Free Web NovelChapter 408: Chapter 25: Hope from Above
The fifth level of the High Tower. In Qin Ye’s view, Yan Zizai probably wouldn’t last twenty rounds in the hunt at the Yan Family Manor.
The death of Yan Zhao was ultimately due to his own problems, and not because Yan Zizai was stronger than Yan Zhao.
Guardians are weaker than rulers, which is an indisputable fact in the eyes of the rulers and even the guardians of all the families.
Yan Zizai was destined to lose.
That’s what Qin Ye thought, and Yan Zizai thought so too.
However, the battle didn’t go as smoothly as Qin Ye had expected.
When Qin Ye’s legions confronted the true Yan Zizai, he only then realized how formidable Yan Zizai, with the Eye of the Scales and the Eye of Insight paired with Bipolar Transposition, truly was.
Snippets of the future unfolded before Yan Zizai’s eyes, his form and attributes constantly shifting through Bipolar Transposition.
Qin Ye was killed several times by Yan Zhao amidst the hordes of soldiers, but the nature of his legions brought him back to life each time.
The elusive and unpredictable Yan Zizai repeatedly exposed Qin Ye to fatal vulnerabilities.
The immense strength of Liu Long could be utilized by Yan Zizai, and the formidable defense of Zheng You could also be used by Yan Zizai.
Even the powerful Innate Force that Qin Ye prided himself on could potentially be swapped by Yan Zizai.
Strength and weakness swapped, the poles reversed!
On the second level of the High Tower, those among the Qin Family loyalists who swore allegiance to Qin Ye... one after another, they fell.
They provided Qin Ye with powerful strength and vitality.
But in this duel, Qin Ye was continually suppressed by Yan Zizai, which also turned these men into Qin Ye’s sacrificial lambs.
The legions protected the commander; as long as one soldier remained, the commander would not die.
This Sequence could be very weak, but with seven hundred years of time, in the hands of the great warlord Qin Ye, this Sequence seemed to possess an endless source of strength and life.
Only, the ability of Yan Zizai to swap attributes was quite an annoyance to Qin Ye.
He had to admit that this junior had already possessed the strength to surpass a ruler!
The battle entered the second phase. The entry of Liu Long and Zheng You greatly intensified the pressure on Yan Zizai.
No matter how Yan Zizai swapped Liu Long’s strength, he couldn’t swap the Sequence.
The effect of the God of Destruction didn’t need to concern itself with the power of the accompanying Innate Force. Once hit by the God of Destruction, no matter how powerful the defense or how terrifying the regeneration, for a long time, they would all be rendered useless.
The God of Destruction, a purely combative Sequence within the top twenty with no other functions, had a very straightforward effect—absolute destruction.
The wounds caused by the God of Destruction couldn’t heal or be treated, and the God of Destruction couldn’t be defended against.
If not for the God of Destruction, Yan Zizai would have been confident in dragging out this battle indefinitely.
But just as Wang Jue told Xie Yingjie, Yan Zizai was no match for Liu Long.
The ruler of the Liu Family possessed the strongest offensive power in the High Tower, and no one dared to withstand Liu Long’s fists.
Zheng You was in charge of defense, Qin Ye maintained the pressure, and Liu Long waited for the opportunity to attack.
Zheng Yue didn’t make a move, having already prepared his excuse: the activation of Mirror Flower, Water Moon required drowsiness, and he was too frightened by Yan Zizai to sleep.
That was his planned explanation.
When he saw Liu Long’s fist connect with Yan Zizai’s body, striking as if directly against Yan Zizai’s soul, Zheng Yue knew... Yan Zizai had lost.
Three rulers, each with a Sequence akin to divine abilities.
Legions, Infinite Potential, God of Destruction.
And each one possessed strength at the apex of humanity. Under such circumstances, Yan Zizai struggled for hundreds of rounds and, after enduring the terrifying power of the God of Destruction several times, entered a severely injured state.
It was at this time that Zheng Yue joined the battlefield.
Zheng Yue, who originally didn’t intend to use Mirror Flower, Water Moon, finally did so.
