From start to finish, The Black Tower is really just what it says on the tin - a game of clean-up. The black tower is all about getting rid of the weaker "trash players".
In this game, the strongest players can get badges by killing rabbit-heads, or even players, by various means. The more intelligent players can use strategy to get the badge, or even find the real "surprise" and pass the game.
In the last ten minutes, there were around 800 players gathered around the New Street rubbish disposal station. Fewer than two hundred players made it to the rubbish dump and made it through the game. Hundreds died here, and hundreds more were forced into the tower attack game. Even if Tang Mo had told us the real way to get through the game, it would have been impractical for all those people to get into a small rubbish dump in ten minutes.
As The black tower announces that the game is officially over, the bodies of the failed players fade away. As it did five months ago when Earth went online, an invisible line slowly rose upwards from beneath their feet, erasing their bodies. The players tried to flee in terror, but there was no escape. Some resentfully grabbed their weapons and attacked the players who were standing nearby and had managed to pass the game.
The fighting never stops.
As soon as the game was over, Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo joined the Nanjing group and quickly left the chaotic area. Fu Wenduo left alone to look for Fu Wensheng in the old housing estate.
There were not many players in Nanjing to begin with, and by the end of the game, there was no one in sight on the empty streets. Chai Rong has suffered a serious injury to one leg and the wound on his chest has opened up again. He heard screams and metal clashing behind him, and clenched his hands in anger. He looks up at The black tower overhead, his face red with anger.
After a long time, Chai Rong slammed his fist on the wall of the alley: "I don't understand, why is this game like this? If just going in and giving anything to do with surprise is enough to pass, even saying 'surprise' is enough to pass, then what the hell is all the stuff we've done for the last twelve hours ...? "
So many rabbit-headed people were killed, so many players killed each other in the city of Nanjing.
By the end of the pass game don't even want the badge.
So what do they do?
"What is this?!"
Chai Rong has been through many games of The black tower and he has never seen anything like it. This game is not trying to get the player to pass.
"It's clearly ... clearly trying to kill us!"
Xiao Jitong: "It just wants to kill you."
Chai Rong's voice stops and he looks up at his companion in dismay. Xiao Jitong was also covered in colour, a very deep bloody gash cutting from the left corner of his eye to the corner of his mouth, almost disfiguring him. The blood had long since congealed, but the gash stood out across his face. Xiao Jitong looked at Chai Rong indifferently, as if he didn't know he was wounded, and said, word for word, "This game is a rubbish clean-up game, and if you don't understand, I'm telling you, it's a battle royale. The black tower uses this to sift through the end of the pack, kicking out all the unwanted trash and just the elite among them. Are you clever?"
Chai Rong, who did not understand why Xiao Jitong suddenly asked this, nodded and then shook his head honestly.
Xiao Jitong smiled, "But you're strong enough in the force. You're not exactly trash in its eyes, so you pass."
Chai Rong couldn't help but say, " Mr. Xiao, your face ..."
"On the contrary, if you're smart enough, you can set a trap to get the badge and you can still unlock the truth straight away. So whichever side you're good at, it doesn't give you a dead end, if you're strong enough, you can get through it. The black tower is sifting through those who are qualified." Xiao Jitong ignored Chai Rong's words as he spoke directly.
Chai Rong defiantly said, "Players with strong force levels can force their way through, and smart players can get through by solving puzzles. I know. It was the same with the previous The black tower game, which we had done for the previous five months. But this time, according to Mr. Tang, if you go in and do anything about surprise, it's a pass. Then at the end of the day, everyone will try to get into the rubbish disposal whether they have collected all the badges or not, to beat a dead horse. Is that the kind of player that would qualify in the eyes of The black tower?"
Xiao Jitong: "A player like that survived 12 hours in this Battle Royale and ended up in the rubbish disposal. What makes him not count as a qualifier?"
A dull layer of anger and resentment was building up in Chai Rong's heart. He didn't know what he was angry about, but there was a big stone in his chest. It was weighing heavily on his heart, making him gasp for breath. He tried with all his might to confirm the unfairness of the game of The black tower: "Who says that such players are qualified? What if someone didn't wait until the end, he didn't have the force, he didn't have the intelligence, he was just stupid, that is, he foolishly went in not long after the game had started, when there wasn't much ambush near the rubbish disposal station, and then happened to pass the game?"
