Game of Deception Chapter 36: What Did You Bring Back?

Hearing this, the young man's pupils emitted a faint green glow.

In an instant, it felt as though a green breeze rippled out in all directions.

Following that, his face grew increasingly pale—

Because according to his perception, the mortality rate 'ahead' of him had reached nearly 100%!

"Hmph..."

Ming Po released his neck, sowhat intrigued.

This guy was definitely useful.

Who raised a tool of this caliber?

Ming Po absolutely did not believe he was wild—judging from his reaction speed, he at least knew that "Deceivers of the World in the Material Realm can attack each other."

Keep in mind, Ming Po himself hadn't known that rule.

What if Deceivers weren't allowed to attack each other outside the ga?

This ant the young man had at least experienced, or witnessed, a battle between Deceivers in the Material Realm.

And his ability was undoubtedly brimming with value.

Being able to actively sense a "path of survival" ant that Ming Po wouldn't have had to gamble his life in the path-choosing stage of his previous Promotion ga. If this kid entered that Promotion ga, he could rely on his Title ability to skip that stage entirely.

By the sa logic, if others entered the ga with him, they could also enjoy this kind of support.

"What is your na?"

Ming Po asked.

The young man's eyes widened.

He looked at Ming Po in disbelief, but quickly realized his situation.

"Gao Fan, my na is Gao Fan!"

He answered reluctantly, yet with a hint of urgency.

In a sense... Deceivers and demons shared similarities.

Once a true na was given, it ant being subject to the other's control. The other party could eliminate them at any mont by rewinding ti.

An attack from the future was unblockable.

But equally so—

Since he had surrendered his na, it ant he didn't have to die just yet.

He had regained his usefulness!

This realization made the young man sigh in relief.

"My na is Xiao Ke."

Ming Po said slowly, fully releasing his grip. "You can treat it as my na."

He ultimately didn't dare to give out Ai Shiping's na again, and offering his true na was completely out of the question.

So he casually ca up with this alias.

Both 'Xiao' and 'Ming' contained the character for moon, while 'Ke' ant a jade-like stone, perfectly corresponding to the 'Po' in amber.

He might use this face for a long ti, so it was better to give this identity a na straight away.

Seeing Gao Fan's skeptical look, Ming Po simply chuckled. "Of course, you can also test... whether this is my real na."

"...A honeypot?"

Gao Fan muttered.

He clearly didn't believe the na either, remaining filled with suspicion.

Hearing this, Ming Po grew sowhat interested.

Honeypot—that was a tactic in cybersecurity. Simply put, a honeypot was bait thrown out for hackers to attack.

If a hacker accidentally stepped into the honeypot, their attack intentions, thods, and even motives would be exposed. This allowed evidence and other intelligence to be gathered while keeping the core system safe.

In other words, he could set up an alias with a real identity. If this identity died inexplicably, he would know that soone had launched a temporal attack against him.

Especially since the history of non-Deceivers could be altered unconditionally with imdiate effect... even if the "honeypot" was breached, one could return to the past to reset it.

Although Ming Po hadn't thought of it exactly like that, he realized... this actually made a lot of sense.

In a way, he had unconsciously used Ai Shiping as a honeypot!

Moreover, Ming Po imdiately thought of a new tactic—

—"Canary deploynt".

This concept originated from the old practice of exploring mine shafts.

Miners would use a caged canary to determine if there were toxic gases in the mine. This was sowhat similar to the "ghost blowing out the candle" trope in tomb-raiding novels.

Later, this strategy was adopted for "canary releases" in software or sniffing out spies.

For example, giving different pieces of intel to different suspects, and then observing which piece leaked to know where the problem lay. Although it might not pinpoint the spy directly, it could drastically narrow the field of suspicion.

By the sa token, if Ming Po gave different real identities to different people, he could figure out who betrayed him by observing who got attacked.

Ming Po slightly narrowed his eyes.

Although he didn't plan on using it that way...

It also ant that if he obtained soone else's true na, he shouldn't casually betray them either.

Because it could very well be a trap.

With this thought, Ming Po cast a surprised glance at the young man.

—This kid knows a thing or two.

Ming Po reached out and pulled Gao Fan up, leading him to sit on the side of the road.

Watching the gray flow of traffic pass silently before them, Ming Po said evenly, "Speak."

"...About what?"

"Why were you there?"

Ming Po said, turning to look at Gao Fan. "You've been here more than once, haven't you?"

Color gradually returned to Gao Fan's pale face.

