Doomsday Jigsaw Puzzle

Chapter 545: Chapter 162: The Union of Black and White

Watching Bai Wu’s reaction, the clerk smiled and said:

"Don’t hold out hope for certain matters, just like this question."

"Perhaps you shouldn’t be looking for answers in this world."

"My sister, she’s just an ordinary woman, that’s all."

This statement echoed what Bai Yuan had said, about marrying an ordinary woman and having an equally ordinary son.

But Bai Yuan’s understanding of ordinary and normal clearly had a billion points of deviation from that of normal people.

Bai Wu’s attitude was firm:

"Answer my question!"

After he said this, the vibrancy in the clerk’s eyes visibly faded away.

It was as if an actor was completing a transformation of character.

This was certainly not acting, but rather the clerk returning once again to the state of the Reverse Dimension.

To the clerk’s eyes, Bai Wu reverted back to looking insubstantial. The three-dimensional world also became like a scroll of painting.

The content in his field of vision became less and less.

"My... time... is running out... my sister... is indeed as you think."

"But... don’t stay... too long in this place, you need to go to, deeper levels..."

Like a flicker of returning light, the clerk’s expression of vitality restored once again, and he fiercely grabbed Bai Wu’s shoulders:

"Find the Black Spade Ten! Let him take you away!"

"Seek the remaining Seven Deadly Sins and puzzle pieces! Proceed to the deeper Wells!"

"Go... to the depths..."

The final words were left unfinished, and in the end, the clerk sneezed.

The foolish look returned to his face.

"Eat, do you want fried chicken?" The clerk looked at Bai Wu with a simple and honest expression.

Bai Wu shook his head, and Jing Liu sighed:

"Even if he had time, he wouldn’t tell you everything, because it involves a lot of causality."

Jing Liu seemed to guess what Bai Wu was thinking, too.

Bai Wu did not avoid the subject:

"I’ve always been curious about who my mother is. Back on Huangquan Island, the Undead of Black Spade Ten mentioned this subject as well."

"It’s just that at that time, I could not speak, otherwise I would be consumed by the rules."

"This is the second time, when I was about to get a clue... and yet I failed again."

Bai Wu felt somewhat discouraged.

Who exactly was his mother?

What role did she play in this world? What impact did she have on the real world?

Did Bai Yuan come here purely to escape, or was there another agenda?

Too much confusion and dejection made Bai Wu feel like he was facing an ever-thickening fog ahead.

What exactly was the effort of the Golden Generation from seven hundred years ago?

Jing Liu rarely offered comfort:

"At least, you now know that she truly exists. And, you’ve confirmed your speculation: Bai Yuan, Black Spade Ten, and this Array Eye, they all have connections with the High Tower Creator."

"They are also connected with your birth, naturally, Black Spade Ten would also know the whereabouts of your mother."

"It seems, Black Spade Ten has deceived you after all."

The phrase "he has deceived you" from Jing Liu suddenly made Bai Wu think of something.

The rain had stopped, and Bai Wu left the coffee shop.

"I might have been deceived by Black Spade Ten, but not by that statement, and what I can be sure of is that you were also deceived by Black Spade Ten."

Not long ago, Bai Wu had also inquired with Black Spade Ten about his mother.

The claim by the Ten of Spades was that she was an ordinary, plain woman.

There was no doubt this was a lie, she was indeed deceiving people.

But Bai Wu didn’t believe it.

In fact, Bai Wu was skeptical of most of the words spoken by the Ten of Spades.

Though he also took the words of the Ten of Spades as truth to deduce some information, deep down, to prevent being deceived by the Ten of Spades, Bai Wu never truly believed these words.

This was also Bai Wu’s way of dealing with the Ten of Spades.

No matter how enticing the Deceiver’s words were, as long as he remained skeptical, he wouldn’t be fooled.

"I was also deceived? Impossible, I’ve been doubting every word he said," Jing Liu wondered.

Bai Wu nodded, the town after the rain seemed somewhat unfamiliar to him.

He didn’t rush to the location of the Ten of Spades but walked slowly instead.

Because there were still many clues in his mind that needed to be sorted out.

He answered Jing Liu’s question,

"Do you remember the strange question the Ten of Spades asked?"

"What question?"

"He asked me if I had an invisible friend by my side."

Bai Wu stopped in his tracks and stared directly at Jing Liu. At first, Jing Liu hadn’t grasped the meaning of these words, feeling intuitively that there was something off about the Ten of Spades, just like Bai Wu. But now, Jing Liu suddenly realized the crux of the matter.

"The Deceiver needs to successfully deceive others to gain a portion of their power. Could it be that he sensed your presence because he gained a part of your power?"

Bai Wu pointed out the mystery.

Yet Jing Liu felt somewhat upset. This was a timeline from seven hundred years ago, which meant that seven hundred years later, he would be deceived by the Ten of Spades from seven hundred years ago, allowing the Ten of Spades to gain a part of the Power of Causality?

But like Bai Wu, he had always been suspicious of the words of the Ten of Spades.

