Early Is Better Than Late, but Timing Is Everything

Cheng Shi feinted, but didn't actually leave.

Because the Acrobat haven't come out yet.

If a stake can kill a rabbit, there's no reason it wouldn't kill a second one.

But a fable is a fable, and the ancients have already proven its accuracy with their wisdom: a stake cannot kill a second rabbit.

Cheng Shi waited there for five or six hours but the Acrobat did not appear. He figured it was already dark outside and it was the right time to leave, so he reluctantly gave up the idea of continuing to wait and left the mine.

"Could the one who died in place of someone in the Gao San?"

He may be a bit slow-witted, but he doesn't seem stupid...

"Maybe he climbed back up the pipe he came from?"

After thinking it over, Cheng Shi felt it made sense.

Since that's the case... why not go to the gladiatorial ruins and ambush him?

To be honest, Cheng Shi didn't seem to have any grudges against the Gao San. It's perfectly normal for con artists to deceive each other. As long as they don't go too far, there's always a possibility of them cooperating again.

Therefore, his trip to the gladiatorial arena ruins was not simply to ambush Gao San, but for another teammate, Zhao Si.

This clever Master of Trickery put himself in danger in order to protect himself; it's time to settle the score.

Ironically, this Trials hasn't even lasted a day, but three of my five teammates have already died, all at my hands.

One can't help but lament the fickle nature of Destiny.

Cheng Shi shook his head and chuckled.

Although the Trials was short, after experiencing so much, he had some special thoughts about this extremely chaotic Trials. However, these rather absurd thoughts still needed to be verified, and the method of verification happened to be related to that Master of Trickery.

Therefore, I must find him.

Cheng Shi quickly left the abandoned mine and returned to the Surface.

The Surface corresponding to this mine was obviously not outside the city, and the size of the Experiment could not possibly be compared to that of a city. When Cheng Shi climbed up the last wooden ladder and pushed aside the wooden planks of the shaft, he found himself in a house in the city.

It was late at night, and the moonlight was cold but not dim.

Cheng Shi surveyed his surroundings by the moonlight, confirming that no one lived in the house, as if it were a disguise.

But the fact that no one lived in the courtyard didn't mean it wasn't bustling outside. On the other side of the courtyard wall, it seemed to be a gathering point for the city guard knights, with many knights holding magic lamps and calling for their companions, as if they were going to take over the rescue work.

With a quick glance, he secretly scaled the wall, randomly knocked out a lucky one, put on his armor, picked up his lance, and followed the main force back to the arena.

However, the arena had now become a sinkhole, and under the illumination of the interconnected magic lamps, one could see that the sinkhole was filled with broken wood, iron fragments, and gray stone remains.

Countless grotesque corpses were carried out of the ruins by the knights; being able to salvage a whole body was considered the luckiest thing that happened in this unfortunate disaster.

Wails and sighs echoed across the sky, and suffering and misfortune lingered.

The scene was so tragic that the air was filled with sorrow, and Cheng Shi, one of the "culprits" who caused this disaster, also looked grief-stricken.

Unfortunately, the sadness on his face wasn't due to anything else, but rather a facade. After all, the entire team looked unwell, and if he didn't fit in at this moment, his identity might be exposed.

He listened silently for a long time, and finally, his eyes reddened, he asked the person beside him sadly:

"Has the cause of the explosion been determined?"

"It's said that they've already found out, but it hasn't been announced yet. When the captain received the order tonight, he heard the Iron Law Knights reporting to the Adjudicator that there was a problem within their ranks."

"Ah?"

"Shh! Keep your voice down, are you out of your mind? The Chief Judge hasn't left yet, and the Iron Law Knight are all around us. Do you want them to know we're talking bad about them?"

"..." Bro, I only asked one question, and the rest was all yours. Why are you making such a fuss?

Cheng Shi, both speechless and expectant, leaned closer, trying his best to appear very interested, and listened as his teammate, who was very eager to share, continued to recount what he had heard.

"It wasn't the Iron Law Knight who discovered it at first, but we did. The city guard knights' brothers found unexploded Explosives in the ruins, and after testing, they found that the Explosives' proportions resembled the Iron Law Knights' commonly used formula, so they reported it."

