Three Towers Game

They covered the ground beneath, like marble tiles. The most spine-chilling part was the images on the cards.

They were neither hearts nor spades, not kings nor queens. On each card face was a human face.

They were living, moving, changing human faces. They seemed like real lives, imprisoned within the cards,

When Wen Xishu walked by, the eyes on the cards would all swivel in unison, following his footsteps.

Some card faces were of crying infants, cheeks flushed red, mouths open, yet unable to make any sound.

Some were distortedly laughing maniacs, eyeballs bulging as if they would pop out, but there was zero joy in that grin, only madness.

Some card faces changed slowly, for instance, a beautiful face would gradually decay, a kind elderly face would twist into malice.

In the center of this hall was a gambling table.

Wen Xishu’s opponent—the "Judge"—sat across from him.

The Judge was draped in a red robe, strikingly conspicuous in the dim area. His face was covered by a red mask, revealing only whirlpool-like eyes.

The symbol of the whirlpool, Wen Xishu had seen it too many times in the Deceit Tower.

It often symbolized some kind of degradation and calamity.

The Judge was not surprised by Wen Xishu’s arrival:

"Welcome to the Chamber of Virtue and Vice, Mr. Wen Xishu. Do you see those two cards?"

The Judge suddenly pointed to a spot, and Wen Xishu followed the direction indicated...he saw two familiar faces.

They were spade 4 and spade 5.

A couple trapped within the cards.

"I am allowing you a privilege, you can make them part of our game. You can alter their virtue and vice through the card game. Perhaps, this can fulfill your regrets."

The Judge’s eyes then turned to Wen Xishu:

"I don’t usually give people such an opportunity, but I admire you."

The man and woman trapped in spade 4 and spade 5 were none other than Wen Xishu’s foster parents from another lifetime.

The very same foster parents whom Wen Xishu killed, condemning them to a fiery grave.

Wen Xishu found it hard to imagine encountering such people in the Deceit Tower.

These two clearly did not belong to this world.

The Judge seemed eager to glean a trace of shock from Wen Xishu’s eyes.

But Wen Xishu was not so easily intimidated and wasn’t bluffed by the Judge’s power.

Wen Xishu didn’t believe the Deceit Tower had such capabilities, he was more inclined to think it was the Judge’s tactic—he could see into Wen Xishu’s heart, find the source of his inner darkness.

In other words, their confrontation had already begun from this moment on.

This was a rare stage, facing the Demon King directly from the start.

In usual stages, Wen Xishu often had to put in a lot of effort to face the final boss.

Wen Xishu walked up to the Judge, across the gambling table.

He was already seated:

"Tell me how to play this game, and regarding those two people, I have no interest in them, don’t waste my time."

"Let’s start, what is the Lost Soul, what are the rules of the game? What would happen if I lost?"

The Judge was slightly surprised, not expecting Wen Xishu to let go of his past so calmly, but he was patient:

"The Lost Soul is what we’re contending for. Before we begin, Mr. Wen Xishu, you must first choose between virtue and vice."

"I suggest you choose vice; at least that way, you can return alive."

Wen Xishu replied:

"Thanks for the suggestion, I choose virtue."

The Judge paused for a moment, but soon a hint of disdain appeared in his eyes:

"Then you’ve chosen the most difficult play. This actually pleases me."

Wen Xishu shook his head:

"I just feel doing the right thing is often not easy, but I don’t like choosing wrong."

The Judge continued:

"The Lost Soul is not just one. Our card game is more than one round. If you win, you can change a Lost Soul’s allegiance, turn their virtue and vice."

"If you lose, then part of your virtue and vice will be reversed as well, that’s the stake. Regardless of whether you chose virtue or vice, as long as the result is a loss to me, your virtue and vice will be reversed."

"If you lose all your stakes, you’ll become a complete villain. By then, you won’t be able to return to your original world, you will no longer belong to yourself."

The process of turning from virtue to vice will empower Aquarius.

