Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo each put on their shoes and left the food factory. As they leave, the cobbler swings into the grocery room where Fu Wenduo had come out before, with a large iron lock. Tang Mo looks at it curiously, his eyes lingering on the chains behind the cobbler's back.
The black tower once said that the chain had a karmic effect and that it could not be untied voluntarily after being bound.
The chain does more than the magic shoe.
Watching the iron cobbler walk further and further away, Tang Mo turned his head and whispered, "Can you get it?"
Fu Wenduo didn't look back at the iron cobbler's chains, but he understood what Tang Mo meant: "Maybe not."
Tang Mo gives a disappointed look and moves on.
Fu Wenduo saw this look on his face and curled his lips slightly without speaking.
The chain was indeed a treasure, but from Fu Wenduo's experience with the Iron Shoemaker, even if he and Tang Mo were to join forces, they would be no match for the Iron Shoemaker. The Iron Cobbler is a level above Pinocchio, not quite on the level of Father Christmas or Granny Wolf, but not far off.
The two of them soon crossed the factory area and returned to the mall, where they parted at the entrance.
It was dark and Fu Wenduo was looking for a place to spend the night in the mall. Tang Mo saw him disappear down the security stairs of the mall and made his own way down to the second level of the car park.
When he arrived at the infirmary on the first floor, he heard the voices of Lizzy and Luo Fengcheng before he even entered the door.
Luo Fengcheng asked, "Is it true that you've been notified?"
Lizzy sounded anxious and said urgently, "Really. I hadn't left the mall long before I ran into Tang Mo and another man in black, the Mr. Fu you spoke of, Doctor. When I said the little girl was back, Tang was happy to say he'd be right back, so I went to tell the boy again. But now we have all come back, and Tang Mo has not. Doctor, something has happened to him, hasn't it? Did he meet a stowaway, or did he get into a copy?"
Luo Fengcheng was about to speak when a knock sounded on the door. The crowd looked to where it was coming from.
Only to see the door being pushed open and Tang Mo standing in the doorway, smiling, "It's into the copy."
Lizzy was relieved to see that the person she had informed had returned. She blamed herself a bit, "I should have gone with you guys, otherwise you wouldn't have gotten into the copy. I know all the entrances to the copies around here."
Tang Mo walked into the room: "I entered a copy of reality." After a pause, he looked at Luo Fengcheng: "It's the copy of the iron cobbler. I went in with Fu Wenduo, and now I've cleared it."
Next, Tang Mo briefly recapped what he had seen in his copy of the Iron Shoemaker. He ignored the rewards he had received and focused on the ban on the use of powers and props in the copy. This was important news, and Luo Fengcheng listened and said, "Thank you, this is crucial, we have to be prepared for not being able to use powers and props in the game in the future."
Tang Mo said, "No."
Luo Fengcheng looked Tang Mo up and down a few times and after a long time, he smiled and said, "Good, then you're welcome."
Luo Fengcheng is keenly aware that something has changed in Tang Mo. In the past, Tang Mo would have told Atak about this, after all, almost everyone he knew had disappeared since Earth went online, and the only people he could count as friends were in Atak. But he probably wouldn't have said it so quickly and without hesitation.
Lizzy and another Atak member soon left. Liu Chen spoke to Chen Shanshan, wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, and left the infirmary first. Tang Mo watched Liu Chen wipe his tears and sensed that something was wrong, but he did not ask and watched the boy leave.
At one point, only Tang Mo, Luo Fengcheng and Chen Shanshan were left in the spacious infirmary.
Tang Mo finally got to meet the little girl again when she came out of the Iron Shoemaker's copy of reality.
Tang Mo always wanted to make this little girl his teammate. He had never forgotten that of all the powers he had been given, only Chen Shanshan's had made the power book say "you're lucky". He walked over to the bed and saw the little girl lying thin and shrivelled against the pillows. Her forehead and arms are covered in bruises, but her eyes are surprisingly bright as she looks intently at Tang Mo and Luo Fengcheng.
Luo Fengcheng says: "Shanshan has some very interesting news. Tang Mo, I think it's very important news for you as well."
Tang Mo looks at the little girl.
