Chapter 996: The Mature Assembly Line: The Mechanism of God Production

The Mature Assembly Line: The Mechanism of God Production

“Everyone, don’t worry about that Lord finding out.”

Cheng Shi smiled and offered his explanation:

“When He decided to grant this thing, it means He has already taken our side, doesn’t it?

Since ancient times, those who plot rebellion either have a powerful minister shielding them or overwhelming military strength—the latter doesn’t apply to a group of mortals like us, so His protection isn’t bad.”

The phrase “plotting rebellion” once again elevated the atmosphere of this gathering to another level; Zhen Xin furrowed her brow in response:

“Having one more god’s protection is fine, but I’m curious—aside from that opening prayer laced with sacrilegious intent, you’ve never once mentioned the Jester God.

The Jester was born from Him, yet you say nothing about Him. Can I interpret your ‘rebellion’ as being directed against the Jester God?

Or are we meant to fight against gods, yet still not fully trust the Jester God during this time?”

Talking to a smart person saves effort, but Cheng Shi only smiled and didn’t follow Zhen Xin’s rhythm—he continued along his own script.

“Relax, everyone. Whether or not we rebel is just a way of speaking—we’re not truly fighting against gods. On the contrary, perhaps we must draw closer to them. The Jesters’ purpose isn’t simply yes or no—it involves far more.

Let me explain more simply: I just need to ask you one question:

Why did you come to this Jester gathering?”

After speaking, Cheng Shi waved his hand, "Don't say it's for exchanging information or memories—that's just surface-level, not the essence. Ask your own heart, and be honest with yourself once.

I don’t need your answers, but I can tell you mine:

To survive.”

Simplicity breeds sincerity—these four words from Cheng Shi struck the Jesters present. They stared at his face, glowing with a radiant smile, yet felt the warmth of those four words didn’t match his expression.

“By the way, everyone probably knows about my dual faith in [Void]. Thanks to someone’s refusal, both [Void] Lords turned their attention to me. I don’t know what [Void] is pushing toward, but I know that under this era’s influence, I’ve drawn more and more attention.

Among them is one of Them—the [Void]’s lesser deity, the Envoy of [Deception], Foolplay.

Under His guidance, I’ve learned more and more truths about this world, discovering that even gods struggle to survive in this ‘game.’ I grew more fearful, more lost about my path—and that’s why I summoned you all to pool our wisdom.

That’s why I said: to survive.”

Of course, if any of you still have reservations or aren't interested in the truth of this universe, you may leave now. We can still exchange information later—being intelligence partners isn't bad.

But if you choose to keep listening... after this, you won’t be able to walk away.”

“......”

Everyone present was sharp—they weren’t frightened by Cheng Shi’s words. They knew he wasn’t threatening, merely emphasizing the gathering’s importance. The Weaver’s unusually grave demeanor further heightened the Jesters’ anticipation.

Except for Long Jing.

This acrobat already knew the world’s “truth,” and had even begun to give up, for he couldn’t conceive any path to survive this absurd reality. So his expectation from the Jesters wasn’t truth—it was method.

He was curious: how could a group of con artists come up with a way to survive? Especially Cheng Shi—another world’s Cheng Shi was so powerful yet still couldn’t escape the universe’s cage. What made this [Void] practitioner think he could?

Seeing the silence, Cheng Shi felt the moment was right. He threw the gathering’s second bomb.

“I said before that gods aren’t gods. This isn’t alarmism—because gods are mass-produced!”

“?”

Even the ever-calm Zhang Laoyi narrowed his eyes. Cheng Shi observed every expression, smiled, and continued:

“You may know that supreme being, and suspect it was [*Him] who created the gods—but do you know how these gods were made?

They... in a certain sense, are mass-produced products from that supreme being’s assembly line.

To explain this clearly, I must introduce a concept: Era.”

“The cause of epochal chaos and memory errors?”

“Precisely.” Cheng Shi nodded, organizing his logic as he explained the relationship between Era and Epoch, then brought the topic back to [Origin].

“That supreme being observes the progression of Eras, then at the end—or beginning—of each Era, bestows true names upon the gods born within it.

Judging by current facts, all named gods emerged from the development of life and civilization—thus came the [Fates], and thus were born the True Gods.

Of course, why [*Him] descended at different times remains a mystery. But undeniably, this being who created gods is the only true god.

And if we wish to survive, we must escape from [*Him]’s hands. So when I spoke of rebellion earlier, I didn’t mean rebelling against any fleeting moment, nor against the sixteen True Gods including the Jester God—but against the one true god above all True Gods!”

“......”

Though the Jesters had different thoughts, they were all stirred by Cheng Shi’s words. Simply considering “survival,” the hierarchical oppression of this world was suffocating. But the question remained: why did Cheng Shi want to survive?

Not his inner motive—but what terrifying pressure this world exerted on a player, even the top player in this game, that his fear had begun to spread through the Jester gathering?

Zhen Xin and Li Jingming both frowned. They weren’t unfamiliar with fear, but under intense trials, such emotion had long faded. Now, merely hearing a sliver of the world’s truth, they felt a faint, elusive dread again—yet Cheng Shi hadn’t even explained the source of the fear. Why?

Both glanced around, then met each other’s eyes, seeing the same confusion and suspicion in each other’s gaze, wondering if the Jester gathering’s organizer was using some special method to achieve his goal...

[Corruption]?

Not impossible—but would Cheng Shi play so dirty?

Of course not. Cheng Shi had done nothing. This was his most sincere moment. The stakes were too high—he knew only sincerity could win sincerity, so in matters concerning Them, he had not lied at all.

Of course, if necessary, lies still had to be told. Forbidding a con artist to lie is like forcing a mute to speak—too harsh.

After hearing such detail, Long Jing grew unusually serious. Though he’d already learned many things unknown to mortals from the other Cheng Shi, their meeting had been brief—the other Cheng Shi only mentioned essentials. So Long Jing had only received a rough framework, with no details.

Precisely because the framework was so vast, it had filled Long Jing with helplessness.

As Cheng Shi slowly filled in the blood and flesh of that framework, his understanding of the world gradually sharpened. Combining this with his own knowledge, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

“Are you plotting to become a god?”

Cheng Shi raised an eyebrow—he thought Long Jing was sharp this time, but unfortunately, he was wrong.

“No, I don’t want to.”

“How can a mortal escape the gods’ cage without becoming one of them? Without becoming them, you’ll never jump out of the cage—how can you speak of anything else?”

Hearing this, Cheng Shi smiled.

“I only said I don’t want to become a god—I didn’t say no one else wants to.

Since we’re on this topic, let me ask: among you, is there anyone who wants to become a god?”

Hehe~

Who isn’t still a child? Happy Children’s Day, everyone!