I Know You're Pretending to Be Foolish

[Chaos] is the first deity of the [Chaos] Life Path, the prelude to [Chaos], the madness of disorder, and the sworn enemy of [Order].

Its will promotes the idea that there are no inherent rules in the world, and that the ultimate state of the universe should be chaotic and disordered. Therefore, players who believe in it are often influenced by its will, exhibiting a degree of abnormality.

If one were to choose the most popular players, followers of [Order] would undoubtedly be the ones.

However, if one were to choose the most unpopular players, followers of evil gods like [Filth Fall], [Annihilation], and [Foolishness] would all fall behind. The number of votes for followers of [Chaos] would be overwhelmingly first.

This is because, during trials, they not only offer little help but often make things worse.

Of course, "making things worse" here is a euphemism. Out of their disdain for rules and their philosophy of trampling on order, they frequently cause "malicious" disruption.

But this "malice," from their perspective, stems from "good intentions" because they believe they are guiding the trial towards disorder.

And disorder, they believe, is the "ultimate" state of the universe.

For followers of [Chaos], one should not provoke them too much; just let them be.

Fang Shiqing quickly skipped past Huang Bo and looked at Bailing.

Bailing also waved her hand, saying weakly:

"I didn't find anything wrong. If I had to say something, it's probably that the men here are just too strong."

As she spoke, she couldn't help but lick her lips, "They're excessively strong."

"There's no... this isn't right." Fang Shiqing subconsciously filtered out Niao Niao's feverish remarks and began to ponder.

If every corner of the memory scene was exceptionally clear, then there was only one possibility: the owner of the memory knew everyone, which is why they could perfectly flesh out each individual in the memory.

But based on the previous investigation, the patrons seemed to be strangers to each other.

Yet, how could strangers have such clear memories?

Was someone plotting something in the tavern?

As everyone was deep in thought, Cheng Shi, bored, raised his wine glass and complained, "Where are the bar waiters? The drinks are gone, why aren't they coming to refill them? Shouldn't they be constantly watching every table and actively serving customers?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Lu across from him cast a contemptuous glance at him, as if looking at a troublemaker.

Bailing, however, agreed and gave him a flirtatious wink, mentally labeling Cheng Shi with a new tag: a troublemaker seeking amusement.

Fang Shiqing also heard him. Initially, she felt a sense of helplessness, thinking that apart from A'ming, the mysterious little assassin, everyone else was just slacking off.

But for some reason, as she watched Cheng Shi craning his neck to look for a waiter, a flash of inspiration struck her, and she slammed the book in her hand onto the table.

With a "bang!" that startled everyone.

"Waiter!"

"Huh?"

"?"

Fang Shiqing said with great excitement, "It's the waiters! Cheng Shi is right. Only waiters would be paying attention to the movements of customers at every table at all times, and only they would be familiar with these customers. That's why the memories of every corner are so clear, because they already know everything here!"

Xu Lu's eyes widened as she looked at Cheng Shi. Seeing that Cheng Shi also looked bewildered, her shock lessened slightly.

It seemed he hadn't expected it either; it was probably a lucky guess...

Cheng Shi indeed acted bewildered. He widened his eyes as much as possible, blinked rapidly, and said hazily, "Did I say that?"

Fang Shiqing gave him a meaningful look, quickly got up, and prepared to approach the various waiters.

During the previous reconnaissance, she hadn't missed hearing the waiters talk, but for the patrons, the waiters spoke too little and offered little useful information, so she had quickly skimmed over them.

Seeing her move so quickly, Cheng Shi kindly reminded her, "Slow down, miss. The patrons here are so strong, and they've had so much to drink. Their tempers aren't good. If you rush around, you might provoke them, and then we'll be in danger if a fight breaks out!"

His words sounded like he was holding her back. Xu Lu, following behind Fang Shiqing, looked back with a hint of anger on her face. Even A'ming, who had just stood up, turned back to glance at Cheng Shi awkwardly.

"Cheng Shi, you..."

But upon hearing this, Fang Shiqing's entire body suddenly froze, and another flash of inspiration struck her.

A person's memory is not a completely objective reproduction; it often carries subjective biases.

As the saying goes, when I view things, they are colored by my own perspective – this is the best description of memory.

