Chapter 38: Chat Channel Sightings, and a New Trial!
This time, Cheng Shi didn't give a single bottle.
Because of this, he faintly heard what sounded like an argument from the neighboring building that night.
Naturally, it was the follower of [Fate] delivering a one-sided bombardment while Xie Yang kept apologizing with a placating smile.
Amidst the nauseating laughter of the simpering lapdog, Cheng Shi drifted into a blissful sleep.
He didn't wake until noon the next day, lazily rising to browse the chat logs across the various channels.
The Faith Channel was, as always, wall-to-wall lies. Glancing at it for even a second was a waste of time.
The Region Channel was either people arranging to "relax together" or comparing scores. The domestic chatter sounded like a seniors' matchmaking group from before [The Gods] descended, and the endless scrolling messages gave one a headache.
Only the Class Channel always had something fresh worth a second glance.
[Class Channel]
"Brothers, breaking news! [Prosperity]'s [Chosen] has changed hands again after two months! 'Bald Guy Uses Rejoice' got knocked off!"
"Huh? Bro, details!"
"You [Prosperity] folks swap your Ladder of Audience leader way too often. It's only been a few months and you've changed again. Why?"
"Did another one get strangled by his own lush hair again?"
"Strangled by his own hair" was a running joke players used to mock followers of [Prosperity].
[Prosperity] was the second god of the [Life] Destiny, the crescendo of life, the flourishing of the spirit. He championed accelerated cycles and unchecked growth.
Consequently, His followers were universally affected by abundant mental energy and extremely rapid physical tissue growth.
The most prominent manifestation of this was runaway hair growth.
Plagued by this affliction, more than one unfortunate soul had been hindered during trials by their own excessive hair, causing critical errors at crucial moments.
Over time, this phrase became the standard joke everyone used to rib them.
[Class Channel]
"Who knows. I shaved my head anyway. I'll never be a clown in this lifetime."
"Who's the new [Chosen]? Name them so we can all worship."
"The ID is 'Only Carves Rotten Wood.'"
"Element detected! 'Rotten' wood! That's a tough customer. Where are the [Decay] people? Aren't you going to beat him up?"
"Heh, let them be happy. Our [Decay] [Chosen] is still ranked first overall. They [Prosperity] can only eat dust behind us."
"Correction: behind you is shit, not dust."
"Person above, care to share your coordinates?"
"167-1 Guqiao Alley, Xinyao Street, Shan City, Jiang Province. Come if you've got the guts. I'll be waiting."
"???? This is literally where I live! Brother, who the hell are you?"
"Fuck, what a coincidence. This used to be my old home."
"Holy shit, so all those toys were yours?"
"???"
"Bro, tell us more about the 'toys.'"
"…"
"By the way, [Deceit]'s [Chosen] changed too. First time since launch. Truly eye-opening. That 'Truly Sincere' person, who knows what they did, but they plummeted straight out of the top ten."
"Probably failed a few trials. Big shots are built different. Still ranked in the top ten after failing. If I failed once I'd probably be dead."
"Person above, don't worry. Brother will heal you."
"Idiot, I can't heal myself?"
"Isn't a brother's healing tastier than your own?"
"…"
"?"
Cheng Shi had been enjoying the spectacle, but when he saw that [Deceit]'s [Chosen] had changed, he opened the Ladder of Audience rankings with a look of surprise and suspicion.
[Ladder of Audience (Existence – Memory) / (Nihility – Deceit)]
1. Li Jingming (Memory) 204
2. Ad Space For Rent (Deceit) 203
3. This Love Can Wait (Memory) 200
4. Still Like A Dream (Memory) 197
5. Abba Abba (Deceit) 197
…
19. Lower Score Than Me Go Kill Yourself Noob (Deceit) 189
20. This Day Last Year (Memory) 189
21. Truly Sincere (Deceit) 188
…
64. I Never Lie (Deceit) 161
…
Had he not heard the name Zhen Xin from [Deceit], Cheng Shi wouldn't have paid much attention to this ranking.
He remembered that "Truly Sincere" had previously dominated the Ladder of Audience with a full 210 points. To think that in just a few days, they'd plummeted to 188.
21st place.
What was this person doing?
How did they suddenly vanish from the top ten?
He obviously wouldn't figure it out by thinking alone. Might as well ask.
Bored out of his mind, Cheng Shi posted in the Faith Channel:
"How'd you drop down, big bro? Can't scam anymore?"
This message should have been buried among countless inane mutual deceptions. But somehow, quite a few people saw it simultaneously, instantly igniting everyone's enthusiasm for gossip.
[Faith Channel]
"Insider info: supposedly got pregnant with Li Jingming's baby and went on maternity leave."
"Your intel's off. I know the real story: the state cracked down on fraud and they got locked up."
"Oho, the Qing Dynasty fell and you finally crawled out to tell the tale. What era are we in now, pray tell?"
"Year One of [Deceit]."
"High awareness! Must've been a cadre before, right? What's your score, brother? Share some wisdom."
"My personal experience comes down to two rules: 1. Honesty, 2. Still fucking honesty."
"I know a little. I've got a communicator, so I asked some heavyweights from other faiths. Word is, they went looking for someone."
"Looking for who? The baby daddy? Are they really pregnant?"
"Fuck, don't tell me it's mine."
"Brothers, my piss is yellow. Let me wake him up."
"…"
Looking for someone?
Cheng Shi frowned, finding it rather absurd.
What did dropping Ladder of Audience points have to do with looking for someone?
How could that even find anyone?
After racking his brain to no avail, Cheng Shi listlessly returned to browsing the rankings.
He discovered that around his position, many of the IDs were actually legends within the various channels. Each one probably had around 2400 points.
Absolute first-tier hardcore players.
And he, barely past 2100, had already climbed to this height.
Tsk, I'm not bad at all!
But the truth was, Cheng Shi had never really understood why his Ladder of Audience score increased by the maximum cap every time a trial ended.
However, ever since meeting Him in person, some ideas had taken shape in his mind.
Could it be because…
The moment that thought surfaced, he immediately crushed it.
No! Don't think about it!
He was scared. If he accidentally summoned that filthy thing again, there was no guarantee he'd be saved a second time.
But that power [Deceit] had mentioned…
Cheng Shi genuinely wanted it.
"[Chosen]… that's a bit too difficult."
Getting a slacker to transform from couch potato mode to hyped-up mode in anything less than two weeks was impossible.
So this week, Cheng Shi continued to coast through effortlessly.
Until the crimson reminder once again lit up his vision. Looking at the punctually arriving trial, he let out a helpless sigh.
"Gotta work harder!"
[Special Trial (Which Road Leads to Death [Death]) Has Begun]
[Matching Teammates (1/6)]
[Trial Objective: The road to death, there is and has always been only one. Find it, and offer your tribute (Time Limit: 7 Days)]
"?"
7 days!
Why would a trial last this long?
From [The Gods]' descent until now, across every trial sharing compiled in the channels, the longest had been no more than 3 days.
But today, the trial duration had jumped straight to 7 days!
Without even thinking about it, the risks involved had multiplied by an unknowable factor as the timeframe doubled.
[Match Successful (6/6), Entering Trial]
Cheng Shi jolted in alarm. Before he could recover from his shock, his vision was dragged into endless darkness.
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