Liu Long, Qin Ye, Zheng You, and Yan Zizai all fell into Zheng Yue’s dreamscape.
Only, unlike before, this dreamscape did not mirror reality. Instead, the terrain within the battlefield of the dreamscape was extremely complicated.
In such intricate terrain, Zheng Yue and Yan Zizai were in one place, while Liu Long, Qin Ye, and Zheng You were elsewhere.
"If you keep fighting, you’ll die. Ah, I don’t believe that fellow Wu Jiu would die, and neither would Bai Wu. They are certain to return. If they come back and find you dead, especially by Zheng’s hand, friendship is off the table," fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
Yan Zizai was gravely injured.
Under the effect of the God of Destruction, even by using Bipolar Transposition, his injuries couldn’t be swapped away as before.
His face smeared with blood, he looked at Zheng Yue with confusion.
"Let’s go, I know you’ve always been too proud for your own good, but sometimes circumstances overwhelm pride. You need to survive first."
"If I were to leave..."
"Don’t fucking mess around. I pulled you into this dreamscape, which has already caused enough trouble for me. Don’t let my good intentions go to waste. You, Bai Wu, and Wu Jiu have been through many areas together; these are all miracles. If you want to continue this journey, don’t die here so easily."
Zheng Yue was a lazy man, so lazy that almost no one had ever seen him with a serious face.
The Zheng Yue of this moment appeared strange to Yan Zizai, yet it moved him profoundly.
"Okay!"
"Now get lost."
The dreamscape began to shatter.
When everyone returned to reality from the dreamscape, their positions hadn’t changed.
Zheng You angrily said:
"What a needless move, killing him didn’t require the use of Mirror Flower, Water Moon."
Qin Ye, indifferent, had never experienced Mirror Flower, Water Moon before. This was his first time, and thus he was unfamiliar with its power.
Therefore, he hadn’t realized that just now, Zheng Yue was actually saving Yan Zizai.
"No worries, old Zheng. Your son’s ability is indeed interesting. The Yan family lad can’t escape now. There’s no need for anger," Qin Ye said reassuringly.
Zheng Yue breathed a sigh of relief internally. Mirror Flower, Water Moon was a very mysterious ability, known to very few people.
Zheng Yue had never pulled other Guardians into the dreamscape. People’s wariness of Zheng Yue was simply due to the high ranking of Mirror Flower, Water Moon.
Higher even than the God of Destruction.
By not showing his true motives, Zheng Yue felt significantly less pressure. He had a feeling that the hunt had just started.
He still had many roles to play.
Now... it all depended on whether Yan Zizai could escape.
"Having been hit by the God of Destruction so many times, his life is at its end. Prepare to kill him."
Qin Ye, Liu Long, Zheng You formed a triangle around him.
But Zheng Yue quietly stepped back a bit.
It was at that moment that Yan Zizai’s perception spread out, activating Bipolar Transposition!
He couldn’t break through Zheng You’s defense, couldn’t pierce through Qin Ye’s endless vitality, nor could he defend against Liu Long’s powerful destructive force.
But at least after the speed of transposition, if Yan Zizai wanted to leave, no one could stop him!
The battle of one against four ended with a pale defeat for Yan Zizai.
The lengthy hunt had also only just begun from this point forward.
...
...
On the fifth floor of the High Tower, within a battle seemingly without suspense, Xie Xingzhi’s showdown with Qin Chu undoubtedly ended in Xie Xingzhi’s defeat.
To defeat such a formidable Talent Sequence as Dragon Transformation, Imperial Arms Summoning wasn’t without a chance, but clearly, Xie Xingzhi’s luck was not very good today.
Among the three Spirit Possession items, not one could contend with the dragon form of Qin Chu.
But it was not too bad, though unable to fight, he had enough ability to escape the battlefield.
Xie Xingzhi fought efficiently. Without needing any contact, as soon as he saw that his Spirit Possession items had no combat properties, he knew the fight was over.
Xie Xingzhi was rational, like Xie Yingjie. He could analyze the opponent and the battle through data.
