Doomsday Jigsaw Puzzle

Chapter 67: Chapter 67: The Key to Yan Jiu’s Disappearance Case

The lady did not hang up the phone, for she had some doubts:

"How do you know the Chairman’s Sequence."

Bai Wu knew the other party would certainly ask this question.

"When your people kidnapped me, they used a very advanced Sequence, but just now, when I killed them in self-defense, he did not use his Sequence even as he was dying. I can only suspect that his Sequence has disappeared. A person’s Sequence wouldn’t just vanish without reason, unless those Sequences were never his to begin with."

Seeing that there was silence on the other end of the phone, Bai Wu continued:

"I should be leaving now, respected Madam. I’d love to meet you if I get the chance. I bet you are very beautiful. By the way, I assume I can leave directly, right?"

The third level couldn’t possibly have a slaughterhouse, and if it did, it had to be hidden within some larger corporate building.

Bai Wu wasn’t sure whether there were any dangerous ambushes waiting for him outside the slaughterhouse.

Especially after he had killed their man, even though they had agreed to some things, those agreements were as credible as Wang’s business promises, utterly unreliable.

Fortunately, he was lucky, and it wasn’t long before the voice on the phone replied:

"You can leave. But you’d better forget everything that happened today. If the Chairman wants you dead, it’s as easy as crushing an ant. You can keep the phone. I’ll contact you again."

As an ant who had turned the tables twice, Bai Wu nodded:

"My admiration for the Chairman is like the endless Yangtze River, and like the Yellow River’s floods, uncontrollable once unleashed. The Chairman is like the blazing sun in the sky, guiding my path..."

Beep...

The other end of the phone went to a busy signal.

Bai Wu pursed his lips and walked out of the slaughterhouse.

Just as he had expected, this place was not a real slaughterhouse, but rather a cellar that had later been converted into a cold storage room.

Above the cellar was a factory, with the sign at the factory gate reading — Hongyuan Tower Production Base Fourth Branch.

Bai Wu’s shoulders still bore traces of blood, which didn’t hurt but felt itchy. He even smeared some more blood on his face on purpose.

Some of the workers inside saw Bai Wu coming out of the cellar and didn’t find it strange. Even the blood on Bai Wu’s body seemed normal to them.

They were all from the lower classes. The third level restricted many of their rights, and entering various factories and corporations further limited their rights.

Those who had lived here for years also understood one thing: never ask about what you shouldn’t, and don’t meddle in matters outside your job scope.

Never think that by doing extra work for the boss or knowing more, he will promote you.

He will only assign you more work, or if he decides you know too much, he will deal with you directly.

Bai Wu didn’t think too much. Prayle’s Eye allowed him to see several scouts from the betting houses. He calmly left the factory and headed in the direction of the Asylum.

...

...

Asylum.

After dealing with the giant man, Wu Jiu contacted Captain Liu Mu from Squadron Thirteen.

The main reason was that Liu Mu’s abilities were particularly effective against this former member of the Investigation Corps.

Wu Jiu was also surprised by the sudden attack. Why would the Tower God Society strike at the Investigation Corps?

What was their true purpose?

Was their disappearance related to Yan Jiu? These more mentally taxing matters could only be left to Bai Wu.

But since Bai Wu had not yet returned, Wu Jiu guessed that he was probably getting along well with the people from the Garrison Corps.

Lin was more straightforward, thinking that Bai Wu was probably indulging in the company of women, happy and unwilling to return.

Ye Weiming kept asking some of the patients, but found nothing.

The lunatics in the Asylum lived together yet apart in their own separated worlds. Their minds were too chaotic to maintain normal social interactions.

It was as if two people were playing chess in a courtyard, one believing they were playing western chess, while the other believed they were playing Chinese chess.

Moreover, they both ignored each other’s existence, thinking that the chess pieces on the board were driven by some mysterious force.

Long-term interaction with such people naturally led one to madness, if they weren’t already mad.

It wasn’t until nightfall that Bai Wu arrived at the Asylum.

...

...

"You also encountered someone from the Tower God Society?"

Upon seeing Bai Wu, Wu Jiu first inquired about his injuries, then closed off Lin Wurou and Ye Weiming in an empty room.

Bai Wu didn’t intend to hide anything from Dwarf, so he recounted the events in detail.

After listening, Wu Jiu felt somewhat guilty:

"It was my negligence. Since I was attacked, I should have anticipated that they might not care about order and would attack you as well. You did very well this time; I didn’t expect that the gambling house was also under the Tower God Society’s influence."

"Don’t blame yourself, Captain. I too was surprised by the madness of the Tower God Society. Speaking of which, what’s the Garrison Corps’s stance on the Tower God Society?"

