Thriller Paradise Chapter 306: Ascending Tower Chronicles (Six) - Novel Cool

Chapter 306: Ascending Tower Chronicles (Six)

Chapter 306: Ascending Tower Chronicles (Six)

Feng Bu Jue paused for a few seconds before speaking. "The distance between the two pillars on either side of that object is exactly nine meters." Almost as soon as the word "meters" left his lips, he barked, "Run!"

The moment the words echoed, Qiu Feng sprang into motion. Behind him, the sound of collapsing structures roared to life. This meant Qiu Feng's "Cognition" had already activated Spc-233 at that instant.

The deafening crash behind him didn’t faze Qiu Feng. He charged ahead, stopping only when he reached his three teammates, then turned to observe the chaos.

Spc-233 required only 0.23 seconds to dismantle matter, and the process was silent. By the time the collapse sounded, the destruction was already complete. The noise Qiu Feng heard was merely the aftermath—the debris from the ceiling crashing down.

From Feng Bu Jue, Ji Chang, and Hong Hu’s vantage point, they could see that almost as soon as Feng Bu Jue shouted "run", the two support pillars and the wall between them had been decomposed. The section of ceiling and floor parallel to the wall vanished abruptly. Concrete chunks from the second floor struck Spc-233, plunging into the fissure alongside it.

For a building spanning thousands of square meters, the destruction of a wall and two pillars in one corner wouldn’t trigger structural collapse.

After the minor collapse, dust settled. Behind the shattered wall emerged a pitch-black space. The rectangular gaps in the ceiling and floor became two passageways.

"Wait—is anything related to the number nine erased?" Qiu Feng asked.

"It seems so", Hong Hu replied. He immediately understood why Feng Bu Jue hadn’t wanted him to be the one acting.

Ji Chang added, "So you were chosen because math isn’t your strong suit, Qiu Feng?" He paused, realization dawning. "Oh—I get it. Among us, three have nicknames starting with characters of nine strokes. Hong Hu, meanwhile, is level 29. Is that the connection?"

"Exactly", Feng Bu Jue confirmed.

Qiu Feng countered, "But have you considered—your logic links me to nine only through the character qiu (Autumn). From my perspective, I can think of n connections to nine."

"That’s unavoidable", Feng Bu Jue replied. "Before the mission, I couldn’t reveal the object’s properties or confirm any nine-related details with you. That would’ve accelerated your thinking once you had the information." He shrugged. "In any case, you’re alive now. That proves my strategy worked."

"I was fairly confident", Feng Bu Jue continued. "When I shouted, you were already about twenty meters from the object. Its effect radius only reaches twenty-three meters. Even in real life, commoners could sprint to safety in two or three seconds.

"The time it took you to hear my words, grasp the significance of the number nine, and connect it to yourself was enough to escape the object’s radius.

"Of course, if you had an unusually tight connection to the number nine—like realizing it applied to you in a fraction of a second—you’d be out of luck."

Qiu Feng had no objections to Feng Bu Jue’s attitude or remarks. He found the logic sound. The plan’s success rate was indeed high, and Feng Bu Jue’s precautions had maximized his safety.

Still, Qiu Feng raised another concern: "Wait… you said the object’s effect radius is twenty-three meters?"

"Correct", Feng Bu Jue affirmed.

The other three exchanged glances. Finally, Hong Hu spoke: "Then here’s the problem… Now that the object has fallen into the basement levels, unless it crashed exactly twenty-three meters down…"

"…Otherwise, the passage remains within its influence", Ji Chang finished. "Knowing the rules, we’d be erased the moment we approached that corner."

"There’s no need to worry about that", a woman’s voice suddenly chimed in.

The four players’ faces flickered with surprise. The voice came from the pitch-black space behind the wall.

The rhythmic clatter of high-heeled boots approached. A graceful figure emerged from the shadows.

X-23’s appearance was unchanged from their last meeting—her delicate, fair features and silky black hair cascading down her neck, stirred by the breeze. The only difference was her attire: a sleek black leather jumpsuit that accentuated her curves.

Her wardrobe aside, she was unmistakable. Feng Bu Jue had no reason to doubt her identity—after all, he’d only ever met two derivative beings.

