Foolish Game of the Chapter 506: Wait — You're Actually [Chaos]?

"No specific goal. I was just wandering around, happened to bump into him, and followed along to have a look."

The "him" in Cheng Shi's mouth naturally referred to Hu Wei, but he didn't know what Hu Wei was called within this circle, so he could only use vague pronouns.

He wasn't done yet. A lie with too little information was easily picked apart. So he padded it with so unrelated filler.

"Originally I wanted to visit an old friend here. Unfortunately, we didn't cross paths.

"But I should warn you — that thing has already been taken.

"A pity. One step too late."

Da Yi couldn't guess who Cheng Shi's "old friend" was, but he knew what "that thing" referred to. At the last sentence, he froze.

"Taken?

"Hot damn — taken by who?

"My lord, with you here, can't we get it back?"

'My lord...'

'Oh, my lord indeed.'

'So which lord, exactly!?'

Cheng Shi was sorely tempted to lay his cards on the table — just say he was Ultraman and watch the reaction.

But he knew that even now, Da Yi didn't trust him a hundred percent. The man might have no other choice but to gradually believe, yet as long as full confirmation was lacking, this shrewd assassin would keep a kernel of vigilance alive.

Cheng Shi didn't dare touch that vigilance. He definitely didn't dare gamble on that lone possibility, because it could beco the fuse that detonated the entire con — incinerating the identity script he'd painstakingly crafted.

Still, if they kept exchanging idle small talk like this, a slip was inevitable.

Cheng Shi didn't know how close Da Yi was to this so-called lord — how many tis they'd t. To minimize friction and prevent exposure, to redirect Da Yi's attention toward the content being delivered, he decided to add more weight to [Deceit]'s scales.

"Servant God. Servant God. That single word 'servant' makes it clear — those bearing such a title are far from omnipotent.

"Its disappearance is entangled with Their wills. I underestimated this matter."

Cheng Shi knew Hu Wei and Da Yi had co with a clear objective: obtain the Gift of Sores. So he pushed more aggressively, re-framing the dagger quest as a mission from a certain lord — probing their hand.

On the surface, the line carried a whiff of "I miscalculated this assignnt." But if the guess was wrong, the phrasing left enough ambiguity for backtracking.

This was classic con-artist exit-strategy rhetoric. Cheng Shi knew it by heart.

But apparently no exit was needed. Because after hearing those words, Da Yi lifted his head with resolute eyes, displaying his devotion through an expression of utmost gravity:

"Then what should I do now, my lord?"

'He believed it!'

'Oh!'

That single response told Cheng Shi the job was done!

Hu Wei's people had indeed been searching for the Gift of Sores on behalf of soone above!

But that "soone above" wasn't [War]. It was [Chaos].

'Now that was interesting.'

Cheng Shi didn't rush to speak. He studied Da Yi carefully, then smiled:

"When did you first realize it was ?"

Da Yi froze. He didn't understand what this lord was getting at — he couldn't very well admit he'd had no clue until after Cheng Shi killed Gongyang Jiao, could he?

Even if it had been an honest mistake before the reveal, Da Yi didn't want to acknowledge his significant role in the sche to corner Cheng Shi.

So he answered carefully:

"My lord... your disguise was impeccable. I didn't recognize you.

"At first, I was too eager to track Dizel's soul and broke from the team, putting you in danger...

"When I went back for you and found Gongyang Jiao's corpse, I realized the 'Cheng Shi' you were playing might not be a simple Fate Weaver.

"It was only later — when you spoke to

from atop the wall. Those words, in a style unmistakably yours — that I began to suspect you might be... you..."

'Good grief!'

Cheng Shi nearly mistook Da Yi for a [Deceit] follower.

'Buddy, your boot-licking ga rivals Long Jing's.'

'Now even a throwaway line of mine has "his lordship's style"?'

Cheng Shi wanted to laugh, but his face remained half-smiling, noncommittal. Seeing the expression, Da Yi dropped his gaze. And played dead.

The room fell suddenly silent. Cheng Shi was in no hurry. He ran through the entire con one more ti, confird there were no contradictions, then spoke again:

"Aren't you curious why I'm impersonating a Fate Weaver?"

