Chapter 63: Today Is Another Ordinary Day

Today is another ordinary day

Reality, an unknown city’s large laboratory

Wei Guan opened his eyes without surprise and glanced casually at the clock on the desk

The time hadn’t moved at all—the trial had ended

He looked down at his chest, felt his heart still beating, and let out a cold snort

“Boring trick”

Fear isn’t a blade—it’s a cure for players; this theme is too clichéd, utterly unoriginal”

No one responded in the empty lab, only his echo drifted back and forth

He rose from his chair and walked to a large screen, pressing the machine’s power switch

“Experiment-Type IV is initiating...”

“Hello, Dr. Wei Guan, we meet again. How was your day?”

Wei Guan’s tone was neither joyful nor sorrowful

“Another ordinary day”

“Was your special trial proceeding smoothly?”

“Smoothly? Probably. But overly smooth trials hinder growth, so I slightly increased the difficulty for my teammates”

“You remain as kind and generous as ever. Initiation complete, duration: 12.964 seconds”

Wei Guan frowned slightly, his face growing serious

“Your load time is again 0.065 seconds slower. Analyze the cause and submit a report”

“Apologies. Analyzing cause now”

“Analysis complete, duration: 3.014 seconds. Cause: 【Divinity】 storage container ruptured and depressurized; 【Divinity】 leakage rate: 32.189%. To prevent 【Divinity】 from escaping into the survival zone, additional time was spent sealing the experimental area’s doors. Detailed incident report has been generated. Please review”

Wei Guan’s face turned icy as he flipped through several pages, his brow knotted

“Looks like I’ll have to capture more 【Divinity】 again. Analyze the experimental 【Divinity】 balance ratio and tell me which trials I must join”

“Analyzing experimental ratios...”

“Please wait...”

Reality, an unknown city’s uninhabited zone

Yun Ni awoke on the sandy soil, wiping rain from her face

“Huh? Why is it raining again? Annoying”

She looked up at the falling raindrops and snapped her fingers lightly

Yun Ni woke from the sand and soil, wiping rain from her face.

Every raindrop vanished the instant it reached a point above her head

Drops of liquid from this world were transported to another world on the verge of annihilation

Whether this trivial rain brought the final straw of disaster or timely salvation to that world remained unknown

She tilted her head slightly, gazing at her chest, still hearing Cheng Shi’s words in her ears

“Fairness without consent isn’t fairness”

No one knew whether this hair-thin rain brought disaster like the straw that broke the camel’s back, or salvation like a timely downpour.

Only the strong deserve to speak of fairness; as for the weak...

To live is original sin

Better to be erased

Yun Ni lay back again, closed her eyes, listened to the noisy rain, and let her thoughts drift somewhere unknown

Reality, an unknown city’s shack

A warrior, bare-chested, awoke, stared around for a moment, then slowly closed his eyes again

Throughout, not a single sound came from the dusty shack

The silence was unnerving

Reality, an unknown city’s apartment

Du Xiguang woke, but didn’t rise

The soft bed held a deadly allure for a tired man—it seemed to sprout countless tentacles, binding him fast, immobile

He lay for a long time until scenes from the trial flashed back into his mind, then he opened his eyes, a sly smile curling his lips

“Good person? What a noble word”

“I hope my good-person friend, fooled by my brilliant performance, still finds the right answer”

“Oh, right—he seems to have a backup plan”

“No matter. This time I failed to kill him; maybe next time I’ll get the chance”

“Don’t you agree, Du Xiguang?”

In the mirror before Du Xiguang, his reflection stared at him with a dark expression

Yet he himself was laughing heartily

“Don’t be upset. After I offer this memory, we’ll be a good person again, won’t we?”

Saying this, he pulled out a notebook pulsing with 【Memory】 power and lightly brushed it across his forehead

The reflection in the mirror turned ashen, teeth clenched, powerless

Soon, both figures moved in perfect sync

Du Xiguangs opened their eyes, puzzled by the new writing on the notebook in their hands, then suddenly understood

“July 14th. Good. Trial ended”

He turned to the mirror, continuing with a wry tone:

“Regretfully, I didn’t die. Looks like you’ll have to stay inside a while longer”

The reflection in the mirror matched Du Xiguang’s mouth and movements exactly—no response

What had just happened felt like a solo performance

Reality, an unknown city’s office building

Fang Jue stood instantly from his chair the moment he awoke

He frowned and strode to the archive room, rummaging through filing cabinets

Soon, the crisp click of high heels echoed behind him

“Fang Jue?”

Fang Jue turned and saw Ji Yue, a neighbor and fellow Mutual Aid member—a mage who worshipped 【Truth】

The building’s barriers had been opened by kind-hearted players, who then lived together in mutual aid, forming the Post-Descent Mutual Aid Association

Fang Jue and Ji Yue were the two highest-ranked members here, highly respected

“Why so frantic? Trouble in the trial?”

“Perfect timing. Remember that Mò Qiūsī from the Grand Inquisition you told me about? Help me find his file”

Ji Yue nodded in surprise and entered the archive room

“The 【Order】’s son who died young? What are you looking for? Ask me first—I might know”

“Are historians really that well-read?”

“What else? Tell me,” Ji Yue smiled, leaning on the desk, head tilted, waiting

“I need to know where he died, and whether any half-divine artifact from the Grand Inquisition was lost after his death—a staff, probably”

“【Moment of Execution】? A lightning-punishment staff”

“You know it?” Fang Jue’s face showed astonishment

“Mm-hmm. The only Grand Inquisition judgment staff ever lost in millennia—its location remains a mystery”

“Many mages seek it—including me”

“You... saw it?”

Fang Jue nodded gravely

“Where?” Ji Yue stood abruptly, gripping Fang Jue’s hand

Fang Jue sighed, speaking slowly and clearly:

“In the hands of a Rationality Eroder. At first I suspected he was impersonating Mò Qiūsī, but later realized—he must have witnessed Mò Qiūsī’s death and stolen 【Moment of Execution】”

Ji Yue widened her eyes, hand flying to her mouth in shock

“Your trial sounds incredible. Tell me everything”

Fang Jue too felt the need to untangle it with someone. He set down the files and began recounting

When he finished the entire trial story, he paused, looking at Ji Yue’s solemn face

“Well? What do you think?”

Ji Yue thought for a moment, then said slowly:

Fang Jue also felt he needed someone to go over it with him; he set down his documents and began to speak slowly.

Only after finishing the entire story of the trial did he fall silent, looking at Ji Yue’s solemn face.

"Well, what are your thoughts?"

Ji Yue pondered for a moment, then said slowly:

"You were deceived."

"?"

The sacrifice of 【Death】 may not be someone else—it may be you yourselves.

I sense your reasoning has gone astray, but I can’t pinpoint who misled you.

And that Rational Eroder named Cheng Shi likely used you to verify this answer.

Still, you did well—given the situation then, aside from your trump card, you had no other way to kill yourself.

I’m curious: as the last player remaining in the trial, can he survive?

Fang Jue blinked slightly.

“You mean this wasn’t set up by him?”

“Unless I see it with my own eyes, I cannot be certain, but the sordid manipulation was surely involved.”

“Even if he didn’t set the trap, he’s... very powerful.”

“I must warn my friends in 【Order】: be cautious of this Rational Eroder named Cheng Shi.”

“If that’s the case, do you mind if I place a small bounty on 【The Moment of Execution】 in the Mage channel?”

“Seems... not impossible?”

“Oh, by the way, it’s not all bad news—I brought back a corpse of a 【Foolish】 believer. Your 2600 points might be within reach now.”