Chen Shanshan nodded and said straight away, "Feifei and I entered the same copy of Christmas Eve Benefit. There were ten of us in that copy, not much to say about the specific game, just like Brother Tang and Mr. Luo, it was also a group game, but we were divided into five groups. Feifei and I were not in the same group, and when the game reached the third game ..." Chen Shanshan's voice stopped, her wounded face not showing much expression and her voice not changing much, but Tang Mo felt that she seemed a bit sad.
"Feifei died at the hands of a female player."
Tang Mo's heart skipped a beat as the bright, blushing smile of a little girl flashed before his eyes.
He didn't say anything, and didn't know what to say, but just looked quietly at the little girl in the hospital bed.
Chen Shanshan paused for a moment and continued, "During the fifth game, my companion and I were eliminated and forced into a game of Tower Attack together. I played the Tower Attack game in a prison in the Kingdom of the Underlanders, the exact rules of which I won't waste time going into right now, but there were two key points I found in this game."
Tang Mo said, "What?"
"Firstly, players in the same tower attack game may not be raiding the same tower level."
Tang Mo immediately understood what Chen Shanshan meant and said, "You mean you're raiding the ground floor of The black tower, but the players you're attacking the tower with have raided the first floor of The black tower! The news was so shocking that Tang Mo couldn't help but look at Luo Fengcheng.
Luo Fengcheng nodded at him, looking grave: " That's what Shanshan meant. There were eight players in that Tower Attack game she had joined, and once they entered the game, they became prisoners in the Kingdom of the Underlanders. Shanshan's mission for the seven was to kill a prisoner with a low presence in the prison while the prisoners were on release, and there was another person whose mission seemed to be different from theirs."
Chen Shanshan said, "The player had just entered the game and was behaving a bit strangely. She reacted quickly and immediately pretended not to notice anything and discussed with us how to complete the quest. But in fact when the eight of us were transported into the game together, she had a shocked look on her face when she saw the other seven of us. From then on, I started paying attention to her."
When a player is teleported to attack a tower game, they must be nervous and apprehensive. Chen Shanshan's ability to calm down and think about watching her teammates at the same time is rare. And she also found something unusual.
"It's only natural to feel shocked at being forced into a tower attack game, and it makes sense to deliberately pretend to be calm afterwards. But my teacher once told me that people who can hide themselves quickly like this are definitely smart, if not haunted at heart. In a multi-player game, what you need to beware of most is not the opponents or the rules, but the smart people in the team. Smart people often like to assert themselves, and when they do, they can harm the whole team. If that smart person has other intentions, it's even scarier than a piggyback, and you even need to make the first move." Chen Shanshan made a calm gesture of wiping his neck.
"..." Tang Mo's gaze swept over Chen Shanshan and Luo Fengcheng's bodies.
You, Luo Fengcheng, are teaching a young girl this?
Chen Shanshan says seriously, "At first I thought she was having some other problems too, but then I realised that she was acting strangely in some ways. As the game progressed, I gradually perceived that her mission might be different from the other seven of us." After a pause, she added, "This is just my speculation, three parts by deduction, seven parts by intuition. Of course, I don't know exactly what her quest was, because she was killed one night by guards of the Underlander Kingdom before the seven of us finished our own main quest. The guards dragged her gruesome corpse to us and warned us that this is what happens when you break out of prison."
Tang Mo realises, "Her mission is to break out of prison?"
"Maybe that's it. I can't be sure." Chen Shanshan says, "The prison was full of crises and two of the seven of us managed to get through to the first level of The black tower. The moment we killed the strange prisoner, we were transported back to Earth. So if her mission was to escape from the prison, it was too easy for the seven of us by comparison. On this basis it is presumed that the mission for the seven of us was the mission on the first level of The black tower, and the mission for the prison break was, I fear, the mission on the second level of The black tower."
Luo Fengcheng said: "Shanshan is not sure whether the woman has cleared the first level of The black tower or not. But she is indeed the most powerful of the eight players, in terms of intelligence, judgement, decision-making and psychic powers. Tang Mo, the fact that there can be different levels of players in the same tower game is just Shanshan's speculation, so take it for what it's worth."
Tang Mo thought for a long time and said, "I believe the speculation."
Luo Fengcheng smiled, "I believe it too."
As the little girl lay in her hospital bed, she heard both her teacher and her very respectful older brother affirm her judgement and she smiled slightly, hiding the pain of losing her friend in her heart.
Tang Mo: "What about one more point?"
