Everyone Had the Freedom to Choose Their XP

The moment he finished speaking, countless murmurs of agreement rose around them.

Yorke turned his head in surprise. The delighted look on his face suggested that he had finally found someone who shared his tastes.

Yet in the blink of an eye, his gaze turned sharp. He looked at Cheng Shi as if he were looking at a romantic rival.

"Gasp—"

This Mr. Yorke sure had quite a story.

What kind of encounter could have led to such a story... or rather, such an accident?

Cheng Shi did not really want to investigate any further. He felt that he had probably found the answer to the riddle.

Of course, whether the answer was correct still needed to be verified.

Thus, he decisively stood up and walked toward Bailing.

"Big shot, you're finally willing to favor me?"

"Don't mess around. Do me a small favor."

Cheng Shi was still thinking about how to trick her into trying Yorke without exposing himself, but before he could say much, Bailing smiled and nodded.

"Sure! What do you want me to do?"

"?" Cheng Shi was stunned. "You're not afraid I'll set you up?"

"That would mean there's still something about me worth catching your eye, wouldn't it?"

Tsk, tsk. Anyone who had survived until now, regardless of their score, was no fool.

Still, this did save him some trouble.

Cheng Shi nodded and pointed in Yorke's direction. "Go try that man."

"How does Big Shot want me to try him? With words or with force?"

Cheng Shi's eyes widened. He was somewhat baffled. "There's a distinction?"

Bailing covered her mouth and giggled, tapping her finger repeatedly against Cheng Shi's chest.

"With words, naturally..."

As she spoke, she slid her hand toward her skirt and slowly lifted the hem to the top of her thigh...

"All right, all right, with words it is! Save time and go try him first!"

Cheng Shi hurriedly pulled her skirt back down and urged her to go.

Bailing let out a delicate giggle and walked toward Yorke with swaying grace.

But it was not long before she returned with a dark expression.

Seeing her face as black as ink, Cheng Shi struggled not to laugh.

"What happened? Did you hit a wall?"

Bailing glared resentfully at Cheng Shi and said crossly, "There's one bad piece of news, and another bad piece of news. Which one do you want to hear first?"

Did he even have to choose?

Cheng Shi laughed helplessly. "Then tell me the second one first."

"The person stealing business from that crowd is indeed in the same line of work as me."

"?"

How was that bad news?

Wait! No!

Seeing Bailing's grave expression, Cheng Shi's heart gave a sudden lurch.

The "same line of work" she referred to was not fleshly pleasure, but being a fellow believer of Filth and Decay!

Those five dwarves performing the lion dance were actually believers of Filth and Decay!

"What's the other bad news?" Cheng Shi's expression turned solemn.

"The man you asked me to try has already been bewitched and turned into a 'Desire Puppet.'"

Cheng Shi frowned in confusion, and Bailing continued explaining.

"'Desire Puppet' is one of the A-rank talents He grants to His believers. It can release the most primitive desires hidden deep within a person's heart, turning the target into a walking corpse that knows only how to sink into its desires.

"He will continually sink into memories of his past desires, unable to extricate himself, until he dies.

"This talent requires continuous casting. That means if he is the memory's subject, the reason he recalled this scene is not because he was moved by the sight, but because someone was controlling him. It is even highly likely that he is being controlled right now.

"Big Shot, did you understand?

"If he really is the answer, the instant we leave, we will come face-to-face with the believer of Filth and Decay controlling him, and there's a very good chance we'll end up fighting that person."

After hearing this, Cheng Shi's expression darkened.

"Call everyone over first. I have a feeling Yorke is the answer."

Bailing naturally trusted him, but she still asked, "Why do you say that? Big Shot, you're not hiding it anymore?"

Cheng Shi suddenly played dumb. "Hiding what? You went hunting for a romantic conquest and found the answer. What does that have to do with me?"

"?" Bailing's eyes widened in anger. She repeatedly pointed at her own nose. "Me? Hunting for a romantic conquest? Please, Big Shot, does he even count as attractive?"

Cheng Shi waved his hand. "Who knows? Everyone has the freedom to choose their XP."

"...Fine, fine, I was hunting for a romantic conquest!"

Bailing laughed in exasperation and used that excuse to call everyone back.

The instant the group regrouped, Fang Shiqing turned her eyes toward Cheng Shi. Unfortunately, Cheng Shi did not pick up the conversation at all, making it obvious that he wanted to hear Bailing's story about her romantic conquest.

