Free Web NovelChapter 456: Chapter 73: Deadly Multiple-Choice Question
Bai Wu had already decided to explore the tower.
As the first red area beyond the Mist, a place that could forcibly draw people in, it was very likely to gather a large number of the Evil Fallen.
Such a place was bound to become a black area sooner or later.
It was hard to imagine that with such a low distortion concentration, Club K could push an area to this extent on their own.
However, Bai Wu was well aware that Dong Nianyu of Square K was the strongest among the four Ks, but that didn’t mean the other three Ks were not to be taken seriously.
The fear brought by this tower would soon even surpass the Ark and the previously encountered monsters.
The reason was simple, a hundred people a day might not seem like much. The number of people who die worldwide every day is not a small figure.
But when all hundred perish in the same place, dying abnormally due to the same cause, it becomes very frightening.
"I must familiarize myself with the rules," Bai Wu thought to himself.
Those who died in the tower could leave a message just before they died, which would be collected in a forum.
Those browsing the forum called it the "Wall of the Deceased."
It was a means of spreading fear, but still, it was useful.
Though Bai Wu was quite confident about this type of exploration, he wouldn’t arrogantly ignore the ready-made strategies available.
"I don’t want to die, I’m only 22, please save me, someone save me!"
"Dad, Mom... where are you, I was wrong, I won’t skip classes again!"
"It’s utterly impossible to clear..."
"I am the president of the Carter Group, someone come save me! I’m willing to give up fifty percent of the company’s shares! No, sixty percent!"
"If there is an afterlife, I wish I could live in a normal world..."
"I’m so scared... I can finally be scared... but it seems I’m turning into a monster... but even monsters will die, right?"
"After I die, don’t fret over me, don’t give up on this world, be brave, have hope, believe that everything will get better..."
"What irony... I’ve made money all my life, and at the final moment, all I can think of is leaving it to my ex-wife... I’m a bastard, without a doubt, but I want to tell my ex-wife before I die, I’m not heartless..."
Clearly, many messages had nothing to do with solving puzzles.
Because for many people, clearing the tower was simply impossible.
When a person can only choose one thing to say as their final message, maybe they relinquish many things, focusing on what they care about, trying to correct their life in the moment before death.
This is different from street interviews, that kind of if you could only say one sentence and die after speaking street show.
If you put test subjects on a game show versus a death row execution site, their final words would be completely different.
The former might be cheeky, while the latter would definitely be sincere.
Bai Wu continued to look through the messages, searching for valuable clues, while Tang Jing and Xu Ling stood silently behind him.
The tower had been up for a few days, with a hundred people each day, resulting in hundreds of records.
Apart from a large number of "emotional" last words, there were still a few messages that were of value to those who came after.
Bai Wu didn’t miss a single one.
"I know I cannot escape death, but those who come after, don’t disgrace humanity, don’t be afraid of choice, don’t fear challenges. I don’t know if everyone’s choices are the same, but if the first scene you experience has a door with a rusty handle, do not open it!"
It seems that a hundred people... aren’t in the same place? Judging by the area of each floor of the tower, it seems unlikely...
Bai Wu figured it out, the tower was likely to have some kind of "instance" nature.
Unfortunately, each message was limited in length, not allowing these people to provide more information.
Bai Wu was thankful for those who, in the face of death, cast aside their personal emotions and provided strategies for those who followed.
He continued scrolling down.
"There will be many choices, from the perspective of a game designer... the plot of this tower should have multiple endings... Please stick to your style, this is my intuition because with the earlier choices, I was more ruthless, yet for the following choices... I suddenly softened, which led to my failure."
It might not be true because it’s the individual’s speculation.
Bai Wu filled in the gaps with memories of the games he had played before, some of which provided the players with very cruel options.
If players chose those options, it meant they were on the villainous route. In such cases, going all the way to the dark side was the best option, but if they wanted to play the hero halfway through, the outcome was often dire—they would be besieged by forces of both good and evil.
"This place used to be a script murder board game club; I knew the owner... a somewhat insane person. Later, due to a fire, the owner and many customers died inside... I have arrived at the seventh choice, and at this moment, the hint tells me only three survivors are left. I don’t have much space left to describe, I just hope your thinking isn’t too rigid!"
It was a rather useful piece of information.
The rules of the area do have a small connection with the area’s master.
The master of Baichuan Campus is Jiang Yimi, so that place is unattainable.
As for the Supernatural Tale Apartment, it exists if you believe.
And in Violet’s Manor, because Violet has lost family members and been abandoned by them, it forces others to play house.
While there are many different cases, this piece of information indeed gave Bai Wu an inspiration.
The original master of this area was a somewhat insane person, indicating that this person’s thinking is different from ordinary people’s.
