Chapter 142: No Way, Where's My Fishpond Match? My Huge Fishpond Match—Where Is It?

No way, where's my fishpond match? My huge fishpond match—where is it?

Three men were still standing in front of him.

Two of them listened with pricked ears to Hu Wei's loud voice, while the third wore a displeased look.

The glance that man shot at Cheng Shi and the other two held impatience; not long after, he had had enough of Hu Wei's nagging and cut in:

"Alright, reuniting mid-trial is genuinely worth celebrating, but shouldn't you also have some sense of time?

Instead of this, why not introduce yourselves and state your conduct first?

Save time."

Hu Wei, who had been chatting with Bai Fei, was suddenly interrupted. He froze for a beat, then turned with keen interest toward the teammate who had cut him off and laughed:

"Interesting—seems I haven't been matched with you before. What do I call you?"

The young man, his hair slicked back and tied in a small topknot, gave a light snort and stated his name with confidence and gravity.

"Yan Chun, 【Chaos】, Warrior, 1977."

"?"

The instant he reported his score, both Hu Wei and Bai Fei visibly knit their brows.

Hu Wei's expression suddenly darkened. He turned to look at the other player, the one leaning on a staff, and asked in a low voice:

"Brother, what's your score?"

Under Hu Wei's gaze, that player grew a little uneasy. He clearly sensed Hu Wei was some high-scoring big shot, so he gripped his staff nervously and forced out a smile that wasn't quite so awkward.

"Li Ziran, 【Life】..."

"Brother, spit it out—what's your score?"

Li Ziran froze. His grip on the staff tightened, and he grew even more ill at ease.

"1469. Ladder 1469."

After saying it, he saw Hu Wei's brow furrow deeper. After much hesitation, he still braced himself and finished his introduction: "Priest. I'm a 【Life】 Priest."

1400?

At this, Hu Wei's expression grew even uglier.

An invisible pressure rose from him. As he turned to look at the last one, that teammate blurted out without hesitation a score that made Cheng Shi happy and Hu Wei irritated.

"1721! Big shot, I'm 1721.

Zhang Zhang Ruyu, 【Fallen】, Bard."

Oh-ho, max is 1900—finally back to the familiar fishpond match.

Fishpond matches are great, easy to coast!

Cheng Shi had been wondering how to report his own score just right, so he'd be worthy of big bro and get carried for another round.

But hearing that his other three teammates were all low-scored, he suddenly felt reporting low wasn't off the table.

They'd already paved the way for him anyway—slacking off and having a low score wasn't exactly a flaw, right?

So when Hu Wei and Bai Fei's gazes turned to him, Cheng Shi put on a bright, sunny smile and blurted out:

"·Cheng Shi, Cremator, 2401."

?

His back stiffened and the smile froze on his face.

Hearing Cheng Shi's score, Hu Wei's expression finally warmed a little—but only a little.

But in Bai Fei's eyes toward Cheng Shi, there was a new flicker of scrutiny.

As if sizing up just what relationship this Cheng Shi—who had that score—had with Hu Wei.

Cheng Shi was grinding his teeth in fury, raging inwardly at Fool's Lip, while on the surface he had no choice but to play it cool and accept the "admiration" from his teammates!

Yes, admiration.

The instant that score had blurted itself out.

Li Ziran's staff clattered to the ground, Yan Chun's pupils shrank to pinpoints, Zhang Zhang Ruyu's jaw dropped and never closed again.

"How much!?"

"2400??"

"No way, bro, you're messing with us, right, bro!?"

Honestly, Cheng Shi didn't care for this kind of admiration.

Too much attention would land him in a spot where the lie was hard to explain.

But given the situation, he had no choice but to take it.

Just... miserable as hell.

Fool's Lip never changes the reported score for no reason—if it opens its mouth, there's only one possibility:

That rotten mouth wants to watch the show again!

It knows he hates putting in effort most, so every now and then it finds ways to make him move a little more.

After all, a show without a clown loses half its fun.

But the question is, why report the score so high this time?

Being 100 points higher might make teammates wary and guarded.

