Chapter 64 Miracle Tower

The Twilight Tree Cult.

Wen Xishu felt a sense of social embarrassment even more intense than Nissen from the capsized boat. The side effects of fame had arrived just as expected; fortunately, at this stage, no one yet recognized his real face.

"I have long admired you, but I am not accustomed to joining organizations. While Wen Xishu is undoubtedly exceptional, I am a man without idols. I am grateful for everything Wen Xishu has done, but I prefer to remain a free agent. Thank you, and I kindly ask that you respect my choice."

Wen Xishu politely declined the so-called Twilight Tree Cult.

"My friend, do not worry. Our church aims to help others. I am about to head toward a region associated with the number seven—are you headed there too? Perhaps we can travel together!" The bald-headed man did not give up on recruiting Wen Xishu.

Wen Xishu was momentarily stunned. Could such a coincidence really exist? Noticing Wen Xishu's expression, the bald man laughed and said, "It seems you truly share a deep affinity with the Twilight Tree Cult! My handle is Listening to the Wind and Strings, inspired by the idiom of understanding the subtle nuances of strings and song. Don't be fooled by my half-Russian heritage; I am an avid enthusiast of Longxia culture."

The bald man chuckled and gestured, summoning two more men and a woman over.

All three of them were from Longxia.

"This is Xiao Wu, just named Xiao Wu. He was recently released from prison after completing his reform through labor. A genuinely good soul! Under the radiant light of our Twilight Tree Cult, he is now a person of pure spirit."

Xiao Wu devoutly pressed his palms together and said, "Under the enlightenment of the Venerable Wen, I have let go of countless attachments. A journey like life requires how much repentance to make it whole. Today, I am entirely reborn."

"May I be able to help you survive within the eerie Tower."

Wen Xishu was genuinely startled this time. This fellow did not look like he was faking it; he genuinely seemed to believe he had been thoroughly purified.

I've only been famous for a few days... Does a religion using my name to recruit followers already possess brainwashing capabilities so strong that people willingly walk into the eerie Tower to die?

"This is Ah Miao. She was diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer not long ago. She came to the eerie Tower to seek treatment, hoping to earn enough money for her medical bills."

Ah Miao was a woman in her early thirties. Tormented by illness, her complexion had a faint purplish hue, and she had lost a considerable amount of hair. Yet her facial features revealed that she must have been a woman of striking beauty when healthy.

"And lastly, this one is called Banana. Once, while at an orphanage, he received a relief package containing bananas and loved them so much that he changed his name to Banana... He forgot his original surname long ago, remembering only that his family name was Wu."

Wu Banana...

Wen Xishu felt another urge to make a sarcastic remark, but he managed to hold it in.

The bald man, Listening to the Wind and Strings, continued, "Banana used to be a petty thief, but he has reformed. Apart from still being somewhat lustful, he has no other flaws. However, both he and I are fully confident that we can conquer carnal desires."

A lustful thief, a terminally ill cancer patient, a recently reformed ex-convict...

To be honest, barring any unexpected plot twists, Wen Xishu felt the Twilight Tree Cult actually seemed quite benign, bringing about some positive influences.

Still, he could not shake the feeling that the bald man's physiognomy did not scream "good person."

Wen Xishu asked, "Did all of you receive the Inverse Seven mission?"

"Indeed. My lord Wen Xishu has bestowed his blessing upon us, allowing us to remain closely connected within the perilous eerie Tower," Listening to the Wind and Strings replied.

He looked at Wen Xishu and pressed on, "Friend, meeting by chance is a form of fate. Why don't we act together?"

Actually, teaming up was not out of the question. At worst, once inside the eerie Tower, he could use the rules to eliminate all of them in the end.

It was not out of arrogance that Wen Xishu considered this; possessing over a dozen points of magic resistance, three props, and two glitched-dice privileges meant his starting line upon entering the eerie Tower was already vastly superior.

If certain tasks required leveraging teammates, having teammates was always better than having none.

He nodded. "Let me state this clearly beforehand: I am not joining any church. I have no idols, I do not chase trends, and I worship no one. I have zero interest in Wen Xishu—any regard I hold is purely out of objective admiration."

Listening to the Wind and Strings smiled. "No worries, we are all friends. By the way, what is your handle?"

Wen Xishu froze in awkwardness. He truly had not anticipated slapping his own face so soon, immediately tasting the boomerang of his own words.

He remained silent for a full thirty seconds, realizing this deadlock had no solution. "Fine, my handle is Wen Xishu. I take back what I said earlier."

Pfft. Banana let out a laugh. "Brother, you talked so much trash, only to end up being more fanatical than any of us."

Listening to the Wind and Strings sighed. "Ah, how touching. I never expected that under our lord's guidance, we would cross paths with yet another devout believer."

Handles could be checked upon entering the Three Towers world. There were plenty of people named Wen Xishu, mostly adopting the name for good luck.

Wen Xishu asked, "Before we begin, do any of you have thoughts regarding this mission? Any intelligence to share? Are there any veterans of the Desire Tower among you who can offer some insight?"

