The first player in each region to open the first level of The black tower will be announced globally by The black tower and all players in the region will be pulled together to attack the tower. As soon as one player has cleared the first level of The black tower, the other players who have been dragged down will be allowed to leave the game for a while. The black tower has now been broadcast to ten zones since the launch of Earth on 15 November.
China, America, Europe, Russia, East Asia, South East Asia, South Asia, West Asia, America," Luo Fengcheng said, after a pause, "and the last one: "and the Southern States. That's ten zones in total."
Three months have passed, and all ten zones have had players pass the first level of The black tower. The last of these zones to have cleared The black tower level was the Southern States zone, but that was a month and a half ago.
Tang Mo was in the middle of a game on three occasions when The black tower was announcing the ten regions, and did not hear the announcement. He looks to Luo Fengcheng: "China and East Asia, Russia and Europe, and the US and the Americas. The relationship between these three is the same."
China belongs to East Asia, the USA to the Americas and Russia to Europe. However, these three countries are not classified by The black tower as part of the continent they belong to, but are instead singled out. Tang Mo thought: "Does it have to do with the economic situation of the three countries?" But he soon dismissed the idea himself: "Russia is not third in the world economy, Japan is third."
Not only economically, but in recent years Russia, a huge country that was once a rival to the United States, has been declining. Of course, Russia has been divided into a separate zone. The black tower could not have been created because of the disparity in economic power between countries, nor because of the power of each country's voice in the world.
Tang Mo suddenly understood something, and he turned his head to Fu Wenduo.
Fu Wenduo also looked at him with a calm gaze, confirming his suspicions: "Before Earth came online, these three countries would indeed have been the most powerful if World War III had begun."
It is impossible to include Russia in the economic ranking. While Russia and China occupy the top three positions in the world in terms of territory, there is also Canada in second place. So the most likely scenario, The black tower, is that these countries are ranked according to their military power. Before Earth goes live, these three countries are the most likely winners of the global war. So when Earth went live, the player divisions were created and these three countries were singled out as targets.
This is a guess and not necessarily true.
Tang Mo's face gradually sank as he said, "The black tower knows a lot about human society."
Luo Fengcheng nodded: "Yes. The fact that the United States, China and Russia are in a separate zone is a global analysis of the current situation on Earth. Beijing is China 1, Shanghai is China 2. It is likely that Guangzhou is China 3 and Shenzhen is China 4. This division means that it also has a good understanding of the situation in China itself. So, the way it divides the zones is not important, what is important is that ... Mr. Fu School, Tang Mo, the tower knows more about human beings than we think."
Fu Wenduo and Luo Fengcheng told Tang Mo with certainty that the black tower was definitely not made by any country on earth. China does not have the technology, nor does the United States. In the six months since the black tower suddenly appeared, every country in the world has been working hard on the tower.
Unless the tower was researched by a hidden organisation.
But even the United States, China and Japan are not able to develop the technology of The black tower, which is beyond the current level of human technology. If it was really developed by some human organization, they would have the power to destroy humanity. It is highly unlikely.
Luo Fengcheng: "It knows the international situation, the hierarchy of cities within each country, the traditional religious holidays of mankind (Christmas) and many creatures created by man (Pinocchio). I've been thinking about this since Earth went live. On May 15, it suddenly appeared over the Earth, and only on November 15 did it release a message announcing that Earth was online. It hasn't moved in the last six months, so what is it doing."
Tang Mo pondered for a moment, "It's gathering information about the human world."
Luo Fengcheng looked up at Tang Mo: "That's my guess."
For six months, The black tower has been hovering silently over major cities around the world without making any special movements. What on earth is it doing, and why did it appear six months earlier if it really had to wait until November 15 for the Earth to come online?
It is collecting information on the Earth.
In this way, it allows for an accurate regional delineation of human society.
The three of them looked at each other for a long time before Luo Fengcheng smiled: "There is no point in knowing this. We've only reached the second level, and the tower has seven levels in total. The most important thing is to survive and attack the tower. This has nothing to do with me. By the way, where were we?"
Tang Mo felt uncomfortable knowing that The black tower had been spying on the human world for the past six months and that it knew them very well. Mr. Fu's brother is in China Zone 6, and according to what he had just speculated, the divisions within China are ranked according to city strength. So China Zone 6 ... is Hangzhou? Tianjin? Or where?"