So, without any hesitation, the battle that he originally approached with full vigor ended with him making a show of a do-or-die resolve—only to beat a hasty retreat.
Qin Chu was slightly stunned, looking at the murderous intent on Xie Xingzhi’s face, he had thought his opponent would attack. Instead, he ran away.
It just didn’t feel... characteristic of Xie Xingzhi. He wondered where he’d learned such a tactic.
Qin Chu didn’t pursue forcefully, because although Xie Xingzhi had fled, the elite members of the Xie Family behind him couldn’t.
Those men carried the Xie Family’s gear. Dozens of the Xie Family elites were all killed by Qin Chu.
All the equipment intended to support the Xie Family was now in the hands of the Qin Family.
Thirty-two days after Bai Wu left the fifth level, in the early morning.
The long night had passed, yet darkness still enveloped the lower four levels.
The Wang Family’s people surrounded the Xie Family Technological Building, and Wang Jue informed everyone about Xie Yingjie’s escape.
This woman naturally possessed an ability to calm people down. Even though Xie Yingjie hadn’t been killed, and both Xie Xingzhi and Yan Zizai had escaped, it made Qin Ye very uneasy.
However, with the Xie Family Technological Building occupied and the equipment and Yan Family Manor secured, Qin Ye believed everything was under control.
Wang Jue, Liu Long, Zheng You, and Qin Ye began to discuss their next moves on the twenty-second floor of the Xie Family Technological Building.
The action was mainly focused on pursuit.
To prevent Xie Yingjie and Xie Xingzhi from having any contingencies, the Central Black Tower remained under the control of the Pang Family.
Meanwhile, as the lower four levels continued to be shrouded in darkness, with every member of the Investigation Corps executed, Qin Zong, Xie Xingzhi, Xie Yingjie, Yan Zizai, and other leaders captured, Qin Ye wasn’t willing to take any chances.
In fact, Qin Ye’s caution at this moment was not misplaced.
Because Qin Ye did not know that Xie Yingjie, who seemed to be on the run, was actually hiding in a secret chamber on the twentieth floor of the Xie Family’s building.
There, she had access to the main control console that could manage the core resources of the Xie Family.
...
...
On the thirty-second day at noon, Wang Jue, Liu Long, Qin Chu, and Zheng You headed to the Lower East Square to cut off any possibility for Xie Xingzhi, Yan Zizai, or any member of the Investigation Corps from escaping the High Tower.
The hunt in the darkness had officially begun.
...
...
The thirty-third day.
Nearly a third of the Investigation Corps members were dead. The overwhelming disparity in combat power forced them to avoid direct confrontation.
The Investigation Corps was powerful, but compared to the forces controlled by the Qin Family, they stood no chance in a head-to-head battle.
Rather than fighting the Qin Family’s legions head-on, they chose to use the terrain for guerrilla warfare.
The thirty-fourth day.
Yan Zizai broke through the blockade set by Liu Hu and escaped to a lower level.
The thirty-fifth day.
The workers on the lower levels had little savings, and some could no longer exchange for food.
More and more workers gathered at the outskirts of the Eastern Square.
Meanwhile, on the third level, due to the power outage, the former capitalists were forced to take a "holiday" along with their own workers.
The thirty-seventh day.
The Qin Family’s legions formed a search team and began a comprehensive search on the massive second level of the High Tower.
The thirty-ninth day.
Many members of the Investigation Corps were captured. A mysterious riot broke out on the third level of the High Tower. In the darkness, the glass fronts of the luxurious shops were smashed by people.
The absolute darkness seemed to signal a new era for the High Tower. Humanity appeared to have been transported back to the first year after entering the High Tower, seven hundred years earlier.
That year... the division of social classes began with violence.
The forty-fourth day.
More and more members of the Investigation Corps were captured.
Human civilization seemed to be regressing. The spectacle of "Caishikou beheadings," which only existed in the Pre-Tower Era, reappeared in the central area of the second level.
Over ten members of the Investigation Corps were held at gunpoint to their heads. Illumination equipment lit up their location, and in the darkness torn apart by light, blood flowed.
