After all, it felt so incredibly real.
In that "mory," the wild smile on his face, his unbridled posture... it was exactly the sa state he had been in during the beginner's ga.
Two people who had been spared.
A power that created illusions.
This seed to be... the exact scenario "Raccoon" had experienced in the beginner's ga.
However, his state and his mories were obviously different from Ming Po's own.
Because that "Ming Po" possessed mories.
He clearly knew what his past self was like, possessed mories from the "previous playthrough," and held many hidden secrets that even his current self had not mastered. He even called the terrifying Wangliang "Little Wangliang" and appeared quite familiar with it... At the very least, he had known it before that Ga of Deception began.
Not only that, but he had even possessed special powers during the beginner's ga.
Dusk-yellow pupils—that was the glow of the Domain of Slaughter manifesting.
Moreover...
He had referred to the Domain of Slaughter as a "path," a "destiny," a "road."
This carried a completely different aning.
"Domain" subconsciously implied being classified into a certain category.
But the word "road" hinted that one could continue walking forward.
"What does Twilight Species an? The Wangliang seem to be called Twilight Kin... Does Twilight refer to so evil god?"
Ming Po murmured softly, "The Path of Slaughter polluted by Twilight..."
So, was that why the manifested color of the Path of Slaughter was dusk-yellow?
"Po?"
Right then, the rushed sound of footsteps ca from outside his bedroom door.
The slap of a slipper and the thud of a bare foot arrived simultaneously. It was clear one foot wore a slipper while the other hadn't had the ti to put one on.
Imdiately after, his bedroom door was urgently knocked on from the outside.
Ai Shiping's slightly worried voice drifted in, "Are you okay?"
He had obviously heard the scream Ming Po let out when he woke up.
Worried that sothing had happened, he had rushed straight over.
"...I'm fine, it was probably just a nightmare."
Ming Po's voice regained its composure, burying his encounter and inner anxieties deep within his heart.
He never panicked, let alone showed weakness in front of others.
If even he panicked, what would his good son do?
Letting a guy like Ai Shiping take charge... Ming Po couldn't trust him with that.
Ming Po's sharp gaze swept across his bedroom once more, yet he still saw nothing.
Only then did he stand up.
When he entered the ga, he hadn't been wearing pajamas, but clothes fit for going out. Therefore, when Ming Po woke up in bed, he was already dressed and didn't need to change.
Pulling open the bedroom door, Ming Po teased, "Your dog ears are quite sharp. You heard yell through two doors?"
"I'm the [Fox], after all."
Ai Shiping shrugged, his entire body relaxing. "As long as you're okay... I thought our place was haunted."
"...Why would you think that?"
"Uh..."
Ai Shiping clearly hadn't realized that was what Ming Po cared about.
He hesitated slightly. "Instinct, maybe?"
"You didn't just open the door and barge in today, which is comndable."
Ming Po changed the subject. "You're much more polite than before."
Normally, as two guys living together, they shouldn't have to worry so much about entering each other's rooms—it wasn't like living with the opposite sex where one had to knock to make sure it was a convenient ti or if personal items needed to be put away.
After all, the vast majority of student dormitories didn't offer private rooms. Generally, people were used to it. Take Ai Shiping, for example... he didn't care at all if Ming Po entered his room, and sotis he would even drag Ming Po over to play gas together.
But Ming Po was an exception; his territorial instincts were incredibly strong.
Since he was young, he had hated others entering his room. He would lose his temper even if it was his parents.
It wasn't that he was doing anything sneaky inside... Ming Po was naturally soone with very few desires. The most antisocial thing about him in college was that he didn't even read doujins or watch adult videos. It wasn't self-discipline or prudishness; he simply found it boring.
Only more stimulating things could make him feel excited.
Ming Po simply hated others entering his space. In college, he didn't have a private room, so his space was his bed, which he isolated with curtains. Being outside was fine, but if he was hiding in his bed and soone pulled back his curtains without asking, Ming Po would definitely hiss at them.
Even with his "only friend," Ai Shiping, Ming Po had lost his temper the first ti Ai Shiping opened the bedroom door without knocking.
However, despite his frivolous appearance, Ai Shiping knew how to respect others.
After Ming Po clearly stated, "I don't like that," he never did it again.
But while he restrained his actions, he didn't restrain his mouth.
Ai Shiping grumbled, "This awful habit of yours... if you ever drop dead in front of your computer one day, I'll be torn—not knowing whether I should go in and check on you."
"You don't have to worry about that now."
Ming Po shrugged. "We're both dead, aren't we?"
"...True."
Ai Shiping smiled.
"Oh, right!"
He suddenly thought of sothing and spoke excitedly, "My Title evolved!"
"What did it evolve into?"
Ming Po asked as he walked out of the bedroom.
He went to the living room and poured himself a glass of water.
