Bai Jiamu blurted out, "Why did you suddenly read Bai Liu's fortune?!"
"What fortune-telling?" the Reverse God snapped, sounding genuinely offended. "My skill is called [Listening to God's Words]. It's not fortune-telling, okay?"
"It's basically the same." A Killer Sequence teammate beside him leaned in with interest. "So what did you see?"
The Reverse God's gaze paused. Then he smiled.
"I calculated the birth of a new god."
Bai Jiamu immediately thought of the snake-raising indigenous tribe and their strange reverence toward Bai Liu. He frowned. "Are you saying Bai Liu will become the new god of these indigenous believers in this dungeon?"
The Reverse God turned around. His voice carried no emotion.
"More or less."
"However, the origin of gods is always the same. The fact that Bai Liu can be 'chosen' here proves that he has been selected in every instance. That's why he keeps encountering old gods… god-level NPCs."
The Reverse God fell silent for a moment.
"The evil god has chosen Bai Liu as his next successor. He's guiding Bai Liu to kill the god-level NPC."
Bai Jiamu's frown deepened. "What do you mean?"
The Reverse God turned back and smiled again. "I don't fully understand it myself. I only saw fragments of what the gods were saying. That's how prophecy works."
"Even I, as a prophet, sometimes don't know whether what I see is truly the future… or whether the gods deliberately fed me those words to mislead me."
The more Bai Jiamu listened, the more confused he became. His brows nearly twisted together. "You're saying God lies?"
The Reverse God shook his head.
"As you know, my role is similar to that of a religious judge. My skill allows me to receive God's oracle about the future and use it to pass judgment."
"The oracle itself is absolutely true. God can indeed see everything that will happen."
Bai Jiamu became even more puzzled. "Then why—"
The Reverse God lowered his eyes, appearing deep in thought. When he spoke again, he abruptly changed the subject.
"Do you know how to deceive someone perfectly—without ever lying?"
Bai Jiamu blinked. "How?"
The Reverse God raised his eyes. A strange smile spread across his face.
"By telling them only part of the truth."
"Oracles are the most perfect form of that deception."
The rain grew heavier. From deep within the jungle came the strange scent of burning campfires.
At the center of the indigenous territory, farther from the lake, stood a shed constructed from rolled broad leaves and woven grass roots. Beneath it stood a wooden statue of a god, nearly two meters tall. Its eyebrows and forehead were painted with a distinctive red pigment made from crushed grass and oil.
Six piles of torches surrounded the statue. Despite the torrential rain, the flames not only refused to go out—they burned higher and fiercer when whipped by the wind.
The natives, their bodies painted red, danced in strange patterns around the statue and torches. They struck their knees rhythmically and hummed an eerie, unfamiliar melody.
Kneeling before the statue was a man prostrated in the mud—the traditional indigenous leader. He raised his hands and pressed his forehead into the wet earth, allowing the rain to drench him as he prayed.
"O God, you granted us vast lands and abundant rain. You warned us of enemies and crises. You gave us Pluto—the lake of death—as our defensive harbor. When the enemy launched their sinful artillery against us, rain and dew fell to aid us."
"Victory shall be ours, for you have already foretold it."
"You once sent us an oracle: the only way to rid ourselves of those evil outsiders who seized our land and enslaved our bodies was to kill the factory director."
The kneeling man slowly lifted his head, careful not to offend the wooden statue. His eyes burned with feverish devotion.
"You and I share the same will. The factory director was indeed a despicable foreigner, hiding behind a hypocritical mask to deceive us!"
"We have regained our freedom under your oracle's guidance. Now we must win this war. God, tell us—tell your weak yet devout believers—what should we do next?"
"For this, I will offer you your favorite sacrifice—our desire and our pain!"
After speaking, the man crawled beneath the shed and pressed his ear to the ground, as if listening to a divine message. From time to time, he nodded solemnly, as though truly hearing something.
The other natives waited in breathless silence.
After a while, the man emerged carefully. His eyes flickered. Malice crept into his voice.
"God says: kill that Guy and the new commander. Restore me to power, and God will return everything we once had."
"Peace will be restored."
Back on the boat—
Bai Jiamu was still mulling over the Reverse God's words. He finally asked, "But Judge, even if oracles can deceive people… I don't even believe God exists. And you said only a few people—like you—can hear oracles. Then how can an NPC in a dungeon hear one?"
Bai Jiamu wasn't religious. He remained skeptical about gods altogether. Still, he trusted the Reverse God.
This "magic stick" had strong self-discipline. The Reverse God didn't believe in God—he merely used prophecy as reference material. Sometimes he ignored oracles entirely, even contradicting them outright.
