"Cody's core is often tragedy. So can I interpret the relationship between [Deceit] and [Fate] the sa way?
One crafts illusions through fun. The other is the despair of Fixed Destiny."
Zhen Xin blinked at Cheng Shi. She wanted to know how his understanding of Fixed Destiny differed from the other-world Long Jing's.
The idea wasn't fresh. Cheng Shi had considered it initially too. But things were different now. Drawing ever closer to the Fun God, he'd discovered that this [Void] cody might not even require seeking its core — its surface might already be a tragedy.
He sighed, casting aside tangled thoughts, and spoke with perfect seriousness:
"Perhaps it's all tragedy. 'Everything returns to [Void]' isn't just a saying.
Given how much truth I know, our Benefactor knows far more.
Even Lord Yu Xi is still lost and searching. How much more so can we be? That's why I'm afraid.
Let
ask everyone: based on what you know of the Fun God, when He learned this universe was rely an experint — what do you think He would do?"
"..."
After a mont of silence, Zhen Xin's eyes lit up: "He's preparing to make a move against that supre existence?"
'?'
'Sis, what are you getting excited about?'
'You're hoping that after He wrecks this experint, you can seize the chance to find your An Mingyu?'
'Give it a rest. Even if you did et, maybe all you'd find is your arm and the Blind One's leg. Or worse — everyone becos cosmic dust, mixed together. Then you two really would be "one body, one heart, never separated"...'
"Quite possible. At the very least, He won't sit around waiting to die." The Dragon King sighed, looking at Cheng Shi. "The supre being is the external cause. He is the internal cause. Together they form your fear."
"Yes. That's precisely my greatest worry." Cheng Shi's gaze sharpened. "From detecting the first signs to accelerating His arrangents, the Fun God has been preparing for who knows how long. Even if you guess the direction of His goal, it's nearly impossible to deduce exactly what He plans to do.
[Fate] is the sa. Though He doesn't know the universe's truth...
Yes, you heard correctly. Not all gods know about this. So in this regard, from a certain angle, everyone present here has already surpassed the gods in awareness.
This is the miracle of the Jokers... and an absurdity that could only occur in the [Void] era.
Though there's nothing to be proud of. Powerless spectators are still just spectators. No matter how much they know — the ones writing the script are Them, not us.
Even though [Fate] doesn't know about this experint, His actions inherently align with the supre existence's will. He passively shapes the entire world into what Long Jing called the 'perfect specin.'
And this is the Fixed Destiny beneath our feet:
Either follow [Deceit] in defying the divine face, or be offered up by [Fate] before the divine altar...
Beyond that, there are no other choices."
"..."
Present realities struck harder than distant vistas. Now everyone understood what "the universe will ultimately return to [Void]" truly ant.
The fact was: regardless of what the Jokers individually desired, under the machinations of [Void]'s two patriarchs, their wishes were nigh impossible to fulfill.
No wonder Cheng Shi's only wish was to stay alive...
To know so many secrets, to bear pressure no mortal should bear, and still fight to survive — in a way, that was already a kind of success.
The atmosphere turned oppressive again. Threads of confusion and fear wound around every heart.
But fear didn't always sound the retreat. At the very least, it was fuel for the weak to push forward. So after giving the Jokers ample ti to digest, Cheng Shi smiled again.
It was a sowhat lost smile, but at least it was warm.
"I wonder if today's intelligence satisfied everyone. They say intelligence is for trading, but I doubt anyone here has equivalent-tier intel to exchange. So why not change the format?
Sitting around waiting to die only lets fear pile up. That's why I gathered you — to pool our wisdom and see if the Jokers' collective intellect can find a way through."
The mont he finished, Zhen Xin tapped her heel against the tombstone:
"So that's why you earlier asked if anyone wanted to beco a god.
How interesting. After all that roundabout talk, it turns out the God Worship Society was actually ahead of everyone.
