Doomsday Jigsaw Puzzle

Chapter 393: Chapter 10: The Monsters of the Sixth Layer.

The topic finally came to the most crucial place, the sixth floor of the High Tower.

Bai Wu had indeed considered this possibility. Cain might invite him to the sixth floor since, in some sense, Cain was somewhat similar to him—a madman.

But this could be a more dangerous undertaking than venturing into the black area, so Bai Wu needed to think it over carefully.

Yes, he did not immediately refuse Cain’s seemingly insane and brainless request.

Even Bai Wu felt... perhaps it really was possible to go to the sixth floor.

It wasn’t a death wish. He had his own considerations in mind.

"What? Scared? Or are you still doubting what I told you about the King of Hearts? I haven’t met that person, but I know he must be very good at deceiving others. He definitely won’t be your friend, and his attitude toward you must be one of exploitation."

The gap between Cain and Bai Wu, Bai Wu believed, lay in the amount of information they possessed.

As for the gap in their natural talents, Bai Wu was unclear. He also had no idea what level a complete Cain might be at.

However, having been able to battle the "Farm" version of Lin Rui, his strength was certainly not weak, especially since that was seven hundred years ago. Cain had accumulated considerable power in those seven hundred years. freewebnσvel.cøm

It was only because of something similar to "soul" or "potential" that was intercepted by the monsters on the sixth floor, which prevented Cain from using his full power.

Bai Wu was quite happy to see this situation where the opponent, due to the lack of information, would ultimately make wrong judgments and futile efforts.

Cain was like that, unknowing of the father-son relationship between him and the King of Hearts, and given that the relationship itself was extremely poor, he kept trying to sow discord about the topic initiated against the "Ten of Spades."

After the instigation, other than feeling a bit like laughing, Bai Wu had no other emotions.

His distaste for Bai Yuan didn’t need anyone else to provoke it. So, what Cain did, beyond providing some information to Bai Wu, was meaningless.

Bai Wu shook his head and said:

"Speak up then, why do you think we are suited to go to the sixth floor?"

Cain was surprised. Bai Wu was actually considering going to the sixth floor? He hadn’t held out hope when he spoke because he believed he had nothing to lose, while Bai Wu had only one life.

"Do you truly dare to go?"

"I’ve always been thinking, I’ve left the tower so many times, found quite a few clues outside of it, but I’ve never come into contact with information about the origin of the apocalypse. I’ve been able to see a lot of twisted human nature from the Pre-Tower Era, people’s fantastical escape journeys, and the various aberrant ways of survival after becoming Evil Fallen. These are meaningful, but not meaningful enough."

"In short, I will continue to exit the tower and explore various distorted places, but if before that, I could learn more about... the fundamental things, maybe it would be a greater help in solving various puzzles outside the tower."

Cain was shocked. This person actually wanted to go to the sixth floor from an academic angle?

Purely to unravel the mysteries of the world? Or to find more information for future tower exits?

"What about you? What was the reason you climbed to the sixth floor of the High Tower?" Bai Wu asked Cain in return.

"I had no interest in those losers on the fifth floor. I was very clear that, having received my teacher’s gift, I would surpass them. I also had no desire to rule over humanity. If I had already reached the pinnacle in the world beyond the tower, I naturally wanted to know what was on the sixth floor."

Jiang Xuan’s face took on a fanatical expression:

"The formula for making Emotional Stabilizers, the methods for crafting the Return Roulette and Traction Disc, the true purpose of the Stele, and the Talent Sequence... Even detailed information about the Evil Fallen entries, all of these twisted products of the apocalypse era are recorded on the sixth floor of the High Tower. Aren’t you curious?"

Bai Wu understood. If he wanted to learn more about the origin of the apocalypse and the birth of the Well, the essence of the world’s mysteries, then Cain... he was doing it to seek death.

He was the cat that curiosity killed.

"Since you want me to go to the sixth floor, you have to tell me what’s there. As far as I know, you were seriously injured on the sixth floor, and your search for a vessel is to return to your peak era."

Cain squinted his eyes:

"Lilith told you? Come to think of it, it’s been quite a while since I last saw her."

"She’s dead. You don’t need to worry about anything, and she didn’t know much about you. It seems like you haven’t had any friends for seven hundred years."

Cain laughed:

"Hahaha... I don’t need friends. Over the past seven hundred years, I’ve had many identities. My greatest pleasure has been to use these identities to play people around me like fools. Was it you who caused Lilith’s death?"

"What, did you like her?"

"I just find it a pity. After all, as an Eternal Being who has drunk from the Eternal Spring, she could have been a very good bait."

