Free Web NovelChapter 38: Chapter 38: The Eight Corners of the Chessboard
As Bai Wu led the three of them, preparing for a desperate struggle to survive inside the tower, on another side of the pick-up port, the story took a completely different turn.
This young man, skilled in talking, showed what it meant to have a corporate-level understanding.
When Bai Wu entered the first hollow tree and checked the skeletal remains of the woman, Ye Weiming’s eyes reddened, and he choked up, saying,
"It’s a teammate’s skeleton! My good brother, sorry I’m late, but I, Constantine, swear on the dignity of a freelance mercenary! I will personally slay that Evil Fallen!"
While Yang Zhen was dragging the Evil Fallen,
"Go! You guys go! I’ll cover our retreat, old Constantine, the rest is up to you! If I can make it back alive, I’ll surely have a good drink with you! Hahahaha, you damned thing, come on, grandpa is right here!"
Combined with Yang Zhen’s tough-guy image, it was oddly fitting. It was just that the lip movements didn’t match, but the audience didn’t care and were happily enjoying the show. Some viewers even exclaimed, "Fuck, it’s getting lit!"
Under Ye Weiming’s commentary, although Yang Zhen was very much alive, he was treated as though he had prematurely received his lunchbox. The audience had already considered him a martyr for the tower.
It was unknown... if it turned out he wasn’t dead later, how would Ye Weiming smooth it over.
When Bai Wu discovered the note,
"His sacrifice was indeed worthwhile, we’ve found the most critical clue! The treasure is within our reach; this is a treasure map! With it, we can find the lost treasure, I’m sure, it’s priceless, so much so that it might even elicit the covetousness of the nobility!"
Among the three items, indeed one was worth a fortune, but the audience was unaware. They only knew that damned old Constantine had made a killing.
When Bai Wu finally arrived at the treehouse and looked at the three items to make a choice, Ye Weiming said in a trembling voice,
"We’ve found it, found it! I haven’t let your sacrifices be in vain! I haven’t failed in the trust you placed in me!"
Although Bai Wu appeared composed in reality, who knew what was really going on behind the mask? The spectators only felt that Constantine was flesh and blood, and although there were few run-ins with the Evil Fallen, the entire story was quite a roller coaster.
In fact... Bai Wu found this expedition even more boring than the experiences in the Ninth Hospital.
All in all, the tower’s treasure hunt narrative had reached its climax.
And outside of the tower, the rescue operation was also drawing to a close.
...
...
Outside the tower, in the unknown jungle.
Acid rain fell once again, the dense canopy above the treehouse completely shielding it, while Liang Yu underneath the giant tree, had lips turning purple.
He was undergoing agonizing torment internally.
"I’m going to die here... that Evil Fallen... it simply won’t die, we can’t make it back... There’s only one Wheel of Sorrows and Joys, who will Constantine give it to? It must be Yang Zhen, right?"
"That damned Yang Zhen, he’s the one who got Second Brother killed! Both of us were Scouts, with Second Brother being more astute in strategy and me sharper in sensing. If I had been the one to scout... maybe he wouldn’t have died... But Yang Zhen insisted on sending Second Brother..."
"And Third Brother, what a pity... just because he said something about Sister-in-law being pretty. When the Evil Fallen attacked, he actually let Third Brother stay behind. Laowu isn’t any better, relying on good luck, the most useless person, yet he’s the one who’s survived until now... How come I’m the one who fell, and he’s only suffering from Sluggishness?"
Falling is actually a very rare negative attribute, one that, once settled, gives rise to hatred for one’s own kind.
If not returned to the High Tower soon, it could even lead to Evil Fallen Transformation.
Freelance mercenaries were an unruly bunch, lacking the equipment of the Investigation Corps, so Liang Yu didn’t realize his emotional fluctuations had reached a dangerous level.
"The more I interact with people, the more I understand the repulsiveness of humanity... Stupid, ugly humans, and those nobles, living high and mighty off our hard work, while we have to exchange our lives for money outside the tower... Why? Once I get back to the High Tower, I want to..."
He stopped abruptly as the reagent was injected, and Liang Yu’s mind suddenly went blank.
It was as if, in an instant, he lost all sensations from the outer world, and after a few seconds the blankness in his consciousness gradually dispersed.
The purplish hue of his lips also slowly reverted back to normal.
"Don’t let your mind wander on a rainy day."
Bai Wu’s tone was as indifferent as always; he didn’t explain anything to Liang Yu.
