SS-Rank Deception Item: Clown Substitute
Cheng Shi didn't hide anything; he openly handed the Clown doll to Zhang Jizu. Zhang Jizu took it and immediately understood why Cheng Shi wanted it so much.
Clown Substitute (SS): A double prop created by Circus Magician for Clown. You can choose to use it before entering the Trials. After use, it creates a copy of you that is exactly the same as you to take your place in the Trials.
Special Effect [Lifelike]: The clone is a special substitute player identity, sharing all your Memory, talents, abilities, and items.
Special effect [Empty Joy]: The substitute player will not receive any score or rewards after completing the Trials.
Special effect [Passing the Parcel]: After the substitute player dies, the corpse reverts to the Clown Substitute state, waiting for the next lucky person to pick it up.
This does indeed look like a prop for a prank, and it fits his understanding of [Deception] and [Nothingness]. I just don't know how Mo Shu got it.
Cheng Shi noticed the doubt in the squinting eyes and smiled, "You might not believe it, God of Merriment has met him."
"Mo Shu?"
"Yes, he himself said that this was a gift from [Deception] to him. In addition, he did not seem to embrace [Memory], but [Memory] did summon him. He probably still has [Memory]'s artifacts in his hands, and their function is to erase the Memory of the Trials he went through with."
"Didn't you say this was a gift from [Deception] to you? How did it become his?"
Are temporary ownership and permanent ownership the same?
You should thank the delivery person for their hard work if you can pick up the package they sent you, right?
"..."
That's just sophistry! But the thought that this deliveryman is Mo Shu is actually quite satisfying.
Zhang Jizu smiled, not surprised at all. After all, at this level, everyone has special means of survival. The Clown Substitute in Mo Shu's hands can obviously provide more opportunities for his path of Annihilation, but for Zhang Jizu himself, this item is a bit of a waste.
Because he was neither afraid of death nor fond of fancy tricks.
So he chuckled and shoved the Clown into Cheng Shi's arms again.
Cheng Shi had long known that squinty-eyed wouldn't be interested in this prop, but what he was more interested in now was that even Mo Shu had been summoned by two other gods, so who had squinty-eyed met?
He carefully put away his only trophy, and then casually asked the question. Zhang Jizu didn't hide it from him, but his answer really left Cheng Shi dumbfounded.
"Truth and War."
"?"
Cheng Shi was stunned. He could accept the existence of "Truth"—after all, the squinty-eyed man's every move was methodical and aligned with the will of "Truth"—but...
What about the war?
Was He confused?
"What do you have to do with [war]? You have absolutely nothing to do with Him."
"I'm puzzled too. I didn't see Him. I just spent one night on a battlefield where blood flowed everywhere, and then returned directly."
"..." Cheng Shi thought for a moment, but couldn't come up with any ideas, so he simply stopped thinking about it. "Although I failed to kill Mo Shu, I only killed a clone, but there was still a gain. At least it made his path of Annihilation more difficult. I guess I made a great contribution in this round?"
Zhang Jizu smiled with narrowed eyes, "I suppose so, but I'm very curious how you killed him."
Cheng Shi shrugged. "You saw it all, it's all thanks to the Death Substitute Doll. Speaking of which, you... uh... one-tenth of the credit is for this great achievement."
Zhang Jizu chuckled, "Mo Shu is not easy to kill. If it were just because of a Death Substitute Doll, then those real Mage, Scarlet Hunter and Death Weaver below me would have killed him hundreds of times over."
Those who ascend the Ladder of Audience are never easy to match.
Cheng Shi stared at the squinty-eyed man with a strange expression for a long time, as if trying to confirm whether he was praising him. At this moment, the squinty-eyed man continued:
"And also, did you unleash that thunder just now?"
"Never mind all that, let's just talk about the present. Since I've done something right, can we get a 50% discount on the price of this Death Substitute Doll?"
Zhang Jizu was stunned for a moment, then his expression turned to a mixture of amusement and exasperation.
"You really want to pay me back? I was just kidding."
"Good, good, good!" Upon hearing that he didn't have to pay compensation, Cheng Shi was instantly delighted. He laughed and patted the squinty-eyed man's shoulder, praising him repeatedly, "I knew I hadn't misjudged you. As that the Great One's right-hand man, you should have this kind of generous and magnanimous spirit!"
Zhang Jizu was speechless. He slapped Cheng Shi's hand away and pointed to the ruins in front of him, saying:
"Time is short, and business is more important. The thunder has slowed down the church's progress, but not for long. People outside will soon come in to investigate, so we should get moving before they see us."
"..." Cheng Shi turned his head and looked at the ruins in front of him, speechless.
Brother, I sent you to rescue people, and you came to kill them?
Zhang Jizu didn't explain much, but instead walked forward. Cheng Shi didn't respond to him, but instead left a sentence and snapped his fingers again, disappearing on the spot.
"You do your thing, I'll do mine, we won't interfere with each other."
"..."
The perspective returns to Mo Shu's point of view.
The moment Cheng Shi disappeared, he felt he had fallen into the other party's trap, but he couldn't confirm where the trap came from or what its purpose was. So he could only immediately go to the church to look for Cheng Shi. Even if he couldn't find him, he had to find his two teammates who were on good terms with him and Cheng Shi to appear by sacrificing their lives.
Unexpectedly, he only walked halfway before suddenly feeling a violent dizziness in his mind. Then, his Memory and cognition seemed to be pulled away from him like silk threads. His eyes changed from fear to calm and then to blankness.
He stood there blankly, mechanically surveying his surroundings, suddenly forgetting what he was supposed to do.
No, he seemed to have forgotten not only his purpose, but also himself.
"Who I am?"
Just then, Tullatin, who had been thrown out of the window by Cheng Shi, staggered over. He still harbored the great cause of [Filth and Decay], and even though his body was covered in wounds and had not yet healed, he still gritted his teeth and ran towards the church.
He knew that Cheng Shi had come to save him in order to get his help in creating a Holy Infant belonging to the "Filth and Decay," so he couldn't let his brother down, especially he couldn't let the hope of the "Filth and Decay" will spreading in Dolgo D be extinguished!
But as he ran, he suddenly saw the person who had kidnapped him again halfway through his journey.
He didn't know who this person was, nor did he need to know. He simply categorized this person as one of the traditional, stubborn types who were hindering the spread of "Filth and Decay." So, the moment he saw him, his back tensed and he broke out in a cold sweat.
But when he discovered that the person opposite him seemed to have lost their original strength and intelligence, and was standing still and wandering around like a walking corpse, this audacious Church Leader's Son actually bent down, picked up a stone, and quietly crept towards the dazed Mo Shu.
Then, just as Mo Shu was muttering something to himself, he suddenly smashed the rock in his hand onto the head of the "kidnapper"!
"Bang!"
Mo Shu was suddenly struck, his body stiffened and he fell down. Tullatin did not hesitate to straddle him, and then smashed the stone in his hand against the head of the man beneath him again and again, until the flesh and blood were covered with mud, and only then did he stand up panting.
"Whoosh—whoosh—"
You don't look like Dolgo D, so you probably don't know that we Dolgo D are best at stoning.
Ha, ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha!
So this is what it means to do whatever you want, this is true freedom. This feeling is simply... wonderful.