that not long ago, an incident occurred that almost led to a repeat of the events from ninety years ago. The cause... perhaps you are aware, was that madman’s doing."
When the madman was mentioned, the ruler of the Wang Family, a woman in her twenties, said:
"Is it that lunatic who climbed to the sixth floor? What did he do?"
The ruler of the Qin Family said:
"The war games between the two armies, it must have been his handiwork, although it seems his goal was to provoke discord between the High Tower people and our offspring. But that’s not important; the cleansing from ninety years ago made us realize one thing, as long as human power doesn’t overstep the boundaries, it’s beneficial for everyone. We can rule for a long time, and humans will become even more dependent on the High Tower."
"You called this meeting, what exactly do you want to express?" the ruler of the Xie Family suddenly asked.
The ruler of the Wang Family glanced at the ruler of the Xie Family, slightly surprised. After all, the Xie Family had always kept a low profile, and this man hardly ever spoke at any meeting.
The ruler of the Qin Family said:
"In the past ninety years, the development of the High Tower’s human population has exceeded our estimates, and we should... initiate another cleansing."
Upon hearing this, the rulers of the other seven families all furrowed their brows.
"And your reason? The last cleansing really shook us to the core, especially since another one followed two years later. There must be a reason for this cleansing, you know. The recent war games almost repeated the scene from ninety years ago, and they’re likely on guard now. Speaking of cleansing at this time is rather taxing," said the ruler of the Yan Family.
The other rulers also awaited a reasonable explanation from the ruler of the Qin Family.
"Of course, I wouldn’t have mentioned it if something serious hadn’t happened. Our goal is to keep our subjects from touching things they shouldn’t touch. The reason was the same ninety years ago, and it remains so now."
The ruler of the Qin Family tapped his fingers on the tabletop as he continued:
"Not long ago, I received intelligence from my offspring that a part of our joint venture with external tower forces was targeted, or more precisely, sabotaged, and the research project was halted. This means, once again, our subjects have crossed the fence."
The ruler of the Zhong Family, with his fleshy face rolling, eyes shining brightly:
"The casino, right? I’ve heard about it. We’ll no longer be able to get free high-grade combat test subjects. If we were to select from the existing combat forces of the Garrison Corps and the Investigation Corps, the risks would be too great. Indeed, this is bad news, and I hope that neither my beauties nor my food are compromised."
The female ruler of the Wang Family said:
"So do you agree to the cleansing?"
"Agreed."
"I agree as well," the ruler of the Wang Family stated, while casually casting a glance toward the ruler of the Xie Family.
However, the Xie Family did not take a stance, remaining expressionless as if they had lost interest in the meeting’s contents.
It wasn’t surprising, really; the Xie Family had always been like a reed that bends with the wind, so as long as one more family agreed, they would move on to discuss the details of the cleansing plan.
The ruler of the Pang Family suddenly asked:
"Old Qin, as far as I know, your descendant is the leader of the Investigation Corps. He also has quite a few idealistic aspirations, and I’ve heard that in recent years the security in the lower levels has been getting better, and more and more gains have been made from exploration outside the tower, haha, with an ancestor like you, his situation is not too good."
"In my eyes, there is only absolute order, descendants? I could have as many as I want."
"Hahahaha... Well said, one can have as many descendants as one wants. I agree, I mean with this cleaning plan." As the ruler of the Pang Family spoke these words, he glanced subtly at the ruler of the Yan Family.
For some special reason, the Yan Family only had one son and one daughter each generation. Although this Yan Family ruler did not care, it was still less populous compared to other families.
However, the ruler of the Pang Family was certain that the ruler of the Yan Family would certainly agree. The field in which the ruler of the Yan Family excelled was the biological field, which had the closest ties with the outside forces of the tower, and the Yan Family was exactly the one that needed the most test subjects.
After a cold snort, the ruler of the Yan Family also stated his position.
After half of the rulers agreed, the ruler of the Xie Family also agreed. He was always the minority that followed the majority.
"Business is of utmost importance. Since everyone has agreed to protect our business, then we should start discussing the details. The proportion of the population to be cleared, the timing of the plan, and the method of cleaning."
The meeting officially began, the eight most powerful humans in the High Tower were brewing a revolution that could change the power dynamics.
Meanwhile, in a certain area outside the High Tower, another event significant enough to change the power dynamics was taking place at the same time.
...
...
Outside the tower, Baichuan University Affiliated Middle School.
To wait for the Lantern Bearer to appear and take away the last piece of the Doomsday Puzzle, Bai Wu and Jiang Yimi needed to wait until nightfall.
So the two of them came to dormitory 403, patiently waiting.
It was already night, and by all accounts, Bai Wu should now be gaining three more negative attributes.
But after the fourth negative attribute descended, Bai Wu used the Doomsday Fragment.
The fragment that symbolized consumption came to life for a moment, and at that instant, Bai Wu felt all the negative attributes on his body vanish.
There were many rules at Baichuan University, and Bai Wu only removed one—the use of the Doomsday Fragment should have been a complicated matter.
But once held in hand, it was like holding a weapon that had been used for a long time, and he was able to use it with ease.
No need for a tutorial, no need for guidance, just a thought, just establishing some kind of mental connection with the fragment, and then everything naturally happened.
It was as if it was a piece of usage memory etched into his genes.
When Bai Wu came back to his senses, he felt like a great creator, sensing something irrational in the world and then casually removing that irrationality.
The special rule that descended every four hours targeting humans in the entire Baichuan area was removed.
But likewise, as the price for dispersing the "black," the "white" would also dissipate.
Although not tested, Bai Wu could sense that on this land that had been purified, the chances for humans to enhance their Innate Force were almost non-existent. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
Having finished all this, he and Jiang Yimi began to wait patiently for the arrival of the Lantern Bearer.
