Risk was poison to the Steady faction.
Setting aside whether now was even the right ti to scavenge the real universe, the sheer question of how to break through the spaceti barrier was already a massive problem.
The Ti Deduction thod could only send him temporarily to the Existence Rift. That brief window certainly wasn't enough for a "prison break." So competing with the Fun God for spoils needed a fully ford plan.
And at the heart of that plan lay [Ti]!
The Joker Society wished to absorb experiences from other worlds. Scarred Cheng Shi had told him to study [Ti]. Spaceti barriers, saving the world — everything revolved around [Ti].
But [Ti] literally had no ti to summon him. Even during the faith fusion, the Fun God had impersonated Him. [Ti] had only appeared for the split second of granting the faith before vanishing again.
What was He so busy with?
From Cheng Shi's current understanding as a Fear Faction mber, the answer was clear: He was busy "countering" Origin. But if He was that occupied, and Cheng Shi couldn't even secure an audience, how could he possibly learn anything about Him?
Should he pray to his Benefactor to send him over?
[Deceit] would never agree.
He likely already knew about Cheng Shi's little sches and wouldn't let him disturb [Ti]. Given the world reset, [Ti] was clearly the backbone of the Fear Faction — a force the Fun God could rely on. Their plans left no room for Cheng Shi's interference.
[Fate]... was even more impossible.
He'd just decided to embrace the Fixed Destiny and accelerate things. If he went to [Fate] now requesting a visit to His rival, who knew if he'd get frozen in the Void.
Even if [Fate]'s magnanimity overlooked blasphemy, such behavior would signal that his heart definitely wasn't approaching the Fixed Destiny.
So the sa old conclusion held: even with four Benefactors, not a single one was dependable.
When it ca to reliability, that other great one was still the best.
It had been a while since he'd seen that great one. Would He help with this?
With that in mind, Cheng Shi glanced at the neighboring rooftop. He planned to ask Xie Yang for a corpse so he could visit the Fishbone Hall and pay his respects to the boss. But as luck would have it, Xie Yang wasn't around — and just then, another call ca in.
Cheng Shi picked up and found the Doctor on the other end. His opening line was:
"Cheng Shi — any progress on the Zangier matter?"
Zangier?
That's right!
Cheng Shi's eyes lit up. He imdiately recalled Aph Ros, who was holding Zangier prisoner.
If the goal was understanding [Ti], Aph Ros was an excellent window. After all, He was [Ti]'s Prisoner — and among all the Servant Gods, the only one with a direct connection to [Ti].
Shi Zhen didn't count — just an impostor riding on soone else's na.
So why not ask Aph Ros? While he was at it, he could also investigate what Herobos had ntioned about the history of That Dream My Nightmare.
But one problem remained: how to explain to Aph Ros why an Envoy like himself had needed to borrow His na when dealing with Herobos...
That was the real headache.
Cheng Shi shut his eyes to think. The Doctor didn't rush him. After a long while, he rembered the call was still connected and shook his head with a laugh:
"There's been progress. The Sage told
where Zangier is — he's still alive.
Let's set up a eting point. I'll take you there.
Though there may be other friends joining us on this trip. I trust the Doctor won't mind?"
Other friends?
A gentle laugh ca from the other end: "Of course not. I'm rely going to glean the wisdom of the ancients. If you have other business, please feel free."
"What a coincidence — the other friend is also there to glean ancient wisdom. I suspect you'll have plenty to talk about.
It's settled, then. Let
send you the eting coordinates."
Cheng Shi gave the Doctor the Void coordinates he'd arranged with Big Cat, then made another call — this ti to the Dragon King.
He needed to get soone's contact information from Li Jingming. And that soone was unlikely to be in Big Cat's circle.
The mont the call connected, a familiar voice ca through.
"It's ."
Though this was a standard Dragon King greeting, Cheng Shi sensed the tone was subtly different from the usual Dragon King.