Chen Shanshan perks up and continues, "There's another nail in the coffin. The black tower asked me a question as I was leaving the tower attack game. It asked me if I decided to continue attacking the tower. I chose no. It then said that for three months, players could go to The black tower in each district and actively choose to attack the tower; after three months players who did not do so would go straight into the tower attack game."
"Can I actively choose to attack the tower?" This was even more shocking to Tang Mo than the last one.
Chen Shanshan nodded: "Yes. According to the meaning of the phrase The black tower, it should mean that at any time, players can actively attack towers. Otherwise, if players can only passively attack towers, then the time and opportunity to attack towers is not under their control, and it will definitely happen often that they are forced to enter a tower attack game after not attacking towers for three months."
Luo Fengcheng continued, "It says that players can go to The black tower in each zone and choose to attack the tower, so Tang Mo," Luo Fengcheng looked to Tang Mo, "I think we'll know if players can attack the tower or not when Jackass, Fatty Tang I think when Jackass and Fatty Tang Mo come back from Puxi, we'll know if players can actively attack the tower or not."
Chen Shanshan's return brought a total of two important announcements.
Firstly, there may be players who raid different tiers in the same tower attack game.
Secondly, players can initiate a tower attack game.
Tang Mo is more interested in the news of the "active tower attack game".
No one wants to enter a dangerous tower attack game for any player. Even the simple mode of the tower attack game is a nine-way fight to the death. Few players should choose to enter a tower attack game voluntarily before the three months are up. So why does The black tower give players this option?
Unless there are advantages to actively entering a tower attack game than being forced to do so.
The benefits of this ...
Tang Mo suddenly thought of the real key and turned his head towards Luo Fengcheng, who was also looking at him.
Seeing Tang Mo's expression of realization, Luo Fengcheng said, "You understand so quickly? Before you came back, Shanshan and I discussed that normal players would not want to actively enter a tower attack game unless there was an advantage to doing so. There are two possibilities, one is to actively enter a tower attack game, where you can choose the content of the game, the difficulty of the game, etc. This is highly unlikely. This is highly unlikely, The black tower has never given players any choice in terms of gameplay. And the other possibility is ..."
Tang Mo said calmly, "Active into the tower attack game, you can choose your own teammates."
After staying in the infirmary for a while, Tang Mo decided to go back to recuperate and reflect on the two important pieces of information he had learned today. As he left Luo Fengcheng said, "You're hurt, do you need Lizzy to help you with that?"
Tang Mo shook his head: "It's a minor injury, don't bother."
Luo Fengcheng didn't force it.
Just as Tang Mo was about to leave the house, the little girl's voice rang out, "By the way, there's another piece of news that I don't know if it's good news or not."
Tang Mo and Luo Fengcheng both turn their heads to look over.
On the hospital bed, the girl, who had always been stoic, blinked, with a rare expression so appropriate to her age out of joy.
"Brother Tang, teacher ... I'm an official player."
Tang Mo and Luo Fengcheng were both frozen in place.
When Tang Mo and Luo Fengcheng first met a long time ago, the game's boss, the Big Mole, told them that "reserves can become full players too, just by completing a game of The black tower". Tang Mo has long since put this behind him.
In the two months that Earth had been online, he hadn't seen a single reserve become a full player. Perhaps the big mole had lied offhandedly, and the reserves could not be turned into full players at all. Yet now Chen Shanshan tells them, "I'm a full player."
The game you need to complete to become a full player turns out to be not "The black tower game" but "The black tower's tower attack game".
Tang Mo was in tears when she realised the truth.
Luo Fengcheng was most concerned about what powers Chen Shanshan had gained, given that all the players had powers. She did not feel that she had gained powers, she could not move objects and she was not as big as an ox. After becoming a full player, there was no difference from her reserve days.
Tang Mo hinted, "Perhaps your psychic abilities are of the subliminal type. Like enhancing self-healing abilities and increasing brain power?"
Luo Fengcheng and Chen Shanshan are lost in thought.
Tang Mo left the infirmary.
He quickly found the commercial vehicle he always stayed in, and when he entered the compartment, he took the alien book out of the air and impatiently turned to page five. In the dim light of the torch, a line of small black letters came into view. Tang Mo's eyes rested on the second line--
[Owned by: Chen Shanshan (Reserve)
Tang Mo stared unblinkingly at the line, which, under his gaze, gradually became -
[Owned by: Chen Shanshan (official player)
It really does change!
