The way home? A wrong path? Or a scam?

Although the conjecture could not be verified, Cheng Shi still voiced his reasoning.

Upon hearing that the person who had deceived him was Cheng Shi from Another World, Hong Lin's expression became incredibly strange, as did Qin Xin's. However, this only confirmed that his idea was correct; regardless of which world Cheng Shi, they all seemed to be making "Unyielding" efforts.

Having met Qin Xin and gained control of the [War] Divine Authority, Cheng Shi had completed his mission to step into the True Universe.

Upon reflection, aside from the first ten days which were incredibly agonizing, the rest went quite smoothly, to the point that it felt like "Destiny Predestination."

But what brought him and the Big Cat here was clearly a [Deception], so how could there be any trace of [Destiny] involved?

Cheng Shi couldn't figure it out, so he simply put aside his thoughts and said to the two of them:

"Now that we have the Divine Authority, the next thing to do is think about how to get back."

Have you noticed that there isn't a path leading back to our original world from where we came from? This means that going back probably won't be as easy as coming.

If this were a Trials, based on my understanding of the God of Merriment, He might make some arrangements to tease the little... players in the Trials. But this is the True Universe, a place beyond the reach of even the God of Merriment himself. He probably wouldn't just send us here without considering taking us back.

Therefore, I speculate that something must have Change in the True Universe that cut off our way 'home,' and this Change is very likely related to spacetime.

Whether it's Cheng Shi, who freely travels from Another World, or the Leaky World Silent Puppet that suddenly drifted in, it's clear that there's a set of spacetime rules in the True Universe that we don't know about. These spacetime rules are probably the reason why the path back is 'blocked'.

Qin Xin frowned, pondering, "So before we go back, we need to figure out this set of spacetime rules and find our way home within those rules?"

"That's right, that's the only way for now, unless..."

Cheng Shi chuckled self-deprecatingly and uttered an unlikely possibility, "Unless the way home reappears on its own."

But in any case, the first thing we need to do is go back to the 'starting point'.

Qin Xin, can you still find the way you came from?

Qin Xin nodded. Like Cheng Shi, he carefully left many [War] markers along his path. These markers could only be triggered by Qin Xin, so that no matter where he went, he could find his way back to the "starting point" by following the markers.

However, due to the excessive length of the first ten days of exploration, he had already strayed far from the "starting point".

Hong Lin is the same; like the "Hong Lin" Cheng Shi encountered, she sows seeds of [Prosperity] throughout the True Universe. In fact, this prudent approach was suggested to her by the Cheng Shi she met.

After a rough calculation, the three of them realized that this place was closest to Cheng Shi's "starting point," so they decided to go to Cheng Shi's starting point to investigate first.

At this point, Qin Xin raised another question:

"If the Hong Lin you encounter is another version of yourself, then the [Prosperity] seed you left behind... is it okay?"

Cheng Shi was also struggling with the decision.

Logically speaking, since the other party had no "malicious intent" and even helped Qin Xin obtain Divine Authority, they shouldn't have tampered with or "harmed" him on such a serious matter as his journey home.

But then I considered that the other party was a scammer...

Cheng Shi sighed and decided to play it safe.

"Let's go to the furthest 'starting point,' Qin Xin, lead the way."

I believe with the Divine Authority bonus, you should be able to reclaim all [War] markers.

Qin Xin smiled and turned to lead the way. Hong Lin naturally had no objections; she was preoccupied with something else.

The person who deceived her was Cheng Shi from Another World, and she probably wouldn't have another chance to get revenge this time. In that case, could she beat up Cheng Shi in front of her as a way to vent her anger?

She looked at Cheng Shi with strange eyes several times, but Cheng Shi didn't notice at all, assuming that Hong Lin was thinking about another Cheng Shi's purpose.

Along the way, Cheng Shi felt a chill on his neck several times, thinking it was a sign of danger. He warned Qin Xin in front of him to be careful of their surroundings, never imagining that it was the Big Cat behind him staring at the back of his neck.

Fortunately, the Big Cat was touched by the leniency of Destiny, and she also learned to be tolerant, which allowed Cheng Shi to escape a disaster.

After searching for several days, the three realized once again how difficult it is to encounter a single person in the True Universe.

Having finally found Qin Xin's "starting point," the desolate Starry Sky shattered the surprise they had hoped for. There was nothing here, no different from the long Starry Sky road they had just walked.

Cheng Shi frowned slightly as he studied the surroundings. Big Cat and Qin Xin also tried various methods, but even with all Divine Authority power, the space-time here remained An Jing and stable, without any Change whatsoever.

For a moment, all three of them were somewhat confused.

On the other side.

The two figures wandering in the True Universe suddenly sensed something, stopped in their tracks, and looked in the direction where Cheng Shi and the other two were.

[Deception] Cheng Shi curled the corners of his mouth and said with a smile:

"Space-Time Storm is coming; I wonder where they'll be greeted by this spacetime greeting from the True Universe."

[Destiny] Cheng Shi, unusually intrigued, slightly suppressed the corners of his mouth that were turning up, and said coldly:

"Shall we take a gamble?"

[Deception] Cheng Shi's eyes lit up, and he nodded vigorously. "With that kid's cleverness, they definitely won't go to the starting point I marked for the [Prosperity] seed, so I guess they'll go to the starting point that Big Cat marked himself."

[Destiny] Cheng Shi raised an eyebrow. "Why not guess Qin Xin?"

[Deception] Cheng Shi laughed, "I trust Big Cat more than Qin Xin. He is me, so I'm betting on Big Cat."

[Destiny] Cheng Shi nodded. "Are you sure all the markings have been changed? Whether it's Qin Xin's or Big Cat's?"

"Of course, you can rest assured that I'll handle things."

All that awaits them is Space-Time Storm; as for the way home...

"Tsk, let's wait for the parents to pick us up. The payment for this dirty work should be settled in person, shouldn't it?"

After he finished speaking, a brief silence fell over the room. A short while later, [Deception] Cheng Shi urged again:

"You haven't placed your bet yet. Who are you betting on?"

[Destiny] Cheng Shi chuckled, "I don't gamble. If I don't gamble, I won't lose."

"???"

[Deception] Cheng Shi glanced at the other person sideways and said disdainfully, "But you still won't win."

"I can afford not to win, but right now, I absolutely cannot lose."

"... No, you're so boring, why do you always talk about value?"

The perspective shifts Cheng Shi and his two companions.

Just as the three people sat around the starting point, pondering how to figure out the rules of spacetime in the True Universe, the sky above them suddenly darkened.

The three were startled and immediately scattered. After retreating some distance, they looked up and saw that countless chaotic and restless black orbs of light were hanging in the sky, jumping erratically.

At first, the black spheres were only the size of a fist, like black holes that absorbed light, distorting all light. But in the blink of an eye, the three of them realized that they were trapped in darkness, with no light around them.

Time collapses, space distorts, consciousness dissipates, and the body disintegrates.

A silent Space-Time Storm arrived, swallowing the three people whole before they could even feel fear.