But being 400 points higher only makes teammates cling to your thigh shouting 666.

And that spot should've been his...

The thrill from such a huge score gap couldn't even be called a thrill. Not to mention Cheng Shi didn't even have 2400 in the first place—even if he did, he was long past the age of enjoying such cheap kicks.

So think as he might, the answer could only lie with the other two.

Could those two's scores...?

Wait!

Yuan Shuai!

They mentioned a Yuan Shuai at the start — where's the Yuan Shuai?

There's no one here called Yuan Shuai, is there?

Cheng Shi froze for a second, blinked, and a spark of inspiration flashed through his mind — he suddenly got it.

"......"

Damn, Yuan Shuai, is that it!?

Huh?

If I remember correctly, the 【War】 god's Chosen — wasn't he called... Grand Yuan Shuai or something?

And Hu Wei happens to be His believer!

Cheng Shi's pupils contracted. Shocked by his own thought, he immediately turned to look at Hu Wei, only to see Hu Wei's face darken as he thought for a moment, then said in a slightly irritated buzz:

"Brother, you've really been slacking off.

No wonder I haven't been matched with you in ages.

This match... has a bit of a problem.

Hu Wei, Vanguard Warrior, 2632."

?

How much?

Before everyone's brain could catch up, Cool Sis coolly announced her own score right after.

"Bai Fei, End Walker, 2615."

??

Hold up! What did I just hear?

2600?

And two of them?

Cheng Shi stared wide-eyed at the familiar yet strange Hu Ge before him, feeling that this score was both unexpected and, somehow, perfectly reasonable.

He truly deserved the title of "Yuan Shuai," because he really did have a gift for command.

But even so......

Big bro, big sis, you're still being a bit too outrageous......

Huh?

Cheng Shi's brain exploded.

Wait — where's my fishpond match?

Where's my big, fat fishpond match?

Using me as the fishpond, huh?

Good, good, good!

His scrutinizing gaze shifted to Bai Fei. Looking more closely, he suddenly noticed this sis was even cooler than before.

Her aura was even more chilling.

If Bai Fei just now was an ordinary iceberg from the North Pole, then now she was a piece of eerie cold jade from beneath a glacier.

Both cold, and noble.

Could it be his eyes were playing tricks?

Probably, or maybe high scores really can dazzle the eyes.

Getting matched with high scores is a good thing — it means there's a chance to freeload.

But getting matched with scores that are too high is not a good thing.

Cheng Shi thought to himself: he had only wished to come watch a "movie," so how did he end up running into these two?

The rules of a Wished Trial differ from a Special Trial — the players matched into the same match aren't completely unrelated.

At the very least, what they wished for can all be fulfilled within this match.

Whether found directly within the trial, or granted at the end as a completion reward — in any case, the needs each person spoke when wishing all carry some connection.

Looking back at his own wish, maybe "witnessing fate" was full of uncertainty, with difficulty that could swing high or low — that could barely be explained.

But what about the other three teammates?

Cheng Shi's gaze swept over them, and especially when it landed on this 1400-point 【Life】 believer, the doubt in his eyes couldn't be hidden at all.

He truly couldn't figure out what Li Ziran had wished for to end up matched with Hu Wei.

The two sides were nearly 1200 points apart — almost double.

In fact, it wasn't just Cheng Shi — Li Ziran was also reflecting on himself.

He had only wished for a bottle of Past Prosperity to save his sister — so how did he end up matched with two 2700-point big shots?

Great — sister not saved, and now he's probably going down with the ship too.

Is a match at this rank something he can handle?

Wouldn't just looking at it kill him?

His gaze toward the big shots carried fear and trembling. The hand that had picked up his staff was clenched white, and his feet stepped back slightly — clearly, the thought of slipping away had taken root.

But these clumsy movements were completely unhidden. In the eyes of Cheng Shi and the other two, it was almost no different from grabbing a megaphone and shouting "Don't come any closer, Laozi's not playing anymore."

An eerie atmosphere gradually spread through the alley.

Just as 【Silence】 was about to descend once more, Hu Wei finally spoke again.

"Everyone, don't panic — I don't eat people."