When a pastry chef stops making pastries and starts studying philosophy, you should be very worried that he's found a new way to annihilate you.
Cheng Shi never expected that before he could go looking for Mo Shu's trouble, the man had stuck his own head out.
'If I don't whack him, I'd be dishonoring every pastry I've eaten.'
But what was the Scavenger's purpose in inviting him to a eting?
'Surely he's not trying to avenge [Oblivion]?'
'Don't be ridiculous. Even if he knows [Oblivion] is dead, It self-annihilated. It had clearly found a path to approach Origin and went to Its death willingly. What does that have to do with ?'
'Besides, even Herobos didn't bla . No matter how you slice it, an [Oblivion] Chosen who lost his Benefactor's protection has no business playing arbiter of justice for [Oblivion].'
'Unless Mo Shu is approaching
on Jie Shu's orders. Could they be making their move?'
Cheng Shi was on high alert. He didn't trust Mo Shu's invitation. He tore the paper airplane to shreds, burned the scraps, and continued his plan to seek an audience with [Ti].
But after a while, a second paper airplane arrived. This ti, the ssage was slightly longer:
"I an no harm. I just want to know: what is [Oblivion]?"
Cheng Shi still ignored it.
But then ca a third, a fourth, a fifth... more and more, endlessly.
Those silent paper airplanes were like so bald man's incessant nagging — ignore it all you wanted, it was still there, drifting through your field of vision every now and then, demanding your attention.
Paper airplanes danced on the wind until they'd practically turned the rooftop into an aerial spectacle.
The eye-catching scene drew a curious neighbor. Xie Yang stood at the edge of his own roof, leaning out and shouting across the gap:
"Hey, bro! What's going on? This paper airplane shower is kinda romantic, actually. Did you find your own A Mian too?"
"..."
Hearing this, Cheng Shi's face turned flat with exasperation. 'Forget about A Mian — what I did find today were two people who might be clones of Chen Shu.'
He shot Xie Yang a sidelong glance and snapped:
"You've got ti to gawk? Done passing the fire?"
"!!??"
That nearly knocked Xie Yang off the roof. His pupils contracted as he stared at Cheng Shi, face ashen, mind racing to figure out whether the man actually knew sothing or was just talking casually.
But if it was casual, how could he have landed on the exact phrase "passing the fire"?
Testing the waters in alarm, he asked: "Who told you? Is soone recruiting you?"
Cheng Shi snorted a laugh but didn't respond. He intended to let this loose-lipped neighbor sweat for a few days.
Under the sound of Xie Yang's anxious calls, Cheng Shi picked up one of the paper airplanes and walked into his warehouse.
The words on it were still few, but this ti there was finally sothing that interested him.
"An equal exchange. You tell
what [Oblivion] is, and I'll tell you Jie Shu's plan."
That single sentence told Cheng Shi this probably wasn't Jie Shu's conspiracy — it was Mo Shu's own idea.
Granted, given the Scavenger's personality, the old Mo Shu wouldn't have done sothing like an "equal exchange." But considering the recent upheaval in the [Oblivion] camp, it wasn't hard to see that so people had... had their defenses broken.
Perfectly understandable. When [Fate] abandoned the Blind One, she too had been lost and confused. The more devout the Chosen, the more helpless they beca when forced to stop — or even turn back — on the path of faith.
After all, not everyone could blasphe the gods without batting an eye.
Cheng Shi pondered for a long while and decided to go et this broken old acquaintance. Though for safety's sake, he wouldn't go in person. Instead, he sent Shadow Cheng Shi — the one bearing [Fate]'s faith — to keep the appointnt in his stead.
When Shadow Cheng Shi arrived at the rendezvous point in the Void using the thod specified, Mo Shu was still chanically "manufacturing" ssenger paper airplanes at a long table.
He heard the sound and looked up. The determination and ferocity that once filled his eyes were gone. Instead, he asked in a hollow, unfocused murmur:
"What is [Oblivion]?"
Shadow Cheng Shi frowned, shook his head, and scoffed:
"I'm not here to enlighten you. I'm here to hear things that interest .
Mo Shu, your so-called equal exchange doesn't hold up at all. By agreeing to co, I've already made the first move. So before I answer your question, you need to balance the unequal scales first — and only then cos the second round of exchange."
