Chapter 207
"According to the degree of completion for the side mission, my main mission was different." Chen Shanshan explained, "I don't know if Brother Tang and Major Fu's game was affected by the previous side mission but when Major Fu pushed me ashor, I saw you disappear and immediately found a place to hide."
Chen Shanshan wasn't arrogant enough to think she could save Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo.
With her strength, her best choice was to find a place to hide and wait for Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo to leave the River of Fantasy. Then when the four people met the river god in the River of Fantasy, Chen Shanshan also received her main mission.
"Become the river god and help players achieve victory without exposing yourself."
Yes, Chen Shanshan's mission was to help all players, not just Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo.
Chen Shanshan could see everything that happened on the River of Fantasy but she got the same message at the other four players. At first, she didn't know that everything on the River of Fantasy followed the principle of 'according to what you think.' She couldn't reveal her identity and if even Tang Mo guessed who she was then her mission would fail immediately.
This task seemed a bit difficult. Chen Shanshan was just a player on the third floor while the four people were on the fifth floor. The chances of being discovered by these four people were extremely high. However, it was a very simple game for Chen Shanshan.
Chen Shanshan speculated, "It is probably because my side mission was completed to such a high degree that I received a simple main mission. Still, my mission isn't just to not be discovered by you but to help you clear the game. Thus, I could only hint as much as possible without violating the rules of the black tower. Wen that golden-haired foreigner asked how to kill Brother Tang and Major Fu, I knew there was an opportunity. The existence of the turkey egg means you will likely discover an abnormality regarding the River of Fantasy."
Then Tang Mo discovered something wrong. He stared at the little girl and said, "After David made his request, you purposely… took a long time to tie the thread on his arm."
Chen Shanshan was silent for a moment. "Yes."
Tang Mo sighed.
Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo had guessed matters so Chen Shanshan could also guess it.
The two illusions made Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo doubt the truth about the River of Fantasy. Once David made his request, Tang Mo deliberately said that the line should be colourful and have lace edges. He said this in order to let David gain the impression and verify the reasoning of 'according to what you think.' However, if the river god had immediately granted David's request to tie the line to Chen Shanshan then Tang Mo wouldn't have time to incite David.
Chen Shanshan knew that Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo would definitely be focused on the last request so she gave as much time as possible within the scope of her ability, allowing Tang Mo to induce David's behaviour.
Tang Mo saw the red agate bracelet on Pete's wrist. Then Chen Shanshan must've seen it.
Yet the little girl pretended not to see anything. If it wasn't for Fu Wenduo's keen mind then maybe Chen Shanshan would've hidden her emotions forever.
People who died couldn't be resurrected and everyone had long been mentally prepared.
Fu Wensheng went to find his parents but he couldn't find them. When Jack returned to Shanghai, Tang Mo asked him to go to a community in Pudong's new area to see if there were any traces of his fat friend. However, he knew in his heart that the possibility of the fat man surviving was too low.
On the day the earth went online, 6.6 billion people disappeared but only 350,000 returned.
The probability was one in eight thousand. The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. He never had hope.
At this time, Chen Shanshan didn't cry. She just nodded to Tang Mo to indicate she was well. Tang Mo's lips opened but he didn't know what to say. Then a hand stretched out and gently touched Chen Shanshan's hair. The little girl was stunned and looked up at the person.
"…Major Fu."
Fu Wenduo spoke in a calm tone. "You can't participate in the grab the sixth mode but the black tower is very concerned with the game's principle of 'trying to attack the tower.' Look for Xiao Sheng and team up to attack the black tower's fourth floor. If you team up, the difficulty won't be too big and your survival rate will be relatively high."
Chen Shanshan's eyes slightly widened and she soon nodded hard. "Okay."
There was no time for sadness or to immerse themselves in painful emotions.
Fu Wenduo didn't comfort her and told her in the most common tone to stop paying attention to the past and look at the future. Chen Shanshan didn't feel that the other person was unreasonable and her logic wouldn't let her stay tangled up in a person who had already left. The moment the two foreigners were killed, she completely put it down.
The four people quickly talked. After half an hour, Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo would go to the black tower to directly attack the sixth floor. On the other side, Chen Shanshan and Fu Wensheng would take a break for two days and find time to start the tower attack game.