Tang Mo looked more closely at the rest of the text on this page. Apart from this line of "possessor" information, Chen Shanshan's powers had not changed. Having cleared the first level of The black tower, Chen Shanshan's power level had definitely increased compared to two months ago. Tang Mo has also sensed in her encounters that her mind is more agile, her analytical skills have improved and her ability to integrate information is stronger.
However, in Tang Mo's ability book, Chen Shanshan's ability is still level 3, unchanged.
"It could be that her psychic power level really hasn't changed, or it could be that after I collected her psychic powers, the collected psychic powers no longer have anything to do with her personally. Even if her psychic powers were enhanced, the powers I collected would not change at all."
Tang Mo thought about it and decided that the second speculation was more likely.
If Tang Mo's powers can grow as the owner grows after he collects them, then this book of powers is too golden, like a bug. Tang Mo is not greedy, and after thinking about it for a long time, he gently closes the book of powers. But as he closed the book, the pages flipped and he let out a surprised "eek".
Tang Mo opens the book again and turns to the last page.
[Ability: Look at my big, pure eyes]
[Owned by: Xing Feng (Official Player)
[Type:Special Type
[Function: Having a harmless face makes oneself look harmless, and what one says or does is easily approved by others. The player's aura changes as the time spent with the ability increases, and without using the ability, it is also a harmless face]
[Grade: Level 2].
[Restriction: Both eyes must look at each other for at least five consecutive seconds when using the ability].
[Remark: Hello, look at me~Kazi blue big eyes, bling, bling~]
[Tang Mo Edition Instructions for use: Can only be used once per day and requires at least ten seconds of continuous eye contact with the other player to use. It takes double the time for the player's aura to change. I know Tang Mo has been wanting to wink at people for a long time, and now there's finally a legitimate reason to do so.
Tang Mo closed the book with a thud. He looked at the bitchy alien book and finally understood why his patience was always a little better when he faced Xing Feng in his copy of the Iron Shoemaker's reality.
Xing Feng had never spoken a word of truth to Tang Mo since he entered the game. Although Tang Mo did not know that Xing Feng had killed two of the players before him, Tang Mo's normal character had already reached the bottom of his tolerance for piggy-backing after the Pinocchio sidequest.
Xing Feng failed to make the rules of the game clear several times, and Tang Mo should have put a knife to his neck and forced him to say, "Either you die or you talk." But Tang Mo never did.
"So it's because of this psychic ability ..."
The ability "Look into my big, pure eyes" can be used to gain the trust of others and make yourself look harmless. You can also make yourself more believable without using your powers. This is because it is a subtle ability.
If Chen Shanshan's ability is to constantly improve her intelligence, making her smarter and smarter, then Xing Feng's ability is to constantly change his temperament, making him more and more harmless. Xing Feng's ability is to constantly change his temperament, making him more and more harmless. Even without using his powers, he looks more believable than the others. Perhaps he used this to gain the trust of the previous players and took the opportunity to kill them.
Xing Feng is an official player, while Fu Wenduo is a stowaway. In a way, it's a bit of an accident.
After some thought, Tang Mo opened the book again and turned to the page on psychic powers. He rubbed his fingers over the words "aura change".
"... Is this ability still a compulsory one that you can't choose to give up." Tang Mo muttered breathlessly.
Although he didn't know what "change of temperament" meant and whether it would affect his appearance, Tang Mo thought that long afterwards people would look at him and think, "Ah, what a harmless person! He gets a chill down his spine. He prefers to be straightforward and speak from strength than to play the tiger.
Of course, it would not be a bad thing if this alien could make people more low-key. Tang Mo is still more than satisfied.
After a night's rest, Tang Mo came to the infirmary. Luo Fengcheng told him with a gloomy expression, " Chen Shanshan was unable to strengthen his body."
Tang Mo turned his head in dismay to look.
On the hospital bed, the little girl, covered in bruises, was clutching a small, bright star in her hand.
Tang Mo saw the star and remembered that Chen Shanshan and Qiao Feifei had entered the game half a month ago with a Christmas branch. But they failed in the Christmas Eve copy, and now they can still use the Christmas branch to enhance their health?
