The underground space wasn't small, and Cheng Shi moved fast.
Nothing else blocked his path. He sprinted while thinking.
The investigation had gone too smoothly — filling him with suspicion. From the trial's start until now, he'd hardly taken a wrong step. It felt like soone was pushing him forward. But who was the hidden hand?
'Teammates?'
No — they seed fine.
Hu Xuan went without saying. She'd never sabotage him. ng Youfang and Chen Yi, though beyond normal logic, were "simpler" than most — their malice was always on full display.
Fang Yuan was a possibility. Though Cheng Shi had been driving the trial's tempo, this [Order] follower had appeared at every critical juncture. But from his observations, this player was far from malicious — and showed no desire or covetousness toward [Truth].
Wei Zhi reeked of covetousness. But his thinking was easy to guess. This deeply calculating Reason Association president was probably waiting for Cheng Shi and the grand scholars to destroy each other, then reap the spoils.
He'd co to assist the experint, sure — but from the grand scholars' perspective, how could they trust a strange outsider? Conflict was inevitable. And Wei Zhi was probably waiting for exactly that.
His coveted prize was likely the Erudition Presidium's knowledge and the "omnipotent" Ritual of Truth.
So he had motive to sabotage the experint — a successful experint ant he'd never get his chance to fish in troubled waters.
But Wei Zhi was more of a disruptor than a mastermind.
So who had orchestrated this setup?
Surely not Galusha — the idea was absurd. If Galusha could control the Erudition Presidium, she'd already have won. Why bother with false fronts? In this era's history, she had no enemies worth such elaborate attention. Unless... the target was the players...
But NPCs targeting players in a trial — was that even possible?
Cheng Shi's thoughts tangled. Regardless, understanding the experint's status ca first.
He ran full speed. The space ahead brightened rapidly. Rounding a corner, the familiar [Truth] experint ground burst into view. The corridor before it was bustling with scholars rushing about. Cheng Shi failed to "dodge" in ti and collided straight into one.
But this scholar clearly wasn't a grand scholar — just an ordinary academic, probably an experint assistant.
So the Erudition Presidium hadn't escaped alone — they'd brought many students. Whether these students were assistants or fuel was uncertain, but at least it gave Cheng Shi an opening to exploit.
He imdiately grabbed the scholar and rolled across the ground. When the tumbling stopped, the scholar's clothes were on Cheng Shi, and the scholar himself lay unconscious in a corner.
The experint ground humd with noise. Nearby scholars glanced back at the commotion and saw a colleague clumsily getting up, bowing in apology. They assud he'd tripped over the cables covering the floor. Nobody paid attention.
Just like that — wearing stolen clothes and carrying a clipboard — Cheng Shi walked openly into the vast experintal space.
This experint ground was absurdly large. It didn't resemble an underground space at all — more like an extradinsional base embedded between reality and the void. The entire chamber was spherical, like a star's core. At its center floated two figures — one large, one small — connected by pipes and conduits. Iridescent streams of light overflowed through the space.
The Erudition Presidium's top three grand scholars stood in a triangular formation. Each operated control consoles while other scholars behind them recorded experintal data. Everyone's face held a trace of inexplicable anticipation — preparation was clearly in its final stage.
Nobody noticed a scholar had been replaced. Cheng Shi surveyed freely. But the more he looked, the more alard he grew — because the three grand scholars running the experint were puppets too, just like the ones who'd blocked the corridor.
Only the ordinary lab assistants seed real. But the strangest thing was that none of them noticed anything wrong with their puppet-like leaders.
Could this be the Erudition Presidium's own technique? Controlling themselves for absolute security?
Not impossible.
Cheng Shi frowned and continued observing. The experint appeared to proceed smoothly. The two floating figures were obviously the Barren Walker's shell and the captured Pe Laya. The grand scholar who'd betrayed the Erudition Presidium had already lost consciousness. If her reflection had been right, this was a retrogression experint using the Barren Walker and Pe Laya herself as the spaceti linkage.
The only question: who would be sent back to stop Pe Laya — or Galusha?
As if on cue, Volent spoke from his console:
"Intruders have found us and are breaching the corridor. Accelerate. All stations prepare for launch readiness."
The other two grand scholars responded. Every position began reporting in real ti.
"Type I data nominal. Spaceti linkage coefficient stable."
"Type II accelerated cross-verification complete. Launch-ready status achieved."
"First experintal echelon standing by. Reserve echelon standing by. First echelon in position — 48 personnel, none absent."
Volent nodded: "Kadir, open the gate."
A scholar at the chamber's lowest point acknowledged. He pulled open a small door. Before long, rows of hooded scholars marched out, chanting "Eradicate error, restore [Truth]!" as they filed onto the platform below.
Cheng Shi had assud that was just an equipnt platform. He hadn't expected it was the retrogression experint's "departure point."
He knew retrogression experints required personnel to execute missions. In the Rosna trial, those "lucky players" had encountered him precisely this way.
But he hadn't expected the Erudition Presidium to send this many. Clearly, the grand scholars had staked everything on this experint.
Normal data, stable progress, redundant personnel, three grand scholars presiding — the experint seed flawless.
The biggest flaw was probably himself infiltrating it.
But the smoother things went, the more anxious Cheng Shi beca. 'When things are abnormal, there must be a hidden cause.' Historical failure ant the experint must have gone wrong sowhere. But where?
'The scholars sent to the past failed their mission?'
Possible — but with this many people, how could they all...
'Wait.'
If he could infiltrate this easily, why couldn't others?
A chill shot through him. He imdiately sprinted toward the departure platform.
His sudden movent alard nearby scholars. Platform guards blocked him, staffs raised.
Cheng Shi frowned, scattered dice across the platform, and shouted up at Volent:
"Personnel breach! There's a traitor in the first echelon! The experint is compromised!"
He snapped his fingers and swapped onto the platform, grabbing startled scholars one by one to inspect them.
The scene exceeded the security team's expectations. Guards sward in. Even first-echelon scholars reacted, surrounding Cheng Shi.
But Cheng Shi didn't panic. Dodging scholars' grasps with fluid agility, he kept searching. Seeing that this intruder genuinely seed to be hunting a traitor rather than causing destruction, Volent's eyes sharpened. He decided imdiately:
"All personnel hold position! Level-one alert! First echelon, cease resistance! Security team, mount the platform for a secondary inspection!
You — whose student are you? Who told you there was a traitor!?"
Cheng Shi didn't answer. Because right now, he was gripping a first-echelon mber's arm — smiling broadly.
He reached out and pulled back the scholar's hood. As that wild tangle of chestnut curls tumbled into view, the wire-taut tension in his chest finally eased by half.
'So this is where the danger ca from!'
"We et again, Galusha!"
...
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