Looking at it now, the Ten of Spades didn’t speak much truth.

Since that clerk had seen the Ten of Spades, the Ten of Spades naturally knew that this world was a tower. There was nothing to doubt.

In other words, the conversation between Bai Wu and the Ten of Spades, which seemed to be Bai Wu looking for clues, was actually a test and guide for Bai Wu by the Ten of Spades.

Testing Bai Wu’s abilities and guiding him to find that clerk.

This was indeed a terrifying individual, but the question was... where exactly did he deceive both himself and Bai Wu?

Bai Wu couldn’t figure it out; from the moment he encountered the Ten of Spades, he never completely believed every word the Ten of Spades said.

If he was deceived by the Ten of Spades, what exactly went wrong? freewebnovёl.ƈom

Jing Liu pointed out another key detail,

"Since this world isn’t distorted, how does the Ten of Spades use his Sequence?"

"He said that his power, as well as Bai Yuan’s... didn’t disappear from the beginning," Bai Wu answered subconsciously.

But quickly, Bai Wu sensed an issue within this statement:

"Does that mean... it’s possible that it still hasn’t disappeared completely? That the Deceiver is still effective?"

The confusion grew; from the brief contact with the Ten of Spades, it seemed like he learned a lot, yet now he couldn’t distinguish which of the other’s sentences were true and which were false.

Bai Wu took a step forward:

"Even if the Ten of Spades lied here, he wouldn’t have deceived me, because I also doubted that sentence."

"If the Ten of Spades deceived me, on what point did he deceive me?"

The characteristics of the Deceiver Sequence were still unclear to Bai Wu.

But seeing the effort Cain went through, it was obvious that the criteria for deceit was strict.

However, the efficacy of a Sequence greatly depended on its user.

The Ten of Spades was a progenitor; perhaps he had mastered the advanced levels of the Sequence as well.

That is to say, the Ten of Spades’ use of the Deceiver might have a different judgment criterion than Cain’s.

In short, Cain’s Deceiver could only be considered a beginner’s level, while the Ten of Spades’ Deceiver was used masterfully.

But even so, to deceive himself, it must be something he deeply believed in without a doubt.

What could that be?

"From the moment we came into contact with the Ten of Spades, both you and I understood that this person was a liar, so I believe you and I share the same skepticism towards every word he says," Bai Wu looked at Jing Liu again and said.

Jing Liu nodded, continuing Bai Wu’s line of thought:

"You and I know this, so Lin Rui, or rather, The First Generation, would certainly not be unaware of this."

"Do you still remember what the Ten of Spades said? He claimed to have obtained the method for making the stele by deceiving The First Generation. Assuming that statement is true, then how did he manage to deceive The First Generation?"

Among the Golden Generation of that era, there were no fools.

Perhaps only Xiaoyugan, who was blindly in love, was a bit foolish. But Xiaoyugan had no contact with the Ten of Spades.

As for the three most active Ks—Bai Yuan, the Ten of Spades, and The First Generation—among them, perhaps The First Generation was the relatively less clever one, but in reality, The First Generation was not stupid at all.

The First Generation was very clear about being used by Bai Yuan; it was just that The First Generation had bigger designs and was willing to be utilized.

Such a person would certainly be wary of the words of the Ten of Spades.

Even so, the Ten of Spades still successfully deceived The First Generation and obtained his power.

As a result, the Ten of Spades was able to follow closely behind Bai Yuan, using the stele to enter this world.

In the end, Bai Wu and Jing Liu still could not figure out which statement of the Ten of Spades they had believed without a doubt.

Fortunately, with Bai Wu’s strength, returning once more to the Ten of Spades’ location was not difficult.

...

...

Outside of town, in the junkyard.

When Bai Wu came to the residence of the Ten of Spades again, the Ten of Spades had already disappeared without a trace.

What Bai Wu saw were only two cups of hot tea.

At the same time, Bai Wu also detected the smell of disinfectant in the air.

"Bai Yuan has been here."

Bai Wu was very familiar with this smell of disinfectant.

Combining this with what he saw upon returning to town—Bai Yuan driving off in an SUV—Bai Wu confirmed that Bai Yuan’s expression at that time was a bit strange, probably because he had received a call from the Ten of Spades.

He had never thought that Bai Yuan and the Ten of Spades had the kind of relationship where they could meet anytime they wished.

Because in Bai Wu’s memory, Bai Yuan and the Ten of Spades were like two people playing a cat-and-mouse game, competing with each other.

But at that moment, a flash of insight streaked through his mind, and all of a sudden... Bai Wu understood exactly where the Ten of Spades had deceived him.

Why he had believed the lies without question.

Left on the tea table was a note.

It was left by the two tea drinkers, the Ten of Spades and Bai Yuan, after their tea session.

It was also the key to the entire mystery.

Bai Wu picked up the note, and the content inside confirmed Bai Wu’s speculation:

"Dear Little Bai, although in my memory, you are still that pitiable Little Pitiful with a face full of grievances and a lack of love from your childhood days, today, I must say, I am delighted.

