Poison ca in.
She hadn't forced her way in. The mont Aph Ros saw her, He'd extended an invitation to this junior of the sa faith.
"No one can refuse a beautiful woman. Especially one who worships Him. So, my brother — why are you standing there? Entertain this lovely follower of my lord for .
"A pleasure to et you, miss. What should I call you?"
"..."
Cheng Shi smacked his lips in exasperation. He shot Aph Ros a glance, thinking: 'Now where have I seen that opening move before?'
But he didn't refuse. After all, he'd opened the gate in front of everyone precisely to lure them inside and set his plan in motion.
Cheng Shi had several sches to resolve the interest conflicts within this trial. The core conflict involved only two people: Poison and Da Yi.
Both coveted the Gift of Sores. But even with ti reset and the First Prince still alive, there was only one dagger. So how to balance the final distribution was this "new trial's" greatest puzzle.
Cheng Shi obviously didn't want to give up Da Yi. The Ultraman identity was far more useful to him than the illusory Yu Xi persona. If he could secure the Da Yi pipeline, he might even be able to direct Hu Wei as a personal asset during future impersonations.
'Imagine — the Grand Marshal running errands for . Just thinking about it was exhilarating!'
'Never mind whether Hu Wei was actually the Grand Marshal. The point was: everyone believed he was.'
But Poison... clearly couldn't be discarded either.
To go far enough in this ga, having no friends was impossible. But the people Cheng Shi could genuinely call friends were vanishingly few. In an apocalypse, all types existed. So beyond friends, he needed people who could cooperate on demand, pawns he could deploy freely, and pieces hidden in the shadows...
Cheng Shi couldn't give trust to a [Corruption] follower. But that didn't stop him from mimicking Poison's own approach — "stringing" the other along so both beca available tools when needed.
Besides, she had died for him once. Since the promise of "I'll speed-run it for you" was already made, Cheng Shi naturally wouldn't undermine his own word.
As for the remaining Chaleon... never mind. A temp worker didn't qualify. Next.
Therefore, he'd been searching for a way to make one of the two conflicting parties relinquish their claim on the Gift of Sores.
The simplest option was replaying the Ultraman role to make Da Yi stand down, since Cheng Shi had already confird Da Yi was running errands for Lord Ultraman's mission. Canceling the mission at its source would eliminate all conflict from this trial.
But he refused. Because...
'Ultraman was himself!'
'Doing that would an he was the one giving up the Gift of Sores. And why would Cheng Shi surrender a dagger that was rightfully his just for a promise!?'
'Absolutely not!'
In his own words: 'It's not that I'm greedy. It's [Corruption] constantly influencing . Not just Aph Ros — Poison too. These [Corruption] followers keep eroding , making
unconsciously embrace my own desires!'
'[Corruption] is terrifying!'
'Bla-shifting complete.'
Since Cheng Shi wouldn't budge, the one to yield could only be Poison.
And so he'd chosen to lead the Chaleon through the gate in front of everyone. He knew these players — especially high-scoring ones with backup plans — could never kill their curiosity. As long as any of them followed, his plan could proceed.
Poison following was ideal. But Cheng Shi's goal wasn't to use status and intimidation to force her to give up. It was... to offer her a different path entirely!
Aph Ros.
The alternative path Cheng Shi had chosen for Poison was Aph Ros.
Since the trial began, Cheng Shi had been analyzing everyone's motivations for pursuing the Gift of Sores. Da Yi and Hu Wei's purpose was obvious — they wanted Dizel's soul, primarily for their [Chaos] mission. But Poison?
She'd been hunting this dagger even before Dizel's vessel, the Barren Walker, was abandoned by [Truth]. This [Corruption] assassin's relentless pursuit couldn't possibly be about upgrading her weapon. Cheng Shi could see her current dagger was already of exceptional quality. She had zero reason to risk her life for a replacent.
So what drove her was the only remaining possibility: a chance to draw closer to Them — or rather, a chance to keep pace with the ga's evolving rhythm!
The Chosen all knew the gods were pushing Faith Fusion. So had already begun fusing. But Poison? As a [Corruption] follower, her Benefactor had never summoned a single player. Forget players — even Aph Ros had never been granted an audience with Him.
Without her Benefactor's guidance, how could [Corruption]'s rank-one player keep up with the Faith Fusion wave?
The answer: with extre difficulty.
Considering the gods' collective attitude toward [Corruption], They would exercise extre caution about recruiting His followers.
So Cheng Shi surmised that everything Poison did was self-driven struggle.
Without guidance, she was trying to forge a path through her own understanding of the ga.
The Conjugate Whisper Fruit had been her first target. That fruit existed between real and illusory — obtaining it might have granted her a second faith in [Existence] or [Void]. But she'd failed. Because "Zhen Yi" had eaten it.
The Gift of Sores was her second attempt. It contained the soul of a [Decay] Envoy — one who'd forrly been a child of [Prosperity]. Acquiring it could very well open a path to a second faith. That was why she fought so hard.
She pursued fusion with [Decay] not out of affinity — but out of necessity.
Cheng Shi had built these deductions from his understanding of Poison and intelligence gathered over ti. Then, to balance both parties' interests and repay Poison's "trust," he'd orchestrated a small setup: bringing Poison face-to-face with Aph Ros.
As [Corruption]'s Envoy — the true king of Dolgod — Aph Ros happened to hold two faiths. If He could offer even the slightest guidance on the Faith Fusion path, Poison might genuinely abandon the dagger she'd pursued for so long — achieving a win-win with Cheng Shi!
So when Cheng Shi said "I'll speed-run it for you," he'd never ant speed-running the trial. He ant sothing far more audacious: speed-running faith!
He was using Aph Ros's territory to secure Poison a second faith — or at minimum, the guidance toward one!
'Eldest brother as father.' In an era where [Corruption] never showed Himself, who said an Envoy couldn't serve as faith's guide?
Of course, Cheng Shi knew Aph Ros's other faith probably wasn't suited for Poison. [Birth] was terrifying — more terrifying than [Corruption]. Making one person serve as both a malevolent sinner and a birth-borrowed infant? The re thought would drain anyone's sanity.
But the specific faith didn't matter. What mattered was Aph Ros's thod of fusing faiths!
What Poison had always lacked was a guide — not a faith-changing opportunity placed directly before her. Of course, a direct opportunity would be better. But as an intelligent person, she surely understood: teaching a man to fish beats giving him a fish.
With clearer guidance, she could follow the map at her own pace and seek a second faith that truly suited her.
So Cheng Shi's answer for speed-running Poison's faith was... introducing her to Aph Ros. To an Envoy with firsthand Faith Fusion experience!
For a Chosen who'd never once been summoned by her own Benefactor, this was an opportunity beyond asure.
And judging by Aph Ros's attitude, He seed quite interested in this junior of the sa faith.
Cheng Shi smiled. Looking at the slightly bewildered Poison, the corner of his mouth curled. Silently, he thought:
'The opportunity is yours. Whether you seize it, how tightly you grip it, and how much you take — that's entirely up to you, Miss Assassin.'
'With this, our transaction concludes.'
'I'm sorry, but it can only be a transaction. Because I am a liar. I cannot offer trust.'
'And the trust you offered... may not have been sincere either.'
'I won't investigate why Gongyang Jiao suddenly drowned in self-desire and erupted with greed. But I remain grateful for the rescue. At least — you spared
one death.'
'Since They built this chessboard, you and I are both pieces. So pieces huddling for warmth — or even serving as each other's pieces — is nothing to be ashad of...'
'Wouldn't you agree, Miss Assassin?'
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