The members of the Investigation Corps hiding in the dark wanted to rescue their comrades but knew that if they revealed themselves... the deaths of their fallen allies would be in vain.
The forty-fifth day.
The riots on the third level were becoming more severe, and a significant water leakage incident occurred at Ming Che’s Mingyu Estate, leader of the Garrison Corps.
And it wasn’t the only place where flames reached the sky.
More and more commanders of the Garrison Corps applied to the higher-ups to restore the energy supply to the bottom four floors of the High Tower.
But Qin Ye did not approve, and he had no solid ground to trust the technology controlled by Xie Yingjie. Once a soldier himself, he was acutely aware of how terrifying the Xie Family’s technology could be in an environment from which there was no escape.
Until Xie Yingjie was captured, the High Tower would remain shrouded in darkness.
The forty-sixth day.
It seemed as if it were the first day of God’s destruction of humanity.
Various disasters began to occur.
The people at the bottom started to starve to death, and the elevators to the second floor were jam-packed with refugees from the lower levels, who were also the plunderers heading for the upper levels.
Order was completely destroyed. Those who were hungry and cold started looking for resources to survive, driven by rage.
The cries of children began to echo within the grand yet dark mansions on the third level.
A little girl walked down the street, sobbing.
The once-grand boulevards were engulfed by firelight, which illuminated her delicate little face.
On either side of the road were people who, taking advantage of the Garrison Corps not yet having arrived, were engaged in frenzied looting and destruction.
For seven hundred years, humanity’s hatred towards the higher levels, and the poor’s hate for the so-called nobles and managers... it all erupted.
They might not have been in the right, discharging their private desires in such conditions.
But had these nobles truly regarded them as human beings, and had the eyes of these great capitalists seen these poor not as commodities with price tags but as real, flesh-and-blood human beings...
Maybe, when darkness fell, the scene would have been different.
All rebellions in history have blossomed in stagnant waters.
This flower was bound to be revolting and ugly, yet necessarily beautiful and fragrant as well.
The violent suppression by the Garrison Corps was indeed effective, but without the support of Xie Family’s technological equipment, such suppression couldn’t be fully implemented.
Those who couldn’t get enough food or clothing and who didn’t want to die in the dark were increasing, more and more!
So much so that by the night of the forty-sixth day, the Qin Family had no choice but to heavily guard the elevators.
To prevent these refugees from continuing to spread upwards.
Over these days, the second level, with the influx of a large number of refugees from the bottom level, and even people from the third level, had seen a sharp increase in population.
This also led to a spike in chaos.
Though, as early as the seventh day, the Qin Family had started to distribute food on the recommendation of the Wang Family.
But ironically, for seven hundred years, the people at the bottom could only eat the "scraps" not needed by the upper levels.
The third level’s unwanted clothes, discarded for several years, would only then reach the bottom level, where they would be treasured and purchased.
Even if someone from the bottom level made it to the third level, even if they were in the ranks of the Investigation Corps, they would still be branded with a big "inferior."
Paupers, commoners, nobles, managers, rulers—this High Tower, boasting ranks from top to bottom, suppressed one rebellion after another, those who cried out for equality among all ranks of life, with military force.
Now that darkness had descended, the Investigation Corps, which had been protecting them, were beheaded in public. It was only after so many had starved to death that the upper levels began to sanctimoniously transport food.
All this did not soothe people’s anger; instead, it caused the suppression of rage that had built up over seven hundred years to erupt like never before!
The third level had accumulated enough food to feed the bottom dwellers for a year—these people who had clawed their way up to the third level slowly came to a realization—
They could accept the food from the rulers and continue to be dogs.
Or they could live with human dignity during this period of darkness.
They didn’t want to see those ugly smiling faces anymore in high-rise buildings once the lights were back on.
The forty-ninth day.
This day was like any other, but on this particular day, something very important happened.
While patrolling the second level, Qin Chu and Qin Xuan found Yan Zizai, Qin Zong, and Xie Xingzhi in a building.