"Is there such a person?"
Chai Rong: "... million a there!"
Xiao Jitong stood still and looked at the stubborn Chai Rong with amusement, without speaking. Tang Mo looks quietly at these two of Nanjing's best players. One of them is the captain of the Nanjing team and the other is the captain of the Nanjing raiding team. For the past three months, they had worked together to build Nanjing into the most peaceful city in the world. But now, one of them was bickering, and the other had a horrible wound across his face, yet he had no intention of even dealing with it.
Xiao Jitong didn't need to answer this question, nor did Tang Mo need to say it, as Ningning, standing on the sidelines, looked down at the ground and said icily, "Who told you that luck is not a form of strength?"
Chai Rong turns his head towards Ningning.
Ningning: "Five months ago, the luckiest human entered The black tower game, cleared it and became a full player. The luckiest humans had the chance to become reserves. The luckier players killed people during those three days and ended up as stowaways. These are the three categories of people who are lucky. And those six billion or so people who were wiped out outright by The black tower without even knowing the truth, they didn't have that luck, so they died." After a pause, Ningning looked calmly at Chai Rong: "What makes it so unlucky for those six billion people?"
Chai Rong said, "Right, so The black tower isn't fair at all, and neither is this sweeping game ..."
"In the eyes of The black tower, the six billion people who have disappeared deserve to die."
Chai Rong's eyes widened as he looked at Ningning.
The tall, cold, black woman stared at him: "Neither triggered The black tower game, nor became a reserve, and ended up not killing anyone. They deserved it, they didn't have the luck. Why should The black tower be given to you considering whether you have the luck or not. It's like this clean-up game, if someone had actually gone into the rubbish dump at the beginning when things weren't tense and found a way to get through the game. It's likely that all the players in a city would have been saved as a result. But no such person has shown up. If such a thing did happen, then all the players who were saved as a result would be rightfully so. Because that's how lucky they are ..."
"Luck, it's never been a strength."
After Ningning said this, she clutched her bow and turned her head to Xiao Jitong: "Captain, I want to go see The black tower."
Xiao Jitong: "Good."
Ningning looked calm, as if unmoved. But her fingers had already tightened in her grip on the crossbow, and they were white. She speaks coldly, but her back is thin and thin as she walks towards The black tower.
Chai Rong's heart was clogged, he had sensed it but pursed his lips and refused to admit it.
Xiao Jitong looked at him and pointed out the most brutal truth in calm words -
"Chai Rong, you're the one who raised this bunch of trash."
Chai Rong looks up in dismay at his friend and companion. Even in the midst of such critical remarks, Xiao Jitong's face has a faint smile on it. In the sunlight, his smile was blinding. Chai Rong stares at him in disbelief for a long time, then turns his head and walks away.
The members of the Nanjing group exclaimed, "Captain!"
The members rushed to follow. Lin Rong was the last to go. Before she left, she looked deeply at Xiao Jitong who was still smiling: "I understand what you mean. Xiao, I think the captain understands too, but he just needs some time. It's just that he needs a bit of time. Nanjing being named the bottom of the table is not what the captain wants either. And ... Xiao team, you'd better take care of the wound, it might take half a month for it to heal on its own."
Xiao Jitong waved his hand, "Go and comfort that fool."
All the members of the Nanjing group left with Chai Rong, leaving only the Raiders and Tang Mo.
Naturally, Tang Mo is also going to the Nanjing group, and Fu Wenduo will take Fu Wensheng straight back to the base later on. But instead of leaving immediately, he stayed where he was and looked at Xiao Jitong. Xiao Jitong also looked at him, and they stared at each other for a while. Tang Mo smiled and said, "You have something to ask me?"
Having been found out of mind, Xiao Jitong smiled and opened the door: "Yes. I want to ask you ... Fu Wenduo why you dared to do this experiment yourself."
Tang Mo said lightly, "He has his own set of SURPRISE badges and we set them all."
