At this point, Cheng Shi was certainly stronger than the version of himself from the [Ti] Trial. Unfortunately, he was currently a Mage, while the "other him" was a Warrior — and a maxed-out Hero of Today at that.
He wasn't the real Qin Xin, so he couldn't tank "his own" assault. But he hadn't planned to anyway. The instant the other him hurled Wu Cun's corpse, Cheng Shi dodged nimbly and imdiately activated his [Ti] talent — Ti Deduction — against his other self.
In that instant, Cheng Shi's consciousness was ripped away.
After an indeterminate stretch of darkness, he awoke again. Looking at the soil beneath his feet and the iridescent, roiling rift of [Existence] in the distance, he knew Ti Deduction had succeeded. The only question was what kind of being this bug-exploiting thod would summon — and whether it would truly be another version of himself.
He could feel a presence behind him. Heart racing between anxious anticipation and nervous tension, Cheng Shi first flicked a scalpel out of his sleeve before slowly turning to face whoever stood behind him.
What he saw was a pair of eyes that regarded everything with utter contempt — looking down at him from a subtly elevated angle, dripping with disdain.
For a mont, Cheng Shi's mind went blank.
Good news: it was indeed himself.
Bad news: this version of Cheng Shi appeared to have fused with... [Folly]?
Before Cheng Shi could recover from the shock, the other Cheng Shi spoke first.
With a scornful chuckle, the other him casually loosened his shirt collar, snapped his tie off, and revealed a horrifying, vivid blue-green scar running across his neck. His sharp gaze raked over Cheng Shi as he laughed:
"Well, well — legs intact, spine unbowed, head still attached. And what's this — quite the pretty-boy vibe you've got going. Seems like you lot took the right path.
Don't mind the harsh words, but all those surface-level blessings? Temporary. People always end up on the wrong road eventually.
As much of a bitch as [Fate] is, there's so rit to its stubbornness.
I'm curious, though. If you've already found the right path, why go to all this trouble seeking answers from soone else?
Only wretches like us would need to ask where the road ahead even leads, right?"
"..."
Cheng Shi was battered speechless by the barrage of mockery. His expression shifted — first moved, then flooded with guilt, and finally settling into regret. His lips trembled several tis before he managed to squeeze three words from his throat:
"I'm sorry."
He realized he'd made a mistake — a severe, almost absurd one.
[Ti] was never an isolated entity. Even if every slice universe had its own [Ti], breaking through the spatiotemporal barrier to bring two people from different worlds face to face could never be accomplished by one side's [Ti] alone.
So this randomized, lottery-like conversation had never been a one-sided "I call, you answer." It was a two-way convergence between worlds — he was "calling out," and the other was "calling out" too.
And therein lay the problem!
While Cheng Shi had been racking his brains trying to get answers and guidance from another version of himself, that other Cheng Shi had been using the sa thod to find answers of his own. The two had collided.
If both their worlds hadn't yet tasted despair, a eting like this — even without guidance — could still be a productive discussion. But that clearly wasn't the case here.
The other Cheng Shi bore obvious signs of suffering and hardship. That was why he'd asked the question:
'If you haven't despaired yet, why are you looking outward for answers?'
The question wasn't about right or wrong. What mattered was that this collision had wasted the other's chance to "ask for directions." Because given the experience of Cheng Shi's current tiline, he wasn't in a position to help anyone.
So he said "I'm sorry." And when Scarred Cheng Shi heard the apology, his disdainful expression vanished instantly, replaced by uncontrollable amusent:
"How was that — convincing enough?
Did it have the [Folly] flair?
Scared you, didn't I?
Yeah — greenhouse flowers like you need a good scare now and then. Otherwise, when a real fright cos, how will you cope?"
With that, the other Cheng Shi raised two fingers and plucked his own eyeballs clean out of their sockets.
The sight left Cheng Shi gaping in utter shock. For a split second, he wondered if Galusha had disguised herself as him and was staging another kamikaze ambush.
"..."
'The insanity of [Folly] is still chasing !'
Seeing the alarm on Cheng Shi's face, Scarred Cheng Shi laughed even louder.
"Looks like you haven't found it yet. Makes sense — your progress is a bit slower than mine.
This is Eye Bro — full na, Eye of Mockery. Here — go play, Eye Bro. I'll have a chat with him."
Scarred Cheng Shi casually tossed the eyeballs at his feet. They bounced like marbles and rolled off into the distance — though interestingly, the left eye and the right eye seed to loathe each other, rolling in completely opposite directions.
After "releasing" the Eye of Mockery, the scarred version closed his eyes gently. When he opened them again, a new pair of pupils had appeared — ones Cheng Shi recognized imdiately. They were identical to his own.
At this point, Cheng Shi knew he'd been played. But the prank was real, and wasting the other's opportunity was equally real. So his expression remained grim as he could only manage a self-deprecating, bitter smile.
Scarred Cheng Shi didn't seem to mind. He waved Cheng Shi over, produced two bottles of cola from his spatial inventory, and tossed one over.
Without outsiders present, there was no need to drink the disgusting mucus water.
Cola was Cheng Shi's one true love — in every universe.
Scarred Cheng Shi cracked open his cola, dropped to a cross-legged seat on the ground, took two huge gulps, and said with a grin:
"Don't sweat it. I was just ssing with you. When this idea first popped into our heads, we already knew there was a chance another version of ourselves would lose an opportunity because of our reckless move. But we did it anyway.
I know what you're thinking — because I think the sa way.
Even without guidance for ourselves, being able to offer guidance to soone else in this desperate world — that's sothing, isn't it?"
"..."
Was that really how it was?
Cheng Shi blinked in confusion. His expression grew even more awkward.
"?"
Scarred Cheng Shi's chugging stopped mid-motion. He studied Cheng Shi with a peculiar look, then burst into hearty laughter once more:
"Ah — I get it. Going through the fog phase.
Interesting. Does every version of
have to go through this?
Don't beat yourself up. I went through it too. If the world didn't force people forward, who would willingly leave their comfort zone?
While the despair hasn't spread yet — do so emotional prep work.
I'm grateful this world has Old Jia. But I'm equally grateful it has so many friends who believe in ."
With that, Scarred Cheng Shi drained the rest of his cola, crushed the bottle, and flicked it to the ground.
Cheng Shi's expression remained shadowed. He plopped down on the ground, guzzled his own cola in one go, wiped the foam from his lips, and looked at his other self. In a low voice, he asked:
"Who died?"
His gloom wasn't rely from guilt over wasting the other's opportunity. He'd also sensed the sadness emanating from this other version of himself.
That sadness was so obvious, so utterly unmasked — it had already manifested in what the other wore.
Because Scarred Cheng Shi wasn't wearing casual clothes. He was dressed in a somber black funeral suit, a strip of black cloth wound around his arm.
Soone had died. That was Cheng Shi's first thought.
He didn't think the question was inappropriate. Putting himself in the other's shoes, this might be one of the few chances his counterpart had to unburden himself.
And as it turned out, no one understood him better than himself.
"Heh."
Scarred Cheng Shi removed the black cloth from his left arm, folded it neatly, and tucked it into his breast pocket. Watching this, Cheng Shi's heart sank.
He recognized it. That was the black cloth the Blind One used to wrap her eyes.
[Fate] had indeed abandoned her.
But what he didn't know was that in that world, [Fate] hadn't only abandoned the Blind One.
"All of them are dead.
Goddamn deserters, every last one."
...
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