Perhaps when faced with choices, one would have to make some... unexpected decisions.
But this is by no means a guide to guaranteed success; the specifics need to be analyzed in context.
Bai Wu continued to check other messages.
"Don’t open every box! Don’t open every box! Don’t open every box! Important things must be said three times. Why can’t I control my own hands..."
Well... a box opening addiction.
However, this issue is not a big one; theoretically, one should be able to foresee some of the consequences of their actions through these eyes.
"The human heart is treacherous; don’t take risks to save others... Some people just have no conscience... I can’t rest in peace in death!"
Bai Wu did not fully take this person’s words at face value, but wondered if there might be "human-shaped NPCs" disguised as challengers.
"Money is very important! Find a way to get the currency in circulation here... but don’t buy recklessly... Purchasing in itself is a choice!"
After reading many messages, Bai Wu had a rough understanding of this place.
"It seems that making rational choices is extremely important... especially since these choices don’t just affect my progress through the tower, they can also change some real-life situations..."
"But before that, I have something else to do..."
The area known as the challenge of the Magic Tower captures a hundred people each day to participate in the game; if all hundred people die, the next day another hundred will be taken. freёweɓnovel.com
If someone registers for participation through the forum in advance, only ninety-nine people will be captured.
Naturally, no one wishes to register because so far no one has left the tower alive.
There is also no visual information about the inside of the tower, only the knowledge that it is very dangerous.
Bai Wu headed to this area mainly to cleanse it because since the area had reached the red level, it was very likely that Doomsday Puzzle pieces had been generated. If lucky, perhaps there might be a special piece specific to this area.
The ultimate goal was to free humanity from its current state, preventing Dong Nianyu from further suppressing people’s negative emotions.
Soon after, using the painting skills taught by Yan Jiu, Bai Wu drew the image of a person emanating holy light.
Nowadays, the one in charge of handling various affairs for Bai Wu was Jiang Ling, Zero’s number one female fan.
"Jiang Ling, I need you to create a virtual avatar named Splitter Bai Yuan."
Although Jiang Ling didn’t understand Bai Wu’s intention, the task would hardly take up any time for her.
Zhao had many talents at his disposal, and the virtual avatars they created were almost indistinguishable from real people, as long as Bai Wu’s drawing was accurate.
Thus, in the afternoon of the same day, people on the forum about that tower saw a person named "Splitter Bai Yuan" register.
Many people speculated about who this person was, with discussions across various forums: Was this person suicidal?
Or was this person actually the Light Arrow Knight?
Or was it that someone who died in the challenge of the Magic Tower was Splitter Bai Yuan’s relative? Was he participating in the challenge in hopes of seeing his friends and family?
There were all sorts of speculations, but an hour later, in the squares with the highest foot traffic in various cities, both "Virtual Zero" and this "Virtual Bai Yuan" appeared simultaneously.
"Greetings, human friends, I am the Light Arrow Knight."
"I believe you all are aware, the distortion of this world has created a perilous tower that is taking the lives of many people every day."
"Unfortunately, I wasn’t involved from the very beginning, because by the time I noticed the tower and obtained the necessary information, it had already been in existence for some days."
"Rules, when twisted, are extremely troublesome entities, but they are not unmanageable. Next, my friend, also known as Splitter Bai Yuan, will enter the Magic Tower’s challenge zone."
"Doomsday will never descend; we have resolved the crises of the past, and we can resolve this one as well."
Following this declaration, the people of the world were once again exhilarated, from the initial appearance of Aulora’s Rotten Stitching monsters to the gigantic Ark, and then the subsequent mechanical horrors...
The Light Arrow Knight accomplished miracle after miracle. At the onset of the fear brought about by the tower, his emergence undoubtedly had a tremendously calming effect.
...
...
The next morning.
Before the Magic Tower forcibly conscripted participants, Bai Wu, wearing a mask, had already arrived in this area.
The gargantuan Black Tower seemed like an oversized commercial building, its scale significantly larger than the famous sail-shaped hotel from his previous life.
At the base of the Magic Tower was a slogan saying, "Welcome to the most thrilling and exciting game of this generation."
The doors stood open, but it was impossible to see the interior structure. Similar to the forbidden lands of the Ark, a strange blackness obstructed the view.
[This is different from the Memory World; this is a survival game. Among various choices, one must select the most valuable options, reach the top of the tower, where the chance of survival is infinitesimally close to zero.
But no matter, as there indeed is a way to clear this game, and you, not one to care, are already impatient to dismantle this tower. Coincidentally, so am I.]
This place was on the edge of the city. The nearby residents, afraid of being sucked in, had already fled.
