But as far as Steady Cheng was concerned, even if the answer was right in front of him, he could never copy it outright. He knew that even if the answers were identical, the handwriting used to write them would be different. In this ever-changing world, nothing stayed exactly the same.
So, to be safe, he had not staked everything on the Muddling Through talent. Instead, to make better use of it, he had devised an extremely steady backup plan.
And the plan was... to trick the scavengers present into rushing into the fog with smoke-producing items on their bodies.
Once enough smoke had filled the fog, even if the fog itself could not be incorporated through his talent, the vast cloud of smoke should still allow the clown to "smuggle" himself across to the other side one step ahead.
Cheng Shi was very satisfied with his plan, and the scavengers were easy enough to fool. Once Cheng Shi proved that he could resurrect them, these scavengers, who had only recently gathered together, became brothers who shared life and death. They swore to give this Sandlais, long ravaged and divided by the four great factions, a brand-new sky!
And then...
They failed.
Although the assault plan had, to its credit, caused a little shock at the southern stronghold, almost everyone died near the Place of Piety. They had not even managed to fill the entire Place of Piety with smoke.
But even if they had, it would have been useless. Cheng Shi, who was likewise near the fog, discovered that as long as he was within its range, his Muddling Through talent was completely ineffective.
He could not cheat his way to a perfect score.
Sure enough, the fog was not a cheating passage. It seemed more like a special