Chapter 38: Chat Channel Observations, and a New Trial!

Chat Channel Observations, and a New Trial!

Cheng Shi didn’t give him a single bottle this time.

Because of this, he faintly heard what sounded like an argument upstairs in the neighboring building that night.

Of course, it was the 【Fate】 believer monologuing, while Xie Yang kept smiling apologetically.

Amid the nauseating laughter of the yes-man, Cheng Shi slept soundly.

He didn’t wake until noon the next day, then began browsing chat logs across all channels.

The Faith channel was as full of lies as ever; even one extra glance was a waste of time.

The Regional channel was either people arranging relaxation or competing over scores, chattering like old folks in a matchmaking group before the 【Gods】 descended—messages flooded in, giving him a headache.

Only the Profession channel ever had something fresh worth a second look.

【Profession Channel】

“Brothers, breaking news! The 【Prosperity】 Chosen has changed again after two months! ‘Baldy Uses P&G’ got bumped off!”

“Huh? Brother, elaborate!”

“Your 【Prosperity】 Ascension Ladder changes too often—this is only a few months, and it’s changed again? Why?”

“Did he get strangled by his own thick hair again?”

“Strangled by one’s own hair” was a meme among players mocking 【Prosperity】 believers.

【Prosperity】 is the second god of the 【Life】 Path, the climax of life, the flourishing of spirit—He champions rapid renewal and unrestrained growth.

Thus, His followers are generally endowed with vigorous spiritual energy and extremely rapid bodily growth.

The most obvious manifestation is hair growing wildly.

Due to this problem, more than one unlucky soul had their movements impaired during trials by hair that grew too long, causing mistakes.

Over time, this phrase became a common joke used to tease them.

【Profession Channel】

“Who knows? I shaved my head—I’ll never be a clown for the rest of my life.”

“Who’s the new Chosen? Tell us so we can worship.”

“ID is ‘Only Carve Dead Wood.’”

“Red flag! ‘Dead’ wood! This guy’s a tough one—what about the 【Decay】 people? Shouldn’t we beat him up?”

“Heh, let them be happy. Our 【Decay】 Chosen still ranks first; your 【Prosperity】 can only chase our dust.”

“Correction: it’s shit behind us, not dust.”

Can the person upstairs post their coordinates?

“No. 167-1, Gǔqiáo Alley, Xīnyào Street, Shān City, Jiang Province. Come if you dare—I’m waiting.”

“????? That’s my address? Bro, who the hell are you?”

“Damn, what a coincidence—that’s my old home.”

“Holy shit, so all those toys were yours?”

“????”

“Bro, explain ‘toys.’”

“......”

“By the way, the 【Deception】 Chosen changed too—first time since server launch. I’m learning something new: that guy ‘Sincere and True’ somehow dropped below rank 10.”

“Probably failed a few trials. Big boss is awesome—even after failing, he’s still top ten. I’d be dead after one failure.”

“Don’t worry, big bro’s got your back.”

“Idiot, can’t I heal myself?”

“Whose healing tastes better than a brother’s?”

“......”

“?”

Cheng Shi had been watching the drama, but when he saw the 【Deception】 Chosen had changed, his expression turned startled—he opened the Ascension Ladder rankings.

【Ascension Ladder (Existence-Memory) / (Void-Deception)】

1. Li Jingming (Memory) 204

2. Ad Space for Rent (Deception) 203

3. This Love Can Wait (Memory) 200

4. Still Like a Dream (Memory) 197

5. Aba Aba (Deception) 197

19. If Your Score’s Lower, Kill Yourself, Noob (Deception) 189

20. Last Year Today (Memory) 189

21. Sincere and True (Deception) 188

64. I Never Lie (Deception) 161

Had he not heard Zhen Xin’s name mentioned in the 【Deception】 channel, Cheng Shi wouldn’t have paid much attention to this ID.

He remembered that ‘Sincere and True’ had once dominated the Ascension Ladder with 210 points; he never expected it to drop to 188 in just a few days.

Rank 21.

What is this guy doing?

How did he suddenly vanish from the top ten?

Thinking wouldn’t help—he might as well ask.

Bored, Cheng Shi posted in the Faith channel:

“Big bro, why’d you drop? Can’t scam anymore?”

This message should’ve drowned in countless pointless scams, but somehow, many saw it at once, instantly igniting their gossip frenzy.

【Faith Channel】

“Rumor has it he got pregnant with Li Jingming’s child and took maternity leave.”

“That’s wrong—I know he got arrested. The state cracked down on fraud.”

“Wow, you crawled out after the Qing Dynasty collapsed? What year is it now?”

“Year One of 【Deception】.”

“High awareness! Were you a cadre before? How many points do you have? Share your secrets.”

“My personal advice: 1. Be honest. 2. Still be damn honest.”

“I heard something: he has a communicator, so he asked some big shots from other faiths—he’s out looking for someone.”

“Looking for whom? The baby’s father? Did he really get pregnant?”

“Damn, could it be mine?”

“Brothers, I’ve got yellow urine—I’ll pour it on him to wake him up.”

“......”

Looking for someone?

Cheng Shi frowned, finding it absurd.

What does dropping points on the Ascension Ladder have to do with looking for someone?

How could you even find someone that way?

After racking his brain to no avail, Cheng Shi listlessly scrolled through the rankings again.

He noticed that many IDs near his own rank were legends from various channels, each with roughly 2400 points.

Solid top-tier players.

He, with just over 2100, had already climbed here.

Hmph, I’m not bad at all!

But Cheng Shi had never understood why the Ascension Ladder always awarded maximum points after each trial.

Yet since seeing Him once, he’d developed some ideas.

Could it be because...

The thought had barely formed when he cut it off immediately.

No! Don’t think it!

Scared. Scared. What if I summon more filth again? This time, I might not get saved.

Still, that power mentioned by 【Deception】...

Cheng Shi really wanted it.

“Chosen... too hard.”

Turning a slacker from lazy mode to hype mode would take at least ten days or more.

So this week, Cheng Shi slacked off as usual.

Until the crimson alert lit up his vision again—he stared at the trial arriving on schedule and sighed helplessly.

“Gotta push harder!”

【Special Trial (The Path to Death 【Death】) Has Opened】

【Matching Teammates (1/6)】

【Trial Objective: There is only one path to death. Find it, and offer your sacrifice (7-day limit)】

“?”

7 days!

Why is the trial so long?

Since the arrival of the [Gods], among all trial reports tracked in the channel, the longest never exceeded three days.

But today, the trial duration has been extended directly to seven days!

Without even thinking, the risk here, with time doubled, has multiplied many times over.

[Match successful (6/6), entering trial]

Cheng Shi was stunned—he had not yet recovered from his shock when his vision was dragged into endless darkness.