Foolish Game of the Chapter 639: The Trial's Difficulty Just Spiked

"You're alone?

Where's the Erudite Scholar?"

After sending the Blind One off, Cheng Shi turned back to Qin Xin. Finally he had a chance to properly talk with this mory follower—the suspected founder of the Torchbearers.

Qin Xin smiled faintly. He first glanced at the other corpse lying before Cheng Shi, then pointed toward the outskirts:

"The Scholar trusts

enough to split up for efficiency's sake.

He knows the Magma Crystal Mines, so he headed there. I stayed behind to wander the town."

Cheng Shi's expression turned peculiar: "He ditched you to go to the mines alone, and you're not even suspicious?"

"Of course I am. I tailed him for a while. He's cautious—seed to sense soone, so he played it normal.

This is a trial that requires trust. I can't waste ti following a teammate without cause. So after finding nothing, I ca back."

"You ca looking for us?" Cheng Shi was mildly surprised—the man's tone suggested he'd been heading toward him and the Blind One specifically.

"Correct. Compared to the Scholar's private agenda, I was more interested in your results. And now... I've learned them.

Unfortunate."

"..." 'Shrewd—every last one of them. Nobody needs to say a word; one look at the scene and they've deduced everyone's relationships.'

Cheng Shi was quietly impressed. But then he frowned, rembering Qin Xin's attitude at the inn—it didn't match his current deanor. Back then, Qin Xin had repeatedly shot puzzled glances at the Blind One, clearly surprised by her prophecy and her decision to stay. Yet now...

"Who's this?" Qin Xin interrupted his thoughts, nodding toward Ad Ric.

"Ad Ric. An imprisoned miner. We found his mories were confused—possibly a trial breakthrough. We were carrying him to find a second lead: a shanty woman nad Alo Manni."

Cheng Shi glanced up at the sky. The tracking threads—invisible to him since earlier—had already vanished completely with the Blind One's death.

Qin Xin nodded: "Sounds like we should rendezvous with the Scholar."

"Interesting. You don't seem worried about the Blind One's death, and you don't care whether I join the Torchbearers?

Her invitation—that had your approval, didn't it?"

Cheng Shi hefted Ad Ric again, preparing to head for the mines with Qin Xin. As for the Blind One—until she returned, standing around was a waste.

Qin Xin smiled slightly and took the miner's corpse from him. The burly Ad Ric looked almost dainty next to the fully-armored warrior.

Instead of shouldering the body, Qin Xin simply dangled it at his side and walked forward effortlessly.

"You're very curious about my identity. Perhaps you've guessed right—but perhaps not entirely.

I told you, Cheng Shi—I trust you. So I'm not worried about the Blind One.

As for whether you'll join the Torchbearers... I discussed the invitation with her beforehand. She's soone with sharp instincts for the future—actually quite similar to you. She's not a true Torchbearer in spirit either. We're companions on the sa road, and she chose to join while walking it. You chose to refuse.

Perhaps that's exactly why she wanted to recruit you.

I thought it'd be an intrusion—I knew that if our other Fire Seeker encountered you, she'd probably extend an invitation too, given her personality. But you went anonymous and stayed hidden, aning you'd already rejected us once.

Still, the Blind One insisted. She persuaded . She said it wasn't an opportunity for you—it was an opportunity for the Torchbearers. She could sense your potential value to us, just as clearly as she sensed she'd one day stand alongside us.

But I'd already anticipated your refusal.

Cheng Shi—I'm sorry. Perhaps we're just too weak, which is why we wanted to seize this one chance. But don't worry about it. After this trial, the Rembrance Needle will make the Blind One and ... forget everything.

Lao Deng will die at the Torchbearers' hands. And the Prisoner... though he chose to join us, I still had him swear an Oath of Silence. So—you're safe.

And I'm glad the Torchbearers haven't burdened you further."

"..."

For the first ti, Cheng Shi had no idea how to respond. Qin Xin's words covered every angle—cause, process, outco—all laid out in perfect detail. Even the cleanup he'd normally handle himself had been pre-addressed. Beyond listening, he could do nothing.

Silence fell. A heavy-armored warrior carrying a corpse walked shoulder to shoulder with a Fate Weaver toward the mines beyond town.

They hadn't gone far when they ran into Wang Mou returning from the mines. The Erudite Scholar, like Qin Xin, carried an apparently unconscious woman—and the two groups nearly collided on the narrow path out of town.

Cheng Shi's eyebrow rose with amusent: "Scholar—the lady in your hands wouldn't happen to be a shanty woman nad Alo Manni, would she?"

Wang Mou blinked. He tilted his head toward the corpse in Qin Xin's grip and nodded:

"Seems we've both found sothing. I discovered this confused woman in the mine's dical ward, being treated by so quack.

Though I couldn't tell if it was treatnt or a transaction. In any case, their conversation revealed sothing fishy—this woman's mories appear to be... problematic.

So I removed the quack and brought her back, planning to question her in front of everyone."

Qin Xin nodded approvingly. Cheng Shi just grinned.

He studied the Scholar with interest: "Why not question her in private first? Surely you know—sotis leads have a very short shelf life."

"We have plenty of ti. Besides, the Investigator follows Order. I'd rather not invite his suspicion with unauthorized questioning—that would only hurt efficiency."

'Reasonable enough. Cautious too. But...'

Cheng Shi's lips curled: "Scholar—since you care so much about efficiency, did eavesdropping on soone's dical treatnt... not affect efficiency?"

"?" Wang Mou's face stiffened. He glanced at Cheng Shi, then at the ever-smiling Qin Xin, and his gaze shifted away: "I happened to overhear while looking for clues nearby. Actually—"

"Fine, fine—not important. Just a joke. Why so defensive?" Cheng Shi teased. "The mine seems big. Besides this woman, any other leads?"

"Yes. But one person's effort was far from enough for proper investigation. Since we've set a regrouping ti, we should share intel first, make a deeper plan, and then return as a full team.

Work thodically, achieve efficiently. I suggest—"

BOOM!

Before he could finish, a deafening explosion rocked the town center. By the ti the three turned with grim faces, they saw—with shock—that an entire section of the town's southeast had been wiped clean from reality.

"!!!"

The Extinguisher!

The volatile mage had ultimately failed to control her destructive urge—and cranked this trial's difficulty straight up.

Wang Mou's gaze darkened. Qin Xin's brow furrowed. Cheng Shi stared in disbelief.

At this level, any Oblivion follower who couldn't properly suppress their annihilation drive would be dogpiled by every other player. Normally, anyone who'd climbed this high had developed thods to balance the urge.

But Wu Cun had seed fine just monts ago. What went wrong?

The three exchanged grave looks. Reading in each other's eyes the shared desire to clear this trial, they spoke in unison—"Go!"—and sprinted toward the erased zone.

Before the Extinguisher could obliterate every last clue, they had to find a way to restrain her. If she spiraled further, there'd be zero hope of completion. And if worst ca to worst—teammate or not—she'd have to be killed.

As the thought ford, the Blind One's prophecy echoed in his mind.

Five!

On the last day, only five would sit around the table.

He checked his watch. Just past the hour—barely two and a half hours since they'd split up. Was this prophecy about to co true on day one's morning?