Cheng Shi did not give him a single bottle this time.
Because of that, he faintly heard what seemed to be an argument upstairs in the neighboring building that night.
Of course, it was that Destiny believer doing all the talking on his own, while Xie Yang kept smiling apologetically.
Amid the disgusting laughter of that bootlicker, Cheng Shi slept wonderfully.
He slept until noon the next day before waking leisurely and beginning to browse the chat logs of the various channels.
The Faith Channel was as full of lies as ever. Looking at it for even one more second would have been a waste of time.
The Regional Channel was either making plans to relax or comparing scores. It was as trivial as a matchmaking group for old men and women from before the gods descended, and the constant stream of messages was enough to give anyone a headache.
Only the Professional Channel always had some fresh happenings worth taking a closer look at.
Professional Channel
"Brothers, breaking news! The Chosen of Prosperity has changed again after two months! 'Baldy Uses Pantene' has been pushed down!"
"Huh? Brother, give us the details!"
"You Prosperity folks change your Ladder of Audience way too often. It's only been a few months, and you've changed again. Why?"
"Did he get strangled by his own luxuriant hair again?"
"Being strangled by one's own hair" was a joke players made to tease the believers of Prosperity.
Prosperity was the second god of the Life Path. It represented the peak of life and the flourishing of the mind. It worshiped rapid change and wanton growth.
Thus, influenced by it, its believers generally possessed vigorous mental strength, while their flesh and bodies grew at an extremely rapid pace.
The most obvious manifestation of this was their hair growing like crazy.
Troubled by this, more than one unlucky person had been affected during a trial by hair that had grown too long, resulting in mistakes during their actions.
So, over time, this saying became a joke everyone used to tease them.
Professional Channel
"Who knows? Anyway, I shaved my head. I'll never be a clown in this lifetime."
"Who's the new Chosen? Say it so everyone can pay their respects."
"The ID is 'Only Carved Rotten Wood.'"
"Element detected! Rotten wood! This is a tough one! A rotten person, huh? Why not beat him up?"
"Hehe, as long as they're happy. Our Chosen of Decay is still ranked first. Their Prosperity can only follow behind and eat our dust."
"Correction: what's behind someone's butt is shit, not dust."
"Does the guy above dare to post his coordinates?"
"167-1, Guqiao Lane, Xinyao Street, Shanshan City, Jiang Province. Come if you've got the guts. I'll be waiting."
"???? What the hell? That's where I live! Brother, who the hell are you?"
"Fuck, what a coincidence. That used to be my home."
"Holy shit, so all these toys belong to you?"
"???"
"Brother, tell us more about these 'toys.'"
"..."
"By the way, the Chosen of Deception changed too. It's the first time since the game opened. I've really learned something new. So the former 'True Heart' did something, huh? They dropped straight out of the top ten."
"They probably failed a few trials. The big shots really are incredible. They can still stay in the top ten after failing. If I failed once, I'd probably be dead."
"The one above, don't be afraid. Big brother will heal you."
"Idiot. Can't I heal myself?"
"How can your own milk compare to a brother's?"
"..."
"?"
Cheng Shi had been enjoying the spectacle, but when he saw that the Chosen of Deception had changed, he opened the Ladder of Audience rankings with a look of surprise.
Ladder of Audience (Existence-Memory)/(Nothingness-Deception) 1. Li Jingming (Memory) 204 2. Ad Space for Rent (Deception) 203 3. This Situation Can Wait (Memory) 200 4. Still Like in a Dream (Memory) 197 5. Ababa (Deception) 197 ... 19. If Your Score Is Lower Than Mine, Hurry Up and Kill Yourself, Noob (Deception) 189 20. This Time Last Year (Memory) 189 21. True Heart (Deception) 188 ... 64. I Never Lie (Deception) 161 ...
If he had not heard Zhen Xin's name mentioned in the Deception Channel, Cheng Shi would not have paid much attention to this ID.
He remembered that this "True Heart" had previously dominated the Ladder of Audience with a score of 210. He had not expected her to drop to 188 in just a few days.
Twenty-first place.
What was she doing?
How had she suddenly vanished from the top ten?
There was no way to figure it out just by thinking, so he might as well ask.
With nothing better to do, Cheng Shi sent a message in the Faith Channel:
"Why did big sis drop so far? Can't fool people anymore?"
This sentence should have been drowned out amid countless pointless scams, but somehow, quite a few people saw it at the same time, instantly igniting everyone's enthusiasm for gossip.
Faith Channel
"An inside scoop: apparently she's pregnant with Li Jingming's child and took maternity leave."
"Your information is inaccurate. I know what happened. The state launched a crackdown on fraud, and she got arrested."
"Oh? The Qing Dynasty has already perished, and you've only just crawled out? What era name is it now?"
"First Year of Deception."
"High awareness, huh? Were you a leading cadre before? How many points do you have, brother? Share some of your experience."
"My personal experience can be summed up in two points: one, honesty; two, still damn honesty."
"I know a little. He has a communicator, so I asked several big shots from other faiths. They said he went looking for someone."
"Who is he looking for? The father of her child? Is she really pregnant?"
"Fuck, it isn't mine, is it?"
"Brothers, my urine is yellow. I'll wake him up."
"..."
Looking for someone?
Cheng Shi furrowed his brows, feeling that it was somewhat absurd.
What did losing points on the Ladder of Audience have to do with looking for someone?
How was he supposed to look for someone?
After racking his brains without finding an answer, Cheng Shi listlessly began browsing through the rankings again.
He discovered that around his ranking, many of the IDs were legends within their respective channels. Almost all of them had scores around 2,400.
They were unquestionably top-tier players.
Yet he had climbed this high with just over 2,100 points.
Tsk, I'm really not bad!
Cheng Shi truly had not known before why the Ladder of Audience could always add points up to the maximum after every trial.
But ever since he had seen it once, he had developed some ideas.
Could it be because...
The thought had barely arisen in his mind when he hurriedly cut it off.
No! I can't think about it!
I've had enough. If I summon that filthy thing again, I might not be saved this time.
Still, that power Deception had mentioned...
Cheng Shi truly wanted it.
"Chosen, huh... That's a bit too difficult."
Turning a slacker from a state of giving up into one filled with motivation would take at least ten days to half a month.
So, Cheng Shi continued coasting easily through the week.
It was not until the crimson reminder lit up his field of vision again that he watched the trial arrive right on schedule and sighed helplessly.
"I've got to work harder!"
Special Trial (What Path Leads to Death) has begun Matching teammates (1/6) Trial objective: There is one and only one path leading to death. Find it and offer up your sacrifice. (Time limit: 7 days)
"?"
Seven days!
Why was this trial so long?
From the descent of the gods until now, among all the trials shared and recorded in the channels, the longest had been no more than three days.
Yet today, the trial duration had directly been extended to seven days!
There was no need to think about it. With the time doubled, the risks involved had already multiplied by an unknown number.
Match successful (6/6), entering trial
Cheng Shi was shocked. Before he could recover from his astonishment, his field of vision was dragged into endless darkness.
Before you continue