Chapter 1056: Who's Crazier Than Whom?

Foolish Game of the Gods

Volent's fight to get here had been thoroughly humiliating.

Logically speaking, every Death Knell Knight within the experiment ground was nothing more than a variable they'd created — trivially erasable in the eyes of these "gods."

But due to the experiment's unique nature, the Grand Scholars couldn't exert much influence over the variables beyond their ability to transcend the experiment's confines and observe the full picture.

Moreover, they bore an edict handed down by their Benefactor. Until the Benefactor gave the word, they didn't dare intervene too much with certain variables — otherwise, they could have simply seized control of all the players and waited for the experiment to succeed.

So the six of them had battered their way through half the city's worth of Death Knell Knights before finally reaching Pe Laya's secret laboratory — only to find Drifters rallied by the news already waiting at the entrance.

Fang Yuan, Meng Youfang, and Hu Xuan — the latter sporting a conspicuously swollen belly — barred the experiment ground's doorway, cutting off the Grand Scholars' path.

Chen Yi, meanwhile, had been called inside by Cheng Shi to "send off" Pe Laya, completing the exchange for the Truth Limit.

Chen Yi had initially resisted being ordered around by a [Deceit] follower. But when Cheng Shi mentioned that defying [Truth] would earn [Memory]'s favor, the Old Hunter obliged.

Cheng Shi couldn't help but roll his eyes at that.

Was this man not sharp? No — anyone who'd climbed to the Chosen One rank had to be sharp.

But sharp or not, the instant a lie touched the word "[Memory]," this assassin seemed to receive a permanent "willing" debuff — falling for it every single time.

Cheng Shi was beginning to pity him. If [Memory] didn't meet with this follower soon, he was starting to think the problem lay with [Memory], not with Chen Yi.

Under the Old Hunter's operation, Pe Laya got her wish and was banished into the past. And naturally, the Truth Limit fell into Cheng Shi's hands.

Although Cheng Shi hadn't yet made Galusha any promises, she didn't seem to think he'd deceive her — or perhaps more accurately, she didn't think he could.

Cheng Shi held the miniature Ritual of Truth in both hands, listening to the fierce combat raging outside, and asked with solemn gravity: "What do I do?"

Galusha's expression was serious as well — this was, after all, directly tied to her future identity. She explained with meticulous precision:

"Channel [Truth]'s power. Feel its existence — not its physical presence, but its existence in terms of [Truth].

Once you do, your perspective will leap beyond the present. You'll assume the vantage of a 'Creator,' surveying the entire experiment. The current Tusnat will appear before your eyes as something like a sandbox. You can freely mold the sand within it to craft whatever experimental environment you desire.

Of course, if you don't need a new environment, simply flatten it. That will cause everything within the experiment to dissipate into dust, and the Truth Limit will self-destruct.

But before that, Mr. Prisoner — remember to sort out my identity."

Cheng Shi first nodded, then shook his head. "Wei Zhi's body is gone. I..."

Before he could finish, Galusha dragged a fresh Wei Zhi body from an adjacent room within the laboratory. She regarded Cheng Shi with a half-smile:

"Don't worry. When I restored his body, I made an exact one-to-one replica of his flesh. I'll merge with it on my own. You only need to worry about what's on your plate."

"..."

Blame deflected — unsuccessfully.

Cheng Shi gave a dry laugh, then refocused on the Truth Limit. It was time to operate the experiment and bring this Trial to a close.

But just as he was rolling up his sleeves, his expression froze. He stood stock-still, realizing he'd overlooked something — something critically important.

"Why aren't you doing it?" Galusha frowned. "Mr. Prisoner, don't even think about renegotiating the deal at this point."

Cheng Shi's face crumbled into pure mortification: "The thing is... I don't seem to have any [Truth] power?"

"?"

Now Galusha was stunned. She'd never imagined that the Drifter who'd arrived at this step with such mysterious confidence would get stuck at the very threshold of destroying the experiment.

"You... don't have [Truth] power?"

Cheng Shi's eyelid twitched violently: "I'm not a [Truth] follower. Not having [Truth] power seems fairly reasonable, no?"