Qin Ye was not far away, and the uprising on the third level had quickly spread to the second level.
Some people were truly rebelling, while others were simply using the rebellion as an excuse to vent their criminal desires.
When Qin Xuan’s gaze fell on Qin Zong, nothing else outside mattered anymore.
To be discovered meant death.
Yan Zizai was the only one who could contend with the rulers, but faced with Qin Ye and Qin Chu, without the previous effects of the God of Destruction, the current Yan Zizai stood no chance.
Especially since a large number of troops had assembled outside this building.
But on this day, after all, nothing happened.
Qin Xuan looked at Qin Zong, and the gaze of these brothers met in the darkness. Before long, Qin Xuan displayed his usual rascally smirk, whistled, and then... knocked out two guards beside him.
"How strange, there’s clearly no one here, so how could my guards have disappeared? Hahaha... really strange."
Qin Zong watched in astonishment as his elder brother departed, his face filled with bewilderment.
Xie Xingzhi also didn’t understand. Intelligence indicated that the brothers had completely different styles and didn’t get along in everyday life. But why at this moment did Qin Xuan... turn a blind eye to Qin Zong?
Does he not realize the significance of capturing us?
Is he, like Zheng Yue, also standing with Bai Wu?
After a long time, Qin Ye, Qin Chu, Qin Xuan, and their party had already left the building.
Xie Xingzhi voiced this puzzlement.
Qin Zong shook his head.
"I don’t know... he shouldn’t be standing with Bai Wu. In fact, I’ve felt before that my brother is different from my sister and father; it seems he sometimes speaks up for me, though it’s rare."
Qin Zong couldn’t understand.
Qin Xuan’s thoughts were actually very simple.
He was different from Zheng Yue, different from Wang Jue; the reason he didn’t act against Qin Zong was simply because, as an elder brother, he acknowledged his younger brother at heart.
Years ago, Qin Zong had messed up a Qin Family business deal due to his overzealous integrity, and was scolded by their father. Later, after Qin Xuan pleaded on his behalf, Qin Zong was spared from the family’s punishment.
At that time, his sister Qin Yi said:
"How come you’re suddenly concerned about him?"
The response Qin Xuan gave then was the origin of his actions today:
"Our family isn’t full of good people; if there’s a chance one of us is decent, don’t go too far. What if the little brother... happens to be a hero? Hahahahaha..."
These words were full of mockery, which made Qin Yi laugh as well.
But often, the truth is spoken in environments where it sounds like sarcasm.
The elder brother observed his younger brother’s growth, amazed by his excessive righteousness. Such righteousness... was certainly not a good thing in the High Tower.
But who wouldn’t like a flower blossoming in stagnant water?
The fifty-fourth day.
In the darkness, this spontaneous uprising was both destroying the civilization that people had striven to build for seven hundred years and nurturing a new civilization.
The class barriers between the poor and the aristocracy were being broken down by flames.
The ladder from poverty to wealth was being carpeted with a blood-red carpet.
Those unwilling to die in the dark chose to erupt from it. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
They wanted more than just food, more than just warmer clothes. They longed for things they hadn’t had for seven hundred years.
They wanted to live like human beings.
The members of the Investigation Corps lurking in the darkness also began to join the riot because the Qin Family had ordered that in the face of the uprising—no mercy be shown.
To protect these people, the soldiers of the surviving squads no longer lay hidden in the shadows.
The most significant conflict in the High Tower erupted.
The fifty-sixth day.
The corpses in the lower levels started to stink.
All operations had been halted for over twenty days, and though it seemed a brief period, it made people feel... as if civilization was far from them.
The train of human civilization had entered a tunnel, this lengthy passage making people believe that light might never shine again.
In this riot, those who had once fought bloodily for shelter were few and far between.
The squad leaders of various squads could see no hope.
The cries of children echoed through every level but were swiftly drowned by the roar of angry shouts and gunfire.
If the ceiling lights were to come on at this moment... the scene on each of the bottom three floors could all be described as an Asura Hell.
Day 58.
Xie Yingjie, upon hearing the news from Wang Jue, grew restless.