As if sensing Tang Mo's thoughts, Luo Fengcheng said, "I thought I could no longer use the Christmas branch, but last night, Shanshan's branch turned into a white light star and flew to her. Like the one we met before, the star shed its light, trying to strengthen her and give her a Christmas present. But it failed. The star was still a star and Chen Shanshan's physicality was not strengthened."
Tang Mo thought of the quote he had read last night when he was looking through the book on psychic powers.
[Ability: Superintelligent Thinking]
...
[Limitations: Judgement accuracy capped at 50%, room for physical improvement at 0]
Possessed of superior intellect, but having surrendered all force.
Tang Mo was silent for a moment, looking at the little girl in the hospital bed. He walked over to her and said softly, "There are gains and losses. Since you can no longer make up for the shortcomings, you should build on your strengths and avoid your weaknesses."
Luo Fengcheng and Chen Shanshan both look surprised for a moment at his words. They looked at Tang Mo thoughtfully and did not say anything.
Luo Fengcheng and Tang Mo soon left the infirmary.
Luo Fengcheng said, "I'll have someone inform you when Jackass and the others return."
Tang Mo: "Good."
This wait lasted two whole days.
At noon on January 6, Jackass, Zhao Ziang and Tang Qiao returned to the mall in a hurry. Luo Fengcheng sent Jackass to find Tang Mo.
Tang Mo entered the office and saw only Zhao Ziang and Jackass.
Luo Fengcheng said, " Tang Qiao and another member have been injured and are now being treated by Lizzy. This time, you are invited to come to fulfill the agreement, so that Fatty can tell you what happened in this assembly copy. Secondly ... Tang Mo, as Chen Shanshan said, players can now enter the tower attack game by their own choice."
Tang Mo is slightly stunned.
Next, Zhao Ziang told Tang Mo all about what happened to the four of them during the Banana Tavern rally. As Tang Mo had previously suspected, different players would encounter different levels of difficulty. The four fatties, who are definitely in the upper echelons of Shanghai, are tasked with making wine for the Banana Tavern and helping to complete the year's Banana Wine Festival celebrations.
The Banana Wine Festival is an annual event in the Underlander Kingdom and the Banana Tavern is a household name in the Underlander Kingdom. Many Underlanders from the countryside, monsters smuggled in from the Monster Kingdom, go to the Banana Tavern to sample some of their most delicious and prestigious banana wine.
The Banana Tavern runs a Banana Wine Festival once a year. Most players are tasked with blending in and becoming guests at the Banana Wine Festival. Some of the more powerful groups of players, like the Atak organisation, are also tasked with making wine for the Banana Tavern, while others are tasked with disrupting the Banana Wine Festival.
In the end, the Jackass four went to great lengths to produce a real banana wine.
"The main ingredient in banana wine is human blood. The monsters love to eat players, and the underground people love to eat players. So what they really love to drink is human blood." Zhao Ziang said this with a pale face, not yet slowed down from the brutal game, "Those underground people throw all kinds of mutilated limbs and severed hands into the wine barrels to make the wine. The human limbs resemble bent bananas ... This is banana wine."
After talking about the rally copy, Jackass said: "When we left Puxi we heard a rumour that players could choose to enter The black tower on their own. Tang Qiao said it was important and decided to go and see what was really going on. We left the rally in the early hours of the morning and stayed by The black tower. At 6am, we saw three players walking together under The black tower, and they disappeared shortly afterwards. They must have entered The black tower to play a game of tower attack."
The news Jackass is talking about is not just that "players can actively enter The black tower", but more importantly that ...
"They went in together, all three of them?" Tang Mo asked.
Jackass doesn't understand why Tang Mo has to ask the question all over again, he scratches his head and nods.
Luo Fengcheng looks to Tang Mo: "I'm going to go to Puxi with Jackass tomorrow and snoop around. The black tower is in Puxi and the players in Puxi should know more about it."
He was inviting Tang Mo, and Tang Mo was indeed interested in going over to have a look. He was about to speak, however, when a clear, loud child's voice rang out in his head.
"Dingdong! China 2 official player Tang Mo has reached the second level of The black tower, five days later, prepare to attack the tower!"
Tang Mo's expression froze on his face.
Jackass and Little Fatty didn't notice his abnormality and looked at him stupidly, waiting for him to respond. Luo Fengcheng watched Tang Mo's expression, slowly narrowing his eyes and observing without moving. After a long while, he asked, "What's wrong?"
