Chapter 16: The Guide of the Three Towers

White head, red head, black head.

The three heads were identical in structure, yet they differed in color and facial expression.

The black head was gloomy, its smile twisted and sinister.
The white head’s smile was exaggerated, like that of a clown performing a comedy.
The red head did not smile; it carried an aura of natural, imposing authority.

Wen Xishu did not adapt as quickly this time. To be honest, he found the Guide’s appearance even more sanity-shattering than the Trickster Jack. After a dozen seconds of silence, he finally began to ask questions:

"So, I can see all three heads. What does that mean?"

It was the white head that answered him:

"Generally speaking, a Tower Climber can only see one of our heads. They see the head corresponding to the Tower system they have influenced. Since you can see all three, it means you have just completed an extraordinary adventure; you have altered the contents of all three Towers."

"Little brother, which one of us do you think looks the best?"

All three heads of the Tri-Tower Guide turned to look at Wen Xishu. The white head suddenly began to ripple with moving flesh. In a short moment, it transformed into a rather beautiful woman’s face.

The red head let out a disdainful snort.
The black head adjusted its smile, perhaps intending to look more normal, but it only ended up looking even more macabre.

Wen Xishu was speechless. He had now completely adjusted to this Tri-Tower Guide.

"According to the prompts, I need to complete my 'account registration' here with the Guide."

He decided to get straight to the point. Rather than wasting time chattering with the Guide, Wen Xishu was more concerned with what level of completion he had actually achieved, and what kind of Occult Sequence the Trickster Jack had given him.

According to Wen Xishu's existing knowledge:
Sequences were extremely rare items. Everyone had an initial sequence slot where one could insert a sequence. Sequences were divided into three types: Slaughter, Occult, and Desire.

As one continued to explore the Three Towers, those with good luck could obtain rarer sequences, and there was even a chance, with explosive luck, to unlock additional sequence slots. It was rumored that Xun Hui, ranked first on the Slaughter Tower ladder, possessed six sequence slots, all equipped with rare sequences.

However, the Tri-Tower Guide seemed interested in the question of Wen Xishu’s "allegiance."

"Tell us first, which head do you like?" the white, Desire Tower woman’s head asked, sounding somewhat fawning.

The black, Occult Tower head’s smile grew more solicitous, yet remained extremely sinister.

The red, Slaughter Tower head, though not smiling, seemed to say with its eyes: "Choose me, or I’ll kill you if you don't."

Wen Xishu remained silent for a few seconds.

"Are there rewards if I choose?"

The white head spoke again; it clearly had the greatest desire to communicate. "You could say that. Once chosen, your actions will yield rewards for us."

"However, in return, we will provide you with certain assistance within our respective Tower systems. For example, if you choose me, you will gain more when you frequent the Desire Tower."

"Occasionally, I can even provide you with some special intelligence that will make you feel very comfortable."

Wen Xishu became interested. "Can’t I choose all three? I think all three of you look quite friendly."

"Friendly" was a word the three heads were hearing for the first time. No matter how they changed, when three heads were squeezed together, they never looked friendly.

All three heads shook in unison, but because their frequencies were inconsistent, they nearly collided. The red Slaughter Tower head spoke:

"That is the rule! You can only choose one."

Wen Xishu uttered an "oh," his tone remaining unhurried. "Tsk, then who should I choose? What are your advantages?"

All three heads froze. Then, the white head seemed to realize it—they were being reverse-selected.

Historically, when a human climbed the Tower, the first head they saw was the one they were defaulted to. Most people—or rather, everyone except a tiny handful—only had one option. Even if they switched Towers later—for instance, moving from the Slaughter Tower to the Desire Tower—the Guide option would not change. Even so, many people still wanted to move to the Desire Tower despite losing the Guide’s help and favor. The Guide didn't really care about such people.

But Wen Xishu was definitely someone worth caring about.

"Choose me, little brother. Everyone has desires. In the Desire Tower, don't you want to do whatever you please?" The white head’s words were suggestive.

Wen Xishu looked at the black head, whose smile remained sinister. As his gaze shifted, both the red and white heads barked angrily:

"Number Three, you are not allowed to compete for this! You already have one!"

The black head replied: "But at the beginning, that killing machine could only see me too. It was only through his own efforts later that he saw you two."

Wen Xishu was slightly surprised. "Who is that killing machine? What is his name?"

"We cannot disclose that. But if you choose me, perhaps I can provide you with some information later."

The one known as "Number Three" was indeed the black Occult Tower head.

Wen Xishu finally understood. Choosing a head was equivalent to choosing a specialization. Choosing the white one meant receiving additional bonuses and growth values when gaining rewards in the Desire Tower.

The Desire Tower was a place that specialized in the human heart. It was said that Wen Renjing, ranked first on the Desire Tower ladder, possessed the ability to make everyone like him. He was truly a peerless heartthrob. This was not just due to his innate appearance, but also the effect of his Desire Sequence—everyone would maintain goodwill toward him, loving and liking him.

However, even so, Wen Renjing still had targets in the high levels of the Desire Tower that he couldn't conquer, and many missions where he couldn't achieve a five or six-level completion. This went to show that the difficulty of pleasing certain "Three-Tower People" at high levels was incredibly insane.

Wen Xishu pondered. Choosing a Desire Tower specialization wouldn't be bad. But he preferred the Occult Tower.

Fighting and killing, romance and love... none of these were things he enjoyed. The occult, the absurd, the unpredictable—these were the labels he truly loved. Although the Desire Tower seemed to have many aspects worth thinking about, Wen Xishu believed that the high levels of the Occult Tower would be more challenging.

Moreover, he doubted he would be able to escape the fate of exploring the Occult Tower anytime soon. Once he returned to the bunker, there was no telling how the leaders would torment him to continue exploring it.

"Although I would love to let you continue selling your selling points and explaining your core appeal before I decide which one of you to 'hire'..."

"My side's needs are already very clear, so congratulations: you’re hired."

The smile on the black head, symbol of the occult, turned stiff. That sounded a bit like the roles had been reversed.

The white head was clearly unhappy, falling silent with a look of grievance.

The red head said: "Although you didn't choose the noble Slaughter system, at least you aren't one of those cowards who chose to indulge in lust." After saying this, the red head closed its eyes and ignored Wen Xishu.

The black head laughed in a sinister, low voice: "Don't mind them. Our Occult system does not rely on conventional logic; that is the noblest thing of all."

Wen Xishu didn't want to waste any more time. "How do I complete the account registration?"

The black head said: "First, you need to give me a codename."

"This is very important. Because exploring the Three Towers yields material rewards, and all these materials will be marked with your codename."

"Additionally, you can make certain adjustments to your physical form here."

Wen Xishu understood roughly. It was equivalent to saying that while everyone could use the materials, they would all see prompts like "This item belongs to XXX."

That was quite good.

Wen Xishu began to think about this problem. Generally speaking, a codename shouldn't be one's real name. It was just like how people wouldn't use the name on their ID cards when posting on various forums.

But his situation seemed different.