He suddenly felt that perhaps Gu Qingyu and Bai Wu had indeed died, and their mission bestowed by history was probably to establish a sanctuary, which they completed before quietly passing away.
Such occurrences were not unheard of in the past seven hundred years.
Many who tread a heroic path and were shrouded in legend died in the most mundane ways.
Although unaware of the chaos in the lower three levels, just from Wang Jue’s words, he could gauge the terrifying extent of it.
Bodies strewn everywhere, all buildings shattered, the ecosystem built over hundreds of years disintegrated in this civil strife.
This was not the High Tower Xie Yingjie wanted to see. If he continued to hide, who knew what High Tower would become in the end?
Qin Ye’s power was formidable, but not enough to easily suppress everyone’s rage. And because of this, the fire could not be quickly extinguished, leaving people to watch helplessly as it consumed everything.
Xie Yingjie was not someone who would sacrifice himself for peace, but faced with the greatest chaos in seven hundred years, he felt suddenly weary...
He saw no miracles on the horizon, so he could only accept another outcome.
"Maybe... I should give up. As long as Qin Ye sees me, everything in High Tower will return to normal," he said.
"And then?" Wang Jue asked.
Avoiding harm was an instinct that guided her to come to soothe Xie Yingjie today.
Xie Yingjie looked at Wang Jue:
"Do you think there is another possibility? No one can survive outside the High Tower for over two months, and Bai Wu went to the sixth level, it’s been so long, a miracle is simply impossible!"
"So you want to hand yourself over to Qin Ye. From then on, everything owned by the Xie Family will be controlled by the Qin Family, who, by using your Xie Family’s power, will instantly suppress the uprising with the quickest means. Once again proving to these people that there is a hierarchy among them, some are born to be slaves, others to be masters."
"The dead will have died in vain, and all your waiting will have been for nothing. Does such a choice have any meaning? I didn’t switch sides even as a fence-sitter, why must you surrender?"
Wang Jue spoke these words with calmness.
Xie Yingjie replied:
"It seems you don’t care about the lives of those at the bottom."
"Neither do you, it’s just that the number this time exceeded your comfort zone. But Professor Xie, when has change ever been bloodless?"
Such a cold-blooded statement, yet undeniably true.
"Whether you appear now or not, it doesn’t matter anymore, so you might as well keep hiding in this most dangerous place."
With absolute confidence and reason, Wang Jue convinced Xie Yingjie.
But even Wang Jue herself was beginning to doubt; the sixth level of High Tower had become divine territory, could anyone truly survive there?
...
Day 60.
Disease began to spread, and foul stenches permeated every level of the lower three.
The Qin Family’s army started to burn the corpses on the third level, turning the entire area into a massive crematorium.
Members of the Investigation Corps were decimated; of the sixteen squads, only a few scattered members remained alive.
Including Xie Xingzhi and others, they were all hiding in the underground factory on the third level.
One day, disheveled Liu Chengzi and Ruan Qingyun, under the guidance of Ye Weiming, found a hideout.
It was an estate scorched by fire, with part of the roof collapsed, but it was still habitable.
Ye Weiming had observed that few people passed by this place. With the cover of darkness, they could possibly avoid the mayhem and the Qin Family Legion for several days.
The group planned to survive here. Shortly after entering the estate, Liu Chengzi noticed a little girl.
Shivering in the corner, the little girl looked up with a panicked expression on her soot-covered face when Liu Chengzi walked in.
As the spotlight hit the girl’s face, she began to scream in fear.
In that moment, Liu Chengzi’s nose tingled, and she burst into tears, not knowing what came to her mind.
She went over, held the little girl, and gently soothed her.
Ruan Qingyun watched all this with clenched fists. She was the proprietress of Ghost Grinding Firm, having assisted Wu Jiu with many tasks. In many people’s eyes, the proprietress was even more resolute than Guzi.
But at this moment, Ruan Qingyun appeared utterly haggard. She always knew Wu Jiu was a hero, and thus always endured their times apart.
But she had never anticipated Wu Jiu’s appearance like she did now.
