Chapter 61

Prison Dialogue

When Cheng Shi arrived at the Bureau of Discipline’s prison wearing ordinary clothes and a hood that concealed his face, none of the staff dared stop him.

Because he held in his hand a judge’s brooch worn by Mo Li.

That alone was the highest-level authorization token.

Several staff members assumed this unfamiliar visitor was an undercover agent from the Grand Tribunal, and politely guided him while discreetly clearing away unrelated personnel to give Cheng Shi ample time to speak with the prisoner.

Of course, in their eyes, such a conversation was likely a gruesome form of interrogation.

After all, the Grand Tribunal’s punishments were infamous.

Cheng Shi easily reached Fang Shiqing’s cell and, before his eyes, removed his hood.

The moment Fang Shiqing, battered and bruised, saw Cheng Shi, a breath he’d been holding finally released.

Cheng Shi regarded Fang Shiqing’s expression with mild surprise and smiled.

“I doubt you’re relieved for my safety—you don’t seem surprised to see me here?”

Fang Shiqing gave a self-deprecating laugh.

“It really is you, Cheng Shi. You’re formidable.

As a follower of Him, you’re the most calculating and scheming I’ve ever met.

To manipulate everyone to death within three days—I truly underestimated you.”

?

As Cheng Shi listened to Fang Shiqing’s nonsense, a glowing “win” icon lit up on his forehead.

I came to you for answers, and you immediately call me the wolf?

Bro, are we even on the same version?

But he neither denied nor defended himself—only smiled silently.

Cheng Shi had observed every hostile act Fang Shiqing took during the trial, but he didn’t care.

He never minded players taking the faith struggle seriously, nor did he mind if someone blamed him—or even hated him—because of opposing beliefs.

In a game about survival, any behavior is normal.

Cheng Shi always judged by deeds, never intentions.

As long as you don’t openly attack me, how you see me is your freedom.

But if you strike from the shadows, sorry—how I kill you is my freedom.

Yet precisely because Cheng Shi smiled mysteriously, Fang Shiqing became even more certain he was the mastermind.

His gaze darkened sharply, and he recalled Du Qiyu’s death.

Since reaching 2400 points, he’d rarely found players in this tier who shared the same glimmer as him.

Du Qiyu, a “good person” who followed the old order, died so inexplicably—it was, undeniably, a tragedy of humanity.

“What did He promise you—or what did you seek to gain?”

Cheng Shi frowned, shifted perspective, and tried thinking as Fang Shiqing did. For a moment, he realized that if no answer had been found, the mass deaths did indeed resemble a hidden hand pushing events.

And his own arrival at the prison just before this moment felt like the unseen hand stepping onto the stage to bask in the audience’s applause before the curtain fell.

At this moment, the other likely believed he was the mastermind directing the entire play.

After all, 【Chaos】 always meant disorder.

Cheng Shi didn’t answer him, couldn’t answer him—because Fang Shiqing’s perspective was fundamentally wrong.

So Cheng Shi said nothing, but asked instead:

“You don’t seem worried about your situation, yet in my view, you haven’t found the answer.

So what’s your confidence based on?”

Fang Shiqing’s tone grew bleak, and he laughed bitterly.

“Just a survival tactic. Compared to your intricate schemes, it’s nothing but crude violence.

But I have one more question—before I go, can you answer me?

Even if it’s the last scrap of food a clever hunter gives his prey...”

“Don’t sound so defeated. I have a question too—let’s exchange secrets.”

Fang Shiqing paused, then nodded.

“You ask first.”

Cheng Shi smiled and cut straight to the point:

“Last night, Du Qiyu and you returned to the past and altered memories, correct?”

Fang Shiqing clearly hadn’t expected Cheng Shi to ask such an inappropriate question.

“Replay of the Past” could return to “memories” and change “the past”—this was nearly common knowledge in this tier.

Once a player who hadn’t participated in “Replay of the Past” noticed their memories diverged from everyone else’s, they’d immediately suspect 【Memory】’s influence.

But 【Memory】 wouldn’t allow players to erase freely—it would fill in the gaps, and the consequence was:

The cost of altering memories fell upon those who participated.

Du Qiyu’s death and Fang Shiqing’s imprisonment were exactly that.

Fang Shiqing didn’t answer immediately, because he thought this was Cheng Shi’s way of giving him dignity—a polite pretense to avoid turning their exchange into one-sided charity.

Fang Jue didn’t answer Cheng Shi immediately, because he felt this was Cheng Shi’s way of giving him an excuse, a face-saving gesture to prevent their exchange from becoming a one-sided act of charity.

That kind of dignity hurt more than outright dismissal.

Fang Shiqing hesitated, his expression complex, but for the sake of hearing Cheng Shi’s answer, he finally nodded.

Cheng Shi received the confirmation, and his final doubt dissolved—he smiled more brightly.

