Hearing this, Cheng Shi recalled Ti's final summons.
He had told the Doctor not to blink — and yet the instant the Doctor blinked, He departed this starry sky. That blunt demonstration clearly ant the sa thing as the Doctor's experintal conclusion:
Change always happens in the observer's mont of "negligence"!
Extrapolating that to their current predicant — the Origin was likewise an experintal observer. So would It have monts of negligence?
The answer was yes!
Without question, yes!
Otherwise, Ti would never have left such guidance for the world!
The Doctor continued:
"Similar speculations actually existed in the real world even before the Faith Ga descended. Many scholars had long believed that ti is not continuous — it possesses a minimum unit, and what exists within that smallest ti interval is sothing humanity can neither know nor observe. We call it the 'Universe Fra Rate.'
Now, Ti's guidance is telling us that this Creator's Experint also has a 'Universe Fra Rate' — or perhaps we should call it the Origin Fra Rate, because it represents the discontinuity in the Origin's observation of this experint.
In plain terms: the Origin blinks too!
And as long as we find that gap between blinks, it may be possible to achieve the incredible feat of evading the Origin's gaze!
Praise Yu Xi!
I believe this is the future They designed for us!
Limited by my mortal body, I wasn't able to pinpoint that exact temporal node. But if..."
The Doctor's fervent gaze locked onto Cheng Shi. The searing light in his eyes reminded Cheng Shi of the Truth he had once seen conducting the Faith Resonance Experint in the Void.
And right now, the universe truly did need a Truth.
So Cheng Shi waved his hand and bestowed the Divine Throne and Authority of Truth. As an endless torrent of Truth's essence surged into the Doctor, Wang Weijin drew a deep breath, spread his arms, and closed his eyes.
Bathed in the radiance of Truth, he murmured:
"I see ti. I see space. I touch Existence. I sense Void.
I marvel at the wonder of creation and stand in awe of the universe's splendor. I understand what 'He' expects of , and at last I know what Truth is.
I am Truth!
Praise Yu Xi — I must continue my experint. I will find the mont of the Creator's negligence for this world!"
"..."
Cheng Shi had assud that inheriting a Divine Throne would temper the Doctor's "religious fervor." But he had underestimated just how high Yu Xi stood in the Doctor's heart.
The Doctor's expressions may have beco more restrained, but the reverence packed into every "Praise Yu Xi" was palpable to everyone present.
For a mont, more than a few faces twisted into peculiar expressions. The Dragon King seized the opportunity to walk over to the Doctor and murmur sothing. anwhile, Long Jing raised a slightly puzzled question:
"By all rights, if Truth can find the Origin Fra Rate, the previous Truth should have known about it."
The Doctor didn't get a chance to answer, because Galusha beat him to it.
"Tch —
Because the old god Truth sought truth, yet never questioned the Origin.
Everything He sought was in pursuit of drawing closer to the Origin, not distancing Himself from It. Under those circumstances, why would He ever pay attention to the monts when the Origin wasn't watching?
Only Ti, who was coerced by Deceit, would have conducted such research. You have to feel for Him."
Hearing this, Long Jing raised an eyebrow. "Did Folly know about it?"
"...?"
Galusha wasn't sure whether Long Jing was asking about the old god Folly or the new god Folly — or perhaps both at once with a side of mockery. She glanced at him and sneered.
"Whether He knew or not is irrelevant. What matters is that you don't know whether He knew.
Your foolish act... I'll answer it for you: there is no answer."
"???"
Long Jing blinked, montarily tongue-tied. He was about to retort when Cheng Shi raised a hand, quelling the sideshow once more. He turned to the Doctor.
"How much ti do you need?"
The Doctor's eyes blazed with eagerness. "Hard to say, but I don't think it will take long. The Dragon King's clue has given
new inspiration. Perhaps 0221's appearance wasn't random in the mutational sense."
The Dragon King's clue?
Cheng Shi glanced at the Dragon King, recalling the bizarre 220 seconds connected to Old Jia's mory in the Collection Hall of mory.
Co to think of it, the number after 220 was 221...
Could that be a coincidence?