Thinking about the members of the Investigation Corps dying one by one... Ruan Qingyun also felt torn.
Wu Jiu, someone who saw the members of the Investigation Corps as family, would surely be heartbroken to know everything that had happened at the High Tower, right?
...
...
Day 62.
The end of days seemed to have come, yet more despairing than the apocalypse was... how the High Tower seemed so large, yet was so small.
There was no boundless world to flee the chaos.
Even those in the midst of the rebellion felt weary and desperate. How long would such despairing darkness last?
The members of the Investigation Corps were mostly dead or wounded, and the Garrison Corps was similarly depleted.
Some of the surviving captains suddenly realized... perhaps to those above, the dead had identities but no names.
When the light of the High Tower shone anew... people might not remember who had died, nor why they died.
The Investigation Corps and the Garrison Corps were quickly filled with new personnel, and the rulers on the odorless and smokeless fifth floor wouldn’t frown for those below.
Finally, on this day, a leader of the Garrison Corps suddenly began to cry aloud, his family having perished in this riot.
He didn’t even know whether it was the riot or the Garrison Corps itself that had killed them.
He walked to the third floor’s central district, now a ruin, and upon seeing the decaying bodies around, he could no longer bear the pressure and dropped his weapon, howling in grief.
This sound seemed to have a piercing quality, and more and more of the Garrison Corps dropped their weapons.
It was much like the history of human warfare, always reaching a point where suddenly there’s realization.
But the dead would not come back to life.
The destroyed buildings would take a significant amount of time to rebuild.
The pitch-black ceiling... still showed not a hint of light.
...
...
Day 63.
This day seemed to be but a repetition of yesterday, the demotivated Guard Army of Gao Ta Town to be taken over by the Qin Family’s legion.
In Qin Ye’s view, to quell the rebellion at this stage, it was necessary to be more resolute in using violence against violence, engraving the advent of darkness into human memory forever.
When the light enveloped the High Tower, he would be like a god bringing illumination, making these people never dare to harbor thoughts of rebellion again.
His rule over the High Tower would be eternal, with no end in sight.
As for the cries of grief and wails of sorrow, they would never reach Qin Ye. He didn’t mind the darkness persisting, nor did he care how many lived or died.
The High Tower seven hundred years ago was far more spacious. Dead people, to Qin Ye, were no bad thing.
Just as in the Pre-Tower Era, there were bizarre countries that could not solve their aging population problem, so they let epidemics spread, gambling on national fortune, and even encouraged the elderly to live in radioactive areas.
Of course, Qin Ye did not remember these things. The mysterious powers had erased everyone’s memories of the countries beyond the fog.
Yet history is always astonishingly similar. The so-called "cleansing," in Qin Ye’s eyes, was to eliminate those of no value to the High Tower.
As for the time to come, all he needed to do was to expand the search, eliminate Yan Zizai, Xie Yingjie, and others, and then he could rest easy.
He truly thought this way and was steadily proceeding with it.
The rioters gradually lost their courage; the death brought by this war exceeded people’s expectations.
A significant number committed arson, murder, and looting in the chaos, not to fight for freedom, but to use the guise of rebellion to vent their violent desires and satisfy their sinful urges.
The biggest difference between them and those seeking freedom was that freedom seekers would not succumb to the dark, while these people, once their violent cravings were satisfied, would quickly become fearful.
Fear made them comply, becoming informants for Qin Ye in his search for Xie Yingjie and Yan Zizai. These people might not have the observational skills of legion members, but they were numerous and covered a broad range.
An hour ago, Qin Ye received a message.
Thus, Liu Long, Qin Ye, Qin Chu, and Liu Hu, leading an elite legion equipped by the Xie Family, advanced toward the Hongyuan Underground Factory on the third floor.
The prolonged battle seemed finally to be drawing to a close.
Dozens of members of the Investigation Corps who were still alive, Yan Zizai, Xie Xingzhi, and Qin Zong, were all gathered in the underground factory.
These people who once fought in the Baichuan City shelters were driven to desperation by the endless darkness.
