Hu Wei was certain Zhen Xin wasn't joking, because he had never seen such a serious side to this magician.
Zhen Xin casually drew a magic card and put Mada Freud into a deep sleep. Then, brow deeply furrowed, she thought for a long while before fixing Hu Wei with a grave look:
"Grand Marshal... can I trust you?"
"?"
'Zhen Xin isn't Zhen Yi—she's Brother Cheng?'
Hu Wei blanked for a mont, but quickly realized this was baseless association. The person before him was Zhen Xin—"full-throttle" Zhen Xin.
She looked like a magician about to take the stage—montum blazing, spirits soaring.
What had she discovered? What was she planning?
Hu Wei frowned slightly, unhurried in his response, and probed with a counter-question: "Trust in what sense?"
Zhen Xin's words ca slow, resolute as iron: "As fellow humans—advance together, retreat together!"
"???"
Language was a wondrous art. The word "human" was used constantly—after all, the Land of Hope had many races, and "human" was a common term of distinction. But when a peak player used it in a setting devoid of other races, its aning pointed in only one direction:
As distinct from gods!
And "advance together, retreat together" sliced humanity and divinity apart completely, splitting them into two irreconcilable camps.
Hu Wei was startled—but not afraid. On the contrary, his blood ran hot.
As a player who wanted to go further in the Faith Ga, the Grand Marshal never closed himself off to any path forward. That was why he'd always used Lord Ultraman's guidance as his sail, constantly pressing ahead, riding the waves.
And now, it seed he'd stumbled upon another opportunity—this one offered by a player.
Zhen Xin—this magician who was forever creating "headlines"—wanted to cooperate with him from the "human" perspective?
Wouldn't that an going against his Lord's guidance?
Before today, such a request would have been hard for Hu Wei to accept. The sunk costs were too high—he had "points" with Chaos, and discarding them made no sense.
But by sheer coincidence, learning today that Zhen Xin had beaten him to fusing Chaos and Deceit—and had already t Chaos in person—had produced, if only for an instant, a flicker of disenchantnt toward the gods' "grand promises"!
And it was in precisely that instant that Zhen Xin, seizing every gap like a needle, had extended her invitation.
Hu Wei wasn't stupid. He knew that anything the magician treated this seriously had to be fraught with risk. But would a man who'd been impersonating the "Grand Marshal" for years—and intended to keep doing so—be afraid of risk?
Not in the slightest. In fact, he thrived on the cheers that ca with risk. Otherwise, he wouldn't take the unconventional approach in every trial, branding himself into everyone's mory!
He had always been courting attention. This was simply a different thod.
So Hu Wei accepted. He agreed with a roaring laugh:
"'Fellow humans'—what a phrase!
I've never claid to be so tough, principled man. I just like standing high and admiring the view.
If I'm given the fortune of scaling the mountain called 'the gods'—that peak that makes your neck ache from craning up at it—then what's the harm in one gamble?
Haha! Zhen Xin—go on. Convince
with your ambition."
In that mont, Zhen Xin knew today's "self-exposure" had bought her an opening. So she pushed further, leading with a bombshell:
"Chaos is actually Deceit!"
This wasn't her guess—it was the "answer" Cheng Shi had given her.
Back in San Dales, Cheng Shi had shared a secret with her: "Order is actually Chaos. So then, who do you think Chaos is?"
The answer was obvious. Zhen Xin had guessed Deceit on the spot.
The Fate Weaver might be a deceiver, but on matters this critical, he had never lied—especially after revealing the truth of the universe to the Joker mbers at their assembly. She knew he had no reason left to deceive her, at least regarding the true identity of Chaos. She was the only one who both knew and could assist him.
And in this trial, upon learning that the Grand Marshal had failed to fuse with Deceit, Zhen Xin imdiately understood: Chaos's identity was rely a tool in Deceit's grand design. Chaos followers weren't truly "inner circle," which was why, even though faith fusion had been underway for so long, Hu Wei still hadn't received Deceit's response.
A known secret held no novelty for Zhen Xin. But for an uninford Chaos follower, it was a critical strike.
"?????"
Hu Wei was dumbstruck.
'I told you to convince , not uproot my entire foundation!'
He was sure he'd been played—this had to be Zhen Yi using her sister's account.
All that buildup was just to witness his humiliation at this exact mont.
The Grand Marshal's eyelids twitched violently with fury. He drew his greatsword in an instant and brought it crashing down toward her head!
But Zhen Xin didn't move. Not even her grave expression changed. The blade grazed her scalp, sheared off a few strands of hair, and slamd into the floor with a thunderous boom. Hu Wei's heart thudded at the sa ti.
"You're serious?"
Zhen Xin was perfectly calm: "Of course. This explains why I fused with Chaos first, and not the other way around."
Hu Wei's grip on the sword hilt tightened.
