The Clown

Cheng Shi fell into a cognitive bias.

He instinctively assumed that two con artists from the True Universe were playing a role, so he never considered that they might be the same person.

Now he conducted an Experiment that could hardly be called Experiment. He simply switched back to [Destiny] and Shadow Cheng Shi Chaos Acting Method to transform into Hong Lin. In this way, he completed the dual "role-playing" of himself and Hong Lin without any flaws.

Because the Cheng Shi that Hong Lin sees is Cheng Shi himself, and Cheng Shi knows how to play the role of Hong Lin in Cheng Shi's heart...

This method was simply flawless, and coupled with the unknowns and complexities of the True Universe, even Cheng Shi couldn't react immediately.

Fortunately, Qin Xin engaged in a battle with them, which allowed him to gauge their strength.

It was Cheng Shi surprising enough that a Druid dressed as Clown could hold out against Qin Xin for a while, but Clown is still Clown, and his combat strength is far from that of Druid. It was this flaw that allowed Cheng Shi to deduce the identities of the two swindlers.

However, there was still one Cheng Shi didn't understand.

What was the other party's motive?

They couldn't have been unaware that engaging with Qin Xin would inevitably leave traces and expose their identities, yet they still made a move, even actively provoking him.

According to Qin Xin, even when Qin Xin was about to give up halfway through, the other party still wouldn't let up. What was the point of this almost "self-destructive" choice?

They wouldn't really want to defeat Qin Xin in a direct confrontation, would they?

In the past, it wouldn't have been impossible, but now Qin Xin holds the Divine Authority of [War], how could they...?

Etc!

Cheng Shi's eyes widened suddenly, and he asked Qin Xin again to confirm:

"Did you inherit the Divine Authority [War] before they refused to give up, or after they insisted on fighting?"

Qin Xin was taken aback, then recalled seriously, "Even after they continued their attacks, Hong Lin's attacks never stopped; she even..."

Halfway through his sentence, Qin Xin's gaze suddenly turned strange. He couldn't very well use the same foul language that the previous Hong Lin had used in front of this Hong Lin, so he deliberately paused, letting the two of them understand on their own.

Cheng Shi knew all too well what kind of Clown they were. His eyelids twitched, and he said in a low voice, "... He even swore? Did he say something about an orphan's longing for affection?"

"?"

Can swear words be said so euphemistically?!

Qin Xin's expression froze on her face, and the words she was about to say were choked back down.

Seeing his reaction, Cheng Shi became even more certain that the two swindlers were "himself"!

Another version of myself in Another World!

Even if Hong Lin is furious, she probably wouldn't say such a thing, but I might. If I get really angry, I might say any kind of dirty word.

Especially after finding Gaze of Mockery, Cheng Shi felt his temper had also been swayed; he felt restless if he didn't occasionally curse a few times.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Shi guessed another of his own purposes.

This Clown wandering in the True Universe is clearly not here to cause trouble; he's obviously here to help!

The other party must have known that a war was necessary to invoke the Divine Authority of [War], which is why they fought with Qin Xin under a seemingly reasonable pretext.

Otherwise, from a conman's perspective, any action that could potentially expose his identity should be avoided. The only explanation for his willingness to expose his own identity to attack Qin Xin is that he did so in order to gain Divine Authority.

Of course, the Clown might not have been entirely well-intentioned; he was most likely using this method to search for the Divine Authority of [War] in their world, and just happened to run into Qin Xin.

It's not hard to see that they the First deceived themselves and Hong Lin, also aiming for a final battle. However, compared to themselves and Hong Lin, Qin Xin, as Believer in [War], was clearly more likely to resonate with the remnants of the [War] will. Therefore, when faced with a better option, they abandoned deceiving themselves and instead tried to deceive Qin Xin.

As for why he left himself with the mess of proving his identity after the fight...

It's probably just the Clown's twisted sense of humor.

After all, the Clown and the Clown are "competitors," so it's understandable that they would be extremely jealous of each other.

Cheng Shi pondered silently and deduced the cause and effect of the whole incident, but all of this was still just his guess. To verify it, he might have to find him again.

