"???"
When you see two identical players standing before you, what's the first thing that cos to mind?
Low-scoring players would imdiately think "impostor." But peak players' minds would land on only one na.
Hu Wei's pupils contracted. He instantly gripped the greatsword on his back, shifted back to create distance, and scrutinized the two Zhang Jizus with deep suspicion.
An Mingyu also froze, then furrowed her brow as she studied both Zhang Jizus.
Cheng Shi was the most rattled of all. He never imagined the fake could run into the real deal here.
'Seriously?'
'When I needed your help, you were nowhere to be found. I borrow your face for five minutes and you show up in person to blow my cover?'
'Do I owe you?'
'Isn't it you who owes
a hundred S-rank items?'
'I didn't form the Joker to actually beco a literal joker!'
Cheng Shi's eyelid twitched violently. To avoid creating trouble for himself, he narrowed his eyes to slits, looked at the Zhang Jizu across from him, and spoke first:
"If your disguise is ant to fit the [Deceit] trial's the, I can provisionally agree to lend my likeness rights.
But I need to know who's borrowing.
Zhen Yi?
Or... Cheng Shi?"
As he spoke, he flicked a scalpel from his sleeve.
Hearing this preemptive accusation, the real Zhang Jizu's eyes nearly disappeared behind his squinting lids.
He hadn't expected to run into a fake version of himself here, either. He'd been trying to figure out which Joker mber was causing him grief. But the mont he spotted the scalpel tip peeking from the other's sleeve, he understood imdiately: the one impersonating him was none other than Cheng Shi.
Only Cheng Shi used a scalpel the sa way he did.
And the situation was far from needing "weapons." Flashing that glint of silver was purely a signal — a way to coordinate, to silently plead: 'Don't blow my cover.'
The problem was: 'You're wearing my identity!'
'If I don't expose you, then who am I?'
Of course, Zhang Jizu's thoughts ran deeper. Considering the trial's prompt, he could easily guess Cheng Shi was using his identity as a shield to carve out maximum operational freedom for this trial.
He could accept that. On the condition of "out of sight, out of mind."
Zhang Jizu was utterly exasperated, but he had no choice but to play along.
When a [Deceit] trial included the word "finale," the difficulty spoke for itself. Cheng Shi, as [Deceit]'s most "favored" follower, was the single best candidate to clear this trial. Bar none.
And Zhang Jizu understood the weight of that "favoritism" better than anyone. Given the lies he'd told and the things he'd done on the Fun God's behalf, he had a feeling this trial wouldn't simply be a trial — it was more like the Fun God hinting at sothing.
So to give Cheng Shi more room to maneuver, Zhang Jizu made a quick decision: he would catch this "ball."
Thankfully, after joining the Joker, his "acting instincts" weren't half bad. He responded imdiately:
"X..."
Never mind. He couldn't pull it off.
Zhang Jizu knew Cheng Shi's identity would attract attention and invite trouble. His first instinct was to borrow Zhen Yi's identity.
After all, no matter how jinxed you were, as long as people steered clear of you, you'd be relatively free.
But asking him to utter that signature "hee" was a bridge too far. Left with no choice, he had to accept the "fact" that he was Cheng Shi.
Yes — the optimal play right now was to swap aliases with Cheng Shi. That way, when Cheng Shi needed to make an appearance later, it wouldn't seem abrupt.
So, mimicking Cheng Shi's mannerisms, he pursed his lips and sighed:
"Co on, Old Zhang. Do you have to be this serious every ti we et?
I only put on your clothes. It's not like I dug up your cetery. What — you want to take a swing at ?"
The instant that familiar tone erged, Hu Wei realized the second Zhang Jizu was not Zhang Jizu at all. Nor was it Zhen Yi. It was his good brother — the Fate Weaver he'd been searching for under every star: Cheng Shi!
Hu Wei had been looking for Cheng Shi for a while now. Lord Ultraman had revealed that his chance to fuse [Deceit] lay with Yu Xi, and Cheng Shi just happened to be the player Yu Xi had once impersonated. If anyone claid Cheng Shi had no connection to Yu Xi, Hu Wei wouldn't believe it for a second.
