Foolish Game of the Chapter 337: Standard Phone: I Had an Audience with [Birth]

Among the trial rewards, Hong Lin had also slipped in a communication tool: Standard Phone (C).

They called it a phone, but it was really just a handset—a disconnected telephone handset, at that.

It had no buttons and no interactive functions. After studying it for ages without figuring out how to use it, Cheng Shi casually tossed it into the warehouse.

He'd received similar communication tools from trial teammates before but had always declined them, since back then he hadn't wanted too many connections with other people.

But now, having learned about the tangled web of relationships among peak players, he decided to keep this phone as a new source of intelligence.

From Hu Wei and Big Cat's experiences, it was clear that any player who reached the top couldn't remain completely independent. Otherwise, when soone plotted against you, you might not have a single ally.

Of course, getting Cheng Shi to genuinely befriend and bare his soul to others was nearly impossible. In a world where everyone sched, sincerity was vanishingly rare. But fortunately, he was good at scheming too—so carpooling forward through mutual calculation wasn't out of the question.

Just as he was thinking this, the phone in the warehouse started ringing.

Cheng Shi raised an eyebrow in surprise, got up, walked to the warehouse, and picked up the handset. The instant he touched it, the call connected—and a familiar voice ca through from the other end.

"I had an audience with [Birth]."

Just that one sentence, and Cheng Shi's hand clenched so hard he nearly crushed the handset.

The caller was Hong Lin. Her words clearly ant the audience had already concluded, but a thread of tension still wove through her voice.

If what had summoned her was that Divine Pillar of [Birth], then it was hardly surprising—no one who t Him for the first ti could remain calm.

But strangely, more than nervousness, Hong Lin's voice carried excitent. Barely containable excitent.

'More good news?'

Cheng Shi's eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn't respond.

This was his first ti using this kind of communication tool. He needed to be careful enough. Identifying soone solely by their voice was too rash, so he said nothing—only tapping his fingernail lightly against the handset to signal the other party to continue.

The other side paused, then let out a confused "Hm?"

Cheng Shi still didn't respond. He tapped the handset again.

This ti the other party understood. She gave a wry chuckle:

"You're way too cautious. I'm the one who gave you this phone—who else could it be?"

"Anyway, stop ssing around. I really did have an audience with [Birth]. I saw that Divine Pillar you never want anyone to see twice..."

"He... is beyond special. Even more so than [Death]. As it turns out, among the gods on the [Life] path, only [Prosperity] had the most normal form—the one that ca closest to my idea of what a deity should look like."

"..."

Hearing this, Cheng Shi fell silent.

'Did you even think before saying that?'

'Oh right—you probably never got an audience with your Benefactor atop the Prosperity Divine Shade. Can't bla you, then.'

"Hey, why aren't you talking? Don't tell

you tossed the phone aside?" When Cheng Shi remained silent, the voice on the other end suddenly turned cautious and serious. "Wait—you're not Cheng Shi. Who are you?"

"..." Cheng Shi frowned slightly but still didn't speak.

"What have you done with my friend?"

Hearing that, he finally realized what had been nagging at him.

The Authority!

Big Cat had bestowed [Prosperity]'s Authority as a divine gift. But she hadn't confird the Authority transfer with him at the very start. This was her first ti exercising this power—wasn't she worried that sothing had gone wrong with the bestowal of such imnse might?

In Big Cat's eyes, the gods were far less important than her friends—especially a friend who had just pushed her into that position.

Besides, with the Endless Life blessing, how could he possibly run into trouble the mont he received it?

Of course, he couldn't rule out that the caller really was Hong Lin, simply rattled from the audience with [Birth] with so residual nervousness.

But Cheng Shi still felt sothing was off.

Nevertheless, after that last remark, he didn't continue his silence. Instead, he revealed his identity openly.

"Just teasing you. It's , Cheng Shi."

Hearing his response, the other party hesitated again. She seed to let out a breath of relief, then imdiately bristled with mild anger: "Looking for a beating, are you?"

Cheng Shi laughed heartily: "Long ti no see."

The tone on the other end faltered: "Hm? The trial ended only a few hours ago. Are you having a fit?"

