The one behind the scenes

Yes, Cheng Shi has arrived.

The timing was perfect.

[Time] took the instigator of this farce to the back and left without saying a word, leaving Cheng Shi alone standing under the Starry Sky, to be scrutinized by the gods.

But he remained completely calm, devoid of his former fear. Instead, he bowed slightly to the assembled gods and smiled, saying:

"As expected, only the ascension of New God can bring all the True God together. Thank you all for coming to witness the ceremony. If there's nothing else, you may leave."

We'll have many more opportunities to meet in the future, so I hope you won't find me annoying.

The gods were all astonished. They couldn't be mistaken; the player before them was indeed Cheng Shi. But the player who had just received the baptism of light was also Cheng Shi. Why...?

Just as the gods were wondering, Cheng Shi, or rather the new [Chaos] in the [Memory] Memory Archive, suddenly chuckled, shed his disguise, and revealed his long, black hair and a highly recognizable Magician Suit.

She had intended to bow to the gods present, just like Cheng Shi, but when she thought about her current status, she changed her mind and nodded slightly.

She chuckled softly:

"If you enjoy watching performances, you are welcome to visit my Temple often."

I welcome all visitors, especially those who wish to discuss the [Origin] with me.

With just one sentence, the already [Silence] scene fell silent once more.

The gods were startled, only then realizing that the one who had just inherited the Divine Throne and Divine Authority of [Chaos] was actually... another [Deception] Believer?

How could they not have realized they'd been deceived by a Mortals?

No!

The one who deceived them must be no Mortals; He has made his move!?

"Zhen Xin!?"

Li Wufang was dumbfounded when he saw this scene. He couldn't understand why his boss had suddenly become that controversial "Deception" Chosen of God.

In that instant, all the Memory of the day flooded into his mind. He frantically searched through them, but he couldn't find any trace of the two of them exchanging information!

How did you do that?

Zhen Xin caught a glimpse of the shock on Li Wufang's face out of the corner of her eye, and winked at him slightly, saying:

"Secret.

The most appealing aspect of Double Trick is the unpredictability of its methods. If I were to reveal the secrets to you, wouldn't that take away the fun?

"...?"

Who exactly lost the fun?

Li Wufang's eyelids twitched slightly, and his eyes still held shock. At this moment, he seemed to remember something and turned to look at Li Jingming, only to find that Li Jingming looked like he knew everything and was not surprised at all.

His eyes widened suddenly, and he exclaimed in realization, "You knew all along, so you were laughing?"

Li Jingming smiled and nodded. He did know everything; the plan had been known to him since the time he read Cheng Shi's Memory.

No, it should be said that the plan was never intended to be kept from him. It was just that the subsequent turn to the [Memory] Memory Archive was unexpected. Fortunately, the result was good, and Li Jingming completed the task assigned to him by Cheng Shi perfectly.

Indeed, the Dragon King is also part of the plan!

He had seen the real Cheng Shi, right in front of everyone, right under the noses of the [Iron Rule of Order] at that time.

However, the Cheng Shi he saw was not the Cheng Shi of that time, but the Cheng Shi of the past. And the place where he saw Cheng Shi was not in the Void, but in... Zhen Xin's Memory!

Because all of this was a scheme orchestrated by Cheng Shi himself!

To explain all this, we need to go back to when Cheng Shi failed in his first audience with the [Iron Rule of Order].

At that Cheng Shi had already thought of a way to have Li Wufang request an audience with the [Iron Rule of Order] and then use Dice to smuggle him into the audience, but he thought a little further ahead.

The Clown did indeed set his sights on the Divine Throne of [Order], but he had to face a risk: the [Iron Rule of Order] are inherently [Chaos].

If everything goes as best expected, and [Chaos] returns to the Divine Throne amicably, or [Order] eliminates itself as a sinner, Cheng Shi's path to seizing the Divine Throne will naturally be unobstructed. He might even become an ally of [Chaos], gaining another ally.

But what if the [Chaos] isn't friendly?

Back then, no one knew the details of the plan by [Deception] and [Chaos] to replace [Order]. Who can confirm exactly what methods God of Merriment used to fool [Chaos]?

Cheng Shi's current situation doesn't allow him to be careless in the slightest. He must be extremely cautious. So, if [Chaos] was tricked by God of Merriment and, after regaining his true form, develops hostility towards God of Merriment...

No, there's not even a need to think that way. Just because He is [Chaos], a god whose thoughts are so chaotic that they cannot be fathomed, Cheng Shi must plan ahead and take precautions against any possible accidents.

Preserving Predestination identity from being tainted is the most important aspect of this contingency plan!

So, before he was to meet the emperor, he went to find another person, who became his first helper: Zhen Xin!

