"I said it wasn't really a miss."
"No — the next part. What do you an she was 'in your line of sight'? You separated?"
"Uh, yes. I thought she was fine. The Extinguisher wasn't an unstable factor at first. I just didn't expect that the mont she left my sight—"
Li Wufang stopped himself mid-sentence. His expression abruptly turned solemn.
And not just his — everyone's.
!!!
There were no fools present. The instant Cheng Shi adopted that posture and pressed Li Wufang's phrasing with such gravity, every player's mind lit up with a flash of insight. They all suddenly realized where the crux of this trial truly lay!
One by one they looked at Cheng Shi — awed by his acuity yet stunned by the trial's complexity — then furrowed their brows and retreated into their own mories. The scene fell silent.
Monts later, Cheng Shi was the first to break the silence.
Although Li Wufang hadn't answered his question directly, so questions no longer needed answering. He'd figured it out.
Just now — thanks to the Investigator's unwitting hint — everything had clicked.
He'd been wrong. He'd been wrong all along.
Every Ti discrepancy in this trial had nothing to do with the Divinity-extracting Abyss Colorful Crystal. Because what changed the players wasn't any specific entity — it was a certain state related to their existence!
'Fine, fine, fine — I knew Ti's trial wouldn't be simple. But I didn't expect Him to dig His own grave this hard!'
'But now I see it. Let's see how else You plan to bury !'
Cheng Shi swept his gaze across everyone. After cataloguing every expression, he suddenly smiled with genuine sincerity:
"I know everyone here has already thought of sothing — you're just one step of verification short. To help you find your own answers, I'll throw out the first brick to attract jade: my own experience, to resolve your doubts.
Of course, I'm not a generous person. I'm just hosick and don't want to get lost in Ti's maze. So I hope my honesty will be repaid with yours."
The clown's desire to trade for others' sincerity was genuine. How much sincerity he himself was offering, however, was debatable.
Going first — laying out his experience for others to verify — was admittedly a disadvantage. But not entirely. At least Cheng Shi could prevent others from lying to his face, and by observing everyone's reactions, he could confirm whether his theory held.
Of course, "lying" here didn't an outright lies — it ant partial truths.
Peak players who'd dealt with con artists long enough always had counterasures. Cheng Shi was confident he could fool everyone, but he couldn't guarantee he wouldn't be fooled himself.
So as the Blind One had once said: the clown never offered his own trust, yet always coveted everyone else's.
"I've been searching for the cause of Ti's discrepancies. At first I suspected the mine. Later I shifted suspicion to the Abyss Colorful Crystal. But after Qin Xin and I found evidence disproving that theory, I hit a dead end.
The discrepancies seed to follow no pattern. We only realized we'd been affected by observing our teammates. I once thought this was a deliberate trap by Him — designed to keep ... us trapped here.
Until just now, when the Investigator inadvertently gave
the answer. And it turns out the solution was this simple.
I don't know what everyone else experienced today, so I'll speak only for myself.
The Doctor was affected during the first exploration. He was swapped — and at that ti, he was on the mine. For a period, he was alone, because Qin Xin had already doubled back to Falling Gate to set up mory contingencies and co find
and Chosen One.
Of course, that also ans Qin Xin was alone for a stretch — with nobody around him.
Rember this point. It's critical.
Next: the Investigator and the Extinguisher.
Both were affected during the first exploration as well."
Cheng Shi paused. He turned to Li Wufang with a peculiar expression:
"You and Wu Cun were both swapped. I never knew the details — until you said just now... she left your line of sight. Mm. Good. That ans there was a period when you and she were in a state of mutual non-visibility."
"But that window was extrely brief."
"Of course I know it was brief. But this may have nothing to do with duration.
Moving on. After this state ended, both of you changed. Wu Cun beca the berserk Extinguisher who couldn't suppress her destructive impulses. And you beca an Investigator who didn't believe in fate.
One more detail after the Oblivion disaster: when Qin Xin asked you all to set up counterasures against Wu Cun, the Doctor briefly disappeared from everyone's sight again. This window also matters. Rember it — it'll be on the test.
Next: the second wave of discrepancies.
After the group discussion that afternoon, everyone split up again. The Investigator and Doctor went back to the mine — which kept making
think sothing was wrong up there. But that was actually a red herring. Or perhaps an inconsequential joke from Destiny.
We later learned the Investigator and Doctor briefly separated — and both were swapped again. The Investigator started believing in fate once more. The Doctor stopped believing in luck.
As for the other team: Qin Xin, Chosen One, and I were investigating the Shanty Area. Qin Xin changed — because we did separate at one point.
But here's the puzzle: we were separated for so long — why did only Qin Xin change, while Chosen One stayed the sa?
Because..."
At this, Cheng Shi pulled out his watch and showed everyone the face.
The second hand ticked steadily along. Ti read about a dozen minutes before the next hour mark.
But Cheng Shi's finger was pointing at the hour mark.
"The hour mark!" The Blind One said gravely.
Cheng Shi laughed — a laugh laden with layers of aning. Exasperation, self-mockery, sardonic irony, and a breath of relief all at once.
"Exactly — the hour mark!
I distinctly rember: at the hour mark when I separated from them, I'd cautiously called Chosen One over and reminded her face-to-face to be careful. She responded. But by then, Qin Xin had already disappeared into the distance.
So afterward, Qin Xin changed — while Chosen One remained the sa.
By now, I'm sure everyone can see where this is going. It's not definitive on its own. But what happened next provides powerful corroboration.
When Qin Xin and I went back downhill searching for clues, we encountered the revived Extinguisher and fought her. She was strong — it took considerable effort to kill her again. But Oblivion's power still shattered the local reality, knocking Qin Xin and
outside of Existence.
Fortunately, Chosen One foresaw the danger and ca down in ti to rescue us.
But the instant I was pulled free, I saw another hour mark arrive. And in the very next second — the Qin Xin who'd escaped right behind
had beco a different Qin Xin.
Ladies and gentlen: once is coincidence. Twice is luck. But three, four, five tis?
My experience today has already made a great many things clear. So I ask each of you to think back on every anomaly today. Think about whether — every ti you noticed soone wasn't right — there was invariably a period where they'd left the group, where they'd been out of everyone's sight, and where an hour mark had passed.
If so — then I think we've found our answer."
Cheng Shi finished with a smile, then let his gaze sweep rapidly across every face.
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