[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-gods-foolish-game":3,"chapter-the-gods-foolish-game-the-gods-foolish-game-chapter-65":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Gods' Foolish Game",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2361193,4617,"Chapter 65: Fishbone Hall and Bone Throne","the-gods-foolish-game-chapter-65",65,"\u003Cp>Fishbone Hall and Bone Throne\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cheng Shi was sucked away again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This second audience was clearly more familiar than the first; he made no resistance, letting his consciousness plunge into darkness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who is it this time?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Fun God or the Whore God?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No, don’t think that!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At least don’t think it like that!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Them, he had no freedom of thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even imagining could be judged as sacrilege.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Patron said: before I deceive Them, I must endure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’ll endure!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His consciousness sharpened again from fuzziness; Cheng Shi opened his eyes with trepidation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had already prepared for the worst, even mentally rehearsed a subtle defense:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His sacrilegious words were merely “helpless bluster,” not a genuine belief that any of Them was a whore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what he saw this time was not the star-painted eyes of any being—only a winding white staircase, stretching from beneath his feet into invisible void.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each step resembled a massive vertebra, pitted with bone holes, blindingly pale.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Along both sides of the vertebrae grew long, thick intermuscular bones, jutting outward like blade-cliffs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Due to the steep incline between joints, when Cheng Shi looked up, he saw the endless, densely packed white bone steps resembled a colossal fishbone, floating in boundless darkness, radiating terrifying white light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If this truly was the bone of a fish, that fish could not be described merely as “huge.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps all the words Cheng Shi had ever learned to describe “size” lost all meaning before its volume.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just one bone segment made Cheng Shi feel he’d need at least fifteen minutes to walk across.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cheng Shi stood frozen, speechless before the colossal sight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, a cacophonous mix of sounds reached his ears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a sound hard to describe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both shrill and hoarse, ethereal and heavy—as if the voices of men, women, children, and elders were blended together, indistinguishable, simultaneous, resonating as one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come up! Hurry up!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cheng Shi jumped at the sudden shout, turning quickly—only to see countless lifeforms suddenly appear on the “fish spines,” where no one had been moments before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These never-before-seen creatures lined up on the razor-thin fish-spine cliffs, leaping one after another like dumplings into boiling water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Below the “cliff” lay boundless void.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment the lifeforms leapt, their flesh and blood were instantly washed away by the void, until they struck an unseen “ground,” where even their remaining bones shattered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The immense impact crushed the skeletons—but only the skulls remained intact.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Countless bone-white skulls rolled toward Cheng Shi, piling up along both sides of the vertebral steps, wildly opening and closing their jaws, clicking their last remaining teeth in welcome.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come up! Hurry up!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Master waits for you! He waits for you above!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cheng Shi was stunned by this unprecedented scene.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Honestly, anyone would be stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What lay before him was too absurd, too beyond human comprehension, that his legs, ready to move, instinctively grew weak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at the countless skulls clicking and gnashing beside the steps, Cheng Shi kept thinking:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I take one step forward, will they come and chew on me?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come up! Hurry up! The Master waits for you above!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The longer Cheng Shi stood still, the faster the skulls opened and closed their jaws.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He seemed to guess who waited above; he swallowed hard, mustered courage within, then stepped forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The instant Cheng Shi stepped, his skin, muscles, tendons, and blood were stripped away, left behind on the spot—only a luminous, jade-like skeleton surged forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And it leapt one step at a time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The seemingly vast staircase, the moment he moved, automatically lowered beneath his feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So fast it whipped up a gale in the void.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Cheng Shi advanced, the skulls beside the steps grew louder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go! Move faster! Faster! Don’t make Him wait!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cheng Shi dared not take a second step.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether from the wind of the void or because he was now bare-skinned and cold, he felt icy all over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He rubbed his familiar yet alien skeleton, then instinctively covered his groin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Damn it, am I running naked?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huh?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wait—I don’t need to cover it… the thing I’d cover is gone too…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked down—sure enough, it was gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So this isn’t running naked!