His brow furrowed slightly. Playing it safe, he held his tongue, waiting a long ti before finally letting out a deliberate "Hee~" as if he couldn't contain himself.
The instant the "Hee" landed, the other side snorted in amusent: "Cheng Shi. If you have business, state it."
"?"
'You guessed even that?'
'Does your phone have caller ID or sothing?'
Cheng Shi inspected the phone handset in his hand, found nothing resembling a display, then pursed his lips:
"Dragon King, sothing's off about you. Even if you know I once impersonated that bad-luck magnet, there's no way you could be this certain the caller was .
Did it never occur to you that I might actually be Zhen Yi?
Oh — I get it.
You are Zhen Yi!
That's why you knew it wasn't her. Am I right?
Zhen Yi — confess! What have you done with the Dragon King?!"
"..." Silence from the other end. Then a disdainful laugh: "Sotis, certain mories truly aren't worth recording.
If you're just here to tease , then we're done. The Jokers have assigned
plenty of work — I don't have ti for idle chatter."
Hearing this, Cheng Shi's brow visibly darkened.
This person was absolutely not Li Jingming. The Dragon King would never treat mories so casually.
But they had ntioned the Joker Society...
Soone holding the Dragon King's phone, possessing the Dragon King's mories, and even familiar with Cheng Shi's personality — soone pretending to be the Dragon King...
Who could it be?
Long Jing? Zhen Yi?
Both possible — but neither quite fit.
Cheng Shi's frown deepened, though his tone stayed light:
"Don't hang up!
Quick question — do you know the president of the Reason Association?
I'm thinking of joining. Could you give
his contact info?"
"That's it?"
"Yep. That's it."
The other end fell silent, then suddenly laughed:
"Wei Zhi. Combat Expert.
The Reason Association was established in the na of the Tower of Logic, but apart from having the sa brand of insanity as [Truth]'s followers, it bears no resemblance in any other way.
The organization has essentially beco another version of the God Worship Society. If you're trying to keep tabs on Wang Weijin, Wei Zhi isn't a wise choice."
Cheng Shi's gaze sharpened. He smiled thinly and countered: "Why would I need to keep tabs on the Doctor?"
"If you weren't watching Wang Weijin, I can't fathom why you'd bypass the Joker Society's own [Truth]-related resources and seek out Wei Zhi instead.
This man's madness is far more extre than you imagine. Apart from Wei Zhi himself, there's nothing in the Reason Association worth your attention."
Cheng Shi's expression shifted repeatedly. He was now certain this was not Li Jingming.
Moreover, the person was exceptionally clever.
Deducing his true intent from a single thread proved them at least as sharp as the real Li Jingming. Yet despite such acuity, they hadn't put the slightest effort into disguising themselves as the Dragon King — even leaving obvious flaws for others to find. They clearly didn't care if their identity was exposed.
A pretender who didn't care about being exposed at all — who could that be?
A thought struck Cheng Shi. His pupils contracted as he probed:
"Interesting — nobody knows
like the Dragon King.
Indeed, I am investigating the Doctor. After the last Joker Society eting, I noticed he'd changed — beco different from before.
To ensure internal security, I need to confirm his identity quickly.
Wei Zhi is his rival — his competitor on the [Truth] path. Only an enemy truly knows their opponent. So I asked for Wei Zhi's contact to verify the Doctor's identity.
But if you're willing to help, I may not need to approach Wei Zhi.
I recall from the Joker Society eting — we all looked into a mirror. If you, Dragon King, would lend
that mirror so I could use it on the Doctor again, who knows what it might reveal?"
"..." The other end suddenly laughed. "That's That Dream My Nightmare — not so demon-revealing mirror."
"But a nightmare... isn't that essentially a demon?
If an actual demon slipped out, being able to expose its true form would be rather useful."
Cheng Shi's words were practically laying his cards on the table. But to his utter shock, after a brief silence, the other party agreed.
"Fine. I'll lend you That Dream My Nightmare."
"?????"
'Wait — what?'
...
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