Cheng Shi, by your logic, in this utterly hopeless hyper-dinsional experint, becoming one of Them is the only answer visible to mortals... well, the prerequisite for the answer.
Whether gods are rely experintal variables or not, They've at least been 'labeled' by that existence. And that is the closest 'connection' a specin within the 'petri dish' can have to the experint's director.
Let
say sothing discouraging: right now, we have absolutely no right to discuss survival. Because we lack the capacity to survive.
You've gathered us and shared such horrifying truths — there's certainly Yu Xi's authorization behind this, perhaps even the Fun God's will.
So may I understand it as: the Fun God is pushing His followers to steal the gods' thrones?
Hmm, this definitely ties into His plans.
Leveraging believers' survival instinct to help Him complete His arrangents, while simultaneously using those arrangents for 'retribution' against that supre being — very [Deceit].
Although sudden godhood is obviously impossible for mortals. With the Convention above protecting all divine authority, our real target is the servant god tier beneath the true gods' status, correct?
Securing a servant god position is the key to the first breakthrough!
It seems only through this can we gradually seize divine authority and survive.
And once we establish divine status and build a connection to It, we'll finally have the chance — like mortals studying the gods — to study the experint's director. Only then can we begin thinking about how to stay alive.
Heh. Looks like we have an answer. Congratulations everyone — welco to the God Worship Society."
"..."
"Joining the God Worship Society" was jest, of course. But Zhen Xin was right, and it largely matched Cheng Shi's thinking.
Hearing this, the Dragon King spoke seriously:
"This is indeed one direction for survival. But fixating solely on godhood makes us no different from the God Worship Society.
We may have other options. Opportunities lie both within and without.
Long Jing just said that under Shi Zhen's guidance, he t another version of himself in another world. So if [Ti] truly has the power to let mortals contact other worlds, then..."
"Smuggling?" Long Jing's eyes flashed with inspiration. "Perhaps we can find a more hopeful world?"
Zhang Jizu squinted and shook his head:
"aningless. The 'hope' you speak of — do you an getting closer to 'perfect specin,' or getting abandoned sooner by the experint's director?
Rather than swapping worlds, learning from other worlds' experiences is what we should be doing.
The Long Jing you t clearly went through more. They found a way to pierce the space-ti barrier. That ans this thod isn't exclusive to gods — perhaps we can try it too."
"But don't forget — they bore [Ti]'s burden. Our [Ti] hasn't fallen," Long Jing sighed.
"But we have Shi Zhen. Since He was willing to give mortals this opportunity, there might be more to it than ets the eye." Zhen Xin smiled, pulling out a wristwatch and studying its hour hand. "And Shi Zhen is subordinate to [Ti]. So do you think [Ti] might also be 'different-hearted' from the other gods, like [Death]?"
"..."
'Sharp intuition.'
Hearing this, Cheng Shi gazed at Zhen Xin with undisguised admiration. But her reasoning wasn't finished.
"Looking at it this way, the gods aren't united. They've split into many factions.
Regardless of whether They've perceived the universe's truth, we can identify potential allies and obstacles simply by Their attitudes toward the supre being.
With divine assistance, mortals can continue on the road to godhood.
So at the end of the day, mapping the gods' relationships is the first step to walking freely. This gathering still has value as an intelligence exchange. The History School's research on the gods has never stopped — I should be able to help."
"mory is equally useful. Seeing the large through the small, understanding the whole from the minute. I've been trying to gauge divine will through traces of faith — I never imagined those old contemplations would find their purpose here."
Seeing fear's influence dissipate and the discussion's atmosphere steadily improve, Cheng Shi smiled slightly and quietly slipped the [Corruption] container back behind him.
A host always needed a few tricks up his sleeve.
Too much fear was counterproductive. But zero fear wouldn't do either. After all, the rope that bound the Jokers to the Fear Faction's great ship was precisely fear itself.
So this balance — he absolutely had to get it right.
...
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