Speedrunning the Trial? No, Speedrunning Faith

Poison has been introduced.

She didn't barge in; rather, Afros was inside the door, extended an invitation to this fellow Faith the moment he saw her.

"No one can refuse a beautiful lady, especially one Faith in Him, so my brother, why are you still standing there? Please entertain this beautiful follower of my Lord for me."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am. What's your name?"

"..."

Cheng Shi clicked his tongue speechlessly. He glanced at Afros and thought to himself, "Why does this starting stance look so familiar?"

However, he did not refuse Afros's request, after all, he had opened that door in front of everyone in order to bring them in so that he could carry out his plan.

Cheng Shi had several plans in mind to resolve the conflict of interest during the Trials, and the core of this conflict of interest only involved two people: one was the Poison, and the other was Da Yi.

They are all coveting the [Gift of Scars], but even if the First Prince is still alive after the time reset, there will only be one [Gift of Scars] to be found. Therefore, how to weigh the final distribution of benefits has become the biggest problem in this "new Trials".

Cheng Shi clearly did not want to give up Da Yi. The identity of Ultraman was far more useful to him than any Nothingness Fool's Game. Moreover, as long as he could get through to Da Yi, he might even be able to use Hu Wei for his own purposes in the future.

Just imagine, the Grand Marshal doing things for you, that sounds exciting!

Regardless of whether he was truly the Grand Marshal or not, everyone believed he was the Grand Marshal.

But Poison... obviously, it's not something we can give up either.

To go far in this game, it's impossible without friends, but Cheng Shi call friends. After all, there are all sorts of people in the apocalypse, so besides friends, he also needs temporary partners, tools to be used at will, and pawns hidden in the shadows...

Cheng Shi dared not give trust to the Believer of the "Filth and Decay" sect, but that did not prevent him from "hanging" them up like Poison, making each other tools that could be used whenever the other needed them.

Moreover, she did indeed die for Cheng Shi once, and since she had already made the promise to "take you through quickly," Cheng Shi naturally wouldn't betray her.

As for the remaining Chameleon... well, he's not good enough for illegal work, next one.

Therefore, he has been trying to persuade one of the two conflicting parties to give up their covetousness for the Gift of Scars.

Actually, the simplest solution is to make Da Yi give up by playing Ultraman again, because Cheng Shi has already determined that Da Yi is working for Ultraman's mission. So as long as the mission is ended at its source, there will be no more conflicts of interest in this Trials.

But he didn't want to do that because...

Ultraman is himself!

If he did that, it would be tantamount to giving up his covetousness for the "Gift of Scars," and how could Cheng Shi possibly give up the Daggers that rightfully belonged to him for the sake of a promise?

Absolutely impossible!

In his words: It's not that I'm greedy, it's that "Filth and Decay" is always influencing me. It's not just Afros, even Poison. These Believer of "Filth and Decay" are always subtly corrupting me, making me unconsciously embrace my own desires!

Filth and Decay is truly terrifying!

The blame has been shifted.

But since Cheng Shi is unwilling to give up, the only thing to give up in order to resolve the conflict of interest is Poison.

So Cheng Shi chose to bring Chameleon in front of everyone, because he knew that these players, especially the high-scoring players with backup plans, would not be able to suppress his curiosity. So as long as any one of them followed, his plan could proceed smoothly.

Of course, it would be best if the Poison came, but Cheng Shi's purpose was not to intimidate the other party into giving up with his status and position, but rather... to choose another path for the other party!

Afros.

Cheng Shi's other choice for Poison was Afros.

Early in the Trials, Cheng Shi had been pondering why everyone was pursuing the "Gift of Scars". It was easy to understand why Da Yi and Hu Wei wanted it: the soul of Dizer, and of course, mainly for the "Chaos" mission. But what about the Poison?

Before Dizer's body, the Desolate Walker, was discarded by Truth, she was already pursuing the Gift of Scars. This Filth and Decay Assassin's relentless search couldn't possibly be just for a better Daggers. Cheng Shi could tell that the Daggers Poison was currently using was already of very high quality; there was absolutely no need for her to risk her life for a weapon.