The gloating child's voice played three times in a row in Tang Mo's head. Exactly as it had for two months, The black tower cheerfully informed Tang Mo that you were going to attack the tower. This time, however, the time limit is not ten days, but five.
When the sound stopped, Tang Mo turned his head and looked at the three Luo Fengcheng men.
Luo Fengcheng's eyes have a hint of concern and measuring, Jackass and the little fat man are purely concerned.
Tang Mo sighed and smiled helplessly, "You guys go ahead, I'll go back in a few days. Just now The black tower informed me that it was time to attack the tower."
Tang Mo did three things in the five-day preparation period for the tower attack.
First things first, prepare some weapons. After the last incident with Granny Wolf in Monster Valley, Tang Mo has a better understanding of the level of monsters in The black tower. With his current strength, he is not yet a match for the Wolf Woman, but he needs to prepare more weapons. For example, like Xing Feng, he needs to prepare some poisoned concealed weapons, just in case.
The second thing he needs to do is to improve his strength.
This strength is not about collecting more powers and enhancing your body level. Good powers are difficult to collect, and Tang Mo has not yet been able to collect Fatty's powers. As for the enhancement of his body level, there was no rush. What he really needed to do now was to improve his fighting skills.
After his battle with the Shoe Oil Wolf, Tang Mo clearly realised that he was not strong enough in terms of hard power. He had great physical strength, but in his case it was like a child wielding a large sword and waving it around without any rules. Having fought Fu Wenduo in an underground car park, Tang Mo knew that Fu Wenduo was giving himself away, otherwise he would never have been a match for Fu Wenduo's level of fighting.
Tang Qiao was the only one in the Atak organisation who had trained in boxing, but she was too injured to teach Tang Mo at the moment. She was only an amateur and could not teach Tang Mo much when she was so much less fit than he was.
Tang Mo thought of Fu Wenduo.
Looking at the shoes on his feet, Tang Mo thought for a while and decided to go to Fu Wenduo.
He did not find the man.
Fu Wenduo seems to have disappeared. Tang Mo hadn't seen him since that night. Luo Fengcheng said that he and Fu Wenduo had made a pact that the four Fattys would also give Fu Wenduo information about the assembly copy after they left it. But the Atak group members were unable to find him in the mall.
Fu Wenduo may have left the mall, or it may ...
"He's into the tower attack game too?"
Tang Mo thought of this possibility, he took out the turkey egg and gently cracked it three times. The white turkey egg shone with a faint glow and Tang Mo whispered: "Fu Wen ..." The sound ended abruptly.
The sound of metal clashing violently came from the other end of the turkey egg. There was a thumping sound as if something heavy had fallen hard to the ground, and not a moment later there was another violent crash.
Over the sound of this sharp struggle, Fu Wenduo's surprised voice came, " Tang Mo ?" He spoke quickly, but his voice was not anxious.
Tang Mo thought for a moment and said, "You're having a tower attack game?"
Fu Wenduo: "Yes."
"... OK, I won't bother you then. Just file it if you need to."
"Good."
The short call ends.
Tang Mo's search for Fu Wenduo actually had two purposes in total. The first was to ask him to teach himself some fighting skills and to improve his strength. The second purpose had to do with his preparation for the third tower attack: he wanted to invite Fu Wenduo to join him in a tower attack game.
Tang Mo has made this decision after much deliberation.
Both the Pinocchio copy and the Iron Shoemaker copy prove that the game becomes more difficult when he and Fu Wenduo play together. The latter is not yet evident, the former has been confirmed. Moreover, the archiver can only be used once during the game for both players.
But Tang Mo made the decision anyway. Because a good enough teammate is more important than the difficulty of the game.
Tang Mo has to admit that he and Fu Wenduo have a great understanding and trust each other unconditionally when working together to maximise the benefits. It's a rare thing. Tang Mo himself was informed by The black tower of the tower attack game and he presumes that Fu Wenduo, with his strength, was also informed by The black tower.
I didn't expect Fu Wenduo to be one step ahead and get into the game.
"But that's good, at least the game should be easier if I'm not with him." Tang Mo thought to himself.
The next night Tang Mo learnt from Luo Fengcheng how to play the active attack tower game.
