Capítulo 8: Chapter 8: Leaving the Tower Again
Three hundred seconds passed in a flash, and Bai Wu poured himself a glass of water with the cup he had bought, then immediately gave himself another injection.
He then waited another five minutes, and when the time was up, Bai Wu recalled some of his past experiences.
Still without the slightest feeling.
Convinced that Wu Jiu would not play certain kinds of jokes on him and confirming that there should be no quality issues with these injections, Bai Wu gave up.
"No emotional rebound effect at all, I can't feel even a trace of excitement, I even feel a bit sleepy. Forget it, I shouldn't have had any expectations in the first place."
No longer dwelling on his emotions, and perhaps out of boredom or the effect of the medication, Bai Wu fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning.
He woke up early; his appointed time to leave the tower with Wu Jiu was ten o'clock, but members of the Investigation Corps had to go through some procedures before leaving the tower.
Wearing the blue camouflage uniform of the Investigation Corps and an emotion detection wristband, and carrying an electric rice cooker, a thermal mug, and Liu Chengzi's camera, Bai Wu set out, looking slightly bulky, to the meetup location.
...
...
Wu Jiu and his group had arrived even earlier than Bai Wu.
Apart from Wu Jiu, Bai Wu did not recognize the other four, but simple observation and deduction, along with the information in their remarks, had allowed him to understand the structure of the team they would be joining.
"Let me introduce you, this is Bai Wu, the new recruit who will be joining us for today's investigation outside the tower," Wu Jiu said in a tone that was neither cold nor warm.
"My name is Wang Shi. Buddy, is that pack meant for Spirit Possession?"
Including Wang Shi, everyone towered over Wu Jiu, with Wang Shi being the tallest at one ninety centimeters.
Bai Wu looked at Wang Shi.
[A rich family's son born on the third floor of the High Tower, who believed that men should pursue blood and excitement. Thus, he rejected the Gao Ta Town Garrison Corps and joined the Investigation Corps. Macho, right? But his hobby is collecting Barbie dolls.]
Wang Shi indeed looked quite imposing, and somewhat similar to Liu Mu. It seemed that their roles in the group were alike as well.
"Yes, I plan to see if I can get lucky outside the tower," Bai Wu said with a polite smile.
Bringing possessions out of the tower seemed so normal to everyone that no one questioned it further.
"A new recruit, huh? Geez, don't hold us back, and hope that today next year won't be the day of your death. After all, we're not close, and if you die, I won't be paying my respects to you," the person who spoke had an air of disdain and contempt.
"That's Lin Wurou. He always talks like that, you'll get used to it," Wu Jiu glanced at Lin Wurou.
[A man prettier than many women, with an effeminate mannerism, a poisonous tongue, and typically such people harbor some sort of perverse hobby. And his revolves around dismemberment and being whipped. From the second level.]
Unlike the other three men's practical short hair, Lin Wurou had flowing long locks.
Bai Wu noticed something; having observed many people inside the tower, he realized that the remarks never focused on Innate Force or Talent Sequence.
Outside the tower, things were different, however.
Presumably, the remarks about these people would be different outside the tower as well.
"I only cling to strong legs, I don't drag them behind. Besides, little sister, you are really pretty."
Typically, men who are effeminate hate being described as women.
Lin Wurou stomped his feet in anger.
Ignoring Lin Wurou's hostility, Bai Wu turned to another person.
"Hello, my name is Shang Xiaoyi," Shang Xiaoyi said with the most normal looking style among the group.
He appeared gentle, timid, with a pleasant smile, like a newcomer being bullied by a bunch of old slicks in the workplace.
But that was just the surface.
[Don't be fooled by his seemingly innocent puppy look, he's the most ferocious fighter among them, like a pervert who's been locked in a chastity belt for a month when he sees a woman, often getting so carried away in a killing spree that the team leader has to forcibly drag him back to the High Tower. From the lowest level.]
Another oddball.
Looking at the group's dynamics, it seemed they were the ace team of the ace squads.
"Nice to meet you," Bai Wu responded to Shang Xiaoyi with a smile and then looked at the last person.
The last member finally ticked the box for political correctness, being female.
The girl gave off an aura of coldness to Bai Wu from head to toe.
"Yin Shuang." Yin Shuang turned her head away.
Lin Wurou always had disdain for most women, as he is an extreme member of the looks society and most women were not as beautiful as him. But with Yin Shuang, he ran out of steam.
With bright eyes and white teeth, and a skin like ice and bones like jade, there is a saying that whether she's a beauty depends on her appearance during military training. Even the Investigation Corps' combat outfits couldn't hide her splendor.
In Bai Wu's view, this woman could've been a top influencer in his previous world based solely on her face.
[A woman bent on revenge, like the Little Dwarf, she carries a secret of interest even to the sixth level within her body. From the second level. She's the one who is most like a normal person amongst them.]
"What is this secret of interest to the sixth level? Mentioned twice now, could it be a rare Sequence?"
Without any clues, Bai Wu didn't dwell on it, but he quickly noticed something else.
The Investigation Corps had a total of sixteen teams.
