Well World Fifth Layer.

Bai Wu had been there a few times and it seemed like all the puzzles would be solved if only a certain clue could be found.

For example, just by finding Jing Liu to inquire.

For example, just by entering the sixth layer of the High Tower.

Or by returning to the original world and meeting the Ten of Spades.

But in the end, it was proven that there was always more to follow. There would always be a set of new clues behind those obtained, like layers of a nesting doll.

However, this time, with everything already clear, Bai Wu was quite certain that the fifth layer was the last exploration.

He suddenly missed the feeling of his first time leaving the tower.

"Captain, do you still remember when we first started exploring the Ninth Psychiatric Hospital?"

"I remember, you were quite... noticeable at that time."

Back then, Bai Wu was not very popular, and it was then that Wu Jiu always had a good attitude and was exceptionally tolerant towards his subordinates, which made Bai Wu think highly of him.

It also confirmed what kind of person Wu Jiu was.

"That feeling is gone now, I’ve been thinking about what the fifth layer is like, whether there will be layers upon layers of puzzles, or if in fact the fifth layer is not as vast as the previous four."

"What if the fifth layer is actually quite small... What exactly is the secret at the deepest part of the Well?"

Bai Wu’s tone was very excited, as if he had become once again that explorer eager to leave the tower and learn more.

And the puzzle in Bai Wu’s hands was almost complete.

Actually, before entering this place, Wu Jiu had also tried to piece together the puzzle, but the puzzle pieces came in modules of four, such as the four beauties of nature, the senses like eye, ear, nose, mouth, and the like...

This made Wu Jiu think that these pieces should be put together accordingly.

But in fact, even though the pieces were in groups of four, when placed in the puzzle, every piece was in a completely different location.

The sequence was entirely mixed up.

There were many possible combinations for the puzzle, and the painting certainly did not have only one way to be assembled.

Especially since the painting depicted a world that was distorted.

Thus, Wu Jiu could not understand why Bai Wu would place a tree on the palm of a person’s hand.

Place a piece symbolizing the sun underneath a cold iceberg.

His thinking was still constrained, believing the painting was as simple as a regular puzzle game.

In the end, the completed painting made no logical sense.

It was just like the reality influenced by the Well, with rules twisted, logic in disarray, deserts, oceans, cities, and forests appearing irregularly.

So how should these pieces be assembled?

The answer was known only to Bai Wu.

Not by relying on Prayle’s Eye, but on his own comprehension on the fourth layer of the Well World.

After grasping the Sequence Protocol and learning the Law of Order, Bai Wu saw special lines in the distorted things.

Just like the energy fluctuation trajectories that appeared when all Sequences and entries were activated.

Bai Wu could see the "order fluctuations" emitted by the pieces.

Like the dark side of a puzzle piece, revealing its true pattern.

Bai Wu also realized that without seeing the essence of order, without completing this prerequisite task, he would not be able to complete it on his own.

Because there were simply too many combinations.

Luckily, Bai Wu eventually managed to assemble the painting.

It took three hours.

After the painting was completed, Wu Jiu looked at the pattern on it, sensing chaos yet also some allegorical meaning.

"Is it done now?"

"Yes, according to the description in the books I understood previously, now we just need to go to the lowest layer, use both Seven Sins and the puzzle, to open that stele at the bottom layer and enter the fifth layer."

While Bai Wu was crafting Seven Sins, the tyrant was reading various books.

This made up for a lot of what Bai Wu lacked.

"Do you plan to go to the fifth layer alone?" Wu Jiu suddenly changed the subject.

"Err... I think it’s better if the captain stays here." Bai Wu lightly scratched his temple with his index finger.

"I refuse." Wu Jiu’s expression was serious.

"Although the tyrant can suppress Jing Wu... but captain, you better not leave this place, right? You are the mainstay for all of us."

Bai Wu had a point in what he said.

Bai Wu also had his own selfish reasons.

The fifth floor might be incredibly perilous, perhaps entirely different from all previous adventures.