That was why he used to be called the Judge Defying Gods.
"You want to ask why an NPC can hear an oracle?" The Reverse God sat at the edge of the boat, rowing slowly. He looked back at Bai Jiamu with a faint smile.
"Except for someone like me—a judge who can occasionally make a one-way call to God and request an oracle—whether ordinary people can hear one depends on the intensity of their inner desires."
"In other words, most 'oracles' people hear are simply what they desperately want to hear—aligned perfectly with their own desires."
"Historically, many so-called oracles emerged when someone sought power or status. They invoked divine will as a justification to persecute others."
The Reverse God looked away.
"But that doesn't mean some people can't truly hear an oracle. God favors those with overwhelming desire. He whispers hints to them—then uses them to maintain control and plunge the world into chaos."
"God doesn't want peace. If the world were peaceful, His existence would have no meaning."
The Killer Sequence members, who had gathered to hear the gossip, squatted beside the Reverse God. Their combined weight caused the small wooden boat to tilt dangerously to one side.
The Reverse God quickly shifted his feet to the other side of the boat and blocked the two teammates who were rushing toward him. He steadied the rocking boat and said helplessly, "If you don't want to help row, that's fine—you can just watch me row alone. But why are you trying to capsize the boat? Are you undercover agents sent by the traditional indigenous people to assassinate me?"
The team members nodded seriously. "That's not impossible. The traditionalists have the advantage in this game. If we defect with your head as proof, we might be able to clear the level lying down."
The Reverse God: "…"
What exactly am I working so hard for?
The members of the Killer Sequence burst into laughter. They all knew they had entered this dungeon mainly to help Spades recover.
Several of them were still quite young. Running back and forth with Spades and the tactician, the Reverse God honestly felt like playing a game, and they treated it very casually.
Bai Jiamu took the Reverse God's oar and asked curiously, "Even when my desire is very strong, I can't hear any oracle."
The Reverse God glanced sideways at him. "You're so young. How strong can your desires really be? Those favored by God must have overwhelming desires."
A teammate beside them smirked meaningfully. "Oh? Bai Jiamu, when exactly is your desire the strongest? Every morning when you wake up?"
Bai Jiamu's eyebrows shot up in anger. "Bai Yi, just because you're my brother-in-law doesn't mean you can make dirty jokes! Be careful, or I'll chop you up and feed you to the fish!"
Bai Yi rubbed his nose, stuck out his tongue, and obediently shut up.
Bai Jiamu turned back to the Reverse God, ears reddening as he argued fiercely, "Isn't Bai Liu young too? Didn't you say he was chosen by God as a successor? How strong could his desire possibly be?"
From the side, Bai Yi muttered quietly, "He's married to Spades. So it's not just him—it's him and Spades."
Bai Jiamu: "…"
The Reverse God: "…"
After a moment, Bai Yi thoughtfully added, stroking his chin, "Of course, if Bai Liu's desires are strong enough, it wouldn't be impossible for them to continue in the morning too. Maybe even all day…"
Bai Jiamu expressionlessly raised the oar and smacked Bai Yi across the backside, knocking him straight into the water.
Bai Yi's head immediately popped back up. He looked at Bai Jiamu in disbelief, grievance written all over his face. "Why did you hit me? I didn't make it up! Bai Liu said it himself—he said he and Spades used eighteen boxes of condoms in one night—glub glub—!"
Bai Jiamu stood up and stepped onto the edge of the boat, pressing Bai Yi's head back underwater with the oar. "Shut up! I'm still underage!"
Bai Yi struggled and shouted, "You can't stop adults from making dirty jokes just because you're underage! You're turning eighteen in a month!"
"Adults have the freedom to make obscene jokes—glub glub! Spades is married! Are you denying he has a partner and a sex life? Glub—!"
He continued yelling, "You're just upset because you're the last single guy on the team! Even Spades, a pure straight man, got married before you—!"
Bai Jiamu's face flushed from his ears down to the base of his neck. With a ferocious expression, he slapped Bai Yi twice on the face with the oar.
Bai Yi fell back dizzily, spirals practically visible in his eyes, and the bubbles rising to the surface gradually stopped.
Bai Jiamu took two deep breaths. His face was still red, his eyes fierce, but he sat down calmly and looked straight at the Reverse God.
"I absolutely do not mind being the last male member of Killer Sequence to get married. Don't listen to his nonsense."
The Reverse God calmly ignored the faint bloodstains on the oar and gave him a thumbs-up.
"Impartial justice. Well done."