Foolish Game of the Gods - Chapter 148

Cheng Shi felt his vision go dark, his body tightening as he was sucked forcefully out of the space, completely unprepared for the massive pull that had enveloped him.

It was as if he had fallen into a torrent of the void, being swept away at lightning speed. His stretched-out consciousness and warped senses quickly began to recover, and not long after, he felt as though he were being washed through a floodgate. After passing a certain spatial node, he was suddenly spat out with a loud “thud—!”

“Damn…”

Cheng Shi tumbled back into the void, staring at the slowly closing void rift in front of him, feeling as though the void itself had dragged him out.

“Hahaha, lucky us! We made it!” Hu Wei’s voice was filled with excitement. Cheng Shi climbed to his feet and looked over at him—only for his expression to freeze completely.

His pupils shrank, his eyes widened, and as he slowly raised his gaze upward, he was met with the sight of a dazzlingly radiant… light!

But the light wasn’t coming from Cheng Shi’s own eyes—it was a reflection.

A reflection of a wall of light!

Following Cheng Shi’s gaze, he found himself staring at an immense, golden wall—a wall so tall that it seemed to reach the heavens, with no visible top. The entire wall glowed with a divine light, standing there silently yet emanating a terrifying, void-like pressure.

What’s more, despite being an inanimate object, the wall seemed to have countless eyes watching him.

What is this!?

Yan Chun was even more shaken than Cheng Shi. Staring up at the eerily familiar wall, he was left speechless, gaping in disbelief for what felt like forever.

“This… this is…”

Hu Wei laughed heartily, slapping Yan Chun on the shoulder.

“What’s wrong? Don’t recognize it?

This is the original High Wall of Truth—the one that your kind, the followers of [Folly], have been trying to replicate!”

!!??

The four of them stood under the wall, as tiny as ants beneath an elephant’s foot.

Yan Chun looked up at the towering, radiant wall, his mind buzzing.

“The High Wall… of Truth…

Is this… is this the Void Experiment Grounds of the Tower of Logic?”

His voice suddenly rose, and he pointed at the wall in disbelief, shouting:

“We made it to Gasmira in just a few hours!?”

Hu Wei nodded with a smile.

“That’s right. This is the Void Experiment Grounds of the Tower of Logic.

And this golden wall of Truth in front of us? It’s the original High Wall of Truth that you [Folly] followers try to replicate!

It stands here in the depths of the void, stretching down into endless depths, to stop those who would steal knowledge and to deter those who covet truth itself!

Yan Chun, you’re in luck! I didn’t expect we’d actually stumble upon a Void Experiment Ground today!”

Stumble upon?

Cheng Shi’s sharp ears caught that phrase, and he recalled Hu Wei’s actions in that gelatinous space earlier.

He had used his massive sword to shatter a mirror, and they’d all been sent here.

Could it be…

Were there many such mirrors, and Hu Wei had just randomly chosen one—and gotten lucky?

But what was that place, and what did the mirrors represent?

While Cheng Shi was still deep in thought, Bai Fei, to his surprise, finally spoke up to explain.

“[Laughter and Mockery].”

“?”

Cheng Shi turned to look at her, but her expression remained as cold as ever. However, there was a trace of delight in her eyes as she gazed at the massive wall.

It seemed even she hadn’t expected such good fortune today.

Bai Fei didn’t continue her explanation—she simply walked toward the base of the towering wall. Hu Wei, however, was the one who filled in the blanks with a chuckle.

“[Laughter and Mockery] refers to the river we just crossed.”

“A river? That was a river?” Cheng Shi was taken aback.

“That’s right. A river crafted by His own hands, buried deep within the void, representing ‘reality’ itself!”

The moment Hu Wei said this, Cheng Shi’s expression grew increasingly strange.

He had a pretty solid guess as to who that “He” was.

Heh—it’s You, isn’t it?

Creating a “reality” inside the void… that kind of trick could only come from You, right?

My dear Patron?

“[Deceit]!” Yan Chun murmured sternly, uttering the god’s name with a fleeting look of fear on his face.

Cheng Shi’s sharp eyes caught that moment of fear, and a playful smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Oh-ho, interesting.

It seems this [Folly] follower has had some bad experiences in the hands of tricksters before.

“That’s right! It is indeed [Deceit]!

As the story goes—though whether this story is accurate or not, I can’t say—but from what we know, it’s the most reasonable conclusion.

