Cheng Shi had fallen into a cognitive trap.
He had instinctively assud both Real Universe swindlers were performing, so it never occurred to him they might be one person.
Now he had run what could barely be called an experint: he simply switched his main body back to [Fate] and had Shadow Cheng Shi use Chaos Acting to beco Hong Lin. Just like that, a single individual had perfectly impersonated both "himself" and "Hong Lin" simultaneously — with zero flaws.
Because the Hong Lin that "Hong Lin" saw was already Cheng Shi, and Cheng Shi himself knew exactly how to play the Hong Lin that existed in his own mind...
The thod was virtually airtight. Stacked on top of the Real Universe's unknowns and complexities, even Cheng Shi hadn't pieced it together imdiately.
Thankfully, Qin Xin's battle had tested the imposter's depth.
A Clown impersonating a Druid managing to hold against Qin Xin for any length of ti was itself remarkable. But a Clown was still a Clown — head-on combat couldn't match a Druid's level. And it was that very crack that let Cheng Shi deduce the swindlers' identity.
There was still one thing he couldn't figure out, though.
What was their purpose?
They couldn't not have known that fighting Qin Xin would inevitably leave traces and expose them. Yet they had done it anyway — had even been the aggressors.
According to Qin Xin, even when Qin Xin was ready to stop, they had pressed on relentlessly. What was the point of this near-suicidal choice?
They couldn't possibly have hoped to defeat Qin Xin in a straight fight, could they?
Before the Authority, maybe. But now, with [War]'s Authority, how could they—
'Wait!'
Cheng Shi's eyes flew wide. He confird with Qin Xin once more:
"Did you inherit [War]'s Authority before they refused to stop, or after they insisted on fighting?"
Qin Xin blinked, thinking carefully: "After they continued attacking. Hong Lin's assault never stopped. She even..."
Midway through the sentence, Qin Xin's expression turned awkward. He couldn't very well repeat the previous "Hong Lin's" profanity in front of this one, so he deliberately paused, leaving the pair to fill in the blanks.
Cheng Shi knew all too well what a certain type of Clown was capable of. His eyelid twitched, and he said mournfully: "...She cursed at you? Did she perhaps express the heartfelt longings of an orphan craving parental affection?"
"?"
'Could profanity really be phrased that delicately?!'
Qin Xin's expression froze and the words stuck in his throat.
Seeing his reaction, Cheng Shi was now certain: those two swindlers were "himself"!
Another world's version of himself!
Hong Lin, no matter how furious, probably wouldn't say sothing like that. But he couldn't guarantee the sa about himself. In the heat of battle, just about any profanity could co flying out.
Especially after obtaining the Eye of Mockery — Cheng Shi felt his temperant had been corrupted. Without the occasional swear, his whole body felt off.
With that, Cheng Shi also understood the other version of himself's purpose.
The Clown drifting through the Real Universe clearly hadn't co to cause trouble. He had co to help!
The other him must have known that only a battle could summon [War]'s Authority. That was why he had fabricated a plausible excuse to fight Qin Xin.
From a liar's perspective, any action that risks exposing one's identity should normally be avoided. The fact that he risked exposure to attack Qin Xin could only an one thing: it served the purpose of finding the Authority.
Of course, that Clown might not have been acting purely out of goodwill. He had most likely been searching for his own world's [War] Authority in the sa fashion, and simply happened to run into Qin Xin.
Clearly, the initial plan to fool Cheng Shi and Hong Lin had also been aid at provoking a fight. But compared to those two, Qin Xin — a [War] follower — was far more likely to trigger resonance with [War]'s lingering will. So upon finding a better option, the other Cheng Shi abandoned the first sche and targeted Qin Xin instead.
As for why he had left behind such a ss regarding identity verification after the fight...
Probably just a Clown's idea of fun.
After all, Clowns were "competitors" with each other. When rivals in the trade t, a little professional spite was only natural.
Cheng Shi pondered in silence, piecing together the full picture. But all of this was still speculation. To verify, he would need to find them again.
Would an exposed swindler sit around waiting to be found?
No. They would have long since disappeared.
...
On the other side.
