Chapter 22: Challenge Letter

"The medical records suddenly disappeared. What exactly happened?" Yin Shuang intuitively felt that this was related to Bai Wu.

Wu Jiu looked up at the 1.78-meter-tall Bai Wu, waiting for an answer.

"I found the medical records of the fourth experimental subject, but the process was a bit complicated and took quite some time. It's better not to go to the fourth building—it's very dangerous, and even you, Captain, might not be able to handle that subject."

Wu Jiu did not speak, his expression unchanged. Wang Shi, however, was not convinced,

"Captain, along with Captain Liu of Squad Thirteen, is known as the sword and shield of the Investigation Corps. Don't underestimate our Captain."

Bai Wu nodded. After all, he didn't have a clear understanding of Wu Jiu's strength, so he circled back to the main point,

"I just want to make it clear that the fourth building is far more dangerous than the previous three. The entire Ninth Hospital is actually a breeding ground for Evil Fallen. Many powerful Evil Fallen have appeared here, but even combined, they don't compare to the Evil Fallen from the fourth building."

"So what exactly did you experience in the file?"

"A piece of memory. We can talk while we walk. By the way, where are Lin Wurou and Shang Xiaoyi?" Bai Wu turned around and walked towards the door.

"They weren't so lucky. The negative attributes affected them too much, so the Captain sent them back to High Tower first," said Wang Shi.

Bai Wu had guessed as much, and Wu Jiu explained,

"Everyone encounters a mind obstruction outside the tower every four hours, and your consciousness will clearly tell you what this obstruction is. What's yours?"

"Confusion. Seems like I'm relatively lucky."

Wu Jiu was slightly surprised.

Confusion meant a disorientation of the sense of direction, for example, mistaking left for right, or up for down.

When the brain decided to move a limb or the body to the right, the body would give the opposite feedback.

It was severe enough to make it difficult for a person to walk normally—Wu Jiu had experienced it during the 24-hour endurance battle.

It took a full thirty minutes to adapt.

"You seem to have adapted already. How long did it take?"

"Do I even need to adapt? Just change the habits."

At the time, with the pressing situation, Bai Wu indeed switched to the new directional rules almost instantly.

Wu Jiu opted for selective silence.

"Where to now?" Yin Shuang took over the conversation.

"I need to pick up something mentioned in the medical record. Someone has been here before and left behind an item that's suspected to be a Return Roulette. We'll take a look and then prepare to leave."

"Not going to the fourth building?" asked Wang Shi.

"No."

The trio didn't ask further. Wu Jiu could also sense that a terrifying monster was hidden in the fourth building.

It would be fine if he acted alone, but having other team members with him would only be a hindrance.

Bai Wu began to talk about the memory from the medical file. He did not hide anything and expressed his subjective will towards Little Pitiful.

Perhaps the will of a human can overcome the nature of an Evil Fallen, and maybe not all Evil Fallen are so evil.

After learning about the tragic fate of Little Pitiful, Yin Shuang was somewhat moved, while Wang Shi fell into contemplation.

But Wu Jiu's attitude did not change,

"An Evil Fallen is an Evil Fallen. Remember that. Evil Fallen can never be human. Their nature is to prey on humans, so no matter how pitiful their experience is or how kind and innocent they were originally, as long as the malice in their bones is not erased, they will always be the enemy of humankind."

Yin Shuang looked at Bai Wu, wondering if he would refute the Captain. After all, he had personally experienced that memory, which should be far deeper than others.

Unexpectedly, Bai Wu agreed with Wu Jiu and even slightly elevated his opinion of him,

"The Captain is right, I will keep this in mind."

If there is no way to make Little Pitiful feel repulsed by devouring others at the root, then even if he recognized Little Pitiful in his heart, he would never consider him one of his own, especially without eliminating the vigilance against the Evil Fallen's nature.

A red figure appeared in front of Bai Wu, who paused subconsciously.

"What's wrong?" Wu Jiu saw Bai Wu stop and asked.

"It's nothing."

It seems only I can see Little Pitiful...

[A grudge has formed a split being. Her origin is very dangerous. I give you three pieces of advice: grovel, grovel, or grovel. Eh? Have you already groveled? Then it's fine.]

Having left the memory scene, Prayle's Eye could be used again. Bai Wu felt that the little girl was somewhat angry, even if it was just a view from behind.

It probably had to do with the Captain's words.

A miscalculation—this entire Ninth Hospital is almost a part of Little Pitiful. I need to be careful with my words.

As if possessed, Bai Wu looked back at the Captain...

Hmm, if Captain Liu and Hong Yin were to walk side by side, they could be described as advancing shoulder to shoulder.