Perhaps the initiative was not in his hands at all.

His intuition was so strong that he believed if he tried to end the distortion, he would fall into unprecedented perils.

And Bai Wu’s intuition had never been wrong.

"My intuition is very accurate, and this time the situation might be quite different. Maybe the challenge of the fifth floor is something I’m not sure I can cope with, and I don’t know how the Will of the Well World will deal with us."

If Qian Yixin was the World Will, capable of displaying a power that leaves everyone, including Alpha and the High Tower Master, far behind...

Then the Will of the Well World might be the only one capable of contending with this power.

What to do if such a person were an enemy?

He was afraid he wouldn’t be able to protect the captain.

But Wu Jiu was even more resolute:

"I’m still your boss, right?"

"Yes, you’ll always be my captain."

"Then listen to me, Bai Wu," Wu Jiu continued, "in your description, the enemy’s strength is already at an unbeatable level, which means we need to win by wit. Indeed, I can’t help you in this regard... but maybe you’ll need me."

"But my intuition... it’s really dangerous this time," Bai Wu said, seeing such a firm look in Wu Jiu’s eyes for the first time.

He was already showing a hint of compromise.

Wu Jiu said:

"The more people we have, the more options we have. My intuition might not necessarily be less accurate than yours."

Bai Wu hesitated a bit.

But upon reflection, many of his perilous journeys along the way had been resolved with the help of his captain.

Although he later surpassed his captain in certain situations.

But the captain... had always been a person with great fortune.

If the captain’s experiences were put into a story, it would also be an irreplicable narrative, comparable to that of a protagonist.

With these thoughts, Bai Wu did not nod in agreement but instead said:

"If that’s the case, we need to make thorough preparations. I’ll craft some weapons for the captain."

He could have stayed on the fourth floor, trying to comprehend as much as possible.

But after seeing Jing Yi, Bai Wu felt that Alpha might soon be "complete".

He didn’t know what Alpha would do next, as there were still too many ties binding him to the mortal world.

They really couldn’t afford any more delays in time.

Still, heading to the fifth floor, Bai Wu hoped to ensure their survival to the greatest extent possible.

...

...

Time trickled by, second by second.

The spherical buildings left by the previous civilization were like scripture repositories.

Jing Wu, Zheng Yue, Nie Chongshan, and others also found some materials they could read.

They didn’t recognize the Sequence scripts, but many books, like the manuscripts of the High Tower Master that Bai Wu had read... would directly transport one’s consciousness to another world.

These books immersed them in the tales of the previous civilization.

They observed the grandeur of the distortion’s arrival from the perspective of high-dimensional beings.

Although it wasn’t as meaningful as Bai Wu’s comprehension of the Sequence protocols or his exploration of how to craft the Seven Sins, it was an improvement nonetheless.

During this time, Bai Wu quietly crafted a sword for Wu Jiu, and even infused both of their Investigation Corps combat suits with Spirit Possession.

One could say that Bai Wu and Wu Jiu were now fully equipped with Spirit Possession gear.

And the sword that Bai Wu focused on crafting, though not one of the Seven Sins and unable to open the doors of the lower levels like the Seven Sins could...

Was still an absolutely divine weapon.

Originally Bai Wu planned to name the sword "Justice," as a counterpart to the series of weapons named after sins.

But in the end, when Wu Jiu received the sword, he thought back to the early days of their journey.

"Let’s call it ’Evil Fallen Must Die.’"

The blade that once accompanied Wu Jiu had long been broken.

When Bai Wu heard the name, he realized that only a few years had passed... but it felt like he had gone through a very long time.

Perhaps because he once wandered through time and space?

Or maybe because when he drank the Well Water, he had been tossed about for over a decade?

Or perhaps the experience of coming to this world was just too complex.

Bai Wu nodded.

"Alright, let’s call it that name."

Combat suits with powerful defensive capabilities, indestructible, capable of self-regeneration. Divine weapons that could cleave anything and everything.