The seventh team was the strongest, with twenty-four squads under its command, each with six members, among which the first squad, the captain's squad, was the strongest.
The first squad's style gave Bai Wu the impression that they were all villains.
"A team of six, and there's one more person, right?"
Bai Wu is now the sixth substitute of this group. It seems that the original chosen sixth person also must have been quite the character.
"Dead."
Wu Jiu began walking towards the tower's exit.
The expressions of the other team members didn't change, and Lin Wurou was even humming a cheerful tune.
Bai Wu didn't inquire further.
Investigating outside the tower is tantamount to risking one's life exploring. Perhaps the more formidable the investigator, the more they can adapt to the death of companions.
...
...
Each level of the High Tower has an exit, and the bottom level's exit is on the eastern square.
Upon reaching the square, what first catches the eye are the gigantic six portals. They resemble six cubic steles, like six thick walls.
But after inputting the area code, when your hand touches the stele, you will be pulled into a certain place outside the tower.
Five of the steles are colored differently: white, blue, purple, red, and black, each corresponding to worlds outside with varying degrees of distortion. The last stele is covered by a huge curtain, its details obscured.
When Bai Wu focused his gaze on the various colored steles, the notes he got were all the same.
[It granted these steles the power to pass through space, but their actual use is to block the guy at the top of the High Tower.]
I don't understand. Who is 'It'? Who is the guy at the top of the High Tower?
The area outside the white portal is crowded with people, as a large number of bottom-level residents line up, ready to venture outside the tower to make a living. Meanwhile, there are also many from the Investigation Corps maintaining order.
"I remember that the world outside the High Tower is random—no one knows where they will be sent to. Given this… how do these miners and gatherers ensure that the area they go to is safe?"
Bai Wu flashed this question through his mind but soon, observing the actions of some soldiers from the Investigation Corps, he figured out the answer.
"I see, it seems that members of the Investigation Corps are responsible for surveying the area first. They ensure that the area has Blue Line Grass and the energy ores needed by the High Tower, as well as fewer Evil Fallen. Then they arrange for large numbers of bottom-level folks to head there to toil and cultivate."
Wu Jiu and his party naturally did not need to line up, with his thin stature and signature phoenix eyes, no member of the bottom-level Investigation Corps would fail to recognize him.
There are two types of investigations outside the tower: one is for resource collection, aimed at mining and gathering essential supplies for the survival of the High Tower.
The other is a deep investigation, mainly for mapping the outside world and searching for historical documents from the past, in an attempt to understand the cause of the changes in the outside world.
But obviously, even after seven hundred years, this mission is still far from completion.
"Prepare to follow," Wu Jiu reminded softly.
The moment his hand touched the white stele, a string of numbers immediately appeared above the square grid to the left of the stele.
The light and shadow patterns that emerged on the stele at that moment made Bai Wu feel as if he truly was in a world seven hundred years in the future.
Wu Jiu's figure was swallowed by the white light. Wang Shi touched a few points within the square grid at the edge of the stele and then disappeared as well.
Next were Lin Wurou and Shang Xiaoyi.
When it was Yin Shuang's turn, she stopped and repeated some precautions to Bai Wu.
"Check your watch and the roulette again."
"I've checked them."
"This is the portal. Once we leave, a number will be generated. To input this number, use the square grid on the side of the portal, with the digits incrementing in rows."
She seemed the coldest one outwardly, unwilling to say more than a single word when introducing her name. But at this moment, Yin Shuang was quite meticulous.
The note was certainly not wrong.
This woman was only cold on the surface; compared to the few before her, she was the one closest to being a normal person.
"Thank you," Bai Wu said.
"You go in first," Yin Shuang said.
"Okay."
Bai Wu began to input the number, a seven-digit sequence. Does this mean... in the seven hundred years of the High Tower Era, people have explored hundreds of thousands of areas?
He was engulfed by the white light.
There was a brief feeling of weightlessness in his consciousness, with the surrounding scene shrouded in a white expanse, as if enveloped in a thick layer of fog.
Several seconds passed... the fog began to slowly dissipate. The surrounding scenery gradually became visible.
"This is… a hospital?"
Bai Wu heard Lin Wurou's voice of astonishment. He and the group members were all standing outside the walls of a certain hospital.
This was a private hospital with an expansive area, with no fewer than four medical buildings. Between each building, there were walkways high above connecting them.
From the height of the grass and the extent of decay on the buildings, it was not as exaggerated as the urban ruin Bai Wu had seen in the blue area...
This hospital looked merely old... but not dilapidated.
Looking along the eastern side of the wall, Bai Wu quickly located the main entrance to the hospital.
[Ninth Psychiatric Hospital. If you don't enter this hospital, the difficulty of exploration will be as expected. But once inside, all bets are off. Who knows how severe the negative emotions of the psychiatric patients might be? This place is a hotbed for the Evil Fallen. Of course, I don't hope you go in, but hidden inside is a mystery that only you can solve. Good luck.]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(PS: The first copy may feel somewhat scary to some readers due to the scene, but future copies won't be. Actually, it's not scary at all, because there are no ghosts in this story.)
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