Luo Fengcheng: "Players can now indeed initiate a tower attack game. When a player walks under The black tower and chooses to enter the tower attack game in their head, The black tower will sound a prompt to determine if they want to enter the game and if they want to team up to enter the game." After a pause, he looks at Tang Mo: "When do you plan to start the tower attack and do you have a teammate?"
Tang Mo: "Tomorrow, no teammates."
Luo Fengcheng: "The Atak group is not strong enough at the moment, so it's a bit risky to go for the tower. I'm going to let them prepare a bit more in February and then go together again." He is telling Tang Mo that the Atak organisation cannot help him this time.
"Good." Tang Mo had no intention of inviting members of Atak and himself to attack the tower. He was going to raid the first floor of The black tower, while the members of Atak could only raid the ground floor of The black tower. Who knows what kind of task they will encounter when they team up to attack the tower together. Perhaps Tang Mo's presence will make the game more difficult for the other team, to their detriment.
Luo Fengcheng looked steadily at Tang Mo and suddenly smiled: "Live."
The same words were spoken to Tang Mo the first time he was forced to take part in the ground floor of The black tower. Hearing it again now, his mind could not help but recall that person's face.
... I wonder how Fu Wenduo is doing now.
Tang Mo smiled, "Yes, I will survive."
The next evening, Tang Mo arrived in Puxi. Standing above the Bund, he looks away from the dark tower. The sun was setting and the Huangpu River was shimmering with light. Tang Mo appears to be dressed in civilian clothes, but in fact he has four knives strapped to his legs and carries two daggers and a gun.
He stood in front of The black tower, looking up at it and preparing to attack it.
It was at this point that a clear child's voice rang out across the world -
"Dingdong! China 2 stowaway Fu Wenduo has successfully cleared The black tower level 2!"
Tang Mo is slightly stunned.
After a long time, he let out a laugh and whispered to himself, "He didn't even use the archiver to get through, so I should be okay with it."
However, The black tower had just finished broadcasting and only three seconds later, another voice rang out -
"Dingdong! Official Europe 1 player Lena Chopehos has successfully cleared the second level of The black tower!"
Tang Mo had already mentally selected "OK to enter the tower game" and before he could be surprised by the sound, the familiar voice of The black tower rang out in his ears.
"Dingdong! The second level of The black tower (normal mode) is officially open and the multiplayer game is starting to load ..."
"Sandbox Generation ..."
"Data loading complete ..."
"Teammate information is loading ..."
"Welcome to the Queen of Hearts' jeweled castle!"
A blinding white light flashed from Tang Mo's eyes and when he opened them again, he was in a dark corridor.
This is a medieval European-style gallery with a tall, giant stained glass on one side, through which a red moon in the shape of a love heart hangs high in the sky. On the other side of the corridor hang various Renaissance masterpieces. The walls of this corridor are lined with paintings such as Holbein's Myrtle before the Virgin, Raphael's Beautiful Gardener and many other lost and treasured heirlooms.
Tang Mo gripped the small pink parasol pinned to his waist the first moment he opened his eyes, wary of a surprise attack, but the wind was calm all around. He turned his head to look and his eyes stopped on two people.
A young woman dressed as a white collar worker leans against the wall, dazed and rubbing her eyes as if not reacting.
Apart from her, Tang Mo looks to the other side.
On the side of the corridor, three metres away from him. A baby-faced young man leans against the stained glass and looks at Tang Mo with a smile. The red moonlight shone through the window, reflecting a dappled colour on the man's face. He stares straight at Tang Mo, and the smile on his lips widens when he realises Tang Mo is looking at him.
Slowly, he tilted his head and raised his right hand in the shape of a pistol, pointing it at Tang Mo.
"Bang~"
Tang Mo squinted his eyes. The baby-faced youth was still smiling at him, his body seeming to blend into the oozy red moonlight, his smile sly and strange.
The white collared female finally got the message and she turned her head to see Tang Mo and the baby-faced youth, lingering above their heads for a moment. Taking a deep breath, the white collared female calmed down and said, "I assume you heard that 'teammate information is loading' from The black tower as well, so just to confirm ... now, you are my teammates?"
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The author has something to say.
Mr. Fu: Bad review, why is my daughter-in-law's teammate not me!
Tangtang: Mr. Fu didn't even use the archiver to get through the game, so I'm sure I'm fine~!
FLAG has been set.
She Huiyao: Hee hee hee, I'll just watch and not say anything.
↑ Wait who are you!!!