Chapter 243: Cheng Shi, a Man Favored by [Fate]

Cheng Shi, a man favored by 【Fate】......

"Concentric Dagger!?"

This tall, lanky teammate put on his glasses and looked at Cheng Shi with a face full of astonishment.

"You don't have split personalities?"

Cheng Shi froze for a moment, then hurriedly began rubbing his face: "I did split, but we've already reached a consensus, so we move in perfect unison."

"......"

No matter how you looked at it, this didn't seem like symptoms of schizophrenia—it looked more like genuine stupidity.

"Then this... where did it come from?"

"I woke up a bit earlier, so I snatched this dagger from Selius."

"Where's Selius?"

Cheng Shi gave a dry laugh: "Guess how I snatched it?"

"......" Understood.

This teammate nodded, took the Concentric Dagger from Cheng Shi's palm, gave a small cough, and said:

"Everyone, Selius's Concentric Dagger—you should have all seen it during that deduction. It can......"

"Never seen it!" The burly man roared during his spare time trying to strangle himself, cutting off the glasses-wearing teammate's words.

"......"

The glasses-wearing teammate paused, but didn't get annoyed. Instead, he nodded with great patience and explained:

"This is the main tool used for slicing experiments.

It can be used to peel away an experimental subject's personalities. There are two ways to use it—proper and reverse.

If used properly, you only need to stab it into the heart with a specific technique, then pull it out one second before death, and it will sequentially dissolve the subject's other personalities.

But the timing of the pull is crucial—one second too fast and the remaining personality will become distorted under the dagger's power; one second too slow and the subject's body will become an unconscious empty shell.

If used in reverse, that's the slicing method everyone knows from slicing experiments—cutting a complete personality into different portions."

Those who woke up on-site weren't only players. After this teammate finished speaking, almost everyone who had regained consciousness looked at him, their confused and fearful eyes betraying doubt at his words.

But Cheng Shi knew this teammate wasn't lying, because when learning to personally operate slicing experiments, he had long since figured out this dagger's functions.

Unfortunately, he only knew how to use it in reverse, not properly.

On the other hand, this teammate who called himself a Slice knew quite a lot.

Seeing the somewhat subtle look Cheng Shi was giving him, the glasses-wearing teammate smiled and explained without a hint of guilt:

"I'm a believer of 【Truth】, so I have some understanding of Selius's slicing experiments, and happen to know the proper way to use the Concentric Dagger.

Let me introduce myself—Li Zhi, the Zhi of obsession, surgeon, 2119.

Oh right, I also discovered I have a new identity, and that is......

Someone else's personality slice."

He finished introducing himself with a smile, and didn't seem all that resistant to his slice identity.

But his calm, friendly attitude truly left Cheng Shi dumbfounded. It was rare to see someone so emotionally stable and normal in a trial.

Especially since his warm smile and outward goodwill didn't seem feigned.

You have to understand, in the 【Faith Game】, especially in the high ranks, normal people are the abnormal ones.

"Are you... a Priest?" Cheng Shi was quite surprised to have encountered a fellow practitioner.

"Yes, a genuine Priest, no fakes."

As he spoke, he reached out and lightly tapped the back of Cheng Shi's hand. A wave of healing light instantly enveloped Cheng Shi, gradually settling his chaotic thoughts.

Soothe—a spell. This teammate really was a Priest!

Li Zhi not only cast Soothe on Cheng Shi, he even cast it on everyone in this laboratory, then raised the Concentric Dagger high and asked in a clear voice:

"Anyone who wants to get rid of this split-personality state can come find me and try. I'll do my best to keep you alive.

But I must declare—the surgery still carries risks."

"Me! Me! I'll do it! Kill these invaders trying to take over my body!"

"Hmph, come on, stab me. Let's see who can survive till the end!"

The first to respond weren't a few players, but the natives of Hope Continent around them.

They crowded around Li Zhi, scrambling to be first, waiting for Li Zhi to perform a "purification surgery" on them.

And Li Zhi truly didn't disappoint. With great patience, meticulous care, and deft hands, he arranged the approaching experimental subjects onto the nearest experiment beds, then began using the dagger to reset their personalities.

His operations were extraordinarily meticulous, his movements extremely precise, and his perception of others' vital signs was sharp. With his help, it didn't take long before several schizophrenic experimental subjects returned to a single-personality state.

Pale-faced, they loudly proclaimed themselves the ultimate winner, unaware that outsiders couldn't tell which personality had ultimately held out till the end.