Bai Wu became interested.

Cain made no attempt to conceal:

"I am not clear whether the monster on the sixth level is still there. Perhaps it’s moved on to the seventh level. When I went to the sixth level, it seemed to be working on opening up the seventh. And its greatest pleasure is to devour those from the fifth level who have drunk from the Eternal Spring."

Bai Wu thought to himself, it is just like you, to consider Lilith, who followed you for seven hundred years, as nothing more than bait?

However, he quickly extracted other information from the conversation.

Opening up levels?

"Aren’t you curious why no one has been sent to the sixth level for a long time?" Cain said with a smile.

Bai Wu was indeed curious.

"Indeed, all families have established a secrecy plan to not send people with a high ranking in the Talent Sequence up there. But if you’re already able to threaten these rulers, do you think they would still abide by these moral considerations?"

"They couldn’t get rid of me either." Bai Wu felt it necessary to emphasize.

At first, there were people sent to the sixth level who never came back down, but many of those with the top hundred in the sequence also believed there was some benefit to the sixth level.

People willing to cooperate and those who are not are two different matters.

Of course, Bai Wu also thought that Cain made sense, fearing that the rulers had considered using the sixth level to eliminate him behind his back.

"That’s one factor, but is it possible that the monster has already gone to the seventh level? It’s no longer able to deal with some appeals from the fifth level. How about it, would you consider going with me to the sixth level? Or are you afraid?" Cain asked provocatively.

Bai Wu shook his head and said:

"We know each other well enough by now. Why bother with such meaningless provocation? I am indeed mad, and have been through many deadly situations. But that’s due to issues of my own luck."

Although Bai Wu’s experiences seemed like courting death.

To a large extent, it was also thanks to his "100% Difficulty +n" physique.

"I will give your invitation some serious thought, if you can persuade me."

Cain understood that Bai Wu still wanted to extract information from him.

But Cain had no need to conceal anything:

"I will go with you to the sixth level. This massive structure, known as the Bastion called the High Tower, is definitely where all the valuable secrets are buried at the very top. If you are worried about that monster, I can tell you very clearly, yes, it is a true monster."

"It is shrouded in black shadows, although it has the outline of a human, I don’t believe it to be a human... As for strength, I can’t describe it because it didn’t exert much effort to deal with me. Can an ant perceive the difference between itself and an elephant?"

Bai Wu hadn’t expected Cain to be so humble. Of course, even the proudest person must be humble before absolute strength.

It’s like Yan Zizai, confronting individuals like Jing Wu or Jing Er, he could only consciously step to the sidelines and be a spectator.

"You’ve clashed with that monster, and since you possess a false body, it should have hurt you."

"Bai Wu, don’t be too arrogant. We are so insignificant. Faced with these monsters that can twist the world, many things we consider normal are merely coincidences intentionally left by others. Our understanding of this world is so limited. You don’t really believe that just by venturing out of the tower a few times and continuously increasing your strength, you have touched upon the essence, do you?"

Cain’s eyes bore a hint of mockery:

"What is the Sequence, what is the entry for Evil Fallen, what is the rule of four hours outside the tower? If you think these things are settled, then you are gravely mistaken. My Sequence does indeed allow me to control other people’s bodies, but whether there are existences in this world that can ignore the effects of the Sequence is also unknown."

Bai Wu agreed with this statement. He remembered an example from a very famous science fiction novel, "The Three-Body Problem".

Suppose humans live in a two-dimensional world like a target, and a three-dimensional creature shoots it, making a hole every ten centimeters. After studying this, the two-dimensional humans would conclude—every ten centimeters in the universe, there is a hole.

But in reality, it’s just an improv act by the three-dimensional beings.

Another example is the famous Farmer Hypothesis.

There’s a group of chickens in the farm, and the farmer takes good care of them, feeding them at eleven o’clock every day. So the clever chickens, after observing for nearly a year, conclude—every day at eleven in the morning, food will come. Therefore, one of the chickens announces this great discovery on a holiday, but at eleven o’clock that day, no food arrives.

To celebrate the holiday, the farmer slaughters them all.

Sequences, entries, the rule of every four hours, or all sorts of twisted rules, spirit possession items, in Bai Wu’s view, are special rules of this world.

But these unique rules of the world have also overturned the norms people were accustomed to before the apocalypse.

So, in the face of stronger beings, would Sequences still work?

Could everything just be an improv act by the stronger beings?

Could it be that humans who obtained Sequences, and Evil Fallen who got their entries, are just like the chickens that received food, smugly believing they’ve found the great laws of the world?

