Chapter 141: The Big Brother Who Led the Way Back Then!

The Big Brother Who Led the Way Back Then!

A gentle breeze brushed his face, warming his heart.

The air here was humid, or so the wind said.

Ever since cooperating seamlessly with the Wind-Taming Ranger a few times, Cheng Shi felt he could read the wind more and more.

He felt the wind carry sounds from afar to his ears, shifting from rustling to noisy, from hazy to clear, letting it awaken his hearing.

"Xiao Bai? What, you came down too?"

"Long time no see, Yuan Shuai."

"Yeah, it's been a while since we were matched together."

Xiao Bai? Yuan Shuai? Do they know each other?

Cheng Shi's consciousness had just revived; before he could open his eyes, the nearby conversation caught his attention.

Usually, due to the massive number of players, it was rare to meet previous teammates in different trials.

Of course, this excluded purposeful and directional Wish Trials.

So, when Cheng Shi heard someone familiar, his first reaction was...

Could I be a freeloader?

Ah yes, be a freeloader!

Because logically, if a player is very familiar and might be matched multiple times, it proves only one thing: he has been matched into a high-level game again!

Because only high-score players meet often!

But such games have a downside: most high-score players are too lone-wolfish, and familiar groups might also exclude outsiders.

Sigh, why is the situation so complicated right from the start?

Hope this round goes smoothly.

But there's one more thing... why does Yuan Shuai's voice sound a bit familiar?

As his consciousness gradually cleared, Cheng Shi slowly opened his eyes.

As light leaped into his eyes and expanded his vision, a burly man in a red-and-yellow knight robe and a cold-faced cool sister in all black immediately came into view.

These two seemed to be conversing, yet their eyes were sizing him up.

No, it should be said the burly man was looking at Cheng Shi, while the cool sister was just following the burly man's gaze to study what was so worth looking at in Cheng Shi.

This person looked decent, but he had never been seen before.

Probably... he is his friend?

The cool sister's glance swept past without lingering.

But Cheng Shi, upon seeing the burly man for an instant, was greatly shocked; his eyebrows involuntarily arched, and then he actually broke into a happy smile.

What a coincidence.

Indeed, it is a familiar group.

But this familiar person is also Cheng Shi's familiar person.

Recalling the various times he was matched with this familiar person before, Cheng Shi happily greeted him.

"Hu Ge, it's actually you!"

The burly man, the moment he saw Cheng Shi recognize him, also laughed heartily.

He strode up to Cheng Shi, slapped Cheng Shi's shoulder with one hand, and said joyfully:

"Hahahaha, Cheng Shi!

Long time no see. What, have you slacked off lately? I haven't been matched with you in a long time."

Cheng Shi shook his head and smiled helplessly, admitting he was inferior.

"With that big bag of potions, how could I not slack off? Haha, I don't have the drive like you, Hu Ge."

The man standing before him, as strong as an iron tower, was none other than the Big Brother Who Led the Way, Hu Wei, who had previously led Cheng Shi and his teammates to counter-kill the target protecting the pharmacy robbery, splitting over a hundred bottles of Past Prosperity among everyone!

He was a believer of 【War】, a warrior with a bold personality and wild conduct!

That trial happened three or four months ago; back then, the 【Faith Game】 had just descended, the trial difficulty wasn't too high yet, and most players were still generally exploring.

But Hu Wei had already pushed his ladder score across to over 1600 points, belonging to the first tier of climbers who climbed very fast.

Seeing him again now, his state was obviously different from before.

No need to report the score; his whole body already exuded the aura of a big shot.

Hearing Cheng Shi's self-deprecation, Hu Wei seemed to recall that farce from the past days and laughed even louder.

He kept patting Cheng Shi's shoulder, a look of appreciation flashing in his eyes.

"Good, full of spirit. I don't take many friends, but you, kid, definitely count as one.

What's your ladder score now? What rank on the Ladder of Adoration?

Oh, I forgot, you're an Incinerator, so you should know Xiao Bai?"

Saying this, Hu Wei looked at the black-clad cool sister behind him.

However, the moment Cheng Shi heard that sentence, his face went dark, and he froze completely.

"..."

Damn, I let my guard down.

Last time I met Hu Wei, I stole the faith of 【Annihilation】, disguised myself as an 【Annihilation】 Priest, an Incinerator.

But this time...

There wasn't a single 【Annihilation】 believer in the last round!

How am I supposed to steal?

The female player named "Xiao Bai" wore a set of black clothes and black pants, with shoulder-length, shaggy hair hanging down, her eyebrows and eyes fully displaying a cold color.

She looked at Cheng Shi with neither joy nor sorrow, nodding slightly in greeting.

"Bai Fei, End Walker."

End Walker, a Hunter of 【Annihilation】!

Good lord, Li Gui ran into Li Kui.

Hers is the real 【Annihilation】.

But upon hearing she was a follower of 【Annihilation】, Cheng Shi didn't seem surprised at all.

Because he saw a hint of Yunni's shadow in Bai Fei — perhaps high-scoring 【Annihilation】 followers all give off a similar vibe?

Cheng Shi's smile stiffened slightly. His thoughts raced, but he decided to accept this identity for now and hold his ground.

"Cheng Shi, Cremator."

Bai Fei looked at Cheng Shi, gave a faint, expressionless nod — that counted as an introduction.

"Oh? You two haven't met? Now this is interesting."

Hu Wei's gaze shuttled between the two of them, his smile inscrutable. "You kid, confess honestly — were you lying!?"

???

Cheng Shi's heart skipped a beat, but on the surface he put on a dumbfounded look at Hu Wei, blinking blankly.

"What lie did I tell?"

"Still not honest. A few months back when I was matched with you, you were only about 100 points below me — hmm, let me think, was it 1501?

And now? Even if you dropped, there's no way you haven't been matched with Little Bai, right?

You two are on the same side — don't go playing tricks behind my back, brother."

"......"

Scared me to death — thought I'd blown my cover the moment I opened my mouth.

Cheng Shi breathed an inward sigh of relief, but then his face darkened again.

Bro, stop stealing my lines.

I was just about to muddle through a round with 1501, and you've put me on the spot with no way down.

He stole a glance at the cold, cool older sister, pretended not to care much about scores, and casually tossed out a line:

"I'm just a healer — having a lower score than her is normal."

"You kid, always like to hide your strength.

Little Bai, let me tell you, don't underestimate him just because he's a healer — when he schemes against people, he's just as methodical and well-prepared as you Hunters.

Back in that trial, the overwhelming Knight Guard in the city were all tricked by him until they couldn't even find their way north."

Hu Wei kept chattering nonstop about the heroic deeds of that old group. Cheng Shi listened, shaking his head and laughing, and used this idle moment to start taking in everything around him.

He looked down at the flagstones and found they were green bricks stamped with the emblem of the Great Adjudication Court.

Sure enough, the 【Order】 trial was being held in a city under the Great Adjudication Court's jurisdiction!

A city meant sound decrees and complete rules — the most fitting setting for Its trial.

With air this humid, the location could be roughly pinned to the south — he just didn't know which specific city this was, or what kind of laws it upheld.

After a rough sweep of his surroundings, Cheng Shi looked at the other teammates in the alley.