"They turn a blind eye, I suppose. The Tower God Society is mysterious, and even the Gao Ta Town Garrison Corps can’t do much about them. The Tower God Society’s base is on the fourth floor, where the Garrison Corps also has many concerns about moving against them."

Bai Wu nodded. This answer wasn’t surprising, and it was no wonder that the lady had the confidence to let him go, because they were too powerful.

This attack was actually like an interview; if one survived, it meant passing the preliminary test.

And if one completed the so-called trial, they would be considered to have passed the second round.

"Since you’ve successfully escaped this ordeal, let’s not dwell on that. Actually, if you were to go to the lower levels, it would be safer. The chaos there makes it difficult for the Tower God Society to infiltrate. By the way, have you negotiated a deal with the Garrison Corps?"

"Yes, Ming Che seems to believe in me."

"Among the Garrison Corps, Ming Che is someone who works in a grey area; he has a set of principles for his actions. Plus, he takes good care of his subordinates. If you follow him, you can benefit a lot," Wu Jiu knew quite a bit about the people in the Garrison Corps.

Bai Wu also felt that Ming Che wasn’t too bad. However, he still had to express his loyalty:

"Captain, I belong to Squad Seven, and I will not follow Ming Che."

Wu Jiu nodded but then added:

"But you can still interact with him more; this will help your advancement in rank in the future. I can turn a blind eye to your role as a double agent."

This... Wasn’t this too big of a backdoor? Bai Wu looked at Wu Jiu in surprise.

Wu Jiu spoke frankly:

"It’s normal for someone to be greedy and lustful; such people have more affinity. If you want to change the order of the High Tower, the source isn’t at the bottom."

Bai Wu touched his nose, Dwarf really treated me like an inside man... But being able to say these things meant he was trusting me.

"You can stay next door to me tonight. Also, it’s best if you shift the blame to the Garrison Corps tomorrow."

Bai Wu nodded; this tactic was quite clever.

As soon as the Garrison Corps left, he was attacked, which was perfect to assert that the Garrison Corps had no sincerity in their cooperation—gentleman first, rogue second.

To clear up misunderstandings, Ming Che might offer further clues and secretly arrange for someone to protect him. Two birds with one stone.

Dwarf was still quite clever, huh.

...

...

The next day.

Everything went as Bai Wu had anticipated, moving towards a favorable situation.

Upon learning of Bai Wu’s attack, Ming Che immediately deduced that the people who attacked Bai Wu were the same ones who attacked Wu Jiu.

They came from an organization that was a headache, the Tower God Society.

To clear up the misunderstanding, Ming Che had grown more amicable towards Bai Wu and even arranged some of the Garrison Corps’ experts to protect him.

However, throughout the Garrison Corps, only those at the captain level possessed formidable strength.

When it came to the main force, they were a notch below the Investigation Corps.

The so-called experts were all around the second order and fifth sequence, their strength not even comparable to Bai Wu’s.

The data transfer from the fourth to the third floor didn’t take too long, and Bai Wu arrived at a private vineyard owned by Ming Che.

The name of the vineyard was Mingyu Estate.

It was often visited by the nobility from the fourth floor for wine tasting and was one of the assets that allowed Ming Che to flirt with the wives of others, to become the ’neighboring Old Ming’.

However, today was not as bustling as usual. Bai Wu was directly invited by the butler to Ming Che’s study.

In this study room, larger than his dwelling in the lower levels, he brought all the clues left behind by Yan Jiu.

The first thing Bai Wu saw was a painting.

"Is this a piece by Yan Jiu?"

He referred to it as ’a piece’ because the artistry of the painting had surpassed his imagination.

[Very few people can perfectly render their imagination into art. This painting is quite valuable, and if the little painter were to die, its value would increase even more. If you go to the black region one day and find the scene depicted in this painting, its value will rise again.]

"Do you have a magnifying glass?" Bai Wu asked, his back still turned to Ming Che as he stared at the painting.

"Yes, here you go." Ming Che quickly handed over a magnifying glass, which Bai Wu took.

With the magnifying glass in hand, Bai Wu praised the painting:

"I’m quite curious, do the children of nobility receive education?"

Those from the lower levels received the simplest education in arithmetic and literacy.

"Of course, starting from the third floor, as long as you have sufficient wealth, you can ensure that your children learn some courses from before The Era of the High Tower," replied Ming Che, quite pleased with Bai Wu’s attitude.

This was the difference between nobility and the crude people of the lower levels. He fervently hoped that Bai Wu could understand the significance of shedding this inferior status.

The painting depicted a tower, standing tall in some dim location.

Around the tower was a vast expanse of black dots, mostly very small and barely visible in detail upon a cursory glance, but occasionally, a few larger dots could be seen.