Only after a dozen or so locals had undergone personality purification did a player finally decide to gamble.

The burly man who had opened his eyes first tightened his expression and walked stiff-legged up to Li Zhi, while the three personalities inside him were still fighting over control of the body.

"Go ahead, Priest. I'll be the one who survives, and when I do, I'll express my gratitude to you properly."

"Song Yi—remember the name Song Yi, Vanquishing Warrior."

"Heh, I've heard the last words of you two. Begin, Priest."

Li Zhi shook his head with a rueful smile. He slowly inserted the Concentric Dagger into this teammate's heart, his arm not trembling in the slightest.

Before long, the burly man's expression changed drastically, his life force rapidly draining away. Yet this surgeon showed no panic, waiting with an unchanged expression for the Concentric Dagger to kill the burly man's other personalities—even when the burly man struggled and gripped his hand, he remained unmoved.

Until at a certain point the burly man was nearly about to pass out from death, only then did he decisively pull the dagger from the patient's heart and immediately cast a healing spell.

Song Yi clutched his chest and gasped heavily. The surgery was clearly a success.

Cheng Shi watched with amusement, and standing to the side, asked:

"Hey, Warrior—are you the one meant to express gratitude, or the one doing the self-introduction?"

Song Yi's face went pale as he said, "I told you, that was their last words. Heh, two confident idiots—I'm the primary personality!"

Oh-ho, the one who survived is the third.

Cheng Shi clicked his tongue in admiration, feeling that the Song Yi who had just introduced himself was a bit cuter.

Li Zhi tilted his head to look at Cheng Shi and asked in confusion:

"Aren't you going to purify your other personalities?"

Cheng Shi was briefly stunned, then rubbed his nose and said, "I think this is pretty good—more people, more lively."

"..."

Li Zhi was choked for a moment. His gaze swept past Cheng Shi's nose-rubbing hand, he nodded thoughtfully, and continued performing surgery on the others.

After seeing Song Yi unharmed, several teammates struggled over to the doctor's side. Clearly, they had decided to trust this outsider and let the doctor purify their other personalities for them.

Li Zhi truly was like a dedicated doctor, refusing no one. Only after every awakened experimental subject had broken free from their split-personality state did he finally collapse to the ground, gasping for breath.

Cheng Shi was filled with genuine respect for this. No matter who he was—or rather, no matter whose "slice" he was—at this moment, he truly deserved the two characters "doctor."

"Brother, I've remembered you. Li Zhi—good name. If we meet again in the future, Old Song here will help you out no matter what."

"Thanks. Although I don't believe there are any good people left in this world, at this moment I have no choice but to say thank you.

Yu Gui, Death Weaver, 2047. Very glad to have met you."

"Oh heavens, I already felt exhausted after four days of slaughter in the arena. Never thought the trial's greatest challenge would be saved for last.

That was really... terrifying. Thank goodness for you, Doctor.

Let me introduce myself—Wei Wei Youxue, a wandering bard, 2313. Thanks to my teammates, I once again have the chance to broaden my horizons."

"Sure enough, violent professions can always solve one or two problems. For singers like me and the wandering bard, when it comes to fighting, we wish we could even use our teeth.

Pepper—you can call me Pepper. I agree with the Death Weaver—there's no such thing as a good person in this world. But to survive, being schemed against isn't unacceptable.

Anyway, still thank you, my good Mr. Priest."

This truly was a very interesting round. Just as the trial was about to end, six people gathered together and introduced themselves to each other.

But Cheng Shi's gaze swept over these teammates, and a faint doubt stirred in his heart.

Logically speaking, with only the last hour of the trial left and the end clearly in sight, what about that prophecy...

That's right—the prophecy made by his past self, the former Seer. It clearly pointed to a not-so-good ending.

Could it be that prophecy only applied to that imagined deduction?

No, because Cheng Shi knew that when he made the prophecy he had said "the next trial," not some imagination or deduction. So...

There's still a twist at the end of the script?

Thinking of this, his brows furrowed tightly. And just then, everyone's gazes turned to him—to this teammate who had claimed "more people is more lively" and refused to undergo the surgery.

Cheng Shi felt their stares, paused briefly, then rubbed his nose and said sheepishly:

"Ahem, my turn then. Cheng Shi, a... blessed by 【Fate】..."

Before he could finish, the laboratory door was pushed open without any warning.

"Who are you? Where did Grandpa Selius go?"

"...?"

Hearing that familiar voice, Cheng Shi's little face fell.

Bless my ass!