The Essence of Cooperation Is Backstabbing Your Teammates?

One man and one mouse, against one man and one mouse.

When Gao San and Su Wu saw Cheng Shi land with such a huge commotion, they immediately tensed up. Their wary eyes not only scrutinized Cheng Shi and the mouse in his hand, but they also kept glancing at the door, afraid that the noise would attract the guards in the Experiment.

It's common sense that every Experiment has guards, and the more secluded the Experiment, the stronger the guards.

The situation, which had just been a one-on-one negotiation, instantly deteriorated into a four-person standoff where the guards could catch them at any moment.

Of course, Cheng Shi was unaware that there were four people present. Although he saw the rat next to Gao San, his first thought was not the Beast Tamer, but Li Yi, another Li Yi.

Cheng Shi had been deceived so many times that he had become accustomed to it and had even developed experience in being deceived.

So when he saw the "one man and one mouse" that were exactly the same as himself, he instinctively felt that he had been betrayed again, tricked into coming here by Li Yi's "sweet talk", and now facing off against the Gao San in this unknown office.

Of course, judging from the other person's appearance, it seems that the Gao San was also one of those who were fooled.

What does this mean? It means that Li Yi is indeed very good at deceiving people, and he may have more than one rat Avatar.

When Cheng Shi realized that he had trusted a swindler again, he became "angry," his "shame" turning into "rage."

Although it's unclear how much of his anger was genuine and how much was just an excuse, his reaction was decisive and, in any case, very... unexpected.

Just as the dust and smoke from the collapsed ceiling hadn't settled, he used the dust as cover to extend his right hand towards the rat sitting next to Gao San's feet, and then...

"Boom--"

Lightning roared, and plasma surged!

The previous explosion instilled fear in the audience throughout the arena, providing ample sustenance for Amusement Ring, making the [Thunderclap Judgment] exceptionally swift at this moment.

Based on past experience, although [Thunderclap Judgment] will not hit targets that have not provided it with fear nourishment 100% of the time, it also depends on the "person".

Some people are agile and quick-witted, so they manage to dodge it, like those in their Gao San.

Some... mice, with short legs and feet, put on a show of bravado but are actually powerless to resist, so they couldn't escape, like... Su Wu.

Therefore, Su Wu died.

Before he could even exchange a single word with his two teammates whom he was meeting again, before he could utter a single syllable of his countless negotiations and calculations, he was struck dead by an unexpected bolt of Thunderbolt.

He died inexplicably, without any explanation.

As the roaring Thunderbolt struck the ground, turning the rat into a pile of charred ash, Cheng Shi glanced contemptuously at Li Yi in the cage and sneered:

"Very good, I sense your fear, and fear is the basis for our continued cooperation."

But don't let it happen again, or this Thunderbolt will fall on your head.

As for your Avatar, ha, I suppose you wouldn't care about an Avatar, would you?

Li Yi did indeed feel the power of the Thunderbolt, and he was indeed trembling, but he still suppressed his fear and shakily wrote four words at the bottom of the cage:

That's not me.

"?"

When I type a question mark, it doesn't mean I have a problem; it means I feel that something is wrong with the world.

Cheng Shi was stunned.

He turned his head in surprise to look at the ground, blinked blankly, and then looked up at the Gao San opposite him with a bewildered expression. He saw the Gao San adopting a defensive stance with a solemn expression, as if they were ready to leave through the pipe they came from at any time.

Isn't that Li Yi?

Who is that?

Su Wu? Beast Tamer?

Dead?

Ah?

That can't be right.

Why didn't he dodge?

Could he only have one rat Avatar?

However... it's better that he really died, so he won't have to suffer other hardships elsewhere, since he didn't survive even in his own prophecy.

My unintentional act relieved his tense nerves ahead of time. Thinking about it this way, well, I guess I was quite a kind person.

Cheng Shi wasn't the only one bewildered; Gao San was also somewhat confused. He never expected that his teammate, who had stolen his identity, would have such a powerful Demigod Artifact output ability.

Could he not be a warrior, but Mage? Mage of Deception?

Su Wu's death doesn't seem like a hallucination!

The Gao San looked rather grim; the situation seemed even worse for him.

But for Su Wu...

Forget it, there's no point in saying anything more.

The "Destiny's End" he found buried him once again.

It must be said that those who always use the name of Destiny to commit blasphemous acts will eventually be punished.

[Destiny] never tolerates anyone who blasphemes against Him, and Su Wu is the best example of that.

Cheng Shi had no idea Cheng Shi the Acrobat was thinking. He snapped out of his daze and, unable to suppress a laugh, pointed to the small patch of ash on the ground:

"How about we talk about cooperation?"

"You saw it yourself, I solved a huge problem for you, didn't I?"

He had no idea what Su Wu and Gao San were doing, but since things had come to this point, it would seem unfair not to take advantage of Su Wu's death, given that this teammate had died so mysteriously. So Cheng Shi continued:

"Well, perhaps you don't have any other choice, because..."

