Seeing Cheng Shi's resolve, Big Cat didn't dwell on it and accepted the authority.
But when she caught the flash of envy in the Fate Weaver's eyes, she paused, then couldn't help but laugh.
"Alright, I'll take it. Co to
whenever you need it.
But Cheng Shi — you're not a very convincing actor. Your eyes are practically dripping with sour jealousy, and you're still pretending you don't want it.
For soone as greedy as you, giving up authority must be really hard, huh?"
"???"
'Excuse ?!'
'I ca all this way to deliver authority to you, and you're being sarcastic about it?!'
Cheng Shi's face went black. He lunged for her paw. "Give it back!"
As if Big Cat would ever return sothing already in her possession. She let out a hearty laugh — finally getting even — snatched up the authority in her jaws, and bounded straight out of the forest. Parting words echoed behind her:
"Rember to pray. I'll share my authority with my friend.
Yes — my authority."
"..."
Cheng Shi was equal parts furious and amused. But the laughter faded fast.
Because reality proved that without a complete set of Prosperity divinity in his body, a mortal couldn't wield a second Prosperity authority through proxy — not unless he was willing to swap out "Vitality."
But in terms of practical effect, "Breeding" — which specialized in restoring and regenerating limbs — was clearly inferior to the life-saving clutch that "Vitality" offered. So, reluctantly, Cheng Shi had to let it go.
Big Cat, however, didn't shortchange her friend. Upon learning the result, she pulled every string at her disposal, not only securing him the two gathering venues he wanted but also stuffing an absurd mountain of Prosperity potions into his pockets.
By the Clown's reckoning, even if the Faith Ga lasted until his "retirent," he'd probably never have to worry about potions again.
The current worry was that his warehouse might not have room for all of them...
"Isn't pocketing all of this a bit, you know, embezzlent?" When Cheng Shi asked this over the phone, he was laughing the entire ti.
Big Cat was laughing too.
"If my own friends can't prosper first, then what's the point of being Prosperity?
Cheng Shi — what else do you need?"
"Since you're offering, there is one thing. Only it might not be in Prosperity's treasury.
I need..."
When Cheng Shi stated his request, the expression on Big Cat's face on the other end was truly spectacular.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive. And soon as possible."
"Done. Tomorrow at the latest."
Big Cat agreed without hesitation and sounded ready to go find it imdiately. But Cheng Shi didn't rush to hang up. He held her there and cautiously shared a sliver of his concern.
In his current understanding, no absolute coincidence existed in this world. So after Birth gifted the authority, the Fun God abandoned His gamble, and Cheng Shi delivered the authority to Big Cat — he couldn't help but wonder what the Fun God was really scheming.
Yet out of solidarity within the Fear Faction, Cheng Shi didn't dare interpret his Benefactor's motives with excess malice. That would only spiral them back into a fear standoff. So over the phone, he kept it vague.
"Be careful. Authority isn't a cure-all, Hong Lin."
This ti Hong Lin had genuinely grown sharper. She seed to catch his subtext and fell silent for a mont.
"It's fine. As long as it can protect my friends, to
it's everything."
"But what if one day..."
"There won't be such a day, Cheng Shi. There won't." Hong Lin rattled off a string of boasts about how strong she was and how easily she could shield her friends, then decisively hung up.
The mont the call disconnected, Hong Lin looked at the phone in her hand and smiled brilliantly.
"There won't be such a day. Because even if there is... I won't live to see it."
...
anwhile, elsewhere.
Wei Mu had finally left Dolgod. He'd spent a full three days inside that city drenched in Birth's aura!
Three days — honestly, he had never toiled in anyone's shadow for this long. Even facing Folly Herself, he'd never felt this ntally drained.
But here, dealing with the Corruption Envoy, Wei Mu experienced a fleeting sense of helplessness.
He'd helped Dolgod establish a new tribunal. He'd helped Aph Ros build the requisite laboratory. He'd helped Zangier catalogue every known experint of the current era. He'd even helped process 0221's corpse.
0221 was dead. Not in his ntor's arms — but under the tentacles of Go Lis.
An experint didn't need two lead researchers, and Aph Ros had no interest in harboring an ambitious scher. She could see that 0221's desires ran thick as tar. So for simplicity's sake, She snuffed out his soul directly and had Wei Mu refine the body into a puppet overseer.
As for Zangier — stripped from 0221's body, he was casually dropped into a Dolgod local's fra and set to work at a brand-new workbench, beginning his road to atonent.
The husk containing the Aberrant Mother Tree and the Desire Vortex was sothing Wei Mu had hoped to claim as paynt. He failed.
Aph Ros refused. The dual Envoy invoked "brotherhood" at every turn, insisting She was saving it for Her finest brother, Yu Xi.
That left Wei Mu thoroughly speechless. He couldn't shake the impression that Aph Ros was doing everything in Her power to ingratiate Herself with Void — and the thod was shalessly "sucking up" to the Deceit Envoy.
When Wei Mu first heard the na Yu Xi, he'd had his doubts. No such na appeared anywhere in the history he knew. But after hearing Aph Ros speak of the mask, it started to seem plausible.
If mory had the Mirror of Delusion, then why couldn't Deceit have the Fool Mask?
And yet sothing about this Yu Xi felt perpetually off. What was it, exactly, that made his impression of the man so... groundlessly floaty?
Could this be the true power of Void — the genuine force of Deceit?
Wei Mu sank into contemplation. But before long, soone entered the sa space and interrupted his thoughts.
The newcor was a Daoist wearing a topknot. The mont he materialized, he smiled softly.
"I've arrived. I've already heard about your exploits. Sounds like quite a spectacular mory."
Yes — the visitor was the Dragon King, Li Jingming.
"Spectacular indeed. But per our agreent, I can only exchange the less spectacular portion with you. As for the climax... even if I wanted to trade it now, I probably don't have the authority to decide."
A glint flashed through Li Jingming's eyes.
He had indeed finalized a deal with Wei Mu. The terms: he would point Wei Mu toward 0221's Truth Experint Ground, letting the wise man thoroughly study his rival — the Truth Chosen.
In return, Li Jingming would stay out of it entirely and simply wait for Wei Mu to bring the mory back.
In other words, Wei Mu's connection to Big Cat hadn't co from so omniscient deduction — the Dragon King had paved the road for the wise man.
The puppet ticulously handed over the mory, completed the transaction, then asked with curiosity: "I'm very interested in whatever made you miss such a grand show. Want to make another trade?"
Li Jingming smiled and shook his head. "Next ti. Once I've accomplished that thing, I'll trade it for the climax you ntioned."
"Oh? That would be a very sensitive mory..." Wei Mu thought it over. "I'll need to assess in advance whether your mory is worth the price."
"Sa ticulous you. No problem — I'll give you a teaser so you can judge whether the future mory is worth the exchange.
I know you've been selling plenty of entrance tickets. And I happen to be looking for one myself."
"Entrance ticket? What kind of entrance ticket?" The puppet blinked.
"A ticket that lets you step onto the stage and perform." Li Jingming smiled. "That's all I can say for now. See you — pleasure doing business."
The words barely faded before it was Wei Mu — not Li Jingming — who vanished.
Watching the puppet's figure depart, the Dragon King savored the freshly exchanged Truth Experint Ground mory and smiled with genuine pleasure.
"Who says a future mory can't be traded?
The past's future is the future's past, isn't it?
Ti to set off. Destination... the place where the ticket is hidden."
...
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