Luo Fengcheng: "There shouldn't be much doubt about the top four districts, but going forward, there are no standard rankings for many cities."
Fu Wenduo said, "How many districts is Nanjing?"
Tang Mo and Luo Fengcheng both turn their heads to look at him.
Fu Wenduo said calmly, "My second aunt's mother's family is in Nanjing, so he's probably on holiday at his grandmother's house, so he's in Nanjing."
Luo Fengcheng: "Nanjing is very close to Shanghai, and these days many people from abroad come to Shanghai to look for surviving friends and relatives. I asked the Atak people to find out if anyone had come from Nanjing and maybe they could find out which district it was."
Fu Wenduo nods lightly.
After talking about the zoning, Tang Mo told us what he had encountered in the tower attack game. He first confirmed Chen Shanshan's suspicions: "There are really players with different tiers in the same tower game." Having said that, Tang Mo didn't hide it: "I raided the second level of The black tower, and the other two players on my team raided the first level of The black tower. The different levels represent different levels of difficulty, and the three of us have different main quests."
Luo Fengcheng seemed to have guessed that Tang Mo was raiding the first floor of The black tower, and he didn't show any surprise, saying: "Be careful with this. Even if the main quest is the same, you can't trust a teammate you don't know. If the main quest is different, you can't trust your teammates even more, so be on your guard. ... Hmm, why are you looking at me with such eyes?"
Tang Mo withdrew his eyes and his voice was calm: "It's true that you can't trust your teammates, I met a very strange teammate this time." After a pause, Tang Mo thought, "He was very good, his powers weren't very powerful, but he was so good that I was almost assassinated by him. Fu Wenduo, do you know him, his name is Bai Ruoyao. So good, is he also in the special forces?"
Fu Wenduo had already heard Bai Ruoyao's name through the fire eggs, and he did not know him. Tang Mo did not say Bai Ruoyao's name this time to ask Fu Wenduo for confirmation, but to see if Luo Fengcheng knew him.
As it happened, before Fu Wenduo could answer, Luo Fengcheng thought for a moment: " Bai Ruoyao? Is it a woman?"
This is a woman's name.
Tang Mo shakes his head, "It's a man. A bit baby-faced, very tall, very young."
Luo Fengcheng looked to Fu Wenduo: " Mr. Fu School, have you ever heard of such a person in the army?"
"No."
"Neither did I."
Tang Mo had already guessed this answer.
The three of them talked for a while and Jackass and Lizzy returned. Luo Fengcheng had just received some news from Tang Mo, who had called a short meeting of the Atak members. Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo are not members of the group and Tang Mo puts his clothes back on and leaves with a bottle of iodine from the infirmary.
The two men turned a corner, entered the safe passage and walked up the stairs.
The sound of clattering footsteps echoed in the spacious and silent stairwell. Tang Mo listened to the movement around him and after making sure no one was nearby, he whispered: "There is another principle of archiving the fire eggs, I presume. It is possible that time does not move forward after we archive, but that what really moves forward is our consciousness. That fire egg simulates what might happen in the next hour, instilling memories into our minds. But that doesn't explain why time continues to move forward if we don't read the archive."
Fu Wenduo: "I remember that if two of us were in the same game, as soon as one person used a fire egg, the other person's fire egg would also be invalidated and could no longer be used."
Tang Mo didn't quite understand why he was suddenly saying this and he turned to look at the man, "Yes. Apart from that, whenever one person reads the file, the other will also be compulsorily read and returned to the archive point." The voice stopped as he understood what Fu Wenduo was trying to say and he laughed, "It does seem like a disadvantage if we both play the same game."
Not only has the difficulty been increased, but the fire eggs can only be used once.
However, ever since he left the Tower Attack game, Tang Mo has had an idea that he has kept to himself. He wanted to find Luo Fengcheng, tell him what he had learned in the game and then go to Fu Wenduo. But then a series of events came up and he couldn't say anything.
Tang Mo was mentally organizing his words as he headed up the stairs. Just as he was ready with the intention of speaking, a low male voice cut i the line behind him, " Tang Mo, are you ... a little fast today?"
Tang Mo froze, not responding for a moment, "What's fast?"