When the reagent was removed, both Liang Yu and Qin Lin breathed a sigh of relief.
Qin Lin wondered, how did Constantine even know this reagent was for suppressing negative emotions?
Thankfully, it really was a suppressant and not some strange injection fluid.
After Liang Yu realized what had changed, he was profoundly shocked.
What other secrets was Constantine hiding? Had his negative attributes been lifted?
His heart no longer harbored any grudges or hatred, even wondering why he had thought those inappropriate thoughts that were too rebellious...
The value of this reagent was immeasurable. Liang Yu could imagine, if they could mass-produce what they had just made, perhaps the Investigation Corps might even be able to go to the purple zone?
No... According to rumors, the trump card of the Investigation Corps, that dwarf, might even be able to go to the red zone.
What truly hindered humanity was the negative attributes, the mighty rules of the world outside the tower.
But just now, were these rules temporarily suppressed? Liang Yu looked at the reagent in Bai Wu’s hand, which had no label.
"Is this reagent something you found above?"
"Mhm, Lord Constantine recognized its use at a glance. Mr. Liang, are you feeling better?" fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
Liang Yu nodded in astonishment, "Better, thank you. I almost... made a big mistake just now."
If he had let those thoughts spread, Liang Yu could feel that he might truly have become inhuman.
It was all thanks to Bai Wu’s injection.
He had also guessed that the reagent was perhaps not originally Constantine’s, but Xiao Wu’s words conveyed a message: Constantine knew the use of this thing.
That implied he had seen it before.
Liang Yu’s mind began to reassess this mysterious ally and speculated that it might be the effect of the Wheel of Sorrows and Joys. Despite losing two old teammates, they had gained a truly strong supporter.
Bai Wu was still unaware of what the other was imagining.
His gaze was constantly searching for the next hiding spot.
All the pieces of information were nearly connected, but they were missing one key puzzle piece. As long as they found that piece, they could unravel the secrets of Dandelion.
That damaged notebook was filled with strange symbols.
And throughout the Ninth Hospital, similar symbols were drawn.
In the Ninth Hospital, he had once entered Hong Yin’s memory, which may be related to Hong Yin’s abilities, but perhaps... also to those Cursed Runes.
That notebook might be an entrance to memory, but he lacked a key.
"Laoda is still fighting with that Evil Fallen."
As a third-order perceiver, Liang Yu could only sense the leader’s and the Evil Fallen’s auras.
Bai Wu nodded, his gaze piercing through the acid rain, still searching for clues; he sensed time was running out.
"Based on the hiding spots we’ve found before, Dandelion is somewhat obsessive-compulsive. Each base is distributed diagonally, in all directions. I’ve gone to four corners, so there are inevitably four more in the direct directions with clues hidden."
With that thought, Bai Wu took several steps back, starting to correct his own direction. He constructed geometric patterns in his mind, calculating the entire space’s size.
The whole area appeared in Bai Wu’s consciousness like a black-and-white chessboard, and soon he located the precise position of the four hiding spots:
He looked to the south:
[There is indeed a burial ground to the south, hiding the skeleton of a mercenary. But you already know Dandelion’s little tricks, so there’s no need to go there.]
It seems the south also had a hiding spot, and Dandelion had laid quite a few "false sources of information."
Bai Wu then looked to the east:
[A man with a full beard and someone who likes to eat people are having an amicable exchange. Dandelion noticed that the little baldy and the little mascot’s fear had faded, which means the meat has gone bad. It is very angry and will soon enter the second phase. Countdown: 600 seconds.]
The east was precisely the direction of Yang Zhen’s confrontation with Dandelion. The note didn’t provide information about a hiding spot, perhaps because the content of the information was less important.
Indeed, the premonition was correct. Dandelion had a backup plan, but what was the second phase?
A renewed sense of crisis surged in Bai Wu’s heart. Ten minutes, less than ten minutes left. If they didn’t hurry to find Dandelion’s weakness, something awful was bound to happen!
He looked to the west:
[One does indeed need to take this path. After Dandelion’s death, a gap will appear in this area... But you have to kill it first. Anyway, this road is blocked.]
While this note didn’t reveal much, it confirmed one thing: Dandelion itself had a definite connection to the entire area. Were they one and the same?
Lastly, Bai Wu looked to the north:
[When you see that notebook full of Cursed Runes, you will probably think the same thing I did: ’Riddler, get out of Gotham City.’ But fortunately, in the cave not far from here, there is a familiar item, which contains Dandelion’s secrets. However, this secret might change your perspective on Dandelion.]
