Chapter 202: Your Name... Are You Serious?

Your name... are you serious?

Cheng Shi cheated — or rather, he just used a little trick with the blessing of 【Fate】.

The day before the Special Trial arrived, he timed it perfectly and put on a Singer's Mask, and so he became a Singer of 【Fate】 — a Prophet.

And a Prophet gets one chance per day to foretell the future. Although, without any Prophet talent boosting it, the range Cheng Shi could foresee was terribly vague, and the furthest he could see was only seven days ahead — but that was enough.

Because he had a cheat.

Other Prophets might have to weigh the accuracy of their predictions, because Fate is constantly shifting, and no one knows whether the future they've seen will actually come to pass.

But Cheng Shi was different.

He knew that whatever he foresaw would definitely be the future — all because of that die that would always roll a 1, and that talent that would always turn that 1 into a 6.

So he decisively cast a divination for himself, asking about the outcome of the Special Trial. The omen was greatly auspicious; the prophecy showed that the one who ultimately won the trial was him, so he was very pleased.

But he was also very cautious, because in the prophecy, the one who ultimately won the trial seemed to be only him.

Which meant the other five teammates in this trial had likely met with rather unpleasant ends.

It also meant the trial's difficulty was probably very high.

So in the moment before the Special Trial arrived, Cheng Shi decisively took off that Singer's Mask and clipped on a brand-new Warrior's Mask.

That way, when he entered the trial, he would have enough "strength" to deal with any trouble.

Sure enough, the one who sent down the Special Trial was 【Chaos】, and the only universal solution to His trial was... survive!

Fight to the death to survive!

So, today's Cheng Shi...

is a faithful of 【Fate】, a warrior begging for life, today's exceedingly brave Today's Brave Warrior.

That teammate who was also a faithful of 【Fate】 seemed not to care at all about revealing his class and faith. He cradled his prisoner helmet, walked two steps forward, wedged his head between the bars of the cage, looked around, and introduced himself:

"Li Yi. Li as in the wood-radical Li, the numeral one. Prophet, 2269.

No need to look so surprised — the reason I dare to lay my cards on the table like this is that my prophecy told me my teammates will be as trustworthy as I am.

I used two days of prophecies in a row to guide this trial. In the first day's prophecy, I saw shackles I couldn't break free of; the number rolled was 12, and it has already come true.

On the second day, I asked about the state of my trial teammates. The answer the prophecy gave was quite interesting: though their thinking differs, their hearts are one with mine.

After thinking about it for a long time, I think I roughly understand — He is telling me that my teammates and I might be birds of a feather.

And the number rolled the second time was 16. Everyone, my Fate Die has only sixteen faces in total.

So, at the start of this trial, I chose trust without the slightest hesitation.

I also trust that none of you will betray my trust."

This Prophet's voice was utterly sunny; he seemed to be doing everything he could to bring about a grand cooperation.

But Cheng Shi knew that what he trusted was probably not his teammates, but his own prophecies.

Still, those bright, positive words grated harshly enough on Cheng Shi's ears, because these two prophecies looked useful on the surface but actually said nothing at all. And considering Li Yi's faith...

One must remember that a Singer of 【Fate】 isn't necessarily a Prophet — he might also be a... Magician who tells lies.

Without the help of a "Master of Deception," Cheng Shi couldn't judge whether this Prophet was actually a former colleague of his — a swindler who worshipped 【Trickery】.

Seeing no reaction from the crowd, Li Yi smiled and went on:

"I think this trial is probably far harder than we imagined. I hope we can all work together and put an end to this imprisoned time as soon as possible."

"Nicely said, but who knows whether you're really a Prophet?

After all, your name doesn't even sound real — Room 1, and you go and call yourself Li Yi?"

The one who said that wasn't Cheng Shi, but the player in Room 2, to Li Yi's left.

He copied Li Yi's pose, wedging his prisoner helmet against the bars to save energy, then clicked his tongue and picked up where Li Yi had left off.

"Don't get worked up, brother. At this tier, how many honest words can anyone's mouth hold? We've all seen plenty — whether someone's a man or a ghost, you can only tell after a few days.

Don't take it personally if I sound harsh — I'm afraid someone here is too simple-minded and gets led around by you.

Alright, that's enough from me. Say too much and you just annoy people.

Since you call yourself Li Yi... then for this round, why don't you all call me Ji Er — Ji as in the season-radical Ji, Er as in the numeral two with one extra stroke.

