Counterattack from a Water Ball

"Hey, hey, hey, what are you talking about? Is your brain broken?!"

The system suddenly popped up and shouted at Gu Bei in utter panic.

"Weren't you shut down?" Gu Bei remained perfectly calm.

"Your computer booted in 0.1 seconds, surpassing 99.99% of computers nationwide." The system sounded as proud as if it had earned a gold star, but its tone shifted quickly. "This isn't the time for that. Do you want to die? Why would you admit that you aren't the real person?"

"That isn't important."

The system asked in return, "Then what is important?"

"Michelle's reaction."

Gu Bei kept his eyes on Michelle as he spoke to the system in his head.

And just as Gu Bei had expected, Michelle did not react much. She merely snorted disdainfully and could not even be bothered to move, as though Gu Bei's confession had not surprised her in the slightest.

The system fell silent. After a long while, it said gloomily, "I'm starting to hallucinate. You must have forgotten to install antivirus software for me."

"..."

Gu Bei was rather helpless. Of course, it was not the system's fault for failing to keep up. Michelle's train of thought was far too complicated; following it was no easy task. He himself had spent quite a while figuring it out.

In truth, Gu Bei had indeed misspoken. Those two fabricated lines meant to test Michelle had been riddled with holes. What he said had also made Michelle doubt his identity, even leading her to believe that he had secretly switched out the "hostage."

However, it was precisely because his words had contained so many holes that they saved Gu Bei's life.

Because the flaws had been so obvious, after Michelle began doubting Gu Bei's identity, another suspicion quickly emerged in her mind:

Was this a trap? Had Gu Bei deliberately said the wrong thing so that she would think he was an impostor?

Michelle had tied herself in knots.

This was the scenario Gu Bei had deduced from Michelle's imagination:

"You're not Grant Riser. Who are you?"

Gu Bei's expression suddenly changed. He threw back his head and laughed. "You're right! I'm not Grant Riser! The real young noble master was switched out by me long ago!"

Michelle gritted her teeth. "Where did you hide him? Tell me! Or I'll kill you!"

Gu Bei wore a scheming expression. "Of course I can tell you, but you have to agree to a few conditions. First, you have to do this and that. Second, you have to do this and that. Third, you have to do this and that. And even if you kill me, it'll be useless. Once the young master returns to his noble nest and spreads word of you, heh heh heh heh..."

Michelle was beside herself with hatred. "You're despicable!"

Gu Bei laughed toward the heavens.

Suddenly, Michelle sucked in a sharp breath and came to a realization. "No, you're lying. You are Grant Riser. You want to trick me into letting you go. Keep dreaming!"

Gu Bei's body jolted, and his laughter abruptly stopped. "How did you know?"

Michelle sneered repeatedly. "Give up on trying to fool me!"

Just like that, no matter how many tricks Gu Bei pulled or how wildly he acted up, Michelle had made up her mind: this was Grant Riser! Even if he shat with his mouth and pissed through his nose, he was still fucking Grant Riser!

"...That's roughly how it went. So no matter what I say now, she'll think I'm lying to her." Gu Bei explained his reasoning to the system and concluded.

After listening, the system remained silent for a long time before saying:

"...What terrible reasoning."

"Thanks for the compliment." Gu Bei accepted it without shame.

Though his description had been exaggerated, he was still certain that he had guessed eight or nine parts out of ten of Michelle's thought process. Otherwise, he could think of no other explanation for Michelle's bizarre behavior.

The moment he figured it out, Gu Bei had really wanted to tell Michelle: Overthinking is an illness. Get it treated.

He had truly stumbled onto a dead mouse like a blind cat and escaped this near-certain death.

Thanks to his highly cultivated "I forgot my homework" face.

But on second thought, the reasoning behind it ran quite deep. Michelle had put in so much effort for that Treasure Vault, and she had gone from having followers at every turn to being utterly alone. Under such circumstances, the news that "Gu Bei is an impostor" would be a devastating blow to her.

It would mean that all her efforts had been for nothing.

Therefore, she would rather believe that Gu Bei was Grant Riser. Only then would she still have hope of obtaining the Treasure Vault.

People only believe what they want to believe.

Thinking about it that way, Gu Bei suddenly found Michelle less frightening. The Church's pursuit followed her like a shadow. In truth, she bore enormous pressure just like him, wandering at death's edge. She was simply more accustomed to that state, so she appeared more skilled and composed.

And in the end, Gu Bei was not Grant Riser, so all of Michelle's efforts were doomed to come to nothing.

