Chapter 704: Royal Flush? Half Flush!

Cheng Shi's approach was sound. But his teammates' states were highly unsound.

The discrepancy had struck three players simultaneously. The instant the hour mark hit, a blinding holy light erupted from within the smoke, dispelling all darkness.

Order's power enveloped the entire room, forcibly implanting the urge to be law-abiding in everyone's mind. Cheng Shi's eyelid twitched — he nearly felt the impulse to go back and swallow the "spit" he'd hocked into Time's trap.

"..."

'Thank heavens this Order isn't strong. Otherwise, I'd be starring in "The Boy Who Ate His Own Spit"!'

As the smoke cleared, everyone's eyes on Cheng Shi were filled with suspicion and scrutiny. Though they'd changed, they clearly realized what had just happened.

The Blind One's gaze was especially complex. Standing closest to Cheng Shi, she'd guessed his intent — stared blankly for a long moment — then pushed up her sleeve to wipe the sweat from her wrist. She probed:

"Invitation, companionship, clues, mystery, death, reunion... Good. Your expression tells me this trial's permutations aren't infinite after all.

Fate Weaver — you truly are Destiny's Favored One. To use even this method to cycle us back to the same timeline."

"I'd planned to use the smoke cover to take someone out — to make your prophecy come true. But... the Investigator was too alert. I couldn't find an opening. Pity. No telling who'll be eliminated next."

Hearing this, the Blind One frowned and glanced at the Investigator. In her mind, if someone had to be eliminated from the current lineup, Li Wufang was the best target.

Of course, "eliminated" here didn't necessarily mean death — it could mean disappearing or leaving the trial.

But it was precisely this deeply-agreeing glance that sank Cheng Shi's heart right back to the bottom.

There were five people on the field. He'd said he wanted to take one out, leaving four. Yet she hadn't questioned the number at all — which meant...

'Oh no. I've hit the jackpot in the worst way. The An Mingyu before me isn't the original — she's the An Mingyu from the four-person prophecy!'

It seemed the smoke trick hadn't turned his terrible hand into a royal flush. As for the other two...

Li Wufang's eyelid twitched twice at Cheng Shi's words. He instinctively stepped back, looking between the Blind One and Cheng Shi, then raised the Discipline Arrow in his hand and wiped the sweat from his forehead:

"Seriously, you two? You'd go after a harmless Order follower?

Brother Cheng — and here I actually helped you get rid of your 'allergen'!

And you, Chosen One — I admire you so much I even specially requested a divination from you right at the start. Please don't shatter the good-person filter I've built around you.

But let me remind you of something: the surviving player count on the final day of your prophecy isn't four — it's five. So the people who survive to the end definitely include me. Not you."

Li Wufang's words obviously didn't mean the Blind One would die. He was simply expressing that he and the Blind One weren't from the same timeline.

Hearing this, Cheng Shi's eyes lit up. The Blind One's brow sank.

Clearly this seemingly unreliable Investigator was an extremely sharp individual. He'd already realized what was happening and was using his own logic to broadcast his identity.

He was describing his own actions from the trial's opening. By emphasizing that specific period, he could only mean he'd mastered enough clues for outsiders to verify who he was — using this method to find teammates from his own timeline.

And as expected of an Order follower — this approach of handing the judgment to others was one that might not work from anyone else. But Order believers had the highest credibility. When he acted this way, players who'd figured everything out would naturally project their own perspective to evaluate whether Li Wufang was from their world.

And the Investigator was the best at reading people. Once his observations bore fruit, he could use everyone's reactions to find his way home — or at least find his own teammates.

This was similar to Cheng Shi's earlier approach of sharing his experience first at the foot of the mine. Except Order believers were generally more trustworthy.

Clever! Extremely clever!

Having understood the Investigator's logic, Cheng Shi began evaluating his identity.

The Investigator's account matched Cheng Shi's own experience. And calling him "Brother Cheng" without hidden signaling ruled out the "Destined One" world's Li Wufang.

The Li Wufang before the smoke trick had been from the wrong-prophecy world. So this current Li Wufang belonged to neither a "future" nor a "past" — he could only be the present discrepancy, or the original.

Cheng Shi hadn't been sure whether a "present discrepancy" necessarily existed in this trial. But seeing this Li Wufang, he now knew: yes, it did.

Meaning each player in Time's game truly had four states: Original, present discrepancy, past discrepancy, and future discrepancy.

He remembered that after Li Wufang's first swap alongside Wu Cun, he'd become an Investigator who didn't believe in fate. But the Li Wufang before him, the "Destined One" Li Wufang, and the wrong-prophecy Li Wufang all believed in fate!

So the fate-denying Li Wufang and the current Li Wufang were different people — representing either the "original" or the "present discrepancy"!

Their pasts were identical. Only in certain attitudes toward people and things did they diverge!

Following this logic, the current Li Wufang was undoubtedly the original — perfectly matching the Li Wufang from the trial's start!

Of course, there was one other possibility: he wasn't the original and was simply lying.

The clown had been burned too many times. Every "truth-speaking disciple" had to be treated with suspicion. So he looked at Li Wufang and probed directly:

"Investigator — I think you've found the right path. But I can't guarantee it yet. If you trust me... how about telling a lie?"

Li Wufang blinked. A spark of understanding flashed through his eyes.

"I'm sorry — as an Order follower, I'm not particularly good at lying."

"..."

A lie!

How interesting — the Investigator had chosen to lie with precisely this statement.

Now Cheng Shi was sure. This was the Li Wufang from his own timeline.

'Great, great, great — finally someone from "home." And it turns out to be the "least important" one.'

Destiny's joke was still running!

What about Qin Xin — who was he?

Cheng Shi looked at Qin Xin. The other two followed his gaze. Qin Xin straightened, glanced at the Blind One, then smiled:

"It seems only Ming Yu doesn't belong here."

"?"

With those words, Qin Xin was claiming to have identified Cheng Shi and Li Wufang — and affirming he was from their timeline. Cheng Shi mused briefly, using his earlier reasoning to rule out both the "fire-carrying is hard" and "wrong prophecy" versions. But he still couldn't determine whether this Qin Xin came from the "original" or the "present discrepancy."

Because throughout the entire trial, he'd never found a distinction between these two Qin Xins. They were too similar. The only notable difference was that the original Qin Xin studied the Blind One with a measuring eye, while the later Qin Xin showed the Blind One extraordinary trust.

But this "arguably normal" expression wasn't strong enough evidence to determine identity.

So right now, Cheng Shi found it difficult to pin down Qin Xin's identity. But he wasn't completely out of options.

He had one method — an exceedingly simple one:

Trust Qin Xin.

Because he knew that no matter how Qin Xin changed, every version was a true Torchbearer. Their wills were alike. Though they differed in how broadly they defended beauty, a man like Qin Xin wouldn't carelessly claim another timeline's Qin Xin's identity without his own independent judgment.

Because every world needed its own Qin Xin.

So Cheng Shi accepted him. Openly and without reservation — no self-proof demanded, no further tests.

There had been enough tests of the Torchbearers in this trial. And every time, the feedback was the same:

This was, without question, a great organization. Especially because they had a founder with extraordinary personal magnetism and unshakeable conviction.

And that founder was the Qin Xin standing before him.

"In that case, Chosen One... your situation seems rather... awkward."