Volume 1, Chapter 42: Divine Skill [Feign Death]

Qin Shang uttered an "Oh," thinking to himself that it was no wonder he hadn’t heard of any sports world records being broken frequently in the last decade. He had foolishly assumed that the stat boosts from leveling up would turn people into supermen who wore their underwear on the outside of their pants.

Just then, the "Cardinal in Red" seemed to read Qin Shang's thoughts and chuckled. "You are still thinking like an ordinary person; you haven't adapted to your identity as a God's Path player. The group known as God's Path players are superpowered individuals by nature; you cannot measure them with the logic of commoners. Think of it as urban superpowers. Even if a conflict or dispute arises in reality, players with these abilities have no need to resort to physical brawling with ordinary people. Therefore, there is no need for God's Path to grant ordinary players excessive physical strength in those areas. After all, that would be sacrificing one's own strengths to attack the strengths of others."

"Take the Trickster for example. You possess [Inheritance] and [Feign Death]. With just these two skills at level one or two, if you really wanted to take out an ordinary person... no, let alone an ordinary person, even a world-class athlete would be like a toy to you. Not to mention the Hypnotist's class skills, [Enter Dream] and [Hallucination]; using those against ordinary people is practically impossible to defend against. A single skill could put someone to sleep on the spot. Even if you had the terrifying combat prowess of someone like The Rock, if you were hit with a couple of blades while asleep, that would be enough to finish you off, wouldn't it?"

Upon hearing this, Qin Shang was stunned for a long moment before sighing at the sheer terror of it. It was true; he was a God's Path player now. And the fact that skills from this place could be brought out into reality was the most terrifying aspect of God's Path. Perhaps a high-level Trickster couldn't beat a well-trained armed police officer in a fistfight, but the point was that the player held various bizarre skills—what did it matter if your physical combat ability was strong?

The Cardinal in Red was right; Hypnotists were terrifying too. The little girl 'Cow Grandpa Cosplays a Maid to Seduce Strong-Strong's Mom' was a Hypnotist. Back in the first carriage, as an NPC who was strictly forbidden from lying, she hadn't let a single slip-up show, whether it was during the round of inciting the crowd or when she introduced herself at the beginning.

"The pinker the outfit, the deadlier the kill!" The adage was true indeed. The physician, 'Kindred Sister,' hadn't died in vain—who told her to discover the truth that "the pinker the slippers, the deadlier the kill"?

The next moment, Qin Shang suddenly caught a key point in the Cardinal's words. "Oh, by the way, what is [Feign Death]? Is that also a Trickster skill?" He still understood skills too superficially. It would be good to learn more about their properties.

At this question, the Cardinal in Red’s tone rose, tinged with a hint of envy. "The effect of [Feign Death] is similar to a save-state reload."

A reload? A death reload? Qin Shang was shocked. He suddenly recalled that the 'Cursed Red Dress,' an item he received for clearing the [Death Train], seemed to have a similar passive ability.

"There is a consensus among God's Path players that the Trickster class becomes very hard to kill after reaching level two," the Cardinal said, smacking her lips and parting her crimson lips slightly. "This is because the second skill for the Trickster class character card is called [Feign Death]. A level two Trickster can feign death once every twenty-four hours—which is to say, trigger a death reload. You know what a reload is, right? Like loading a save file in a video game. But the prerequisite is death... as long as you are killed, you can trigger this passive!"

"After triggering [Feign Death], a level two Trickster can reload to five minutes prior. If the level increases, this reload time can be extended—to half an hour, an hour, two hours, or even days or months ago... that is not impossible."

After saying this, the Cardinal in Red caught the look of shock and disbelief on Qin Shang’s face, just as she expected. There was no other reason; the [Feign Death] skill was... was it not too damn heaven-defying? Did that not mean that after level two, Tricksters were essentially unkillable? After all, they could keep reloading upon death.

The Cardinal's beautiful face also revealed a trace of covetousness. "That is why I told you that although God's Path players don't see much increase in their physical capabilities or base bodily stats—perhaps even a peak God's Path player cannot compete with some top-tier athletes in certain physical aspects—if you truly want to kill them, you don't need to engage in physical conflict. Once your level is up, you can just commit suicide on the spot, [Feign Death] to reload to a few minutes ago, and then catch them off guard with a brick to the back of the head. Tsk, tsk..."

The Cardinal flashed a charming smile. "Or, for a high-level Trickster, if you really wanted to kill someone, it’s even simpler. As I said, as you level up, [Feign Death] allows for a longer reload. If you wanted to kill me, but you couldn't beat me, what would you do? It's super simple: just [Feign Death] back to when I was a child, and strangle me while I'm still a kid..."