Everyone shook their heads.

Xiao Wu spoke up, "This is my first time entering the eerie Tower."

Ah Miao coughed heavily several times, her complexion looking dreadful as she said, "This is also my first time entering the eerie Tower. If not for the desire to stay alive... *cough, cough*... I would never have come here."

Listening to the Wind and Strings said, "Ah Shu—allow me to address you thus—do not be afraid. Our lord will bless and protect us. Although it is everyone's first time here, I believe we will all survive."

Your lord will certainly protect me, seeing as I have to save myself.

***

Floor 7 of the eerie Tower.

Location: Qicheng. Qicheng did not belong to Longxia; it was the capital of a neighboring country situated very close to Longxia. This nation lacked cultural confidence; all its heritage was built on theft. Whatever Longxia possessed, they stole.

Of course, their attempted thefts usually failed.

It was a twisted nation, with Qicheng standing as the epicenter of that distortion. Qicheng boasted the world's top technology companies, yet it also maintained the strictest class barriers. Even so, countless people yearned to squeeze into Qicheng, desperate to leave a footprint or even descendants there.

This was precisely why the Miracle Apartment was known as a miracle.

In Qicheng, every inch of land was worth a fortune, and ordinary people might have to spend their entire salary just to rent a marginally decent apartment.

Yet the Miracle Apartment stood forty-nine floors high, with thirteen households per floor, served by seven elevators per floor, featuring an exquisite facade. Every single unit boasted oversized floor-to-ceiling windows, making the complex look more like a commercial skyscraper.

In reality, it was not just a single building, but several towers clustered together. The inner side of the complex enclosed a shared residential courtyard.

Viewed from afar, it resembled a polygonal column-like structure, while glimpses of luxurious furnishings could be seen through the windows. Describing such a building merely as an "apartment" felt somewhat inadequate.

And yet, its owner—one of Qicheng's top financial conglomerates—truly intended it to function as residential apartments.

The most absurd part of all... the owner charged an astonishingly low rent.

"You probably cannot imagine it—such a luxurious apartment configuration, one hundred and forty square meters, top-tier interior decoration, yet the monthly rent is only two thousand seven hundred, which even includes property management fees. Therefore, being able to live here, or rather, being selected to move in, can be considered nothing short of supreme fortune."

When Wen Xishu opened his eyes, he found himself, along with Listening to the Wind and Strings and his group, standing outside the entrance of the Miracle Apartment.

A staff member of the Miracle Apartment was enthusiastically introducing this architectural marvel, envy practically radiating from his expression.

Living here genuinely seemed like an enormous stroke of luck.

As Wen Xishu listened to the narration, he noticed that this interface was completely different from previous ones. Whether in the eerie Tower or the Desire Tower, Wen Xishu had always perceived things with absolute realism.

This time, however, he noticed some out-of-character UI elements appearing in his vision.

[Action Points: 95.]

[Current available trigger option: Listen to the history of this building. Cost: 5 Action Points (Action in progress).]

The concept of Action Points was appearing for the very first time.

Wen Xishu's initial thought was that this mechanic was likely not a permanent feature, but rather a numerical value exclusive to this specific mission. "Action in progress" meant the required 5 points had already been deducted, implying that the game's starting Action Points pool was 100.

However, Wen Xishu could not be certain whether this pool of 100 was the total Action Points for all seven days combined, or a daily replenishment. If it wasn't per day... this game design would border on unreasonable.

The staff member kept talking, spittle flying from his mouth.

He led Wen Xishu, Listening to the Wind and Strings, and the others into the lobby of the Miracle Apartment.

Seven rows of sofas were arranged neatly in the first-floor lobby.

Each row of sofas featured a different color, stamped with seven distinct pop-culture elements.

The first row displayed the image of a Qicheng pop star named He Lina, lying down and sipping coffee with a dreamy gaze.

The second row was printed with dishes spread across a dining table from a Michelin-starred restaurant in Qicheng.

The third row featured a portrait of the building's owner, An Zhenqi, who was also one of Qicheng's most prominent conglomerate leaders.

The fourth row bore a corner of Qicheng's largest amusement park; its logo was a smiling, chubby face.

The fifth row displayed a triumphant photograph of Qicheng's president upon winning the election.

The sixth row unexpectedly featured the territorial map of Longxia.

The seventh row showed Qicheng's football star Sun Xingming scoring a fierce goal during a World Cup group stage match.

The elements on the seven rows of sofas varied widely, and with the exception of the sixth row, almost all the others highlighted the wealthy elite of Qicheng.

Wen Xishu silently committed these details to memory, sensing they would serve as crucial clues.

"Pardon me, I will go fetch the room cards for everyone now. In the meantime, you may rest here for a moment."

The staff member excused himself.

Only then did Listening to the Wind and Strings and the others finally relax.

"Is this really the eerie Tower?"

"Praise our lord Wen Xishu! To think this is the eerie Tower! I heard that eerie Towers are fraught with extreme peril, but look at this luxurious decor."

Xiao Wu chimed in, "The interior is indeed extravagant, and there is no trace of any eerie aura here. If you told me this was the Desire Tower, I'd believe it."

