Overturned Tower

Vol 2 Chapter 24: Welcome to the Furnace of Pain

In the past, the scene where Hang Hang talked to the barber in his basement came to the barber's eyes.

"—How did you respond to the Wrath Gate?"

"—I'm angry at this unfair world. What did you say?"

"—I am angry at this unfair fate, I am angry at my own weakness."

The "unfair fate" mentioned by strangulation is precisely "why I was born so small".

If I am destined to be humble, why should I see the superior person?

Why give me hope that I can "replace them"?

"Since they can do it, why can't I? Why can they be superior, but I can't?

"Because of my parentage? Because I was destined to be an irredeemable scum? Because I've been in this damned swamp since I was born?"

The orange-red flames dancing in the white lion's pupils looked like bloodstains dried on the bandages.

He took a deep breath.

In a blizzard, it turns into white mist.

Hang declared: "I probably don't want to do what you want, Barber. You want to get us out of here and make us submit to you...I'm fine with that.

"I can obey you, and I can obey your orders. But that's not because I'm your pet cat, nor is it because of loyalty. It's because the lions will develop better under your leadership than me. I have to do a lot better.

"Lions are pack animals, they always live together. I will always be a lion, and you are now the leader of the pride.

"As long as you dare to control me, I will obey you—but if one day I see your timidity, cowardice and compromise...don't blame me for taking the rope from your hand and making myself king."

The lion roared, making such a threat.

But in the eyes of the barber, this is an attitude of sincerity.

He just smiled, accepting the "I can't be faithful forever" statement.

—Ultramarine is a hero, but the others in the container are not.

The godfather is a mentor, a commander, a monarch... Other identities also have different identities and positions.

If it was Qunqing, he might be angry at his injustice when he heard such words.

But the words of the godfather only give a happy nod.

Because he has the measure of a monarch.

The original loyalty is not absolute.

Can those couples who swear that the sea will die at the wedding can really maintain a lifetime of loyalty?

It is naive to believe in such so-called "promises" made in empty words.

Even those who swear allegiance will betray very smoothly when encountering bad situations and huge benefits. Compared with them, it is very honest to be able to bluntly say that one's loyalty is a strangulation of "depending on the situation".

As long as the strangulation can't afford the idea of betrayal.

That's okay.

"Then it seems that you can only work for me for the rest of your life."

The barber said slowly, "You'd better remember what you said today."

"Ah. I'll keep it in mind until I decide to forget it."

Hang Shou sneered and said in a low voice, "My... leader."

"—You know what, strangle."

The barber walked past Hang, who was standing still, and stepped in front of him.

He also didn't turn his head, but his voice was very loud: "A circus lion is usually as docile as a dog.

"Lion trainers like to play some tricks of opening the lion's mouth and counting the lion's teeth. If they are more adventurous, they also like to stick their head in, so as to prove to the audience that they have completely tamed the lion."

"...What the **** are you trying to say?"

A low grunt came from the depths of Strangled's throat.

"But there are always some lions whose ferocity is hard to get rid of. No matter how docile they usually look, they will suddenly shut their mouths and kill their lion trainers.

"It's not that the lion trainers are ignorant of the danger, they just get away with it. Think at least this time it won't happen.

"But this time is gone, and there will be a next time. As long as we continue to engage in this business, there will always be times when we miss. Because a lion is a beast after all, a beast that cannot communicate."

"so what?"

Strangler sneered and said, "Are you going to strike first just in case? Are you going to pull out my sharp teeth, or grind off my claws? Or feed me poison to make me exhausted ? Or are you trying to curry favor with me and become my lion trainer?"

The barber shook his head, "No.

"—I'm going to make you human."

He said calmly and rationally: "I want you to tame yourself. Let you become a person wearing a lion puppet, a person pretending to be a lion...

"I'm going to let you beasts, know from the bottom of your heart...how good it is to be human.

"That is a world where happiness and freedom can be obtained without biting off the head of the lion trainer."

He took a step forward, and the world around him suddenly distorted.

The strangulation behind him, and the blizzard in front of him disappeared at the same time.

His surroundings fell into darkness again, and in front of him were circles of illusory and transparent circles of light.

Looking at the eight circles of light, a thought came to the barber's mind.

[Need the path: Anger*4]

Only after passing through four areas belonging to the Path of Wrath can the door to the next area be opened.

The barber stepped forward without hesitation.

[Verified: Raging Volcano]

When he passed through the first circle of light, the circle of light seemed to be injected with power suddenly, turning into a bright fiery red, and then rotated and expanded to a larger size.

As if a charging sound sounded, a color suddenly appeared in the pitch-black world.

But those colors are like color blocks, which look extremely abstract.

And the barber went forward again, stepped through the second circle of light, then the third circle, and then the fourth circle.

[Verified: Raging Tide]

[Verified: Ancient Battlefield]

【Verified: Boiling soup】

The circles of light were activated by the barber when he passed by, bursting out with bright red brilliance, rotating and unfolding, and making a buzzing activation sound.

When this world is filled with four colors, I can vaguely see something, but it is still not clear enough.

At this time, a looming door appeared on the left and right sides of the barber.

On his left is [Mountain of Madness], and on his right is [Sea of Despair].

These words were written on the door.

And the barber walked towards the remaining four circles of light without hesitation.

[Required path: Contemplation*2, Temperance*2]

The barber went straight through.

The first two halos were activated, emitting a dark blue halo.

[Verified: Fossil Sea]

[Verified: Heart Lake]

The remaining two spun and unfolded, emitting a metallic silver-gray halo:

[Verified: Blade Cliff]

[Verified: Slow Walking Snow Mountain]

【Full Verification—】

With the remaining four colors filled in, this has become a very close to real, stagnant world.

Here and there flowed bright red, semi-solidified lava-like rivers. They look like bursting blood vessels, and the sky of the whole world is a steaming white mist.

A deep, growling voice sounded in the barber's heart.

That's exactly the same sound as a barber.

[For you, grand anger will make you stronger, crazy, or desperate? 】

"That's why ~www.wuxiahere.com~ becomes stronger."

The barber was still smiling.

He replied without hesitation.

The next moment, the whole world cracked and shattered.

The cover in the stagnant world is removed, and the more colorful and moving world suddenly surges with the steaming sulfur heat.

In the distance, there were continuous sounds of tinkling iron, as well as the clatter of pouring molten iron.

"Welcome to the Furnace of Pain."

Following the barber, Hang Hang who appeared behind him said slowly, "This is my 'home'."

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