"Whisper did put the badge into the light cluster to get through the game, and with the badge you can definitely get through the game. So Fu Wenduo had the badge and he dared to go into the rubbish disposal. But ... what if The black tower only gives you one chance to pass the game? If you don't put the badge in the first time, you fail the game. Fu Wenduo, or rather, Tang Mo. Why do you two dare to do this?"
This is true for both Tang Mo and Xiao Jitong, who are afraid to enter the rubbish station without collecting all the badges.
But even with all the badges, Xiao Jitong wouldn't dare joke about such a thing. A long time ago, when Tang Mo asked Xiao Jitong "is the surprise really the badges", they both guessed that the surprise The black tower wanted might be something else, something that was not force-related and available to all players Something. But they didn't dare to experiment.
Tang Mo waited until he had collected the badges and there was only one hour left in the game before making his decision. Xiao Jitong, on the other hand, was not going to experiment at all.
This is experimenting with life.
Why did Fu Wenduo dare to do that? How dare Tang Mo feel so secure?
Xiao Jitong asked this question.
Tang Mo's expression did not waver as he stared in thought, as if he was really thinking hard about Xiao Jitong's question. After a few moments, he looked at Xiao Jitong and said righteously, "Because Fu Wenduo is a good man."
Xiao Jitong: "... what?"
Tang Mo's eyes are sincere: " Fu Wenduo is a soldier, you should know that, you can tell from his many habits that he is a soldier. So he has a great sense of justice and integrity, and I admire him for that. At that time we had all the badges and the chances of something going wrong were less than 1%. Fu Wenduo was so decent and such a good guy that he was willing to risk that 1 per cent chance to find the right way through for everyone." After a pause, Tang Mo exclaims in a poorly acted voice: "Fu Wenduo is such a good man."
Xiao Jitong: "..."
The blonde boy on the side couldn't listen any longer and said breathlessly, "I believe you oh so much."
Tang Mo looked at Xiao Jitong with a smile on his face as he thought for a moment and put on that Bai Ruoyao smile. Xiao Jitong looked at him steadily, as if trying to find the answer in his expression, but he couldn't see any emotion on Tang Mo's face at all. Finally he sighed and said helplessly, "Everyone has their own secrets."
The smile on Tang Mo's lips intensified. No matter how much Xiao Jitong suspected, there was no way he could have guessed that Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo had a cheating device like the turkey egg.
It is here that the two part ways.
Xiao Jitong doesn't want to risk the lives of his teammates, so he's not going to explore ways to actually get through the game, he just wants to get through it for himself and his teammates. Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo would have done the same if there were no fire eggs.
For the last hour, Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo turned on the turkey eggs. They had planned that whenever they had the chance, either one of them would enter the rubbish disposal station and try another way to get through the game first. If something did go wrong, they would open a file and start again.
The sounds of the fight on the other side of the new street have gradually ceased. Chaoyang climbs halfway up into the sky, bringing the warm sunlight down.
Tang Mo looked up at the sun rolling in the sky and the words of Ningning rang in his mind.
"... luck is a form of strength?"
Tang Mo smiles and shakes his head.
Yes, for The black tower, luck is a strength.
When Tang Mo returned to the Nanjing group base, Fu Wenduo had already returned with the children. Fu Wensheng sits quietly alone on a box in the factory, his head bowed and silent. The other members of the Nanjing group are no better off than he is. In total, the Nanjing group lost seven players in this game. The young man who had teased Tang Mo a day earlier not to go with them to the duplicate also died at the bottom of the cold Xuanwu Lake, and his black companion silently left the base and headed for Xuanwu Lake Park.
When the game was on they didn't have time to fish out the remains of their companions and bury them, now they have time, lots and lots of time.
Most of the members of Chai Rong and Nanjing's group were heavy-hearted and demoralised. However, the members of the Raiders were quite active. In the afternoon, Xiao Jitong brought Little Qiao, Xiao Wei and a few other members to the Nanjing group's base with a big bag.
Tang Mo knew from him that there was a reason why Fu Wensheng was in a bad mood. Two of the Nanjing players who attacked them at Xuanwu Lake Park were known to Fu Wensheng. Just last week, they wanted to buy a copy of the message from the Nanjing group, and since they didn't have any props on hand, a member of the Nanjing group readily told them, "Just bring them over when you've cleared the copy."
The Nanjing group has done a lot of things like this.
