Foolish Game of the Chapter 775: Xie Yang, Long Time No See

"A Pointer Knight, I see. So you're devoted to faith opposition too."

"No, no, no — I think all that 'opposition' talk is nonsense. It's just the gods giving themselves sothing to do. Otherwise, why would opposing faiths be able to fuse?"

"?" Wang Mou froze, frowning sharply. "How can opposing faiths possibly fuse?"

"You didn't know, Doctor?"

'What am I supposed to know?'

Wang Mou's brow furrowed, curiosity blooming across his face.

Seeing this, Cheng Shi grinned inwardly. 'Finally found the bait!'

"Not knowing is fine — so, do you want to know?

If so, I'll have to introduce you to a certain platform where this kind of intelligence gets exchanged.

But before that, let

finish up here first. One of these two is a friend of mine, so I have to ask — Doctor, if I resurrect them, they won't turn back into that traitor, will they?"

Wang Mou shook his head quickly. "Prosperity's 'Seed-Life Graft' only temporarily revives the seeder. To fully hijack a new body requires an incubation period. You dispatched them so quickly that the 'traitor' likely didn't have ti to take over either vessel. So resurrect away. Though — are you sure one of these two is actually your friend?"

"I may often fail to see through illusions, but my eyes work just fine when it cos to seeing what's real."

Cheng Shi chuckled, casually touching his own face to remove the assassin mask. Then, hands behind his back, he produced the Lush Horn Crown and cast a clean healing spell on the male player's corpse.

The healing did its work beautifully. Monts later, the charred shell sloughed away entirely, and a pair of sharp, bright eyes snapped open — locking imdiately onto the two figures before him. His gaze settled on Cheng Shi.

First ca shock. Then sothing complicated. And finally, gratitude.

"Bro... I never thought you'd be the one to save ."

Cheng Shi smiled — a brilliant, unguarded smile.

"Xie Yang. Long ti no see."

"Yeah. Long ti no see. You... really are a necromancer after all."

As he spoke, Xie Yang's eyes drifted to the Screaming Servant standing beside Cheng Shi.

"..."

Seeing both Xie Yang's grateful expression and the doctor's puzzled one, Cheng Shi's smile froze on his face.

'Crap. A lie I told back in chapter 675 is still haunting !'

"Necromancer?" Wang Mou looked between Cheng Shi and the servant in bewildernt, then shook his head. "He's actually not—"

"Not important." Cheng Shi cut the doctor off, hauled Xie Yang to his feet, and seeing the man looking far less wretched in his new body, grinned again. "I'd always assud you died for love over Xiao Yuan. Turns out you just got captured. Good — you're one of the few neighbors I have left. Without you, the whole block felt quieter."

Xie Yang's mind still seed a bit foggy. He stood, surveyed the area, and only when he noticed the surrounding tentacles ignoring their position entirely did he accept that he truly might be saved.

A storm of mixed emotions churned behind his eyes — his gaze toward Cheng Shi growing ever more complicated.

"You're even stronger than I thought...

Thank you. I didn't expect you to still rember . I really did pay the price for my own greed this ti."

"...?" Cheng Shi blinked, sensing an odd undercurrent. 'Is he alluding to soone?'

"But actually — who's Xiao Yuan?"

"???"

'Are you serious, dude?'

'That's your soulmate! Even I, just a neighbor, haven't forgotten — and you have?'

'What happened to the love? The happiness? You playboy!'

Cheng Shi's lips twitched in disbelief. Having an existential conversation about Xiao Yuan in the middle of this hellscape felt surreal, so he coughed twice and pointedly changed the subject, pointing at the corpse at their feet.

"Her. You know her?"

Xie Yang's gaze dropped — and the instant he saw the charred remains, his entire expression transford. It shifted into sothing heartbreakingly familiar — the exact sa look Cheng Shi rembered from a certain afternoon, when Xie Yang had stood on the opposite rooftop begging Cheng Shi for just one glimpse of what Xiao Yuan looked like.

Identical. Down to the last detail.

For a fleeting mont, Cheng Shi couldn't tell whether Xie Yang had fallen for this girl or for this girl's corpse.

"..."

'Indeed. Only the absurd survive long in an absurd world.'

Xie Yang seed to realize he was losing composure. He jerked his head up and declared with total solemnity: "Xiao Li is an incredible girl. She's strong, brave, decisive, and beautiful. She's practically my white moon—"

'White what? White moonlight? More like white cataracts!'

'Any girl unlucky enough to catch your eye is already wasted on you!'

Cheng Shi snapped. He raised his hand.

Xie Yang saw it and imdiately shut his mouth.

"Good. Good, fine. Then your precious Xiao Li is all yours to revive. I'm sure you wouldn't want a heroic-beauty-rescue mont going to anyone else.

Listen up, Casanova — I'm only saying this once. Seven o'clock behind you, about two or three blocks out, there's a survival convoy. Make it there, and you live.

Don't ask

how. Don't ask

anything else stupid. Neighbor's privilege — this is all I can do.

I have business. I'm not walking you out. Before I change my mind — go. Now!"

Under different circumstances, Cheng Shi might've lingered for the entertainnt. But he and the doctor had pressing matters, and there was no ti for an absurdist variety show.

Besides, a leopard never changes its spots. Cheng Shi was thoroughly numb. He didn't even bother collecting a fee — he just wanted the man gone.

If Xie Yang's luck held and he survived, Cheng Shi could treat it as keeping a "performing parrot" on the opposite rooftop for future amusent.

But to his surprise, even though Cheng Shi hadn't asked for anything, Xie Yang turned out to be the grateful type.

Perhaps sensing he was being a nuisance, Xie Yang's expression turned sheepish. He nodded, then reached into his personal storage space, pulled out a small piece of charcoal, and offered it to Cheng Shi. For once, his deanor was genuinely solemn.

"Bro — no matter what, you saved my life. I'll rember that forever.

Most of my gear was lost, but none of it would've repaid you anyway. After thinking it over, this is the only thing that might suit you.

I know it doesn't look like much. I just want you to know — Xie Yang is not an ungrateful man!

I'm going. I'll make it to the end. Take care of yourself, bro — see you on the rooftop!"

With that, Xie Yang pressed the charcoal into Cheng Shi's chest.

Cheng Shi froze. He took it, examined it — and realized it was an S-rank item. A spatial-type War artifact called the Molten Coffin.

In that mont, his opinion of this War-following neighbor shifted just a fraction.

'Xie Yang really is a good guy!'

...