Deceitful Game

Just as "The Republic" was about to leave through the fog gate, it suddenly realized something.

She turned to look at Mingpo and asked, "By the way, who's your host...?"

"It's 'ink'."

Mingpo replied.

He was also curious about Mo's reputation, so he didn't hide anything from him.

"...That guy."

Ideal Country nodded, his expression relaxing slightly, clearly not having much of a problem with him: "He's alright, a normal person. Although he likes to arrange high-risk competitive games to 'raise the enemy,' he won't maliciously arrange games that players can't handle, nor will he hide important information or deliberately sow discord."

—Can Mo Du be considered a normal person?

Such a thought popped into Mingpo's mind.

The first games he participated in were either "Death of the Minority" or "Escape from the Sheepfold." Both were bloody games where twelve people would die down to only three.

So, in the hosting industry, "normal people" are already considered above average?

What kind of attitude is abnormal?

Shouldn't the host cultivate powerful charlatans to save himself?

She glanced at Mingpo thoughtfully: "Then I think I know who you are. Mo did say that he met a very powerful person... It seems to be you."

After that, "The Republic" said nothing more and left through the fog gate.

Only after the host left did Gao Fan relax and slump onto the sofa.

"You were as nervous as a primary school student whose homeroom teacher is visiting."

Mingpo said leisurely, "I think 'The Ideal State' has a pretty good temper, so what are you afraid of?"

"It's even scarier than that."

Gao Fan complained, "She's more like my mom than my teacher."

Mingpo: "?"

For a moment, Mingpo almost blurted out a sarcastic remark.

In order to maintain his cool and aloof persona, he held back.

Although Mingpo's attitude towards Gao Fan has softened considerably since they became more familiar with each other...

But before revealing that "Xiao Ke" was a pseudonym, Ming Po firmly decided to play her role well.

"Don't you think," Gao Fan muttered to himself, "that 'Utopia' has too high expectations of me. I'm under a lot of pressure. I really don't want to disappoint them, but I just can't do it..."

Mingpo didn't respond, but just looked at him strangely.

Gao Fan coughed and said to Ming Po, "In short, that's it—deceased people who die in the real world are simply dead. Their bodies don't disappear, but the host can extract the remaining time chips from their bodies."

"Such procedures require one chip as travel expenses for the host to come to the material world, and then half of that is split as a handling fee."

"...In that case," Mingpo suddenly asked, "is it possible that some people don't participate in the game but instead hunt down other Deceivers in the real world?"

"Of course there will be, which is why people stick together."

Gao Fan shook his head: "Unless the other party opens the door, the fraudster cannot enter other people's homes. Only public transportation that 'allows anyone to enter' can be used freely."

"Even so, there are still people lurking in residential areas or near subway stations... That's why I was so scared when I saw you."

"for example……"

Mingpo recalled the other person's statement that "the Domain of Slaughter only kills," and asked, "Are you referring to the deceivers of the Domain of Slaughter?"

"Hmm. The abilities of the Slaughter Domain are often not good at completing games, but they are very good at attacking other Deceivers. They are often targeted in the game, so they take revenge on others in reality... or rob and plunder chips."

Gao Fan added, "However, killing a con artist could trigger retaliation—his host would find out, and if he thought highly of that person, he might share your information with his other contracted con artists as revenge. But whether they would actually target you is uncertain."

He spoke softly, glancing subconsciously at the sofa—the place where Wen Yu had once sat: "Wen Yu and my host are both from 'Ideal Country,' while our 'leader's' host is called 'Shi Gandang.' He also disapproves of this person's behavior, so Brother Xiao, you don't need to worry about being retaliated against."

"Are all the hosts... at such a high level?" Mingpo couldn't help but ask.

"They're not too low-level. Because lower-level ones might be resurrected in a year or two."

Gao Fan shrugged: "Those who can keep clinging to life are basically veterans."

"Alright..."

As Mingpo spoke, he walked towards the front door.

He turned to look at Gao Fan: "Do you need to rest a little longer?"

"Ah...no need. I can't sleep anyway. Let's play a round."

"Speaking of which, do we really need sleep? Aren't we already dead?"

"I don't know, I've never been sleepy. But with so much free time, what else can I do besides sleep... throw a sex party?"

Gao Fan shook his head, picked up the three chips on the table, and walked over.

He pointed to the hole in the door: "The way to team up to enter the game is very simple... As long as multiple people exist in their own 'anchor point', the team mechanism has already been activated."

"Whoever inserts a coin first starts the game. After that, don't open the door until everyone else has inserted their coins, then it's a multiplayer game."

