Chapter 1319: I Am Fool's Play, Again

I am Fool's Play, again

"Call them all in. The Jokers probably need to hold another meeting."

Cheng Shi sighed.

The Fun God had chosen to "lay his cards on the table" with him in this way, so naturally Cheng Shi would lay his cards on the table with the Jokers in the same way.

If he wanted the Jokers' help, he could no longer hide anything from them. Besides, during the performance of an era's curtain fall, the Jokers had striven so hard to save themselves — that sentiment had to be acknowledged.

The moment Seeing Zhen Xin heard this, she knew something big was coming again. Last time the Weaver of Fates had drawn back the great curtain of the true universe for them, so what earth-shattering secret would this time bring?

She nodded and quickly went to gather all the Jokers. The special trial had just ended, so everyone was easy to reach — except for...... Zhang Zhang Jizu.

As the Jokers arrived one after another and only one Gravekeeper was missing, Cheng Shi, standing before the 【Death】 grave, did not wait but began today's meeting directly.

Everyone was stunned. The Dragon King raised an eyebrow at the tombstone, musing:

"The Gravekeeper couldn't get away?"

Cheng Shi smiled and nodded: "Mm, went off to handle some life-saving matters. But don't worry, he'll come back safe."

Everyone present was sharp. Seeing that Cheng Shi appeared calm and composed, yet his evasive gaze that dared not meet theirs directly already told them that Zhang Zhang Jizu's absence was no simple matter.

Connecting this with Cheng Shi's amnesia and solemn attitude toward the trial that had just occurred, Seeing Zhen Xin had a vague guess in her heart.

The little interlude before the meeting quickly passed. Cheng Shi wasted no more time and got straight to the point, sharing with everyone the despair he had just experienced.

He said:

"Just now, the world took a wrong turn.

In that false era I am temporarily calling the 'Derivation,' the world was destroyed.

You didn't notice because a god erased everyone's memories.

This isn't the first time your memories have been erased. Before this, the world was reset once, and none of you remembered that either......"

"！?"

Cheng Shi's opening was undoubtedly like a bomb, blowing open the already unsettled hearts of the Jokers.

Everyone looked at Cheng Shi with blank stares, all thinking the same thing: Weaver of Fates, the world you're talking about — is it the one under our feet?

It couldn't be some dream world, could it?

Otherwise, how could it be completely different from what we know?

When a so-called "fact" one person speaks differs from everyone's understanding, can it still be called a fact?

Obviously not.

But it depends on the person.

If this were said out there, no one would believe it. People would just think they'd run into another Meng Youfang with a strange way of thinking.

But this was the Jokers — a place where everything impossible might become possible — especially when the one saying it was that Weaver of Fates.

So everyone was stunned. They stared with pairs of "hungry, waiting to be fed" eyes, quietly awaiting Teacher Cheng's revelation.

Class is now in session with Little Cheng!

Cheng Shi continued:

"This situation is very complicated.

To be honest, seeing your reactions like this makes me even more certain that no one here remembers what happened before. Or perhaps there is one who remembers, but he......"

Cheng Shi turned his head and glanced at the 【Death】 tombstone, his expression complicated.

Since Old Zhang had swapped worlds with his other self, it meant that nothing in this world — whether the Derivation or the reset — would affect him anymore.

He must remember everything, at least the last glimpse of scenery before the world's destruction.

But unfortunately, he isn't here right now.

Cheng Shi paused and said:

"Forget it. He's not here, so let's not talk about him.

Last time the world was reset, I cross-checked memories with others and was certain beyond doubt that the experience truly happened.

But this time, up to now, it's still just my own 'delusion'......

Although I confirmed this with the fragments of the Mask, they're from the same viewpoint as me, so we still can't draw a conclusion.

So what exactly happened in that trial might need to be verified with Them before we can be sure. But I can't wait — I have to back up these memories while they're still fresh.

You all help me think about it too — what exactly were They trying to express in this curtain-call performance.

But no matter what it is, one thing is certain: our world is on the brink of collapse......"

The topic suddenly grew heavy again, casting a shadow over every Joker's heart.

Perhaps Cheng Shi, having faced despair head-on, had developed some tolerance for a hopeless future. But the Jokers had forgotten everything — they simply couldn't understand why, with the game still going and the cosmos still being explored, the world was already on the brink of collapse.

"I know that at the first meeting of the Jokers, all of you doubted my identity. A player shouldn't have access to so many secrets — especially since I know more than some gods.

First, I owe everyone an apology. I lied to you.

These secrets weren't told to me by Fool's Play — I knew them myself."

"!!!"

Everyone was stunned, but what followed was even more terrifying.

"Because I am Fool's Play!" Cheng Shi sighed wistfully, casually glancing at Long Jing as he did.

"???"

That glance broke Chairman Gong's composure.

Wait, bro!?

Although the world returning to the right track after the trial made Chairman Gong forget the memory of his own breakdown, Fool's Play kindly returned that memory to him. Whether on the wrong path or the right one, there's always some clown breaking down as he pushes forward.

And not just one.

From the moment Cheng Shi uttered the name "Fool's Play," the Doctor had silently slipped into the shadow beneath the tombstone.

There's no way to face anyone now.

The number of times he had praised the Fool's Play before Cheng Shi back then was exactly the number of times his toes were curling into the ground now.

He wished he could just turn around and leave, but his devotion to the Fool's Play kept drawing him forward.

And so, in the struggle between devout faith and personal shame, the shadow of the tombstone was like a steel saw, sawing back and forth across the Doctor's face.

The other two had reactions, but nothing close to the agitation of the first two.

"You really are Him!"

Seeing Zhen Xin wasn't surprised by this—or rather, she always felt as though she had already accepted such a confession once before.

This faint, elusive sense of familiarity made her all the more certain that what Cheng Shi said was right: they had definitely forgotten something.

Li Li Jingming shook his head and laughed, as if he had figured something out, and said:

"Should have realized it long ago. This is just like you.

So you forged an identity, and by trading the secrets of that false identity, you exchanged for the resources and intelligence in other people's hands?"

"!!!" Hearing this, Long Jing grew even angrier.

But what Chairman Gong was angry about wasn't that Cheng Shi had used this to fool everyone—it was that he himself hadn't come up with such a brilliant method!

Bravely playing the Fool's Play was already the upper limit of his courage; to fabricate an Emissary out of thin air... what kind of person would dare pull off such a death-defying stunt?!

Did Zhen Yi never do it either!

Cheng Shi laughed as well. He shook his head and said, "No, the identity of the Fool's Play wasn't forged. He truly exists, and He truly is me."

"???"

The Jesters all froze.

Chairman Gong's expression twisted again: "You really became an Emissary!?"

Cheng Shi nodded: "That's right. The matters involved here are complicated; you only need to know that I didn't lie to you."

Saying so, Cheng Shi placed the Vessel of 【Deception】 before everyone's eyes.

"This is the proof."