"Tch—

Reasonable — but in the wrong place!"

Galusha's eyes turned instantly crimson. She raised her chin high, looking down at Cheng Shi with absolute contempt.

"Then why did you rush to send Pe Laya back in time?"

"That was your idea... wasn't it?"

"Heh. The mysterious Mr. Prisoner — when did you become a yes-man? What happened to all that backbone from before?"

"..."

Cheng Shi was utterly numb. He'd kept his nerves strung taut for the entire gambit, his mind racing at full throttle — only to stumble over such a elementary blunder at the finish line. But there was no time for self-recrimination. To complete this final step, he had no choice but to turn his gaze toward the only [Truth] follower present:

Wei Zhi's...

...corpse.

He decisively pulled out the Lush Horn Crown and prepared to remove his Mage mask to resurrect the man — the only way to destroy the experiment.

But he knew full well that reviving Wei Zhi would unleash a cascade of problems. The man's sole desire was to merge with a Grand Scholar. Meanwhile, Galusha was right there, eyeing Wei Zhi's identity like a hawk. Balancing the interests of player and NPC was the greatest obstacle standing before him.

Just thinking about it gave Cheng Shi a headache. So, clinging to the faintest unrealistic hope, he ventured: "Your power... can't operate the Truth Limit?"

If Galusha's contempt could drip into water, Cheng Shi would have drowned a hundred times over by now.

"You're fantasizing that a [Folly] follower could freely trample [Truth]'s creation right under its nose?"

"..."

Yeah, that was a bit far-fetched.

"Instead of fantasizing, why not try using your own divine power to drive the Truth Limit?

Honestly, no experiment has ever proven that the Truth Limit can't be activated by other divine powers. After all, the Ritual of Truth has always been in the hands of the Tower of Logic and the Erudition Presidium. So if you carry the divine power of another faith — give it a shot.

Who knows? It might work."

'You think I haven't tried?'

Of course Cheng Shi had tried. The instant he'd realized he lacked [Truth] power, he'd attempted to drive the Truth Limit with [Fate]'s power — and failed. That was precisely why he'd contemplated resurrecting Wei Zhi.

But hearing this, he decided to try one more divine power.

If — just if — [Deceit] or [Chaos] power could fool the Truth Limit into recognizing it as an authorized activation energy, could it be possible to enter "Creator" mode?

Cheng Shi wanted to try, but first he had to rule out [Time] power.

It was probably useless...

So with the resigned mindset of wasting a mask, he mustered [Time]'s power and made contact with the Truth Limit — and that single hopeless touch caused the Truth Limit to erupt in blazing radiance. The entire nebula surrounding the stellar body solidified in an instant.

Cheng Shi's vision went dark. His consciousness ripped free of the experiment and ascended to a higher dimension. Here, gazing at the sphere in his hands — at the miniaturized Tusnat on its surface — he was utterly stunned.

It... worked?

But why would [Time] power activate the Truth Limit?

No time to think. The moment Cheng Shi saw the entire experiment laid out before him, his to reshape at will, the thought that had driven him all along — destroy the experiment — suddenly stalled. In its place rose a far bolder idea.

Who said the Grand Scholars stealing player identities to escape history was the only way to perpetuate [Truth]?

And who decided that only [Truth] followers could perpetuate truth?

The Trial's hint was "finite truth is never truth." So if he became the one to perpetuate [Truth]... wouldn't the result be the same?

In that moment, Cheng Shi's hand — already descending to flatten the sandbox — paused.

'I might not be great at running experiments, but sculpting a sandbox? That's too easy. And with the Truth Limit sharing the Ritual of Truth's properties, as long as I understand its function, this Trial doesn't have to end in failure!'

'So why not give it a try?'

'Yes — it's time for my own [Truth] experiment!'

'Everyone else is going mad. Why can't I!?'

Cheng Shi gritted his teeth, something like resolve crystallizing within him. His hands flew across the "sandbox" like butterflies. The ruined hues of Tusnat receded like a tide, and a familiar, otherworldly little town materialized before his eyes.

...