Aftermath

Reality, an empty parking lot in some unknown city.

Chen Chong slowly opened his eyes, staring at the familiar car ceiling above him, and let out a sigh thick with mixed emotions.

He had survived again.

Not only that, but the trial reward had given him a second A-rank talent.

[Acquired Talent: Steadfastness Below the City (A), Warrior Professional Talent. When using shield-type skills, all defensive effects are increased by 25%.]

Players at 1600 points had two initial talent slots plus two extra talent slots, all of which could be swapped out.

Chen Chong silently replaced his last C-rank talent with the new A-rank one.

Just like that, his talent configuration jumped from the lower-middle tier of 1A, 2B, 1C to the upper-middle tier of 2A, 2B.

In the current segment distribution, having this talent setup at just over 1600 points could be considered outstanding—at the very least, it guaranteed him more confidence and a higher survival rate in the next few trials.

"Cheng Shi... are all big shots just addicted to showing off?"

He shook his head with a wry smile, casually grabbed a bottle of beer from the stacked cases on the passenger seat, and chugged it down his throat.

Beer spilled everywhere, flowing down and soaking his clothes, but he didn't care at all. He downed four bottles in a row before letting out a burp and tilting his head back against the seat rest.

"Heh, this goddamn world. Might as well be a dream."

Chen Chong let out a bitter laugh and tossed the empty bottle out the window.

The bottle didn't shatter against the ground with a satisfying crash. Instead, it clinked with a series of crisp sounds.

He looked toward the noise and saw that the vast parking lot was already piled high with mountains of bottles.

Compared to "parking lot," "dump" might be a more fitting description.

A dump for recycling bottles.

Chen Chong had never been the type to need a couple of beers to fall asleep.

What he drank was two cases.

And what he sought wasn't sleep... it was numbness.

"Let it end soon, this fucked-up world."

Reality, an apartment in some unknown city.

Cao Sansui stared blankly at the pocket watch in his hand, still not fully processing what had happened.

The trial ending an hour early was unprecedented. What this change meant, he couldn't say.

But one thing he did know was that in the moment he left the trial, he saw Cheng Shi's smile.

"What was he smiling about? Why wasn't he afraid? Did he already know the trial would end early?"

Cao Sansui's expression grew even more suspicious.

He had always firmly believed that time couldn't lie—after all, he had activated the Time Battlefield during the trial.

But the problem was, even if time couldn't lie, couldn't people?

If there was someone who could fool everyone and tamper with time...

Then the only one who could give everyone their cola was...

Cheng Shi!

"Huh!?"

Cao Sansui's eyes suddenly went wide. He rushed to his desk, used a tool to pry open the watch's face, and grabbed a magnifying glass to search carefully.

Sure enough, it didn't take long before he found a few faint, incomplete fingerprints on the back of the watch hand.

There were three marks in total, and when connected, they formed a subtle expression:

:)

"..."

Time really couldn't lie.

But someone had lied to time.

Cao Sansui instantly understood. Clutching the watch, he suddenly laughed, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

The trial hadn't ended early. What had been tampered with was the time in his hand.

"Cheng Shi... impressive."

Reality, a basement in some unknown city.

Nangong sat cross-legged on the floor, staring at the half-eaten beef patty in her hand that was now empty, and suddenly burst into laughter.

"I survived again... that's good."

Her score was as low as ever. Even with the points from this trial added, her ladder ranking barely exceeded 1400.

This score is not easy to get by in today's trials, where the difficulty increases as time passes.

But she has no complaints. Being able to survive under the gaze of [Decay] is already no small feat.

"You could have lived more easily. Accelerating the decay of others is, to Him, a form of offering."

A hoarse voice echoed through the dark, damp basement. Looking around, there was no one else besides Nangong.

This voice came from nowhere.

But Nangong seemed long accustomed to its presence. She pulled out a dagger and shook her head firmly.

"I can't harm others."

"Foolish. Embracing decay is the blessing of all beings."

"I can't harm others."

"...Utterly stupid. Forget it, begin today's sacrifice."

Nangong paused slightly. "Wasn't the sacrifice just made?"

"The sacrifices during the trial are all offered to Him. Now, this one is mine."

Nangong's expression shifted. She gritted her teeth, pulled down her pants, and deeply sliced a gash into her thigh with the dagger.

This gash was one stroke of a "正" character, and such characters covered almost her entire legs.

Blood gushed from the deep red wound, rapidly converging toward the dagger. Nangong's face grew paler.

Only when her body temperature began to drop did the dagger stop drinking, letting out a satisfied hum.

"Done?"

"Mm, you can heal yourself now."

Nangong forced herself to cast a Healing Art, then pulled a small notebook from under a rotten wooden bed and solemnly wrote down a name.

Cheng Shi.

"You still want to repay him? Ridiculous. The gods won't let you meet again."

"Still, I have to write it down. What if!"

Nangong flipped through the pages. The tattered notebook was filled with densely packed names, every single one of them people who had helped her.

"I have also helped you. Why don't you write my name down?"

"Your reward... I've already paid it..."

Reality, an unknown city park.

Song Yawen stared at his trial score, dumbfounded.

[Ladder of Audience +3]

"What?? 3 points??? The Ladder of Audience can add 3 points???"

He read it over and over in disbelief, then started jumping around wildly, shouting.

"Holy shit! I got 3 points! Brothers! My Ladder of Audience went up by 3 points!"

Other players in the park heard him and cast glances that said "this guy's crazy," but that didn't stop Song Yawen from venting his excitement. He ran around his living area again and again, yelling as he went.

"Tell me, am I awesome or what? I fucking got 3 points in one go! Have any of you ever seen someone get 3 points?!"

Finally, someone got annoyed and shouted back.

"Song Yawen, are you fucking insane? The Ladder of Audience maxes out at 2 points. You're dreaming if you think you got 3!"

Song Yawen didn't even stop. He kept shouting.

"What do you know? I can't misread the reward panel. A big shot carried me, went all out and directly had an audience with the true god. I'm on a whole different level from you now, got it?"

"There's really a big shot? What's their name? What faith and profession?"

"Bullshit, I'll tell you... I'll tell you nothing. Do you even deserve to know the big shot's name?"

With that, ignoring how everyone around him looked at him, he kept making a ruckus until he had exhausted all his excitement and the joy of surviving a close call. Only then did he calm down and sit back in his tent.

Then...

He continued typing in various channels.

"Brothers, my Ladder of Audience went up by 3 points. Look at me, am I impressive or what?"

"Heh, not looking."

Reality, an unknown city, a standalone villa.

A shattered dressing mirror vaguely outlined a snow-white figure.

If one focused, they could faintly see a hand covered in calluses from archery, hesitantly reaching toward those long, slender legs.

"Cheng Shi..."

A whisper rang out. [Birth] bloomed.

Once again, He gazed upon this place, dispelling the frost from the believer's face, and bestowed upon her a new blessing.