Foolish Game of the Chapter 776: An Absurd Comedy and an Even More Absurd Traged

But the very next second — after discovering what the item did and what was stored inside — Cheng Shi decided he'd re-evaluated too soon.

Molten Coffin (S): Sacred Artifact. Blood-charcoal slted from War's fierce flas. The space forged within can hold exactly one corpse.

Special Effect — Subdued by Fla: This space can hold one — and only one — unconscious flesh vessel. Storing other objects will incinerate them. Storing a living person will burn away their consciousness.

Currently stored: 1.

Cheng Shi knew about Xie Yang's habit of collecting corpses — he'd borrowed from that stash often enough. That War followers had creative thods for preserving bodies wasn't surprising either. What he absolutely could not accept was that this Molten Coffin currently held a corpse — and that corpse just happened to be Xiao Yuan, the very person Xie Yang had been carrying on a long-distance romance with!

The beer-bellied man lay perfectly still inside the artifact, and the single glimpse Cheng Shi caught of the interior grossed him out sothing fierce!

'What?!'

'WHAT THE HELL?!'

Cheng Shi's brain short-circuited. He flicked his wrist, dumped Xiao Yuan out of the charcoal case, then pointed at his corpse — now lying neatly beside Xiao Li's — and laughed in sheer disbelief:

"Casanova, I'd like to ask: if Xiao Li is your white moonlight, then who's he?"

Xie Yang first blanked — then slowly went wide-eyed. He seed to genuinely have forgotten the man, rembering only upon seeing the corpse. But what absolutely no one expected was that, the instant his mories rushed back, this War follower threw himself onto Xiao Yuan's body and burst into tears.

Seeing this, it wasn't just Cheng Shi — even the perpetually serious doctor couldn't keep a straight face.

"Fate Weaver, we're on limited ti."

"..."

Cheng Shi's eyelid twitched madly. He understood the doctor's aning. He was about to shut this farce down when Wang Mou cleared his throat and added:

"Let him give the abridged version."

"???"

'Seriously, Doctor? Even you — the deadpan Truth fanatic — are interested?'

'Fine, fine. Guess rubbernecking really is the universe's ultimate purpose!'

Xie Yang didn't cry for long. He knew this was no place for extended wailing. So he lifted his head and gave them the "abridged version":

"Xiao Yuan was my bro too. As good a bro as you."

'???'

'That comparison is a bit much!'

'I haven't sinned that badly, man!'

'And wait — wasn't he your white moonlight? How'd he beco your bro?'

Cheng Shi's ears were ringing. He felt like his neighbor had taken every drop of absurdity accumulated during his absence and forcibly poured it into Cheng Shi's brain. The flood was so violent it nearly extinguished the fla of his sanity.

"His na is Yuan ng. A sophomore. Originally a mory follower — until a Beast Tar turned him into a pet.

That Beast Tar got off on driving humans into beast-form. He even tried to use Yuan ng to 'capture' . But one day, Xiao Yuan regained clarity for a single breath and warned

to run. The shattering of the Deceit illusion on his body stunned

for a mont. That mont cost . I didn't get away either.

The Beast Tar dragged

into a pocket-dinsion water prison and tried to break

daily. But thanks to my innate talent, I kept a sliver of awareness. To survive, I worked on reaching Xiao Yuan, helping him find himself again, while enduring humiliation and biding my ti.

Finally, my chance ca. Xiao Yuan regained consciousness again and freed . But the Beast Tar returned too quickly and noticed sothing was wrong.

So we ran for our lives. With our last ounce of strength, we tore open the Void and jumped into the rift-current. But Xiao Yuan — shielding my escape — took an arrow. That arrow dropped him, mortally wounded. And I... I had nothing left to save him with. I could only watch as he died in front of .

Before dying, he tried to erase my mories of everything — all the tornt and suffering. He said the world shouldn't hold so much absurd cruelty and tragedy. That people should live brightly, beautifully.

But I couldn't accept that. So he settled for erasing only my mories of him. Then he smiled... and died.

I couldn't understand him. I couldn't understand how soone who'd suffered so much could still believe in people, still help them. But I'd forgotten him by then. So all I could do was store this stranger's corpse, recover from my wounds, and then storm back to that Beast Tar's pocket dinsion.