I presume you’re already wary of me, so the following words are true.

Of course, you can still choose to maintain a skeptical attitude towards the contents of this letter.

First, to clear up your confusion, perhaps when you saw the teacups, you understood that I love tea, and so does Bai Yuan.

We have a common hobby.

Then you might wonder, are Bai Yuan and I... really archenemies?"

Bai Wu didn’t finish reading the letter; just getting this far, goosebumps had formed.

The enmity between Bai Yuan and the Ten of Spades was common knowledge among everyone who knew them seven hundred years ago.

It was also something that Bai Yuan had always insisted on inculcating in Bai Wu.

Bai Wu continued reading:

"A magician shouldn’t reveal their tricks lightly, but I’ve already taken what I wanted from you.

Of course, your appearance was an accident, and even without it, the plan between Bai Yuan and me would have continued.

Someday in the future, you’ll unsurprisingly find yourself in our original world, as I’m sure you already know.

As for your Sequence, your innate survival ability, and your strongest feature—emotional immunity, as well as the ability on you to use the Sequence and Evil Fallen terms..."

You don’t need to know how these things came to be; you just need to know, you just need to know, you are a great work of art, although you still have some minor flaws.

Then, your arrival extended my time and complemented my abilities. The Rule Binding is a terrifying sequence; here, the power of Bai Yuan and I becomes a consumable.

Now, you are like a charging station; through the Deceiver, I have been replenished again, which makes me more confident in the plans that follow.

So now, let me unravel the mystery for you, where exactly you were deceived by me, you already have some ideas, right?

That is, Bai Yuan and I... have never been archenemies.

My interest in Bai Yuan isn’t as strong as it seems. On the contrary, like Bai Yuan, I am most interested in the origins—for instance, the Well.

Do you remember a sentence I once said—I and Bai Yuan’s contest must be absolute fair, even if sometimes I have outside powers, I would abandon them.

This sentence was actually meant to make you realize that I still hold outside powers, that my powers have not been fully nullified. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

You, being smart, would therefore be on your guard, thinking that I might not have become an ordinary person, and that I only abandoned these powers to compete with Bai Yuan fairly.

So next, all I have to tell you is that I am an ordinary person, and you will think I am lying.

But in doing so, you can’t help but shift your attention and believe more in my first half of the sentence—that I would abandon using the outside powers for Bai Yuan.

Which means you would believe all the more in my obsession with Bai Yuan.

Hahaha, as for Bai, I am indeed quite fixated on him, but it’s all an act.

Initially, because of Xiaoyugan’s spiritual power, all of us on the farm subconsciously believed that the color determined one’s talent.

Bai changing me from a k to a ten indeed made me doubt myself. But toward Bai, I only feel grateful.

Because he made me realize one thing—the allure of deception.

So, I simply began to play the role of someone determined to seek revenge on him.

How logically consistent, deceiving all who could be deceived... as long as I guided them a little, they would be more convinced of this, and the Deceiver Sequence deemed it a success.

However, I could deceive everyone but not necessarily Bai. I chose to partner with Bai after weighing the options.

You know, he is most interested in amusing things, the good-and-evil camps don’t matter that much, so... you have no injustice in being deceived.

After all, you weren’t deceived by a single spades k, but by a spades k and a hearts k working together.

Only Bai’s powers, I couldn’t attain, but that’s okay, Bai proposed an even more absurd future worth employing one’s imagination for, a grand plan.

This plan does indeed involve you, but that’s all I can say for now.

This world doesn’t welcome you; though you are enveloped by distortions, if you stay in this world for too long, the Rule Binding will take effect.

Death is inevitable for both Bai and me. What follows in this world is a stage for me and him, or perhaps for the younger you as well. As for you now, you should go back to where you came from.

I believe your uncle has already told you a lot of things. This is a tower, please go to the deepest part of the tower on our behalf.

As for the way out, I have already created a stele. With your eyes, you will find the way to leave."

The letter ended here.

Bai Wu couldn’t have imagined, on Huangquan Island, the meeting between the Ten of Spades The Undead and Bai Yuan...

Nor could he have imagined that all the things Bai Yuan had told him about Ten of Spades over the years...

Were all paving the way for Ten of Spades’ deception.

Not just himself, but even The First Generation had no doubt about it.

Setting up an archenemy persona over countless years, and after earning the trust and power of everyone, slowly unmask the truth—

There were never archenemies, just two deceiving partners.

Bai Wu chuckled bitterly, so did Jing Liu.

"We haven’t been wronged by being deceived."

"Yes, it looks like I’ll have to follow the path he’s set for my departure."

"You don’t plan to try and fight back?" Jing Liu asked somewhat puzzled.

"I’m just taking a gamble; I bet that Bai Yuan and Ten of Spades will ultimately stand with The First Generation."

"You’re really crazy."

"Not crazy this time. Rather than opposing these two old deceivers, I’d rather choose to face the distortions alone, like The First Generation did."

After a brief pause, Bai Wu said:

"I should head to the true third layer now."