Chen Shanshan calmly analyzed, "If we want to attack the black tower's fourth floor, Li Miaomiao is a good teammate. Brother Tang, Major Fu, Xiao Sheng and I don't have high strength. Li Miaomiao is currently on the third floor as well so she is our best choice for teaming up to attack the tower."
Tang Mo nodded.
Not long after, Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo left the two children at Tian Xuan and set off for the Forbidden City.
The sky gradually darkened and thick clouds floated from the horizon, dimming the sunlight. Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo rushed through the streets at a very fast speed. The two of them stopped from time to time and clung to the walls. Players rushed through the road ahead of team, also avoiding other players.
The closer they got to the black tower, the more people there were.
Not far away, there were two faint footsteps. Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo moved sideways and hid in a dark alley. Tang Mo's back was tightly attached to the damp wall as he poked out his head, his eyes narrowed. He saw a man and a woman holding weapons as they passed by the gate of Beihai Park and turned a corner.
Tang Mo whispered, "I haven't seen so many people in Beijing for a long time."
Fu Wenduo stated, "After the returnees emerged, most of Earth's survivors were more careful. They rarely went out, let alone gather around the black tower. However, tomorrow is June 10th." Fu Wenduo paused and looked at Tang Mo. "If no one had passed the black tower's fifth floor today, tomorrow all players would be forced to attack the tower at 6 o'clock.
Tang Mo raised his eyebrows. "Instead of being forced to attack the tower, it is better to find an instance and temporarily take refuge in it?"
Fu Wenduo's lips curved. "The hardest game is always the tower attack game."
Tang Mo also smiled.
Before leaving Shanghai, Tang Mo once had a discussion with Luo Fengcheng and they divided the black tower games into three categories.
The first was the tower attack game. This was the most respected mode of the black tower and was mentioned by the black tower in one of its three iron-clad laws.
Second was the instance game. This type of game was divided into three categories: the ordinary instance, the other instance and the reality instance. Ordinary instances were like the Kill Bill instance played by Tang Mo, other instances were like Mario's Monopoly Game and reality instance were like the Iron Shoemaker's game. The common point of the three games was that they could be triggered at any time, such as stepping into a region or reaching a condition that allowed people to enter the game.
The third was the assembly instance. The time and place were set by the black tower and players could enter as long as they went to a certain place at that time.
This was the information obtained by Luo Fengcheng.
Half a year later, Tang Mo found another piece of information. The black tower's instances were centred on the black tower of each city and radiated outward. The closer they got to the black tower, the more places there were to trigger instances. Like stars around the moon, the closer they got to the 'moon', the greater the chance of triggering an instance.
Players were leaving the vicinity of the black tower.
Tang Mo saw the clock tower not far away and the time was 5:35.
There were still 25 minutes until 6 o'clock. As long as they went to the black tower before 6 o'clock and opened the tower attack game, they could challenge the sixth floor.
The two people weren't in a hurry because there were players who was carefully leaving near the black tower.
In the damp and dim alley, Tang Mo suddenly said, "I didn't expect you to comfort people."
Fu Wenduo looked at the young man beside him. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "Comfort people?"
Tang Mo told him, "Didn't you just comfort Shanshan?"
Fu Wenduo thought seriously. "Was that comfort?"
'Of course.'
Tang Mo answered in his mind.
Fu Wenduo also raised his eyes to see the clock tower. "She doesn't need comfort."
Chen Shanshan really didn't need comfort. She was young but she knew what she was doing and what she needed to do. However, Tang Mo didn't easily get along with others since he was a child. He only had two close friends. Thus, he couldn't think of how to comfort the little girl at the time. He didn't expect the cold-looking Fu Wenduo to speak words that could be considered comforting.
As if hearing the words in Tang Mo's heart, Fu Wenduo said, "Previously in the army, dead people were very common. There might be accidents during training and missions. There were psychologists accompanying the troops but many people still have post-war trauma and left the army early." Fu Wenduo added, "I had a couple of good soldiers who couldn't stand the blow of their teammates dying in front of them and left the army."
Tang Mo was silent for a moment. "What about you?"
"I played the game to vent?"
Tang Mo looked up at the other person.
