Meeting the Four Consecutive, A Silent Stalemate

What do I want to do?

I didn't mean to do anything. I just saw a New Authority of [Filth and Decay] fall to the ground, or maybe it fell on you, Old Bones. Anyway, it seems like nobody likes it, so I wanted to find a place to get rid of it.

I meant well.

"..."

"..."

Cheng Shi was deeply shocked upon hearing this, and the green flames in the giant skull's eyes almost went out after hearing it.

He glanced at [Deception], then at Cheng Shi, remained silent for a Cheng Shi, and then, along with the entire Fishbone Hall, transformed into countless White Bone Flood, disappearing from the place in the blink of an eye.

Communicating with Nothingness is itself Nothingness, something He has never liked. Rather than suffer here, He would rather find peace and quiet.

While death may be avoided, Cheng Shi cannot.

He clearly sensed that his Lord of Grace's gaze was a bit off, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything, so the scene remained awkward.

Those eyes looked at Cheng Shi with a half-smile, scrutinized him for a moment, and then said:

"The work clothes fit you quite well."

Cheng Shi twitched his lips, thinking to himself, "Isn't this the trap you set for me? I'd like to change back, but the problem is, you have to do it, my Lord of Grace."

Those eyes seemed to see through Cheng Shi's thoughts, blinked twice, and summoned a gust of Nothingness wind that blew Cheng Shi back several meters.

As the Little Skull rolled, it transformed into Cheng Shi's original form. The moment he felt himself growing arms and legs, he stopped rolling and stood up with an embarrassed expression.

But he still didn't speak, and his emotions weren't as lively as usual. Strangely, his eyes didn't speak either; he just stared at him. So the scene fell silent again.

Some silences are meant to build up energy to speak and ease the awkwardness, while others are meant to... deepen the stalemate.

For example, right now, as time goes by, the situation has reached a stalemate.

It seemed as if a layer of frosted glass had grown thicker and thicker between the human and the god, distorting their images and reflecting them onto it. To each of them, the other no longer looked as familiar as before; everything had changed.

Of course, all of the above are Cheng Shi's own thoughts. As for whether God of Merriment's gaze towards him has Change...

He didn't know, because he dared not look up.

He remained silent because he knew he couldn't deceive [Deception], and once he opened his mouth, the rift caused by suspicion was likely to widen.

Cheng Shi was very self-aware. He knew that his power was inseparable from the protection of [Nothingness], and [Memory] also said that the others were interested in him only because [Nothingness] was interested in him.

Therefore, he dared not easily break the filter that [Nothingness] had on him, putting himself in an awkward situation, and this caution only exacerbated the current stalemate.

"..."

This can't go on any longer!

Cheng Shi realized that if this silence continued, the situation would spiral out of control, and his relationship with [Deception] would never be the same again.

[Memory]'s words were indeed meant to sow discord, but the problem is that in this open conspiracy, He did not fabricate weapons out of thin air, but rather used Cheng Shi's doubts as weapons to slowly sever the close connection between Cheng Shi and [Nothingness].

Cheng Shi was indeed caught in the trap, and as the situation deteriorated, cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

However, this stalemate was not entirely unsolvable, because Old Jia had taught him that the best way to avoid misunderstandings was through full communication.

In fact, misunderstandings and being deceived are both caused by being isolated by the information gap. As long as communication is proper and there is a full understanding of the overall situation, misunderstandings will naturally not occur, and people will not be deceived.

The problem is, how can a Mortals fully communicate with a god?

Should we confront the other party directly to question whether they have any plans to harm us?

How to question it, on what basis, and by what identity?

On the chessboard, the pieces are always at the player's mercy. Even if a piece is captured due to a wrong move, can it still be angry at the player when it is put into the box?

No, because chess pieces don't have mouths.

But Cheng Shi did have it!

Cheng Shi learned a lot from Old Jia's tutelage, one of which was to make his skin even thicker, a skill he had developed in the orphanage during his childhood.

He saw the current situation clearly and knew that if he could not break the deadlock today, then even if he continued to walk the path of Deception, his piety would no longer be sincere, and the Lord of Grace's gaze would become blurred.

Although he is no longer outwardly devout, he still harbors a sliver of expectation and reverence for the so-called god of Deception to his inherent affinity for it.