And the two, who were no longer as they were, having made leaps and bounds in strength and time after time surpassed their limits, were about to embark on their final adventure.

Before this adventure, Wu Jiu seemed to remember something and spoke up:

"Can you now freely create Spirit Possession items?"

"Yes, it’s quite miraculous. The Sequence protocol is complex and profound, and so is the Seven Sins Atlas. Had I focused on researching only one of them, I might not have gotten any results yet, but studying both and exchanging ideas in the process has led to unexpected effects."

"This Sequence was originally Jing Si’s Sequence... I wonder if the world truly has a will, it might have once held expectations for him?"

Bai Wu didn’t understand what Wu Jiu meant.

However, Wu Jiu was also led astray by Bai Wu’s words, as he said:

"But in the end, it was you who comprehended it. Jing Si didn’t pass the various trials, but you did."

Patted Bai Wu on the shoulder, Wu Jiu rarely revealed a smile.

It was like he was praising his subordinate for perfectly completing a mission out of the tower.

Yet faintly, Wu Jiu felt he had forgotten the original point.

It was as if they had returned to the past, back to the days when they first emerged from the tower.

Combat suits of the same style, weapons reverting to their former names, both of them felt that the upcoming exploration might hold the same excitement as facing the unknown perils of their first adventure.

So both were quite nostalgic.

But back then, Bai Wu should have carried something else, hadn’t he?

Emotional Stabilizer? No, that’s not right...

An emotion detection wristwatch? That doesn’t seem right either...

Wu Jiu thought about how Bai Wu seemed eager to Spirit Possess something, but ended up Spirit Possessing many other things instead, and there was one thing he just wouldn’t ensoul.

"Let’s go, Captain. We’re ready to leave the tower."

They found themselves within the Inverse Tower, as if it had become the High Tower.

And the fifth layer was an unknown world outside the tower.

Wu Jiu nodded, forget it, if it doesn’t come to mind, then there’s no use in thinking about it.

The two started heading for the bottommost level of the Inverse Tower.

...

...

In a corner of the bottommost layer of the Inverse Tower.

When Wu Jiu and Bai Wu arrived here, their eyes seemed to behold the once bustling Eastern Square of the Bottom Register.

Countless miners waiting to leave the tower, the scribe who judged people through the luminance of the Stele seemed to be muttering under his breath again.

All of this was naturally just an illusion.

This Stele was immense. Larger than those spherical buildings.

Bai Wu could guess that the last civilization and even the High Tower Master had thought about delving into the fifth layer.

But in the end, they had not managed to do so.

Bai Wu’s spiritual power stirred, and all the jigsaw pieces began to assemble according to his will.

When the complete yet distorted tapestry floated in midair, the Seven Sins ring emitted seven different colors of light, which shone upon the Stele.

This ancient Stele, perhaps existing for countless millennia, seemed to come alive.

The tapestry grew enormously large, and the flowers, birds, insects, fish, and sceneries of the seasons within it started distorting irregularly as if immersed in water.

Bai Wu saw tremendous energy fluctuations in his eyes.

Wu Jiu furrowed his brows, the Crimson figure sensing some kind of crisis.

The tapestry floated above the Stele, the light from the Seven Sins reflecting upon it shone into the tapestry.

It was like a lock slowly turning, and the most forbidden gate opened bit by bit.

Directly beneath the tapestry depicting twisted beings, right in front of the Stele, a crack appeared.

"It looks like this is the door? The entrance to the fifth layer of the Well World?"

"It seems to be."

Bai Wu’s eyes were fixed on the crack, as if peering into an abyss.

At that moment, Prayle’s Eye popped up a dialogue box.

All adventures have been like this: the help of a captain, the help of the Talent Sequence, have enabled him to unravel various riddles.

It seemed this time should be no different.

"I shouldn’t have appeared, because the things inside are beyond my detection. Please remember my words—will can destroy will, but it cannot kill..."

The note in his vision abruptly ended.

Bai Wu suddenly felt his spirit assaulted by some powerful impact.

