Observations from the Chat Channel, and a New Trial!

Cheng Shi didn't give a single bottle this time.

Because of this, he faintly heard a quarrel from upstairs next door during the night.

Of course, it was that [Destiny] believer on the offensive, while Xie Yang kept smiling apologetically.

Amidst the nauseating laughter of a sycophant, Cheng Shi slept soundly.

He didn't wake up until noon the next day, and then he leisurely began browsing the chat logs from various channels.

The Faith Channel was, as always, full of lies; it was a waste of time to even glance at it.

The Regional Channel was either about arranging relaxation or comparing scores, like a chat group for old folks looking for blind dates before [The Gods] descended, the messages scrolling by gave him a headache.

Only the Professional Channel ever had anything new worth looking at.

[Professional Channel]

"Brothers, headline news! The [Prosperity] Chosen of the Gods has changed hands again after 2 months! 'Baldy Uses Pantene' has been dethroned!"

"Huh? Bro, tell us more!"

"You guys' [Prosperity] Ladder of Audience changes way too often. It's only been a few months, and it's changed again. Why?"

"Was he strangled by his own thick hair again?"

"Strangled by his own hair" was a running joke among Players to tease the followers of [Prosperity].

[Prosperity] was the second God of the [Life] Life Path, the climax of life, the abundance of the spirit. He advocated for rapid change and unrestrained growth.

Therefore, his followers were generally vigorous in their mental strength and had extremely fast flesh and blood growth rates.

The most prominent manifestation of this was rapid hair growth.

Under this affliction, more than one unlucky soul had been affected by their excessively long hair during Trials, leading to mistakes in their actions.

So, over time, this phrase became a playful jab at them.

[Professional Channel]

"Who knows? Anyway, I shaved my head, so I'll never be a Clown in this life."

"Who's the new Chosen of the Gods? Tell us so we can worship them."

"The ID is 'Only Carved Rotten Wood'."

"Elements detected! 'Rotten' wood! This is a tough opponent. Where are the [Decay] people? Aren't they going to beat him up?"

"Heh, let them be happy. Our [Decay] Chosen of the Gods is still ranked first. Your [Prosperity] can only eat our dust from behind."

"Correction, it's shit behind us, not dust."

"Upstairs, can you give us your coordinates?"

"Jiang Province, Shanshan City, Xinyao Street, Guqiao Alley, No. 167-1. Come if you dare, I'll be waiting."

"???? This is where I live, you bastard? Who the hell are you?"

"Fuck, what a coincidence. This was my old house."

"Holy shit, so all these toys are yours?"

"???"

"Bro, tell us more about 'toys'."

"..."

"Speaking of which, the [Deception] Chosen of the Gods has also changed. It's the first time since the server opened. I'm really learning a lot. Turns out that 'True Heart' did something, and directly dropped out of the top ten."

"Must have failed a few Trials. Big shots are amazing, failing and still being in the top ten. I'd probably be dead after failing once."

"Don't worry, guy upstairs, I'll heal you."

"Idiot, can't I heal myself?"

"Is my own healing not as good as my brother's?"

"..."

"?"

Cheng Shi was watching for amusement when he saw that the [Deception] Chosen of the Gods had changed. His expression turned surprised as he opened the ranking on the Ladder of Audience.

[Ladder of Audience (Existence-Memory) / (Void-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. My Score is Lower, 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 Cheng Shi hadn't heard Zhen Xin's name in the [Deception] channel, he wouldn't have paid so much attention to this ID right now.

He remembered that "True Heart" had previously dominated the Ladder of Audience with a score of 210 points. He hadn't expected it to drop to 188 points in just a few days.

21st place.

What was this person doing?

Why did they suddenly disappear from the top ten?

He figured he wouldn't be able to figure it out, so he might as well ask.

Cheng Shi, bored, posted a message in the Faith Channel:

"Big bro, why did you fall so far? Can't deceive anymore?"

This message should have been drowned out by countless pointless mutual deceptions, but somehow, many people saw it at the same time, instantly igniting everyone's gossip fervor.

[Faith Channel]

"Whispers say she's pregnant with Li Jingming's child and is on maternity leave."

"Your news is inaccurate. I know, the country is cracking down hard on deception, and she's been arrested."

"Whoa, the Qing Dynasty is over, you know? Crawl out already. What year is it now?"

"Year 1 of [Deception]."

"High awareness! Were you a leader before? What's your score, brother? Teach us your ways."

"I have two personal tips: 1. Be honest. 2. Be damn honest."

"I know a little. I have a communicator, so I asked a few big shots from other faiths. They said he's looking for someone."

"Looking for who? The father of the child? Is she really pregnant?"

"Damn, it couldn't be mine, could it?"

"Brothers, my urine is yellow, let me splash him awake."

"..."

Looking for someone?

Cheng Shi frowned, finding it a bit ridiculous.

What did dropping points on the Ladder of Audience have to do with looking for someone?

How could anyone look for someone like that?

Unable to figure it out, Cheng Shi idly began to scroll through the rankings again.

He noticed that many of the IDs around his rank were legends within their respective channels, each with around 2400 points.

Solid first-tier high-level players.

And he, with just over 2100, had already climbed this high.

Tsk, I'm not bad at all!

But Cheng Shi truly didn't know why he always got the maximum score increase at the end of each trial on the Ladder of Audience.

However, after meeting Him, he had some ideas.

Could it be because...

As the thought arose in his mind, he quickly cut it off.

No! Can't think about it!

He was scared. What if he summoned something dirty again? He might not be saved this time.

But that power mentioned in [Deception]...

Cheng Shi really wanted it.

"Chosen of the Gods... that's a bit too difficult."

To turn a slacker from a state of apathy to one of high energy would take at least ten days to half a month.

So, Cheng Shi continued to easily coast through the week.

Until the crimson reminder lit up his vision again. He looked at the trial that arrived right on time and sighed helplessly.

"Gotta work hard!"

[Special Trial (What Path Leads to Death [Death])] has begun]

[Matching teammates (1/6)]

[Trial Objective: The path to Death has, and only has, one route. Find it and offer your sacrifice (Time Limit: 7 Days)]

"?"

7 days!

Why would there be such a long trial?

Since the arrival of the [The Gods], the longest trial shared in the channels has been no more than 3 days.

But today, the trial length had directly extended to 7 days!

No need to even think about it, the risks involved had multiplied by an unknown factor, doubling with the extended time.

[Match Successful (6/6), Entering Trial]

Cheng Shi was startled. Before he could recover from his shock, his vision was dragged into an endless darkness.