Da Yi's gaze sharpened, but he shook his head: "My lord has His reasons."

"Heh. 'His reasons' indeed.

"Correct. I do have certain ideas.

"This era belongs to [Void]. While [Chaos] and [Void] aren't mortal enemies, [Void] offers [Chaos] no benefit whatsoever.

"So to accomplish anything in this era, we must find another path.

"[Fate] is the essence of [Void]. If we want [Chaos] to bloom within [Void], we can never — under any circumstances — bypass Him.

"And so I've begun... a new experint.

"Using a [Fate] follower as the catalyst is the first step.

"I selected a player within His followers that I found agreeable. Copied his identity. And began working to raise my score and draw closer to Him..."

Da Yi was thunderstruck. He raised his head, visibly shaken, and asked uncertainly:

"My lord, we've... changed targets?

"Weren't we supposed to approach [War] first?"

???????

'Huh?'

'What!?'

'Huh??'

'What are you saying?'

Cheng Shi blanked. ntal thunderclaps echoed through his skull.

'This was bad!'

He suddenly realized he'd miscalculated one thing: was Da Yi's identity as a [War] assassin actually real? Or was his [Chaos] power distorting perception!?

Before today, even if he'd thought of the question, he couldn't have reached the answer.

But now, combined with what Da Yi had just said — "Weren't we supposed to approach [War] first?"

"We" were approaching [War]!

'So on what basis were "you" and "I" grouped as "we"?'

'It couldn't be [Chaos]!?'

'Don't tell

you're actually a [Chaos] operative?'

'Huh?'

'This seemingly straightforward Gap Light Iron Thorn... was actually a mirage-refraction type?'

'Then where did all that [War] power co from?'

'Dual faith? Or [Chaos] trickery?'

'Even if all of that could be explained away — what about his ranking? His Ladder of Ascent standing — wouldn't soone catch on?'

Cheng Shi couldn't laugh anymore. His brain was mush. But his reflexes were sharp. He imdiately responded:

"The established target hasn't changed. That's why I called this an experint."

Da Yi relaxed, exhaling with relief. Then he asked in a low voice:

"Does Old... Old Hu know?"

'You'd better not be about to say "hot damn"...'

But verbal tics aside, Cheng Shi suddenly realized this was a serious problem!

Hu Wei!

Da Yi had ntioned Hu Wei! And that tone of voice...

'Sothing was off. His identity couldn't also be [Chaos], could it!?'

'That was the Grand Marshal — the Chosen ranked at the very top! How could he also be an impostor!?'

Da Yi's situation could be faked with enough effort. Setting aside all manner of bizarre techniques, he wasn't in the top handful of rankings. As long as he hid his ID, he could manage. Especially as a [Chaos] follower — muddying waters was second nature.

'But Hu Wei...'

'Forget his imnse [War] power for a mont. Even if he truly was a [Chaos] follower, to usurp [War]'s na — would [War]'s original Chosen agree to that?'

'Wouldn't the real Chosen blow the whistle!?'

'How could any Chosen silently tolerate soone else — possibly not even a Chosen — occupying their "honor"!?'

'The Chosen rankings held no secrets. Under the scrutiny of all, they couldn't be altered. So how could identity theft work?'

'Then again... the [Chaos] Chosen had never publicly appeared...'

Cheng Shi was stupefied.

He'd assud this conversation would yield a few useful scraps at best. He never imagined he'd reel in sothing enormous.

As for whether this revelation was real...

'Probably not.' He could hardly believe anyone would surrender their Chosen status without exposing Hu Wei.

Unless the Ladder of Ascent had rules he didn't know about. Or unless They possessed undisclosed thods of "cheating."

So the most reasonable inference given the current facts was:

Hu Wei had always been a [War] follower. His second faith was [Chaos]. And within [Chaos]'s sche to approach [War], the Grand Marshal looked more like a [War] defector — playing a role that was neither honorable nor devout in this rger of faiths.

If so, the benefits he'd gained from the [Chaos] camp had to be staggering. Only sothing that massive could offset the losses of branding yourself a faithless traitor to your own faction.

"He will know."

Cheng Shi smiled. But the emotions woven into that smile were anything but simple.