If Zhen Xin was right—if Chaos was really Deceit—then what had all his completed missions been for?
A pretext about approaching Void had kept him running around in circles, only for Void to have been right behind him all along—even at the very starting line...
Wasn't that just toying with people?
Then again, Deceit did love toying with people.
Hu Wei's face was black as the bottom of a pot. He took two deep breaths, forcing down the agitation and anger, and asked coldly: "Then Ultraman..."
Zhen Xin wasn't sure about Ultraman's identity. Cheng Shi had once told her Ultraman didn't know about the switch. She hadn't verified it and could only treat it as uncertain. But now, if Hu Wei's presence in this trial was also by the Fun God's will, then Ultraman's allegiance was clearly with Deceit. So did He truly not know?
Zhen Xin shook her head. She couldn't afford to toss out unclear intel and cloud Hu Wei's judgnt at this critical juncture. She told him honestly that she didn't know—only that the Chaos in power was not the original.
Hu Wei's brow darkened. He asked again: "Then where did the real Chaos go?"
"Those questions can wait. Today's issue has nothing to do with the real Chaos—only with the current one!"
Hu Wei's gaze sharpened: "Deceit!"
"Yes.
The Fun God's will is never simple. To unravel all of this, we must race against ti—at the very least, we need an answer before this trial ends.
And before we figure things out, she..."
Zhen Xin pointed at the unconscious Mada Freud on the floor, her expression deadly serious. "...must not be discovered by Cheng Shi.
The Fate Weaver is a smart man. The mont he learns the truth from Mada Freud's lips, with the information he already has, he'll see the trial's allegory just as I have—and possibly divine the Fun God's intentions outright.
His devotion to the Fun God is... complicated. He believes and doubts in equal asure.
I fear that when he learns the truth, he'll break with the Fun God entirely—and bring an unpredictable ending upon this world.
I cannot accept a future without certainty.
So what we must do now is figure everything out before he sees the Fun God's allegory, then find a way to preserve this world.
If we can't, then you and I—all of humanity—can only retreat. No more advancing together..."
The gravity of those words was extre. Though Hu Wei was still largely in the dark about the full picture, he believed her—he simply hadn't expected Zhen Xin, of all people, to stand on "humanity's" side and oppose the gods for the sake of "advancing and retreating together."
This wasn't the self-serving Zhen Xin he knew.
Zhen Xin was as perceptive as they ca. She saw the doubt in Hu Wei's eyes and knew that among the limited allies available to her right now, she couldn't afford his lingering suspicion. So she pressed her lips together and revealed her true motive.
"Ming Yu would charge headlong into danger for
without a backward glance. So I cannot let Ming Yu co to harm.
The world ans nothing to . But she does..."
That single statent was enough. Hu Wei gave a firm nod.
The rationale was completely sound. Everyone knew Zhen Xin and An Mingyu were bound by deep affection. For each other's sake, either would go to any lengths.
The title of Grand Marshal had never been earned through bluster—it was won through real action.
Once he'd confird Zhen Xin's motives were genuine, he frowned and mused:
"It seems you hold far more intelligence about the gods than I do. I can't help you with information or analysis.
Opposing gods was never a matter of simple brute force. That ans what you need from
isn't any of that. It's... Chaos!
You want
to cloud soone's eyes and ears?
Brother Cheng?
But rely disrupting his perception won't give you the solution you're looking for. That ans you also need soone who can analyze the situation—soone who understands it even better than you.
From what you've said, Brother Cheng fits the bill—but you want to keep it from him.
Brother Zhang moves in lockstep with Brother Cheng, so he's probably not ideal either.
The remaining two teammates haven't shown themselves yet, though I'd imagine a low-profile player would have a hard ti outmatching you.
So the only person who'd et your criteria would be soone outside this trial.
You want to go find him?
But that man has always been eccentric and solitary. You think he'd help you?"
Zhen Xin wasn't sure either. But she had no other choice.
"I have to try. Let's go now."
Hu Wei understood. He nodded, but before leaving, he asked one more question with utmost sincerity:
"Are you certain Brother Cheng can't know about any of this?"
Zhen Xin's brow was knitted tight, her tone complex:
"He can. But not yet.
No one can stand against the gods alone.
What we're doing isn't abandoning him to face danger alone. It's engineering room for the ending to turn—creating more options for him.
One person can't carry the stage. That's why there are leads and supporting roles.
The Curtain Call performance can't be just a clown performing solo. The pressure would be too much, and the show too dull. Even if we aren't the leads, we should fight for the spotlight a supporting role deserves, shouldn't we?
He's writing his answer. We should be writing ours."
Hu Wei blinked: "Brother Cheng is the answer to Void?"
Zhen Xin lowered her eyes and nodded quietly: "Yes. From the mont he fused with Fate, he beca that answer."
...
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