Free Web NovelChapter 534: Chapter 151: Living Up to the Name of Zero
Eternal Bank Building, third floor.
By the time the Chief Inspector of the Eleventh Group of the Order Faction walked onto the third floor with the guards, it was already too late.
The formidable robbers, who had killed their way from the twenty-first floor to the third floor, had vanished without a trace.
Inside the third floor of the Eternal Bank Building, there was only one corpse.
The person lying on the ground, judging from the identification, was one of the senior advisors from the Pride Consortium.
He possessed a powerful vision that could monitor any place in the world.
He could even see scenes from other worlds.
The loss of such a talent for the Pride Consortium was equivalent to the damage caused by the Rebel Army.
Upon seeing the lying figure, the Chief Inspector let out a sigh.
He walked over, crouched down, and slowly closed the consortium executive’s eyes.
"I will thoroughly investigate this and seek justice for you," he said.
"Chief Inspector, we’ve sealed all exits, but still no sign of that person... Where did he go?" Members of the Eleventh Group of the Order Faction were all dressed in black suits, resembling a group of special agents.
The Chief Inspector’s suit was light gray, his tie askew—not because of a hasty appointment and having no time to tidy up his appearance, but rather he’s always been self-determined and casual.
Generally, in the Well World, there are few cases that require his trouble. The seven major consortia only turn to him for unresolved cases.
He had a strong intuition akin to the Causal Force.
Similar to... the robber from not long ago.
But this case wasn’t complicated; it was just vile in nature and extremely important.
Before he even entered the building, he had already received the data.
"There are four owners of the spy satellites, of course, not counting the head of the Pride Consortium."
"The other three spy satellite owners informed us. They are closely watching this place. Not long ago... that robber disappeared."
The Chief Inspector stood up, his mood somewhat subdued:
"Have the losses from the twenty-first floor been accounted for?"
"Almost all belong to outsiders, pots, weapons, and the Sequencer Agreement of a previous outsider, along with other customers’ items, seemingly related to space storage."
The member’s mention of the Sequencer Agreement made the Chief Inspector frown.
Clearly, the member also noticed this:
"Boss, is there a problem with that Sequencer Agreement? Although it’s a valuable item, it’s almost impossible for the other side to comprehend it."
Sequencer Agreements are difficult to alter.
It’s like a contract signed with Twisted, where naturally the name cannot be changed.
For countless years, the seven major consortia have also tried to crack the Sequencer Agreements.
With many talented individuals among the consortia, they have always failed to do so.
Because in the real world, something is missing.
For countless years, the source of Twisted in High Tower tried to comprehend the power of Sequence.
They tried to grasp the power of the one who defeated them and sealed them away.
They are archenemies, the last survivors of the previous Well civilization.
The two individuals represent two different factions. Although seemingly opposed, a considerable part of them is integrated.
But without finding Sequence 10 and Sequence 12, the Twisted Master can never become the High Tower Master.
"Let’s hope he doesn’t comprehend the Sequencer Agreement..." the Chief Inspector said subconsciously.
But the member thought it was nearly impossible.
Understanding Sequence was not unheard of, but it was rare, and even the successful cases took a very long time.
And all current successful examples had come from owners willingly giving up their own Sequencer Agreements.
It’s less about comprehension or cracking Sequencer Agreements and more about voluntary transfer.
However, the Chief Inspector’s intuition was just as twisted as the robber’s.
If Bai Wu, the robber, were still here, he would see the Chief Inspector’s projection—himself.
A projection only means that the projected has certain similarities to the real world counterpart.
But in reality, there was no connection between the two.
Bai Wu’s projection, the Chief Inspector, did indeed have many similarities with the real Bai Wu.
His emotions were muted, with hardly any significant emotional fluctuations.
He swung between social anxiety and being impressively sociable, sometimes disguising himself as any personality to crack a case.
At other times, he would keep people at arm’s length, capable of rebuffing the likes of "Liu Chengzi," a Sea King, rendering him speechless.
In this world, the Chief Inspector had two best friends, which always troubled him.
That’s why he stayed out of the affairs between his two friends—the high-level "Zero" of the Pride Consortium and the high-level "Wu Jiu" of the Rebel Army.
From being a master detective, he had turned into a slacker of the Order Faction, a legendary slacker.
"Boss, where did the robber go? We’ve blocked off all the places, he shouldn’t be able to escape," a team member asked the question again.
The Chief Inspector’s response was quite strange.
People in this world only had code numbers and not facial features, but they could convey emotions just like people in the real world.
This was considered a special ability of the Well World creatures.
The Chief Inspector said something rather profound:
"Kid, how many years have you been following me?"