He nodded and told the Doctor to work right here in Dolgod, using whatever materials were at hand. The Honesty Court could provide ample space and raw materials, and equipnt was no issue for Truth. He even produced the Ritual of Truth and lent it to the Doctor — all in the na of finding the so-called Origin Fra Rate as quickly as possible.
The future seed to be drawing near.
At the sa ti, he distributed the remaining unassigned Divine Thrones one by one, watching with an impossibly complex expression as two new Voids were "born."
Deceit and Fate — standing before him once again, as though summoned by destiny.
Looking at Zhen Yi, who had split from Zhen Xin's consciousness with a mischievous grin plastered across her face, and An Mingyu, whose expression was equally complicated as she stood in wordless silence — Cheng Shi felt as though he had been thrown back in ti, to the first mont he had ever seen both of Them together.
But things had changed. The old gods were gone.
He was silent for a long while before exhaling in a quiet, lingering sigh.
"Everything at hand is more or less settled. Now — can soone please tell
where Hong Lin... went?"
The mont the words left his mouth, the entire assembly fell still.
Silence. Endless silence.
The Prisoner swore he hadn't activated the Authority of Silence — everyone simply couldn't bear to et Cheng Shi's eyes.
Cheng Shi's gaze swept across the gods and finally settled on Tao Yi. The Wood Elf crumbled at his glance, instantly clapping a hand over her mouth and spinning away. Even with all her strength, she couldn't stifle the sound of her weeping. Her shoulders heaved in sharp spasms, as if that alone were answer enough.
Everything before him told Cheng Shi a single, undeniable fact: Big Cat was in trouble.
So it had really...
Cheng Shi's heart plumted.
In truth, from the mont everyone had gathered and Big Cat was absent, he had already guessed what she was doing.
After all, during his second trip to the Real Universe — transporting the gods' remains and bringing Mi Laozhang ho — Cheng Shi had encountered a Hong Lin out there.
At the ti, that Hong Lin had said: "Maybe you don't understand yet, but at your current pace, it won't be long..."
Cheng Shi had feared ever since that this "pace" might consu the Hong Lin of his own world. He just never imagined it would happen so soon!
That other Hong Lin had been tainted by the Origin's power. Cheng Shi had been ticulously monitoring every trace of the Origin's power beneath this starry sky, terrified that Hong Lin might approach that virus-like force and walk the sa path as her alternate self.
Yet sohow, he'd still been careless.
When had she found the Origin's power?
Cheng Shi's brow creased. In the end, he let every guess and hope dissolve into a single sigh.
"Where... is she?"
Tao Yi, comforted by Zhen Xin, turned back around, her voice choked with tears.
"The depths of the Void. The edge of the world. She's waiting for you."
Cheng Shi vanished instantly. In the next heartbeat, he materialized in the deepest reaches of the Void — and there she was. His body seized. He saw once more the woman wreathed in iridescent light, her hair cascading like a waterfall of life — the Daughter of Prosperity.
The Hong Lin before him looked exactly like the one from the Real Universe.
Cheng Shi's eyes reddened in an instant. He sucked in a breath, unable to look straight ahead.
"Are you leaving
too?"
Seeing Cheng Shi arrive, Hong Lin choked up as well, but she quickly composed herself into that bold, spirited deanor and forced a grin.
"Farewells are part of life, Cheng Shi. Don't be a crybaby. Be a man."
"Why?"
Hong Lin's smile faltered for an instant. She spoke with absolute seriousness: "I don't trust anyone else with this."
Cheng Shi's fists clenched. "But I told you — the Destined Ones would live to see the world's final chapter. I don't want to lie to you..."
Hong Lin laughed heartily. In the split second that Cheng Shi bowed his head, two crystal-clear tears slipped from the corners of her eyes.
"You didn't lie. You've never lied to . You've already done more than enough. This IS the world's final chapter.
When you recruited
into the Destined Ones, you told
I would live — under Fate's protection — until the mont the world's script needed
to take the stage.
That mont has arrived. It's my cue.
I don't especially love this world full of suffering. But I love all of you. I'm willing to do sothing for my friends.
I'm willing."
...
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