Cheng Shi stood up and glanced back one more ti at the Inquisition's gate. Sensing no hidden eyes within, he frowned slightly:
"Let's go. Back to the lounge first. He chose to strike where people were scarce—aning he doesn't want to cause a huge commotion. The church interior is crowded. Staying there might be safer than these desolate alleys."
As he spoke, he pulled several thick ropes from his spatial storage and trussed Gao Ya up tight, then grabbed her hood and dragged her along the ground back the way they'd co.
Zhang Jizu followed in silence, watching the "resigned" Soloist with great interest, lost in his own thoughts.
Scorpio voluntarily took on the role of the squad's eyes and ears, darting between shadows ahead and behind, maintaining maximum vigilance. Granted, such vigilance was utterly useless against a Scavenger who could annihilate his own killing intent—but the cooperative gesture still earned him so goodwill from the other two.
Cheng Shi watched the [Ti] assassin, thinking that since he was here as a clown this round, the little assassin's teamwork deserved a carry. No harm in lending him a hand.
After all, [Fate] always forgave. Even if it didn't forgive rival-faith players, it would forgive the act of carrying a rival-faith player to victory.
'So—why not praise [Fate]?'
It wasn't long before the group returned to the church's main hall. They'd crossed nurous alleys and boulevards, passed the bustling church entrance—and even with all these Dolgod citizens, church personnel, and law enforcers watching, Cheng Shi's act of dragging Gao Ya drew zero questions or inquiries.
Only upon returning to the spot where players had originally spawned did Cheng Shi finally explain to his two bewildered teammates with a grin:
"Dolgod is a remarkable place. Every law and religious ordinance here protects exactly one thing: everyone's equal right to procreate."
"So, as long as you haven't stripped anyone of their reproductive ability, you can do anything outrageous, twisted, or downright deranged—and nobody will bat an eye."
"I once—ahem, never mind. Let's get to business."
Cheng Shi's face shifted oddly at so mory. He swallowed whatever he'd been about to say. Zhang Jizu raised an eyebrow and pressed with interest:
"Once what? Do tell."
Scorpio was nodding vigorously off to the side: "Share, big bro! I love hearing you high-level mages talk history."
"...This isn't exactly official history. More like unofficial lore."
"Unofficial history, baby—now we're talking!"
"..." Cheng Shi shook his head with a laugh, organized his wording, then rephrased what he'd been about to say.
'Can't exactly tell them these stories ca from clients I personally delivered babies for.'
"I once read a story in the unofficial annals of Dolgod. The exact year is unverifiable. The gist was:"
"A citizen of Dolgod, while stealing from her neighbor's property, discovered that the neighbor had dismbered her husband and buried him in the backyard. Terrified, the citizen reported the neighbor to the church."
"On the day of the trial, the neighbor argued that she hadn't deprived her husband of his reproductive rights—so the church couldn't sentence her for blasphemy. The judges demanded evidence. So she brought out a porcelain jar, opened it, and produced..."
"Her husband's 'reproductive instrunt.'"
"She claid it was from the Uda Rioters' God Reproduction technique. This way, she could be rid of her husband's detestable face without committing the cri of blasphemy."
"The judges didn't take her word for it and demanded proof. So then..."
Scorpio was dumbstruck. He'd never dread that unofficial history could be this wild. He unconsciously swallowed, asking in a dry voice:
"Then what?"
"Then she was acquitted."
"Huh?" Scorpio was profoundly shaken. His eyes blinked rapidly, mouth opening and closing, face plastered with disbelief. "Huh? But—"
Even the perpetually composed Zhang Jizu's pupils contracted slightly. He let out a discreet cough.
"Ahem... unofficial history is indeed... unofficial."
Cheng Shi also looked deeply moved.
'Yeah. If I hadn't personally delivered a baby for that story's protagonist, who'd have believed it was real?'
Reality was far more absurd than fiction. And the reality of the Land of Hope—no, the reality of the Life Era—was built entirely out of absurdity.
As the three standing people wore their various expressions, Gao Ya, lying on the ground, let out a cold laugh:
"Ignorance. That's not unofficial history. It's real."
Zhang Jizu narrowed his eyes, looking down at her. Cheng Shi blinked, then raised an eyebrow with a smile:
"Oh? And how would you know?"
Gao Ya glanced at Cheng Shi, looked away to avoid his gaze—and Zhang Jizu's—and instead fixed her haughty stare on Scorpio, as if condescending to bestow her knowledge:
"Anyone who's studied the history of the Life Era's Three Wu Tribes would know this story has to be true."