This is undoubtedly the best relationship between a human and a god, and from any perspective, Cheng Shi does not want to break this relationship.

Therefore, he had no choice but to break the deadlock.

His method of breaking the deadlock... was utterly devoid of skill, and could even be described as simple and brutal.

This Clown, who Faith in Deception, has surprisingly chosen to solve the problem with sincerity in the face of Deception.

He got straight to the point, and his first sentence was earth-shattering; no player present would have dared to ask him that question.

Because the problem is:

"My Lord of Grace, are you... trying to harm me?"

Who says people can't question God?

How do you know you can't question something if you don't question it first?

This is the question Cheng Shi most wanted to ask, and it's also the question he started thinking about when he learned in the game that many players were questioning the purpose of the gods. This questioning reached its peak the moment he became the darling of [Nothingness], but he never asked it, and he never even talked to other players about it.

But the more you try to hide it, the more fear you have. When a chess piece knows it is a chess piece, it will probably spend its whole life thinking about when it will be manipulated by the player to become the pawn that crosses the river.

Cheng Shi felt he was definitely a pawn that had crossed the river, but the problem was that he wanted to know if he, as a pawn, would have a chance to checkmate the opponent after crossing the river, because only by checking the opponent's king and winning the game would the remaining pieces on the board have a chance to survive.

Therefore, after much deliberation and careful consideration, he asked this blasphemous question that was almost suicidal.

Cheng Shi raised his head and looked solemnly into those Starry Eyes. Although his expression was calm and his eyes were firm, the Five Screaming Faces lit up between his fingers still betrayed his inner unease and fear.

Those twinkling, swirling eyes suddenly smiled upon hearing those words—a smile that was... incredibly radiant.

He looked at the Believer before him with great interest, and said with a slight upturn of his eyes:

"It seems that fear is indeed one of the emotions that life most easily evokes. In that case, it's no wonder that the research direction of those Scholar who follow the pen is correct, and that you were able to obtain that New Authority 'Filth and Decay'."

That's really interesting, you...

Are you afraid of me?

"..." Isn't that obvious? Cheng Shi couldn't possibly say "I'm not afraid" at this moment. He knew he couldn't fool [Deception], so he could only maintain his sincerity and said in a deep voice, "Yes, I'm afraid!"

"Very good." Those eyes smiled even more broadly, blinking as they sized up Cheng Shi, as if examining a treasured work of art. "Why are you afraid of me?"

"Because...it's unknown." Cheng Shi's answer was resolute.

He knew that today was a heart-to-heart talk, a heart-to-heart talk between man and God. He could not be sure that his Lord of Grace was not lying, but in order to make the road ahead smoother, he could only guarantee that he was absolutely truthful.

"No, there are too many unknowns. The universe is deep and vast, and there is almost nothing known to humankind."

Your answer is too broad, therefore it's incorrect.

Think again, why are you afraid of me?

"..."

Cheng Shi's expression shifted, and his gaze lowered slightly, but he remained silent.

Seeing his reaction, those eyes burst into laughter:

You've thought of it, but you don't dare say it.

It's okay, I'll help you explain, because...

There is no such thing as good without a reason in this world.

"!!!"

Cheng Shi shuddered. That was indeed what he was thinking, but he didn't expect God of Merriment to say it out loud.

These words are terrifying; even the tone is exactly the same as my Memory of that time!

So, He was there? He heard it?

No, it's also possible that He got the gossip through that [Giggle and Mock], but the question is, isn't [Memory] on guard against Him?

He let the God of Merriment hear what He said.

"..."

Yes, [Memory] cannot guard against Him. Sowing discord and sowing discord, the words that pierce the heart will naturally be heard by both sides of the discord for the best effect.

[Chaos] probably thought so too, so even though all of this happened on [Chaos]'s territory, around [Memory], God of Merriment still knew everything without missing a single word.

But...

My esteemed Lord of Grace, since you have said this, surely you will give me an explanation?

Cheng Shi frowned slightly and unconsciously clenched his fist. He also sensed the Change in the [Deception] and knew that the heart-to-heart talk in front of him was about to succeed. Even if it was just his intuition, as a conman, Cheng Shi's intuition was always very accurate.

So what exactly is the "reason" that makes one afraid to mention it and uses "Memory" as a weapon?

Will I get an answer today, my Lord of Grace?