Doomsday Jigsaw Puzzle

Chapter 359: Chapter 163: The Awakening of 59

(Due to the Silver Alliance’s random no-add-on rule, progress is 38/100. It was slightly late today, but it’s finally out.)

High Tower, the fourth floor. Headquarters of the Investigation Corps.

These past few days, the one under the greatest pressure inside the High Tower was the leader of the Investigation Corps, Qin Zong.

He had initially recognized Bai Wu, and from Bai Wu’s frenzied behavior, he discerned Bai Wu’s true intentions.

He could accept his subordinates ruining the wedding and the ridicule and criticism of everyone.

With time, all these would subside and be forgotten, including by Qin Zong himself.

But there were some matters Qin Zong simply couldn’t let go.

In the beginning, when he started to investigate the Qin Family, he seemed like an outsider compared to Qin Xuan and her siblings.

Latter, Qin Zong began to investigate the Investigation Corps and the Garrison Corps, but no matter how much he probed, the events of ninety years ago remained unverifiable.

Qin Ye soon started to suppress the public’s voice as well.

Just like the old playbook from seven hundred years ago: communication monitoring, internet deletion, the internet’s memory was erased, but people’s memories remained, and many still brought up those matters. Over tea and meals, people would discuss the events of ninety years ago, questioning whether humanity already had the capability to wage war in the red zone, only for the higher-ups to betray those soldiers.

That was naturally a question; so how could one make people forget the events of ninety years ago?

Very simple.

Distract them with a different problem, an ancient and timeless wisdom.

When a scandal-ridden celebrity still had backers wishing to protect him, another person with even greater scandals would often emerge.

The logic was the same as when someone tried to top the charts with a new album and a concert, only to have their thunder inevitably stolen by someone else’s explosive news.

Do people have a sense of justice?

They probably do, deep down, but life in the High Tower easily corrodes that. Most are merely onlookers enjoying the spectacle.

People might cry out for the truth and justice over some juicy tale, but they’re easily distracted by an endless supply of new gossip.

Thus, the series of policies that Qin Zong proposed earlier were all approved, providing the lower levels with official channels to ascend to the second and third levels.

These channels no longer considered your wealth or connections, but your ability, your performance in mining below.

This was the first major act.

Without discussing its feasibility, or whether corruption and bribery might occur in the performance reviews, at least the promise was made.

Next, a slew of scandals involving officials started being reported en masse. These bureaucrats had been taking bribes, bending the law for personal gain, and throwing their weight around on the third and fourth levels.

The events of ninety years ago made people angry and feel injustice, but history is history. Could anyone really travel back in time to save those lost?

But the corruption of these fourth-level administrators was tangible and truly detestable!

First, they announced benefits, then punished the corrupt, with focused coverage on their crimes, stirring public indignation and satisfaction with the revelations.

As a result, the old issues were no longer hot topics because it’s hard for people to stay focused on multiple things.

When Bai Wu arrived at the High Tower, people discussed the wedding, and they discussed the demon from outside the Tower.

Bai Wu thought he could awaken something, but despite his extraordinary perspective, he was ultimately just a young man.

What he didn’t know was that not long after he left, the tide of public opinion shifted, one sensational revelation after another.

Some believed it was all a diversion, but could such talk be openly discussed?

Watching everyone applaud as if a wondrous era was arriving—

Qin Zong felt an unexpected touch of desolation in his heart.

What a twisted age it was? freewebnovёl.ƈom

He wished that what Bai Wu had spoken of was false, that the events of ninety years ago were merely smoke and mirrors conjured up by Bai Wu.

Even though he couldn’t find any proof, Qin Zong was never one to just get by; he didn’t deceive himself. freēwēbηovel.c૦m

And so, for the fourth time, Qin Zong summoned Wu Jiu.

The previous three times, Qin Zong, as the leader, had ordered Wu Jiu to divulge the causes and consequences of the wedding incident, and whether Bai Wu was involved.

But Wu Jiu simply shook his head and said,

"This has nothing to do with Bai Wu. He is my most important subordinate, and you cannot slander him, not even you," Wu Jiu stated resolutely.

"Both of us know it was Bai Wu. You also know very well that if I wanted to harm him, I could do so without any evidence!" Qin Zong exclaimed in anger.

Would Qin Zong harm Bai Wu?

Based on Wu Jiu’s understanding of Qin Zong, he wouldn’t. Qin Zong was a leader worth trusting and dying for.

Yet even so, when it involved Bai Wu’s safety, even if everyone knew it was a lie, Wu Jiu would hold onto that lie as if it were the truth.