In the vast, desolate Real Universe, the enormous corpse of the Leaking World Silent Puppet drifted slowly on.
Beneath its shadow, two figures looked upward, their expressions unreadable.
The cheerful figure stared for a long ti before sighing with feeling:
"Tsk — the kid probably really did go up there. Otherwise, with that greedy streak of his, he wouldn't have left so easily.
If he could climb up, why can't we?"
The cold figure snorted, dousing the idea: "He has his Benefactor's protection. Naturally, he's safe. Do you?"
The cheerful figure pursed his lips: "As if nobody else ever had one. Does 'used to have' not count?"
"It doesn't. The past can be the present, but only if [Ti] is alive.
Unfortunately, He died many years ago.
They... all died many years ago."
Those words froze the smile on the cheerful figure's face. His tone turned wistful.
"Can you not say depressing things when I'm actually motivated? You're such a buzzkill.
Look, Cheng Fate — without Them, we've been getting by just fine, haven't we?"
The cold figure — no, [Fate] Cheng Shi — shook his head, neither joy nor sorrow on his face:
"Don't twist the narrative. Their sacrifices deserve to be rembered. It's only because of Their deaths that we've managed to survive this long in our deford state.
But this path is still a dead end. It's not the universal solution, and the universe's answer doesn't lie with us."
Then, [Fate] Cheng Shi did sothing rare — he smiled. Looking toward the direction the real Cheng Shi had gone, he said with warm satisfaction:
"At least we finally succeeded once. We haven't let down the task Old Cheng Shi entrusted to us."
[Deceit] Cheng Shi also looked that way, stroking his chin in thought:
"Granted, beating Old Cheng Shi's record does feel pretty satisfying. But how do you know he wasn't lying when he found us?
What if — and I'm just saying what if — he succeeded plenty of tis, and he was just tricking us into thinking he never did? Then we'd still have lost."
[Fate] Cheng Shi shot a sidelong glare: "A man on his deathbed speaks the truth."
"The saying's fine, but whether he qualifies as a 'man' is debatable. Sa as us — we're not exactly 'human' either.
If I were dying, I'd at least leave behind one massive lie, make sure whoever takes over lives in perpetual paranoia.
Tsk — thinking about it like that, I really do want to die."
"..."
[Fate] Cheng Shi went quiet. Clearly, he agreed with [Deceit] Cheng Shi's point — though as to which point exactly...
After a pause, he spoke again:
"Not yet. At least not now. If we die, the Real Universe loses its guides. Hope will have no way to be passed on.
So bear it. Bear it until we find the next successor, and then we're free."
Hearing this, [Deceit] Cheng Shi spread his hands and sighed once more:
"Fine. But I'm still curious — when he figures out it was us, will he feel gratitude and surprise, or will he be gnashing his teeth in fury?
This kid's sharper than the ones before. You can tell his Benefactor raised him well.
Hey — there's no way he'd guess what we're actually doing, right?"
[Fate] Cheng Shi shook his head, his voice still cold.
"The fortunate find it hard to see others' misfortune.
This misfortune belongs to us. But to witness a few strokes of fortune from within our unfortunate existence... I suppose that, in itself, is our fortune.
Cheng Deceit — do you have any regrets?"
"Regrets about what?"
"Taking this job from Old Cheng Shi's hands."
[Deceit] Cheng Shi pursed his lips, looked into the distance, and said with casual indifference:
"Soone has to do it... The dirty work, the thankless drudgery — isn't that what poor bastards are for?
I take the bad luck for them, and maybe they won't end up as miserable as we are.
Ah, why am I talking about this? Co on. Before we die, we owe Old Cheng Shi and Old-Old Cheng Shi and Old-Old-Old Cheng Shi an accounting. Let's see when the next poor bastard shows up.
When he does, I'm going to pull the biggest con of all ti!"
"..."
"You smiled!
You agree with my plan, don't you!
I knew it — your coldness is all fake.
So what do you think — will we run into the next poor bastard first, or another little flower bud?
Hmm, flower buds are better. That way we get to have fun for a while longer.
This damn Real Universe is just too big... and way too boring..."
...
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