"When?"
"After last night, before tonight.
She answered the previous call. This last one — nothing.
I suspect sothing went wrong after the special trial, but I'm certain she isn't dead. That particular special trial happened to be a Prosperity trial — I personally gave her the evaluation and rewards!"
Big Cat's voice was thick with barely suppressed fury. Tao Yi ant too much to her. The sudden disappearance had turned the Prosperity Agent into a powder keg.
Right now, she probably just wanted to tear sothing apart — she simply hadn't found the right place to do it yet.
Judging by her tone, she was also aware of the mass disappearances. So this call wasn't to discuss strategy — it was to ask for intel.
With Big Cat's strength, rescuing Tao Yi probably wouldn't require backup. But figuring out where to even look for Tao Yi... even three Big Cats might not crack that puzzle.
"..."
'So it really is that much of a coincidence?'
'Did Fate smile on , or on Big Cat?'
Today's three phone calls — had even one co in a different order, Cheng Shi probably wouldn't have been able to piece any of this together. Yet here he was, sohow one of the best-inford people about this entire incident. After a mont's thought, he said:
"Don't panic yet. I think I know what happened to Tao Yi, but—"
"Where is she?!
Cheng Shi, give
a location. You know I'm not joking."
"..." 'I literally just said don't panic.'
Cheng Shi rubbed his head, gathered everything he knew, and laid it all out for Big Cat — every deduction, every guess — clearly and without omission. He explained what was entangled in this affair, what it would an if this experint was truly being replicated in reality, and every danger involved.
Hong Lin listened in silence all the way through. When he finished, she said a single low word: "Thank you."
Cheng Shi shook his head with a bitter smile:
"I know what you're planning to do next. But hold steady — this isn't sothing one or two people can solve. We need thorough investigation to understand the risks before we can move with any assurance.
Everything I've told you cos from first-hand, privileged sources. Even so, we have to prepare for the possibility that it's all still so kind of bait.
Hong Lin, Tao Yi's life matters — but so does yours. Don't let anger cloud your judgnt."
"..." Hong Lin was quiet for a long ti. Finally, she exhaled heavily. "I can afford to wait. But I'm afraid Tao Yi can't...
So, Cheng Shi — will you help ?"
Cheng Shi frowned and thought for a mont.
"I have an idea.
Use your channels to spread the news about 0221 as widely as possible. Important: don't ntion anything about Zangier. Even if so people figure it out on their own, that's fine — our job is just to push the information out and attract those who are curious about 0221 or have a stake in investigating this.
One or two people, no matter how efficient, can never work faster than a crowd.
And rember — keep it vague. Don't give too many details. Make them believe this is sothing you accidentally let slip, not so conspiracy.
As for who 'they' are — I'm sure you already have a list in mind.
anwhile, I'll be spreading disinformation across every channel, exaggerating 0221's experint to ridiculous proportions. When the skeptical average players cross-reference with the peak players who received real intel, soone is bound to notice the pattern.
Those people will be the key to cracking open 0221's experint site.
We don't need to control their actions. We just need to keep our ears to the ground and follow developnts.
Hong Lin, no matter how urgent it feels, investigation needs ti to mature.
And Ti will eventually give us the answer."
"Thank you... Cheng Shi..."
"Don't thank . Thank Fate. The Destined Ones won't fall before the final act — this is nothing but a minor setback."
Cheng Shi was smiling, but in truth he felt anything but confident. All he could do was use this strategy to pressure 0221, hoping the man would reveal a flaw under the scrutiny. But this wasn't the real key to solving the problem.
To find out where this experint was being conducted and what was happening inside, he'd need those top-tier intelligence contacts he knew to work even harder.
Yet this position of having to simply wait wasn't one Cheng Shi enjoyed.
'Think... who else could help?'
Big Cat soon hung up and they went their separate ways.
The chat channels were already ablaze over the mass disappearances. Add one scheming liar fanning the flas, and before long, channels for warriors and assassins were overflowing with inflammatory declarations like "Punish Truth!" and "Assassinate 0221!"
The mage channel, true to form, was the most level-headed. Though many veteran mages didn't have the highest scores, their analytical prowess was genuinely impressive. So even guessed 0221's intentions outright, noting that so many disappearances likely ant people were being used to replicate a large-scale, multi-person experint. A spirited discussion ensued, and various past experints from the Tower of Logic — so described in detail, others in broad strokes — flooded the chat. Among them was the Stars Dagger.
Several participants even knew the experint in remarkable detail, summarizing its key points in just a couple of lines buried in the torrent of ssages.
Cheng Shi marveled at the hidden experts out there while frantically absorbing knowledge from the chat logs. But most of it remained surface-level speculation and discussion — real intelligence never showed up in chat channels.
Still, it was enough. At the very least, it had seeded suspicion in a huge number of players. 0221 was going to have a rough ti in the near future.
Nothing noteworthy ca from the other channels. The Deceit channel was, predictably, a circus of ever-escalating tall tales. In the mouths of those liars, 0221 had practically beco Truth incarnate — and if soone hadn't jumped in to "clarify" that he was Truth Himself, this Truth Chosen might have gone down in history as the Faith Ga's first mortal to achieve godhood.
Just as Cheng Shi sat brooding with furrowed brows, a sudden "call notification" shattered his train of thought.
But this ti it wasn't the buzz and ring of a telephone. It was a summons from... the starry sky!
A brilliant phantom star plumted before Cheng Shi's eyes and, as the Clown stood slack-jawed, burst into a swirling yellow mist.
The mist churned and rose, and monts later, a staircase materialized before him.
Cheng Shi's pupils contracted sharply — because the staircase's design was unmistakably the Chaos Steps that had once led to the Temple of Chaos!
'Wait — another audience?'
Cheng Shi was bewildered. Just as he was weighing whether to enter, a familiar voice called from the far end of the staircase.
It was Kataro.
"My lord, soone wishes to seek an audience. Would you... like to receive them?"
"?"
'Is that even my call to make?'
Cheng Shi's expression stalled — then broke into a grin.
'Receive them! Why wouldn't I?'
'All hail Chaos — your lowly Envoy Ultraman is clocking in for another shift.'
With that thought, the Clown curled his lips into a smile and stepped onto the staircase without a mont's hesitation.
...
Reviews
All reviews (0)