"This is the fourth year."
"In these four years, you haven’t been promoted or gotten rich for following me, I’ve wronged you."
"Boss, why are you suddenly talking about this? I don’t feel wronged following you, you are our team’s legendary figure. If it weren’t... if it weren’t for you not wanting to be promoted, you would have been promoted a long time ago. I don’t feel wronged, I’ve learned a lot from you."
"I remember your child started elementary school, right? When I come back, I’ll arrange for him to go to a better school, and for your wife, I will send money regularly."
The Chief Inspector’s words clearly had nothing to do with the case, and this team member wasn’t stupid—he suddenly realized that something was wrong.
The expression of the Chief Inspector became stern:
"Didn’t you ask me where the robber went?"
"I’ll tell you, the robber went to the third level. So guarding the exit is meaningless now because he’s not in this world anymore."
"To travel from the Pure Well Area to this world requires slaughter and blood, and to go from this world to the Deep Well Area requires severance and betrayal."
"At the same time, only those who possess the power to go to the third level can open the path to the Deep Well Area, the third level. Or you could say, only those who are qualified can enter the third level."
As he spoke, the Chief Inspector’s hand pierced through the team member’s chest.
This team member looked at the Chief Inspector, overwhelmed with shock, anger, and confusion.
"I’m sorry, he killed my close friend, I must take on this case, I must catch this robber!"
The blood-stained hand retracted, and in that moment, the team member’s knees gave way, he knelt on the ground, looked up at the Chief Inspector, and then fell to the ground, dead.
Soon after, Eternal Bank lifted the alarm.
The poison gas in the vault was quickly diluted.
All the people knocked down by the robber on each floor were cleared out.
As for what happened in the hall of the third floor of Eternal Bank building, no one knew.
The three owners of the spy satellites kept their mouths shut.
People could only speculate that the Chief Inspector had been kidnapped, and that the Order Faction team member, along with "Zero," a high-level executive of the Eternal Bank, were killed by the robber.
People were talking about it, but this was a matter controlled by a consortium’s world.
The smart ones in the consortium knew that the way to control the world was to control the media.
The media was their voice.
So soon, due to the media not reporting anything about the incident at the Eternal Bank building, not reporting anything related to the riots—
The incident was quickly suppressed since netizens don’t have a very good memory.
Even the stock price of Eternal Bank went up against market rules.
The chives all self-elevated, waiting for the reaper’s harvest.
The losses to Eternal Bank, in personnel and equipment, were quickly recouped through the chives’ earnings.
Well City remained the same old Well City. freeweɓnovel.cøm
Even though the Rebel Army and the outsiders caused a stir, it didn’t have much of an impact.
In fact... it could be said there was no impact at all.
The outsider from 700 years ago thought that through his own efforts, he could change Well City.
But he later found that everything was just futile.
His ranking was too low, and he couldn’t compete with the magnates of the seven major conglomerates.
Trying to please both sides, he ended up wavering and being toyed with by the masters of the seven conglomerates at their whim.
In the end, he became the most powerful "madman" in the real world.
The outsider from 700 years later had a strong mental fortitude.
He was also clear that to change this world, he had to venture into deeper areas.
...
...
Well World, unknown area.
Amidst chaos and void, Bai Wu thought he had returned to the beginning, to the Shell World.
He wandered through this chaos and void for nearly an hour, appearing somewhat irritated and talking to himself continuously.
Sometimes even making conversation for the sake of it.
Just like at this moment.
"Sister, how long have you and my Fourth Brother stayed inside the shell? Could it suddenly disappear, and I wake up in the real world, forcibly extracted from Well World?" Bai Wu asked.
Jing Liu didn’t like being called Sister by Bai Wu, nor did she like Bai Wu addressing her elder brother as Fourth Brother.
Obviously, Bai Wu was doing it on purpose to annoy her.
However, regarding Bai Wu’s question, Jing Liu still answered truthfully:
"Your time cannot be estimated. We are those granted certain traits by the Twisted Master, our memories are distorted. Usually, you only become a true... Jing Qi after your memories are completely twisted."
"But your situation is very different from ours. It’s hard to say what your current condition is."
"When you entered the Shell World, you already had Well’s traits, and your power even resonated with the Well.
"Perhaps you’re not in the shell at all."
Bai Wu understood:
"So I don’t need to worry... that I might suddenly leave this world?"
"I... don’t know."
Jing Liu indeed did not know. There was no precedent for such a matter.
"Could I attract Alpha’s attention?" Bai Wu asked.
Jing Liu nodded:
"Perhaps. It is the only being that can link with the Well."
"Even my Second Brother, the guardian of the Well, does not know the Well’s location. He just knows it is in a certain area."