Cheng Shi met Zhen Xin at the Museum and revealed all his plans. He said that based on his understanding of the rigid nature of the [Order] faction, the [Iron Rule of Order] would only have two outcomes after being questioned and leading to a confrontation with [Justice) ]:

Either they fail to recognize their own limitations, are unable to give an explanation to the Cosmic Order, and die from their own guilt;

Either recognize that you are [Chaos], abandon Order, and return to [Chaos].

The former poses no danger; at most, it would need a deity to protect it when it perishes. The latter, however, faces far more trouble.

Cheng Shi feared that the previous cooperation was a scheme by God of Merriment, and even more so that [Chaos] would "prove its innocence by sacrificing itself" in order to expand the chaos Cosmos.

This is not an exaggeration. With numerous precedents for [Prosperity], [Truth], [Annihilation], etc., the gods are never subtle in expressing their will.

Therefore, Cheng Shi devised this scheme of using a substitute with Zhen Xin.

He wanted Zhen Xin to impersonate him and expose the identity of the [Iron Rule of Order]. If everything went well, Zhen Xin would at most be a mouth double, posing no danger whatsoever.

But if the worst-case scenario occurs, Zhen Xin... at least her life will be safe.

Because Cheng Shi knew that the boss [Death] would definitely protect "Cheng Shi," and in the face of [Death], no one would die without His promise to speak.

Since he is not dead, why doesn't Cheng Shi go himself?

For the same reason, death is not the most terrifying thing; the most terrifying thing is the inevitable problems Predestination arise.

Final Decree!

Although Qin Xin's Final Decree became Cheng Shi's weapon in the False Curtain Call, it was also something Cheng Shi needed to be wary of. What if the [Chaos] reached its extreme, leading to a desperate struggle, and Qin Xin insisted on using the Final Decree to start a countdown to the World Collapse? Who could stop it then?

God of Merriment?

He couldn't prevent the Final Decree even in the False Curtain Call, let alone in the present reality.

Cheng Shi dared not gamble, and in order to eliminate the last bit of risk on his path to seizing the Divine Throne, he approached Zhen Xin.

When Zhen Xin heard all this, she fell silent, not because she didn't want to cooperate, but because she couldn't.

She said very clearly:

"The plan is good, but it has two flaws that cannot be concealed:"

First, with my talent for disguise, I can easily impersonate you among players, but in their presence, that's impossible...

Second, even if my act isn't exposed by [Chaos], what if the ending you least want comes true, and [Chaos] specifically names you, Cheng Shi, as the heir to Divine Authority?

Faced with the Final Decree designated by the target, all pretense is useless.

These are indeed the two biggest problems. Cheng Shi has thought about them, but he has thought about them more than Zhen Xin has.

Because in this game, he was not only scheming against the [Iron Rule of Order], but also against his own Lord of Grace, [Deception] him!

He smiled and said to Zhen Xin:

"It's alright. What you and I can't solve, someone else will naturally solve for us."

God of Merriment kept avoiding me, and I felt uneasy, so I didn't dare to take big steps forward.

I don't know what He is planning, but I know that everything, whether we get close or far away, is related to the Predestination order.

Therefore, Predestination this moment, I cannot rely solely on my stability to ensure His plan continues; He must contribute to me!

Don't worry about acting. If anything goes wrong in any part of the process, I'll be there immediately and get you out of this mess.

I don't believe He will simply abandon us and face the risks Predestination -on!

As he spoke, Cheng Shi deliberately banged the Bone Clock in his hand a few times.

That's right, he rang the Bone Clock at the very beginning of the exchange, afraid that the God of Merriment behind him wouldn't hear his plan.

Zhen Xin was a smart woman. When she learned that Cheng Shi was using his Predestination identity to lure God of Merriment into the scheme, she smiled knowingly and readily agreed to the plan.

Furthermore, in order to keep the matter of the [Iron Rule of Order] identity to a minimum and to have more room for maneuver later, the two also planned to bring the Dragon King into the game.

However, in order to ensure the evidence was "credible," they couldn't let Li Jingming know the entire plan from the beginning.

So Cheng Shi came up with a plan. This [Deception] Believer was most adept at using Memory. After finishing his discussion with Zhen Xin, he deliberately left a message for the Dragon King in front of Zhen Xin.

So when Li Jingming appeared in front of [Iron Rule of Order] and began searching through "Cheng Shi's" Memory, he saw "Cheng Shi 'Cheng Shi" true form Zhen Xin, and the real Cheng Shi who greeted him in "Cheng Shi's" Memory!

"Dragon King, we meet again."

Welcome to the [Order] Collapse Plan.