Capítulo 11: Chapter 11: Exploring Building 2
Time seemed to stop, and as Bai Wu was about to take the key, he instinctively felt a repulsion.
"Among the three options, the best one is seeing Evil Fallen which would endow me with the Talent Sequence, the next best is gaining goodwill from Evil Fallen, and the worst is being hated by Evil Fallen. Although it should naturally despise humans."
"What I need to do, at the least, is to avoid choosing the worst one."
Not long after he entered the room, Bai Wu had reached a conclusion. To ensure a tolerable outcome, he rethought his entire logic:
"The three rooms at the end of the hallway must be a laboratory. Besides what we've seen, there might have been many more items in the lab, but they have all been destroyed."
"The experimental subjects are kept in cages, constantly under surveillance, and the experiment consists of injecting some kind of reagent and observing the reaction. This reagent may have something to do with Evil Fallen..."
"And during this process, the subjects must have been visited, or rather, their thoughts had reached out to others. At the time, their thoughts were probably not yet grudges."
The basis for Bai Wu's deductions lay in the message left behind by the Evil Fallen on the first floor.
"The Evil Fallen who died on the first floor had not seen her before becoming Evil Fallen. At least, it's unlikely that the institution would have allowed these monsters to meet... Perhaps she communicated with others through thoughts. This was a secret between her and the other subjects, and if I were the institution, I definitely wouldn't want the subjects to communicate privately."
"The Evil Fallen in the basement was worried she would be transferred to the second building. And indeed, she was moved. Does this indicate that her abilities had been discovered? Maybe there was another subject who had come into contact with her thoughts and snitched?"
"Hmm, from this we can infer that the Evil Fallen in the second building are stronger than those in the first, at least capable of launching grudge attacks... or perhaps after acquiring some kind of superpower, they are collectively moved to the second building."
"But why is there a comb? From the words on the note left by the Evil Fallen on the first floor, the subject is female, but in such an environment, what use is there for a comb?"
"There is only this comb, with no other remarks..."
Had Bai Wu's capacity for empathy been intact, he would have felt some type of negative emotion at this point.
But the watch showed a value of zero, and standing there, Bai Wu felt empty inside once again.
...
Lin Wurou was still urging him on, her voice suddenly filled with anxiety, and Wu Jiu and Wang Shi also began calling out Bai Wu's name.
The black arms had originally just been stretching out from the ceiling, and their numbers were increasingly sparse.
But as they tried to enter the room, black arms began to crazily surge out from the walls on both sides.
As Bai Wu was about to make a choice, the resentment on the entire eleventh floor became extremely thick.
The already cramped corridor seemed like it would be filled with the physical manifestation of grudge.
The sudden change caused everyone's emotions to fluctuate. The values on the watches, which were nearly reset to zero, began to skyrocket again.
Even if they could handle the current situation, the intensifying resentment made everyone start to feel uneasy.
Yin Shuang's watch had reached forty-five, more than half the distance to the danger line at seventy-five.
"What's going on? Why isn't that kid responding? He's not dead in there, is he?" Lin Wurou was also somewhat panicking.
"Why did this grudge suddenly become so intense? Is the essence of Evil Fallen approaching? Could it be that Bai Wu encountered the true body of Evil Fallen inside the room?" Wang Shi kept charging against the grudge.
The only one who could sense the presence of the Evil Fallen was Shang Xiaoyi. But down the hallway echoed the mad laughter of Shang Xiaoyi as the grudge of the Evil Fallen grew intense, his face twisted with excitement, and he was utterly unreliable at the moment.
Wu Jiu's phoenix eyes narrowed into a line, and his already exaggerated speed unexpectedly managed to increase once more.
"Save him before we leave."
Not having reached the critical point, the group didn't plan to give up on Bai Wu, even Lin Wurou, who had the sharpest tongue, was prepared to break through the Grudge Barrier at full strength to rescue Bai Wu.
But just as everyone was getting ready to use their unique skills, all the grudges vanished in an instant...
The sound of the doorknob turning was heard, and Bai Wu walked out holding an ox horn comb, his face calm.
"Sorry for the wait, let's go, to the nineteenth floor."
Through the fervor still evident on Shang Xiaoyi's face, Bai Wu could roughly guess what had happened in the corridor. He didn't explain anything, such as the situation inside, or why he had chosen that comb.