At the beginning Chai Rong didn't exactly want to feed the players of Nanjing, he just wanted to provide a peaceful environment. Stowaways would not dare to kill in Nanjing, as the Nanjing group would punish malicious killers. The idea of trading props for information was Xiao Jitong's idea, not forcing Nanjing players to trade for information, it was all voluntary. The Nanjing group has also set up a bulletin board in Xinjiekou Square to mark the location of all possible entrances to the replica.
The Nanjing group does not actively tie the hands of the Nanjing players.
Fu Wensheng could not accept how players who once said they were grateful could, in the next moment, swing their swords and kill those they were so grateful to. He is still too young to understand rationally, but his heart is struggling and needs some time to digest this cruelty.
After a night of reorganisation, the next morning Xiao Jitong made a forced decision: "From now on, the Raiders and Nanjing groups will be merged, and there will be no more Nanjing groups. We will not sell information to anyone, and we will no longer announce the location of the entrance to the replica. Chai Rong is the captain and I am the vice-captain." After a pause, Xiao Jitong added with a smile, "Of course, you don't care what your captain Chai says, just listen to me. After all, he's stupid."
Chai Rong's depressed mood was broken by these words and he jumped up on his butt: "Fuck you Xiao Jitong!"
Xiao Jitong smiled slightly and went on to announce the next team composition and disciplinary requirements.
"There are so many of us that we are now divided into three small groups. Me, Chai Rong, Little Qiao ..."
Xiao Jitong spoke without avoiding Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo, and even called them over in advance. But Tang Mo wasn't interested in this kind of thing with other people's teams. He glanced at Fu Wenduo, who raised an eyebrow at him, clearly not interested in staying either. The two men turned to leave in silence, and just as they had taken two steps, a male voice rang out.
"Mr. Tang, Mr. Fu, there is something I haven't finished yet."
Tang Mo stops and turns around to look.
Xiao Jitong pulled up the little boy who was sitting on the ground, took Fu Wensheng by the back of his collar and carried him to Fu Wenduo.
"Keep your voices down and follow you."
Fu Wensheng's eyes widened, "Team Xiao?!"
Xiao Jitong corrected: "It's the vice squad, not Xiao."
Fu Wensheng: "I've spoken to my brother and I want to stay. My brother he is too strong and he and I haven't seen each other for a long time. It's better for me to stay and stay with you guys, I've been with everyone for a few months now ..."
"But when it really comes to that, it's your brother who saves you."
Fu Wensheng is dumbfounded.
Xiao Jitong looked at him with a smile, "Our team cannot fight to the death to save you because I am there, and if saving you involves sacrificing someone else's life and putting someone else's life at risk, I would reasonably give up. Not only you, but if saving me is risky," Xiao Jitong turned back, " Chai Rong, give up on me."
Chai Rong bristled and muttered, "Talking as if anyone is going to save you."
Ningning: "Captain, I'll give you up."
Xiao Jitong: "... You don't have to be so positive." Coughing twice, Xiao Jitong continued to the little friend, "But your brother is different. If your life was really in danger, he would have saved you. He did the same this time at Xuanwu Lake Park, and he was the one who saved you in the end. So for the sake of your own life, go with your brother. If I had this chance and my loved ones were still alive, I would not hesitate to go with them either."
Fu Wensheng was very clever, he had understood Xiao Jitong's meaning and agreed with him. But he still whispered, "Team Xiao, you're standing around talking." It's not like you have any relatives coming to you, so of course you can say whatever you want.
Xiao Jitong understood the child's off-screen message and said calmly, "I guarantee that I would have chosen my own family over that stupid Chai Rong."
Chai Rong: "... you!"
"Team Xiao, Team Xiao! There's someone outside who says she's your sister coming to see you!"
Xiao Jitong The smile on his face suddenly froze: "..."
The punch to the face came too quickly.
Tang Mo looked at Xiao Jitong's dumbfounded look and suddenly he felt a bit funny. Out of courtesy, Tang Mo held back his laughter. But Chai Rong and the other players in the Nanjing group were not so kind, and they burst out laughing. Tang Mo couldn't help but laugh at their delightful laughter.
The gloom from the Rubbish Sweeper game is cleared away at this moment.