Seeing this, Ai Shiping went straight back to his own bedroom, took out a can of ice-cold cola, and tossed it to Ming Po.
Ming Po raised a hand to catch it and asked, "Do you have enough of these?"
"There are still over a dozen cans," Ai Shiping grinned. "We'll worry about it after we finish them."
He said that, but he hadn't opened one for himself.
"Then you drink it."
Ming Po tossed the cola back to Ai Shiping, watching him scramble to catch it. "I'm not as addicted to it as you are."
Ai Shiping didn't refuse. He cracked open the cola and took a satisfyingly large gulp.
He burped and continued the previous topic, "It got a prefix, 'Timid.' Now I'm the [Timid Fox]."
"That's good."
Ming Po nodded. "It will make others underestimate you."
"The effects changed too... I can no longer 'sll danger in the air.' Instead, when danger is imminent, I can instinctively sense it. This perception is like a sixth sense, so even enemies without a scent can be directly felt. I won't have to be so afraid of ghosts anymore!
"And the treasure-hunting ability has changed a bit—when actively using the Title, it prioritizes identifying the 'nearest threat.' It will only search for treasure when there are no threats."
Ai Shiping detailed his evolved Title to Ming Po. "My hearing and sense of sll have been further enhanced, and my physical fitness—especially my explosive power—has increased to so extent."
"But overall, you're still a non-combat support."
Ming Po summarized, "Your survival ability has just improved a bit. Don't get too proud or slack off; self-preservation remains the priority.
"As for you sensing the presence of ghosts and not being afraid of them... I wouldn't be so sure."
"...Ah, true."
Ai Shiping laughed awkwardly. "Sotis, hearing things too clearly is actually a fear amplifier..."
He rembered how he liked to turn the music all the way down when playing horror gas.
In most cases, aside from jump scares, the music was the scariest part of horror gas. But turning it completely off ruined the atmosphere—he had tried playing with the ga music off while blasting "Good Luck Cos," but it just felt bizarre.
While it wasn't scary anymore, it wasn't fun either. And if the music was too loud, it beca too terrifying.
"It seems the passive effects of Titles can be used in reality as well."
Ming Po nodded. "Then it seems my inability to see the Item Description was because I lacked the conscious intent to 'use' it..."
Saying this, Ming Po subconsciously glanced at the countdown tir in the living room.
He froze.
-101:23:20
'...Strange?'
Ming Po frowned slightly.
He distinctly rembered that the countdown before entering the ga had 126 hours left.
Why was it suddenly missing a whole day?
Could his guess have been wrong?
The only players in this ga were himself and Ai Shiping; there shouldn't have been any waiting phase.
But this ti...
Ming Po pondered for a mont before asking Ai Shiping, "Can you still sll... or rather, sense those assassins outside the house right now?"
"...Not really."
Ai Shiping hesitated. "I don't feel any danger."
"What about inside the house?"
Ming Po guided his inquiry, "Is there any danger inside the house?"
"No."
Ai Shiping was made unsure by his questioning. "Could my Title have weakened after evolving? I clearly sensed hostility before entering the ga, but now I can't feel it after the evolution..."
"Not necessarily. It's also possible... they left."
Ming Po spoke vaguely.
Yet an inexplicable thought arose in his mind—
Perhaps they were already dead.
He didn't know why he had such a thought. The answer simply appeared in his mind, as if the truth were self-evident.
It was like a person who had mastered advanced mathematics instinctively arriving at the answer when looking at an overly simple math problem. But if asked about the specific formula, the theorem used, or the logical derivation, they might blank out for a second and need to retrace their steps.
And as for this "missing formula"...
'...That could probably only be that "Little Wangliang."'
Thinking this, Ming Po's pupils flickered with a dusk-yellow glow.
That was the power of the [Madman].
But what was sowhat strange was...
Any past Title would induce a slight degree of ntal pollution when equipped.
For instance, the Werewolf made him bloodthirsty and restless; Frankenstein made him violent and eager for fa; the Detective made him calm but lazy... Ming Po had grown used to resisting such ntal pollution.
But this Title was an exception.
It brought absolutely no ntal pollution to Ming Po.
It felt just as if he weren't wearing a Title at all.
'...But its passive effect should at least include the negative status of acquiring ntal Anomaly (Mild).'
Instead, Ming Po felt incredibly refreshed and much more energetic.
Could it be...
"Hey, son."
He thought for a while and suddenly said, "Let's... go out for a walk."
"Oh?"
Ai Shiping perked up upon hearing this. "Are we going out to eat? We definitely have a lot more chips... Seize the day, adoptive father! Treat us to a good al!"
"...That works."
Ming Po sighed slightly. "The main thing is to introduce you to our other teammate."
"Then let's bring him along for the al!"
Ai Shiping waved his hand grandly. "I'll pay with my chips—I'll cover the chips needed for his Manifestation!"
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