As they walk, they have reached the ground floor. Tang Mo is standing on the corner of the ground floor stairwell, a large floor-to-ceiling window standing beside him. The bright morning sun shines through the window, colouring his hair golden. He turns his head to look at Fu Wenduo, wondering what he meant just now.
Fu Wenduo looked at the youth's appearance that was about to melt into the golden sunlight, and he explained, "You seem to do everything a bit fast today, it seems. Well ... for example, when you were putting on my medicine and changing my gauze, you moved very fast and a bit rushed? And the way you talk, it's 0.5 seconds faster than usual. And finally there is ..."
Fu Wenduo looks down, at the three steps separating the two men.
"I don't walk slow compared to normal people, but you walk too fast. Tang Mo, you're a bit fast today?"
Tang Mo, who has just remembered that he has used a certain power and is still suffering from its side effects: "..."
You're the one who's fast! Your whole family is fast!!!
The ability "A Very Fast Man" allows the user to move at a maximum speed of sound. Once the ability is used, for the next 24 hours the user gains the negative effect "A Very Fast Man", becoming very fast and in some way ... also fast.
Tang Mo feels a sudden egg on his face in some unspeakable place and is in a terrible hurry.
At this point Fu Wenduo added fuel to the fire: "What's going on that you're in such a hurry and doing things so quickly?"
"..."
Tang Mo was too egg-headed to say anything. Although he had no desire to do so now, he couldn't prove that he was getting faster everywhere. But from what Fu Wenduo just said, he did get faster. So it follows ... that in the next 24 hours, he'll be fast in that area too.
Tang Mo does not speak, Fu Wenduo looks at him thoughtfully.
The look made Tang Mo even more depressed, if he kept looking at him like that, maybe Fu Wenduo's intelligence could really make him guess something. Tang Mo said straight away, "It's probably because I've just left the tower attack game and I'm so mentally tense in the game that I'm always on the lookout for unknown dangers, and this habit has carried over to reality, I'll be fine in a few days." To be precise, it will be fine after 24 hours.
Seeing that Fu Wenduo wanted to say more, Tang Mo immediately changed the subject: "Two weeks ago, The black tower was updated to version 2.0, allowing multiple players to team up and enter the game."
The words Fu Wenduo was about to say were swallowed back into his throat. He closed his mouth and looked up at Tang Mo.
Fu Wenduo: "So?"
Tang Mo looks at Fu Wenduo steadily, and Fu Wenduo looks at him with a smile.
One of the two stood in the sunlight and the other happened to be still standing in the shadow of the stairwell. One is an official player and the other is a stowaway, just as the two are now. Whatever the reason for the killings, Fu Wenduo is a stowaway after all, and a stowaway that is hated by all China players.
After looking at each other like this for a long time, Tang Mo spoke first, "That tower attack game yesterday, the one where I met your brother, was the first time I realized that good teammates are important. So ... Fu Wenduo, the next tower attack game, team up?"
Tang Mo speaks very calmly. But it's something he's been thinking about.
Since the game first launched, Tang Mo has been trying to find a suitable teammate, or at least one. At one point, Chen Shanshan's name was on his list of teammates. Unfortunately, Chen Shanshan is still young and immature, and she is now a student of Luo Fengcheng and a member of Atak. It is unlikely that she will be teamed up with Tang Mo any time soon.
Good teammates can make the game easier and have the effect of making 1 plus 1 greater than 2.
Chen Shanshan is the brains of the team and her uncanny ability allows her to make the best choices and judgements for the team in a very short time. But compared to Fu Wenduo, her presence is less important.
A good teammate is judged by all aspects of intelligence, force and character. But it's never these individual qualities that matter most, it's the tacit understanding between team members. Whether it's Pinocchio's Honest Card Game or the Iron Shoemaker game, Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo both know how well they understand each other. The only thing that stands between them is ...
"Tang Mo, with me, are you not afraid?" The corners of Fu Wenduo's mouth curled up and he stood in the darkness, his eyes calmly looking at Tang Mo.
Tang Mo gave a laugh and asked rhetorically, "Aren't you afraid to be with me?"
As the first player in the world to pass the first and second levels of The black tower, and a stowaway, he is on the mind of The black tower monsters and wants to eat them every now and then to improve his strength. Fu Wenduo asked, "Are you afraid to team up with me?