“Alright, my question’s done. Your turn.”

Fang Shiqing’s face hardened instantly, and he asked with grave seriousness:

“Mo Li, as the Son of 【Order】, would never obey you—so how did you manipulate him into stepping into your trap, one by one, to kill them?”

“Them,” of course, meant everyone except Wei Guan.

“You want to know?”

Cheng Shi burst into loud laughter, gasping for breath, his hand again pressing against his chest.

“We agreed to exchange secrets!”

Oh, followers of 【Order】 truly love rules.

“Why don’t you guess?” Cheng Shi’s face twisted into a strange smile as he tilted his head toward Fang Shiqing.

Fang Shiqing frowned, thought for a moment, and began his deduction:

“To hunt followers of the opposing faith, 【Order】, you likely studied the Grand Tribunal’s history and knew Mo Li well.

When you learned we were in Yongzhan Town, you knew he’d come.

So you exploited the information gap you’d accumulated, subtly influencing them to challenge Mo Li’s authority—and then...

Simply standing among the crowd, you reaped the benefits.

Simply standing among the crowd, one could reap the benefits of others’ strife.

Everything you did violated the essence of 【Chaos】—every step was meticulously planned. It’s hard to believe you’re His follower...

Perhaps you’re right: the closer you get to 【Order】, the more chaotic you become.

Isn’t that right?”

Honestly, it was a flawless deduction. If everything Fang Shiqing said were true, Cheng Shi, the Rational Eroder, would have used vast information asymmetry as a weapon to hunt every player.

But the problem was—he wasn’t a follower of Chaos—and he wasn’t the unseen director!

The real director was someone else—still unclear who exactly.

“Sorry. Wrong guess.”

Cheng Shi shrugged playfully, his smile turning even more bizarre as he locked eyes with Fang Shiqing and whispered in a hoarse voice:

Cheng Shi shrugged with amusement, donning a more bizarre smile, his gaze locked onto Fang Jue’s eyes as he whispered in a hoarse voice:

Another possibility?”

Then he pulled from his personal space the staff whose tip roared with lightning—【Moment of Execution】.

With that, he pulled from his personal space the staff whose tip roared with lightning—[The Moment of Execution].

Fang Shiqing’s mind exploded with a deafening “boom”—his reason shattered under endless thunder.

His pupils contracted, his scalp prickled, a bone-chilling cold surged from his tailbone straight to his crown.

Every inch of his skin broke into cold sweat; his entire spine stiffened rigidly, his body’s reflexes screaming four words:

Cold sweat seeped from every inch of his skin, his entire spine locked rigid and straight, his body’s full stress response screaming four words:

“You... you... how could you possibly be...”

As Fang Shiqing stammered out those half-words, a torrent of 【Death】 energy erupted from his body.

Instantly, a howling bolt of lightning shot through the prison bars from Cheng Shi’s hand and struck him full force.

Fang Shiqing, paralyzed by shock, couldn’t dodge—he was flung backward like a ragdoll.

But luckily, he didn’t die.

Yes, how lucky!

He truly didn’t die.

【When Fear Arrives】 combined with 【Moment of Execution】—and still he lived!

Could this Lawbringer possess the unyielding physique of a hermit ascetic?

Could it be that this Lawbringer also possesses a body as resilient as that of a ascetic monk?

Hehe.

Cheng Shi never intended to kill him.

He had merely performed a small experiment on Fang Jue.

And now, the answer was confirmed.

Looking at the miserable Fang Jue, Cheng Shi laughed with satisfaction:

“Why not?”

But Fang Jue, having barely survived, would not listen to any further explanation; in the instant he tumbled from the wall to the ground, clinging to his last breath, he gritted his teeth and activated his final reserve.

There was no earthquake, no thunderous roar.

Cheng Shi saw only a silent fissure suddenly split open behind Fang Jue’s back, sucking him in like a vacuum cleaner.

When he vanished into nothingness, the fissure slowly closed like a zipper, as if no one had ever entered the prison.

Only a patch of charred ground from lightning remained, proving an attack had occurred here seconds earlier.

Cheng Shi stared, dumbfounded, as Fang Jue departed; the number of his WIN counters not only doubled but began flashing rapidly.

It was the scent of [Order]!

He had come to retrieve His believer.

Your mother’s [Order] is supposed to be the most rule-abiding god—how the hell does He give believers backdoors??

Is this reasonable?

Is this legal?

Won’t the [Faith Game] GM do anything?

Absurd!

I’m filing a complaint!

Of course, he dared only shout these thoughts inside his head—Cheng Shi had no intention of directly confronting the game; that was a sure path to death.

Ah, whatever. Let the surface-level good guys live a little longer.

After all, he wasn’t here to kick them while they were down.

Cheng Shi sheathed his staff and pulled his hood back over his head.

The last task was done. Now, it was time to end the trial.

“Let me think… how should I bring this all to an end?”