Though Cheng Shi appeared relaxed and casual, not even looking directly at his counterpart, in reality he had already prepared a finger snap behind his sleeve. The mont the Scavenger made any suspicious move, he would snap his fingers and return to the Rest Area instantly.
This wasn't cowardice — there was simply no reason to waste energy before the journey to the Real Universe.
As he saw it, Mo Shu without [Oblivion]'s protection was like a stray dog on the roadside — not worth any more of his attention. He only needed to warn Herobos to keep [Oblivion]'s followers in check, and the Envoy — who had neither a Divine Throne nor a Container — would most likely handle these troubleso followers himself.
Tis had changed. Before the coup attempt, Herobos could still use his position to temporarily shield [Oblivion]'s followers. But now, stripped of everything, his only option was to do everything possible to avoid a split with [Void].
So this eting was inherently unfair. Cheng Shi held every advantage, while Mo Shu had no chips at all.
Seeing the Fate Weaver's uncompromising stance, Mo Shu didn't argue. He seed to have lost all fighting spirit. He gave a general account of his eting with Jie Shu.
And when Cheng Shi heard that the unknown person Zhao Xishi had once ntioned — the stranger traveling with Jie Shu — was a Master of Trickery surnad Su, his scalp went numb and the words burst out:
"Who?"
Mo Shu was deflated, not stupid. He could tell Cheng Shi recognized this Master of Trickery. But he had lost all interest in the duels and sches of peak players. All he wanted to know was whether his faith had ever ant anything — whether his years of devotion had been nothing but a joke.
But Cheng Shi cared. He cared deeply!
He couldn't help fixating on it. Players surnad Su were common enough, and there was no shortage of Masters of Trickery. But the combination of those two identifiers kept pointing to a certain old acquaintance.
Cheng Shi could never forget: it was this very person who had lifted the curtain on the treacherous machinations behind the Faith Ga. But hadn't he already died?
The Fun God had said so Himself — both in the future and the past, both versions of him were dead.
If this Master of Trickery surnad Su really was Su Yida, then which world had this version co from?
Connecting this to what Ji Yue had once said — that Jie Shu had also risen to fa seemingly out of nowhere a few months after the ga's descent — could it be that both of them, like Jiang Chi, ca from other worlds?!
Long before Cheng Shi had even realized anything was wrong with this world, players were already crossing the barriers of spaceti to arrive here?
It made sense. It also aligned with Jie Shu's claim that he had broken through higher barriers.
But how had they reached this world?
Cheng Shi's brow tightened. A thought suddenly struck him, and he asked: "Does that Master of Trickery carry any trace of another god's power?"
Mo Shu hadn't expected Cheng Shi to ask sothing like that. He smiled bitterly and shook his head:
"Does this count as a second exchange, Fate Weaver?"
"..."
'You've got a lot of nerve for a pastry chef.'
'Do you still think this is back when I couldn't beat you?'
Cheng Shi laughed in annoyance. Just as he was about to snipe back with so sarcasm, Mo Shu spoke again:
"I know you're running out of patience. I'm not asking for anything else. Just tell
what [Oblivion] is, and I'll tell you everything you want to know."
"What makes you think I'd understand [Oblivion]?"
Mo Shu's expression grew stranger still. He stared straight at Cheng Shi, looking as though his soul had departed:
"Drop the act. Lord Herobos already told
everything.
He said our Benefactor was inspired by you and achieved true self-annihilation — discovering the essence of [Oblivion].
If you can lead a True God to enlightennt, how could you not know what [Oblivion] is?"
"?"
'Seriously, man?'
Cheng Shi was stupefied. He truly hadn't expected Herobos to go around sharing that. 'But if you told this to [Oblivion]'s followers, how are you going to explain your own role in that annihilation?'
Mo Shu went on:
"But I don't understand. If, in the end, the true essence of [Oblivion] really is self-annihilation — then what was the point of everything I've done?"
For a fleeting mont, Cheng Shi actually felt a twinge of pity for this pastry chef.
He looked at Mo Shu, slumped lifelessly in the Void, and scoffed:
"There was never any point. Nothing has any aning.
This is the era of [Void]. The absence of aning is the greatest aning of all."
...
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