Mist Gate

The Mist Gate is not actually a door, but rather a spatial distortion and subsidence caused by the excessive accumulation of the power of Decay. Since the external manifestation of the power of Decay in the Sighing Forest is a fog, when the spatial subsidence is observed by living beings, it appears as a concentrated fog, much like the door of some spatial passages.

But in a way, it can also be considered a door to a spatial passage.

Because as long as you can withstand the spatial subsidence and pulling, you can quickly move from one end of the Mist Gate to the other. In a sense, it is similar to [Giggle and Mock], but the latter only exists in the Void and is safer.

The spatial passage within the Mist Gate is unstable. Apart from Believer favored by [Decay], it is difficult for beings of other Faith to use this passage to complete spatial movement.

Therefore, the fact that the traces of the Fungus-Footed People ended inside the Mist Gate is an extremely inconceivable thing. This is tantamount to telling everyone that the Fungus-Footed People they just discovered must be a Believer of "Decay".

While this might explain why he remained unaffected by the Sighing Tide, the question remains: how could Fungus-Footed People be Believer in "Decay"?

They are born with Faith in prosperity, a Faith etched into their genes that cannot be changed later in life. For the Fungus-Footed People, a race belonging to the gods, giving up their Faith is something they would never abandon, even at the cost of their lives.

So everyone was once again filled with doubt in front of the door: had they found the right place?

Is it possible that the Hunter led us astray?

But this cold-faced Hunter was clearly confident in his tracking ability. He remained silent, neither responding to the questioning looks of the others nor participating in the discussion. He stood vigilantly at the front, keeping watch for all his teammates.

He looks like a hardworking guard.

"Will the baptism of new life be effective against the erosion of the Mist Gate?" Cheng Shi asked quietly.

Hong Lin shook her head:

"It's no use. In the channel of spatial subsidence, Decay is not erosion, but protection."

The power of Decay protects His Believer from the pull of spatial forces, allowing them to pass through. The baptism of rebirth is meant to counteract Decay; entering it under these circumstances will only hasten your death.

"..."

Cheng Shi had only expected it to be useless, but he hadn't expected it to have side effects. So he pursed his lips and looked at Zuo Qiu, who was sandwiched between him and the Big Cat.

"Hey bro, why don't you take that insect lamp out again and take another look?"

Zuo Qiu's expression froze. Realizing he was stuck, he could only pretend to be nonchalant and give a casual "hmm" before picking up the broken fluorescent lamp again.

At this moment, Cheng Shi and the other man looked at the big cat more closely, and as they looked, the Big Cat's expression changed.

"That's impossible!"

"What was discovered?"

"An aura of prosperity!"

Hong Lin raised its thick claws, flicked out a sharp nail, and gently touched the remaining pale blue fluorescent liquid inside the lantern.

"The aura of prosperity is extremely faint; if it weren't for this tiny accumulation, I would hardly be able to tell it."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Shi looked down at her fingernails, but he didn't sense any trace of "prosperity" at all.

Everyone else felt the same way, so Zuo Qiu asked in surprise, "Are you sure?"

"Ha, you're questioning my perception of 'prosperity'? Are you sure?"

"..." This retort silenced the pet owner.

As she spoke, Hong Lin seemed to have thought of something again. She suddenly squeezed out a trace of [Prosperity] power from her fingertip and then slowly threw it into the fluorescent liquid. Unexpectedly, the [Prosperity] power disappeared as soon as it touched the liquid. However, the fluorescence emitted by the liquid became brighter because of this action.

"!!!"

Now everyone understood: this was clearly a beacon of Faith that drew fuel from prosperity!

No wonder the fluorescence is no longer bright; it's because the Fungus-Footed People who once provided it with "lamp oil" has died.

But just when one problem was solved, an even bigger one arose.

Because everyone present clearly felt a trace of Decay power emanating from the fluorescent liquid inside the lantern!

Hong Lin was completely dumbfounded!

The wisp of "prosperity" she left behind was actually transformed into pure "Decay" by this fluorescent liquid!

This shows that the insect lamp held by the Historian is not merely a lamp of Faith, but a Faith converter that desecrates prosperity and pays tribute to Decay!

