Chapter 436: Yes, I've Had an Audience with a God |
Zhen Yi never sat idle and waited for doom.
The outsiders' assumptions about her were largely correct. When this universally acknowledged jinx went silent for an extended period, she was never retreating— she was always brewing up something bigger.
She'd already mapped out her next move to counter Cheng Shi, but just as she was about to showcase her "game sense," her sister Zhen Xin suddenly seized control of their body and sent her back to sleep.
Yes— this time, Zhen Yi had been "invaded" by her other personality, just as Zhen Xin had been before.
For Zhen Xin, this was commonplace, because Zhen Yi's nature made it so. But for Zhen Yi, it was decidedly uncommon— from the start of the game until now, Zhen Xin had rarely done this.
Yet today she had, and it gave both of the other two fraudsters a start.
Regardless of the process, the outcome had produced plenty of entertainment, so in both their eyes, it did look like something Zhen Yi would pull.
The only difference was that in each of their minds, this "Zhen Yi" was not the same Zhen Yi.
Cheng Shi's analysis was more precise— he knew the person across from him had definitely switched. But for Long Jing, this game had become hopelessly chaotic.
No— Mo Li's Law Command couldn't be sustained indefinitely, but while it was active, this "Cheng Shi" hadn't shattered. That meant he wasn't an illusion but a flesh-and-blood person.
But the question remained: who was "he"?
A Fate Weaver?
A Fate Weaver bold enough to perform a double act with Zhen Yi right under everyone's noses?
Or was he actually an old acquaintance— one of the fraudsters from the [Deceit] rankings?
Even if he was a fraud, why had he voluntarily blown his cover when "Zhen Yi" had already fooled nearly everyone?
Could it be... they weren't on the same side?
Long Jing's eyebrow arched. His interest sparked to life. He could smell entertainment in the air. He fixed "Cheng Shi" with a meaningful gaze and asked abruptly:
"Brother Fate Weaver, you seem a little... different from me."
"Cheng Shi" blinked in confusion, looking as if he had no idea what that meant. Everyone turned to Long Jing with puzzled frowns, wondering what kind of bizarre question that was.
But Long Jing quickly continued:
"I genuinely hadn't heard of this 'Convention' before. But...
"You didn't seem surprised at all. Did you already know about it?"
At those words, the room's demeanor shifted. Every gaze landed on "Cheng Shi."
"Cheng Shi's" expression was a masterwork of emotional display. First came a jolt of shock, followed by alarm, regret, and resignation cascading across his face. Finally, expression darkening, he grudgingly accepted the truth.
"Ha... They say you can't hide secrets under the noses of peak players, and today I truly learned that lesson. Yes— for certain reasons, I did learn of the Convention's existence..."
Those words detonated the room. Everyone stared at him in utter disbelief.
As for the real Cheng Shi... his face had gone rigid.
Hu Wei's eyebrow shot up. He spun around, astonishment written across his face:
"Brother— you've had an audience with a god?
"Which one summoned you?!"
Their reactions were understandable. Something like the Convention could only be learned directly from a deity's own lips— there was no other way. A case like the Prisoner's, where someone simply shouted it in front of a crowd, was the only such incident since the game began.
Hence Hu Wei's question.
And that question essentially confirmed Cheng Shi's status: although this Fate Weaver's score wasn't high enough to rank among those present, he was clearly already a peak player.
Honestly, before meeting him face to face, no one here besides Hu Wei had ever even heard of Cheng Shi— they hadn't known such a person existed. It was only because a baffling rumor had reached the peak circle, and Zhen Yi herself had never denied it, that they'd learned of this "audacious" Fate Weaver who'd dared to deceive that walking jinx.
But now, upon learning that Cheng Shi had very likely been granted an audience with a god, they viewed him in an entirely different light.
In this game, whether a player qualified as "peak" ultimately came down to one thing: whether their relationship with the gods was closer than everyone else's.
The higher someone climbed on the Road to Ascension or the Ladder of Ascent, the more it signified the gods' growing "interest" in that player.
And the ultimate expression of that interest was undeniably a divine summons!