Cheng Shi chuckled and replied: "I haven't seen Hong Lin in just a few hours, true. But what I actually ant was: long ti no see, Zhen Yi."

In truth, Cheng Shi had no idea who was on the other end. He wasn't even sure it was really Hong Lin. He'd simply bluffed out of caution, hoping to glean more from the caller's reaction.

Upon hearing "Zhen Yi," the other party clearly choked—but monts later, a furious roar erupted from the handset:

"Cheng Shi! You did that on purpose, didn't you!! Don't think that just because you know my secret, I won't dare beat you up!!"

?

That genuine reaction left Cheng Shi completely stunned.

'Huh? It really is Big Cat!'

Cheng Shi gave an awkward laugh, thinking he'd been a tad too cautious. The phone had been in his possession for barely a few hours—besides Hong Lin, who else would know about it and be able to reach him?

'Well, this is bad. Dropping the na "Zhen Yi" probably just set Big Cat's fur on end.'

His expression turned sheepish and he was about to apologize—but just as he was formulating a casual deflection, the words died on his tongue.

Cheng Shi furrowed his brow and abruptly changed course:

"Drop the act. I know you're Zhen Yi. Baldy never told

any secret—you just gave yourself away."

The other end went dead silent. A few seconds later, a familiar, crisp, teasing voice ca through:

"Hee~"

"How strange. If Baldy never told you her little secret, how did you guess it was , Cheng. Little. Shi?"

!!!!!

'What the actual—you really are Zhen Yi!!!'

Cheng Shi was stunned. His grip on the handset was even tighter than when he'd heard [Birth]'s Divine Na. The grinding noise traveled through the line and reached Zhen Yi on the other side loud and clear.

When she heard it, Zhen Yi stopped laughing.

Her tone turned quite rigid: "You bluffed

again?"

Cheng Shi laughed in exasperation: "You lied to

again? How did you know I had this phone? And how did you call

on it?"

"Tch—it's a Baldy thing. She always likes giving these out. Sis said she hung around you for a while, so I figured you'd definitely have one."

Cheng Shi blinked: "She gave one to you too?"

"Boo-hoo-hoo, don't even get

started—I like her sooo much, I'd do anything for her, and she won't even give

one. She only gave one to my sister."

"Oh, and by the way—my little boyfriend, don't be jealous. I like you a lot too, you know. Look—the second I swiped Sis's phone, I called you first!"

"..."

'Lunatic!'

'Absolute lunatic!'

Cheng Shi wanted nothing more than to stuff the handset down the toilet and flush it, but he held back. After a mont of silence, he asked a question.

"Zhen Xin is a Magician?"

The other party blanked, then exclaid in surprise: "Oh? You're not stupid after all. How'd you guess?"

"Ha ha, you tell ."

"Ooh, I love guessing gas! I bet you—"

"Beep-beep-beep—" Cheng Shi hung up.

'If the conversation isn't going anywhere, cut it at half a sentence. Chatting with a lunatic shortens your lifespan.'

But the instant he hung up, the phone rang again. Cheng Shi's face darkened, and he raised his hand to smash it—but after a mont's thought, he lowered his arm.

He answered with a nacing growl: "What else?"

The person on the other end suddenly faltered, her voice tinged with disbelief and confusion:

"What's going on? Cheng Shi, who were you just talking to? That's impossible—this prayer-gifted phone can only connect the few people I gave one to. You..."

This ti the voice was Hong Lin. She trailed off mid-sentence, then cried out in alarm: "Zhen Yi? Did Zhen Yi call you?"

'What rotten luck!'

'What absolutely rotten luck!'

Cheng Shi's expression looked as though he'd eaten sothing unspeakable. He exhaled heavily and replied: "You're close with Zhen Xin?"

"Sigh—you an the phone thing?"

"Not really. She's much more levelheaded than her sister. We had a brief partnership once. But don't worry about it—Zhen Yi won't have access to the phone for long..."

"Do they live together?"

"You didn't know?"

Cheng Shi blanked: "Know what?"

"Hee~"

"My sister and I are the sa person, Cheng. Little. Shi!"

"?????"

'Son of a—!!!!'

...