Wu Jiu looked at Bai Wu with an inquiring gaze. Lin Wurou directly asked:
"You're actually not dead? If you're not dead, why didn't you make a sound? Where's the Evil Fallen inside? Did you take care of it?"
If the owner of the grudges hadn't been dealt with, why would the intense grudges suddenly disappear?
"Let's say I've temporarily suppressed the source, but we should encounter it again later. Let's go, this building has no exploration value."
Bai Wu walked at the front of the team, heading towards the elevator. The members of Group One had strange expressions on their faces.
Especially Lin Wurou, who tossed her long hair with a cold snort, feeling inside that she hadn't outperformed this newcomer. An Evil Fallen capable of creating such an immense grudge was naturally extraordinary.
Wang Shi was quite happy to see his teammate unharmed. Shang Xiaoyi appeared to be still in high spirits. Yin Shuang slowly adjusted her breathing, trying to lower the numbers on her wristwatch as much as possible.
Wu Jiu recalled how the grudges had just a moment ago blocked their way, and he had thought that Bai Wu was more likely to be unlucky than not; however, to their surprise, the moment Bai Wu emerged, the grudges dissipated rapidly.
What was most inconceivable was that, up until now, the number on the wristwatch on Bai Wu's hand was still zero.
…
…
The elevator began to rise slowly again, and without waiting for anyone to ask, Bai Wu took the initiative:
"Captain, I have a question, are Evil Fallen transformed from humans? If we stay outside the tower, under certain conditions, could we also become Evil Fallen?"
After Bai Wu's words fell, apart from Wu Jiu, everyone else in Group One subconsciously looked away.
Two seconds later, Wu Jiu spoke calmly:
"Have you seen the wristwatch on your hand? The danger level is seventy-five."
"I know."
Bai Wu had seriously read every section of the tower's external investigation manual. Once emotional fluctuation reached seventy-five, all the Evil Fallen in the area could smell it.
"You must have noticed the color of the dial, before seventy-five, it's green, and after seventy-five, it turns orange. The emotional detection wristwatch has an upper limit of 300, and at 175, the color of the dial is red."
Wu Jiu didn't continue speaking; the elevator had reached the nineteenth floor. The elevator doors opened to pitch darkness; he took out a searchlight, leading the way at the front.
Although the captain hadn't finished speaking, Bai Wu already knew the answer.
The red value ranged between 175 and 300. If negative emotions accumulate to excess and the wristwatch's value reaches this range, one might undergo an Evil Fallen Transformation...
Put simply, in a state of extreme anger, humans could be equated with the Evil Fallen.
The architectural layout of the nineteenth floor was slightly different from the previous floors, as the end of the corridor had been transformed into a dining area.
Outside the dining area was the skywalk connecting the two buildings. When passing by the dining area, Shang Xiaoyi said timidly:
"Outside the door, there are six... six Evil Fallen, and their level should be... higher than the one the captain killed."
Wu Jiu nodded calmly, then drew "Death to Evil Fallen" from his side and pushed open the door behind the dining area.
"Has he always been like this?" Bai Wu asked Wang Shi.
"Although I'm the vanguard, the captain always rushes to the front. But don't worry, to date, he has indeed encountered Evil Fallen he couldn't handle, but the captain has always managed to come out unscathed."
Bai Wu was aware of Wu Jiu's incredibly fast pace; he had noticed earlier that the captain's speed crushed everyone else's.
This puzzled him:
"Is the direction of growth for Innate Force different for everyone?"
"It's the same, but every time you level up, you gain additional abilities to expand on your strengths. I can't quite describe the process. Anyway, you'll understand it once you break through from the first rank, ninth tier to the second rank."
Wang Shi didn't explain it very clearly, but Bai Wu completely understood the implication in his words.
Innate Force is divided into five directions: vitality, healing, attack power, speed, and perception. Normally, enhancing Innate Force increases all five attributes.
The point Wang Shi wanted to convey was that, analogous to a game, when leveling up Innate Force, one would gain skill points.
These skill points could be allocated to any of the five attributes, orienting one's combat attributes for future battles.
Wu Jiu, undoubtedly specialized, had put all his points into speed, focusing on a single point to reach the pinnacle.