But would a con artist whose identity has been exposed stay in the same place and wait for someone to come looking for trouble?

No, they've already made their escape.

On the other side.

In the vast and desolate True Universe, a huge corpse of Leaky World Silent Puppet slowly drifts.

In the shadow of the corpse, two figures looked up, their eyes unreadable.

After observing the cheerful figure for a long time, he remarked with considerable emotion:

"Tsk, that kid probably really went up there, otherwise, with his greedy nature, he wouldn't have left so easily."

"If he can go up, why can't we?"

The Indifference figure snorted coldly, pouring cold water on his enthusiasm, saying, "He has Lord of Grace's protection, so he's naturally safe and sound. Do you have one?"

The cheerful figure curled his lip. "It's not like anyone hasn't had one. Does having had one before mean it doesn't count?"

No, the past can be the present, but only if you are alive [Time].

Unfortunately, He has been dead for many years.

They... have been dead for many years.

These words caused the cheerful figure's smile to freeze, and his tone turned wistful.

"Can you please stop saying these discouraging things when I'm feeling motivated? It's really a downer."

I said, "Cheng Destiny, without them, aren't we living just fine?"

The Indifference figure—no, [Destiny] —Cheng Shi shook his head without joy or sorrow:

"Don't confuse the issue. Their sacrifice deserves to be remembered. It is because of their death that we are able to live in a deformed state until now."

But this path is still a dead end; it's not the solution for the world, and the answers to the universe don't lie with us.

As he spoke, [Destiny] Cheng Shi smiled, a rare occurrence for him. He looked in Cheng Shi's direction and smiled with satisfaction:

"Fortunately, we finally succeeded once, so we have lived up to the trust Lao Cheng Shi entrusted to us."

[Deception] Cheng Shi also looked in that direction, stroking his chin thoughtfully, and said:

"Although beating Lao Cheng Shi was quite an achievement, how do you know he didn't lie when he found us?"

"If, and I mean if, he succeeded many times but just lied to us and said he failed even once, wouldn't we still have lost?"

[Destiny] Cheng Shi glanced at the person next door and said coldly, "A dying man's words are often true."

"The old saying is true, but whether he is even 'human' is debatable. Just like us, aren't we also not 'human'?"

If I die, I must leave behind a colossal lie before I die, so that my successor will live in constant suspicion.

Tsk, thinking about it like that, I really want to die.

"..."

[Destiny] Cheng Shi fell silent. Clearly, he agreed with [Deception] Cheng Shi's statement, though he didn't know which part he agreed with...

After a moment, he spoke again:

"Not yet, at least not now. If we die, there will be no more Guide in the True Universe, and hope will be lost."

So just bear with it, bear with it until we find the next successor, and then we'll be free."

Upon hearing this, [Deception] Cheng Shi shrugged and sighed again:

"Okay, but I'm still a little curious, when he guesses it's us, do you think he'll be grateful and surprised, or grit his teeth in anger?"

This kid is much smarter than the others; it's clear his Lord of Grace has raised him well.

"Hey? He can't possibly guess what we're doing, can he?"

[Destiny] Cheng Shi shook his head, his voice still icy.

Those who are fortunate rarely see the misfortunes of others.

This misfortune belongs to us, but to witness a bit of good fortune through this misfortune... I suppose that's also a kind of good fortune for us.

"Cheng Deception, do you regret it?"

"What are you regretting?"

"Take over this job from Lao Cheng Shi."

[Deception] Cheng Shi curled his lip, looked into the distance, and said indifferently:

"Someone has to do it... the dirty and hard work is always the unlucky ones to do, isn't it?"

I suffered for them; they probably won't be as miserable as we were.

Sigh, why say all this? Let's go. Before we die, we have to give Old Cheng Shi, Old Old Cheng Shi, and all the other Old Old Cheng Shi an explanation and see when the next unlucky guy will come.

"I'm going to trick him out of something big then!"

"..."

You smiled!

You agree with my plan, right?

I knew it; your Indifference was all an act.

So, do you think we'll run into another unlucky person first, or another beautiful flower bud?

Yes, flower buds are better; that way, we can enjoy ourselves for a while longer.

This damn True Universe is just too big, and too boring...