Tragic.

Of course, if Gu Bei were going to be tortured to death by an enraged Michelle first, he had no right to pity her here. No matter how tragic Michelle was, she still held his life firmly in her hands.

Unless...

Gu Bei caught hold of that faint breeze.

"Michelle, what exactly is inside that Treasure Vault that makes you so desperate to obtain it?" Gu Bei suddenly asked.

"None of your business."

Michelle must have been under considerable pressure. Her answer was extremely impatient.

"Don't be so fierce. I'm just curious. You got your companions killed one after another. There aren't many things that could drive a mage this insane. I'm really curious."

Gu Bei could hear the obnoxious tone in his own voice, and even he felt a little disgusted by it. But he had no choice. His life was at stake, so he had to be as irritating as possible.

Otherwise, he could not confirm his other "deduction."

The "deduction" that could turn the entire situation around.

"There's nothing to be curious about." Michelle was probably already reaching her limit.

"How could there not be? There's plenty to be curious about. Look..." Gu Bei added fuel to the fire.

Michelle could endure no more. "Shut up!"

Finally.

Gu Bei felt as though he had followed that faint breeze and dug open a sealed cave, hope's light falling across his cheek.

"You want me to shut up?"

He dropped his punchable tone and suddenly became serious.

"Yes. You talk too much." Michelle had not realized anything yet.

"Then... why don't you make me shut up yourself? Use the magic from before and make me quiet. 'I hope you don't cause me any unnecessary trouble.' Didn't you say that before?"

Gu Bei suddenly slowed his speech. He could feel his heartbeat pounding along with every word. "Or is it that you don't dare use your magic anymore?"

Michelle suddenly froze.

Though he could not see her expression, Gu Bei knew that her previously sharp presence had faded.

Ever since Michelle's attitude toward him had worsened, he had found something strange about it, though he had never figured out what. In that flash of inspiration, he finally understood everything. His deliberate nagging just now had been meant to test his guess:

Since Michelle wanted him to shut up so badly, why not simply use the Binding Spell again to immobilize him?

When he had been hit by the Binding Spell before, he had not even been able to speak. The Binding Spell also had the effect of silencing its target.

After repeated probing and verification, the answer was obvious: she could not use it. Or rather, combined with the existence of the Purifiers, she did not dare use it. She feared being discovered by The Church.

Based on this, the Purifiers could likely sense magic within a certain range.

When she had used the Binding Spell earlier, Annie had only just left and had not yet been killed by the Purifiers. Thus, when the Purifiers sensed magic and saw Annie dressed as a witch, intending to surrender to the "Riser Family pursuers," they naturally mistook her for Michelle, the mage who had used the Binding Spell.

So they had purified Annie without hesitation.

Then, those Purifiers believed that all the mages had been eliminated and planned to patrol the area a little longer before leaving. Michelle had naturally slipped away right under The Church's nose. Even if she had committed crimes before and was being hunted, it had all now been pinned on the dead Annie.

It truly was an excellent plan, one that could be called killing three birds with one stone. She had eliminated Annie, escaped The Church's pursuit, and cut off Gu Bei's chance to flee.

The only flaw was that, while the Purifiers had not yet moved far away, she could not use magic again.

That was why she had impatiently told Gu Bei to shut up but had not dared use the Binding Spell again.

"You're right. I can't use magic; the Purifiers will sense it. Actually, if I hadn't used a special method, even without magic, The Church's dogs could smell our trail. Their noses are very sharp."

Michelle finally spoke. Her voice carried a caution that had not been there before. "But even so, what does that change? Without magic, do you think you can escape from my hands?"

Hearing that, Gu Bei could not help smiling slightly. He shook his head.

"I'm not planning to escape from you. You're the one who will escape from me."

Michelle was puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Gu Bei said nothing. Instead, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Along with a subtle ripple, an incantation left his lips.

It was the incantation for the Water Ball Spell.

Within Gu Bei's Consciousness Space, the pale-blue Triangle Glyph trembled softly. Soundless notes rose from his soul, echoing between heaven and earth for the first time. In some unknown corner of space, water elements surged like tides, appearing in the void as though obeying a certain will, continuously gathering in his palm...

In the blink of an eye, a water ball floated before Gu Bei.

A water ball no larger than a baby's fist. A feeble water ball that seemed as though it would shatter at the slightest touch. Yet it seemed to freeze time and space itself, making all things tremble uncontrollably.

On the water ball's surface was reflected Gu Bei's victorious smile.