"But it’s different for the Twisted Master. Its connection with the Well is very close; that layer of shell serves both to distort your memory and to isolate the aura of the Well."
"If you do something too sensational in Well World, maybe... it will notice."
Bai Wu wanted to say more. He hoped to keep the conversation going so that his mind would have something to contemplate.
But just as he began to speak, the Ten of Spades suddenly interrupted the conversation between Bai Wu and Jing Liu.
"Since you’ve already decided, have already made your choice, don’t use an attitude of avoidance. You’ve guessed it, haven’t you?" fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
Jing Liu also realized that Bai Wu had been talking nonstop all the way to prevent his mind from stopping.
Because once he stopped, he couldn’t help but remember the affairs of the Eternal Bank.
There were no fools here, and the three of them, especially Bai Wu, were very clear about Zero’s determination.
"He actually came to fulfill you," the Ten of Spades said bluntly.
On hearing this, Bai Wu felt somewhat guilty.
Jing Liu saw the Ten of Spades’ intention and said:
"So you are avoiding."
"Shut up," Bai Wu replied angrily.
Not long ago, he had made a decision, but any decision comes with a price, and that price was slowly starting to ferment.
The usually calm and rational Bai Wu suddenly lost his composure.
Spade Ten said,
"So from the start, deceiving you into going undercover to the Rebel Army was just a ruse."
"His true purpose was to let you get close to the Rebel Army,"
"To let you obtain the truth there, understand what you should do."
"In the end, when he spoke those words, it was just to make you believe that he truly favored you, truly valued you, and actually hoped you would stay."
"To make you realize that he indeed saw you as a friend, and by doing so, the requirements for entering the third level of the Well World were fulfilled."
"So he had known your choice all along."
"Without his help, merely relying on the leader of the insurance company’s Rebel Army, how could your plan have gone so smoothly?"
This ’he,’ of course, refers to "Zero," who had died not long ago.
That is, the Sequencer killed by Bai Wu.
Upon hearing "Zero"’s words and learning how to proceed to the third level, Bai Wu did not hesitate.
He made the decision that was most correct in his heart.
But now, coming back to his senses, he suddenly realized... the complexity and contradiction of the character "Zero."
Why did "Zero" tell him how to go to the third level?
Why come alone?
Why tell him to make a choice?
And why was the first task to make him contact the Rebel Army?
If "Zero" really wanted him to stay in this world, why bother with so much unnecessary talk and actions?
It would have been more secure to simply hide the truth from him and then let him continuously join the Order Faction, right?
Instead, "Zero" chose to have him go undercover in the Rebel Army.
Bai Wu had once been self-satisfied, thinking he saw through "Zero"’s trickery, but now he came to the shocking realization that even this was within "Zero"’s calculations.
All of it was "Zero"’s smoke and mirrors.
This higher-up of the Pride Consortium, the owner of a spy satellite, the one who could see the vision of another world—
From the beginning, had already known his choice.
So from the very start, he had been planning to use the Rebel Army’s power to help him reclaim everything that belonged to him.
There was light ahead in the chaos and the void.
In the distance, Bai Wu heard the sound of a telephone ringing.
This once familiar ringtone, he should have been able to instantly recall.
But right now, he was feeling too desolate to pay attention to these things.
"Zero" had deceived the consortium and also Bai Wu.
"He told you not to be a person who wavers, but in fact, he is the one who wavers,"
"Just like "Zero" in reality, he despises humanity, yet he always ends up helping humans."
"Tsk, tsk, it’s quite sad, isn’t it?"
"The "Zero" in reality has a good mind, and so does the one in this world. He deceived you. To him, you are... much more than just valued."
"From the start, he planned to gain your trust, become your friend, then die by your hand, making himself the key for you to reach the third level."
"All those heartfelt words urging you to stay on the second level... They were all lies to deceive you. Ha ha ha ha ha... Such clever lies that even you, with eyes, couldn’t discern."
"But one thing is true, he is a human with blood and flesh and emotions."
"I can’t understand why he would sacrifice himself to benefit you, perhaps it’s related to another outsider from seven hundred years ago, or maybe it has something to do with his constant watch over you."
Spade Ten found it very amusing, but Bai Wu was in pain.
"It seems that "Zero" from any world treats you exceptionally well. However, it would be best if you could understand the determination behind his actions."
Spade Ten’s words took a turn, catching Bai Wu by surprise.
Soon Bai Wu also understood the determination behind "Zero"’s actions.
"Do not be a person who wavers. Perhaps the choices facing the third level will be even more soul-stirring, but you must move forward bravely, on one path, to the end."
