"Congratulations to you both. You have won the ga."
Twenty Faces bowed deeply to Ming Po and Gao Fan.
She completely ignored Gao Song, who had crumbled into black ash. Her gentle, slightly cloying voice carried the encouraging and appreciative tone of a kindergarten teacher. Ming Po ignored her.
He simply picked up the switchblade Gao Fan had given him from the table, pushed the button forward, and flicked it open.
The originally white blade was now stained a vibrant red. The front three or four centiters of the edge had turned dark crimson. Slightly further back, there were fading, speckled traces of blood.
He turned to face Gao Fan.
Thinking Ming Po had sothing to say, Gao Fan turned around as well.
To his surprise, Ming Po reached out, grabbed the corner of Gao Fan's shirt, and tried to wipe the blood off the dagger.
"Hey!"
Gao Fan felt a flash of irritation.
His voice was hoarse, on the verge of tears. In that mont, he wanted to cry, to laugh, and to yell in frustration. He felt as though Ming Po had stirred his brain into a pulp.
Seeing him like this, the corners of Ming Po's mouth curled up slightly.
If it were the old Gao Fan, he certainly wouldn't have dared to utter a single word of complaint or even breathe heavily in his direction.
Although Gao Fan had acknowledged him as the team leader... he was usually far too polite.
Or perhaps, one could call it fear.
After all, Gao Fan had personally witnessed Ming Po's madness.
The very first ti they t, Ming Po had relentlessly hunted him down.
Ming Po had trailed him from a distance, making his heart pound wildly—only to appear right in front of him the mont he turned around, instantly kicking him to the ground. The terror was on par with Dead by Daylight.
After that, he had watched Ming Po effortlessly rip both arms off his forr captain... Upon entering the living room, he found a woman slumped on the sofa with a remote control shoved into her neck.
Throughout all of that, Ming Po hadn't even used a weapon.
The sheer impact of that scene was so overwhelming it had left Gao Fan terrified out of his wits.
Truth be told, even the ghosts in the supernatural instance Gao Fan participated in later were nowhere near as terrifying as Ming Po.
Although Ming Po had eventually acknowledged him, Gao Fan had always remained cautious, terrified of making a single mistake or saying the wrong word.
He was, after all, different from Ai Shiping.
Ai Shiping was genuinely Ming Po's friend from long ago... but Gao Fan didn't even know if he qualified as a friend.
What exactly was his role?
A friend? A subordinate? A lackey? An employee? A tool? A mascot?
Or... simply a highly useful instrunt?
Ming Po always seed unhinged. Even though they had exchanged true nas, Gao Fan continued to walk on eggshells.
It was like encountering a fully grown tiger raised in a zoo—even if logic dictated it was full and trained not to eat people, Gao Fan would never dare try to hug it or even step forward to pet it.
But now, things were different.
The previous ga had been far too simple for Ming Po.
Ming Po had guided him through this fatally dangerous ga. Until the very end, during the most perilous life-or-death round, he hadn't betrayed Ming Po, and Ming Po hadn't sold him out.
It was only then...
Gao Fan finally realized that Ming Po genuinely considered him a friend.
He could finally let go of so of the distance, reverence, and extre caution he normally maintained.
And this was exactly what Ming Po truly wanted—a sincere friend who wouldn't betray, forget, sell out, or use him.
To him, there was no treasure more precious than a friend.
If the price was rely participating in a life-threatening ga, Ming Po considered it an absolute bargain. Even a Pyrrhic victory where he was left with only a single breath could be considered a massive triumph.
"...It won't wipe off."
Ming Po rubbed the blade with the corner of Gao Fan's shirt a few tis before realizing it wasn't just a bloodstain.
The blood seed to have been seared into the blade, transforming into a pattern.
Right now, however, Ming Po couldn't see the specific attributes of this switchblade, which had evolved into a Treasure after being stained with Gao Song's blood. He would have to re-equip the Detective Title later to appraise it.
Generally speaking, though... it should have so connection to Mistletoe.
It would be great if it rolled the Luck attribute.
Now, Ming Po finally understood the true value of Luck.
Those questions Gao Fan had asked...
"Is it a living creature?", "Is it related to the Ga of Deception?", "Is it a tool or a toy?", "Does it share a bloodline with Gao Song?"—although these questions seed either aningless or had even severely hampered Ming Po... looking back, he realized every single one was absolutely crucial.
Had even one been missing, Ming Po would have been unable to deduce the final answer, or would have definitely been led astray.
Even Ming Po himself had needed to activate the Madman Title, which boosted the Luck attribute, to completely resist Gao Song's suppression.
