Cheng Shi laughed awkwardly:
"Things are always changing, you know. Look — now you have it.
True friendship is about sharing, so..."
"There's an old saying in the Extre Desire Brotherhood:
Once you see through soone's greed, they lose all their allure.
Heh, Mr. Prisoner — you're not looking so mysterious anymore."
"..."
Cheng Shi rolled his eyes and thought:
'You haven't seen anything yet. What would you say if I pulled out my credentials as Friend to [Prosperity], Employee of [Death], Proxy of [Decay], Guardian of [Order], Envoy of [Chaos], Servant God of [Void], and the esteed Master Shi Zhen?'
Galusha showed no interest in robbing herself. As she put it:
"I am , and she is she. I've beco Wei Zhi — a Drifter. That naturally severs any connection between us.
She probably doesn't even know that one of her slices has broken free of this world and been reborn. And when you think about it, my life was given to
by the Erudition Presidium.
That being the case, why maintain any ties to the past?
Starting fresh on a new path of faith — that's probably what I need to do next.
Mr. Prisoner, I'm happy to help you deal with the Erudition Presidium. But Galusha...
Forget it. I know her better than you do. I know exactly how much trouble provoking her would bring."
"?"
That was a first — soone trash-talking their own original self right after "breaking up."
Cheng Shi pursed his lips. Still unwilling to give up squeezing so benefit out of Galusha, his eyes glinted as he played another card:
"Since you know how troubleso she is, all the more reason to lighten history's burden a little.
Drifters are people — but NPCs aren't?
Here's the deal. I'll go find my spoils. anwhile, by whatever ans you choose, bring back a suitable compensation before the trial ends. That compensation is what the Sage is owed for saving your life. Once I have it, I'll get the Sage to remove whatever failsafe she planted in you.
Don't try to bargain. Otherwise I'll tell Galusha about how you beca a Drifter.
Don't tell
she wouldn't be interested in your identity.
I imagine fusing with a slice is much easier than fusing with Wei Zhi. Wouldn't you agree, Lady Galusha?"
"You...!!"
Galusha was furious. She raised her whip and lashed it at Cheng Shi. He dodged nimbly, let out an amused hum, waved his hand casually, and jogged off after the other players.
Once Cheng Shi disappeared, Galusha's rage evaporated in an instant. She gazed in the direction he'd gone and chuckled softly.
"Interesting.
Greedy people make the best partners, don't they?"
With that, she turned her gaze toward the Three Suns Tower at the city center. Her expression shifted several tis before she finally set off in that direction.
She wasn't going to find herself — she only wanted to say goodbye to Pe Laya. Even if the Pe Laya here didn't belong to her.
...
anwhile, on the other side.
After their failed attempt to steal the Drifters' identities through the reconstructed experint, the six Grand Scholars departed the experintal grounds with ashen faces.
They knew the escaped Drifters would return for revenge. So for temporary safety, they split up and scattered in every direction.
This ant the Tower of Logic's decline was now irreversible. They had squandered their best opportunity, losing not only Tusnat, but the Erudition Presidium itself.
Scholar Volent seethed with frustration. To this mont, he still couldn't fathom how this experint had failed despite their Benefactor's advance instructions!
That was a true god! If a mortal targeted by a true god could still escape, could such a mortal truly be called mortal?
And more terrifyingly — were the so-called true gods really as omnipotent as they claid?
Any other god's follower would have wondered whether another deity's will had interfered with the experint, causing its failure.
But the Grand Scholars were different. Having spent their entire lives pursuing the path of [Truth], their first instinct when sothing went wrong was to question [Truth] Himself!
After all, truth was approached through relentless questioning and pursuit.
So throughout his escape, Volent kept mulling over what had gone wrong with [Truth].
Unfortunately, as a mortal confined to one corner of history, he would never figure it out.
Of course, the world was full of things beyond understanding — like right now. He had carefully disguised himself as a fleeing civilian and even evaded the first sweep by the Drifters. Yet he still ran into the last person he wanted to see.
Credit where due — as the craftiest old fox of the Erudition Presidium, Volent understood human nature.
While the other five Grand Scholars had all bolted toward the city outskirts, he went in the opposite direction, disguising himself as a refugee and heading toward the city center.
In a Tusnat engulfed in chaos and carnage, this behavior was certainly suspicious — unless said refugee was constantly muttering the nas of his beloved and children. Then it made perfect sense.
A father braving the fires of war, rushing toward the heart of conflict — all in search of his family's last hope.
That kind of performance would earn sympathy anywhere. So when Fang Yuan and the others swept through the area and Chen Yi heard the nas the man was mumbling, he simply shook his head and signaled — all clear.
And the group continued toward the West District.
Volent seed to have truly found a mont to breathe amid the crisis — but his good luck ca to a screeching halt when he ran into a certain soone.
Or rather, that soone's good luck was so overwhelming that it had siphoned all of Volent's away.
Cheng Shi bumped into this refugee.
Honestly, Cheng Shi had no idea this person was Volent. He'd simply grabbed a random NPC — the sa way he'd casually grabbed a Funeral Bell Knight before, or stopped two scholars to ask for directions. He just happened to spot soone ahead and pulled them over to ask which way his teammates had gone.
After all, the Grand Scholars wouldn't just sit around waiting to die. And since he hadn't kept pace with Fang Yuan's group, it made perfect sense to ask a passerby about the direction of the loudest commotion.
But Volent misread the situation — or rather, his acting was too good for his own sake. He tried to play the sympathy card again, putting on the most convincing display of terror with a trembling body and wary eyes, wailing the nas of loved ones and children, hoping to deter this nosy questioner.
Unfortunately, Cheng Shi's mind was completely consud by the Ritual of Truth. He couldn't stand the man's dawdling, so he pulled out the Lush Horn Crown and said bluntly:
"Sorry buddy, I know you're in a rush, but so am I.
How about this — you cooperate and die real quick. When I'm done asking, you go find yours, I go find mine, and we both have a bright future ahead. Sound good?"
"?"
He said "sound good," but there was really no choice — because before Cheng Shi even finished asking, the lightning at his fingertips had already charred the refugee to a crisp.
But what he absolutely did not expect was this: just as he was about to pull out the Finger Bone Brooch to interrogate the charred corpse, a dim, lightless orb rolled out from within its clothes.
...
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