"Seven is a lucky number. Could it be that because we worship our lord... we've been blessed?"

Wen Xishu had to admit these fellows possessed immense nerve.

Shouldn't the more normal a seemingly eerie place appeared, the more vigilant one ought to be?

Ah Miao said, "The person just said there are top-tier medical facilities here. If I can cure my illness here..."

Wu Banana interrupted, "Forget it. If you get injured in the eerie Tower, the injuries won't carry back to the bunker—right now, you aren't even truly sick. We aren't ourselves right now; we are the accounts we registered."

Wen Xishu had not expected Banana to possess such insight.

Still, he needed to blend in. "Let's not dwell on that for now. As long as we successfully unravel the secrets here, you will surely earn enough money in the bunker to cure your illness."

Ah Miao nodded. "Thank you for your blessing."

Listening to the Wind and Strings asked, "By the way, what are these Action Points used for?"

Wen Xishu replied, "If I'm not mistaken, our actions will be restricted by Action Points. Certain specific behaviors that would normally only consume physical stamina in reality have been converted into Action Point costs within this eerie scenario. Therefore, this is not the Desire Tower, and you shouldn't take this mission too lightly. Once your Action Points are depleted, actions requiring them simply cannot be performed. No matter how energetic you feel, if you don't have the points, you can't do it."

The group found this explanation logical, as they had been entertaining similar speculations.

Wen Xishu added, "I hope everyone keeps one thing in mind: we are here to complete a mission. As players, what we must do is accept the mission, interpret the mission, and fulfill the mission. If you have carefully analyzed the mission briefing, you will understand that since there are seven of us in total, we will be assigned as neighbors to seven households. These seven households will shatter, because seven people among them will die. However, there are only five of us here, meaning we must save seven households and prevent their deaths. This implies there are two households whose situations remain unknown to us. We will be assigned to neighboring apartments, and Action Points are presumably meant to be spent gathering intelligence from next door. If the intelligence gathered by spending Action Points is insufficient to save these seven families... then we will die."

The mention of death snapped the others back to reality, and Wu Banana even shivered visibly.

That's right. This was the eerie Tower, not the Desire Tower.

Wen Xishu's analysis struck them as entirely reasonable, instantly instilling a sense of caution.

"I understand. We must be very prudent regarding actions that consume Action Points..." Xiao Wu muttered.

Wen Xishu nodded. "Life isn't easy. Since you all ended up in the eerie Tower, you naturally hope to turn the tables and change your destinies. Don't throw your lives away here out of momentary carelessness. The lord does not save those who refuse to save themselves."

Listening to the Wind and Strings clapped his hands. "Splendid! 'The lord does not save those who refuse to save themselves.' I must remember this quote and relay it to the new church members when I return, so they can cherish their lives and avoid self-destructive behavior!"

At that moment, the staff member hurried back.

"Apologies for keeping you all waiting. I have retrieved the room cards and electricity cards for everyone. I will now lead you to your respective rooms."

Guided by the staff member, Wen Xishu, Listening to the Wind and Strings, and the other three were assigned to five separate rooms located on different floors.

At that moment, Wen Xishu noticed the first Action Point-consuming option appearing in his field of vision.

[Initiate the new residents' meeting. Cost: 25 Action Points.]

Wen Xishu quickly settled into his assigned room, 14-2.

According to the mission briefing, one of the seven target households resided right next door, in either 14-3 or 14-1.

Seven days later, that family would be destroyed, and the head of that household would perish.

This was Wen Xishu's first time encountering a mission of this nature, devoid of any overt eerie entities, nor could he sense any fluctuations of Sequence abilities.

Inside this luxurious, 140-square-meter apartment, everything felt just as mundane as the Desire Tower.

Yet, upon closer reflection, bizarreness permeated every single detail.

Wen Xishu walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window and frowned. "The wealth amassed by conglomerates is the hardest to extract. Even their charitable ventures yield higher returns than an ordinary person's financial investments... Without a doubt, Qicheng corresponds to Seoul in my past life's South Korea. Yet in a city like this, inside such luxurious architecture, why charge such ridiculously low rent? This time's mission briefing is exceptionally long. Unlike the parrot's mission, although this one also relies on riddles... it conceals a wealth of clues."

Wen Xishu closed his eyes. Suddenly, a rather critical hint flashed through his mind.

Five chapters, twenty thousand words, that is all for today. From here on, two chapters per day, striving to maintain a baseline of eight thousand words daily. Regular readers know this is the output of a mutated, workaholic author!

Also, updating the matchmaking diary version. I noticed many veteran readers are still on the previous version. In short... the current young lady is a gentle and lovely girl from Chuanyu, and I have already met her parents. She is very virtuous, the kind of housekeeping expert who makes me feel inferior. Aside from doing chores, she even plays video games with me—going from zero gaming background to playing Dota 2 at the Legend rank, which truly brings me immense joy. I've genuinely fallen for a beauty trap this time. Perhaps by this time next year... there might be wedding news announced in the book.

(End of chapter)