"Boom--"

Cheng Shi casually unleashed another [Thunder Punishment Thunderclap Judgment], which struck the spot where Su Wu had just turned to ashes without missing a beat, completely shattering the ashes, which still retained the "form" of a rat, into dust.

"I'm stronger than you."

Cheng Shi looked at the fear in Gao San's eyes and smiled happily.

The Gao San looked at Cheng Shi with a serious expression, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke in a low voice:

How can we cooperate?

"There's a lot of information here. If you're willing to give it to me, I'll give you a chance to leave safely. How about it?"

Cheng Shi picked at his nose as he walked to his desk, glancing at the documents on the table out of the corner of his eye, but his eyes were always fixed on the actions of the Gao San.

However, that glance at the tabletop still sent a jolt through him!

Because he also saw the symbol of the Tower of Reason!

It's the Tower of Reason again!

Wherever there is Experiment, it seems that the Tower of Reason cannot escape its existence!

How could they have built an Experiment beneath the Grand Inquisition?

You should know that Gaoshan County is located in the heart of the Grand Inquisition and is not adjacent to the Tower of Reason at all. Even if there is unofficial cooperation, it is impossible to build it here, let alone underground, under the gladiatorial arena!

What secret is hidden here?

Gao San noticed Cheng Shi constricted pupils. Even if he hadn't noticed, he had already seen through Cheng Shi's lie, because the Master of Deception told him that Cheng Shi had no intention of letting him go.

The situation reversed, and he became the disadvantaged party. In order to survive Gao San, he could only tentatively speak up:

"To figure out the secrets behind this, you'll need a helper."

"?"

Cheng Shi frowned, his gaze towards the Gao San becoming somewhat amused. "So?"

"I can help you."

Cheng Shi lifted the cage in his hand and laughed, "I have a helper now."

Gao San had already seen the rat in the cage and the Playing Card stuck to its body. He didn't seem shocked by Li Yi's methods, but continued, "Compared to a Magician who is full of lies, I am more trustworthy."

"Hilarious! What liar doesn't lie? Magician lie, but Acrobat don't?"

Do you think I'd believe you?

"No, but more people means more strength."

"..."

Gao San was right. Cheng Shi did indeed develop a strong interest in the Experiment buried beneath the arena. The reason he didn't object to cooperating with Gao San was that when he saw Gao San and Su Wu here, he was certain that the explosion wasn't caused by the two of them.

If you orchestrate an explosion only to have to escape in such a sorry state, then there's absolutely no point.

But none of that is the most important thing. The most important thing is:

Cheng Shi had received too many "gifts" from the Tower of Reason before. Every time he encountered Experiment of the Tower of Reason, he was able to make a profit from it. After one or two times, this sense of satisfaction from making great gains made Cheng Shi very excited.

He wanted to take a gamble, hoping there might be something good in this Experiment.

Normally, this thought would be quickly dismissed by my cautious nature, but this time, once the urge hit, I couldn't control myself.

Could this be another sign from Destiny?

Cheng Shi frowned slightly, secretly rolled the Dice with his hand behind his back, and thought to himself, "I won't take the risk unless it's a 1."

Then, the Dice rolled for a moment and rolled a 1, unable to resist.

Cheng Shi then smiled, looked at the Gao San, hid the Dice, and stretched out his hand.

"I wish us a pleasant cooperation."

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned his outstretched hand back and picked at his iron nostril.

"..."

It was kind of awkward.

Fortunately, Gao San didn't want to shake hands with this fraudulent teammate. He just nodded and then withdrew his defensive stance.

"What do you want... There's a sound in the hallway, someone's coming!"

Cheng Shi twitched his Ear slightly and heard hurried footsteps; it seemed there were three people.

He looked up at the large hole in the ceiling, knowing that it could not be covered up no matter what, but there might still be a chance to remove the other traces. So he immediately set off to clean up all the traces in the room.

In the final year of Gao San, everything becomes clear in an instant, and the process of erasing all evidence of the existence of others begins.

"I have a plan that could give us another helper, but the condition is that you need something to cover our tracks. This is part of the cooperation. How about it? Accept it?"

"..." Gao San smiled politely and took out a long, transparent cloth from his personal space.

Cheng Shi only glanced at it before recognizing it as the Skin of the Silent Lizard.

He had seen this A-rank item before in the previous month's settlement. As long as he covered himself with this lizard skin, he could completely blend into the environment, and there would be no collision volume. Even the sound would be masked. It was an essential item for doing some dirty tricks.

Unfortunately, there were better-tasting foods available at the time, Cheng Shi reluctantly gave them up.

So, under the cover of the lizard skin, and amidst the growing tension of approaching footsteps, the two men and the mouse shifted positions, completely disappearing into the shadows of the corner.