Life-Stealing Thief!
(On the first day of school, a 6000-word piece to ease the suffering~)
Zhang Jizu was a pragmatic person.
Although Cheng Shi knew about this, he still underestimated the other party's pragmatism.
After he finished speaking these deceptive words, Zhang Jizu pondered for a moment, then took out a bunch of things he had never seen before from his personal space.
Cheng Shi watched him squat down and fiddle with the props, and was taken aback. He said:
"Old Zhang, what's wrong with you...?"
"Regardless of whether He really thinks that way, I suddenly feel that what you said makes some sense."
If my second Faith is "Deception," then while others are racking their brains and repeatedly pondering what I say, their energy is already being consumed invisibly. In this way, it can be considered as adding a layer of protection in the path of survival.
Since there has been no response to [Prosperity], [Deception] seems like a good option at the moment.
However, given the current situation, I'm afraid that something terrible might happen after the child is born, so I need to make some preparations.
Gambling is acceptable.
But I prefer to add some weight to my Chip, so that when I lose a bet, I can burden the winner and make their win less enjoyable.
"Wait a moment, I can finish before the child's Vitality is completely cut off."
As he spoke, Zhang Jizu took a bunch of things and started setting them up in the cell filled with Dice.
Cheng Shi stared blankly as the Graveyard Management scribbled and painted here and there like a priest. Finally, he couldn't help but ask:
"What are all these things?"
"I don't have your talent for instantly teleporting. Just to be on the safe side, I need to roughly calculate how many backup plans I can use to leave this place before I'm drained dry and instantly killed."
This is an ancient totem teleportation array from the Natural Alliance of the Civilization Era. Because the method of drawing totems is too complicated and the materials for setting up the array are not easy to find, few people study it anymore.
But I like it because it's stable enough. Although it's troublesome to set up, it's very easy to trigger, making it suitable as an escape route during positional warfare.
Additionally, incorporating other item elements into the totem allows for the fusion of different powers, integrating some resurrection items—essential for escaping.
"..." Cheng Shi was dumbfounded. He watched Zhang Jizu skillfully arrange everything, swallowed hard, and asked, "Old Zhang, how many times did you draw this to be so proficient?"
"On average, it takes three times per game, and coincidentally, it took three times in this game as well."
"???"
Cheng Shi was stunned and asked incredulously, "This game?"
"Yes, we set up the fire once in the outer courtyard of the courthouse before setting it on fire, and then again on the night we escaped to the courthouse to keep watch while you were resting. This is the third time..."
Alright, the drawing is finished. This array currently has two functions: one is to instantly teleport oneself to a random area outside the array, and the other is to indiscriminately revive lifeless Vitality within it and randomly teleport them to other places.
Both are methods of escaping, but the former is triggered by leaving a handprint on the ground with one's own blood, while the latter is triggered by death.
I hope we won't need the latter, but I suggest you make a cut on your hand first, just in case you don't have time to act if you need blood.
"..."
Cheng Shi was completely convinced.
No wonder you squinty-eyed guy said you wouldn't die. You shouldn't be Steady Zhang, you should be called Zhang Wensheng!
Listen to Wen Sheng, bleed yourself a little first.
Cheng Shi obediently spread his palms apart, then took a deep breath:
"In that case, I'll begin. But before that, I need a prop."
Zhang Jizu raised an eyebrow and took out a new Symbiotic Cord from his personal space.
Cheng Shi asked in surprise, "You guessed it?"
"Yes, when I heard you say it could restore its Vitality, I guessed you might need this."
You're not the kind of person who ignores danger; if the danger couldn't be controlled, I'm afraid you wouldn't gamble.
But I became even more curious.
What tools do you have that can provide it with a massive amount of Vitality? And given its current half-dead state, how can you expect it to 'voluntarily' become your 'slave,' a sharer of your Vitality?
Cheng Shi, with a strange expression, took the ribbon and automatically ignored Old Zhang's first question, chuckling as he said:
"I have a clever plan. Now you just need to help me stabilize its condition, and then I will try to deliver it using my method."
Zhang Jizu narrowed his eyes. Seeing that Cheng Shi didn't speak, he didn't press her for details. Instead, he directly grasped Tullatin's hand and channeled an extremely potent Healing Art through her corpse into the life within her womb.
"Go ahead and do it, I look forward to your performance."
Yeah?
Now that the audience is in place, the show is about to begin!
Cheng Shi curled his lips into a sinister smile, then squatted down beside Tullatin's corpse and began chanting some nonsensical things.