Fu Wenduo's dark eyes were staring at him as the corner of his lips curved upwards. "Playing bridge is a very good way to vent."
Tang Mo couldn't help smiling. "Beating the opponent?"
"Isn't that enough to vent?"
Tang Mo had nothing to say. It was really nice, otherwise he wouldn't have played the game for so long.
Fu Wenduo put a hand in his pocket and took out a silver pistol. Once they started to fight David and Pete, Tang Mo had thrown the pistol to Fu Wenduo. Now Fu Wenduo took it out of his pocket and threw it to Tang Mo. Tang Mo raised his hand to catch the gun and smoothly put it into his pocket.
Time passed and the two of them prepared the weapons they carried with them.
At 5:55, Tang Mo lowered his voice. "Go?"
"Okay."
The moment he was about to leave the alley, one hand grabbed Tang Mo's wrist from behind. Tang Mo turned to look at Fu Wenduo with surprise.
"The time is a bit too late. Let's wait to leave the sixth floor and then… take my ability?"
Tang Mo's eyes widened as he stared at Fu Wenduo with a stunned expression.
The two of them quietly looked at each other before Tang Mo turned to stare at the clock tower.
There were three minutes left and they only needed a minute to run to the black tower.
Tang Mo turned back and smiled softly. "Good."
The next second, in the dark alley, the black-haired youth pulled down the man's neck and kissed him lightly on the lips.
Tang Mo released the other person and frowned. "Sure enough, this isn't enough to temporarily copy your ability."
"…"
Fu Wenduo was dazed and had a rare look of consternation on his face. Once he heard Tang Mo's words, he looked at the young man in front of him, his lips slightly warm. The emotions in his heart were very strange. There was helplessness but he also couldn't help wanting to laugh. Still, time was too short for him to say anything.
Tang Mo took his wrist and pulled him out of the alley. "It's too late. Let's go."
Fu Wenduo stared at the youth's back and let out a low laugh. "…Okay."
The two figures ran towards the black tower at great speed.
There wasn't much time left so Tang Mo spoke in his heart, "I choose to open the black tower's sixth floor and my teammate is Fu Wenduo."
The clock tower not far away showed it was 5:58.
The two of them quietly waited for the tower attack game. Unexpectedly, a clear child's voice rang in the ears of both people at the same time.
"Ding dong! The data is abnormal. The player has failed to apply for the tower attack."
Tang Mo turned to look at Fu Wenduo and Fu Wenduo also looked back at him.
The two of them, "…"
Their tower attack failed. Didn't the black tower like players to attack the tower?
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Chapter 208
Tang Mo quickly calmed down. He looked up at the black tower and tried again.
However, the results didn't change. The black tower once again refused Tang Mo's request to attack the tower. As Tang Mo tried to attack the tower a third time, the mechanical voice of the black tower was heard. "Ding dong! The black tower's second iron-clad law, 6 o'clock to 18 o'clock is the game time. The game time has passed. Please come back to attack the tower tomorrow!"
Tang Mo's eyes narrowed and he glanced at Fu Wenduo.
The pair quickly left the black tower and found a safe place to rest their feet.
Tang Mo looked up and said, "There is no problem with the time. We applied for it during the game time and didn't exceed the time limit."
Fu Wenduo thought about it before making a decision. "Go back to Tian Xuan."
10 minutes later, the two of them came to the 80th High School.
They saw Chen Shanshan and Fu Wensheng who were eating canned food. As the most powerful organization in Beijing, Tian Xuan naturally had much better resources than the freely organized Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo. Li Miaomiao didn't treat the two children badly. Fu Wensheng saw that the two of them were back and asked with surprise, "Eh, you didn't attack the tower?" He didn't think that Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo attacked the black tower's sixth floor so quickly because the black tower didn't announce anything.
Chen Shanshan put down the can and walked forward with a serious expression. "What happened? You can't attack the tower?"
Tang Mo nodded heavily. "The black tower said that the data is wrong and we can't attack the tower."
Next, Tang Mo told Chen Shanshan what happened with the black tower.
The short-haired girl thought for a moment and guessed the same as Tang Mo. "The game time isn't the problem because you chose to attack the tower at the right time. In other words, there are other problems with the black tower itself." Chen Shanshan wondered, "Is it impossible to play all games or is it only the tower attack games?"