Tang Mo answers the question, as the first player in the world to pass the tower attack game on hard mode, and who seems to have been remembered by The black tower for a long time, are you afraid to team up with me?
Once the two of them team up, the strength of the team will of course increase dramatically, but at the same time the difficulty of the game will also increase. Who knows if the game will be more difficult or if the two of them will be more powerful as a whole. But after the attack by the psychotic Bai Ruoyao, Tang Mo is more concerned with having a good and trustworthy teammate.
Fu Wenduo is strong, smart and intelligent, and has an excellent rapport with Tang Mo. His identity as a stowaway is also a result of the fact that he had to kill people because he was on a national mission, and Tang Mo does not doubt his character for the moment. If Fu Wenduo had been there, Bai Ruoyao would never have succeeded in his raid, and might even have been beaten to death.
The more he thought about it, the more Tang Mo decided that Fu Wenduo was probably the best person he had ever met to be his teammate.
Fu Wenduo: "The way things are going, you and I should be teaming up and raising the game harder than you were."
Tang Mo doesn't deny this. Fu Wenduo is a stowaway and was the first player in the world to clear the first two levels of The black tower, which would have placed Fu Wenduo above Tang Mo in terms of strength and added more difficulty to the game than Tang Mo. But he said, "Suppose the game is really too difficult and I lose out on teaming up with you. ..." Tang Mo smiled, "Mr. Fu, I can go first and let you take the back seat. "
Fu Wenduo was slightly stunned, but he soon understood what Tang Mo meant.
Tang Mo admits that he is in possession of a gold coin of the king.
If the game is too difficult for the two of them to pass, Tang Mo will not hesitate to use the king's gold to sell Fu Wenduo as a teammate.
Tang Mo spoke honestly, not hiding his thoughts. Fu Wenduo looked at him for a moment before he lifted his feet and walked up the stairs. There were three steps, and he quickly made his way up to stand in front of Tang Mo. "You probably don't know about my powers yet."
Tang Mo was stunned: "What?"
Fu Wenduo laughed, "Before you slip away and face a powerful boss, rest assured that I will die behind you."
Tang Mo: "..."
It's not just a hypothetical sale of a teammate's future, how come this is all talk of a life and death battle. Tang Mo seemed speechless on the surface as he waved his hand and turned to walk towards the mall. Fu Wenduo didn't say anything more and followed Tang Mo's lead. But the truth is that Tang Mo had already begun to mentally deduce the meaning of Fu Wenduo's words just now.
Fu Wenduo doesn't know what Tang Mo's powers are, and Tang Mo doesn't know what his powers are either. But Fu Wenduo is confident that if the two of them do run into the terrifying The black tower monster, he will definitely die behind Tang Mo no matter what. It's not that he wants to sell Tang Mo and run for his life, but he believes that he will survive longer than Tang Mo.
What kind of psychic is he that he can be so confident?
Tang Mo couldn't make a clue. By then the two had entered a clothing shop. Tang Mo's clothes were covered in blood, and Fu Wenduo's collar had been torn by The black tower monster. They each chose a dress and went into the changing room to change.
Standing in front of the mirror, Tang Mo straightened his cuffs as he said indifferently, "Three months, when are you going to go for the next attack on the tower."
Fu Wenduo: "Prepare for a little while longer, two months or so."
"Okay, two months from now then."
Without needing to say more, both men seemed to acquiesce that the next tower attack game would be played together. Such is the degree of tacit understanding.
After getting changed, Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo parted ways on the ground floor of the mall. Before they left, Tang Mo thought, "Where are we going to find you tomorrow?"
Fu Wenduo raised an eyebrow: "You want something from me?"
Tang Mo's face doesn't change: "My fighting skills can't keep up with my physicality." So ... give your teammates a little pointers, Mr. Fu School. After all, when your teammates are strong, your team will be stronger. The latter words were not spoken by Tang Mo, but he knew that Fu Wenduo understood what he meant.
In the warm sunlight, Fu Wenduo looks steadily at Tang Mo, who calmly lets him do so.
After a long time, Fu Wenduo said, "Tomorrow afternoon, I'll meet you in the same clothes shop as before."
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What the author has to say.
Tangtang: This guy must be the best teammate for me!
Mr. Fu: This guy is still the best husband for you [smile