Zhang Jizu listened to these incomprehensible words, which he couldn't even be sure were human speech, and became even more suspicious. But he had no idea that it was all a smokescreen by Cheng Shi.
The trick to close-up magic is to distract the audience. Just as Zhang Jizu was squinting and intently watching the Change in Tullatin's belly, Cheng Shi secretly produced a Mask from his hand behind his back. He then slowly raised it to his neck, cleverly slid it to his cheek, and covered his face.
At this moment, this Priest of "Destiny" silently transformed into...
Life-Stealing Thief!
The Assassin of Destiny, the Life-Stealing Thief!
Yes, he was wearing an Assassin's Mask.
When Cheng Shi confirmed that the child in Tullatin's womb needed a lot of Vitality to be born, he already had a plan in mind. The key to this plan was an Assassin's Mask and the remaining Symbiotic Cord in the squinty-eyed man's hand!
Symbiotic Cord can transmit Vitality, but they have a fatal flaw: the recipient must voluntarily accept sharing. However, the child in Tullatin's womb could not possibly accept such "assistance" at this time. Even if it was conscious, in the instinctive survival response of a living being, it would not accept a fate of being at the mercy of others.
After all, in a sense, it was no longer an ordinary baby.
That's why Cheng Shi put on an Assassin's Mask and transformed himself into Life-Stealing Thief.
As their name suggests, the Life-Stealing Thief are those who specialize in stealing the Destiny of others. Under the protection of "Destiny," these Assassin of "Destiny" hide in the shadows, constantly scrutinizing the Destiny of all living beings. When they encounter Destiny that interests them, they will appear and steal that Destiny, temporarily playing the leading role in the script of the Destiny they have chosen.
Simply put, they can temporarily take over someone else's identity.
However, how long and how deeply it can replace something depends entirely on one's own talent and abilities.
Cheng Shi had no talent for stealing Destiny, but that didn't stop him from using the most primitive and basic skills to steal the Destiny of the fetus, allowing himself to temporarily, even for a moment, become that fetus.
Then, he can "voluntarily" become the other end of the ligament in place of the fetus, sharing Vitality with his original self.
After that, it will be time for the Divine Authority "Vitality" to shine.
The plan was perfect and went very smoothly. Although Cheng Shi was startled by the freak in her womb, she was not hindered in the slightest when replacing it.
So Cheng Shi the squinting prop to connect his own Vitality with the fetus's, and under the other party's frantic absorption...
Nothing's wrong.
As it turns out, Cheng Shi, who possesses the "Endless Life" Cheng Shi, is essentially immune to continuous damage.
Before long, Tullatin's belly became visibly fuller, and this plumpness even affected her corpse, causing her previously withered skin to soften slightly.
Zhang Jizu stared at everything before him, his pupils constricting slightly, his face filled with disbelief.
You have to understand, he's a Priest, one of the top Priest in the [Faith Game], yet he's never heard of any item that can so continuously supply Vitality to others!
Could it be an S-class holy artifact?
No, he also has sacred artifacts, but their effects wouldn't be this terrifying.
It can't be an SS-level artifact. Most of these items are consumables containing power at the Discarded Divine Artifact. Using S-Rank Item to save a child who will soon Annihilation to history would be too wasteful.
Unless...
Cheng Shi knew that this child would definitely not be Annihilation in the background of the Trials!
It can continue to live!?
Zhang Jizu was taken aback, and then quickly began to guess in his mind:
Cheng Shi must know some secrets that I don't, or even secrets about "them," which is why he was willing to use this level of item to win this Trials.
This means that the child in Tullatin's belly may be someone of great importance!
Is it truly the Filth and Decay Holy Infant?
Did Cheng Shi come to this Bureau of Birth with a will of Filth and Decay?
Hmm, that seems to make sense, because he was guiding the birth of this child from the very beginning. He used [Filth and Decay] to break the ice, preached to Tullatin, and even laid the groundwork for its birth!
But there is still a question in this matter: was the unexpected event of "time" also within his expectations, or did he subtly influence the little Assassin to make that decision?
It doesn't seem likely; this little Assassin doesn't seem very bright.
How was Cheng Shi so sure that this accident wouldn't affect his own plans?
After thinking it over, Zhang Jizu became even more curious. He glanced at Cheng Shi, who was covered in sweat and dared not relax for a Cheng Shi, and thought to himself:
How much of their secrets does this Deception Believer actually know?