Wu Jiu sneezed.

If the battlefield weren't on the fourth floor, Hong Yin wouldn't have any way to deal with Wu Jiu. Wu Jiu even had extra energy to protect his teammates.

Although the little girl was angry, she still faithfully led the way.

Soon, the four of them arrived on the third floor of the first building. In an exceedingly casual waiting room, tucked away in a particularly noticeable corner, Bai Wu really did find a disc.

"This is placed too casually; it seems it was meant to be found."

When scanning the entire building, the remarks given were random, so Bai Wu hadn't noticed this thing on the third floor.

When Wu Jiu dealt with the first Evil Fallen, he went directly to the eleventh floor.

Wu Jiu examined the disc:

"This is not a Return Roulette; I haven't seen this before..."

It is said that the Return Roulette comes from the sixth level of the High Tower, and its craftsmanship is extremely complex. People only know that the fifth level has a production line for roulette, but the specific manufacturing method is still beyond anyone's comprehension.

This kind of spatial transfer device is far beyond the scope of current human technology.

Especially after entering the High Tower, there was a cultural rupture, and the technology of the lower and second levels was actually somewhat behind the era before Bai Wu's reincarnation.

It was slightly better by the third level.

Bai Wu took the disc and stowed it away, saying:

"Since it's not a Return Roulette, I'll consider it a souvenir of the exploration of this hospital. I'll take this thing."

Neither Wang Shi nor Yin Shuang was interested in this metal disc, and Wu Jiu also didn't know the use of the item, so they defaulted.

Only Bai Wu, although acting very convincingly, felt significant turbulence in his heart.

Prayle's Eye gave a remark that revealed the usage of the item:

[Traction Disc, like the Return Roulette, is an indescribably magical item. However, the manufacturing method of the Traction Disc has long been lost. Simply put, there are only seven of these. Its function allows you to go back to a previous scenario or lead you to a specific one, breaking the three-day rule. Think of it as a challenge issued by someone to you. Check the medical records scattered on the floor— the one with the blood on it holds a better answer.]

The waiting room had many medical records scattered around, and given the atmosphere of the Ninth Hospital, no one found it strange.

Only now did Bai Wu feel that this place had indeed been meticulously arranged.

He pretended to pick up a medical record at random and swiftly threw it away, but the content on the medical form piqued Bai Wu's interest.

"Hello, investigator. I'd like to play a game with you."

This classic opening, if 'investigator' were replaced with a common name from some country, Bai Wu might even suspect this was a post-apocalyptic version of "Saw."

"I believe you already know the past of this hospital, but from what I understand about humans, they have not yet stepped foot into the red zone, so you are unaware of the origins of the Evil Fallen and the true nature of the High Tower. I'd like to invite you to play a game. If you can clear all the areas I've set up, I will answer any questions you may have about this world. Take this disc, and make sure not to let the people on the sixth level discover it."

Indeed, it's a challenge, becoming more and more interesting. Bai Wu now knew the power of the Traction Disc, meaning the owner of the disc had left a serial case for him.

The hospital where Little Pitiful resided was just the beginning... and many puzzles actually remained unsolved.

Bai Wu never minded having more fun in life, even if the experience could be fatal.

The truth of the High Tower, the origins of the Evil Fallen, history's gaps, as well as some arrangements aimed at himself, all these puzzles were highly challenging.

When he first arrived in this world, Bai Wu thought this world's setting was different from his previous life but didn't find it interesting.

In his former world, he himself was like a real-life successor with the constitution of a Grim Reaper elementary student, encountering bizarre cases every once in a while.

For Bai Wu, this was more interesting than just fighting monsters. But now, Bai Wu changed his mind.

"What are you smiling at?" Wu Jiu asked.

"Nothing, just happy thinking about going back," Bai Wu said, without concealing his smile.

He turned around, his gaze landing elsewhere.

Wu Jiu, Yin Shuang, and Wang Shi couldn't see Hong Yin, but Bai Wu could.

"I'm leaving, but I will come back."

Without making a sound, he simply mouthed these words.

Hong Yin understood his message, and the resentment-congealed apparition shed two lines of pitch-black tears, expressing reluctance.

Without hesitation, Wu Jiu and the others quickly activated the Return Roulette.

Watching Hong Yin wave her little hands frantically, Bai Wu felt, once again, an indescribable sense of loss.

Like the previous time, when Bai Wu returned, a summarizing remark popped into his eyes.

[Area exploration degree, 61%. One Evil Fallen remaining. The area's fragment has been transferred and thus cannot be obtained. My assessment: Mediocre. You're lucky that you met Little Pitiful, but fast talk isn't always useful. Next time, it's better to be more capable in combat.]

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