Unfortunately, he was already gone. Whether out of caution or foresight, he'd left behind nothing but torture instrunts and a bunch of bottles and jars.

I ransacked his lair and among those bottles found that damned Truth divinity that I regret to my core.

I thought it was Fate's compensation for this absurd tragedy. I never imagined that behind that divinity lay countless tragedies identical to Xiao Yuan's — no, even worse.

I was captured again. Many of us were. We couldn't escape, locked day and night in those experint tanks, forced to birth things for that disgusting mother...

Until you all ca."

Xie Yang wept again.

This ti, neither spectator was laughing.

Wang Mou rubbed his temples. Cheng Shi sighed.

'Indeed — behind every absurd cody lurks an even more absurd tragedy.'

So the beautiful love story had been a brotherhood laced with tragedy all along. This Xiao Yuan — Yuan ng — was a genuine standup guy.

With that thought, Cheng Shi frowned and raised his hand, intending to resurrect this good person who'd endured suffering yet still yearned for sothing beautiful.

But just then, Xie Yang seed to read his intent. He rose and caught Cheng Shi's wrist, shaking his head firmly:

"Bro... you don't owe

anything, and you definitely don't owe Yuan ng anything. You've got your own mission. Don't waste your strength on this.

He's my brother. A brother's life — I'll save it myself!"

Xie Yang hoisted Yuan ng's corpse onto his shoulders and turned to them. "Take care. Be careful!"

Cheng Shi was awash in complicated emotions. He didn't know what to say, so he simply nodded. But beside him, Wang Mou suddenly spoke up, pointing at the other corpse on the ground: "What about your white moonlight?"

"..." Cheng Shi's face went blank. 'Doctor, your timing for precision really could use so work.'

"..."

Xie Yang froze too. He looked down at Xiao Li, clenched his jaw, and heaved her corpse onto his back as well.

Seeing this, Cheng Shi knew: the absurd, at its core, remains absurd. Solemnity is just a mask draped over the absurdity.

"Take care. Be careful!"

This ti Xie Yang really left. He bound both bodies to himself with tough silk threads, then sprinted with the wind toward the direction Cheng Shi had pointed.

Watching his figure shrink into the tentacle sea, the two observers wore different expressions.

Wang Mou, deadpan serious: "Gap Light Iron Thorn. So he's actually an assassin. In that case, he does have a chance of surviving."

Cheng Shi hadn't expected Xie Yang to be an assassin. He'd always assud the man was a warrior.

'But assassin works. At least it's enough for self-preservation.'

"The tentacles have cald in this area. Doctor — let's move too. Target: the control center. You lead. Don't worry — I can keep up."

With that, Cheng Shi donned a mask right in front of Wang Mou. A perfectly ordinary, unfading mask.

Wang Mou eyed the white mask on Cheng Shi's face. "That's...?"

"Nothing deep. Just boosting the visual intimidation. In other words — looking cool.

0221 went big with this whole thing. Without so theatrics of our own, I'm afraid we won't outshine him. Let's go."

And with that, Cheng Shi charged ahead — toward the direction the doctor had indicated.

Wang Mou followed in surprise. Once he confird Cheng Shi could indeed shadow-shuttle, he remarked, "You've got quite the gadget collection," and then took the lead.

Trailing behind, Cheng Shi smirked to himself. 'The essence of Deceit lies in misdirection. When you see

put on one mask, you don't realize I've hidden a second underneath.'

And so, the "forgotten" Fate Weaver had swapped back to Another Day Thief — right under a con-artist doctor's nose, switching professions in plain sight.

But not long after the two departed, the long-gone Xie Yang suddenly doubled back — carrying both bodies. He looked down at the tracks on the ground, then gazed toward the direction Cheng Shi had vanished, his expression flickering between light and shadow.

After a mont, he stowed Yuan ng's corpse in an unknown artifact, then gripped Xiao Li's charred remains with one hand and drove a dozen iron needles into her body.

Monts later, the broken Xiao Li reopened her eyes. But this ti, there was no light in them. Only blood.

"Sorry, Xiao Li. There are things in this world far more important than love."

With that, Xie Yang took hold of his War puppet and shadow-shuttled after Cheng Shi.

...