"You're Ad Ric?"
"...Yes. I warn you—don't try anything. If you lay a hand on us, A Rad and Shi Lolin won't let you off—"
"Whoosh!"
Before Ad Ric could finish, Cheng Shi's scalpel threaded between his damp trouser legs and embedded itself in the floor beneath the table. The tallic ring scared him witless. The discerning miner imdiately shut up.
Cheng Shi snorted. 'This guy's survival instincts are way slower than his mine buddy's.'
"When you were sleeping with A Rad's sister and stealing Shi Lolin's money, did you imagine one day you'd invoke their nas for protection?"
The jab was casual, but the trembling miner actually grunted an affirmative.
That grunt broke Cheng Shi's brain.
'Wait—you actually planned for this?'
'What in the world—Abyssal Volcano fus toxic or sothing? Why is everyone here ntally off?'
Cheng Shi opened his mouth, closed it, exhaled heavily, reconnected his train of thought, and chuckled despite himself:
"Last chance. I ask, you answer. One more nonsense reply, and I'll send you down to join... the Blind One."
"???" Ad Ric was baffled—afraid and baffled. He didn't understand what "going down to join the Blind One" ant, but he knew better than to ask. Another question ant death.
Cheng Shi cut straight to the point:
"When did you and Alo Manni beco husband and wife?"
Every ear in the room perked up. This was clearly a question designed to pin down which "Discrepancy" the miner represented. His answer was critical.
Ad Ric was still reeling. He couldn't fathom why waking from a hangover ant four n interrogating him and Alo Manni about their marital status, like so court proceeding.
'Is love a cri now?'
Terrified—but he didn't dare not answer.
"I... just proposed. We haven't actually married yet."
"?" Cheng Shi's face shifted—nearly exploded, thinking the Death Master's mory abilities had failed. "Then why call her 'wife'?"
"A fiancée is still a wife! She accepted my proposal, but I haven't had ti to steal—no—I don't have the money to marry her yet."
'Brilliant. Steal money for the wedding. Steal from her boss. Steal from your boss's sister to fund the ceremony.'
'Life really is a broken ga, and you've absolutely mastered it.'
Cheng Shi snort-laughed. Exasperated, he jabbed a finger at the man and ordered him to recount that night's events in full. Ad Ric dared not refuse. Cowering against the table edge, he spoke pitifully.
The miner's story was nothing like the woman's transaction.
He said he was poor and ashad. Most shanty won looked down on him. Only Alo Manni didn't mind, still serving him even when he stole from her. So he fell in love with this "kindhearted" girl, and one bright evening, he confessed his feelings.
She accepted his proposal, he said. They spent all night planning their future. But just before dawn, she suddenly wanted to go back to work at the shanty. That abrupt coldness enraged him—so he struck her.
At this point, everyone frowned. The story could have been a trial lead—but now sothing felt off. Ad Ric might not be confused at all. He might simply have been duped by the "professional" Alo Manni.
But the shanty woman had also claid she was deceived. So who was really fooled?
While the group pondered, the perceptive Qin Xin caught sothing. After a mont's deliberation, he stepped forward and woke the unconscious Alo Manni to confirm one detail:
"You said it was him who described your 'future'?" He pointed at Ad Ric.
Alo Manni stirred groggily. Seeing Ad Ric suddenly alive again, she shrieked and lurched backward—forgetting she was already at the table's edge with nowhere to go.
CRASH. The shanty woman toppled off the table and hit the floor.
She curled up and crawled toward the nearest person—Qin Xin. He didn't move, rely propping her up with his thin sword while gently reassuring her: "Calm down. He's not dead. He fainted just like you did."
Alo Manni clutched his armored thigh like a lifeline. Peeking from behind the tal plates, she nodded frantically:
"I'll talk! I'll say everything! It was him! He told
about all the things I wanted—the things I dread of! He definitely researched ! He had ulterior motives!
That's all I know, I swear! Let
go—or Shi Lolin will really co for you!"
Ad Ric—who'd been about to help Alo Manni up—froze in disbelief. He stared at the "fiancée" hiding behind Qin Xin's leg, utterly stunned:
"Alo Manni, why are you lying?!
