Foolish Game of the Gods - Chapter 172

Seeing the look of shock on Cheng Shi’s face, the grand scholar finally allowed a faint smile to surface.

“Why wouldn’t I be His follower?

No, it’s more accurate to say:

I could only ever be His follower.

I was born to seek the laws of the world, nurtured under the radiance of [Truth], and I have devoted all my heart and energy to this Conjugated Whispering Tree…

My entire life has been in service of His will.

So how could I be anything but a follower of [Truth]?”

“……”

Huh?

So… you weren’t talking about [Fate]?

Oh, well, in that case, never mind.

Cheng Shi wiped the sweat from his brow and exhaled a heavy sigh of relief.

But halfway through his sigh, he froze.

Wait a second, if you’re not a follower of [Fate], but you still knew I was coming, then something’s still not right!

Old man, don’t tell me [Truth] was the one who told you I would come!

Cheng Shi glanced back at the grand scholar, and Kuwei seemed to have seen through his confusion. Nodding, the scholar said:

“Do not doubt or fear. It was [Truth] who told me you would come.

That’s why I’ve been waiting for you.”

Cheng Shi’s brows furrowed, and a wave of uneasiness washed over him.

I already have enough gods watching me. Please, can’t one of you just go watch someone else? Stop staring at me!

Don’t you know that scrutiny has weight? If you keep staring, you’re going to crush me!

I’m just an honest, simple conman—what’s so interesting about me?

“Hmm? It seems you’ve misunderstood something. I need to clarify something on behalf of my Lord:

Your arrival wasn’t because of Him, but because of…

Me.”

Huh?

Cheng Shi blinked, utterly confused and missing the point.

Kuwei chuckled bitterly and spoke slowly, as though explaining to a child:

“Or rather, the one I was waiting for wasn’t ‘you,’ but rather, an outcome.

Because [Chaos] is approaching—the madmen who toll the bells are already gathering outside the High Wall!”

He turned around, gesturing to the massive tree behind him.

“But this tree, the decades of devotion from the Void Matter Theory department, can’t be crushed under the iron hooves of the Death’s Bell Knights.

I can’t imagine the countless efforts of so many over centuries coming so close to success, only to fall short before reaching the finish line.

Nor can I imagine us finally pushing open the door to groundbreaking truth, only to have [Chaos]’s great hand cover our eyes, preventing us from gazing at the splendor beyond.

And so, at this final moment, on the last step toward unveiling the truth, I did something I’ve never done before—I went against the convictions I’ve held my entire life…

For the first time, I prayed to Him, to my Lord, to [Truth], and begged for an answer…

But He never responded.

I thought He had long abandoned us, the foolish followers who couldn’t keep up.

But today—just now—He suddenly answered me.

He directed me here, to this place, to wait for an outcome.

I didn’t know what that outcome was, but once I saw you, I understood.

The omniscient [Truth] has brought you before me.”

Cheng Shi’s eyes widened. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

Who sent me here?

Shouldn’t it have been my Patron? How did it become your Patron?

Wait!

Let me think this through.

Cheng Shi furrowed his brow, deep in thought.

[Deceit] allowing passage through [Laughter and Mockery] for him to travel through the void clearly wasn’t for any grand purpose. Most likely, He just couldn’t resist His natural inclination for entertainment and simply wanted to watch the show.

But to watch a show, there first has to be a script.

And this script… was clearly written by Him.

So, the truth must be that [Fate] provided the script, and [Deceit] grabbed a front-row seat as the audience.

But what does [Truth] have to do with any of this?

Why was [Truth] involved in [Fate]’s plan?

!!??

Wait a minute!

Hu Xuan!

Cheng Shi’s eyes widened in sudden realization as the name flashed across his mind, and inspiration struck. He connected the three [Gods] Hu Xuan had mentioned in the previous trial.

He had spoken of three [Gods], saying they had each guided him in some way: One recognized his identity, one set him on the right path, and one removed his shackles.

At the time, Cheng Shi had wondered who the third god was.

But now, with the current events unfolding in front of him, it all suddenly became clear.

It was [Truth]!

In that life-or-death situation within the void, behind the Stellar Dagger, during the cosmic struggle of the gods, [Truth] had been there too!

After all, the Stellar Dagger was an experiment conducted by the Tower of Logic, and the Tower of Logic was a place that worshiped Him!

Suddenly, everything made sense.

And now, the hidden chess game played by the gods—one that had gone unnoticed—was becoming more apparent.

[Birth] must have sacrificed something to save Hu Xuan.

[Fate] had made promises to [Truth] and [Birth], though what He gained in return remained unclear.

[Truth] had liberated the “Eternal Sun,” and perhaps what He gained was the opportunity to appear in [Fate]’s script.

Or, more likely, [Truth] had earned the right to have [Fate] deliver someone—namely Cheng Shi—before Kuwei, the grand scholar.

But why was I sent here?

To retrieve the fruit from the Tower of Logic, to change the tragic history of the Void Matter Theory department, and to ensure the experimental results preserved!?

So… does [Fate] want me to pick the fruit, not for Him, but for [Truth]?

And if that’s the case, does that mean They’ve already foreseen that I would gain the ability to change history in this trial?

Does that also mean [Memory] has been part of the plan from the start?

No, that can’t be right either.

Although Cheng Shi had only met [Memory] once, he could tell that this God of [Existence] was an expert schemer.

Perhaps [Memory] wasn’t passively involved but had foreseen the “memory of the future” or learned about the upcoming events from [Time]…

And then decided to actively participate by giving me that ring.

But what does [Memory] hope to gain from this cosmic chess game!?

“……”

With all these thoughts racing through his mind, Cheng Shi broke into a cold sweat.

Before he realized it, he had already become a tool in the eyes of countless [Gods].

This wasn’t something he could afford to dwell on. Until he could resist their influence, his best course of action was to be the best tool he could be.

With that, Cheng Shi let out a heavy breath, suppressing his thoughts and refocusing on the present, on the grand scholar standing before him.

The situation was urgent, and enemies were closing in. He couldn’t waste time and got straight to the point:

“So… are you going to entrust me with the great result of the Conjugated Whispering experiment to take away?”

Kuwei looked slightly startled by Cheng Shi’s question. He nodded, then shook his head.

“I never mentioned the name of this experiment, and you’re not one of our scholars. Yet you could name it so precisely.

As expected, His guidance is beyond the understanding of fools like us.

However, there’s one thing you’ve misunderstood.

While the Conjugated Whispering experiment does indeed deserve to be called ‘great,’ this great experiment…

Has no result yet.

The Whispering Tree has not yet bloomed or borne fruit!

If [Chaos] had arrived just six months later, I would have been able to present the results of this great experiment to the world.

But now…

There’s no more time.

No… there is still time, because in response to my prayers…

You arrived.”

“……?”