You Shouldn't Be Here

"!!!"

Li Boli's eyes widened suddenly as she stared at Cheng Shi in shock, as if she had suddenly realized something.

"You... you mean..."

"You figured it out, didn't you?"

If you die, won't your secrets be freely read by others?

In that case, what is the point of holding on for so long?

Therefore, a suicidal attack is definitely not intended to eliminate the immediate enemy!

It's very likely that this is to hide the ultimate secret!

Cheng Shi's smile suddenly turned wild.

Who says secrets have to be hidden behind a door?

Why can't secrets be kept on the body of the guardian?

Furthermore, why can't the secret be the guardian himself?

"!!!"

Li Boli stared at Cheng Shi with a look of surprise and suspicion for a long time, her conflicted expression flashing several times. Finally, after making some decision, she asked:

"We've been through life and death together, I don't want to doubt you anymore, but, Cheng Shi..."

Are you really not hiding anything from me?

How do you know so much, even about him...?

He was a puppet, and everything about that puppet?

"?"

Cheng Shi was stumped by the question.

At this moment when I've discovered such a brilliant and dazzling clue from the smallest detail, as my most trusted teammate, you not only don't praise me, but you also start to doubt me.

Do I really look like a villain?

"..."

But...

If you insist on asking that question, then I can only say that it's all the work of Destiny.

I happened to find something related to this Trials in the previous Trials...

But how should I put it?

A coincidence?

It's also possible that it isn't.

Cheng Shi realized it, but he dared not think about it too much.

He only wants his future to be one he forges himself, rather than following some guide and heading towards a predetermined unknown.

So he pondered for a moment and decided to be honest.

Is it possible...?

This is just a hypothetical situation, is it possible that I'm just a tiny, tiny bit smarter than you?

Cheng Shi pinched his fingers, gesturing a slight meaning.

When Li Boli saw his expression, she burst out laughing.

"Although this doesn't align with my criteria for judging people, I'm prepared to trust you this once."

Cheng Shi, don't let me down.

Just kidding, I, Cheng Shi, never lie!

As he spoke, he leaned down again and whispered a name in the black-robed man's ear.

"Zainjil!"

This leader of the alchemy of creation, this Grand Scholar of the Tower of Reason, this unprecedented genius of creation!

Could it be the "reboot word" that unlocks the answer?

Cheng Shi called out his name and looked at the man in black robes.

Then...

"..."

"..."

"..."

Nothing happened.

Not a sound was made.

Cheng Shi's smile froze.

Li Boli blinked her eyes, which were brimming with hope and admiration, looking completely bewildered.

"Ha... haha... an accident, this is definitely an accident."

Cheng Shi quickly rubbed his face, forced a confident smile, and silently cheered himself on.

It's okay, you're overthinking it. You'll definitely be fine from here on out!

So he leaned down again and said:

"Ados!"

"..."

"Creation Alchemy! No, the Creation Alchemy Department!"

"..."

"The Tower of Reason!!"

"..."

"[Truth]!!!"

"..."

"Open Sesame!"

"..."

Tired, let's destroy it.

"Kukukuku—"

It looks like someone couldn't hold back their laughter.

Cheng Shi hearing the laughter, Cheng Shi turned around angrily and immediately saw a face that was flushed red.

The wandering swordsman used his small, wind-formed hands to tightly grip her back, which finally made her expression turn serious.

She tried her best to keep a straight face and encouraged, "Try... try again!"

Thank you, I was touched by Kuku.

Cheng Shi a stiff smile, and very consciously pinched his nose until it turned red.

He collapsed to the ground and began to give up.

"Laugh if you want to."

Hahahaha—

The wind is quite noisy today.

My silence was deafening.

—Excerpt from "The Clown's Memoirs"

Li Boli raised her bow, nocked an arrow, and stood at the doorway deep inside the room, asking very solemnly:

Are you ready?

Cheng Shi smiled reluctantly, but still nodded.

The knight-errant sensed his affirmation and then added:

"We don't know what's behind the door, nor what traps the Singer and the warrior have laid. You must stay close to me. If there's any danger..."

