The Truth Monocle

The content of the 《Role-Stealing Method》 was not long, but its most critical part was a single passage.

【Roles are divided into positive and negative, with the architect defaulting to the 'Protagonist.'】

【To steal a role, one must either surpass the 'Protagonist' by doing what they do, or approach from the opposite side and become the 'Villain.'】

【When the 'Villain' achieves victory, the ritual will lead to a completely opposite conclusion.】

The core of role-stealing revolved around the 'Protagonist,' which was the architect themselves.

To steal the role, one's actions had to exceed those of the current 'Protagonist.'

Applying this to the situation in Hell, it meant starting a war on an even grander scale than the current invasion.

Perhaps if a new war scorched the myriad worlds, the beneficiary of this mad ritual would become Chen Xu.

The prerequisite, of course, was that Chen Xu could withstand the combined siege of every power in the myriad worlds.

He was no Mother of Hell, and he lacked her terrifying combat record. Chen Xu suspected that he wouldn't even need to affect all the myriad worlds; if he touched even a tenth of them, a Dao Lord would likely step in to test his mettle.

The plan to compete for the 'Protagonist' role against the Mother of Hell was off the table. It was essentially similar to a proposal Thor had made earlier.

To be honest, if one had the strength to directly surpass the 'Protagonist,' there was no need to steal the role—one could simply kill the 'Protagonist.'

Without the 'Protagonist,' the performance that was the ritual would lose its core. It would naturally fall apart and end in a messy failure.

Thus, the only path left for Chen Xu was to become the 'Villain.'

In this context, the distinction between positive and negative had nothing to do with good or evil. As long as one's actions were contrary to the 'Protagonist,' they were considered the 'Villain.'

“The Mother of Hell started a war because she wants to be a warmonger. So, if I want to be the Villain, I have to be... a peace ambassador? A Lord of the Undead acting as a peace ambassador?”

Chen Xu muttered under his breath. The difficulty of being the 'Villain' didn't seem much lower than being the 'Protagonist.'

Thor chimed in as well.

“To be the Protagonist, you have to be better at fighting than Hell. To be the Villain, you have to stop the war. But right now, the two sides are Heaven and Hell. Master, if you want to stop them, wouldn't that be like fighting both of them at once?”

Thor picked at a gap in his teeth with his tail. “That sounds a bit sketchy. The great Sage's method doesn't seem very practical.”

“Ahem!”

Hearing Thor dare to disparage the Sage, the Fate Typewriter immediately stopped bickering with the Axiom Core.

The little green man on the typewriter's axle stood up, crossed his arms, and glared at Thor.

“Astral Behemoth Thor? I didn't expect a being that created a special world to be such a fool.”

Thor instantly turned his head and hissed at the typewriter.

“Hiss! A fool? Don't think that just because you're a creation of the Sage, you're equal to the Sage himself. Why don't you tell us what great deeds you've accomplished?”

Faced with Thor's questioning, the Fate Typewriter didn't answer directly. Instead, it offered another perspective.

“War is the most troublesome type of ritual. It is difficult to set up, complex in its process, and extremely uncontrollable. It is very easy for it to slip out of guidance and lead to the ritual's collapse.”

“But at the same time, it is difficult for outsiders to interfere. After all, war is a double-edged sword. No matter who you are or where you start, it's easy to cut yourself.”

“Heh, I thought you were going to give us some long-winded lecture or deep insight, but you're just stating the obvious. Even a newborn in our Land of the Undead knows that much,” Thor scoffed with disdain.

The Fate Typewriter ignored Thor and continued, “However, the winner of a war is not always one of the two combatants. You understand?”

Chen Xu's eyes lit up.

“Fishing in troubled waters?”

“Mhm.” The little green man nodded repeatedly. “Exactly. That's the logic.”

“But this water isn't just troubled; it's boiling and steaming. If I try to fish in there, I'm afraid I won't even get my bones back.”

Chen Xu's question left the Fate Typewriter momentarily speechless.

“Ahem, well, you'll have to figure out the solution to that yourself. We are only miracle creations, not the Sage himself. We cannot answer all your doubts.”

With that, the little green man hopped back onto the desk, opened a drawer, and pulled out a monocle.

“However, in my own name, I can lend you this Truth Monocle. If you use it well, it might help you find a viable path.”

“Fate, that is a relic of the Sage! How can you—”

“Axiom, I am the administrator of the Sage's study. Everything in this room is under my management. Lending items is perfectly in line with the library's regulations.”

“But that is the Sage's relic, not some ordinary creation!”

The Axiom Core was somewhat agitated. The gears on its body spun at high speeds, screeching and throwing off sparks. It looked like it desperately needed some lubricant.

The Fate Typewriter ignored it and carried the monocle over to Chen Xu.

“Remember to take good care of it. It's only a loan, not a gift. Once you're finished, use it to contact me. I'll come find you to retrieve it.”

Chen Xu leaned down, took the monocle from the little green man, and examined it closely.

This was Chen Xu's first time using a monocle. In both of his lives, he had only ever used standard glasses.

Following the way he remembered from movies in his past life, Chen Xu clipped the monocle over his left eye. Suddenly, the world changed.

The world before him seemed to have been suddenly digitized or gamified, with a massive amount of labels appearing on everything.

Chen Xu looked down at the little green man, and a prompt immediately appeared.

【Flower-Leaf race, from the mid-tier transcendent civilization Nefa World, belonging to a mid-tier power within that world.】

【The Flower-Leaf race possesses partial plant characteristics and can grow by absorbing various types of radiation from the natural world.】

【Note: This specific member of the Flower-Leaf race is suspected to be under control, transformed into a puppet. Based on energy wave analysis, the controller is likely one of the Sage's creations. Based on a comprehensive assessment of the surroundings, the controller is identified as the miracle creation: Fate Typewriter.】

It was very convenient—essentially a smart AI with access to the Sage's database. Beyond simple prompts, it even provided an analytical process.

Unfortunately, it was only a loan. He would have to return it to the Fate Typewriter eventually.

“Wait, you said I should notify you when I'm done and you'll come retrieve it?”

“Yes, what of it?”

The little green man had already hopped back onto the desk and sat on the typewriter's axle again. Looking up all the time was too tiring; the next time he caught an illegal stayer, he would have to pick a taller one.

“You can leave the Truth Library?”

As soon as he spoke, both the Fate Typewriter and the Axiom Core looked at Chen Xu with confusion.

“Of course. Why else do you think we close for three years every ten years? Those three years are the vacation period for us library administrators.”

“You guys have vacations?!”

“Is having a vacation that strange? Even during the ten-year opening period, we have rotating holidays. Of course, an administrator of an important area like me can't take those; I have to wait for the three-year closing period. Why? Does your Land of the Undead not have vacations?”

Upon hearing this, Thor also raised his head to look at Chen Xu.

Without a hint of shame, Chen Xu said calmly, “We do, but our vacation mechanism is quite complex. It might take a while to explain. Let's get back to this Truth Monocle.”