If the patrons in this memory scene are generally strong, it means that the memory's owner likely perceived them as very strong subjectively when interacting with them.

Working backward from this, this person is most likely very thin, and thinner than the average person!

A thin waiter is very likely the answer to this layer of memory!

Fang Shiqing's eyes lit up. She glanced at Cheng Shi again. Seeing that he was still pretending to be clueless, she didn't expose him, but quickly went upstairs with A'ming.

"I remember you saying there was a waiter sleeping in the lounge upstairs?"

A'ming immediately recalled and replied, "Yes, that's right. He's quite tall, quite thin, and his leg is a bit disabled."

"That's him!"

Fang Shiqing walked upstairs without looking back, the other two following closely. Seeing that she seemed to have found the answer, Bailing immediately got up, ready to chase after them.

As she passed Cheng Shi, she lightly brushed the back of his hand with her fingernail and said with a charming laugh:

"Underestimated you, big shot."

At the same time, she mentally slapped a new label on Cheng Shi: master of baiting.

Cheng Shi smiled and ignored her.

Fang Shiqing led everyone to the locked rest room. A'ming simply pointed at the keyhole on the door, and the door swung open.

"What is this?" Xu Lu asked in surprise.

"Professional Talent, Finger Key," A'ming replied shyly.

Cheng Shi silently raised A'ming's rating in his mind, as this talent was A-rank, and not an easy A-rank to obtain.

Furthermore, this talent truly belonged to the Assassin class, meaning he hadn't lied about his profession.

He had only concealed his score.

This led him to wonder, did he truly believe in [Order] or [War]?

Fang Shiqing stepped into the dark room and tore a page from a book. She shook it in the air, and the paper immediately contracted into a lantern, illuminating the entire room.

A melodious song emanated from the paper lantern: "Oh Deity~ bring forth the light~, Oh mortals~ sing with delight~"

The Erudite Poet's trick finally appeared before everyone.

"Tsk, it's actually quite nice to listen to."

The voice was clearly Fang Shiqing's own. Cheng Shi hadn't expected the English teacher to sing a ballad with such flair.

However, the opening of the door and the singing startled the resting attendant. He opened his eyes in confusion, looking at the group standing before him, and said somewhat fearfully:

"If you... need help, you can find Zado. I'm off duty."

Fang Shiqing smiled slightly at the attendant:

"We're here for you."

"For me?" The attendant was a little scared. He clutched his blanket, his voice trembling, "I don't think I know you..."

"Don't be scared, we're not here to cause trouble."

As she spoke, she glanced back at Cheng Shi and gave him a look.

Cheng Shi understood her intention and casually cast a Calming Technique on the attendant, followed by a Hypnosis.

After all, he was a Priest, and he lacked none of the basic skills.

Fang Shiqing praised him with a smile, then turned back and said:

"Calm down and think carefully. Everything you see is just your memory. This place is already in the past. You shouldn't be lost in memories now, right?"

The attendant's eyes grew increasingly unfocused, and then he nodded:

"Right, yes, I remember now. This is my memory."

"Whoosh—"

"Crackle..."

As his words fell, the attendant's entire body suddenly shattered like a mirror, dissolving into countless specks of light. They then slowly converged to form a deep, azure portal, resembling a mirror.

The answer was correct. The players had found the exit from this layer of memory.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief. Fang Shiqing raised an eyebrow, signaling for everyone to leave in an orderly fashion.

"Huang Bo still hasn't come up..." A'ming reminded her cautiously.

"Forget him, let's go first."

Cheng Shi pouted and was the first to step through.

Before leaving, he turned his head and met Fang Shiqing's gaze. They understood each other's expressions.

Fang Shiqing's look conveyed: I know you're pretending to be dumb.

Cheng Shi's look conveyed: Abba abba abba.

Seeing Cheng Shi, who wasn't contributing, take the lead, Xu Lu, standing behind Fang Shiqing, muttered under her breath while counting on her fingers:

"What a guy, only active at times like these."

Fang Shiqing heard this and smiled, but inwardly she complained:

What kind of man would like a girl like that? So silly, it's almost pathetic.

Everyone followed suit. A'ming lagged behind, looking down at the floor with some hesitation. After a while, he turned and stepped through.