Wen Xishu was undergoing interrogation.
This was pretty much as he expected. He certainly knew he had made a great contribution.
If it weren't for his Wen Family identity, he would now be highly desirable.
People from the Bunker Security Bureau, Bunker Civil Affairs Bureau, and various other bureaus might all want to recruit him.
But the atrocities committed by the Wen Family seemed to be outrageous. Although Wen Xishu didn't know what Wen Chaohua and the other Wen Family members had done.
However, he was not surprised that as soon as he returned to the bunker, he was immediately detained.
He was now lying on a cold medical folding bed, surrounded by numerous armed guards.
People dressed in medical anti-dust suits were setting up instruments.
Lie detector.
Many syringes were placed nearby, clearly including truth serum and similar drugs.
Wen Xishu was still not anxious, mainly because being anxious was useless.
Instead, he changed his perspective to think that he was about to experience something he had never experienced before.
Deep inside, he was also waiting for the outcome of the power struggle among the big shots.
"The higher-ups advocate the complete extermination of the Wen Family, but there is something about Wen Chaohua that interests them."
"My survival up to now is due to the higher-ups' attitude: part of them wants to eliminate Wen Chaohua, while the other part wants to uncover a certain secret."
"This division has led to their power struggle."
"The current situation is actually not the worst; the worst scenario would be me dying in the Deceit Tower, or returning by sheer luck but not achieving beyond the fourth level of completion."
In this situation, Wen Xishu overachieved the mission; a newbie who has never climbed the tower accomplished something impossible...
Logically, all knowledgeable people would think that this had something to do with Wen Chaohua.
Naturally, this deepened the connection between Wen Xishu and Wen Chaohua.
Those who wanted to uncover Wen Chaohua's secret would hope he survived, but interrogation was inevitable.
Wen Xishu didn't know if he could withstand the interrogation, and at the same time...
He could sense that there would be extra variables emerging in this struggle.
...
...
The Bunker Security Bureau had a total of six divisions.
Among them, the Second and Sixth divisions were "external affairs". Their primary responsibility was to explore the Three Towers.
The other divisions resembled more of bunker guards.
Long before Wen Xishu returned, the massive amount of supplies he brought had already attracted attention.
Liu Jinsen was dumbfounded after receiving the news.
A few hours earlier, he had assumed that Wen Xishu would die in the Deceit Tower.
Though he had no prejudice against Wen Xishu, Liu Jinsen, being a high-ranking member of the Second Bureau, was well aware that some Wen Family members were innocent.
This included Wen Xishu, who was congenitally mentally disabled.
The Wen Family brothers were worlds apart. Wen Chaohua was astonishing while Wen Xishu was pitiful.
Although Wen Xishu seemed to have changed recently, in Liu Jinsen's view, that didn't alter anything.
However, when the supplies appeared and were confirmed to belong to Wen Xishu, Liu Jinsen was truly shocked.
"Grade six supplies? Are you sure you're not mistaken?"
"Mr. Liu, how dare I joke about this with you."
"Additionally... there's even more significant news; I think you should prepare immediately. The First Bureau has already detained Wen Xishu. Moreover... moreover..."
"Speak up; don't stammer when reporting news!"
"Yes! A hospital appeared in the second layer's functional layer, suspected to be a grade six facility."
A series of bombshells shattered Liu Jinsen's predictions about Wen Xishu.
He understood every word from his subordinate, but pieced together they made less sense.
It implied that Wen Xishu obtained grade six supplies and brought a grade six facility...
A rookie, a Wen Family "madman," achieved grade six completion in his first climb of the Deceit Tower?
Am I living in a parallel world?
Or is it not him entering the Deceit Tower, but me?
The shock even made Liu Jinsen doubt the authenticity.
If Wen Xishu had achieved a four or three level completion, Liu Jinsen wouldn't have been so stunned.
But grade six completion seemed too exaggerated.
This shock, however, didn't last long for Liu Jinsen.
He accepted the truth and suddenly realized—Wen Xishu was in danger.
Though Liu Jinsen had no extreme dislike for Wen Xishu, nor particular fondness, if Wen Xishu could truly save the general populace, it would be a major contribution in Liu Jinsen's view.
His political instinct told him Wen Xishu might face perverse interrogation before receiving honor and reward.
Thus, Liu Jinsen quickly made a phone call.
The call was to the director of the Bunker Security Bureau, but it was the director's assistant who answered.
"Jinsen, the director guessed you'd call; ha, you're still the same." The voice was young.
Liu Jinsen said:
"Wen Xishu has contributed a lot. I don't know the full extent of what a grade six hospital can do, but it can surely alleviate the pandemic; even the hospital itself is a long-term benefit for the lower-class citizens."
The young voice replied:
"Actually, even if you didn't call, the director would have asked me to contact you. Listen up, Jinsen, this situation is very complicated."
"It involves the Wen Family case and some... Three Towers-related matters."
"The factions of the Civil Affairs Bureau and the First Bureau of Bunker Security Bureau both advocate extracting all memories from Wen Xishu's mind by any means necessary."
Jinsen said:
"Have they never considered that Wen Xishu might have relied on his own abilities? What if Wen Xishu didn't use Wen Chaohua's abilities?"
This remark made the person on the other side pause.
Jinsen wasn't blindly believing Wen Xishu as a genius; he realized that surviving the Deceit Tower was challenging enough for a newcomer, let alone achieving grade six completion.
Even the experts on the Celestial Ladder List rarely reached grade six completion, and grade six facilities were almost only seen in the top functional layers.
Yes, Wen Xishu accomplishing these feats was incredible, inevitably leading people to suspect Wen Chaohua's hidden help.
But Jinsen remembered one thing; he remembered Wen Xishu talking to him before leaving the bunker.
"If, hypothetically, if I refuse to provide clues about Wen Chaohua, would I still be dead even if I successfully explored the Deceit Tower?"
When Wen Xishu said this, Jinsen realized that the boy had no clues about Wen Chaohua.
He just wanted to take a chance in the Deceit Tower.
As a result, Jinsen almost disclosed everything he knew.
So, in Jinsen's view, Wen Xishu might be a genius in exploring the Deceit Tower.
"Jinsen, don't worry; the director said many times that the pieces in a multi-party power struggle are the hardest to eliminate."
"But right now, the First Bureau and Civil Affairs Bureau both advocate extracting everything from Wen Xishu's mind. We need some external force."
Jinsen hurriedly asked:
"What external force?"
The voice on the other end softly said:
"You know that the First Bureau wields the most power, but even the First Bureau has people it can't handle. You need to contact someone."
"Who?"
"The principal of the Three Towers Academy, Albert Napolitano. Tell that old man that a talent no less than Wenren Mirror, Xun Hui, and Wen Chaohua's child is being interrogated."
Jinsen was stunned.
He had heard the name; it was quite legendary. Though the Seven-Level Architecture of the Three Towers Academy wasn't constructed by one person, Albert Napolitano was undoubtedly its core figure.
He spent his entire life striving to reach the top of the Three Towers, leading humanity out of the bunker, and he was revered by all bunker higher-ups.
Moreover, he had saved countless lives during several major swallowing events.
"Such a person... willing to help Wen Xishu?"
"Not sure, so we have to manipulate public opinion too. In short, the director wants to protect Wen Xishu. It's not about helping him, but in politics, if you can't get something, try to prevent your political enemy from getting it."
"So Jinsen, your work must continue."