The entire northwest corner of the city, to be exact, the city’s real estate prices and the stock prices of various enterprises within the city, had all plummeted.
Walking in a corner of this city, Bai Wu strangely felt as if doomsday had already arrived, the desolation and silence profound.
He entered the challenging zone of the Magic Tower, and his figure was quickly swallowed by the black miasma.
...
...
An unknown location.
In a pitch-dark room, light suddenly appeared. A television in the darkness was turned on.
Dong Nianyu watched the virtual image repeatedly.
Splitter, Bai Yuan.
This name was extremely provocative. Her eyes were bloodshot, wide open; her originally attractive face now appeared somewhat frightening due to anger and humiliation.
Clearly, she was recalling unpleasant memories.
This was a cell.
The most secure prison in all of Meinan, known as Titan Prison, was used to detain the most vicious criminals from around the world.
The door of the cell opened automatically at a mere thought.
Barefoot, Dong Nianyu walked out with a strange gleam in her eye, and the prison quickly sounded a red alert.
The guards equipped with weapons quickly blocked all the key passages.
But then, the prison in the eyes of the guards began to warp, truly warp.
It was as if the prison were merely a reflection in water that rippled.
Yet in reality, nothing was happening.
The guards still held their guns, seemingly ready to shoot any escaping prisoner on sight.
But when Dong Nianyu appeared, they acted as if unresponsive, vigilantly guarding something nonexistent, allowing Dong Nianyu to leave slowly.
After stepping out of the prison and into sunlight which fell on her overly pale skin, she seemed slightly uncomfortable.
She had always been accustomed to confinement, whether on a farm or elsewhere, living in an extremely enclosed space, using telekinesis to penetrate the world.
However, the intense hatred in her heart gave her the impulse to personally see to a certain person.
This impulse simply couldn’t be repressed. How much she had trusted and relied on someone seven hundred years ago was exactly how much she loathed them now, seven hundred years later.
Dong Nianyu picked up the red gemstone on her chest and said,
"I’m in Titan Prison, the King of Clubs. I need a helicopter."
...
...
Outside the Mist, the Magic Tower challenge area.
When Bai Wu opened his eyes, he found himself in a room filled with the scent of disinfectant.
"Hospital?"
That was his first thought. It quickly followed by what seemed to be a note-like prompt.
[Welcome to the most thrilling game of this era. Please be ready to make every choice.]
Bai Wu didn’t quite understand what choices lay ahead, but he soon found out as he began to observe his surroundings and noticed the tightly closed door of the room—there was movement.
Footsteps approached, and judging by the frequency of steps, this person was composed, probably a doctor from the hospital.
Bai Wu also realized... he was wearing a white patient’s gown.
"Another scene set to keep my pot from me... But it’s not a big problem. Theoretically, this is also an immersive experience. Once I leave here, my items should all return."
"Or during the course of the game, I might be able to retrieve them."
Bai Wu’s judgment was correct. If he could successfully leave, not only would he get his original items back, but there would also be extra rewards.
Of course, he was also very aware that passing through this area was not at all easy.
Next, Bai Wu faced his first choice. Two sets of notes appeared at the same time—
[Knocking is heard from outside the door, gentle and orderly. You will—
A: Open the door.
B: Hold your breath and stay silent.
C: You find a fruit knife in the cupboard. You decide to hide the knife on you and then open the door.
D: The window is unlocked. You decide to escape through it.
E: Ask who the person is.]
This note, lacking any style, was obviously not Prayle’s Eye’s. The notes provided by the Eye looked like this:
[When in doubt, choose C. Just kidding, haha. Although its option is the longest, my old buddy, the rules of this place suppress all abilities. I can only help you identify things, not judge cause and effect...
However, it should be known that some options carry rewards, while others carry penalties. These penalties can extend to the real world, and rewards remain effective permanently.
Good luck to you, and if there is an afterlife, I still want to be your eye, boo-hoo-hoo-hoo...]
Bai Wu was exasperated. This damn Sequence 24...
Why wasn’t this critical suppression of rules reported before entering?
But as long as the eye still bantered with him, it meant they had not reached the most desperate moment yet.
Although unable to cheat directly with the Eye, he could use it to analyze things, which was still a huge advantage.
The knocking interrupted Bai Wu’s thoughts once more.
Another note appeared—
[Time remaining for the current choice: 15 seconds. If a choice is not made within 15 seconds, the game will declare a failure and force termination. Current surviving players: 100.]
"It seems that when I entered, other players did too... These 99 people, I’m afraid a lot of them will be eliminated after this question."
With fifteen seconds, Bai Wu wasn’t in a hurry. He thought seriously,
"Who should I choose?"
(Looks like there won’t be an update tonight. Take it slow.)
