Game of Deception Chapter 138: Mistletoe

Ming Po stared at Gao Song, voicing his deductions one word at a ti.

A chill ran through Gao Fan's entire body.

His uncle was indeed as powerful as he had feared.

As vicious as a venomous snake, and as adept at manipulating human hearts as a fox.

He drew strength and amusent from such sches, reveling in the pain, conflict, and endless internal friction of others.

When Gao Fan was a child, his grandfather once told him that out of his three children, his eldest uncle most resembled him in his youth.

In Gao Fan's own mories, his grandfather had been kind and optimistic, always wearing a hearty smile and ready to help others. He had also deeply cherished Gao Fan—even when Gao Fan was very young, his grandfather frequently ntioned in family etings that he would designate Gao Fan as the future heir to the enterprise.

At that ti, even Gao Fan's father, Gao Feng, had not yet inherited the family business.

But his grandfather admitted that he was no saint in his younger years.

He had torn countless families apart and caused the deaths of many. He delighted in provoking conflict; much of the company's overseas performance even stemd from "war profits."

He also confessed that his current benevolence was nothing more than hypocritical repentance and atonent.

Back then, Gao Fan had not understood those words. But ever since he beca a Deceiver and realized his parents were Deceivers as well, he gradually pieced together the truth behind that statent.

His grandfather was most likely a Deceiver too. Furthermore, he must have altered history many tis, twisting the fates of countless individuals—

And this eldest uncle—acknowledged by his grandfather himself yet kept firmly outside the family's circle of power—was undoubtedly the most dangerous person in the family.

This was also why Gao Fan had kept his distance from his uncle ever since becoming a Deceiver.

At the ti, he hadn't been certain that Gao Song was the murderer who killed his parents. Yet he never tried to seek him out or ask for his help, because even then, Gao Fan harbored a deep-seated terror toward this uncle.

"What's wrong? Are you scared?"

Gao Song smiled unhurriedly. "Do you want to give you a little more ti?"

He appeared quite generous.

It was still Gao Song's turn. Whether Ming Po and Gao Fan discussed or pondered, they were consuming Gao Song's ti.

But Gao Song did not care in the slightest.

Because this too was part of the "hunt."

The prey had already been bled; now, he only needed to trail them from a distance. Pressing too hard might actually force the prey to take desperate asures.

"I must say—your deduction is quite impressive."

Gao Song looked at Ming Po, turning uncharacteristically serious. "You aren't just sharp-tongued. Among all the guests I've 'entertained' here, it's not as if no one has ever seen through my traps.

"But they only realized it after the fact, once they were already caught. To acutely perceive the hidden trap within the rules before stepping into it—you are the very first.

"Compared to the Domain of Slaughter, you might be better suited for the Domain of Wisdom. If this life-and-death ga hadn't already begun, I really would have loved to keep you in my company."

Hearing this, Ming Po's heart stirred slightly.

He seed to faintly grasp sothing else.

"However, since the plan has already been exposed, I might as well spell it out."

Gao Song remained composed, his posture straight.

He looked at Gao Fan, his malice completely undisguised. "My answer—is you, Little Fan.

"You are my toy, aren't you?"

Without waiting for Ming Po and Gao Fan to exchange a single word, he directly posed his next question:

"—Is it in this space right now?"

Out of the three cards, only Gao Song's lit up.

This ant Gao Song's answer was 'yes'.

"You see."

Gao Song spread his hands. "I wasn't wrong, was I?"

"—No, you're lying."

Gao Fan spoke with absolute gravity, emphasizing every word. "You just said I am a Paradox Child—my existence is built upon the Ga of Deception. Since that's the case, how could I possibly have nothing to do with the Ga of Deception?

"Moreover, my will is free. I have never been 'held' by you."

"Oh? Did I say such a thing?"

Gao Song feigned surprise, cupping a hand to his ear. "Did I?

"Hehehe—do you really trust that much, Little Fan? What if I was just lying to you?

"Or perhaps, this very statent is the lie. What do you say, want to take a guess?"

As he spoke, he fixed his gaze on Ming Po's eyes. "As for you, sir—I've pretty much figured it out.

"You must be that 'lucky one'—the person who acquired the Bacchus Shrine. The tiline matches up, and it also explains why you were Frankenstein the last ti I heard of you, but have now beco Madman.

"Madman, huh—hehe. Of course I've heard of it. It's a rare Title only obtainable by soone who subverted a Ga of Deception. But do you know? This Title causes dependency.

"As the saying goes, a madman doesn't know he's mad, and a psychopath thinks he's perfectly sane. Once you start using the 'Madman' Title, you will feel fantastic and subsequently refuse to acquire other Titles. That is the price and the ntal pollution of this Title.

"Although all Titles have this tendency, the ntal pollution of 'Madman' is at the highest level below Ti Gold. Even if you possess the legendary Bacchus Shrine, it is completely aningless.

"The reason you just asked the Two-Faced Idol whether the Host knew your answer was because you were worried—worried that even if you won the ga, your secret would still be leaked.

"Hehehe—but now, you don't need to worry anymore. Because you'll be dead before then."

"Oh?"

Ming Po didn't deny it.

He simply asked in return, "In other words, you admit that the 'answer' you just told Gao Fan was wrong?

"After all, the situation now is different from before—I have the right to answer safely."

"Oh? Is it really safe?"

Gao Song laughed loudly. "Don't forget, after you, it's my turn!

"If you answer wrong, then I answer right! To you or to , what difference does it make? Both result in death upon a wrong answer!

"What do you say, want to test if I'm telling the truth?"

"Are you really that rciful, Uncle Gao?"

