Just as Hong Lin and Qin Xin were about to leap, Cheng Shi grabbed them both.
"Wait!"
Both flinched in alarm, assuming Cheng Shi had spotted another danger. Little did they know this wasn't caution at work — it was greed.
Cheng Shi had developed second thoughts.
He still couldn't let go of [Silence]'s corpse!
Perhaps countless divine corpses drifted through the Real Universe. But what he hadn't encountered, he wouldn't covet. Having actually stumbled upon one and walking away empty-handed felt no different from losing sothing he already owned.
Cheng Shi couldn't accept that. Since this bridge could traverse spaceti, why not take one last look? What if only the head of the enormous Leaking World Silent Puppet possessed the assimilation force?
After all, the head was where thoughts converged and will crystallized. Perhaps the other parts didn't manifest posthumous will and might still yield sothing useful.
So he shared the idea with Qin Xin and Hong Lin. Qin Xin frowned and began pondering the deeper implications. Big Cat, on the other hand, reacted instinctively and seized Cheng Shi's arm:
"Getting ho alive is what matters most!
Cheng Shi, don't forget why we ca. [War]'s Authority is in hand. There's no need to waste more ti here.
The Real Universe is too unpredictable. That dark storm from earlier — who knows if there'll be another.
And what do you expect to find on His corpse?
Authority?
This isn't our world's [Silence]. You said it yourself — another world's Authority is useless to us.
And if not Authority, then whatever else remains — does it even matter to us right now?"
Hong Lin was uncharacteristically clear-headed for once. But she still couldn't sway Cheng Shi.
Cheng Shi knew this move was risky. Yet his instinct told him that a divine corpse interesting enough to draw another Cheng Shi's attention couldn't be aningless.
At this point, he no longer hoped to salvage any treasure from [Silence]'s remains. He only wanted to comb through the corpse for more "useful" information.
He wanted to know what [Silence] had experienced before death. How He had died. Whether His death held any relevance to their own world's predicant. Whether he could even glimpse — through the lens of this death — sothing deeper about Origin.
This was the real reason he couldn't let go.
Qin Xin understood Cheng Shi. As the leader of the Torchbearers — beings who had defied the gods from the start — he knew that only by understanding the gods could they be overthrown.
And the greatest god of the Real Universe was Origin. Even if the Torchbearers were "fortunate" enough to topple the gods of their world, they would still have to face Origin in the end. That confrontation was unavoidable.
Gathering intelligence on the Creator while the window remained open was certainly worthwhile. The question was: how much risk should they take for information that might not even exist?
Would they be able to co back from this detour?
Qin Xin didn't fear death. But he had just obtained the Authority. He had advanced one step further on the path of passing the fla. His only thought now was that even if he died, he needed to at least leave the Authority behind for the cause. That way, even in death, the fla could continue.
After a long deliberation, he asked gravely: "How confident are you?"
Cheng Shi answered honestly:
"Zero. Not a shred.
But so things don't require confidence to be worth doing. Friends — the Real Universe isn't a place just anyone can reach, and it's not sowhere you can co anyti you wish. If we pass up this chance when we can still act, will there... be another chance for us next ti?
I know you're afraid. I'm afraid too. I can't even be sure this gamble won't destroy the 'excellent position' we've already secured...
Honestly, every fiber of caution in my body is screaming 'go ho' right now. But I feel that if I don't find sothing more in this Real Universe, I won't feel safe even if I do make it ho."
"..."
"..."
The vanishing howard path had made Cheng Shi realize the Fear Faction could no longer serve as his safety net. At the very least, whether the Fun God would continue sheltering him was genuinely uncertain.
There was an even more terrifying conjecture he hadn't voiced: he feared this entire Real Universe trip might not have a return route at all. That it was exile. A ans the Fun God had chosen to break the original world's fixed destiny.
Otherwise, why would this particular mont be used to "plant a seed of fla" in other worlds?
Silence fell.
The silence existed because both of them knew Cheng Shi was right.
Though their imdiate target was limited to the gods, everyone knew that once they climbed over that mountain, an even more head-craning peak waited behind it.
Origin would eventually be their "enemy." If they didn't use this finite opportunity to learn about the adversary, how could they ever hope to win?
Qin Xin lived up to his title of Grand Marshal. He made his decision imdiately.
"Go. But do you have a plan for where to go?"
Cheng Shi didn't answer right away. Instead, he glanced at Hong Lin. Her gaze tightened. She clenched her fist:
"I don't think that far ahead. I just want my friends alive.
Na the place. I'll go. Deal?"
Cheng Shi smiled and patted Big Cat's shoulder in reassurance:
"If you go, how will you get back?
I carry [Ti]'s power. I can return here in a short ti.
Relax. I promise — this ti, I absolutely won't get close. I'm just going for one last look.
One look will be enough!
As for whether I can extract anything from it — that'll co down to luck."
But before Hong Lin could even object, Qin Xin shook his head:
"No one should go alone in this dangerous Real Universe.
Either none of us go, or all of us go.
I still have so [mory] tracking tools on . They can anchor our positions and 'reprint' us back here within a set ti. So don't worry about the return trip. As for getting there..."
Big Cat was nodding furiously — clearly signaling that if all three went together, she was willing to try.
Cheng Shi was smiling on the outside, but inside he had no confidence whatsoever. At least Qin Xin's and Big Cat's company gave him enormous courage. After a mont's thought, he addressed the other two:
"Since the spaceti bridge is subjective, we need to take the following precautions against accidents:
First, anchor your ntal destination to any location other than the original world. Only after confirming the other two have vanished should you switch your destination to the location of [Silence]'s corpse.
When we can see each other again, it ans we've succeeded. If, after three minutes, any of us is still invisible or only one is visible, switch back to the original world at the three-minute mark and abort the observation plan.
Clear?"
Qin Xin and Hong Lin nodded in unison. Each produced a pocket watch and began synchronizing.
Lives were at stake. No one dared be careless.
Once synchronized, the three exchanged one last look and began switching destinations. Before long, the three who had vanished converged again. The entire process was smoother than imagined.
Yet the smoother it went, the tighter the knot in Cheng Shi's chest.
He kept feeling that this current luck was being traded for future hardship.
No ti to deliberate. He glanced at the other two, gave them a look of steely resolve, and all three mustered their courage and leapt from the bridge.
Space wrenched. Ti tore away. Cheng Shi's vision went black, and he lost consciousness entirely.
When he opened his eyes, he did not see the massive Leaking World Silent Puppet's corpse. Instead, before him, countless divine radiances were plumting like rain!
"!!!!!"
The scene was nearly identical to the one that had been erased as [War] charged toward the heights — except that back then, the cry of "to survive — only blood and fire!" had echoed across the universe. But now...
Everything unfolded in total silence. Even as divine power disintegrated into mist across the sky and discarded Authority tumbled like mud, the entire starscape — no, the entire corpse field — made not a single sound.
This was indeed where the silent god's body lay. But it was not the [Silence] corpse Cheng Shi had been looking for!
Three insignificant figures stood at the bottom of the Corpse Field of Gods — scalps tingling, hands and feet frozen, not daring to breathe.
...
Reviews
All reviews (0)