Chapter 1129: New Trial: Folly |
The matter of the Dark Dragon King weighed on Cheng Shi's mind.
He had a nagging feeling that That Dream My Nightmare harbored secrets beyond its connection to the Dreamless Mirror, but he couldn't find an excuse to wheedle the information out of Dragon King. For now, he'd have to shelve the issue and observe quietly.
Two tasks currently lay before Cheng Shi. The first was venturing into the Real Universe to retrieve War's scattered authority. The second was investigating the Folly town that Scarred Cheng Shi had mentioned, to search for clues about the Eye of Mockery.
The former still required finding a method to break through the spacetime barrier, and the Flame of Hope hadn't sent word about arranging Qin Xin yet—that one couldn't be rushed. So the only viable option at the moment was the latter.
He'd originally planned to recruit some Joker members to investigate together, but considering that information from the other world might differ slightly from his own, he ultimately decided to scout first and call for reinforcements once he had more accurate intel.
Still, for safety's sake, he brought along one person.
The call connected, and Cheng Shi got straight to the point: "Hey, Old Zhang—there's news about the Fool's Play Mask. Come with me somewhere."
Zhang Jizu's expression turned serious on the other end. He replied immediately: "Got it. When, who else, and where?"
"Leaving now. Just the two of us. Chaos Epoch, Civilization Lonely Tower, Folly town."
Meanwhile, in the void, Zhang Jizu set down his phone and looked up at those spiraling, star-speckled eyes with a grave expression, squinting:
"You foresaw this call, didn't You, my Lord?"
"That's why You summoned me beforehand and pulled me into the void."
Those eyes chuckled softly:
"I'm not Fate. What are you going on about, 'foresaw'?"
"It was merely a coincidence."
"In recognition of your devotion, I summoned you to bestow a grace. I know the ambition in your heart runs deep—but a bit of ambition is always good. Otherwise this world grows far too dull."
"Aren't you carving tombstones for the gods? Finish Truth's tombstone. He'll be needing it."
"!!??"
Zhang Jizu's eyes went wide.
Well, not that wide...
He said in disbelief: "You're making a move against Truth?"
"Any moves worth making have already been made. Don't ask what you shouldn't ask—just keep your head down and carve your tombstones."
"Also, make mine look nice. Even if it never gets used, it'll make a fine decoration."
"I am your Benefactor, after all. Surely mine shouldn't look worse than Old Bones's, right?"
"Hee~"
"That's all. I have other matters to attend to. You're dismissed."
With that, those eyes brooked no argument, whipping up a gale of nothingness that swept Zhang Jizu away. A final remark trailed after him:
"Oh, and one more thing—ignore the clown. Anyone can visit Folly's territory. Old Bones's little bones, however, cannot go for now."
Landing back in the cemetery, Zhang Jizu stood before the tombstones of the gods, staring blankly. His gaze swept across the three Civilization graves, lingering for a long time on Truth's unfinished tombstone, his mind churning with shock and uncertainty.
'Why has Truth fallen?'
'And why can't I go to Folly's territory?'
...
On the other side.
Completely unaware, Cheng Shi closed his eyes in devout prayer when the appointed time arrived:
"Truth and lies, indistinguishable. Reality and illusion, beyond debate."
"Your devoted follower prays to You. Open a trial..."
"A trial of 'observing the daily life near the town of Redi Core beside Civilization Lonely Tower No. 413'!"
The prayer faded. His vision bled red.
[Wish Trial (Session No. 12814229109136, Foolish Act — Folly) has begun]
[Matching teammates (1/6)]
[Trial Objective: Yet Another Foolish Act (5-day time limit)]
"?"
'As expected—it's a Folly stage!'
As the pinnacle of universal wisdom, every trial He administered came without guidance of any kind. Just two words: "Foolish Act."
Perhaps in His eyes, everything in this world was a foolish act—including Himself.
