Chapter 24: Everyone Has the Freedom of Preference
The moment those words left his mouth, a chorus of quiet agreement rippled through the surrounding spectators.
York turned his head in astonishment, his delighted expression suggesting he'd found a kindred spirit.
But in the next instant, his gaze turned razor-sharp. The way he looked at Cheng Shi was how one looked at a romantic rival.
"Ssss…"
This Mr. York had quite the story behind him.
What kind of encounter could have produced such a tale… such a catastrophe?
Cheng Shi didn't really want to dig any deeper. He felt he'd already found the answer to the puzzle.
Of course, whether the answer was correct still needed verification.
So he stood up decisively and headed toward Bailing's location.
"Big shot finally willing to favor me?"
"Quit fooling around. Help me with a small favor."
Cheng Shi was still figuring out how to trick her into testing York without exposing himself. But the moment he brought it up, Bailing smiled and nodded:
"Sure! What do you need?"
"?"
Cheng Shi blinked. "You're not afraid I'm setting you up?"
"That would mean little old me still has something worth the big shot's attention, wouldn't it?"
Tsk tsk. Everyone alive today, regardless of high or low score, is no fool.
But this does save time.
Cheng Shi nodded and pointed in York's direction. "Go test that man."
"How does the big shot want me to test him, the literary exam or the martial exam?"
Cheng Shi's eyes went wide, and he said with some bewilderment: "There's a distinction?"
Bailing covered her mouth and giggled, her finger poking at Cheng Shi's chest:
"The literary exam would naturally be…"
As she spoke, she traced her hand down toward her skirt, slowly hiking the hem up to her upper thigh…
"Okay, okay, okay, literary exam, literary exam! Save time, go test him now!"
Cheng Shi scrambled to pull her skirt back down and shooed her off.
Bailing let out a silvery coo and sashayed toward York.
But before long, she returned with a face as black as ink.
Seeing her expression dark as charcoal, Cheng Shi suppressed a grin:
"What? Shot down?"
Bailing shot Cheng Shi a venomous glare and snapped:
"One piece of bad news, and the other is also bad news. Which first?"
Was there even a choice?
Cheng Shi laughed in spite of himself. "Then let's hear the second one."
"That person poaching business in the crowd is definitely my colleague."
"?"
What kind of bad news is that?
Wait! Hold on!
Seeing Bailing's grave expression, Cheng Shi's stomach dropped.
The "colleague" she spoke of wasn't in the flesh trade. She meant a fellow follower of [Defilement]!
These five lion-dancing dwarves were actually followers of [Defilement]!
"And the other bad news?" Cheng Shi's expression turned serious.
"The man you asked me to test has already had his mind ensnared. He's become a Desire Puppet."
Cheng Shi frowned in confusion. Bailing continued to explain:
"Desire Puppet is one of the Grade-A talents He grants to His followers. It releases the most primal desires buried deep within a person's heart, turning the target into a walking corpse that knows nothing but indulgence.
He would sink endlessly into memories of past desires, unable to free himself, until he dies.
This talent requires continuous casting, which means that if he's the Memory Subject, the reason he recalled this scene isn't because something triggered the memory, but because someone is controlling him. In fact, he's very likely being controlled right this very moment.
Did you follow all that, big shot?
If he really is the answer, the instant we step through, we'll come face to face with the follower of [Defilement] controlling him, and we'll very likely end up fighting."
Cheng Shi's face darkened upon hearing this.
"Call everyone. I've got a feeling York is the answer."
Bailing naturally trusted him, but she still asked:
"How so? Big shot done hiding?"
Cheng Shi instantly played dumb:
"Hide? Hide what? You went hunting for beauties and found the answer. What does that have to do with me?"
"?"
Bailing's eyes bulged with fury. She jabbed her finger at her own nose repeatedly: "Me? Hunting for beauties? Please, big shot, he counts as a beauty?"
Cheng Shi waved his hand dismissively. "Who knows? Everyone has the freedom of preference." [1]
"…Fine, fine, fine, I was hunting for beauties!"
Bailing laughed from sheer exasperation and took that excuse to round everyone up.
The moment the group reassembled, Fang Shiqing fixed her gaze on Cheng Shi. But Cheng Shi deliberately didn't take the bait, clearly preferring to hear Bailing's tale of romantic conquest.
Furious as she was, Bailing was honest by nature.
