Chapter 764: The Replicated

The Replicated "Eternal Day"

Not just clever—this Wei Mu was nothing like what he had imagined.

Other 【Foolishness】 believers would gladly stare down their noses at people, yet he... not a single word of mockery, yet every word sounded like mockery.

It was a self-contempt that made one feel deeply, from the bottom of one's heart, unworthy; as the other laid out the whole truth in a calm, measured voice, the listener could only feel as though their brain had grown for nothing.

Cheng Shi felt exactly that way right now. He had thought his preparations were thorough enough, but now it seemed no matter how thorough, it could only count as "responding"—and this 【Foolishness】 Chosen One was completely different. His chosen method was not "response" but "deconstruction." He had guessed 0221's setup and dismantled it in reverse, bringing everyone here safely in the most direct and effective way.

So this is what a clash between a sage and a scholar looks like?

Knowledge as the sword, learning as the shield, a battle belonging solely to wisdom and intellect?

"......"

As expected, a poor student really should keep his distance from them—otherwise there'd always be this inexplicable "inferiority complex" gnawing at him.

Cheng Shi pursed his lips, stared at the puppet for a moment, rolled his eyes, and said: "Where are you planning to go next?"

The puppet was silent for a moment, then said:

"The place of 'birth'—that is, the teleportation coordinates from before I altered them.

If the experimental subjects ran into trouble, then in an environment this prone to breeding fear, they'd only want to flee outward. So if I were 0221, I'd place the experiment's control center in the very place the subjects least wanted to linger.

And that place, I suspect, is the teleportation entrance.

I want to go there and have a look, but I have to remind you—the Druid told you not to act rashly, so, Fate-Weaver...

Are you interested in that place? Will you take me there?"

Temptation, or provocation?

Cheng Shi raised an eyebrow, glanced at the puppet's broken leg, and finally regained a shred of confidence.

But the source of that confidence was so absurd it made him laugh at his own strange mood, and then, still laughing, he nodded and said: "I'm interested. Which direction? How do we get there?"

"Using your current facing as the reference, three o'clock, roughly the length of one long street.

But I should warn you—these Life-Extension-series simulacra regenerate very quickly. If you don't pick up the pace, by the time the Druid's lingering might fades, this seemingly short road may become far from easy to walk.

Of course, no need to worry about safety. My substitute may be just a marionette, but ensuring one person's safety is still well within my capabilities."

"Good. Looks like you can guarantee your own safety."

"?"

The puppet froze, slowly turning its head toward Cheng Shi—just then Cheng Shi smiled, set the puppet down gently on the spot, and then headed off alone in the direction it had indicated, running faster and faster.

He was indeed very interested in this experiment, but he had zero interest in traveling alongside a mind that sharp.

So he chose to be a "lone wolf."

Watching Cheng Shi's back gradually vanish from view, the puppet sat dumbly in place for a moment, then its jaw dropped with a clack—and, like a clown performing absurd comedy, it let out a creaking, teeth-grinding laugh:

"How delightful. The Fate-Weaver really is every bit as interesting as the rumors say."

And at the same moment, having left the teleportation point, Cheng Shi was thinking the very same thing:

Interesting—this Puppeteer behind the curtain really is interesting!

He didn't even flinch at a trick this simple. Does that mean he's so arrogant he doesn't think anyone would dare deceive him anymore?

Or is it that in this segment, no one bothers to test the top-ranked player on the Path of Ascension with a simple trick anymore—so he just let me slip through?

In any case, fooling a sage still feels pretty good. Of course, Cheng Shi didn't deceive the other man purely out of some childish "get my face back" excuse—it's that he simply couldn't travel alongside him.

After all, this is reality, not some trial. Which means as long as Cheng Shi has enough masks on him, he can keep switching his class and faith to handle different risks and dangers!

But absolutely none of this could be allowed to reach Wei Mu's ears—because he's far too clever.

