Chapter 41: You Don't Look Like a Follower of [Chaos]

You don't look like a follower of 【Chaos】.

Yunni glanced at Cheng Shi with a smile in her eyes, and said in a husky, smoke-roughened voice:

"You're very methodical, and not manic at all—you don't look like a follower of 【Chaos】."

"You showed mercy, didn't hurt anyone—still less like a follower of 【Obliteration】." Cheng Shi kept needling.

This time it was Yunni's turn to be taken aback. She knit her brows, shifted her stance in a flash, and drove her blade into Cheng Shi's shoulder socket.

Cheng Shi wasn't flustered in the slightest—nor did he dare to be—because he knew this was Yunni testing him.

This sharp-eyed assassin surely wasn't suspicious of Cheng Shi because he was methodical; it could only be that she had some other method and vaguely felt his identity was off.

He sighed, gripped Yunni's cold little hand, drew the dagger out, and then, in front of everyone, cast a healing spell imbued with "Bathed in Divine Grace."

Seeing that healing spell, the others' expressions clearly grew interested.

A healer with big… reserves—who wouldn't be happy?

But unfortunately, the healer was a Reason-Eroded One.

True to the name.

Under 【Chaos】's influence, a Reason-Eroded One's healing would gradually dissolve the patient's reason, until their reason collapsed and they embraced chaos, going utterly mad.

Yet this set of effects seemed to do nothing to Yunni. She pressed the dagger against Cheng Shi's heart again and said irritably:

"In this bracket, I know almost all of His followers. I've never heard of you. Who are you? Lie Like Yesterday? Someone from 【Fraud】?"

!!!

They even know about Lie Like Yesterday?

Fair enough—after all, at 2400 points you can already pull an S-rank talent, and if you stay in this bracket long enough, you'll eventually be matched with a 【Fraud】 follower who has that talent.

Cheng Shi's heart clenched, but his face stayed calm as he said:

"Who told you every player shows up on the ladder?"

This was a lie Cheng Shi had made up on the spot to protect himself, meant to use mystique to bluff his way through.

But he hadn't expected that upon hearing this, Yunni raised an eyebrow and lowered the dagger at once.

Clearly she found this statement very convincing.

?

Cheng Shi was secretly taken aback, dumbfounded.

Holy crap—there really are high-scoring players who never touched the ladder?

What on earth is going on above 2400?

Every kind of monster crammed in there, right?

This is big news.

But at least, he got through it.

Although Fang Jue was a follower of 【Order】, the opposite of Cheng Shi's faith, he didn't show any particular hostility.

He surveyed the surroundings and immediately took charge of leading the group.

"His trial is simple—find the right offering.

But since this trial's duration is excessively long, I suspect our target won't appear right away. Everyone go gather information on your own. After sunset, we'll regroup on the inn's first floor and share what we've found.

One more reminder for everyone: until we have news of the offering—especially on the first day—don't kill people on a whim.

You're all smart people; I don't think I need to remind you more than once."

After saying that, he even glanced at Cheng Shi.

Clearly, the one he was warning was the follower of 【Chaos】.

"Go carry out your Decree-Walks individually. If you need help, I'm happy to be of service."

Fool-Hunter Wei Wei Guan swept a glance over everyone and chose to leave alone.

Du Du Xiguang waved his hand, taking that as his farewell to the group.

Yunni vaulted straight over the railing and dropped to the first floor, leaving the two men of opposing faiths staring at each other.

By the time Cheng Shi noticed, the man at the end of the corridor had vanished at some unknown moment.

Soundless, ghostlike.

"You're the only priest, I'm the only cantor—hope we cooperate well."

"Fuck off."

Cheng Shi gave a cold laugh and turned to leave.

Fang Jue didn't feel offended in the slightest. If a 【Chaos】 player gave him special regard, then he'd think that was the strange thing.

"Fine, hope I brought enough healing potions."

The group split up. Cheng Shi returned to his room and quickly finished his 【Decree-Walk】.

Since the trial would last a long time and the investigation would likely drag on, he—lest he draw too much attention from the surrounding NPCs—changed into the clothes the inn provided, just like the others had.

The clothes fit well, but were ugly—wearing them made him look like a stable hand.

Wait, why did he think of a stable hand?

Cheng Shi chuckled and shook his head, left the room again, and began wandering around the inn.

The inn had an interesting name: "The Light of Life That Soars Ever Higher."

This kind of flattering, laudatory naming made it obvious to any outsider that the owner here worshipped 【Prosperity】.

The inn had three floors in all, with four light wells running top to bottom. The room doors all faced inward, the windows all faced outward—a standard "field"-shaped layout.

Cheng Shi took his time examining every corner of the inn, politely chatting up anyone with a decent face. Before long he had gathered a great deal of information.

The inn truly lived up to its reputation as one of the best places to gather intel. Sorting through the information in his head, Cheng Shi quickly figured out where the players were.

In fact, it wasn't just the innkeeper who worshipped 【Prosperity】—in this little town called "Everbloom," every single person worshipped 【Prosperity】.

This is the settlement of the believers of 【Prosperity】, and also the place watched over by Him.

The town lies in the southwest of Zhizhou, nominally under the jurisdiction and constraints of the Great Tribunal, but in practice it is an autonomous territory of the Natural Alliance.

The Natural Alliance is not a union of nations, but an alliance of countless small factions that share faith in the various 【Gods】 of the Path of 【Life】.

The factions within the alliance have autonomy, but because their strength is too scattered and each governs itself, whether in scale of civilization or pace of social development, they lag far behind the Great Tribunal and the Tower of Magician Li Zhi, which are organized into established systems.

On top of that, the alliance is not divided by geography but is sparsely scattered all over Zhizhou, so many factions of the Natural Alliance inevitably have joint-governance agreements with these two great powers.

Put plainly, when an alliance member has trouble, they will hire a great power at a suitable fee to help deal with some problems.

Including but not limited to technological development, urban construction, and the trial of crimes, and so on and so forth.

And Eternal Bloom Town, at this very moment, has happened to run into a bit of trouble and needs the Great Tribunal's help.

"What, somewhere fun to go at night? You don't value your life, do you? Daring to go out at night—aren't you afraid of... ah forget it, forget it, I wouldn't dare mention his name."

"You're new here? You don't know this? There are cultists provoking the will of 【Prosperity】, and the government officials of the town's autonomous alliance are tearing their hair out over it."

"The lords of the Law Enforcement Bureau have been plenty busy lately, they won't bother with these money-losing matters. You ask why they're so busy? Isn't it because of those who died... sigh, never mind."

"They say the Law Enforcement Bureau has already requested aid from the Great Tribunal. Who knows if those judges have eyes all over their bodies—how else could they see clearly who the sinners are?"

"All things flourish, both abundant and thriving. I can tell you are a wanderer who has just found a home. Eternal Bloom Town forever welcomes you—go to the town center and have a look, He waits for you there."

He?

Cheng Shi stared blankly at the spry innkeeper, blinked in confusion.

The innkeeper read his puzzlement and said with a smile:

"No need for surprise. He has not descended, but His will shelters us there."

Without a word, Cheng Shi turned and headed straight for the town center.