Because Gao Fan cleverly realized one thing—the other party was at least not an enemy seeking revenge.

"I ca... to help a teammate..."

Gao Fan said, pausing for a mont before adding, "To help a friend check on his family."

"A friend? Family?"

Ming Po repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Is his surna Gu?"

"...His surna is Chang."

"Chang Ning?"

Ming Po confird.

Gao Fan stared at Ming Po in astonishnt.

A smile instantly blood on his face, hope and relief flashing in his eyes.

He hurriedly brushed the dust off Ming Po's shoulders, smiling apologetically as he said, "Oh my... Brother Xiao, what a mix-up... This is a misunderstanding between friends!"

Even though he had just been forced to surrender his own na... Chang Ning was not soone who could be forced to give up his true na! He had things he absolutely had to accomplish—

Since the other party could speak Chang Ning's true na and had appeared at Gu Ke'er's house, it ant he was highly likely a friend, not a foe!

"...You're quite the smooth talker."

Ming Po glanced at him. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-eight."

"?"

Ming Po was stunned for a mont and took another look at the 'kid'.

He looked fourteen at most—no, even that was a generous estimate.

Earlier, Ming Po had genuinely thought he was a child.

"Dwarfism."

Gao Fan stated frankly. "I'm only this tall... and I'll still be this tall in ten years."

"Apologies."

Ming Po slightly lowered his head.

"It's nothing," Gao Fan said nonchalantly, sitting back down beside Ming Po. "It's actually kind of a good thing. Everyone takes care of because I look young..."

"I don't know if you play tabletop RPGs, Brother Xiao... but we halflings have always been blessed with Luck. Oh, it's sort of like... The Lord of the Rings, have you seen it?"

Ming Po nodded, not saying much in response.

Gao Fan finally relaxed completely.

He let out a breath, straightening his disheveled clothes while speaking in a low voice, "I heard... Little Ning gave up on becoming a Deceiver of the World."

"Aren't you his teammate? Why is Chang Ning alone?"

"I used to be."

Gao Fan sighed, shaking his head slightly. "We t 'offline' and cooperated in two gas. But later... he beca a bit extre. It's hard for a mature team to accept a teammate who always insists on radical strategies... You understand, right? To avoid arguing with us, he voluntarily withdrew."

"Mhm."

Ming Po nodded, pretending to understand perfectly. "That's how I was able to et him."

Now, Ming Po finally understood—

Why this guy knew Chang Ning and seed to have a good relationship with him... yet didn't recognize his current face.

Obviously, Chang Ning only started going crazy after he left the team to act alone. It was even possible that at the ti, the Title he held wasn't Frankenstein!

However...

...Teammates?

Ming Po didn't believe that other Deceivers couldn't see through it... there could only be one final winner in this ga.

In a ga where everyone was destined to be eliminated, how hypocritical the existence of 'teammates' was.

Ming Po frowned deeply.

He absolutely despised betrayal—or rather, mainly other people betraying him.

In the very first ga, Ming Po had specifically laid a trap for this: anyone wanting to betray him would die by their own intentions.

And forming a fixed team ant... if this team won the ultimate victory, they would have to slaughter each other until only one remained.

Teammates who entrusted their lives to each other along the way, only to beco mortal enemies where only one could survive after all foes were annihilated—wasn't that laughable?

Or did a few people want to grasp the authority to kill everyone else at any ti and rule together as gods?

That inevitably wouldn't be a stable state.

Ming Po shook his head.

He couldn't help but ask, "Your team..."

He paused mid-sentence, then changed his phrasing. "How many people are there right now?"

"Three. We aren't together for every ga. Usually, we operate in pairs... to avoid gas where we must kill each other."

Gao Fan's eyes lit up. "Brother Xiao... how about you join us?"

"Do they all know Chang Ning too?"

"One of them has also been out with Little Ning before. The three of us passed the Preliminary Match in the sa batch back then."

Gao Fan spoke openly. "We were all brought out by the sa Host, and we've relied on each other through life and death... our relationship is closer than with others."

...It seems your gas aren't the battle royale type.

The corners of Ming Po's mouth curled up imperceptibly for a fleeting mont.

Fortunately, they only knew the Chang Ning from before...

Then... there shouldn't be a need to kill them directly.

How truly fortunate.

You children just picked up a second lease on life.

"Sounds... rather interesting."

Ming Po patted Gao Fan's shoulder, a warm smile slowly appearing on his pale, stitched-up face. "Take to see them."

"Alright!"

Gao Fan, completely unaware of what he had just done, revealed a rather excited expression.