"Fish" lived inside his body, a spiritual power ceiling that even Bai Yuan’s Parasitic Heart Demon couldn’t invade.

But in that instant, Bai Wu still suffered a heavy blow.

And then... the fourth wall, was broken.

"I must say, the Sequence I created is quite responsible; it always wants to give you spoilers. But I’m sorry, it’s offline now.

Welcome to the fifth level, if you dare to come.

By the way, considering you’re already tired of reading notes, how about a change of format?"

The note seemed to have its content suddenly changed.

Bai Wu’s eyes widened, unable to believe the information he saw through the Prayle’s Eye Sequence—could actually be altered by someone.

"You’re curious, you’re shocked, and at the same time, you’re a bit fearful, but this fear excites you. You’re such a madman~ You’ve already made up your mind to enter the fifth level, haven’t you?"

The notes that had appeared before Bai Wu were like a suddenly popping up dialog box.

But with the arrival of the sentence "How about a change of format?"... the next note Bai Wu saw—

was on a yellowed paper with scrawled handwriting.

The Prayle’s Eye, had been completely controlled by someone in the fifth layer of the Well World.

"The Prayle’s Eye, had been completely controlled by someone in the fifth layer of the Well World, what should I do? Should I delve deeper? Our Heroes pondered thus, but the madness deep within made him decide to give it a try."

Bai Wu was again astonished.

Floating overhead, the semi-transparent, yellowed paper actually manifested his own inner thoughts.

How could this be possible?

"How could this be possible? He can actually read minds! Cheater! (Delete cheater)"

Bai Wu suddenly felt timid.

What he faced, might actually be an entity like the World Will.

Under the World Will, all living beings are merely a part of it.

He didn’t dare to step inside.

And all of his thoughts, materialized on the semi-transparent, yellowed paper floating above his head.

"Under the World Will, all living beings are merely a part of it, damn, it’s like I’ve opened Pandora’s box. I should close this door now while I still can!"

The Prayle’s Eye had been utterly "possessed". Thoughts were read out time and again, written on the paper, Bai Wu was facing such an enemy for the first time.

It was as though one of his own core programs had been invaded, turning into a Trojan horse implanted in his computer.

But at that moment, Wu Jiu’s hand landed on Bai Wu’s shoulder once more:

"If the road ahead leads to death... at least we’ll be the trailblazers! Let’s go, do not shrink back!"

Wu Jiu seemed to see Bai Wu’s cowardice; he had never seen Bai Wu like this before, but he knew this wasn’t the real Bai Wu.

Wu Jiu stepped into the fifth layer, his body consumed by the rift.

At that moment, Bai Wu suddenly realized that he couldn’t let the captain venture alone.

Without a second thought, he overcame all psychological pressure and also rushed into the rift.

As the master of the Seven Sins ring and the fragment entered the rift...

The light around the Stele, along with the scrolls floating above it, vanished.

Everything, as if nothing had happened.

The vast energy fluctuations, did not even alert the experts inside the spherical building, who were flipping through the ancient books of a previous civilization.

They didn’t even know...

Wu Jiu and Bai Wu, had already embarked on the deepest adventure in the Well World.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~End of Chapter~~~~~~~~~~

(A bit of idle chit-chat written in the main text. Regarding the fifth layer of the Well World, I kept thinking, whether to simply design an old man to explain everything. This is actually easy to do, it wouldn’t stall the story, and I could then continue with the plot.

But it seems like it has been one event after another lately, and this book hasn’t done any puzzle-solving or designed any instances for a very long time. Some instances really are exhausting to design. Yet, the reason why this book was liked by everyone in the beginning was because of various puzzle-solving instances.

So... let’s take on the challenge. If it collapses, it collapses; at least there won’t be any regrets. I can’t always avoid breaking through just because I’m afraid it will collapse, right?

So after a long time, I’m writing another instance, just like mentioned in this Chapter, where Bai Wu and Wu Jiu, as always, will go through an adventure that requires both brute force and brainpower. This is probably also the last instance of this book.)