So what she could keep searching for so persistently was... an opportunity to get closer to [them], or rather, an opportunity to keep up with the game's pace!

Don't forget that most of Chosen of God ones know that He is promoting Faith Fusion, and some have even begun Faith Fusion.

But as Believer of [Filth and Decay], Poison's Lord of Grace has never summoned any player, not even Afros.

In an environment without the guidance of Lord of Grace, how could she, as the Top Rank of "Filth and Decay," keep up with the trend of Faith Fusion?

The answer is that it's difficult.

Given the gods' attitude towards Filth and Decay, they would likely be very cautious in recruiting their Believer.

Therefore, Cheng Shi guessed that everything Poison did was probably a struggle for itself.

Without any guidance, she wanted to find her own way through her understanding of the game.

The fruit of the Conjugate Whisper was her first target. The fruit was a mixture of reality and illusion, and once she obtained it, it might give her a new Faith in either "existence" or "Nothingness." Unfortunately, she failed because "Zhen Yi" ate the fruit.

The Gift of Scars was her second attempt, containing the soul Emissary a Decay Emissary was once a descendant of Prosperity.

If she gets her hands on it, Poison might find a way to gain a second Faith, which is why she's fighting so desperately.

She sought to merge with Decay not because she liked Decay, but because she had no other choice.

Cheng Shi on his understanding of the Poison and the information he had gathered about her, Cheng Shi made these deductions. Then, in order to balance the interests of the two and repay the "trust" of the Poison, he set up a small scheme to bring the Poison to Afros.

As the Emissary of [Filth and Decay] and the true king of Dolgo D, Afros happens to have two Faith. If He could provide some guidance to Poison on the path of Faith Fusion, perhaps Poison would really give up the [Gift of Scars] that she has been pursuing for so long, thus achieving a win-win situation with Cheng Shi!

Therefore, what Cheng Shi meant by "taking you through the speedrun" was not some kind of speedrun Trials at all, but something even more exaggerated than a speedrun Trials... a speedrun Faith!

He is seeking a second Faith for Poison on Afros's territory, or at least the guidance of a second Faith!

The eldest brother is like a father. In a time when Filth and Decay is no longer present, who says that the Emissary cannot be a guide to Faith?

Of course, Cheng Shi also knew that Afros' other Faith was probably not suitable for Poison. [Birth] was too terrible, even more terrible than [Filth and Decay]. To let an evil person also be a child born through a connection was something that would make a person lose all their sanity.

What's important isn't any particular Faith, but rather the way Afros integrated different Faith!

Poison lacks is always a guide, not an opportunity to directly change one's Faith. Of course, it would be better to have the opportunity to directly acquire a second Faith, but as a smart person, she must know the principle of teaching a man to fish rather than giving him a fish.

With clearer guidance, she could easily follow the trail and gradually find a second Faith that suits her.

Therefore, Cheng Shi's answer to the Poison Speed-Pass Faith was... to introduce her to Afros, an Emissary who had experience with Faith Fusion!

This is an opportunity of immeasurable value for a Chosen of God one who has never been called by the Lord of Grace.

Judging from Afros's attitude, He seems quite interested in this fellow Faith.

Cheng Shi smiled, a smirk playing on his lips as he looked at the slightly bewildered Poison. He thought to himself:

"The opportunity is yours. Whether you can seize it, how tightly you can hold onto it, and how much you can seize is entirely up to you, Miss Assassin."

That concludes our transaction.

I'm sorry, this can only be a transaction because I'm a scammer and I can't give my trust.

And the trust you give... may not be genuine.

I won't delve into why Gongyang Jiao suddenly succumbed to his own desires and unleashed his inner Greed, but I am still grateful for your salvation; at least you saved me from dying once.

Since they created this chessboard, then you and I are all pieces. Therefore, it's understandable that pieces occasionally band together for warmth or even become each other's pieces...

"You're right, aren't you, Miss Assassin?"