Bailing might have been angry, but she was an honest person.

Her cheeks flushed as she shyly recounted the process of her conquest to everyone, then said that she had stumbled upon the answer by accident. The only problem was that the answer was somewhat complicated now.

After hearing the story, everyone wore different expressions.

Xu Lu looked disgusted, while A'ming was dumbfounded.

Cheng Shi silently gave her acting a thumbs-up.

Only Fang Shiqing furrowed her brows and pondered for a long while before hitting the key point.

"How can you confirm that it's definitely him?"

Bailing said nothing, so Cheng Shi chuckled. "Maybe it's a woman's sixth sense?"

Bailing rolled her eyes again but still did not respond. Seeing that Cheng Shi had spoken, Fang Shiqing nodded, tacitly accepting that Yorke was the answer.

She did not trust Bailing. She trusted Cheng Shi.

"I still have a 'Mist Trick' from a believer of War in my book. I can unfold the domain immediately, filling the next scene's point of arrival with mist and obstructing the caster's vision.

"But since I don't have enough defensive tricks, the Priest must enter second, right after me, and provide rapid support and healing.

"The Assassin will follow third, but remember: until we know whether the other party is the memory's subject, do not go for the kill. Focus on restraining them.

"If your life is threatened, prioritize retreating instead of killing!

"Be careful. Any skill capable of causing a massive disturbance must be used cautiously. Don't throw the memory into chaos right at the beginning!"

After saying this, Fang Shiqing looked meaningfully at Cheng Shi.

"Can you do it?"

Cheng Shi blinked innocently, as if saying, How could a man admit he couldn't?

Fang Shiqing understood his look, smiled knowingly, and turned to A'ming.

A'ming nodded solemnly to show that he understood.

She then asked the other two for their opinions. Xu Lu complained that she could not keep up with the strongest member, while Bailing naturally had no objections.

Thus, the plan was settled, and everyone walked toward Yorke.

Just as the Orc girl was about to make her "touring performance" reach Yorke's row, the players all slipped over to his side.

Yorke did not notice the players approaching at all. Other than the "dwarf-assembled beast girl," there was no one else in his eyes.

He clutched a stack of banknotes tightly in his hand, wishing he could stuff them into the beast girl's ample chest the very next second.

Cheng Shi was still somewhat puzzled. He leaned toward Bailing and asked quietly, "Do His believers affect a person's preferences?"

Bailing thought carefully, then said uncertainly, "He advocates releasing the desires hidden deep within one's heart, not twisting other people's will. So what you call being 'corrupted' by my Lord is merely having your true nature revealed to you.

"However, combining different talents to induce someone might produce that effect.

"After all, you know Hypnosis too, don't you?"

Cheng Shi found this explanation quite convincing. Otherwise, he truly could not understand how Yorke's XP could be so very free.

As everyone approached Yorke, Fang Shiqing took a gray-black page from her book. She glanced back at Cheng Shi and signaled with her eyes that the operation had begun.

Without hesitation, Cheng Shi cast Calming Technique and Hypnosis on Yorke. Then he cast Accelerated Recovery on the spectator trading beside him, hoping to make that person delay things for a few more seconds.

Fang Shiqing seized the opportunity and immediately began questioning him.

"Don't be afraid. Listen to me. You're only remembering things. Everything here is part of your memory. But you're too tired now, and you don't want to continue remembering. You must remember that memories are always memories; they aren't reality. Now we're going back to reality, all right?"

Yorke's eyes grew confused and empty. He nodded repeatedly and murmured, "Remembering... all of this is... remembering."

As the final syllable fell, his entire body suddenly collapsed into countless points of light, which quickly condensed into a new Memory Gate.

"It really is him!"

"Miss Bailing is amazing!"

"..."

"Are you ready? I'm first, Cheng Shi second, Assassin third. We'll end this quickly."

Fang Shiqing did not hesitate and swiftly slipped through the gate.

To make sure nothing happened to the strongest member, Cheng Shi followed close behind, stepping through the gate almost immediately after her.

His vision went black. When he opened his eyes again, thick black-gray fog filled the space before him, so dense that he could not see his hand in front of his face. Furious screams rang in his ears.

Damn, it's so thick! How am I supposed to know where the strongest member is?

Cheng Shi frowned and was just about to call Fang Shiqing's name in a low voice when a cold palm covered his mouth, dragging him into a crouch and pulling him toward the distance.

"Big Shot?"

"Shh!"