And guess what? During their investigation, the Iron Law Knight discovered that someone had been buying gunpowder materials in the city, and that person happened to be one of their own, what was his name again, Grimm..."

"Grindel!"

"Oh right, right, um? You know that?"

"I don't know, I'm just guessing."

"You guessed pretty accurately, it's him!"

He had spent some time on duty at the prison for Death Sentence inmates, and the explosion site discovered at the scene matched the location where he had been on duty. Isn't that a coincidence?

"What a coincidence!"

"And there's an even bigger coincidence. This Grindel was clearly rescued, but then he turned around and disappeared. Now the Iron Law Knight are going crazy, and the whole city is looking for him. So, because we're short-handed, we've been assigned to dig this pit."

"So that's how it is..."

Cheng Shi understood. He had always thought that his teammates had sabotaged the arena, but now it seemed that the players had just happened to be there. He just didn't know why Grindel had planted Explosives under the arena.

Where is he from?

Was it to create chaos, or for the Experiment beneath the arena?

Cheng Shi vaguely felt that it was more likely the latter. If that was the case, was the reason he sought him out also because of the explosion?

He wanted to use himself as a pawn, to become the fuse that ignites the Explosives? But why did he hastily explode before the final showdown was over?

Someone triggered his Explosives?

Who, the player?

Did a player accidentally trigger his Explosives?

No, perhaps it wasn't an accident. Put yourself in the shoes of these scammers. If they happened to find a pile of Explosives in front of them while escaping, they would be doing themselves a God of Merriment on fire.

So it's highly likely that the player detonated Grindel's Explosives, but the question is: who was it?

The answer seems to be Zhao Si.

Thinking of this, Cheng Shi became even more impatient. He really wanted to meet this Master of Trickery again and have a match with him to see if his trickery was more superb or his fist was stronger.

However, thinking about it this way, Grindel's story must be quite fascinating.

Interesting! It turns out that the main characters in this Trials aren't just the players; this is the true nature of the "chaos"!

Countless hands are wrestling in the mud, each searching for what they want. Regardless of who wins or loses, no one involved in the game will have clean hands.

Beneath the orderly surface of the lake surges a chaotic undercurrent, just as a drama of chaos unfolds on the Stage of Order.

This is chaos! I seem to be getting closer to Him.

Thinking of this, Cheng Shi lowered his head again and silently continued forward.

"Hey bro, I don't think I've seen you before. You have family and friends... uh, sorry, I mean you're crying so hard, your nose is all red from rubbing it, I just feel like the people you care about might have gone through something... sigh, you should know what I mean."

"Yes, there's nothing to hide. I have five brothers, three of whom are dead, and two others are missing."

"Oh, this..." The city guards accompanying them all cast sympathetic glances. "Please accept our condolences."

These kind-hearted companions began to comfort Cheng Shi and said they would do their best to help him dig out the body intact.

"Could you tell us what your brothers' characteristics are? That way, we can identify them more easily."

"One of them is spineless, and the other is very insidious."

"?" The Cavaliers teammate was stunned for a moment. "Is this used to describe brothers? You guys are really... brothers?"

"Yes, it's the real deal."

"..."

Seeing Cheng Shi's sorrowful expression as he kept rubbing his nose, the knight believed him.

Before long, the city guard knights arrived at the disaster site and handed over the work to the Iron Law Knight who had been digging there, thus beginning their journey to "find their brother's brother".

Just then, as Cheng Shi stepped onto the edge of the sinkhole and peered down, his gaze was instantly drawn to a striking red figure amidst the ruins.

Zhao Si, still wearing Prison Helmet and red prison uniform, was dragged backwards by a city guard knight like a rag towards the pile of corpses outside the pit.

The bodies of ordinary citizens may need to be identified and reclaimed by their relatives, but prisoners do not. They only deserve a fire of judgment, so that their broken bodies and filthy souls may repent for their past sins together in the flames of "Order".

Cheng Shi smiled again when he saw this.

How could a Master of Trickery die from an explosion he caused himself?

So...

"It's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early."

The dungeon is almost over, but the book is still a long way off. Please be aware.