In other words, any player who'd been summoned by the gods was by definition a peak player— and one who outranked any high scorer!
After all, even the Prisoner and Long Jing had never been summoned by any deity!
Yes— the Chosen One of [Silence] had never once been called before any god.
Which was why he was the most shocked of all.
Mo Li was shocked too, though he'd done a far better job of concealing it.
He had undoubtedly received a summons before. He'd even heard the word "Convention" from the very god who'd called him. He knew this was a divine secret that ordinary players could never access, which was precisely why he found it inconceivable.
Consider: a player who'd attracted the gods' attention must possess considerable strength, and that strength would naturally be reflected in their score. So why, before that rumor surfaced, had no one ever heard of this man?
Mo Li's gaze toward "Cheng Shi" deepened, as if trying to see through the Fate Weaver entirely.
"Cheng Shi" saw no reason to hide it in response to Hu Wei's question, and answered directly:
"Yes— I've had an audience. The one who summoned me was my Benefactor, [Fate]!"
"[Fate]??!"
Long Jing momentarily lost control of his voice. Then, his expression a complicated swirl of envy, jealousy, and shock, he turned to the others and shook his head:
"It's true. That one's the truth."
And indeed it was— though every emotion on his face was an act.
By now, he'd fully confirmed that this "Cheng Shi" was an impostor. He still couldn't pin down "Cheng Shi's" true identity, but that didn't stop a fraudster from joining this deception when "invited" to the game.
At least the thing he'd most wanted to learn tonight had been confirmed. So, business concluded, all that was left was the fun.
Extracting more intelligence from between two liars while producing more entertainment— to Long Jing, that was far more enjoyable than simply unmasking them. So he smiled knowingly and chose to play along.
And this was precisely Zhen Xin's objective.
She understood Long Jing, and she had a reasonable grasp of Cheng Shi as well. Since Cheng Shi had dumped the burden of [Prosperity]'s fall onto her sister's shoulders, she naturally couldn't let him slip away so easily.
So this wasn't deliberate revenge— it was more like a clash between fraudsters.
Zhen Xin wanted to claw back a point in this turbulent undercurrent of deception, to prevent her sister from losing too badly.
The room processed Long Jing's words with varied expressions.
Only Cheng Shi— he sensed that having had an audience with [Fate] apparently wasn't exactly "good news" in this context. Yet he didn't dare break character as "Zhen Yi," so he could only ask with his trademark unhinged giggle:
"Oh? You've had an audience with [Fate]?
"Little Cheng Shi, how come I never saw any of that in your memories?"
Cheng Shi was trying to muddy the waters, but everyone pointedly ignored "Zhen Yi's" remark. Every gaze, complicated and intense, bore into "Cheng Shi." Hu Wei's eyes flickered with unreadable thoughts, but after a moment he suddenly burst into hearty laughter and clapped "Cheng Shi" on the shoulder:
"I knew you were something special! When did this happen?"
"Cheng Shi" shook his head with a rueful smile:
"Don't put too much pressure on me, Brother Hu. I'm truly nothing special. If you all keep staring at me like that, my legs are going to start trembling...
"It was only a few days ago, actually. And it's precisely because the memory of that audience with my Benefactor remains intact that I vaguely sensed I'd lost a trial's worth of memories.
"He must have summoned me after that trial concluded. It wasn't until... this lunatic admitted to stealing my memories that I could confirm the timeline was correct.
"But none of you need to be this shocked. I believe He wasn't truly focusing on me— it was only because a rift appeared among the gods during that trial that the audience followed.
"And as it happened, I was the only [Fate] follower in that trial."
When he finished, no one's expression changed— but a strange look crept across several faces.
Mo Li shook his head with an amused half-smile and addressed "Cheng Shi":
"Fascinating. The one who receives divine attention doesn't realize it, while those who don't receive it seek it everywhere.
"Cheng Shi... truly remarkable.
"Do you know why everyone here finds this so shocking?
"You, who aren't very familiar with peak players, probably don't realize— but among all the peak players I'm aware of, [Fate]...
"Has apparently never summoned anyone before.
"Including the Blind One!"
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