'But this time I'm only going to scope things out. I won't do anything. That can't possibly count as a foolish act, right?'
While he was thinking this, Cheng Shi's vision gradually went dark.
[Match successful (6/6). Entering trial]
...
A dry wind roused Cheng Shi. The moment consciousness returned, searing pain erupted from every inch of his body.
His eyes burned as though set ablaze. His torso felt pierced by a thousand needles front and back. His wrists and ankles felt like the bones had been ground to powder, leaving him unable to feel his hands or feet at all.
The sudden agony triggered his brain's emergency response, cutting off all pain sensation instantly—but it also put him on high alert.
He needed to determine whether his current state was a product of the trial environment, or whether a teammate had ambushed him from the very start.
Fortunately, though Cheng Shi lay on the ground with eyes full of blood and no light in sight, Shadow Cheng Shi could still see the surroundings.
This was clearly a prison cell, built into the side of a cliff. The iron bars facing the interior were embedded deep in the stone wall and looked impossibly sturdy, while the exterior was completely open, dropping straight to a sheer precipice.
The gaping opening let in gusts of mountain wind that dispersed the smell of blood in the cell—but couldn't budge the six critically wounded prisoners lying on the floor.
These appeared to be all the players in this trial. At least he wasn't the only one injured, which meant the situation wasn't completely dire.
'Makes sense—it's supposed to be an observation-only trial. No way the difficulty is this extreme, right?'
'Though... prison again... prisoners again...'
'Does this cursed game have to chain me to inmates every single time?'
Cheng Shi sighed helplessly. Unable to lift his arms, he had his shadow extend a hand behind him to quietly heal himself. Before long, he was back on his feet.
And when he stood up and got a clear look at the teammate lying closest to him, the smile of recovery froze solid on his face.
"Brother-in-law!! Save me, brother-in-law!"
A certain bald man opened his mouth and immediately started running it. "I knew it—when I heard the magpie outside my window this morning, I knew something good was coming! What are the odds, huh? Warrior plus priest—we're invincible, brother-in-law!"
"..."
'Why is it him?!'
Cheng Shi went numb. He'd never imagined running into The Prisoner in a place like this.
Running into The Prisoner was bad enough—but where was Mi Laozhang? Had the matching system failed to pair him?
And even if it missed the Chosen One of Death, surely it didn't have to match him with the Chosen One of Oblivion?!
'What kind of brain-dead matching algorithm is this? Is it trying to make sure Oblivion's followers can find me?!'
Sure enough, the second person to stand was none other than Mo Shu—luggage case in hand despite both arms being broken. And the instant Cheng Shi laid eyes on him, all the memories about this Scavenger that had been blurred and erased came flooding back, letting him recognize the man immediately.
'What's going on—did the power of Memory vanish here?'
Not far from Mo Shu lay two women. One Cheng Shi recognized—Ji Yue, the Erudite Scholar he'd hoodwinked during that Chaos trial where they'd plucked Fate's bitter fruit. The other was a cold-eyed female player he'd never seen before.
She looked at him with thinly veiled hostility. Clearly, she knew who he was.
As for the last teammate in this cell...
It was an unfamiliar man. He had a very plain face—the kind you wouldn't notice in a crowd, wouldn't remember afterward. An utterly unremarkable everyman.
Yet he studied Cheng Shi with keen interest, completely ignoring his own injuries. He stood up directly and offered a greeting:
"We meet again, lo... Fate Weaver?"
Cheng Shi's brow furrowed. 'I've never seen this person before—so why does he seem so familiar with me? And that aborted word—what does he know?'
Just as Cheng Shi was blocking out The Prisoner's chatter and racking his brain to identify the man, The Prisoner's booming voice blew the stranger's cover wide open.
"Wei Mu?"
"Are you washed up or something?"
"How else did you end up matched with me and my brother-in-law?"
"..."
Cheng Shi's pupils contracted violently, his heart clenching.
'WHO?!'