You're the one who said all that! You told
what you loved! You drew up the detailed plan for our ho! You gave
a goal to work toward! Why are you saying I said it?!
You're scared of them?!
Yes—I'm scared too! But no amount of fear would make
desecrate our love!
This is love! How could you—!!!"
Before he could finish, Wang Mou—who'd been deep in thought—suddenly cut in:
"Speculation proves nothing. Only practice yields truth. If only one person can leave this room alive today—do you choose yourself, or give that chance to your fiancée?"
Ad Ric jolted as if electrocuted. He stumbled back, clutching the table. After agonizing for exactly one second, resolve flash-froze in his eyes. Face ghostly white: "Myself! I choose myself! Let
go! Please let
go!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
Every head turned toward the man who'd been swearing to protect love just monts ago. Each expression was more colorful than the last.
Alo Manni, still huddled at Qin Xin's feet, seed to have predicted this. Not only was she unfazed—she praised him: "Following your heart's desire is the finest offering to our lord. Ad Ric—you don't belong with the Proxy Hand. I suggest you join us. Join the Extre Desire Brotherhood!"
'These "spouses"...'
'Fantastic! Recruiting right in front of us!'
'Is this absurd or is this absurd?!'
Cheng Shi went numb. Brain smoking.
'This isn't Falling Gate. This is clearly "the Prisoner's House."'
'If either of you had even one functional brain cell between you, my scalp wouldn't be short-circuiting like this!'
A long, long silence. Broken only by the sll of urine. Ad Ric had wet himself—whether from terror or last night's alcohol, no one could say.
Cheng Shi and Qin Xin exchanged a glance. A silent, wordless, definitive nod.
Confird: one of these two was definitely a Ti "Discrepancy." Because Master of Deception confird—neither was lying.
aning during that night's private "confession"—an event only the two of them witnessed—one of them had been replaced.
Since no outsider knew the content of their conversation, identifying who was the anomaly would take more investigation.
But it wasn't hard. If one of them was the "Discrepancy," then that person must differ from who should exist in the current tiline. The next step was following their mories to investigate their pasts and determine whether the Discrepancy belonged to the present or the past.
Ti trials typically offered temporal clues—though rarely as straightforwardly as providing three explicit ti nodes.
Based on past experience, anomalies from the past were easiest to identify. With sufficient legwork and investigation, clues about people or objects would always surface.
Present anomalies were trickier. Players first had to establish which exact ti period "the present" corresponded to.
The hardest—the future—could probably only be resolved after all other clues had been sorted and analyzed.
Still, finding a lead in the first round of exploration heartened all four players. Following this thread should yield deeper discoveries soon.
They exchanged decisive glances and prepared to split up again. But before moving out, Investigator Li Wufang spoke up:
"Chosen An still hasn't appeared. Has she... left the trial?"
Cheng Shi raised an eyebrow with a smile: "Why—does her presence matter?"
Li Wufang nodded: "I don't believe in fate. But with Fate's guidance, this trial might be easier—at least for you all."
'Doesn't believe in fate? Then who went begging the Blind One for guidance at the trial's start?'
Cheng Shi chuckled. The Investigator clearly wasn't above bending the truth for face.
"I'm also a Fate follower. Maybe I can sense its guidance too?"
Li Wufang was unimpressed: "But Brother Cheng—you're a Fate Weaver, not a Prophet."
'I can be... just not right now.'
Cheng Shi shook his head, smiling:
"This trial is already easy enough.
In half a day, we've found a solid lead—one with clear potential for deeper investigation. Isn't that its own form of Fate's guidance?
You should know—Fate's guidance isn't so cheap signpost. It's the quietly predetermined.
When you obsess over chasing Fate, you've already drifted from its trajectory.
So don't be so fixated. Relax. Fate... is watching you."
Every player in the room fell into contemplation. Wang Mou mused: "No wonder they always say the pursuit of truth isn't just about strength. Luck... is equally important. I've learned sothing today."
Cheng Shi offered an elegant, guru-like smile: "My pleasure."
And just as the Fate Weaver was in the midst of enthusiastically proselytizing, a familiar, cool voice drifted from behind him:
"Your understanding of Fate is as profound as ever, Cheng Shi."
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