During the day, the trio did the following things.
They investigated rumors about past treasure hunts and familiarized themselves with the academy's structure.
By nightfall, both Nissen and Yue Yun were excited.
It was said that only at night, when the gigantic dome lights up, would the treasure appear.
The three acted separately.
Before leaving, Wen Xishu said:
"If the three of us move together, we might be seen as treasure hunters. Tonight, it's likely that we aren't the only dorm hunting for treasure."
"Besides, moving together holds no real meaning; though facing certain problems, we could think from three different directions..."
"It also means we face three different disagreements. I suggest we act separately. We'll gather in an hour and a half to share our findings."
Yue Yun found it reasonable, and although Nissen wanted to stick with them, he eventually accepted acting alone.
Thus, the three went off in different directions.
...
...
The Three Towers Academy was lively at night; though many dormitories were lit, there were also many freshmen teaming up to hunt for treasure outside.
This was almost a tradition.
The upperclassmen had long given up on it, so they didn't pay much attention to this matter.
Wen Xishu walked all the way to the edge of the Three Towers Academy.
The academy's main gate was closed.
Since Three Towers Academy could use the sequence in an area, once the gate was shut, the outside was completely isolated from the inside.
The reason Wen Xishu chose to go to the boundary was to confirm a suspicion in his mind.
This suspicion was quite baseless. But Wen Xishu trusted his intuition deeply.
The edge of Three Towers Academy consisted of towering walls.
If one possessed the properties of Three Towers, such walls wouldn't stop students.
But in the boundary area, one was out of the system area, and thus, students couldn't use the properties of the Three Towers. Climbing over the more than sixty-meter-high super walls was absolutely impossible.
Wen Xishu looked up and gazed around.
The dome referred to the ceiling of the bunker.
The dome simulated day and night; during the day, it emitted strong light, brightening the bunker.
At night, it also simulated moonlight, but the overall bunker would darken.
It was just like the current scene in Wen Xishu's eyes, dim and quiet.
Other teams were searching for treasure near the central area, but Wen Xishu came to the academy's edge.
It wasn't because he believed there was treasure here. In fact, he didn't think the treasure was in the traditional sense—hidden somewhere waiting to be dug out.
Wen Xishu came here mainly to test something.
"As expected, my sequence...has failed."
These days, Wen Xishu spent most of his time in the system area, carefully sensing it.
He eventually found that as long as he was in the system area, he had a special sensation.
It was magical and hard to describe. But he knew it was a special state after activating the sequence.
The greatest feature of the system area was being able to use the properties and sequences of the Three Towers.
But what puzzled Wen Xishu greatly was why he could use the sequence in the library.
"Logically speaking...that place belongs to the academy area. In the academy area, neither I nor anyone else can access the properties of the Three Towers."
The effect of the Fleeting Dice targeted the Three Towers, not the bunker. Wen Xishu didn't think his speciality stemmed from the Fleeting Dice.
At least, not this time.
Moreover, the eerie sequences could work in both the Desire Tower System Area and the Slaughter Tower System Area, which Wen Xishu didn't find surprising.
But being effective in the academy area made Wen Xishu feel incredulous.
So he kept pondering whether the eerie sequences worked in all areas of the entire Three Towers Academy.
To verify this, Wen Xishu came to the school's boundary.
And to Wen Xishu's astonishment—
His sequence failed, that magical sensation vanished.
This meant that at the school's boundary, the sequence was in an inactive state.
It was as if he had returned to the normal area of the bunker.
Thus, Wen Xishu concluded:
"The effective range of my eerie sequence doesn't cover the entire academy."
"The school boundary also belongs to the academy area, and sequences and properties from the Three Towers can't be used there. This applies to eerie sequences as well."
"Then when I was in the library, I saw the mental bullet screens floating above others...does this mean that place doesn't actually belong to the academy area?"
"But in the library, everyone else seemed like ordinary people, and only I could use the sequence..."
"I seem to understand now."
Wen Xishu had some of his own guesses about the Three Towers Academy's treasure from the beginning.
Now, he found the truth closer and closer to his guess.
...
...
Late at night.
Yue Yun, Wen Xishu, and Nissen appeared outside the academy area library.
Nissen shook his head:
"Yo~ I've been searching constantly, but the treasure remains elusive. What clues do you have? Let's share for reference."