Wen Xishu asked again:

"Your relationship with Aquarius?"

The Judge replied:

"You are not yet qualified to question me, Mr. Wen Xishu, unless you become a villain, or you win every match in the subsequent duels, but that’s impossible."

The Judge has a direct link with Aquarius.

Wen Xishu was already certain of this point.

It seemed like a hurdle similar to when he dealt with Libra before; at the Libra Tavern, he ultimately faced a core figure under Libra.

Although everything in the Deceit Tower has no effect on reality, it is possible to acquire certain resources through the Deceit Tower.

Back then, when Wen Xishu had Sagittarius shoot down a leader under Libra, Sagittarius gained a sense of power, and he himself received a gift.

In the future, when he goes to the Three-Tower Battlefield to face Libra, he will also be more sure.

The same applies now.

Wen Xishu was convinced that winning this game would make dealing with Aquarius easier in the future.

"I’ve made my decision, I choose virtue, please continue explaining the rules."

The Judge shrugged, accepting Wen Xishu’s choice with a smile:

"How about we start the first round of the card game directly. From now on, I will tell you about the first Lost Soul of the game."

Wen Xishu began to listen intently, searching for clues.

The Judge stated:

"The first Lost Soul is named Ning Shu."

"She is a person who has felt despair towards life, her life doesn’t hold much possibility anymore. Her past is unknown, but her present is decided, she longs to die, wants to end her life."

"Before she completely lost hope in this world, she received an invitation to a game."

"The rules of this game are simple—to do ten things desired by strangers on the internet, anything at all."

"As long as it is within her capability, no matter the request, she must fulfill it. The strangers are a multitude of passersby from her era, we choose the highest voted options for Ning Shu to complete."

"We will also witness Ning Shu complete the entire process of these ten things."

"If after completing these ten tasks, Ning Shu changes her mind about suicide, decides to embrace life again, then this round, you win. If she finds this world more disgusting, chooses to die, or abandons her inner kindness and begins to fall...then I win."

"And Mr. Wen Xishu, our first-round card game also commences from here. You and I can play corresponding cards at round checkpoints to influence Ning Shu, and even some passersby."

"You should have chosen vice. But it’s already too late."

The Judge let out a sinister laugh.

Wen Xishu understood.

Ironically, in reality, he had encountered such a case before (Note 1). Undoubtedly, by choosing virtue...it’s a very challenging game.

To know, the Lost Soul Ning Shu must exist in some reality of the Three-Tower World; her timeline most likely spans around the pre-and post-apocalyptic periods...

The level of distortion in this world is far more exaggerated than Wen Xishu’s past life.

If a stranger is willing to promise you to do ten things, anything she can accomplish, would you try to make her do some strange things?

Would you use her to satisfy personal desires?

Wen Xishu suddenly realized, this is a true card game of virtue and vice. The cards are divided into virtue and vice, the environment and the Lost Soul too are divided into virtue and vice.

A suicide satisfying ten things requested by strangers, anything...

In such a game, it would indeed be easier to choose vice, wouldn’t it?

Wen Xishu’s expression gradually turned serious:

"Deal the cards."

Simultaneously, a gigantic wall made up of countless playing cards began to change images, the content in the images was the Lost Soul Ning Shu.

The life of the girl Ning Shu, from this moment on, was about to undergo a transformation.

The first round of the Chamber of Virtue and Vice officially began.

(Note: While searching for material before, I found out that there are actually such events, which I found interesting, and felt that the theme was very fitting with Aquarius, so I decided to include it in the book temporarily. Readers, in case of book shortages, you can also search for it. It is said that there was a girl who did a social experiment, fulfilled the demands of netizens by doing ten things, she really did ten things...some were very disgusting, very bizarre. The girl’s original intention was thinking people would let her do ten warm things beneficial to society, but the result...she felt enormous malice, including sleeping with men, eating feces, self-harm, a real-life case.)