Giggling was out of the question — he'd get beaten to death.
In this race-against-ti situation, Cheng Shi had zero desire to waste ti on another round of "Guess Who I Am" with his dear big bro. So he quickly donned an expression of total shock and stared at Hu Wei:
"Hu-bro! You're here too?"
Hu Wei's aggressive montum faltered. This ti, the voice genuinely sounded like his brother. But Cheng Shi had far too many "identities," and Hu Wei couldn't be certain which version of Cheng Shi he was dealing with. He could only provisionally treat this Cheng Shi as Cheng Shi.
"Cheng Shi — it really is you! Ha!"
Hu Wei strode over, slapped Cheng Shi's shoulder hard, and grinned broadly, though his eyes remained sharp with caution:
"What are you doing here? For 0221's experint?
You're well-inford. Who told you about this?"
While questioning, Hu Wei studied Cheng Shi's reactions closely. Noticing how Cheng Shi's expression shifted and how he kept craning to see who was behind him, the Grand Marshal realized the man's identity couldn't be discussed openly here.
He knitted his brow, his eyes darted, and he pressed on: "You, a priest, charging solo into the tiger's den? Perfect — my team..." He glanced over his shoulder at the several priests already in his squad, his eye twitching. Gritting his teeth, he finished: "...needs another priest. Co with , brother — it's safer!"
He even stepped forward, using his imposing fra to block the others' view of Cheng Shi, then murmured under his breath: "Fabricated laws, the universe's joke."
"?"
'Seriously, Hu-bro — you're not even trying to be subtle, are you?'
The code-exchange felt so cloak-and-dagger it made Cheng Shi cringe. But he wasn't Ultraman right now, so he had to play along. Eyes widening dramatically, pretending he couldn't believe what he'd just heard, he studied Hu Wei for a beat, then replied with: "Fabricated laws, the universe's joke."
Hearing the correct response, Hu Wei finally confird that this was the Cheng Shi his Benefactor had granted an audience. His pupils contracted sharply. Unsure whether Lord Ultraman had revealed his own identity to Cheng Shi, Hu Wei decided to play it safe and maintain his cover while nodding vigorously:
"That lord wasn't lying to ! Cheng Shi — I had no idea you'd joined Chaos too!"
"...Hu-bro, I didn't exactly—"
"Relax, I won't tell a soul. Because I've... already fused with Chaos. From this mont on, we're true brothers!"
"..."
'Okay, which one of us is the liar here?'
'I swear you actually do want to fuse with Deceit — you've taken the fraud act all the way to your own Envoy.'
Cheng Shi groaned internally. He truly didn't want to play these "house pretend" disguise gas, but for his cover's sake, he had no choice. So he plastered on another shocked face and stuttered: "Hu-bro, you actually..."
"Shh! Faith fusion is the tide of the tis. I know you've already found your chance, but don't say it here. I ca because I discovered the anomalous divinity and wanted to see what Truth's followers were up to. And you? That lord has ntioned you to
multiple tis. Were you sent here on an assignnt?"
'Oh, great — using the intel I gave you to turn around and intimidate . You've really mastered the information-gap play, haven't you?'
But Cheng Shi didn't want to stay joined at the hip with Hu Wei, because he knew that in his big bro's team, you might get a decent cut — but never the best cut.
Fine to explore together, but before the loot got divvied up, he needed to be gone.
So he quickly shook his head:
"No, that lord didn't assign
anything. I'm here because..."
Midsentence, he stalled. He realized that no matter who he nad, he'd need a long explanation to dispel the Grand Marshal's suspicions. To save ti and give himself an excuse to leave later, inspiration struck:
"...my neighbor went missing. I'm here to find him."
"Neighbor? Your rest-area neighbor?"
Hu Wei clearly found this unconvincing. But Cheng Shi imdiately put on a pained expression:
"He's... done so much for . We've trusted and supported each other to survive this long. So when he's in danger, I can't just stand by. Even knowing how dangerous this 'Truth Ga' is, I ca anyway — because I owe it to my conscience, and I owe it to his trust!"
"Excellent!"
A flash of admiration lit Hu Wei's eyes. He clapped Cheng Shi's shoulder again, his grin broadening.
Who wouldn't be glad to have a loyal, righteous brother?
Of course, if this brother hadn't been personally summoned by that lord or by his own Benefactor, Hu Wei's reaction would have been re casual approval — nothing this enthusiastic.
Now, having confird that his new ally was as trustworthy as he'd hoped, the gloom over Da Yi's disappearance finally eased a fraction.
"That's my man! I knew Hu Wei's judgnt in people was never wrong!
Cheng Shi, stick with the team. Truth has plenty of tricks up its sleeve.
But no amount of tricks will save them. Every trace of Truth in history has been burned to ash in War's flas!
And today — I intend to see exactly what sick ga this phony 0221 is running in this experint of his!"
With that, Hu Wei raised the fla-licked greatsword and bellowed at the ruins ahead:
"A War fanatic cos to pay his respects! Will the little Truth brat dare show his face?"
"..."
The bravado was magnificent. The silence was deafening. The awkwardness was imdiate.
Hu Wei's impassioned challenge received precisely zero responses, and Cheng Shi — who'd initially thought the man had spotted sothing — nearly burst out laughing on the spot.
But he held it together and stepped into the role of tension-breaker.
"Hu-bro, forgive my poor eyes, but... is there actually soone down there?"
Hu Wei wasn't embarrassed in the least. He'd genuinely sensed a cluster of chaotic auras buried beneath this location, hence the "diplomacy before violence" opening. Seeing no response, he laughed heartily and raised the greatsword, apparently ready to tear the disguise apart by brute force.
Just then, a figure stepped out of the ranks and shook his head at Hu Wei.
"That won't work. The arrays here redirect all attacks to a different area.
In other words, the mont you swing that blade, Grand Marshal, the ones absorbing the blow won't be the experintal material buried below — it'll be the newly arrived players fighting the aberrant mother-tree sowhere else.
To open this place, brute force is the worst option.
If you trust , let
try. Ten minutes is all I need to strip the camouflage, dismantle the arrays, and let everyone here see the missing players."
"!!!"
'There's soone this capable in our squad?!'
Every eye in the group locked onto the speaker. Hu Wei and Cheng Shi spun around, faces painted with shock and suspicion, staring directly at him.
"You are...?"
Hu Wei frowned. He couldn't find this person in his mory. As he scrutinized the stranger, trying to place him, Cheng Shi's expression abruptly shifted. Brow twisted, he let out a cold laugh:
"His na is Wang Weijin. He's a slice of 0221 — the mastermind behind this experint — and an extrely shrewd Assassination Doctor."
"???"
Every weapon in the group swung toward the figure instantly.
Wang Mou, however, remained perfectly composed. He looked at Cheng Shi and gave a nod of acknowledgnt. "We et again, Fate Weaver."
"Indeed we do, Doctor Fraud.
So how are you planning to trick people this ti?"
...
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