Unlike Big Cat—if he accidentally let a crack show in front of Big Cat, he could still wriggle out of it with sophistry. But once this Puppeteer behind the curtain laid eyes on it, Cheng Shi didn't dare imagine how much that man might deduce!

So parting ways with him was the optimal solution.

Originally, out of consideration for Wei Mu's willingness to help, Cheng Shi had been wrestling with how to slightly protect this little puppet within the experimental grounds. But the moment he heard the other say safety was no concern, the thought of leaving immediately sprang to mind.

So long, then—going our separate ways is better for both of us.

And so, the instant he left the other's line of sight, Cheng Shi curved his lips and put on a new mask.

The Clown had once danced with the gale for a time, and now he wished to dance once more—only this time his identity was no longer the Clown, but that very gale that had once blown the Clown skyward.

"Whoosh—"

A gust of wind swept through, and Cheng Shi's figure vanished.

This wasn't his first time becoming a Tame-Wind Ranger. Back during his preparations before meeting up with Hong Lin, he had tried every combination of 【Time】 and 【Fate】 classes on the rooftop—he needed to master each class's strengths and weaknesses precisely so he could switch into them the moment the need arose.

And the test results were very satisfying. Suffice it to say, every class pairing opened up an entirely new vista for Cheng Shi.

Take this Tame-Wind Ranger paired with the End-Script Brush: the blessing of 【Fate】 let him see others' deaths, while his wind-racing body could push that person toward—or away from—their place of death.

Along the way, he saved several players who had nearly been stabbed to death by tentacles using this method—not because the Clown was kind-hearted, but because he genuinely didn't know how many friends Hong Lin had called in for this rescue.

If he could save them in passing, he did; but if he truly couldn't, this wind ran faster than anyone.

Of course, the reason his actions went so smoothly ultimately came down to Wei Mu's strategy succeeding.

The massive influx of players drew a huge portion of the tentacles' attention, and once those tentacles' targets scattered, it gave opportunists like Cheng Shi—who were weaving through the area—a chance to act.

So Cheng Shi was flying high—and this time, he really was flying on his own!

As for his destination, it wasn't the "place of birth" Wei Mu had guessed.

Cheng Shi had never intended to explore this experiment's control center. Even if he wanted to, a cautious man like him would absolutely never go without Big Cat. So right now he was simply roaming the outer perimeter of the experimental grounds, constantly surveying those terrifying, horrifying tentacles, silently calculating something.

Even if Big Cat were bravest of the brave, even if Wei Mu's plans were flawless, Cheng Shi would never stake his own safety entirely on others. So he was mulling over a foolproof fallback plan—at the very least, one that could let him, Big Cat, and whoever he wanted to save escape safely.

And while he was observing all around, tangling with the few tentacles he came across—

In a corner of the vast experimental grounds, a violent explosion suddenly erupted from one direction. Cheng Shi snapped his gaze that way and saw the tentacles there being wildly torn apart and scattered by some monster—an utterly staggering sight.

But immediately after, countless tentacles all retracted into the ground, simultaneously collapsing the entire building. Then, amid the rubble of the collapse, a giant flesh-tumor that could only be called a "wonder" slowly swelled upward from beneath the surface like a rising sun, bulging into a hemisphere. Its mottled, uneven skin of flesh and blood pulsed with a regular rhythm, like a heart pumping something out in every direction.

No one knew what secrets that pump of flesh and blood held—until a few seconds later, the giant tumor burst with a "POP!" unleashing countless skin-crawling "tentacle glares." Dense tentacles shot out like rays of light toward the empty ground the tumor had just occupied, grinding the entire area into powder.

Watching this scene, Cheng Shi's pupils contracted sharply.

At this moment, he finally realized what 0221 was using to replicate the "Eternal Sun" within the Star Cluster Dagger.

This madman... had actually created a flesh-and-blood evil entity that had given birth to a consciousness, and this evil entity was the "mother" of the countless newborns before him!