Yue Yun shook his head:
"Three Towers Academy in the daytime is no different from Three Towers Academy at night. If there is a difference…"
"It's just that all the buildings at night, especially the buildings in the campus area, appear somewhat hazy."
Wen Xishu admired Yue Yun's memory greatly, no wonder he could score full marks in cultural subjects.
Such a person not going to Deceit Tower to unravel mysteries is a waste.
Yue Yun and Nissen both looked at Wen Xishu.
Wen Xishu said:
"The library is already closed, but we can climb up from the exterior. We must go to the top floor of the library to take a look."
Yue Yun was puzzled:
"You want to break into the library? Planning to find some information now?"
Wen Xishu shook his head:
"No, I'm not going into the library, but to reach the top floor of the library. Don't you think...that thing looks very much like Three Towers Academy?"
Wen Xishu pointed his hand towards the giant brass clover at the top of the library.
The clover was constantly rotating, appearing like a giant fan in everyone's eyes.
It loomed over the library.
Yue Yun looked up, while Nissen couldn't figure it out, but Yue Yun, with his excellent memory, could almost remember things at a glance.
He looked for a while and immediately closed his eyes:
"The clover...indeed, the areas of Desire Tower Academy and Slaughter Tower Academy are very similar to the petals of this giant brass clover."
"So...what does this indicate? The Desire Tower System Area, Slaughter Tower System Area, along with the campus, form the clover?"
Wen Xishu shook his head:
"This is asymmetric, let's assume that this giant, fan-like brass clover indeed metaphorizes the structure of Three Towers Academy."
"Then the center points of the three petals are connected, forming an equilateral triangle."
Yue Yun nodded:
"Continue."
Wen Xishu said:
"Think carefully, the campus, Slaughter Tower System Area, and the Desire Tower System Area, are these three elements connected in an equilateral triangle structure?"
Nissen shook his head:
"No, the campus area seems more like it's wrapping around the two system areas, the campus range is quite large."
Yue Yun seemed to understand:
"So, there exists an area that, together with the Slaughter Tower System Area and the Desire Tower System Area, forms an equilateral triangle structure?"
Wen Xishu was still gazing at the sky:
"Yes. Otherwise, don't you think this brass clover's design is quite puzzling? The climate inside the bunker is so pleasant, yet this thing's function is unknown."
Yue Yun suddenly understood, but soon fell into confusion again:
"But as far as I know, looking at the whole academy from a flat plane, there is no area that can form a triangular structure with the two system areas..."
Wen Xishu smiled mysteriously:
"Not on the ground, what about in the sky? Don't just look at the x-axis, also look at the z-axis."
Combined with Wen Xishu's intention to climb the library, Yue Yun instantly understood the meaning of this sentence.
He looked towards the sky.
Realizing that there indeed seemed to be some strange aura, making the surrounding buildings hazy.
"Could it be...that there's a huge system area in the sky? How is that possible?"
Wen Xishu said:
"If the treasure you think of is hidden in some corner, and anyone can find it just by digging it out...that's underestimating our predecessors."
"The treasure is likely invisible, and maybe you can only sense it by approaching a certain area."
Nissen exclaimed in wonder.
At the moment, there were many freshmen exploring the treasure, but Nissen felt his two little buddies were the most reliable.
He said:
"Wen! I think you're very right, let's go, we'll climb up there. I've been doing parkour from the ground floor since I was a kid; compared to leg strength, my arm strength is even more amazing!"
Like a joyful little monkey, Nissen started climbing up.
Wen Xishu noticed that Nissen's movements were standard enough to perform motion capture for Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed series.
In his past life, he loved parkour, so he got competitive.
Bi Wang Yueyun naturally wouldn't take the back seat.
The three quickly began climbing the tower using various anchor points.
Without any safety measures, such climbing typically only appears in movies.
But Yue Yun, Nissen, and Wen Xishu were not scared. Yue Yun was at the bottom, Wen Xishu was second, and Nissen was first.
Wen Xishu never expected to lose to others in something like parkour climbing.
Nissen indeed had a terrifying talent.
Yue Yun, two body lengths behind Wen Xishu, was even more astonished.
He knew Nissen surely had athletic talents, but didn't expect Wen Xishu to be so extraordinary as well.
In the dark of the night, the three switched to a racing mode, heading towards the top floor of the library.
During the constant climbing, Wen Xishu felt...that familiar aura only present after entering Deceit Tower.
"Whatever it is...it's very close."
Wen Xishu silently calculated, feeling a growing sense of anticipation.