He found the static nature of [Existence] in the world far too boring, so He decided to steal the authority of [Time], to shape [Existence] in His own way.

And He succeeded. He did steal the authority of [Time], but when the two rulers of [Existence] came knocking, He had no choice but to hide His grand creation deep within the void.

Thus, in the depths of the void, [Deceit] carved out an eternal river, a river that is ever-changing, and within that river, He filled it with [Existence].

With His understanding of [Existence]!”

“……”

Cheng Shi understood now.

No wonder the moment he’d jumped into that river earlier, he’d felt like he was coming home.

Isn’t that right?

Patron, your understanding of [Existence] is like a carnival funhouse mirror, isn’t it?

The entire world is just one big joke to you, isn’t it?

Of course—it’s the perfect fit for your character.

“So… in His understanding, Brother Hu, you’re… a pancake?”

“……”

That comment completely floored Hu Wei. His expression was a mixture of emotions as he looked at Cheng Shi.

No matter how hard Hu Wei tried, he just couldn’t make sense of why, in [Deceit]’s eyes, he appeared as a pancake.

He recalled that the [Chosen One] of [Deceit] had once said that the image left in the river by those who crossed [Laughter and Mockery] was [Deceit]’s personal commentary on each individual.

But due to the chaotic and random nature of the transformations, no one could ever truly understand the meaning behind them.

So after crossing the river many times, Hu Wei had no choice but to accept the fact that, to [Deceit], he was indeed a pancake.

A flash of embarrassment flickered across his face as he quickly moved past the topic.

“This river, deeply buried in the void yet constantly filled with endless changes, represents [Reality].

The earliest records of it come from the Void Research Department of the Tower of Logic’s Void Matter Theory.

After the great scholar Glau discovered the existence of a certain [God] in the void, the researchers began searching for His traces.

Eventually, they found this ever-changing river, flowing like an eternal tide.”

“But what does His creation have to do with us coming here?” Cheng Shi, playing the role of a curious student, seized the opportunity to ask, pretending to know nothing about [Deceit].

Hu Wei laughed heartily, pointing at the massive wall before them.

“Do you know who this High Wall of Truth is meant to keep out?”

Cheng Shi frowned at the odd question.

Wasn’t it supposed to stop those who sought to steal knowledge and deter those who coveted truth?

He had just heard that moments ago—what else could there be?

Wait a minute! Something’s not right!

If you hadn’t asked, I wouldn’t have thought much about it, but now that you mention it…

Wait, bro, are you saying this wall is meant to keep out the Trickster God?

That the knowledge thieves and truth-coveters it’s meant to stop… are all followers of [Deceit]?

“That’s right, seems like you’ve figured it out!

The High Wall of Truth, created by the [Ritual of Truth], is designed to block all those who would steal knowledge.

In the era of the Land of Hope, there weren’t many people this wall was needed for since only a few could traverse the void.

And even those who could were being closely monitored by their factions. It was nearly impossible for someone to make a move without others noticing.

But He was different.

[Deceit] frequently gazes into the void. He loves everything that happens there, all the amusing events. To make sure He never misses any drama, He even created an endless number of ‘prying mirrors’ in the reality He crafted.

Through these constantly changing mirrors, He can watch all the entertaining events in the void.

This time, we came here by using a shortcut through one of those ‘prying mirrors.’

Each ‘prying mirror’ corresponds to an event happening in the void—an event that [Deceit] finds entertaining.

The Tower of Logic’s void experiments must be one of those events.

And that’s why we’re here.

In [Laughter and Mockery], the void folds and overlaps. If you choose the right direction, crossing the distance between different places in the Land of Hope might only take a few steps.

I’ve crossed [Laughter and Mockery] many times, but it’s rare to end up at the Tower of Logic’s Void Experiment Grounds.

So, like I said, today, we’re very lucky!”

As Hu Wei explained the intricate machinations of Cheng Shi’s Patron, Cheng Shi didn’t feel a sense of pride. Instead, he felt the urge to snark, as though he wanted to say, “Hey, don’t blame the kid for the parent’s shenanigans.”

So this was what Hu Wei meant by “leaving the trial”!

This was his big plan for when he said, “Come with me!”

While the low-score players were still fumbling around, trying to figure out trial rules, you [Chosen Ones] were already exploiting bugs and taking the GM shortcut?

Well, well, well… today’s lessons were certainly eye-opening.