At least he couldn’t let his negligence put his subordinate in a difficult position with the high and mighty.

"Commander, I repeat, my team members are upright. They are the paragon of the Investigation Corps. Bai Wu had no part in those matters!"

Wu Jiu stood firm.

"You!"

Qin Zong, pointing at Wu Jiu, was at a loss for words; despite the height difference, it seemed as if their auras had switched.

Qin Zong never imagined that Wu Jiu, with his thick eyebrows and large eyes, could lie straight to his face without flinching.

Was this really Wu Jiu?

Suppressing his rage, Qin Zong said,

"I’m not asking you to betray Bai Wu, nor am I angry about the ruined wedding. Why don’t you understand? I want to know the truth about the events of ninety years ago."

"And then what? What can you do after finding out the truth? Those outside, including my colleagues, have guessed some things, but what good does guessing do?" Wu Jiu’s gaze was sharp as a blade.

Not long before, he had received a call from Yan Zizai, who asked to speak with him, naturally about the matter of going to Baichuan City.

Without hesitation, Wu Jiu agreed, thinking that Bai Wu must be busy to not have told him about this in person.

The situation in Baichuan City was indeed dire.

Having survived life-and-death situations with Bai Wu multiple times, Wu Jiu felt that this might be the closest brush with death yet.

Perhaps this time, Bai Wu needed him—and indeed everyone—more than ever.

Qin Zong had sought Wu Jiu out three times, and each time Wu Jiu felt Qin Zong hadn’t reached the heart of the matter, with emotions askew.

This time, Qin Zong’s emotions seemed right.

"If you figure it out, you might, like everyone else, get distracted by other matters. Then your attention shifts because, after all, it’s just a piece of history. Do you have the resolve for justice above family?"

Justice above family.

These four words hit home, seemingly revealing the answer to the problem.

Qin Zong looked at Wu Jiu, momentarily stunned.

After a long while, Qin Zong said:

"I am a person who is self-disciplined to the point of being annoying. The Qin Family is a military family, and the strongest force of the High Tower is all in the hands of the Qin Family. But ever since I was very young, I acted more like a soldier than any of them."

"I am not liked by my own family. Sometimes I wonder if temperament is inborn. Why am I so unlikable, so stubborn? My elder brother also said that with this kind of personality, I’m not smooth enough, and the Family Head and father would never trust me. It seems that the Qin Family had a similar person before."

In history, there was also a leader of the Investigation Corps who was upright and unyielding but almost ruined everything. However, this was a secret of the Qin Family.

Even Qin Zong didn’t know about it.

"The more I distanced myself from them, the more I felt like an outsider. But in the end, the family still handed over the Investigation Corps to me, not because they appreciated me, but because my brother... had no interest in managing you all."

Wu Jiu knew that the leader wasn’t favored by his family, but this was the first time Qin Zong had brought it up.

"But I have no regrets. At least since I’ve been in charge of the Investigation Corps, the cases at the bottom level have become fewer, the death rate of the Investigation Corps has decreased, and the intelligence collected outside the tower has increased. Although the security at the bottom level is still chaotic... it’s getting better bit by bit, especially with subordinates like you... I believe I haven’t chosen the wrong path."

Qin Zong took a deep breath, his eyes widening as he looked at Wu Jiu, his hand landing on Wu Jiu’s shoulder, heavy and powerful!

"Gu Qingyu, tell me, although we have only worked together for a few years, do you see me as a person who can’t distinguish right from wrong in your eyes? Do I, Qin Zong, lack the breadth of mind to accommodate others? Would I ignore an accident that happened ninety years ago for the sake of the family?"

His words grew more forceful with each sentence, each one heartfelt.

Wu Jiu did not avoid the gaze, looking steadily at his commander and calmly said:

"But enlightenment isn’t something everyone possesses."

"Then what kind of person do you think is worthy of enlightenment?"

"The ones who have truly experienced that kind of despair, who have borne that despair, yet still harbor hope. Commander, have any of your friends become an Evil Fallen?"

Qin Zong was taken aback.

Wu Jiu’s words were like a knife.

"Everyone only knows that during the military maneuvers, Liu Mu became an Evil Fallen, but they don’t know that after Liu Mu became an Evil Fallen... he was still the same Liu Mu. He remained the solid shield standing before me."

"That incident began with an Evil Fallen named Nie Chongshan. He was once the best member of the Investigation Corps but was banished outside the tower and became an Evil Fallen due to being disliked by the High Tower’s high-ranking officials!"