With a blush on her cheeks, she sheepishly recounted her hunting expedition to the group, then explained that she'd stumbled onto the answer by accident, only the answer was now somewhat complicated.
Everyone's reaction varied.
Xu Lu wore an expression of pure disgust. A Ming stared slack-jawed.
Cheng Shi silently awarded her acting skills full marks.
Only Fang Shiqing knitted her brow, thought for a long while, and cut straight to the heart of the matter.
"How do we confirm it's definitely him?"
Bailing didn't say a word. Cheng Shi chuckled: "Maybe it's a woman's sixth sense?"
Bailing rolled her eyes again but still didn't respond. Seeing that Cheng Shi had spoken, Fang Shiqing nodded and accepted York as the answer.
She didn't trust Bailing. She trusted Cheng Shi.
"I have a Mist Trick page in my book, sourced from a follower of [War]. It can immediately deploy a domain that blankets the next act's spawn point in fog, obstructing the caster's line of sight.
But since I don't have sufficient defensive tricks, the Priest enters second after me and provides rapid healing support.
The Assassin goes third. But remember, until we're certain whether the target is the Memory Subject, no lethal force. Subdue only.
If your life is threatened, prioritize retreat over killing!
Also, any skill capable of producing massive noise must be used with extreme caution. Don't destabilize the memory right from the start!"
She finished, then looked at Cheng Shi with loaded meaning:
"Can you handle it?"
Cheng Shi blinked innocently, his eyes seemingly saying: How could a man possibly not handle it?
Fang Shiqing read his gaze, smiled in understanding, and turned to A Ming.
A Ming nodded solemnly, indicating he understood.
She consulted the other two as well. Aside from Xu Lu muttering about not being able to keep up with the carry, Bailing naturally had no objections.
The plan was set. Everyone moved toward York.
Just as the orc girl was about to "tour" to York's row, the players crept up around him.
York was completely oblivious to the players' approach. His eyes held no one except the "dwarf-assembled orc girl."
His fist clutched a wad of bills, practically itching to jam them into the orc girl's ample bosom the very next second.
Cheng Shi still had some doubts. He whispered to Bailing:
"Do His followers affect a person's orientation?"
Bailing thought carefully, then said uncertainly:
"He advocates releasing the desires buried deep within, not twisting another person's will. So what you call being 'corrupted' by my Lord is simply revealing that person's true face.
However, combined with different talents for inducement, such an effect might be achievable.
After all, you can hypnotize people too, can't you?"
Cheng Shi nodded in agreement. Otherwise, he truly couldn't fathom how York's preferences could be so liberated.
As the group closed in on York, Fang Shiqing withdrew a grayish-black page from her book. She glanced back at Cheng Shi, signaling the start of the operation with her eyes.
Cheng Shi didn't hesitate. He slapped a Calming Spell and Hypnosis onto York in quick succession, then lobbed an Accelerated Recovery onto the spectator mid-transaction nearby, attempting to buy a few extra seconds.
Fang Shiqing seized the opening and went straight for the kill:
"Don't be afraid. Listen to me. You're only remembering. All of this is your memory. But you're so tired now. You don't want to keep remembering. You need to remember that memory is always memory, not reality. We're going back to reality now, okay?"
York's eyes grew vacant and hollow. He nodded repeatedly, murmuring:
"Memories. These are all… memories."
As the last syllable fell, his entire body dissolved into countless points of light, then rapidly condensed into a new Memory Gate.
"It really is him!"
"Bailing is incredible!"
"…"
"Ready? I go first, Cheng Shi second, Assassin third. Quick and clean."
Fang Shiqing didn't hesitate for a moment, slipping through decisively.
To ensure the carry didn't run into trouble, Cheng Shi followed right on her heels, stepping through almost the instant she disappeared.
His vision went black. When he opened his eyes again, he was surrounded by pitch-black, grayish fog so thick he couldn't see his own hand. The furious screams of someone echoed in his ears.
Holy shit, this thick? How am I supposed to know where the big shot is?
Cheng Shi frowned and was about to whisper Fang Shiqing's name when a cold palm clamped over his mouth, swept him downward, and dragged him low to the ground, darting off into the distance.
"Big shot?"
"Shh!"
…
[1]: "Preference" translates XP (性癖), Chinese internet slang for sexual fetish or kink. The original term is left as "XP" in the source, and Cheng Shi uses it euphemistically to avoid stating the word directly.
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