Xiao Jitong walked to the entrance of the factory with a dark face, he wanted to see when he had a sister, he was obviously an only child, as Chai Rong and Ningning could both testify. The crowd followed Xiao Jitong, wanting to see who Xiao's sister really was and to watch a good show.
Tang Mo boredly followed him out and was almost at the door when a low voice came from his ear, "Seeing the powers?"
Tang Mo froze and turned his head to look.
In the warm spring breeze, Fu Wenduo looks down at him quietly, the corner of his mouth lifts slightly and he extends his right hand. Tang Mo understood for a moment what the other man meant. Tang Mo's heart was inexplicably squirming, but seeing as they hadn't been able to shake hands for over an hour before, it was better to do so now.
Tang Mo took Fu Wenduo's hand, "Well, I guess we should know about your powers by the end of the night."
The two men walked to the door and before they could get close enough, they heard an excited female voice.
"Cousin!!!"
Another male voice rang out, " Brother Xiao, hey Brother Xiao, it's really you!"
Xiao Jitong: "... An Chu, Lu Xing ?"
When he heard these two names, Tang Mo suddenly felt a bit familiar. He pondered over them, but before he could come up with a clue, Fu Wenduo whispered in his ear, "Circus Bizarre."
Tang Mo immediately: "..."
What a way to meet the enemy!
Tang Mo subconsciously turned around and tried to leave, and as soon as he did so he pulled Fu Wenduo around as well. But it was too late. Through the crowds of people - the Nanjing players were delighted to see what Xiao Jitong's sister looked like - Lu Xing looked up and saw a familiar back. His eyes widened in shock as images flashed through his mind.
Finally he stared at Fu Wenduo, reaching out in horror and pointing at his back, "Crap, Mr. A?!"
Fu Wenduo is on his feet.
The Nanjing group, including Xiao Jitong, turned to look at Fu Wenduo and Tang Mo in unison.
Fu Wenduo's back is very recognisable, as he is always as straight as a pine at all times. At nearly 5'9", he stood out from the crowd. Lu Xing remembers his back clearly, even if he only looked at Mr A at the end of the battle. With Mr A, he then looked aside at Tang Mo, who joined An Chu in calling out, "Mr B!"
Lu Xing: "Damn, why did Mr. A and Mr. B follow us here!"
An Chu: "You idiot, we just got here, Mr A and Mr B have been here for a long time."
Tang Mo turned around helplessly when the matter came to a head.
Lu Xing wondered, "So who the hell is Fu Wenduo and who the hell is Tang Mo?"
Tang Mo frowns as he prepares to explain the truth about the Circus of the Weird. It wasn't their fault at all, it was The black tower's fault. Of course he would deliberately hide the fact that he had taken the last prize that belonged to Lu Xing and the others. But before he could say anything, Fu Wensheng came running out in a panic, explaining: "What Fu Wenduo? You've got the wrong person! That's my brother, his name is Fu Wenxian, not Fu Wenduo. He is Fu Wenxian!"
Lu Xing sounded strange: "... ah, not Fu Wenduo? The black tower said it was Fu Wenduo and Tang Mo who got us through the game and got us into trouble."
Fu Wensheng sweats coldly: "It's Fu Wenxian, Fu Wenxian!"
"Hahahahaha."
The Nanjing group laughed at the frightened faces of the children. Fu Wensheng looks at them in confusion.
Xiao Jitong laughed helplessly, "They already knew your brother was Fu Wenduo. Ningning accidentally shouted out Fu Wenduo's name in front of everyone at Xuanwu Lake Park, remember?"
Fu Wensheng: "..."
Ningning turned her head to the side. She didn't know anything.
An Chu wonders why her cousin is getting along with Fu Wenduo, a notorious stowaway, and looks strangely at the laughing members of the Nanjing team, and then at Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo. Suddenly, her eyes fell on the two men's tightly held hands.
An Chu: "..."
... Crap? Faggot? It was as if I had learned some unimaginable secret.
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The author has something to say.
Tangtang: MMP, what's wrong with holding hands, if you're not gay, you can't hold hands?
Straight guys Xiao Jitong, Chai Rong, Fu Xiaodi, She Huiyao(?) etc.: Yeah, no!
Tangtang: ...