Chapter 1051: [Truth] Is Sheltering Its Followers |
[Truth] was sheltering its followers!
The moment Fate Has Divergence failed to produce any effect whatsoever, this thought exploded in Cheng Shi's mind.
Whether it was Go Lis or the Wrath of Abomination — blocking them required at least a Servant God. But the Ritual of Truth was being used for the experiment, and a single artifact couldn't hold back two Servant Gods from different Paths simultaneously. So the answer had been staring him in the face all along: [Truth] itself had intervened!
It hadn't just told its followers how to "escape" — it had also severed every avenue the players might use to break the experiment from outside.
How ruthless!
Truly worthy of a god of [Civilization] — so civilized indeed!
After several failed attempts, the Grand Scholars' offensive grew fiercer. Seeing the tide turning, Galusha wheeled around, cracked her whip to scatter the closest Grand Scholar, and threw herself into defending Wei Zhi.
Her intent was clear — before she could replace Wei Zhi, the information in his head needed to come out first.
Whether or not this Wise Man truly wanted to become a Drifter, destroying the Tower of Logic and the Erudition Presidium was a mission she had to complete.
Fortunately, every player present was a top-tier fighter. In a head-on clash with the Grand Scholars, they might lack a decisive edge — but when it came to improvisation and adaptability, all the rigid scholars combined couldn't match a single one of them.
Especially with a certain [Order] follower in the group who excelled at exploiting loopholes. Seeing the situation had passed the point of no return, Fang Yuan whipped out two sheets of paper and shouted:
"Teleportation is prohibited in this area!"
"Group attacks are prohibited in this area!"
The instant those words fell, every coordinated assault on the field ground to a hard stop. In the momentary gap of everyone's confusion, the Order Alliance's leader fired off a point-blank Elemental Shock straight at the battered Wei Zhi.
Under [Order]'s constraints, any many-against-fewer attack was immediately nullified. But "no group attacks" never prohibited one-on-one. So as long as Fang Yuan struck first against Wei Zhi, no one else could touch him!
This was Fang Yuan's signature exploitation of [Order]'s rules, and Wei Zhi proved worthy of his titles as [Truth] Chosen and peak player — he caught on instantly and began play-fighting with Fang Yuan in a convincing show.
Right under everyone's noses, the two traded blows in the most theatrical fashion — a tap here, a hit there — gradually retreating as they "fought." The Grand Scholars went red-eyed watching this, but with [Order]'s power blocking them, all they could do was watch these two Drifters drift further and further away.
Chen Yi and Meng Youfang weren't fools either. Seeing the tactic work, they immediately copied it.
But these two had never gotten along to begin with, and their fake fighting rapidly escalated into the real thing. When Meng Youfang, disgusting as ever, summoned Zhen Yi, Cheng Shi's head nearly split open.
'Bro — you can't only act like a god when you're talking to other people! What's with this summoning-Zhen-Yi-at-the-drop-of-a-hat combat strategy? Who taught you that? The Divine Throne you're trying to reclaim isn't the Fun God's, is it?'
But their squabble had nothing to do with Cheng Shi. His sole concern was Wei Zhi. So when Fang Yuan and Wei Zhi were about to reach the edge of [Order]'s effective range, Cheng Shi appeared beside them, positioning himself just outside the boundary, and extended his hand toward Wei Zhi.
"Tell me where the Truth Limit is first. Then I'll let you out. Otherwise — don't blame me for joining the group attack."
Wei Zhi, mid-theatrical-swing, halted. His expression flickered between light and dark. "My safety isn't guaranteed, and your promise doesn't sound like a promise!"
"Not my problem. You should be thanking [Fate] for its generosity just for me standing here talking to you.
If my Benefactor didn't keep me in check, your little stunt of betraying the player camp would've earned you eight hundred deaths by now.
Enough stalling. You want to live — start talking."
Fury flashed in Wei Zhi's eyes, but he quickly reined it in and broke into a smile.
The abrupt expression shift made his face look somewhat twisted, but Wei Zhi paid it no mind:
"I'm not going to die.
Fate Weaver — as long as you can't find a way to clear this Trial, Meng Youfang will keep using [Time]'s power to reset this space for you. That is what you've been doing, isn't it — resetting the timeline?
Hmph. You can't fool me. The residual memories I have don't belong to my current self, which means Meng Youfang's time regression is a far cry from the Time Walker's Time Battlefield.
And here I thought he was a [Time] follower — what a clown."
"..."
'Say that again?'
Cheng Shi's eyelid twitched. He wanted nothing more than to blast a bolt of lightning straight into Wei Zhi's face, but he held back.
Now wasn't the time to waste. With [Order]'s power still lingering and the scholars yet to catch up, he had to extract the Truth Limit's location from Wei Zhi's mouth. After racking his brain, he decided to bring in reinforcements.
He called on Brother Mouth.
The Fool's Lips had come a long way since the old days — it was now the linked version paired with the Secret Peeping Ear. So if Brother Mouth agreed to help listen for truth and lies, the interrogation was as good as done.
Cheng Shi expected Brother Mouth to demand an outrageous price for this favor. To his astonishment, it agreed without hesitation.
The ease of it sent an uneasy thump through Cheng Shi's chest — had he just been tricked again?
"Brother Mouth, you really agreed?" Cheng Shi asked internally.
"Does the clock start from this sentence? If not — why are you talking so much?"
"..."
Terrified it might change its mind, Cheng Shi immediately turned to Wei Zhi: "Fine. I'll take a step back. I'll let you out first — but you swear that you genuinely know the Truth Limit's location!"
The Fate Weaver had been clever in his wording. He'd made a verbal concession without actually asking Wei Zhi to reveal the Truth Limit's location — he simply wanted confirmation that Wei Zhi truly knew where it was.
After all, everything so far was based solely on Wei Zhi's claim. Whether the man was using this as a pretext to buy survival space remained unknown. Cheng Shi had to play it steady and guard against a bluff.
When Wei Zhi heard the question, his eyes lit up. Without hesitation, he swore: "Of course I know!"
But the instant the words left his mouth, Cheng Shi's lips began moving on their own.
"Once I escape this space, what good does it do you to know that I don't know?
If the time resets leave traces, then before the Trial ends, my past self and future self will eventually reconcile the information and keep me alive.
Fate Weaver?
Heh — seems he's not as clever as the rumors say."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Wei Zhi didn't know the location!
It was a bluff all along!
The moment those words echoed, Wei Zhi's face turned green. Fang Yuan gaped at Cheng Shi in disbelief: "You can read minds?"
Cheng Shi's eye twitched. He raised his hand and unleashed a barrage of lightning, blasting the frantically fleeing Wei Zhi off his feet for a moment of catharsis. Then he turned to face the Grand Scholars closing in from behind.
When the Grand Scholars realized Wei Zhi didn't actually know the Truth Limit's location, the tension visibly drained from their faces. But in the very next instant, Cheng Shi let out a derisive snort:
"So the traitor didn't know — but I do now. So that's where you've been hiding the Truth Limit!"
"!!!"
The words rippled through the Grand Scholars like a shockwave, their expressions changing in an instant. And the moment Cheng Shi read the alarm on Volent's face, his eyebrow arched — and he snapped his fingers.
Now he truly did know where the Truth Limit was.
...
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