This matter was very significant.
The black tower had never banned players from entering the game.
The second iron-clad rule was the only restriction that the black tower placed on players entering the game. The time looked strange, 6 o'clock to 18 o'clock, but the earth was divided into the north and south hemispheres. There were two times a year when the sunrise and sunset in the northern and southern hemispheres were at 6 o'clock and 18 o'clock. In addition, the sunrise and sunset time in the equatorial region was always 6 o'clock and 18 o'clock.
The black tower followed the local time of each region. For example, in China, according to Beijing time, the game started at sunrise and ended at sunset.
This was true all over the world.
Anyone could attack the tower as long as they didn't violate this rule.
Li Miaomiao was also aware of the seriousness of this situation and immediately contacted the Tian Xuan members. A short, thin man entered the classroom and said a few words to Li Miaomiao. Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo heard the man's words but the children's hearing wasn't as good. Li Miaomiao told them, "The instance games can be entered. At 5 o'clock this afternoon, two peripheral members entered a regular instance without any obstruction."
Tang Mo speculated, "Maybe it is only after 5 o'clock."
Li Miaomiao said, "Wait for tomorrow. We will send several members into the instances and then we will know the truth."
They agreed to this suggestion.
The next morning at 6 o'clock, Tang Mo opened his eyes on time. He didn't sleep. He just closed his eyes and rested. The moment it reached 6 o'clock, the turned to look through the window at the giant black tower in the distance.
There was nothing different about the black tower.
However, a clear child's voice spread all over the world.
"Ding dong! At 6:00 on June 10th, 2018, it has been confirmed that the China region has cleared the black tower's fifth floor."
This voice had rang an hour ago saying that 'It has been confirmed that the East Asia region has cleared the black tower's fifth floor.' There were a total of 10 regions in the world and the game time in each region was 6-18 according to local time. Therefore, the time for the forced tower attack was different and would be settled according to local time.
The game time was open again. Tang Mo's group of five and two Tian Xuan members came to the trigger point of an instance. Tian Xuan had its own intelligence network and knew the trigger locations of many instances in Beijing. Every day, they would arrange for members to enter and enhance their strength. They saw the two members walk into a hot pot restaurant. They pushed open the door of the restaurant and reached into the big fish tank at the entrance.
The next moment, the pair disappeared inside the store.
Li Miaomiao cried out, "They have entered!"
Chen Shanshan turned to Tang Mo. "Brother Tang, Major Fu, this place is close to the black tower. Why don't we try again?"
"Okay."
This time, the five people arrived at the bottom of the black tower. As he walked through Tiananmen Square, Tang Mo noticed several eyes staring at him in the darkness.
After the dodgeball game on the East Third Ring Road, he and Fu Wenduo had become completely famous in Beijing. It wasn't just their reputation. Most of Beijing's senior players knew their faces. Ordinary players who didn't know their faces could recognize the armband around Li Miaomiao's arm which was printed with a dark mark similar to an 'X'.
This was the sign of Tian Xuan.
The hiding players didn't dare go forward. Tang Mo whispered, "I choose to open the black tower's sixth floor and my teammate is Fu Wenduo."
The cold mechanical voice was heard again. "Ding dong! The data is abnormal. The player has failed to apply for the tower attack."
Everyone was stunned and tried a few more times. The result was exactly the same.
The five people returned to Tian Xuan first.
Tang Mo opened his mouth. "It is the tower attack game that is forbidden. Ordinary games are unreleased." He thought of one thing. "Is it related to the forced tower attack? Yesterday, Fu Wenduo and I weren't able to attack the tower after clearing the fifth floor. Players in China will no longer be forced to attack the tower. Then all Chinese players aren't allowed to attack the tower during the forced tower attack games of other regions?"
This was a possibility.
Chen Shanshan speculated, "This isn't a certainty. Brother Tang, have you ever wondered… perhaps it is only the sixth floor that can't be attacked?"
Everyone was stunned by the words. Tang Mo's brain worked quickly. "The grab the sixth mode, the three teams or players who clear the sixth floor first will get a clue about the seventh floor. Does this mean that for all regions in the world, the region needs to have players clear the fifth floor before allowing people to attack the sixth floor? This is fair so no one will attack the sixth floor ahead of schedule." However, it wasn't fair. Why did players who cleared the fifth floor have to wait for those who haven't been to the fifth floor?
