This was a cramped utility room, its tiny space crammed with all kinds of cleaning tools.
There was barely half a meter of room for someone to stand.
Within that cramped half-meter, Cheng Shi and Fang Shiqing stood face-to-face.
Fang Shiqing wore a smile, while Cheng Shi looked astonished.
"So the so-called War Fog was actually meant to kidnap me?"
Cheng Shi glanced around at his surroundings with a strange expression, feeling that this tiny space really was an excellent hiding place.
"That's not how you use the word 'kidnap.'"
Fang Shiqing smiled. She placed both hands on Cheng Shi's arms, keeping a certain distance between them, and explained seriously:
"Clip Girl was following too closely. This was the only way I could get rid of her for a while."
"Huh? You call her Clip Girl too?"
Cheng Shi's eyes lit up. He instantly felt as though he had found an ally.
"If not, then what? Enough with the small talk. We don't have much time. Cheng Shi, there's something I need to tell you."
"I like men, thanks." Cheng Shi's mouth moved faster than light.
"..."
Fang Shiqing froze for a moment, then burst into helpless laughter.
"It's not what you think. You don't have to rush to reject me."
Cheng Shi let out a huge sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness, thank goodness. Then I still like women."
"You... Do I really have no appeal at all?"
"If by appeal you mean the kind Bailing has, then no, you really don't."
"...I'm not going to bicker with you." Fang Shiqing was not offended in the slightest. She stared at Cheng Shi, her expression turning solemn as she said, "Cheng Shi, I know you falsified your Ladder Score, and I also know that you're very capable. But I won't probe into why you hid your strength. I only want to invite you to join us."
"Join you?"
Cheng Shi's smile gradually faded. His brow creased slightly, as though he had thought of something.
"You're from the Rationality Association?"
The Rationality Association was an organization founded by a group of players who had gathered under the leadership of Truth's believers. Its creed was to pursue the truth of the universe and investigate the essence of the gods.
Under the influence of Truth and the "Tower of Reason" in the trials' background, they possessed a fanatical thirst for knowledge regarding the origin of all things and the laws of the universe.
These people had become utterly insane in their pursuit of knowledge about Understanding Divine Power and Becoming a Deity. They were not rational in the slightest.
In fact, there were many other player organizations like the Rationality Association, such as the Order Alliance, the Nature Sect, and the History School.
The fundamental reason these organizations existed was that the humans forced into becoming players had an instinctive desire for survival and power.
Thus, they gathered together of their own accord, tirelessly cooperating to improve themselves.
Fang Shiqing was a believer of Truth, so Cheng Shi naturally thought of the Rationality Association first.
However, Fang Shiqing shook her head and sighed.
"The Rationality Association has already abandoned reason. They'll stop at nothing to become gods. Rather than believers in Truth, they're more like followers of Filth and Decay, devotees of Folly. They've unleashed their ambitions and expanded their desires. They left the realm of normal people long ago and became utterly unreasonable madmen...
"But we aren't people like that.
"Cheng Shi, do you still remember your home?"
Fang Shiqing's sudden earnestness left Cheng Shi at a loss.
How should he put it? If the utility room in the orphanage counted as home, then yes, he remembered it.
After all, this scene had stirred up his emotions. This tiny space was quite similar to the place where he had lived as a child.
When Cheng Shi failed to respond, Fang Shiqing continued:
"Everyone had a warm family and loved ones who cared for them.
"But after they descended, everyone lost the beautiful life they once had.
"Faith Game shattered the world and pushed hundreds of millions of our fellow countrymen to the edge of a cliff."
Her voice grew somewhat heavy, and the hand gripping Cheng Shi's sleeve tightened.
"Cheng Shi, not everyone is like you and me, capable of winning trial after trial.
"Capable of reaching 2,000 points.
"Capable of obtaining an S-rank talent.
"Capable of struggling to survive.
"Many people... would fall into the abyss after taking one wrong step, while even more had already fallen beneath it.
"But were they at fault?
"They were merely innocent people, struggling to survive and compromising to stay alive. In the end, after they died, they were still branded with the title of 'godforsaken.'
"And among those people are your family, my family, the people who love you, and the people who love me."
Fang Shiqing gave a bleak smile, then rallied herself and continued:
"Is there really no way to prevent all this?
"Are everything we love and everything we wish to protect truly destined to be lost before the gods?
"No!
"As long as they possess flesh, blood, bones, and spirit, no human will allow this to happen!
"So we were born!
"We gathered together, using every force we could use, uniting every friend we could unite, and protecting every beautiful thing that needed protection!