"This time, no one can be your scapegoat." He glanced in the direction the knights had left and said teasingly, "The Purifiers are coming. You should run."

Michelle stared at that tiny water ball and fell completely into shock.

She had taken advantage of Gu Bei's ignorance about the Purifiers to scheme against him. Yet Gu Bei had also used Michelle's ignorance of his ability to cast magic to turn the tables on her.

Once the Purifiers sensed the Water Ball Spell, they would resume their pursuit. For Michelle to escape while dragging along Gu Bei, that burden, would be almost impossible. She could only abandon Gu Bei and flee alone. As long as Gu Bei put on the appearance of an innocent hostage, the Purifiers would rescue him and return him to the Riser Family.

Of course, Michelle might kill Gu Bei in a rage, but he felt that possibility was low. Taking on the crime of murdering a noble would only increase her pressure. The Purifiers were no pushovers. Leaving Gu Bei here could also delay their pursuit somewhat, giving Michelle a chance to get away.

Just like that, Gu Bei successfully escaped, while Michelle ended up empty-handed.

Simply... perfect.

When strength was utterly impossible to contest, Gu Bei had successfully turned the situation into a battle of wits by continually showing weakness. In the end, he used a tiny, insignificant weight to overturn the balance of victory and defeat.

What else could he say?

Cheese is power.

"Hahahaha! Did you see that? Who the fuck is the fake? Even with just the Water Ball Spell, I can still turn the tables and kill! I'm fucking brilliant!" he roared madly at the system in his mind.

"..."

The system fell silent, then suddenly sent a QQ sweating emoji before his eyes.

"You can even send emojis? That's unfair!" Gu Bei froze for a moment, then protested indignantly.

The system seemed to crash for a while before slowly speaking.

"I advise you not to celebrate too early. In my opinion, she won't give up that easily."

Just as the system said, Michelle seemed to recover from her shock.

She glared at Gu Bei and said through gritted teeth, word by word, "Who said I don't have a scapegoat? If I put my robe on you, the Purifiers won't care whether you're some noble family's young master. They'll purify you until not a trace remains!"

Gu Bei was not surprised in the slightest.

"Yes, you really could do that."

But just as the system said, Michelle would not give up so easily.

She would not give up on the Treasure Vault.

And his identity as Grant Riser was Michelle's greatest hope of obtaining it.

If she wanted what was inside, she could not kill Gu Bei. Otherwise, she would have to plan another kidnapping. Clearly, the first attempt had already left her in such a mess. Another one? Where would she find two more disposable pawns?

Nor could she take Gu Bei along while continuing to evade the Purifiers. Just like before, Gu Bei would slow their movement, while the Purifiers were so fast. If she brought Gu Bei, the knights would catch up with them before long.

She could only spare Gu Bei and hope to cooperate with him. Though that hope did not seem reliable no matter how one looked at it.

No matter what, this time, the initiative was already in Gu Bei's hands.

"Miss Michelle, how about... we discuss a new way of cooperating?" Mimicking Michelle's earlier unhurried tone, he said, "You let me leave, and in exchange, I'll obtain the items in the Treasure Vault for you. Think about it. That's far more efficient than dragging me around here while we flee in panic."

Michelle fell silent for a moment. Finally, she sighed and said:

"You win."

More than five hours later, Gu Bei heard those words once again.

But this time, he knew he would not be slapped in the face.

Fuck! He had finally survived!

It was as though he had spent half his life climbing through an endless night, enduring countless despairing hardships, swallowing back every suffocating urge until his hands and feet went numb and every muscle fiber trembled as it ruptured.

At last, he saw the first light of dawn.

The feeling was like that of a college entrance exam student handing in the final paper.

He was the talented young master of a noble family. As long as he made it through this, he would have endless wealth and luxury ahead of him. Compared with his miserable commoner life before transmigrating, he had been born into an unbelievably good life this time.

Just as he was thinking that...

"Watch out!"

The system suddenly warned him.

Before Gu Bei could react, a fist shot toward him like lightning and struck his left cheek with a bang.

What the fuck? What was that?

In an extremely abrupt turn of events, Michelle used her unbelievable monstrous strength to punch Gu Bei viciously in the face. After all, Michelle could lift Gu Bei into a tree one-handed as easily as carrying a bag. Her strength was not to be underestimated.

And that punch carried all the fury of being outmaneuvered. It was brutally solid.

Thus, Gu Bei only felt darkness fall before his eyes, and then he lost consciousness.

In the instant before passing out, he vaguely heard the system say:

"Now that is a literal slap in the face!"