Chapter 825: What Sharp Intuition, What... Revolting Calculation |
On another front, Ai Si dragged her great sword through the underground pipes, circling as she explored. She was searching, yes — just not terribly efficiently.
Unlike Cheng Shi and Zhang Jizu, this War Supervisor had done thorough research on San Dales before coming. Thanks to a certain Truth experiment, she knew that a "faithless" experimental product had once emerged here.
Even the Tower of Logic's scholars couldn't confirm exactly what the thing did, but under her coercive questioning, the frightened scholars admitted it might be related to broadening one's faith range.
At the time, Ai Si hadn't understood what that meant. But when the faith-fusion trend began trickling down from the peak circle, she suddenly realized her chance to leapfrog the competition had arrived.
So she'd prayed her way into this trial — only to find it was far less simple than she'd imagined.
She suspected surname Cheng was here for the same thing. But if so... what was she supposed to do about the man who'd once saved her life?
Ai Si ran her hand along the wall, thinking as she searched for new chambers and so-called "repair materials" to verify her theories. As she walked, something felt off.
She'd been sticking a firefly lamp to the wall at regular intervals to prevent getting lost. But now the brightness around her seemed dimmer than before.
Her brow darkened. She drew her blade in a reverse slash, snapping: "Who?!"
"!!!"
Someone was behind her. Watching her.
The atmosphere turned eerie. But Ai Si handled it with cold composure. She didn't shout for Cheng Shi or Zhang Chosen. She didn't retreat along her path either, fearing she'd get lost in the complex pipe network. Instead she stood perfectly still, hand resting on her sword, and spoke with measured displeasure.
"If you want to talk, come out. Lurking in the shadows is no way to say hello. Wouldn't you agree..."
Her trailing tone hung long — she didn't know who was following her. But when a familiar figure rounded the corner of a nearby junction, her voice hitched, and she let out a wry laugh.
"...Zhang Chosen?"
Indeed — the person before her was Zhang Jizu.
But the Death Chosen had absolutely no reason to be here right now. The moment he appeared, Ai Si saw through his identity.
Well — she saw through the false identity. As for who they really were...
That depended on whether they dared say.
Ai Si smiled, shaking her head.
"I'll give credit where it's due — whoever you are, the performance is excellent and the thinking is clear.
Once you realized impersonating surname Cheng wouldn't achieve your goal, you decisively dropped that identity and assumed someone else's. Clever way to fish in troubled waters. But...
Dear teammate, you seem to have overlooked one thing. Every action follows logic. The fact that I'm alone here means I have a reason to be separated from the other two.
But your version of Zhang Chosen has no reason to appear in front of me.
So what do you want — cooperation or silencing witnesses?
If it's the latter, we fight first. If it's the former and you're trying to use me to break up this team — then show some sincerity, please. My dear liar-teammate?"
The Zhang Jizu at the junction didn't respond. He merely observed her with squinted eyes. Only after her mockery had fully landed did he nod with interest and say a single word:
"Interesting."
Then he slipped back into the junction and vanished.
Ai Si frowned. 'This teammate's mental game is that weak? One call-out and they clam up?'
'With that kind of nerve, how do you expect to compete with surname Cheng?'
Though every word had been barbed, if the impersonator had actually proposed cooperation, she might not have refused outright. She genuinely wanted something from this trial.
Zhang Jizu had fused with Truth. Surname Cheng had apparently fused with Fate. And she...? She'd fallen too far behind.
Back when Cheng Shi was "1,501," their combat power had been roughly comparable. How had the gap grown this wide?
The realization sharpened her hunger for power. Combined with her current physical condition, this trial was one of her few remaining chances.
She had to fight for it. As for the life-debt... she'd repay that after securing her second faith.
Sighing, Ai Si pulled some scrap metal from her storage, dunked it in the muck at the pipe's bottom, and carried the mud-caked bundle back the way she'd come.
The walk was long, but her memory was decent. Even without the firefly lamps, she retraced the correct route after a bit of effort.
'That should be enough time for those two to finish their private chat.'
'Hopefully they've actually found a way through the Devout Land.'
Half-expectant, she entered the archive room — only to find it empty. Apart from the ash-stained brazier, there was no trace of Cheng Shi, Zhang Jizu, Pro To, or the War Machine Pawn.
They'd vanished. Silently. Taking the war machine and Pro To with them.
"You...!!??"
Ai Si nearly lost it. She hoisted her great sword — then froze mid-motion, a realization crashing over her.
Brow tight, she leapt clear of the doorway. Pulling out a bright flashlight, she swept the ground inside and outside the door. Among the jumbled, overlapping muddy footprints, she studied the marks for a long time. Then she spotted it.
Three blurred sets of prints led away in the direction they'd originally come. One was undeniably Cheng Shi's. Another — smeared by dragging marks — looked like Zhang Jizu's. The third set of prints was heavier than expected — not the war machine walking under its own power, but someone carrying the machine.
That third set of footprints was painfully familiar. Ai Si, face black as night, gingerly placed her own foot over one.
A perfect match.
'Of course.'
The person who'd left with Cheng Shi and Zhang Chosen was... herself.
Someone had impersonated her, taken her place on the three-person team, fooled the other two, and led them away. And that someone was almost certainly the same "teammate" who had just come to observe her.
Their target was never her. It was the other two!
They'd come to study her — to learn how to play her!
'I've been robbed blind!'
Worse still, she hadn't noticed a thing at the time. She'd even been mocking them. And they'd turned around and thrown that mockery right back in her face.
'Fine! FINE!'
'Let's see who this so-called "teammate" really is!'
Ai Si drew a deep breath and, with utmost caution, followed the footprints.
Shortly after she left, another Ai Si appeared in the archive room.
She — or rather, he — surveyed the already-ransacked chamber and the chaotic footprints at the entrance, then sighed softly.
"This game is unplayable. Everywhere I go, the meal's already been eaten...
But I've got a few tricks of my own. Heh — Memory. Who can't scavenge memories?"
"Dragon King, oh Dragon King — are you really in this game?"
As she spoke, this Ai Si produced a sheet of paper and flicked it into the air. Like a projection, the recent past of this room replayed before her eyes. She listened to Cheng Shi and Zhang Jizu's analysis word by word, eyes glittering, deep in thought.
But toward the end, something felt wrong — because the two had actually left a message. For whoever came next.
Of course, when they'd recorded it, they may not have known who would hear it. But they'd deliberately left a little something for the next visitor.
In the projection, Cheng Shi curled his lips into a loaded grin and said to Zhang Jizu:
"Zhang-lao, you think our little discussion might be overheard later? After all, there could very well be a Memory follower in this trial."
"You're worried someone will find the memories here?"
"Worried? Me? The innocent have nothing to fear from peeping dogs. But since someone's eager to listen, why not leave the mangy mutt a message? What do you say?"
"You think that's useful? You'll only stoke their fighting spirit and make the identity game even messier..."
"Void was never about meaning.
But this? This has meaning. What if they get scared off?"
With that, Cheng Shi turned — and looked directly at the spot where Ai Si was standing.
"Wouldn't you agree... eavesdropping teammate?"
"..." Staring into those eyes that seemed to see through everything, the Ai Si standing in this room stopped breathing. Goosebumps erupted head to toe.
'This Fate Weaver even predicted exactly where I'd be standing.'
'What sharp intuition. What... revolting calculation.'
...
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