When countless strong spotlights, like arrows that destroy everything, pierced into the interior of the factory, the face of every person hiding there was filled with resolution.
Qin Ye looked at these faces that had avoided him for a month, ecstatic.
All deaths, in his view, were trivial. On seeing the exhausted and disheveled Yan Zizai, Xie Xingzhi, and the rebellious Qin Zong from his own family, he even felt somewhat unsatisfied.
The game of the hunt was about to come to its end.
Liu Long, Liu Hu, Qin Chu, and Qin Ye were ready to excise the last "cancer" within the High Tower.
As long as these people died, the future High Tower would never have to worry about the so-called "legends" anymore. Humanity would forever worship the High Tower, hold superstitious beliefs about it. And would forever refuse to leave the tower.
And would always be grateful, accepting his gifts.
Afterwards, he would devour the weak Zhong Family, becoming the foremost power of High Tower. Eventually, with everyone’s faith, he would slowly eliminate other forces, becoming the eternal and only god of High Tower!
In the pitch-black factory, Qin Ye seemed to see an infinitely splendid future within the darkness.
But at that moment...
A dazzling strong light appeared, like in the chaos where there was no heaven or earth, a giant axe suddenly chiseled out a river of stars!
The blinding light appeared instantaneously from 900 meters above!
Countless people at that moment were hurt by the brilliant light, and they instinctively felt panic.
But such panic was dispelled in just a moment.
Children in the ruins shielded their eyes, peering through their fingers to see the ceiling 900 meters above.
Desperate soldiers of the Garrison Corps raised their heads, allowing the light to sting their eyes.
People from the lower levels looking for the bodies of their relatives dropped their torches used for illumination.
The intense darkness that was just there a second ago was gone in the next.
Liu Chengzi and Ruan Qingyun hugged each other, enduring the pain, looking at the glowing ceiling with tears streaming down their faces. They didn’t know the meaning of this sudden light, but as the light came, all their emotions burst forth.
Yan Zizai raised his head and compared to Qin Ye’s astonishment, he looked extremely joyful.
It was as if at the moment the light came, the roles of the prey and the hunter were swapped.
He raised his head, the strong light turning his vision into a blur of blood red.
But in this blood-red blur, he seemed to see an unprecedented future with the Eye of the Scales!
...
...
On the fifth level of High Tower, at the Central Black Tower.
This was the most crucial hub for this hunt. Qin Ye knew very well that only by holding this position could he prevent the Xie Family’s seven-hundred-year technological infiltration from having any effect.
So, the defenders here had the power of the Demon Shadow Form from the Pang Family.
The guardians and rulers of the Pang Family effectively blocked any chance that the Yan Family and Xie Family could use the Central Black Tower to restore energy and thus change the course of the battle.
Therefore, both the Xie Family and Yan Family did not dare to attack the Central Black Tower.
Even though Xie Yingjie, Xie Xingzhi, and Yan Zizai understood the importance of the Central Black Tower, they were even more aware of the terror of the Pang Family’s guardians and rulers.
Central Black Tower, this most important place, was actually the furthest from the battlefield.
This was what Pang Hai thought, and Pang Li thought the same.
But they never expected that... when the biggest High Tower war in seven hundred years reached the fifth level, it would not come from below but from above.
Pang Li would never forget that scene from not long ago.
From 900 meters high in the air, two human figures descended like meteors!
With the arrival of these two people on the fifth floor, he felt as if the entire High Tower trembled!
The legendary figure of High Tower, Bai Wu, had arrived on the battlefield!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~End of Chapter~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(I estimate it will be tomorrow before I finish writing, and I’ve thought about it, I can’t condense these contents. Maybe for the readers who follow the serial updates, they are anxious to get to the part they want to read quickly, but I also have to consider those who are saving up the book to read slowly and absorb all the details when they have time. So, I can’t omit the details that I should explain. But I will increase the update frequency to mitigate this contradiction. These last two days I’ve really pushed myself, achieving a "ten-thousand-words-a-day" for two consecutive days. I ask for a monthly ticket as encouragement.)