"What are you doing here?" Feng Bu Jue asked. "This is a four-player scenario…"

"Can’t you come up with a better greeting for a friend?" X-23 smiled, her sharp fangs flashing and startling Hong Hu’s trio.

Though thirty meters separated them, her voice carried clearly.

"Ha… sorry", Feng Bu Jue chuckled awkwardly. "How have you been lately?" He knew that for X-23, their last meeting might have been a year or even longer ago.

"I’m no longer bound by the rules of Level-4 and Tier 3", X-23 replied.

Feng Bu Jue immediately understood—she was at least a Tier-2 derivative being now, explaining her presence here. "Good. It seems you’re no longer struggling to survive every moment."

"Yes", she answered. By all etiquette, she should’ve asked how Feng Bu Jue was doing next, but she didn’t. Her gaze lingered on him, tinged with something like compassion.

"Er… did you come here just to say hello?" Feng Bu Jue asked.

"I’m handling some recovery work recently", X-23 replied casually, swiftly shifting topics. "Anyway, I can’t stay long. Let’s keep this brief." She paused, scanning the four players’ statuses before continuing. "Your main quest is to enter the Reasoning Club, right?" Without waiting for confirmation, she added, "The club’s leader is a peculiar individual, second in strength only to the Four Pillars. He created a cushion space to block my entry into this scenario and the recovery of Spc-233. But when you solved the puzzle, the resistance within the cushion space vanished."

"So the leader considered you part of the scenario’s progression", Feng Bu Jue deduced.

"Correct", X-23 confirmed. "I must leave with this Spc now. After I’m gone, you may proceed." She raised her right hand, flicking her fingers.

In an instant, Spc-233 shot up from the ground fissure, hovering beside her.

"He’s upstairs", X-23 said, gazing upward, her pupils flickering with faint light. "Watch your step, Mad Bu Jue."

"I will", Feng Bu Jue replied. "Take care yourself… since you…"

"I must go", X-23 interrupted. She snapped her fingers, and Spc-233 flew into the black space behind the wall.

"Will we meet again?" Feng Bu Jue asked.

Last time, she’d said "farewell forever", yet she’d defied her own prophecy of "death" to reappear. Hence his question.

"We will… certainly", X-23 replied. With that, she turned and stepped into the darkness.

As her figure vanished, the decomposed wall miraculously restored itself. Glowing data streams flowed like cascading waterfalls, reconstructing the structure. However, the gaps in the ceiling and floor remained, as did the scattered concrete chunks.

"Uh… Feng Bu Jue", Qiu Feng finally spoke after a minute. "Could you explain… what just happened?"

"She’s an Npc, right?" Ji Chang asked. "Why would an Npc use the term ‘scenario’?"

"Scenarios are randomly generated", Hong Hu added. "Why do you seem so familiar with her?"

Feng Bu Jue struggled to answer. The game company had explicitly warned him to keep derivative beings confidential—Pan Fenghua Xiong, the two Gms, had even discussed this with him.

"She’s a special Npc, like a recycling program in the game", Feng Bu Jue improvised, leveraging his novelist instincts. "As you saw, she’s unaffected by Spc-233. And you heard her mention ‘recovery work.’" He lowered his voice conspiratorially. "I met her once in another scenario, so she recognizes me. Don’t spread this around—if Dream Corporation catches wind, they’ll ban you."

The trio exchanged skeptical glances but lacked grounds to challenge Feng Bu Jue’s story.

"Thinking about it, given Dream Corporation’s penchant for quirky designs, it’s plausible their staff programmed a humanoid AI as a wandering Npc", Ji Chang mused.

Qiu Feng suppressed his doubts, joking instead: "Feng Bu Jue, she’s just a humanoid program. What was that whole ‘unbothered’ vibe during your conversation? Different dimensions don’t mix for romance, you know."

Feng Bu Jue smirked. "Didn’t expect you to evolve into Thunder Autumn without a Thunder Stone."

"Not letting go of the elf joke, huh?" Qiu Feng retorted.

Hong Hu watched silently, unimpressed by their banter.

Meanwhile, Hong Hu’s mind pieced together clues. He doubted Feng Bu Jue’s explanation, but unlike Qiu Feng and Ji Chang, he quickly recalled a term he’d only seen on forums—derivative being.

(End of Chapter)

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