'Three Wu Tribes?'
Cheng Shi frowned. The term didn't seem to exist in his mory. He turned to Zhang Jizu, who raised an eyebrow—clearly having heard of it—but his silence ant he didn't know much either.
Ti for another history lesson, it seed. Only this ti, the teacher was...
Cheng Shi glanced at Gao Ya, chuckled, and crouched down, thodically untying her bonds.
"Alright, quit the mutual contempt."
"You ssed with my head specifically so I'd bring you back here. Since you want to cooperate, then cooperate properly. Put away that [Folly] look-down-through-the-nostrils routine."
"Otherwise, we have no room for a diva like you."
"But I don't have the Scavenger's level of destructive urges either. If you don't want to cooperate, just leave."
"Of course—if you're willing to cooperate, how about telling us about these Three Wu Tribes?"
At this, everyone froze.
Gao Ya stared at Cheng Shi in surprise, apparently not expecting her little sche to be exposed.
Zhang Jizu's lips curved. He shook his head with a smile: "So you knew all along."
Scorpio, on the other hand, was montarily confused. But after studying everyone's reactions, it clicked—the Soloist had wanted to co back with them all along!
Yes—that was exactly Gao Ya's intent.
During their earlier encounter, she'd spotted the three inside the Inquisition even before they'd noticed her. By the ti she saw them, she'd already deduced roughly seventy to eighty percent of what this little squad had been through. She'd decided then to rejoin the group rather than risk going solo.
But she had self-awareness. Setting aside her ingrained [Folly] personality, the reputation of [Folly] followers alone made it nearly impossible to integrate into any player group.
So she'd been laying groundwork from the start—and her thod was the Soloist's talent: subtly influencing the squad's leader, Cheng Shi!
The Soloist was a fascinating support class. [Folly]'s blessing to singers was the ability to make those influenced by the Soloist's lody feel a sense of agreent toward a designated target.
In simple terms: making one person's words and decisions more persuasive and rallying.
So she'd begun playing her lody ahead of ti, subtly affecting the three and designating Cheng Shi as the target. Then she'd slipped so variations into the tune—reducing Cheng Shi's hostility toward her while amplifying his emotional swings.
That was why Cheng Shi had been so "verbally vicious" in his rebuttal at that mont, and why he'd so "undemocratically" decided to drag her back.
Zhang Jizu had sensed the [Folly] lody's influence early on. But since it rely amplified Cheng Shi's emotions without any other negative effects, he'd let it slide.
The little assassin Scorpio hadn't noticed a thing.
As for Cheng Shi—initially, he hadn't realized he'd been affected. His personality was naturally like this; he frequently made inflammatory remarks. Today had just been a bit more "intense" than usual.
He only realized he might have been influenced when they were already halfway back—a delayed realization that the [Folly] follower had wanted to cooperate all along.
But his epiphany hadn't co from spotting a flaw in the Soloist's lody. It was because of Zhang Jizu!
Since the trial began, squinty-eyes had been watching Cheng Shi most of the ti. But on the way back, Cheng Shi noticed his gaze frequently drifting to Gao Ya—and that shift told him the [Death] Chosen One was guarding against the Soloist.
As for why he'd guard against a singer—obviously because she'd been ddling.
Replaying his own behavior, Cheng Shi quickly realized his emotions had been manipulated. Manipulated by the Soloist's silent lody.
'Got careless?'
'Not really. In a situation with a psycho teammate on the hunt, teaming up with a "smart person" isn't such a bad deal.' It was precisely because Cheng Shi hadn't been overly hostile toward the [Folly] teammate from the start that Gao Ya's little sche had found an opening.
Having untangled this covert skirmish, Cheng Shi had said what he'd said.
He smiled at Zhang Jizu without answering directly. Getting outplayed by a Soloist wasn't exactly sothing to brag about.
But Zhang Jizu read his response and naturally assud Cheng Shi had known all along—and had counter-maneuvered accordingly.
Gao Ya stood up with a complicated expression. She was about to speak when Cheng Shi cut her off:
"You get one chance. Rember to drop the [Folly] act."
"Otherwise, we go our separate ways."
"..."
The [Folly] follower gritted her teeth, fighting the urge to look down through her nostrils. She redirected her gaze sideways to a table in the lounge.
After pouring all her disdain onto that innocent table, Gao Ya finally felt comfortable enough to speak.
...
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