Hiss--

"So, this Fungus-Footed People walked out of the Mist Gate in front of us by pouring his Faith into the lantern and relying on the [Decay] transformed by the lantern, is that right?"

Cheng Shi solemnly expressed his guess word by word, and then looked at Zuo Qiu, who was holding a lamp in front of him.

"Hey buddy, don't tell me you know nothing about these insect lamps!"

Zuo Qiu's expression changed slightly, and he said somewhat embarrassedly:

"I really don't know the purpose of this lamp. It's just that it's rare to find artifacts from underground Civilization, so I got a sudden urge to collect it. This is absolutely not a lie, everyone. Believe me, I have nothing to do with [Prosperity] or [Decay]. I'm just curious."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Shi frowned even more deeply.

The truth.

The Historian did not lie.

But this seemed too coincidental; he seemed to feel an invisible force pushing him forward again, only this time the force was more concealed.

"Okay, I believe you."

In this way, the situation becomes clear: the dead Fungus-Footed People entered the spatial passage from the other end of the Mist Gate with a lantern and came out from this end. So if we want to find the so-called 'spark,' we need to go into this Mist Gate and look at the other end.

Now, we have a solution, but we don't know if the last bit of fluorescent liquid can protect us all and help us get through this space tunnel of unknown length.

"Gentlemen, what do you think? Are we going in or not? Give us an answer."

After Cheng Shi finished speaking, he began to observe everyone's expressions. To his surprise, his teammates did not react at all, but instead looked at him in unison.

"?"

No, what do you mean?

I'm already going against my own words about being a slacker by offering you my analysis. How can you expect me to make decisions for you when you're all like this?

Keep dreaming!

Do you really think I'm a tour guide? Aren't Historian supposed to know a lot? Bump this up!

What, you're the one who stole my slacker spot, huh?

The group fell silent for a moment, and the five of them stared at each other, their eyes meeting. As the staring continued, the atmosphere grew increasingly awkward. Cheng Shi's eye twitched, and he turned to look at Hong Lin.

You're Chosen of God, sister! Look at the Chosen of God War, he makes all the decisions for people without saying a word. And you, you've grown so big and you're actually acting like a cat?

Hong Lin saw Cheng Shi's gaze, sniffed, and said in a muffled voice:

"You even managed to outwit Zhen Yi, so your judgment can't be wrong. I trust you."

I believed your lies!

Cheng Shi gritted his teeth, wishing he could punch the Big Cat, but to his surprise, when Hong Lin finished speaking, everyone nodded in agreement. Even the cold-faced Hunter who led the way muttered to himself, "Believe it or not," and then nodded silently, looking at Cheng Shi again.

Oh no, I've been forced into this. I shouldn't have said so much on the way here.

Cheng Shi's face darkened, then his eyes darted around and he patted Zuo Qiu's shoulder, saying:

"Let's go in then. First, we'll get rid of the Newborn's Baptism on our bodies. Then, Brother Shitman will lead the way with the lantern, and we'll follow behind. How does this plan sound?"

Who's in favor, and who's against?

Those in favor don't need to express their opinion; those against can switch places with their poop-carrying brother, and the lantern bearer will walk at the front.

Let me see. Hmm, are you the only one who objects? Would you switch places with yourself or would you still go first?

So go ahead, buddy, don't worry, you're our strongest human shield.

"..."

"Oh, sorry, I misspoke. We are your strongest support!"

Zuo Qiu Ben wasn't so resistant at first, but after hearing these words, his face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

This Fate Weaver is no joke!

End-of-chapter murmur:

"Fool's Game" has reached a score of 9.7 thanks to everyone's support and positive reviews. I can hardly believe it. Thank you to every friend who likes Cheng Shi, and thank you to everyone who has been following the updates.

This chapter might be a bit longer than the previous ones because I need to add some information and introduce some new plot points. I'll try my best to control the pace so that readers who are following along won't find it too boring.

After finishing this book, the first volume will be completed, and the second volume will begin a brand new journey. I am truly flattered that I have written this many words and still have so many friends who like it. Thank you all again.

To thank everyone for their support and to commemorate Cheng Xiaoshi's 9.7 rating, there will be an extra chapter tomorrow.

Don't ask why not today; the answer is simply that I didn't have time to write it...

Thank you again!