Ming Po smiled, completely devoid of tension. "You've already guessed my answer, yet you choose to keep pressuring Little Fan through questioning? Why don't you guess it yourself? Maybe you'll get it right!

"Or is it that—even you think it's impossible?"

Seeing that Ming Po wasn't afraid in the slightest, the smile on Gao Song's face faded slightly.

He glanced at Gao Fan and said, "Then let offer a piece of evidence—

"Little Fan, you can ask directly—'Am I its father'."

He looked at Gao Fan, whose eyes had suddenly widened, and Gao Song's expression turned serious. "The reason you have nothing to do with the Ga of Deception is very simple—although your parents did indeed spend ten pieces of Silver of the Moon for your birth.

"But I also said—your parents spent ten months of ti for your birth. But don't forget—under what circumstances would the cost be ten pieces of 'Silver of the Moon' instead of twenty?

"Once a Deceiver ends their Manifestation, all traces of their existence left in reality disappear with them. Whether it's hair, blood, warmth, fingerprints—or a fertilized embryo. Even though it was your mother carrying the child, if your father ended his Manifestation, you would instantly die as well.

"No one has ever run experints on this—the cost is simply too massive. Therefore, no one knows exactly to what stage a child must develop before the father ending his Manifestation no longer affects its subsequent growth. Or rather, no one knows when exactly a 'Pureblood Deceiver' starts to be recognized by the world as an independent individual.

"Think about it carefully, Little Fan. It's simple math—if you were born to your parents, you would need at least twenty chips. A full twenty months—that is an exorbitant cost at the level of Ti Gold."

At this point, Gao Song's expression grew cold—even sowhat detached.

"—Your father is , not Gao Feng.

"Of course, you aren't the product of an affair between and your mother, either. You are not a Paradox Child who absolutely had to rely on the Ga of Deception to be born, but a test-tube baby forged into a 'true Paradox Child'. Those ten pieces of Silver of the Moon were actually completely wasted—or rather, they were just for show.

"Because it wasn't guaranteed you'd live to grow up, nor was it guaranteed you'd beco an outstanding enough person—let alone successfully beco a Deceiver and pass the Preliminary Match.

"And the ultimate goal of the plan was for you to inherit the family business, thereby leading the entire Gao enterprise to join the Noble Blood Society as a Pureblood Deceiver.

"Unlike a nouveau riche outfit like 'Divine Cody'—Divine Cody is rely the Deceiver organization currently cooperating best with the Authorities dostically. From its founding to now, it hasn't even been twenty years. It is neither the most influential, nor the earliest established.

"The foundation of the Chinese Chamber of Comrce alone far surpasses Divine Cody. It was established during the Republic of China era, and its predecessor can be traced back to the Hundred Days' Reform.

"And the influence of 'Noble Blood' far exceeds Divine Cody's—it holds absolute dominance in multiple countries. Almost all African warlords who attempted to resist colonialism died due to various 'reasonable coincidences'. Even the Arican War of Independence was directly tied to them.

"To this day, the shadows of the Noble Blood Society loom behind many Deceiver organizations in the United States. They control more than one country, because their leader is a demigod who passed the 'Final Challenge'.

"Entering 'Noble Blood' ans boarding an unsinkable Noah's Ark in the coming tidal wave of eras.

"That is why you are nad 'Gao Fan'."

This was the cold-blooded plan of Gao Fan's grandfather.

Ming Po's earlier judgnt was correct; Gao Song indeed "couldn't bear" to kill Gao Fan, but the details were slightly different.

Expending ten whole months' worth of Ti Chips—rendering himself as fragile as a mortal, just to birth an unremarkable child.

To this end, he was even willing to use his own son and daughter-in-law.

The reason he didn't have Gao Feng and his wife truly conceive Gao Fan was simply to save chips.

Because no one knew how long a pregnancy would take, and Manifestation couldn't be ended in between. Assuming a successful pregnancy took two months, the two of them would each have to pay twelve months, totaling two years of Ti Chips. And if the pregnancy wasn't successful by the third month, that entire two years' worth of ti would be completely wasted.

For the sake of efficiency and thrift, he chose to have Gao Fan's mother pretend to give birth to a Pureblood Deceiver.

This saved at least half the ti.

And after that, even Gao Song himself beca a Deceiver—which was likely to evade so sort of verification by the Noble Blood Society.

Now, Gao Fan's parents were indeed "already Deceivers."

And he was indeed born through the expenditure of chips.

"—I've long heard that capital is ruthless."

Ming Po scoffed, sighing, "But this is far too ruthless."

But what truly made his heart heavy was—

From this perspective, Gao Fan's existence truly had nothing to do with the Ga of Deception.

Could Gao Song's answer really be Gao Fan?

Would he really just blurt it out like that?

Did he actively expose this history just to prove that his answer could be valid?

If he hadn't said it, they would find it almost impossible to guess this answer!

So, did Gao Song just have nothing better to do? Actively seeking death?

—No matter how you looked at it, this was a trap.

Ming Po couldn't shake the feeling that he had overlooked so detail.

Precisely because a crucial missing link was absent, everything felt slightly wrong.

"—Is this... Mistletoe?"

He heard Gao Fan muttering in a low voice, "Your Title—is this what it ans?"

Yet Gao Song rely smiled, saying nothing.

But sotis, saying nothing was saying everything.

Because in that split second.

Ming Po's mind suddenly cleared—

Since the "Gao family" was a comrcial family leaning heavily towards Europe—

Then what if—the concept of a parasite was understood through European culture?

"Gao Fan—"

Ming Po asked slowly, "If we go by European culture, myths, and legends—

"What does Mistletoe remind you of?"