【Civilization】, Priest, ladder rating 2144.

I wouldn't dare be as confident as you — if I can keep a card up my sleeve, I'll keep it up my sleeve."

Before this sarcastic brother had even finished speaking, waves of "kuku" laughter erupted all around — everyone was cracking up.

Brother, are you serious about that name?

Isn't that a little too casual?

Even if you doubt Li Yi's identity, even if you want to blurt out a fake name off the top of your head, did you have to call yourself Ji Er?

Using a pun like that is supposed to cost you money.

Li Yi's face went green, his eyelids twitched violently, and through gritted teeth he asked:

"Is your surname really Ji?"

"What, don't believe me? I never lie."

Tch, those words sound familiar...

Cheng Shi shook his head and chuckled.

Li Yi's expression shifted several times, but in the end he didn't press the matter further.

With things developing this way, what Ji Er was actually called no longer mattered. What mattered was that he had openly refused Li Yi's invitation to cooperate and trampled Li Yi's dignity into the dirt.

Everyone was watching Li Yi's reaction. If the prisoner helmet weren't covering his face and hiding his expression, people would have even thought this Prophet might already be red in the face with rage.

But even so, he didn't hurl any abuse at the teammate who had mocked and ridiculed him.

Sure enough, faithful of 【Fate】 are just as patient as their patron deity.

Judging by that, he really does seem like a genuine Prophet.

With this teammate Season Two opening up such a fine example, the enthusiasm for self-introductions on the scene was suddenly ignited, and in this foul-smelling, bug- and rat-infested Great Tribunal prison, the teammates began letting loose one after another.

The older brother in cell number 3 to Season Two's right let out two ha's and immediately followed up:

"My surname is Gao, so by that logic, in this round I should be called Gao San.

Mm, Gao San, 【Civilization】, Warrior, ladder 2071.

The brother across the way wasn't wrong—this prisoner helm on our heads is rather interesting. Setting aside how a torture device so perfectly unified, without a single seam, was put on us in the first place, just look at this unbreakable property of it—it's well worth a careful study.

I tried putting the helmet straight into my portable space, but failed. I also tried prying it open with brute force and clever tricks, but still no luck.

I even attempted to use the soft art of bone-shrinking to shift its position a bit, but it actually adjusted its tightness according to the thickness of my neck. Interesting—this shouldn't be a creation of the Great Tribunal; it feels more like an experiment from the Tower of Reason.

And this prisoner helm seems to carry a special kind of magic—every force that tries to destroy it will simply dissipate into thin air as it draws near.

On it I felt not only the power of 【Order】, but even caught a glimpse of 【Prosperity】's shadow. Truly fascinating.

And that gave me a bit of inspiration—a friendly tip for everyone: when you face unavoidable danger, try sticking your head out.

I think this prisoner helm should be able to take more punishment than our bodies, so maybe it could save your life at a critical moment.

Alright, that's all I'll say. I agree with the Prophet's view—although he held back and fabricated a fake name, one thing he said was right: before the situation is clear, we'd best work together."

This player sounded like he might be a lawful sort too, and the moment he said he was 【Civilization】, Cheng Shi had already guessed his faith.

【Truth】.

Actually it's easy to guess, because his way of thinking has already said it all.

Only followers of 【Truth】 would try to observe their surroundings and make sense of everything through "exploration and deconstruction."

Faced with the prisoner helm and cage binding them, a 【War】 follower wouldn't hesitate—violent problem-solving is their usual method. Stereotypes are generally accurate, as they say.

And a follower of 【Order】......

Even the dimmest Order Knight, at this score, should at least know a thing or two about his own faction's torture devices.

Since this teammate who calls himself Gao San couldn't explain the ins and outs of this prisoner helm, that naturally proves he isn't one of 【Order】's people.

Even so, Cheng Shi still felt a sliver of doubt about Gao San being a 【Truth】 follower.

Because His followers are generally erudite and strong-minded—even a Warrior should be able to spot the small signs and draw broader inferences.

Yet he didn't offer any extended background on the present situation at all, only focusing on his own predicament, which made Cheng Shi very curious.

Could this be a 【Truth】 student whose "grades aren't that great"?

Well, it's not impossible.

After all, people are diverse—there's even an honest one like me in a pile of liars.

Perfectly reasonable, right?