"We bow our heads and accept their blessings, yet raise them to challenge their authority;
"We turn around and entrust our backs to one another, and swear to protect our friends' trust unto death;
"We forge weapons and build new walls, yet venture deep into the darkness to pass on the light of hope.
"This is us!
"For the people behind us whom we wish to protect, we must stand up!
"Cheng Shi, do you... understand?
"This is... us.
"A group of warriors who seek to resist Divine Majesty, a group of madmen who still yearn for 'beauty.'
"To achieve all this, we crawl through the darkness, never revealing ourselves lightly before others."
But you, Cheng Shi, I think you're worth the risk.
"Now, I solemnly invite you to join us. Will you..."
"Join us?"
"Cheng Shi silently listened to Fang Shiqing's words to the end, his face merging into the shadows, revealing nothing.
Fang Shiqing desperately wanted to see some fluctuation of emotion on his face, but clearly, she failed.
Cheng Shi remained silent for a long while. Then, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly as he asked teasingly:
"You've said so much. May I ask, Madam Fire Keeper, whether you can tell me if you're a City Defender or a City Builder?"
"!!??"
Fang Shiqing's eyes flew open. She stared at Cheng Shi in disbelief, forcibly suppressing her shock as she exclaimed in a lowered voice:
"You know about us? You..."
She immediately thought of something. The shock and hope in her eyes faded together, instantly turning into deep disappointment. Pressing her lips together, she gave a bitter smile.
"Looks like you rejected us long ago..."
Cheng Shi's expression was extremely unnatural. He shook his head slightly.
"No. No one has ever invited me before. You're the first."
Fang Shiqing looked even more shocked. She raised her head and said in astonishment:
"Impossible. A player who has never been contacted by a Fire Keeper couldn't possibly know about us! How did you find out?"
"How did I find out?"
Cheng Shi's gaze suddenly became deep and distant. His eyes passed over Fang Shiqing's hair and looked into the darkness behind her. No one knew what scene from his memories he had recalled, but his tone was filled with desolate emotion.
"Yeah, how did I find out?
"I suppose I heard it from a fool.
"Tell me, how could anyone disregard their own life for the sake of a stranger?"
"Why couldn't they?" Fang Shiqing's eyes suddenly became resolute. She said solemnly, "A Fire Keeper will pay any price for everything they wish to protect, let alone their own self."
"Does a stranger count as one of the beautiful things you speak of?"
"Perhaps he isn't mine, but he certainly is his. He's the beautiful thing in the eyes of... that Fire Keeper... you met..."
Fang Shiqing's voice was filled with romantic devotion until death. Even the usually unserious Cheng Shi was slightly moved.
"I see..."
He shook his head. The smile finally returned to his face. He raised his head and looked into Fang Shiqing's eyes, into those eyes filled with the light of hope, and felt that they were so... bright.
Even in the fog, even in the dark utility room, they were still so bright.
"I remember you now, Madam City Defender."
Fang Shiqing froze slightly. She had not expected him to see through her identity by fishing for information, but she did not care about that.
"So this time, what's your answer?"
"Rather than that, I'd like to ask why you took an interest in me. I've never thought of myself as a good person." Cheng Shi spread his hands.
Fang Shiqing smiled sweetly. "'Good person' is too heavy a term for the world we live in now. We've never expected to meet a good person. We only hope that our companions aren't bad people."
"How do you know I'm not a bad person?"
Fang Shiqing released her tightly clenched left hand from Cheng Shi's sleeve and pointed to her ear.
"With the S-rank Singer Professional Talent, Moving Heartstrings, I can hear the melodies played by everyone's hearts. I'm more familiar with the music of evil people than anyone. You aren't one of them."
"?" Cheng Shi raised his brows and asked curiously, "Then what kind am I?"
"Hmm... Very strange, very erratic, very gloomy, but not dark."
Cheng Shi silently considered that for a moment, then suddenly laughed.
"What are you laughing at?"
"Sorry. I'm laughing because you heard wrong."
The moment he finished speaking, a hand chop struck Fang Shiqing's neck before she could react.
"Bang!"
"You..."
Fang Shiqing's eyes widened sharply for an instant. Then her eyelids closed, and she fainted on the spot.
Cheng Shi rubbed his hand and looked at the woman with voluminous waves collapsed in his arms. His tone was inexplicable.
"People standing in the firelight should be even less willing to trust those in the darkness. Besides, those standing in the darkness usually aren't human.
"But still... thank you."
He gave a self-mocking smile, scooped Fang Shiqing up around the waist, pushed open the utility-room door, and walked out.
Before you continue