Cooperation's Prerequisite

Kainlaur?

Cheng Shi had heard of this person, or rather, any player who had reached the Grand Inquisition Trials background at the Late Mid-Civilization Era had heard of this person to some extent.

He was one of the last three Chief Judge of the Grand Inquisition during the Civilization period, and also the most radical and warlike representative of the Lawful Compliance Faction, according to rumors.

The Lawful Compliance Faction differs from other factions in the Grand Inquisition. They believe that all life in the world, regardless of Faith, should live under the gaze of "Order," abide by His rules, uphold His Will, and achieve Cosmos common law.

Therefore, generally speaking, the Lawful Compliance Faction is considered to be the one that most wants to unify the Isle of Hope, and they covet almost all other forces on this land.

Kainlaur is remembered by players not because of his ideas, but because of his achievements.

It's important to understand that being belligerent does not equate to being good at fighting.

Historically, during a founding war concerning the "Nation of War," Kainlaur launched an attack at the wrong time, causing the main force of the Grand Inquisition to be surrounded by the various legions of the Nation of War. This resulted in an irreparable breach in the entire southern front, causing all the frontline offensives against the Nation of War to collapse.

He almost single-handedly ended this war that had lasted for over a century, delivering victory to Nation of War was nearly in Despair at the time.

This battle is often used by players to joke about the limited combat power of the [Order] faction, and it is also one of the few Memory moments that can amaze ordinary players.

But now, at this time, no one would question the authority and command of a Chief Judge, especially given his consistently tough stance on foreign expansion.

And this very leader of the Lawful Compliance Faction would secretly "cooperate" with Scholar of the Tower of Reason, all for those seemingly unreliable War Machine.

This is a bit too absurd.

But even the most absurd facts must be accepted, because absurdity is the keynote of reality and the main theme of history.

However, there was one Cheng Shi still needed to verify, so he picked up the Experiment data on the table and placed it in front of Nisik, asking him to read it aloud to everyone with great emotion.

Nisik was stunned. He had never heard of anyone having to read during interrogation, but he read anyway. When you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head.

But as they read on, the expressions on Cheng Shi and the other two's faces became visibly fascinating.

Because the contents of this Experiment plan were almost identical to everything Nisik knew.

To be honest, Nisik hadn't read the Experiment plans before. His understanding of the Experiment came mostly from his own observations and guesses. But when he found that his observations were almost identical to the plans, for a moment he even cast aside his fear and felt a sense of self-praise.

My observations were indeed meticulous; aside from a few extremely detailed Experiment steps, I guessed the vast majority of the answers correctly.

However, Cheng Shi did not think so.

He thought to himself, "Just as I expected," and then threw away the plan in his hand.

Fake.

Both the Experiment process described in the plan and the partial "overall picture" of the Experiment that Nisik had only gleaned were false.

If these materials were genuine, the person who entered the office before Therius would not have merely glanced at the desk, but would have leaped onto it to check if any of these Experiment plans, "laid out on the table but unknown to others," were missing.

He was so calm that he didn't care at all whether these Experiment plans were lost.

From that moment on, Cheng Shi knew that there must be something wrong with the Experiment plan. At this point, even a guard in Experiment could say the exact same thing as the Experiment content. What was the point of this hidden underground facility?

So it's all fake. The real Experiment isn't some kind of Life Assimilation Experiment. As for what it is, perhaps the secret lies just outside this door.

Cheng Shi glanced at the office door out of the corner of his eye, then looked at Li Yi and said:

"Looks like we're about to embark on a new adventure. Can I trust you, my Magician teammate?"

Li Yi smiled helplessly:

"I think it's possible, but you won't."

But this time there's no rat cage big enough to hold me, so what methods are you planning to use to restrain me, my... Priest teammate?"

"Clever!"

Cheng Shi snapped his fingers and then held up the black pill that had just rolled across Nisik's cheek.

"I was lying just now. This isn't some 'disordered sedimentation,' but an A-rank item called 'Shadow Oath Pill,' which can..."

Before he could finish speaking, Cheng Shi was touching his nose when Gao San interrupted him.

"Everyone here is a ghost, there's no need to lie to each other, and besides, you can't lie to us."

The Shadow Oath Potion used to bind shadows is a liquid, not a pill. Even if it could be precipitated into a pill, it would require a crucial ingredient: the Conjugate Whisper.

If you had such a good thing, you wouldn't need to waste time talking to us here.

We do need to cooperate, but only if we trust each other.

"?"

Cheng Shi looked thoughtfully at the Gao San, feeling that this former Believer in "Truth" seemed to know quite a lot.

"Of course I trust you, but you don't seem to trust me."

He chuckled self-deprecatingly, then popped the pill into his mouth.

With a "crunch," the candy was crushed; it wasn't sweet, but slightly bitter, with a rich flavor.

These are not candies in the traditional sense, but rather balls that Cheng Shi made by grinding the toenails of Glacial Rift Lizard into powder and gathering them together when he was bored.

Since I couldn't scam anyone, I'll just have to use it to sharpen my teeth.

Li Yi watched as Cheng Shi swallowed the "Shadow Oath Pill," his eyelids twitched, and he sighed:

"At least we don't have any deep-seated hatred between us. Even if we've used each other, isn't that how scammers communicate?"

Furthermore, you know us very well, while we have never known you at all. I don't even know which type of liar you are.

Moreover, you possess combat power that nearly crushes us, Cheng Shi. To be honest, we should be fearing you, not the other way around.

Cheng Shi pursed his lips, not intending to believe a single word.

It's useless for the weak to be wary of the strong; it's the strong who should be wary of the weak.

However, Li Yi was right about one thing: Cheng Shi was confident that he could take down these two former colleagues in a face-to-face situation, even if it was a 1v2 situation.

This is not only because he is the bravest Today's Warrior today, but also because the two in front of him have both charged the [Death] Amusement Ring, just when they killed Su Wu.

Cheng Shi's sudden burst of Thunderbolt wasn't just to show off his strength, nor was it simply to tell the two of them that his violent output wasn't a one-time thing. Most importantly, he was collecting fear!

Ironically, the two portions of fear they had consumed were replenished by the two people in front of them.

This means that Cheng Shi's Thunder Punishment will definitely hit Li Yi and Gao San!

Therefore, this is the premise for our cooperation!

I have never trusted these scammers, simply because your lives are in my hands.

"Alright, I can trust you for now. Now that we've learned everything we need to know, let's set off."

As soon as he finished speaking, Gao San returned to normal from his contorted state, while Li Yi casually snapped Nisik's neck.

In his eyes, perhaps useless people have no reason to exist, especially since the other party is just an NPC.

Cheng Shi neither approved nor disapproved of the Magician's actions, but with the idea of not wasting any corpse, he reached out his hand to Nisik's head.

"What are the security measures in the Experiment? Would you like to share them?"

The Transition blue and green light rekindled Nisik's eyes, and he opened his mouth, squeezing out a hoarse sound of "death" from his throat.

"Without special security measures, the usual patrol routes are..."

As Nisik explained the Experiment's patrol and defense arrangements in detail, Gao San and Li Yi's expressions grew increasingly grim.

The reason for the shock was not because the Experiment's defenses were terrible, but because Cheng Shi, as a teammate of the same rank, had far too many tricks up his sleeve.

Is he really a Deception Believer like us?

No, or rather, is he really a player in this skill level?