This guess was more likely.
Everyone was pondering on this strange matter when Chen Shanshan said, "Tomorrow, Xiao Sheng, Li… Sister Li and I will go to attack the black tower's fourth floor. Then we will know if it is forbidden to attack all floors or just the sixth floor."
Tang Mo nodded and was about to say something when a strange voice was heard all over the world. This sound was like the rustling of a blower and the hoarse voice was heard to hear. Afterwards, the cold mechanical voice spoke without any emotion. "Ding dong! No one in the South Asia region has cleared the black tower's fifth floor and the forced tower attack mode is opened!"
All players around the world were startled.
The players in South Asia were frozen. Some were pale while others trembled with fear. An Indian female player wearing a red sari had been kneeling on the ground and praying that someone would clear the fifth floor and save them ordinary players. She heard the voice of the black tower and wept while saying bitterly, "Why, why did no one clear the black tower's fifth floor? Why?"
However, the black tower didn't give these players an opportunity to object. They weren't qualified to make any comments. A glaring white light flashed in the eyes of all South Asian players. In the black of an eye, all of South Asia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh… they became empty cities. The humans had disappeared, leaving only empty streets and cities.
This was the first area forced to attack the tower.
Throughout the day, there were four regions in the world who didn't have anyone clear the black tower's fifth floor and all players were forced to attack the tower. They were South Asia, Russia, Southwest Asia and the Americas.
Every time there was a forced tower attack game, a large number of players died.
Late at night, Tang Mo closed his eyes and sat on a desk while leaning against the wall. In the classroom, Chen Shanshan and Fu Wensheng prepared the props and mineral water needed to attack the tower the next day. They didn't show much sympathy to the players in the four regions who were forced to attack the tower. This was the cruel black tower game. If Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo hadn't cleared the fifth floor yesterday then all Chinese players would now be rushing to attack the tower.
Fu Wenduo sat next to Tang Mo with a Go set he found in the library. Originally, he played against Tang Mo but Tang Mo wasn't familiar with Go. The two people finally settled into playing five-in-row (similar to tic tac toe).
Fu Wenduo closed his eyes and spoke in a low voice, "November 13th, 2017, I entered Myanmar from India and returned home that evening. If I stayed in India then I would be a South Asian player."
Tang Mo understood his meaning.
The area that a player was in was their region.
He remembered one thing. "Andrei, who wanted to kill Mu Huixue, was the first player in the world to clear the third floor and he was Russian. After he left Russia… unfortunately, no one cleared the fifth floor within the stipulated time."
Fu Wenduo opened his eyes and looked at Tang Mo.
He whispered, “Hmm.”
This was fate.
If Andrei hadn't left Russia then perhaps he would've cleared the fifth floor and the Russian players wouldn't be forced to attack the tower. Strength was the basis of survival. Tang Mo recalled all the previous black tower games and bosses they encountered. He wanted to remember as much information as he could, thereby improving his chances of clearing the sixth floor first.
Early the next day, Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo came to the black tower with the children.
Chen Shanshan applied to attack the fourth floor and a white light shrouded the three people. Before disappearing, Chen Shanshan hurriedly turned her head and exchanged looks with Tang Mo.
"It has nothing to do with the tower attack game. We just can't attack the sixth floor!"
They both realized it.
The children left Earth and started to attack the fourth floor. Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo no longer stayed here. They rushed back to the 80th School, intending to wait for Chen Shanshan to return. They were just about to enter when Fu Wenduo stopped and took out a black dart, throwing it to the right.
There was a loud sound and a black silhouette emerged from behind a tree.
The baby-faced youth in the white jacket caught the dart between his fingers and the smile on his face couldn't be maintained. He slowly put the dart in his pocket and raised his head. "Hey Major Fu, Tang Tang, we meet again. Wow, why are you looking at me like that? I'm not looking for trouble. Haven't you discovered that we can't attack the black tower's sixth floor?"
The author has something to say:
She Huiyao: I'm back again~ Did you miss me? Hehehehe.
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