Chapter 80

In that stiff expression, the original confidence and composure had vanished, replaced by shock and disbelief. But looking at Tang Cheng, the person behind the curtain's eyes were more filled with confusion, as if he couldn't understand why his ability had been seen through.

"How... how did you know?" Under the immense doubt, the person behind the curtain instinctively asked.

He actually wanted to deny it, but at this point, he had no way to deny it. To avoid showing cowardice, he could only indirectly admit it, but he couldn't figure out... he had never used his ability in front of Tang Cheng, nor had he revealed even a hint of it. How did the other person know his ability?

"Do you think any idiot would tell you?" Tang Cheng spread his hands and asked, but then he continued, "Alright, I'm that kind of idiot... You shouldn't have killed Pixis and Darius. You thought killing them would affect my plans, but I didn't need their help at all. By killing them, you exposed your ability. Do you know why? Because under external influence, without being controlled by others, the only thing that could make a skilled veteran like Pixis fall from the wall and be unable to use his mobility device is the power of belief."

"He would fall, he wouldn't have time to use his mobility device, he would crash into the railing and die... You believed this in your heart, so the power of belief turned it into reality, leading to Pixis's death. Am I right?"

"This..." The person behind the curtain widened his eyes in disbelief, "Did you also exchange for the power of belief? No, that's not right! This is your first formal instance, with your survival points, you couldn't possibly exchange for the power of belief, but..."

"Of course, I didn't exchange for the power of belief. I just browsed through all the skills and bloodlines available in the central system when I had nothing to do, and then I memorized them all."

"What a joke!" The person behind the curtain's expression changed, and he suddenly roared, "There are countless skills and bloodlines available in the central system. Even the strongest challengers can't memorize them all. How could a mere newcomer like you..."

"Why not?" Tang Cheng shrugged, speaking as if it were a trivial matter, "By adjusting my brain cells to a certain extent, I can convert everything I see into data and store it in my memory. When I need it, I can retrieve it. This is the most basic memory storage and search method... Even a little girl who only knows how to eat can store 130,000 erotic books in her head. Is it so surprising that I can remember a few bloodlines and skills? If you have so little faith in humans, how can the power of belief sustain you?"

"I..." Faced with Tang Cheng's continuous questioning, the person behind the curtain was almost speechless.

"Of course, there are many other abilities that could have made Pixis die in that way, but if you had those abilities, you wouldn't be in this level of instance world. So, you are actually very weak."

Tang Cheng looked at the person behind the curtain and smiled, "The power of belief, when infused with a firm belief, can turn one's thoughts into an invincible force. It's very powerful, but also very troublesome. Because the essence of this power requires the user to have absolute confidence in themselves. Otherwise, even a tiny bit of doubt will greatly reduce the power of belief. Therefore, the number of people suitable for this power is extremely rare. At least, you are definitely not one of them."

Tang Cheng gazed at the other person, his words filled with unshakable confidence, "If this instance world really meant nothing to you, if you could really kill me like squashing an ant, you wouldn't have secretly controlled those nobles and used Kitz Werman to eliminate you. By staying behind the scenes and trying to use the world's momentum, it's because you don't have absolute confidence in your own power. Ignoring our actions is because you can't affect us. The reason you are waiting for me here is because you can't leave. The reason you are talking to me so much is to undermine my confidence."

"You..." The person behind the curtain instinctively took a step back.

Tang Cheng continued, "Also, when you told me your title at the beginning, it wasn't because you didn't care about exposing your information, but to make me think you were fearless. The reason you killed the royal family is because you weren't sure you could kill them with your own strength, so you had to use this extreme method to hide the secret of the Titan. You killed Pixis and Darius, partly to remove my influence, but more importantly, to create the illusion that 'whoever you want to kill will surely die.' But if you were really that strong, you should have killed me and the four other challengers instead."

"Your demand for me to hand over Historia wasn't because you were really that interested in her. Although someone like you, who only knows how to play with women and enjoy pleasure in the instance world, might have that interest, the more important reason was to pressure me... Every word and action you've taken so far is just to create the illusion that you are very strong. You hope to make me hesitate and fear. If I really hesitated and feared under your pressure, you would gain more confidence and strengthen your belief."

"As the saying goes, the brave win in a narrow path. If you were truly suitable for the power of belief, you wouldn't need to go through all this trouble. You could just use the simplest and most violent method to attack, believing you could do it, and fully unleash the power of belief. But you can't, because you lack confidence in yourself. So, you can only undermine others' confidence to build your own. Am I right?"

"You... who are you?!" Under Tang Cheng's continuous words, the person behind the curtain was already pale with fear, his eyes full of disbelief. He was originally a person with extremely low self-confidence, but he had somehow exchanged for the power of belief, which required absolute confidence. This led to the power not showing much effect on him, so he could only hide in the shadows and use various methods to undermine his enemies, building his confidence on their collapse.

He was somewhat clever, and this method had worked a few times, even earning him the title of "the person behind the curtain," allowing him to hide in the shadows every time he entered an instance world. As long as he didn't take the initiative, others couldn't find him. But this title also had a downside: once exposed, he would have to fight a desperate battle.

He didn't take this downside seriously at first because he had always been successful in the shadows. But when he discovered a five-star challenger like Tang Cheng in this instance world and realized their missions would conflict, he was afraid.

Daring not to act directly, he could only pressure Tang Cheng through various indirect methods. But he never expected that his thoughts would be completely seen through. Not only did he fail to undermine Tang Cheng's confidence, but his own confidence began to collapse.

This was probably a typical case of trying to act tough and ending up looking foolish.

Faced with such a monster, the person behind the curtain felt unprecedented fear.

Seeing the rich changes in the person behind the curtain's expression, Tang Cheng calmly walked forward, saying, "I am, of course, the unique six-star challenger. Dealing with a weakling like you, a few words are enough. Don't you think so?"

As he spoke, Tang Cheng smiled kindly. Actually, Historia still didn't fully understand him. While he usually dealt with flies by swatting them, it was because they were too fragile and not worth the trouble. In reality, he preferred to crush his enemies with absolute power, both mentally and physically, completely dismantling them.

At this moment, the person behind the curtain's confidence was clearly on the verge of collapse.

So, Tang Cheng pulled out the Desert Eagle and fired six shots directly at the person behind the curtain.

Block!

The person behind the curtain's pupils contracted, and the power of belief activated. The six bullets stopped 30 centimeters in front of him, as if blocked by an invisible wall, then fell to the ground.

"Ha... Haha!" Suddenly, the person behind the curtain laughed, his eyes regaining confidence, and he shouted, "So what if you saw through my ability? So what if you understood my thoughts? My power of belief is already at C-level. Even if it doesn't work at full power, your strength can't break through my barrier. You are no match for me!"

"Oh, is that so? Just blocking my toy restored your confidence?" Tang Cheng sneered, then pointed the Desert Eagle at his own forehead, "Then... iron block!"

Bang!

Pulling the trigger, Tang Cheng's head jerked back heavily, then he put down the gun, touched his forehead, which was still smoking, and looked at the person behind the curtain, tilting his head and asked, "Am I invincible now?"

"Ah!"

"Eh?"

Two voices of surprise sounded simultaneously. The first belonged to Historia. When she saw Tang Cheng point the gun at his own head and fire, she instinctively covered her mouth in fear. Although she knew this person was extremely crazy, she never expected him to be so crazy, treating his own life so lightly.

The second belonged to the person behind the curtain. A newcomer in their first formal instance could block bullets with their body. Was he really human?

"Mon... Monster!" The person behind the curtain instinctively took a few steps back, his newly built confidence shattered once again.