Wang Shi must focus on attack power and vitality. Lin Wurou split her points between attack power and speed.
Shang Xiaoyi was probably perception and attack power. Yin Shuang was hard to figure out; she must be the weakest in the team, but it was clear she didn't have survival attributes.
So aside from Wang Shi, everyone on the team was all about offense and didn't care for their own lives? That was far too reckless.
Soon after his conversation with Wang Shi, Wu Jiu returned, still half-asleep and seemingly lazy:
"It's dealt with, let's go."
On the skywalk, six Evil Fallen, all dressed in security uniforms, lay scattered haphazardly.
Wu Jiu's skill gave Bai Wu a sense of security; it was quite comforting to have someone like a high-level boss accompanying and protecting him on his first exploration out of the tower.
His attention turned to the bodies of the Evil Fallen.
Unlike the Evil Fallen on the lower level of the first building, their arms had mutated into scythe shapes.
[Level 3 Evil Fallen. Mutation Entry: Iron Cutting, their scythe-shaped arms can sever ordinary metals. In life, they were the security of Ninth Hospital; in death, they remained its dead security. After the director was devoured, they only took orders from Little Pitiful.]
It seemed these six were the gatekeepers of the second building.
Before heading into the second building, Bai Wu pondered another question and looked towards Wu Jiu:
"The Evil Fallen of the first building are no match for you. As long as we control our emotions, the Evil Fallen of the second building won't sense us.
I'm curious, since one's Innate Force grows faster the longer one survives outside the tower, why don't we choose to idle in the first building?"
There are generally three strategies to clear any levels: through proficiency for a speedrun, which Bai Wu didn't fancy as he saw no point beyond showing off.
The second is the normal clear, relying on collecting various clues to slowly progress through the level. That's what he usually did.
The third is favored by stubborn old games, the Ten-mile Slope Sword God strategy: exploiting bugs in Beginner's Village to max out attributes, then rolling through the levels with overwhelming force.
In Bai Wu's opinion, aside from having an atmosphere akin to a horror film set, the first building seemed quite suitable for idling to level up.
Lin Wurou's long-missed sneer came over the line.
"Heh, a rookie is a rookie, ignorant of even this."
Apart from Wu Jiu, the others were not aware of Bai Wu's background. Wu Jiu explained:
"The world outside the tower is hostile to us. In this world, every four hours, the body will acquire some form of impediment."
"Impediment?"
"For instance, reduced speed, diminished senses, increased emotional fluctuation, hallucinations, decreased attack power, lower resistance to Evil Fallen, or even sensitivities to light or darkness, etc. I can't list all the negative effects because each time you leave the tower, the sequence of impediments is random."
Bai Wu understood. Every four hours, debuffs would occur... In that case, idling to level up truly wasn't feasible.
Eventually, the negative effects would attract the Evil Fallen due to the accumulation of too many negative attributes, while one's combat ability would be severely reduced, thereby creating a dangerous situation.
Therefore, the first four hours of investigation outside the tower were the most efficient.
Bai Wu was now beginning to realize the source of Wu Jiu's strength.
Surviving alone for twenty-four days in the blue zone meant bearing more than a hundred kinds of debuffs daily, yet still contending with the Evil Fallen.
...
At the end of the skywalk, darkness stretched infinitely. Only when the group reached the middle of the walk could an entrance be vaguely seen.
Observing the pop-up note about the entrance, Bai Wu cautioned:
"After entering, it's best not to treat the interior as if it's the white zone."
Lin Wurou didn't argue this time; even without a particular focus on perceptual abilities, he could feel the oppressive atmosphere inside the second building.
"Since the skywalk is at the top level, we can skip exploring the lower floors and just pass through the skywalk of the second building to reach the third and fourth buildings." It was Yin Shuang who spoke.
Bai Wu shook his head, Yin Shuang's suggestion was correct but, unfortunately, the designer of the game had already anticipated this.
[Do not try to bypass the second building. You must go down to the very bottom of the second building to get the key; otherwise, even if you pass through the walkway, you won't be able to reach the third building. A friendly reminder: The key has been swallowed by a mischievous little thing. While you could force your way through with Little Dwarf, I suggest you make good use of that comb, it will trigger more abundant rewards.]
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