Hiss! Heaven-defying. It was just too damn heaven-defying. Qin Shang’s eyes lit up. Did that mean... did he have a chance to use [Feign Death] to go back to the day before his wife went on her business trip, and then go to Yanjing with her? Did he have a chance to return to the very day his mother jumped to her death? Thinking of this, a feverish flush appeared on Qin Shang’s face. This skill could truly make up for all the regrets in his life!

"Of course, no one has done that yet, and if you become a high-level Trickster in the future, I wouldn't recommend you do it either." Just then, the Cardinal noticed the excitement in Qin Shang’s eyes and added a cooling bucket of water.

Qin Shang was stunned, then blurted out, "Why!"

The Cardinal gave a mocking smile, wearing a meaningful expression. "Because after you go back with [Feign Death], you can't come back!"

Can't come back!? Qin Shang widened his eyes. "Why? According to what you said, assuming I am a high-level Trickster, if I travel back a few years, finish what I want to do, and then commit suicide to trigger the passive, I can just [Feign Death] again, right? Like the example you just used—I go back to when you were a child, strangle you, and then kill myself to trigger [Feign Death]..."

Before he could finish, the Cardinal sneered. "[Feign Death] is a reload, not a full-game save load. Assuming you are 20 years old..."

"I'm 26!"

The Cardinal slammed on the brakes, causing Qin Shang to nearly smash his head into the windshield due to inertia. Seeing his disheveled state, she smiled with satisfaction, as if she were venting her annoyance at being interrupted. Only then did she say softly, "Fine, 26 years old."

"For you, the limit of a [Feign Death] reload is 26 years ago—the day you were born. And once you go back to that day, if you want to continue using [Feign Death] to reload, you will be shocked to find that you are no longer a God's Path player. Because the you from 26 years ago never received a character card. Furthermore, after you reload, you become yourself at that corresponding age. In other words, you would be a baby in swaddling clothes..."

Qin Shang froze. Damn it, what kind of skill is this! It meant that, in theory, [Feign Death] could satisfy traveling through one's life. But traveling back only brings your memories; it doesn't change all the underlying settings. For instance, if the 16-year-old Qin Shang was a lonely boy carrying a schoolbag, he would still be that way after traveling back. At that time, he hadn't received a character card... He would be lucky to tell his mother that in a few years, she might be brainwashed by a pyramid scheme and jump to her death. But at that time, his mother would likely give him a slap and tell him to get out of her room.

And the worst part was having to endure the experience of having no superpowers, reliving everything he was powerless to change—his father going missing, his mother jumping to her death, and himself dropping out of school and ending up in prison. These events would almost form a closed loop, becoming established facts. Even if he traveled back, without a character card, he still wouldn't have the ability to change much of reality.

"Understand now?" The Cardinal gave a playful smile. "So, normally, you can at most go back to the day you became a God's Path player. And generally speaking, Tricksters won't even reload to the day they received their character card."

Qin Shang was stunned again. "Let me tell you something very unpleasant: the system calculations of God's Path encompass those Trickster players who attempt to use [Feign Death] to return to the past. The system calculations of God's Path transcend time! In other words, if the instance ID you entered on the day you received your character card in your memory was 001, then if you traveled back to the past and received the card again, the first instance you enter would certainly not be 001. The system will not allow a player to enter the same instance repeatedly. In the system's algorithm, if you have been to 001 and cleared it, then the next time you start over, you will never enter instance 001."

"So even if you hold onto the notion of going back to the past and using your limited abilities to change some regrets, I advise you not to... Because after going back, you can't change many things. It is more likely that when time proceeds to the day you were supposed to get your character card, the system will match you with a high-difficulty instance you have never entered before, causing you to perish within it."

Hearing this, Qin Shang finally understood. The [Feign Death] skill was indeed heaven-defying. With leveling, the reload timeline could be stretched indefinitely, and the number of times one could reload within a day could increase. But the premise was that it occurred after one became a God's Path player. Otherwise, acting rashly to change the past would change the future. The supernatural system of God's Path, which transcended reality, would rewrite the future. The trajectory of many events would gradually become uncontrollable!

Moreover, even if one reloaded to a time after receiving the character card, one was not necessarily safe. Because God's Path was aware of this behavior, and the rule that a player cannot re-enter the same instance ensured that for a Trickster who traveled back with their memories, the experience in those memories would be completely useless.

Seemingly heaven-defying, but in reality, a chicken rib... Qin Shang silently labeled the [Feign Death] skill. Perhaps in normal use, it was just for short reloads of a few minutes or hours to avoid potential dangers that might occur?