No wonder... so many Deceivers wanted to "borrow" Gao Fan.
In the Ga of Deception, luck was incredibly important—it was an attribute one practically had to actively stack.
It was like playing a tabletop RPG, where there were dexterity checks that resulted in full damage if failed, and constitution checks that left you afflicted... A luck check, on the other hand, was essentially an instant-death roll.
Though it might seem useless normally, running into an opponent who specialized in Luck ant that failing the check resulted in almost certain death. Ming Po had finally seen firsthand that the setups constructed by Deceivers... didn't necessarily have to be combat-oriented. The Domain of Strength and Domain of Slaughter weren't the only ones with mutually reinforcing ability systems.
Gao Song, from the Domain of Balance, had his own Luck-based build. It had truly been an eye-opening experience for Ming Po.
What about the Domain of Wisdom? Or the Domain of Virtue?
Would they also have their own unique setups? Their own... palaces, and their own gas?
"Do you really have to use my shirt to wipe that?"
Gao Fan was at a loss.
"It's your dad's blood."
Ming Po smiled broadly. "Use the original solution for the original problem, right?"
In the past, he would never have made such a crass joke with Gao Fan—because he was worried Gao Fan would end up hating him.
His unvented aggression had always been reserved exclusively for Ai Shiping.
Now, there was finally soone else to share it with.
"...Sigh."
Gao Fan waved his hand weakly, letting out a deep sigh.
"You're not happy?"
Ming Po leaned in closer. "Isn't winning the ga a good thing? Your... revenge? It's over."
"It's just that... I don't even know if this revenge has any aning anymore."
Gao Fan looked lost.
He had brought Ming Po here because he wanted to avenge his parents—Gao Song had killed his parents...
But now, he had discovered... that his biological father was actually Gao Song.
Gao Fan had ended up killing his own father.
And his "birth parents" hadn't loved him as much as he thought; the grandfather he believed to be kind and gentle was also... soone he didn't even know how to describe.
Gao Fan's upbringing was too polite for him to curse. Let alone curse his own family.
To him, simply calling soone by their full na was already highly disrespectful—and he had indeed done exactly that.
But what he struggled to let go of the most was...
"I don't even know... about his final words..."
Gao Fan murmured softly. "Did he say, 'Take good care of little Fan'... or did he say, 'Take good care of little Gao'?"
Even at the very end, Gao Fan didn't know whether he truly counted as Gao Song's son.
He was already an orphan who had lost both parents.
Now, after learning the truth, Gao Fan had lost a "real father" and a "loving grandfather" all over again.
He no longer had a ho.
"I have a suggestion."
Right at that mont, Twenty Faces suddenly spoke up. "If Young Master Fan doesn't wish to join the Noble Blood Society, you can also go to the Wenzhou Old Residence."
Ever since Gao Song's death, the way she addressed Gao Fan had subtly changed.
"The Deceiver organization founded by your grandfather, the High Mountain Association, remains the largest Deceiver organization in Wenzhou to this day. It holds imnse influence in Italy, being the country's third-largest organization, as well as the largest overseas Chinese association in Europe."
Hearing this, Ming Po looked at the host with piqued interest.
He asked bluntly, "You're from the High Mountain Association too, aren't you? What is your relationship with the old man of the Gao family? Are you his mistress?"
"Yes."
The smile on Twenty Faces' face remained unchanged.
She had once again used a single answer for two questions—leaving it ambiguous as to which one she was answering, or if she was answering both.
"Now that Young Master Gao Song is dead, my mission is complete."
Twenty Faces looked at Gao Fan and nodded. "I will be leaving Shanghai... We will et again if fate allows."
As her voice faded, the surrounding palace shook violently and collapsed, as if struck by an earthquake.
It felt as though a massive boulder had fallen from the sky and crushed Ming Po.
The world before Ming Po's eyes was instantly swallowed by darkness.
[Twenty Questions of Death, Cleared]
[Host: Twenty Faces (Wisdom - Silver)]
[Difficulty: 1 Week]
[Players Cleared: 2]
[This ga contains additional rules]
[You have completed the special rules, obtaining rewards: Ti Chips; Zhou's Azure Lead (1 Token)]
[Evaluating...]
[Special advancent conditions for "Madman" t, Title has advanced—]
["Madman" is plundering affixes]
[Affix obtained: Silver Crown. Title changed to "Madman's Silver Crown"]
[Silver Crown: Immune to active ntal interference effects such as mind control, mind reading, charm, hypnosis, and fear. Can resist interference up to the "Silver of Moon" level]
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