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cheng Shi’s mood inexplicably improved; he chuckled softly and strode forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fishbone steps descended section by section; the white bones piled layer upon layer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Cheng Shi mentally counted he had taken 404 steps, the unchanging fishbone staircase finally changed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A commotion erupted from all directions; the voices of men, women, children, and elders exploded at once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instantly, endless skulls rose from behind him, beside him, before him, hurtling forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A white torrent surged upward, forming a magnificent inverted waterfall of skulls in the dark void.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cheng Shi stood motionless on the steps, waiting for His arrival.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not because his legs were weak—but because he had already felt the aura of [Death].\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thick enough to choke, viscous enough to panic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a true path leading to [Death]!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Countless skulls rained down, piling into a bone throne before Cheng Shi in an instant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon that throne, a massive skull stared at Cheng Shi through its hollow, black eye sockets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Cheng, Shi.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its voice was like cold flame surging from the abyss—bone-chilling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Cheng Shi, reduced to a skeleton, felt his marrow about to freeze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was [Death]!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The third deity of the [Life] Path!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cheng Shi gritted his teeth, enduring the onslaught of Death’s divinity, and nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Very, good.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I, wish to make, a bargain, with you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A bargain?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With your grandeur—am I worthy?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cheng Shi feared this was a trap laid by [Death], so he blurted out:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you desire anything of mine, it is my honor.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What did he possess that could draw His attention?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After racking his mind, only one thing came to mind: the [When Fear Arrives].\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The massive skull remained silent for a long time after hearing Cheng Shi’s reply; after a long pause, it spoke again:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You, are different, from what He, said.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who the hell is talking behind my back?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cheng Shi dared not ask, so he could only awkwardly smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But such a fleshly smile could not be expressed on bone—so it amounted to no response at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Bring it out. The bargain, will not, shortchange, you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cheng Shi wanted to ask how he could produce anything in his current state.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But before he could speak, his consciousness stirred—and everything in his personal space spilled out at his feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at the scattered mess on the ground, Cheng Shi was embarrassed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He quickly knelt, rummaged through the pile of sedatives, ropes, toxins, and masks, found the dagger He needed, and respectfully raised it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Very good. Do you know, what this, is?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“[When Fear Arrives], a dual-divine… relic of a lesser deity, imbued with the aura of You and another god.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cheng Shi knew that among the people of Hope Continent, semi-divine artifacts were collectively called relics of lesser deities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fear… a vile name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Humanity, for ten thousand years, has made no progress, in naming.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its name is the Garuda Dagger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Garuda Dagger...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Very well, may I ask this True God, how do you have the courage to say that humans cannot name things?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’m not afraid of top students being humble—I’m afraid of failures being unaware of their own inadequacy!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Cheng Shi said nothing, simply listening in silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The deity before him seemed eager to share.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Garuda is the Primordial Deity of [Life].\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He is also the messenger I trust most.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But He made a mistake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He fell in love with a whore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>!!!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fuck!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What the hell?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Do even the [Gods] use this word?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, Cheng Shi’s skull boiled!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How to put it— hearing a [God] say the word “whore” in this very setting was absolutely electrifying!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both the gossip value and the sense of recognition reached their peak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How lucky—you know, I know a whore too!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And she...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cough, cough, never mind. Better to listen more and think less—keep my dog life intact.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, it’s obvious that the deity whom [Death] called a whore must be the other half of the divinity behind [When Fear Arrives].\u003C\u002Fp>",1365,"2026-06-21T06:05:06.137Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","6d948401acea5c986d7719c10126d9f2858bb0a6a1620bf48c30d5844c19a6ab","the-gods-foolish-game-chapter-66","the-gods-foolish-game-chapter-64",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-gods-foolish-game-cover.jpg"]