"Only the promotion game doesn't have a host; all other games have hosts who make the selections. 'Adventure' refers to PVE, and 'Confrontation' refers to PVP. If you enter 'Adventure' by yourself, it might be solo or multiplayer... while 'Confrontation' is always multiplayer, and when we team up to enter 'Adventure,' it's always multiplayer."

"The word 'adventure' represents that this game has a world view. If you can decipher this world view, you can save this world and enter it again next time."

"The two worlds I documented are 'Nuclear Wasteland' and 'Apocalyptic Zombie World.' These are supposedly quite dangerous, but I felt they were alright. However, they're both 'Copper Age' level games... I think you definitely wouldn't play such low-level games again, right?"

As Gao Fan spoke, he looked at Ming Po.

He's quite smart.

When Gao Fan heard "Ideal Country" say that he might know who "Brother Xiao" was, he guessed that his new captain was probably an outrageously newcomer—who might not have participated in any other games besides the qualifiers and promotion games.

Mingpo smiled and said, "Of course."

He gently touched the door, and the information appeared:

[Promotion, cost: 1 Zhou Zhiqing Lead]

[Adventure, Cost: 1 Time Copper / 1 Sun Pseudo-Gold / 1 Zhou Blue Lead]

[Confrontation, Cost: 1 Time's Red Copper / 1 Sun's Pseudo-Gold / 1 Zhou's Azure Lead]

Departure, cost: None

"The games you can participate in are based on your level, one level above or below. Once you advance to the third tier, 'Zhou's Azure Lead,' you will no longer be able to participate in the 'Time's Red Copper' game."

Gao Fan frankly stated, "This is probably the anti-smurfing mechanism... That's why I've been practicing my skills in the 'Time Red Copper' level game. The strongest players I can encounter here are at most my level, so it's safer that way."

"A knife run?"

"Ah, it's about avoiding war and gathering resources. Brother Xiao, don't you play games?"

"I've played some, but not many."

Mingpo, against her will, placed a fake Sun Gold into the second hole.

A coin-insertion sound rang out, followed by black and red rose patterns spreading across the door like rust.

A golden sun emblem appeared in the very center of the doorway.

At that moment, two chips were suddenly stuffed into Mingpo's hand.

"……Um?"

Mingpo turned around with some confusion and looked at Gao Fan.

He gave two of the three chips to Mingpo. He then inserted the remaining chip into the same hole as Mingpo's.

The next moment, the black and red rose patterns slowly increased, making the patterns on the door even more complex.

"Dividing the spoils."

Gao Fan didn't look at Ming Po, but said casually, "Just open the door now."

"snort……"

Mingpo smiled but did not back down.

"It's not about dividing the spoils."

He spoke, picked up one of the coins, and inhaled it: "This is the commission."

Then Mingpo picked up another one: "And this one..."

"I'm using this to buy your loyalty."

Having said that, Mingpo flicked it up.

It flew up, spun around a few times, and landed right in Gao Fan's hand.

At this moment, Mingpo suddenly experienced some kind of hallucination—

Watching Gao Fan frantically accept the chips, he thought of Lin Ya.

I wonder if that little rabbit is still alive.

Mingpo's gaze darkened as she thought of "rabbit" and "fox".

...I wonder if Lin Ya was the one who killed Ai Shiping.

They took my money and now they want to betray me... but it's not that easy.

Thinking of this, Mingpo gripped the doorknob even tighter with her right hand.

He suddenly flung open the door, and a cold wind howled in his face.

Outside the door was a black and red vortex. Deep within the vortex was only pitch-black darkness.

Since Gao Fan is willing to give him an extra one, Ming Po has decided to protect him this time as well.

Mingpo didn't think much of this chip.

More than tangible benefits, Mingpo values ​​how others perceive it. It's like a gift from a child to their parents…

Mingpo has no shortage of money to buy this gift, but he values ​​this "filial piety" even more.

Only then did he truly regard Gao Fan as his "potential teammate"... rather than simply a "subordinate" under his control.

"Let's go."

After saying that, Mingpo walked into the vortex without looking back.

Gao Fan hurriedly put the chip into his body, then gritted his teeth and followed him inside.

After engulfing the two of them, the vortex and darkness slowly disappeared.

The gate then closed on its own.

And when Mingpo woke up again.

He found himself seemingly transported back to his school days—

To be more precise.

He found himself sitting in a high school exam hall.

In the quiet classroom, the proctor strolled around the front, while the exam papers were being passed back and forth.

But few of the "students" sitting in the classroom actually looked like students.

When the person in front of her turned around and passed the test paper to her, Mingpo's eyes widened in surprise.

Because Mingpo knows this person.

—"The Fox," Chen Bingwen.