"I know what you're about to say, my brother, but you seem to view our brotherhood too narrowly.
"Since I've already— oh no, since this Eternal Sun has already gifted my power to you on His behalf, whether you choose to release those sinners has nothing to do with
anymore.
"It's rely because I've awakened that these powers dragged them into my cage. But for my brother, having your prisoners lodged in my cage for a short while hardly counts as bargaining leverage.
"Do as you please."
"..." 'Oh no. Aph Ros is deploying the soft-touch strategy.'
'He's even trying to corrupt
with these petty favors!'
'Am I, Cheng Shi, soone so easily corrupted?'
'Yes, I am!'
Cheng Shi smiled— an absolutely gleeful smile.
"Aph Ros, I appreciate your generosity. But you've misunderstood . The actors I ntioned aren't just them. There's also..."
Cheng Shi grinned at him.
Aph Ros blinked: "?"
"Exactly! The real deal is this: I'd like to invite you to star in a battle-royale script. As for how to play the villain, I'm sure I don't need to teach you.
"Naturally, the compensation you'll receive from this deal is...
"After this, you may start receiving regular 'deliveries' from the [Void] era.
"Every sinner shipped to you— unless I specifically mark them for information extraction— will serve as your 'eyes' into this era!"
The mont those words landed, Aph Ros extended his hand.
"Deal!"
More than that, judging by his expression, this dual Envoy who'd been cut off from the outside world for so long could hardly contain his eagerness to explore this brand-new era.
Seeing the "partnership" go so smoothly, Cheng Shi smiled and extended his own hand, sharing for the very first ti a firm handshake with this [Corruption] Envoy...
...separated by a generous buffer of air.
"..."
'Are you kidding? How could I possibly physically shake hands with an Envoy who can stir desire at will?'
'One handshake and can I still control my desires? Would I still even be ?'
Cheng Shi was steady to the core, so he air-shook as a token gesture. The move, however, unmistakably turned Aph Ros's expression "aggrieved."
Cheng Shi looked at him, utterly exasperated.
"Can I add one condition? Could you please stop making those kinds of expressions on a handso man's face?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Aph Ros spun in the chair and instantly shifted into female form, still wearing that sa aggrieved look.
But the mont Hu Xuan— silent until now— saw the [Corruption] Envoy transform into a woman, she dropped her elegant composure entirely. Her eyes narrowed slowly.
She first shot a glance at the rain-of-cold-sweat Cheng Shi, then gave Aph Ros a sidelong look and scoffed:
"The stench of [Corruption]. Sll too much of it and it really does turn your stomach."
The moonlit beauty that was Aph Ros gave a soft laugh, entirely unbothered.
"My brother, tell ...
"Is the sunlit day more worth lingering in, or is a night with a bright moon overhead more alluring?"
"..."
Cheng Shi was drenched in cold sweat, not daring to make a sound. He could only smile politely and bury his face in his food.
Internally, he was too drained to even complain. He suddenly found himself missing a certain surna-Chen ascetic monk.
'Praised be [Silence], please open your eyes and look at what's happening here.'
Jokes were jokes, and Aph Ros knew when to stop.
The two Envoys and one player spent a short while refining the script at the table, then settled into their respective roles.
The scenario was straightforward: Aph Ros would play himself, portraying the [Birth] monster Go Lis, an indiscriminate predator hunting sinners who dared try to escape within this Void.
Cheng Shi was the sinner who'd escaped through outside help— that outside help being Hu Xuan, naturally.
According to the script, Cheng Shi had blown the whistle to summon Hu Xuan, and the two of them had narrowly evaded Go Lis's pursuit— sustaining heavy wounds in the process— while conveniently rescuing a few people who deserved to be rescued.
As for who deserved rescue, Cheng Shi had already drafted the criteria.
First: exclude anyone surnad Zhen. Next: exclude Big Cat's rival. After that: whatever felt right.
But just how generous "whatever felt right" turned out to be depended entirely on Cheng Shi's mood.
After hamring out the details, Aph Ros escorted Cheng Shi and Hu Xuan back to the Dolgod Assembly Hall. They watched as Aph Ros slowly faded, sinking into the depths of the Void to beco Go Lis. Cheng Shi surveyed the sparse "stillborn infants" dangling overhead and smiled to himself.
The peak players had finally reached the peak in this land of [Birth].
Peak in the literal sense.
"Do you think... it's okay for
to screw them over like this?" Cheng Shi rubbed his hands together excitedly. There wasn't a shred of guilt in his tone— only glee.
Hu Xuan smiled lightly:
"It sounds quite satisfying, honestly. But I have to play the villain and remind you: since you've chosen not to rescue all of them, you need to carefully weigh the pressure you'll face from trapping those few.
"After all, this isn't a solo ga.
"Cheng Shi, I think you understand this better than I do."
"Don't worry— they won't fail to escape. I actually have more confidence in them than in myself.
"I'm only giving Zhen Yi a minor setback— slowing her down so she doesn't interfere while I reclaim what's mine. As for the others, they'll be treated exactly as they should be.
"At the very least, from these players' perspective, I'm a pretty decent Fate Weaver.
"Sotis, acquaintances who know your roots are far easier to handle than complete strangers.
"I'll inevitably have to deal with them going forward. If I can bank so goodwill during this incident, the road ahead might be a bit smoother."
Hu Xuan smiled faintly: "It seems you've already seen the path ahead clearly."
"Seen it clearly?"
Cheng Shi laughed self-deprecatingly.
"I've never seen it clearly.
"But does not seeing the path an I shouldn't walk it?
"No. I only need to know that besides this direction, there's absolutely nowhere else to go— and that's enough to force myself forward.
"Anyway, enough of this airy-fairy talk. There's one more thing... I might need to trouble you with.
"I 'returned' the whistle you gave
to Zhen Yi. Of course, it's probably in Zhen Xin's hands by now. So..."
Hu Xuan understood imdiately what Cheng Shi ant. She'd sensed during her descent that the person who'd called her wasn't Cheng Shi. But she'd feared Cheng Shi might be in danger, unable to blow the whistle himself and forced to use a proxy. So she'd dropped everything and rushed over imdiately.
What she hadn't expected was that this was all a trap Cheng Shi had set for a group of peak players.
The audacity!
Even she— now a candidate for Envoy— wouldn't dare antagonize this many peak players at once!
Setting aside whether the sche would work or blow up, just the divine gazes these peak players carried on their backs... the thought alone was terrifying.
That wasn't just one God. That was a whole swarm of Them!
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