However, in the face of absolute distortion, perhaps there are no laws at all?

Thinking this way, Bai Wu actually felt a bit troubled. And the Farmer Hypothesis made him think of another farmer.

"Anyway, he took away part of my power. How should I describe that feeling? Like my soul was being sliced? Or perhaps I could feel that my infinite potential had become limited? It was a terrifying feeling. Hahaha... After many years, the thought of that monster still scares me."

Could the monster on the sixth floor of the High Tower be the one, the Great Demon King on the fifty-first floor, that Jing Si mentioned?

Bai Wu pondered thoughtfully.

Sequence, entries, members of the Jing Family, puzzle pieces—all these things’ origins can probably only be explored by going to the sixth floor. freēwēbnovel.com

But how to assess the danger level of the sixth floor?

Both men tacitly skirted this subject, and Cain said:

"I am still Jiang Xuan, and you are still my captain. Nobody knows what happened between us. If you have already told someone else about this, then make sure that person keeps quiet."

Bai Wu nodded, and "Jiang Xuan" continued:

"You know how to contact me, I will give you time to prepare. Bai Wu, I won’t misread you. You are a madman just like me, deep down! And a madman should do what a madman does."

The conversation ended.

After Jiang Xuan finished speaking, he stood up and very politely nodded to Bai Wu:

"Then, Captain, I will take my leave. Call on me if you need anything."

Bai Wu must admit, Cain’s acting was certainly no worse than his own.

After Cain left, Bai Wu slowly digested the news from their conversation today.

As for the incident this morning when he confronted the Qin Family member on the fourth floor, he did not care at all about how it would evolve.

It has to be said, Cain was a failed opponent, but at the same time, a successful one.

Despite Cain’s repeated failures due to asymmetric information, he always seemed to be heading in the right direction.

Cain hoped I would deal with the ruler, and indeed, I intended to deal with the ruler.

Cain wanted me to go to the sixth layer, and I also truly wished to go there.

Even though my stance was completely different from Cain’s.

Thinking about it... Bai Wu suddenly thought that perhaps the King of Spades, the King of Clubs, and the King of Hearts also had completely different standpoints. But they must have joined forces at some point because they had a common goal.

However, the departure of the King of Hearts was clearly a betrayal to the other two kings.

"It seems you have decided to go to the sixth layer?"

"Yes. Do you have any advice, Faker?"

Bai Wu looked towards Bai Yuan, who was wearing a headset, the origin of which from the Inner World was anyone’s guess.

When Bai Wu and Cain discussed the sixth layer, Bai Yuan was sitting at the side, listening to a song and humming a tune that Bai Wu found somewhat familiar, but couldn’t remember where he had heard it.

It was as if Bai Wu had heard the song somewhere in the Inner World, but he just couldn’t recall clearly.

But that wasn’t the focal point for Bai Wu.

When Cain left and Bai Yuan took off his headphones, he saw through what Bai Wu was thinking.

"You’ve already called me a liar, would you even listen to my advice?"

"If I die, you wouldn’t survive either."

"Tsk tsk, your memory isn’t very good. I’ve said it before, don’t threaten a dead man with death."

Bai Wu didn’t let Bai Yuan lead him astray:

"If you’ve got no useful information, you can leave."

"Suit yourself, there’s been a new dish in the recent lunches, you know. Although there’s no gourmet food in this world where you are, there’s quite a bit in the Inner World, so please maintain your obsession with good food."

Bai Yuan prepared to leave, but before he did, he raised a finger, his back to Bai Wu, as if he suddenly remembered something:

"Oh, right, as a repayment for the culinary delights, I can give you a piece of information. Of course, I’m a great liar, so whether you choose to believe it or not is not my concern."

"What information?" Bai Wu said.

"The sixth layer is accessible. Alright, I’m off to enjoy my food. Oh, and you could also have an obsession with women. Most women in your Inner World are not normal, and as a father, I’m quite worried about children going through puberty. After all, I can see your dreams, and you don’t even dream of spring dreams, which is really..."

"Get lost!"

Bai Yuan disappeared.

Bai Wu rubbed his forehead, muttering:

"He’s really becoming more and more annoying."

He said that, and indeed he described Bai Yuan as a great liar.

But all the talk from Cain couldn’t compare to a single phrase from Bai Yuan, when he said that the sixth layer was accessible, Bai Wu hardly had any doubts.

And so, not long after Cain left and Bai Yuan vanished... Bai Wu made a decision.

He would put the exploration outside the tower on hold and prioritize going to the sixth layer of the High Tower.