"During the military exercise, not a single person died, all because of Nie Chongshan, because of Liu Mu, who always remembered who they were, never forgetting even after becoming Evil Fallen."

"You cannot imagine what they went through. Ninety years ago, the elite troops of both armies, with hearts set on pioneering a future for humanity, fought in the red zone but couldn’t return due to the malfunction of Return Roulette..."

"A malfunction in one person’s Return Roulette can be seen as negligence. But if everyone’s Return Roulette malfunctions, do you know what that means?"

Wu Jiu seemed to be grinding his teeth as he said these words:

"The higher-ups believed... that human beings touching the red zone would infringe upon the interests of outer tower forces, so they decided—to cleanse both armies."

Qin Zong stepped back, his face a picture of shock as he looked at Wu Jiu.

Wu Jiu continued:

"They died but were reborn as Evil Fallen. They no longer held hope for the High Tower but longed to find a future for humanity!"

"Can you keep watch in endless despair for ninety years? Have you experienced a close friend dying before your eyes to protect you? Or have you seen your subordinates, your peers, become Evil Fallen?"

Qin Zong was at a loss for words, his eyes reddening. This iron-blooded man was moved to tears.

He seemed to see that scene, the elite soldiers of the outer tower Investigation Corps struggling to survive.

The combined elite forces of both armies discovering there was no way back in their despair.

Qin Zong wanted to retort, do you have it?

But when he saw Wu Jiu’s calm gaze, he suddenly felt that this not-so-tall man... might have already experienced everything.

"If it’s only about anger, only about remembering, only about treating it as history... it certainly has meaning, and those dead wandering spirits may find peace in the underworld..."

"For the general public, that’s all I ask for."

Wu Jiu took a step forward, his eyes shining with a sharp light:

"But for me, for you, just that is not enough to be called awareness!"

Qin Zong looked at the somewhat unfamiliar Wu Jiu and sighed:

"It seems you’ve been through a lot, you’ve had many opportunities outside the tower. The you from before would never praise Evil Fallen, your view on Evil Fallen was always black or white."

Wu Jiu did not deny it.

"Ever since I met Bai Wu, my opinion of Evil Fallen has been changing. The shells of humans do not necessarily contain human souls. And many admirable souls do not dwell within the shells of humans."

Qin Zong silently pondered this statement.

"The evil of the high echelons might be like our exploration of this world, with only the tip of the iceberg showing. Such things have occurred many times over seven hundred years.

I am not pessimistic, but history has already proven many times that those above can make mistakes, and they will always be forgiven."

Finally, the conversation reached this point, and Wu Jiu said something akin to parting ways:

"I really want to protect the High Tower, to safeguard the common folk at the bottom, to let them live freely without being bullied, and to bring order to this place... But the more I explore, the more I touch upon the truth... the more I despair... and the more I feel that—"

Wu Jiu took a deep breath, looking directly at Qin Zong:

"This High Tower, it’s not worth my protection. Commander, you are the best commander I’ve ever had, and I’m happy to have a superior like you. I was not despised by my superiors like Nie Chongshan, nor was I betrayed by the world I served like Gu Hailin."

"But I believe... if I keep waiting in the High Tower, that day will not be far away."

Qin Zong was deeply saddened. To hear Wu Jiu say such words... what exactly had he experienced?

"Do you believe that the High Tower has decayed to such an extent?"

"Yes."

"Is this what you call awareness? Do you want to overthrow the rule of the High Tower?"

"No... I just want to follow those wandering spirits, to leave the High Tower!"

Wu Jiu’s tone was so resolute.

If Bai Wu were here, he would certainly be surprised by the captain’s words.

After all, when they were in Zao Lake Village, Bai Wu felt that the captain was probably still going to stay at the High Tower.

So back then, Bai Wu started to change tactics, wanting to let the captain continue to benefit the lower levels inside the High Tower, while he himself began to work with people like Nie Chongshan to build a shelter.

At that time, Bai Wu really thought that the captain was right, and that his own headfirst dive into building a shelter was somewhat unstable.

But Wu Jiu’s attitude had now changed drastically.

Maybe it was because Yan Zizai talked a lot on the phone, or maybe he knew that at this moment, the commander needed someone to force him into making a choice.

"What if you choose wrong?"

"Then I’m willing to become a wandering evil ghost outside the tower, and if I ever see a member of the Investigation Corps who is stronger than me, I will take comfort in knowing that the High Tower has produced talent, and if he is weaker than me, I will scold them for losing the courage to explore!"

"I will keep searching for humanity’s future path, until the day I die!"