If one used a magnifying glass, it would become clear that these dots were various strange creatures drawn by Yan Jiu based on descriptions in books—these were the likenesses of the Evil Fallen.

Amid the gray and black tones, a solitary, massive, and straight tower stood surrounded by a dense swarm of monsters.

It somewhat resembled a zombie siege.

Countless times humans had attempted to locate the true position of the High Tower. Could it be that over seven hundred years, they had found it many times?

But each time they were transported to this area, were they devoured by the monsters?

However, upon further thought, the borders of the black region were probably at the level of the red regions.

This scene, after all, was just Yan Jiu’s conjecture and even fantasy of what lay beyond the Tower.

While it didn’t dismiss the possibility that this conjecture was close to the truth.

The painting was not large, hence, the difficulty in creating it was extremely high. Bai Wu even noticed that each Evil Fallen had its own unique traits.

Some Evil Fallen were engaged in infighting, while others commanded other Evil Fallen.

There were also some Evil Fallen dressed in human clothes, looking inordinately mysterious.

Yan Jiu’s imagination left Bai Wu filled with admiration.

And the painting skills, akin to miniature sculpting, completely took his breath away.

"This can’t be taught in schools. This is a true genius. Captain Ming, why is such a talent locked in the Asylum, never to be released?"

Ming Che shook his head and said,

"There are some things you shouldn’t ask. And... I really don’t know about this one."

"Alright."

Bai Wu said no more.

He continued to observe the painting; the black dots were dense. The Garrison Corps’ people had also looked at it, but not as carefully as Bai Wu.

"The existence of the High Tower is so straight, it looks like some kind of reference object. The only clue left in that room is the arc she drew on the mirror. But judging from the skill shown in her paintings, that arc shouldn’t be so... shaky."

A painter’s hand is naturally steady, otherwise the lines drawn would lack a sense of strength.

Following this train of thought, Bai Wu recalled the trajectory of the arc line in the mirror, using the High Tower as a reference. Looking down, he quickly noticed something amiss.

Following the trajectory of the arc line, he found several different Evil Fallens, each holding rings in their hands.

But all worn on different fingers.

Bai Wu began to understand, and asked,

"What other records did Miss Yan Jiu leave behind?"

"They’re all here," Ming Che’s finger pointed to the other side of the desk.

There were some scattered paintings, but Bai Wu intuitively felt that there were no clues in these paintings.

The rest was a diary.

Some things about the fourth level in the diary had been selectively deleted. What remained was almost entirely Yan Jiu’s experiences in the Asylum.

It did record some methods of communicating with different mental patients in the Asylum.

There were also some of Yan Jiu’s thoughts. She even designed an escape plan in her diary. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

But Bai Wu was sure that this was just a ruse left by Yan Jiu.

From the diary, Bai Wu found out that Yan Jiu had been talking with a strange patient a long time ago.

This patient lived on the sixth floor of the Asylum, in the room he had not yet had the chance to inspect.

It was also the room where Wu Jiu was attacked. Of course, it wasn’t someone from the Tower God Society, but the original patient of that room.

It was this patient who told Yan Jiu a lot of knowledge about the world outside the tower. There was a passage in the diary that read,

"The High Tower is humanity’s last sanctuary. Evil Fallens cannot enter the High Tower, but humans are less free than Evil Fallens. Evil Fallens enjoy a broader world, while humans are confined within this High Tower. One day, the Evil Fallens outside the tower will find a way to enter, destroy this tower, and liberate humanity. Since only Evil Fallens can survive in the new world, wouldn’t it be better to become an Evil Fallen?"

This was what the patient from the Asylum told Yan Jiu, who merely recorded it, but still had doubts about these words.

"Such dangerous and insane thoughts, this clumsy lie is all too familiar."

Cain.

This passage made Bai Wu subconsciously think of this person. If Cain was lurking in the Asylum, that would make perfect sense.

Moreover, if it was Cain, taking Yan Jiu away would be too easy; the high wall was child’s play for Cain.

However, Bai Wu couldn’t be one hundred percent sure, as ever since he had come to this High Tower, he had seen too many magical realities; not all the madmen were Cain.

He could only make this working assumption for now.

"If we assume Cain took Yan Jiu, then the most likely place for Yan Jiu could be outside the tower. And the rings worn on the fingers, do different fingers correspond to different numbers, so that is a regional code?"

Bai Wu fell into thought.

Ming Che watched Bai Wu, convinced that this man had really discovered something, and he watched Bai Wu with great anticipation.

But Bai Wu was troubled by a question, which was also the key to the entire disappearance case.

"But if it is a code, it means going to that coded area, one could find her. The problem is, the code would expire after three days. Yan Jiu has been missing for more than three days; the code might have already expired... then what’s the point of leaving this clue?"