"I'm better off without this key; getting myself out of here is the most important thing."

The key she mentioned was naturally the black-robed man that Cheng Shi was dragging along.

After trying for half a day without being able to fix the puppet's self-contradiction, Cheng Shi finally gave up.

He discussed it with the wandering knight and decided not to waste any more time and to continue deeper inside.

Since the Destiny's Choice has not yet been revealed, it means that Qin Chaoge and Ji Ran, who have already entered, have not found the answer either.

There's still a chance!

This also means that even if the man in the black robe is not the answer, he must be the key to the answer!

Cheng Shi believed in his conjecture, and the wandering knight, unable to dissuade him, had no choice but to agree to take the key with him.

Let's go!

The moment Cheng Shi opened his mouth, the wandering swordsman kicked open the door, and two swift arrows shot into the room at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye.

The wind whistled past, but it didn't hit anything.

It's empty inside.

No, perhaps it is behind this door that lies the so-called Void.

The church where they were located was more like a layer between the Void and the real, serving as a good buffer between the two worlds.

When Li Boli realized that the door in front of her truly led to the Void, her expression turned extremely grim.

In the realm of Nothingness, facing a Believer of Destiny who arrived earlier is undoubtedly a very disadvantageous situation for me.

Cheng Shi, on the other hand, regained some of his energy and spirit the moment he saw the Void.

I knew it!

No gambler loses every day, and no child cries every day!

After all this time, we're back on home turf!

He patted the ranger on the shoulder, signaling him not to panic, then dragged the heavy key and stepped through the door.

Cheng Shi's vision went black again, and his consciousness began to blur.

This time, stepping into the Void was different from any of the previous times. He could clearly feel a transparent membrane in front of him, which seemed to separate existence from Nothingness, keeping out all realities that did not belong to the Void.

Cheng Shi this membrane for a long time, as if drowning and unable to struggle.

The invisible pressure and the blind feeling of suffocation made him increasingly anxious, and a rare sense of panic surged into his heart.

"Am I going to die again?"

He started to have a headache.

It was as if a meteorite had suddenly fallen into my calm mind, boiling my entire consciousness.

Memory began to flash back, frame by frame, scene by scene, all the past events surging forth from the depths of my mind like boiling bubbles.

The lonely days in the orphanage, the meager life after being adopted, the old man's joy when he was admitted to university, the old man's relief when he found a job...

As time goes by, Memory become clearer and the details in the images become richer.

Especially in the recent Trials, every scene was vividly recreated before my eyes.

After looking back for a long time, Cheng Shi felt as if he had almost truly lived through life again.

The exhaustion of surviving and the panic of not being able to survive overwhelmed him, leaving him feeling lost and helpless.

Why did you come in?

He began to doubt himself.

Life is flashing by like a revolving door; is this time it really the end?

The previous times I died too quickly, I never had a chance to savor my life.

So it turns out... you really can see the past before you die, and you really can remember everything.

Old man, you didn't expect to see me again at a time like this, did you?

I guess I'm going to disappoint you...

I'm so unwilling to accept this.

He died just like that.

The fall continued, and the Memory seemed to freeze.

Just then, a call suddenly came from the distant Void.

"Come here, I'm here."

The sound pierced through the Void, through the membrane, and through all obstacles to reach his ears.

Like a resounding bell, it awakened Cheng Shi's fading consciousness.

He suddenly opened his eyes, and an immense surge of strength coursed through his body, instantly freeing him from that sticky state.

Countless bubbles of Memory burst open at this moment, disappearing into the mind.

He looked around, found the path leading to the sound, and then swam there with all his might.

The membrane that was previously impenetrable was now as thin as paper. With a sudden burst of speed, he broke free of the restraints and fell back into the Void.

At this moment, the ground beneath his feet was truly Void!

It was pitch black, as dark as ink, and boundless.

Cheng Shi's eyes Regain New Life and the gloom of impending trouble.

He looked at the familiar figure in front of him, at the benefactor who had saved him, and his expression became more solemn than ever before.

Surprised?

"You... shouldn't be here."