So the mont he spotted "Cheng Shi," he clapped a hand on the man's shoulder, overjoyed:
"Brother Cheng, where have you been?!
I always said a [Deceit] ga couldn't do without you. And sure enough, here you are!
Good. Haha, great! Today, you're coming with . My squad is short a Priest..."
Before he could finish, "Cheng Shi" twitched at the corner of his eye and raised a finger, pointing at "Zhang Jizu" across the way.
He didn't say a word, but the "noise" was deafening.
'Isn't that a Priest right there?'
'A [Death] Priest, no less — the best at keeping people alive.'
Cheng Shi's face was equally rigid. He thought: 'Old Hu, your ability to lie through your teeth is truly unmatched. Other people burn through potions in trials. You burn through Priests?'
'How many Priests do you go through per trial, on average?'
'Priests exist to heal teammates, not to be milked dry. You can't treat them as expendables...'
Cheng Shi kept his mouth shut. After all, he'd never intended to tag along with Hu Wei.
Hu Wei was visibly embarrassed, but this kind of minor awkwardness was nothing for the "Grand Marshal." With a grand wave, he laughed heartily:
"Usually I'm lucky to run into one. Today I've got two — double insurance! Not bad at all.
Brother, I know you're the cautious type. This ti, our squad absolutely cannot go wrong."
"..."
In the past, Cheng Shi had been too weak to refuse. He'd simply gone along. But now, he genuinely had no desire to waste ti on Hu Wei's plans. So he adopted Zhang Jizu's mannerisms and asked bluntly:
"Where does the Grand Marshal plan to go this ti?"
At the ntion of plans, Hu Wei's expression turned serious:
"Mockery and Jeering!
As you may all know, Mockery and Jeering vanished for quite a while and only recently reappeared in the depths of the Void.
I suspect sothing unimaginable has changed inside it. I want to investigate.
Deep in the Void shouldn't pose any danger. Bringing you two along is just for peace of mind. What do you say?"
'Mockery and Jeering vanished?!'
Cheng Shi was stunned. He never expected that to have happened. But the Doctor hadn't ntioned it on the phone, either.
Oh — right. He probably hadn't had ti to.
Cheng Shi frowned. He hadn't even confird whether he'd truly missed that much real-world ti, so he couldn't very well press for details about Mockery and Jeering. And given his alias as Mi Laozhang, he couldn't openly ask anyone about the ti discrepancy. So he assud a contemplative air, shut his mouth, and waited for others to react.
Judging by Zhang Jizu's and An Mingyu's expressions, they clearly knew about this. Which ant the Joker's search for the Nose of Verification had likely been affected as well.
No wonder the Doctor had challenged him to guess why the Joker had co up empty. They'd been searching for a needle in a haystack — and the haystack had disappeared.
"..."
'Don't tell
the Fun God deliberately interfered?'
Zhang Jizu noticed Cheng Shi's confusion. Knowing he hadn't been in the real world recently, he stepped into the role of mouthpiece and asked Hu Wei:
"Why did Mockery and Jeering disappear?"
Hearing the question, a flicker of suspicion crossed Hu Wei's eyes. He stared at "Cheng Shi":
"Brother Cheng, you're a traveler of the [Void] path yourself. How could you not know?"
Facing the challenge, Zhang Jizu's instinct was to squint. But he caught himself, converting it into a lip-pursing sigh:
"This is a bit embarrassing, but I'll be honest.
I ran into so trouble recently. Got trapped sowhere outside the Void. Only barely escaped with my life.
As for why I was trapped — I'd advise you all not to get curious.
Otherwise, when you get locked in there yourselves, I won't be able to rescue you."
Zhang Jizu delivered the lie with an air of mystery, which only piqued the group's interest. Only Cheng Shi, hearing these fabrications, adopted an extrely peculiar expression.
'Tsk. [Deceit] really is one massive dye vat.'
'Old Zhang used to be such an honest man. When did he beco like this?'
'Better keep my distance. Can't let him be a bad influence.'
...
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