Chapter 1200: Showing One's Hand |
The curiosity of those present about Hong Lin becoming [Prosperity] clearly outweighed their fear of the prophecy. They studied the Druid anew with shocked, complicated emotions, their knowledge-hungry gazes making Hong Lin's skin crawl.
Hong Lin had no idea where to begin explaining, so she simply kept her mouth shut and waited for Cheng Shi to do it for her.
She shot Cheng Shi an angry glare, clearly saying "you caused this mess, you clean it up." Cheng Shi got the message, pushed aside the tangled thoughts in his mind, and smiled again:
"I know everyone has a lot of questions. Since we've come this far, I won't hide anything anymore.
This world, and this game, are far more complex and far more terrifying than any of you imagine.
For humans, as players, to win any kind of outcome in this game is nearly impossible.
But if we shed our identities as players the way Hong Lin did — stealing one of those sixteen Divine Thrones and claiming it as our own — then perhaps we still have a chance of winning.
So I apologize. I deceived all of you. The Destined Ones was never an organization that relied on [Fate]'s protection to reach the finish line.
On the contrary, we must shatter [Fate]'s shackles, break free of the game's chains, drag Them down from Their lofty Divine Thrones — and hoist ourselves up in Their place!
Hong Lin is the most powerful proof. Her present is your future."
"..."
"..."
"..."
By the time he finished, even Big Cat was stunned.
'Wait — that's not showing your hand, that's straight-up fabricating!' she thought.
'Since when did the Destined Ones become some kind of ascension-to-godhood organization?'
'The ones who want to become gods are the God Worship Society, the Reason Association — anyone but the Destined Ones.'
'Sure, I became [Prosperity]'s Proxy, but wasn't my becoming the Proxy something [Fate] itself sanctioned? So why are we rebelling against [Fate] now — what does all our good luck even count as then?'
'A gift from the enemy?!'
Her expression was bewildered, and she wanted to ask something, but then she caught the serious look Cheng Shi gave her. Big Cat understood immediately and began playing dead.
She trusted Cheng Shi absolutely and knew that whatever he said, he had his reasons. So when she couldn't figure out what he was thinking, she might as well be a prop and go along with it. He'd explain everything to her eventually.
Cheng Shi's speech had indeed pulled everyone's attention back, though their expressions had grown even stranger.
An Mingyu furrowed her brow and lowered her head, fingers fidgeting with her dice as if she were divining something. Li Wufang, meanwhile, was so agitated he started taking off his clothes. He slapped his leather jacket onto the table, baring a shoulder full of muscle, and scratched his head:
"Hold on — this doesn't add up, Brother Cheng.
You're the one who pulled me into the Destined Ones. You're the one who told me [Fate] watches over me every moment. You're the one who led me onto [Fate]'s path.
So how is it that the moment I set foot on this road, it turns into the road of rebelling against [Fate]'s chains?
Something's off here, isn't it?"
Cheng Shi replied with a perfectly straight face: "Something is indeed off. Who told you to strip? Showing off how big you are?"
"..."
Li Wufang paced in anxious circles. He had zero desire to rebel against [Fate], because he genuinely believed himself to be one of the lucky ones blessed by [Fate]. [Fate] had carried him this far, and now he was supposed to betray it? That would be the same as admitting that every step he'd taken until now had been wrong. A course correction that drastic wasn't something anyone could accept on the spot.
Tao Yi felt the same. She finally realized that this gathering might truly not be meant for her.
'Are you kidding? Becoming gods?'
She never doubted anything Cheng Shi said, and she believed that humans could ascend to godhood. But she didn't believe she could.
Baldy was the [Prosperity] Chosen, the person closest to [Prosperity]'s Will. Her acting as [Prosperity]'s Proxy, while defying common sense, was at least logical.
The same went for An Shenxuan. She was hailed as [Fate]'s Proxy within the game, the prophet closest to the divine among countless [Fate] followers. If she one day ascended to that [Void] Divine Throne, Tao Yi wouldn't be surprised.
As for that [Order] follower — though his personality was a bit erratic, considering his connection to him...
Tao Yi glanced again at the leather jacket Li Wufang had tossed on the table, then quietly lowered her head in thought. 'Perhaps it's not impossible.'
According to Baldy, [Order] was already compromised. If that was the case, then under a Fate Weaver's maneuvering, he might have a chance to replace [Order] after all.
'But what about me?'
As a dual follower of [Prosperity] and [Fate], both of those Divine Thrones already had "candidates." What merit or ability did she possess to fight for a Divine Throne of her own?
So from the moment Cheng Shi finished speaking, the Wood Elf had accepted her role within this organization. She was the one who would support from beneath the Divine Throne. As for how much strength she could lend, that depended on how much she had and how much the Destined Ones needed from her.
Cheng Shi took in everyone's reactions but didn't give them much time to think. He continued:
"I know that becoming a god seems like an impossibly lofty proposition to all of you. But since there's already a successful precedent, it proves this isn't as difficult as you imagine."
After rolling several ambiguous results, An Mingyu finally couldn't hold back. She sighed with a helpless, wry smile:
"How is it that becoming a god sounds so simple when you say it? Are we even playing the same game?"
Cheng Shi smiled.
"An Shenxuan, I can understand that the rest of them don't know the rules of this world. But you should be able to understand what I'm saying.
Everyone thinks it's difficult simply because they believe the gods sit on high, omniscient and omnipotent, commanding all, impossible to challenge.
But the truth is, They are nothing more than 'lucky ones' who happen to be acting as proxies for a higher existence's Authority!"
"What?!"
"That's... how is that possible?"
"What's impossible about it?
Our world is not the only one, and gods are not exclusive to this starry sky. Beyond countless worlds, there is a Creator gazing down upon everything — observing us the same way humans observe ants.
The gods we speak of are nothing but insects in His eyes.
So replacing the sixteen True Gods before us isn't the hard part. The hard part is finding a way out from under that Creator's hand after we've replaced Them.
I know you might not fully understand yet. That's fine — we have plenty of time today to lay it all out."
Cheng Shi took his time sharing everything he knew with the Destined Ones gathered around the table. Even Big Cat, under such meticulous and thorough explanation, gained a much clearer understanding of the Real Universe.
But the more they understood, the more terrified they became. Before he was even halfway through, Cheng Shi felt his ring's charge reach full capacity.
Yet he didn't stop. Not until he had laid out the Creator's Experiment in plain, unmistakable terms and dissected the current situation of every player with crystal clarity did he finally conclude:
"I've held nothing back. I've told you everything — what I should have said and what I probably shouldn't have.
[Fate]'s method of attracting His gaze is to forge a Sacrifice that perfectly resembles the Creator.
As for what [Deceit] is trying to do, I still have no clue.
I'll admit — my desire to see all of you become gods is laced with absolute selfishness. I'm trying to survive. I don't want to die.
But you also have to admit that the only way to survive this Creator's Experiment — an experiment with no visible future — is to fill your own hands with as many chips as possible. There is no other way.
Think of it like this gambling table. If you don't hold the chips, then you are the chips.
And those sixteen Divine Thrones hanging above our heads? They are the 'easiest' and most 'convenient' chips we can get our hands on right now.
So, everyone... any questions?"
...