Game of Deception Chapter 37: Gao Fan's Teammates

Gao Fan took Ming Po on a full hour-long subway ride, transferring twice before they finally stepped off at Nanjing East Road Station.

"I have a feeling... we might not make it back tonight," Ming Po said casually as they walked down the street. "The subway is going to stop running soon."

"There's nothing we can do about it. Hiring a driver is way too extravagant."

Gao Fan looked entirely helpless. "We can't afford it... If worse cos to worst, you can just stay over and we can chat. You can leave tomorrow. It's not like we're short on ti anyway."

How extravagant could hiring a driver really be?

...To be fair, it actually was quite extravagant.

As Deceivers of the World who could not interface with the Material Realm, any interaction they wished to have with the mortal world required utilizing the power of Ti Chips to briefly manifest. This ant that even if they just wanted to call a driver to pick them up, they would have to spend at least one lowest-grade chip.

Using a power that could alter the past hour just to hire a driver... that was indeed quite a luxury.

"Good thing we can use the subway..."

Ming Po sighed. "Otherwise, just leaving the house would be a massive pain."

After getting a bit more familiar with each other on the train, Gao Fan had gradually stopped fearing this tall, taciturn man with the chilly aura.

"That's exactly why... only Deceivers of the World in big cities form groups," Gao Fan said with a shrug. "At the very least, it has to be a city with a subway, an airport, and a high-speed rail station all at once. Otherwise, traveling to other places is simply too difficult for them.

"After all, the location of an Anchor Point is fixed, and there must be a specific entrance connected to the real world. Aside from one's own ho, it's usually a hotel room or a school classroom at most.

"Brother Xiao, you probably don't go out much, do you? Actually, if you wander around the subway station during the day when you're free, you're highly likely to spot other Deceivers of the World. Because this is the only place everyone cos to. Whether it's to exchange information or trade chips, it's pretty useful... It's almost closing ti now, so everyone has headed back."

Gao Fan was a very clever person.

From the mont Ming Po asked how many people were in his team, he suddenly realized... though this "Brother Xiao" was incredibly powerful in a fight, he seed to be a relatively new Deceiver of the World—

Because he was completely clueless about a lot of common knowledge.

Yet, Gao Fan didn't break this unspoken understanding by asking him directly.

Instead, during their chat, he casually dropped a few pointers as if it were nothing, weaving this common knowledge into their idle conversation to inform Ming Po.

"...Trade chips?"

Since the other party had tactfully labeled him a shut-in, Ming Po didn't expose the truth and simply followed up on the question.

"Ti Chips can be broken down but can't be combined," Gao Fan explained in a childish voice. "But where there's a will, there's a way... even if they can't be combined, it was never said they couldn't be traded.

"Even high-rank Deceivers of the World need low-grade chips. After all, loose change is usually spent the fastest.

"So normally, while [One Day] can be broken down into [Twenty-Four Hours], there will definitely be people willing to exchange [One Day] for [Thirty Hours] or even [Thirty-Two Hours], right?"

Gao Fan smiled. "See, Brother Xiao? Isn't that how you trade low-grade chips for high-grade ones?"

An over-the-counter market.

Ming Po understood.

If that was the logic...

He cast a glance at Gao Fan and suddenly asked, "Then, have you ever been traded?"

He placed heavy emphasis on the word "you."

"...Ah, of course."

The smile on Gao Fan's face faded slightly, though it was quickly replaced by a sowhat artificial grin. "After all, I'm very useful!"

As expected.

If chips could be traded, then other resources could be traded too.

And that naturally included... manpower.

Aside from utility-type Deceivers of the World like Gao Fan who could "warn of danger" and "find the right path," it was highly probable that other types of Deceivers of the World possessed similar niche abilities. For instance, healing capabilities, telepathy, or even clairvoyance—

If a team originally had a solid composition but lost a vital mber to an accident, leaving their entire structure unstable... then paying a hefty price to rent a teammate would be perfectly logical.

Since they could party up with mbers of their own team, there was no reason they couldn't party up with outsiders.

In that case...

A aningful smile touched the corners of Ming Po's mouth.

Gao Fan bringing him back to their stronghold wasn't quite so innocent, was it?

Soon enough, he followed Gao Fan to a villa.

"...This place doesn't co cheap."

Ming Po was sowhat surprised. "A single square ter here must cost a hundred and fifty to a hundred and sixty thousand. For an Anchor Point to be here... could this be your captain's house?"

He knew this area. Even within Huangpu District, it was considered an exceptionally elite, high-end residential neighborhood. A single property could easily cost thirty million.

Based on the theory that an Anchor Point was usually one's own ho, did that an... soone in Gao Fan's team had lived here when they were alive?

"Ah..."

At this, Gao Fan turned around and smiled. "This is my house."

...?

Hearing this, Ming Po was stunned for a mont.

—Well, look at that. You don't look like much, but you're actually a rich kid?

Unsurprisingly, Gao Fan didn't knock. He unlocked the door and walked right in, with Ming Po following close behind.

A man and a woman ca forward to et them—both looked to be in their twenties or thirties, relatively young.

"Little Gao..."

The man was about to say sothing when he spotted Ming Po standing behind Gao Fan.

He instantly grew vigilant, a faint green light gleaming in his pupils as he demanded, "Who are you?"

"This is Brother Xiao."

Gao Fan said with a smile, "He's a friend of mine and Little Ning's... He's just here to hang out."

The man's gaze swept over Ming Po before he frowned at Gao Fan. "...Why didn't you discuss it with us before bringing a friend back?"

He didn't bother introducing himself, his tone laced with reproach.

Gao Fan didn't talk back; he rely lowered his head.

"Alright, alright..."

The woman, who possessed refined features and a gentle deanor that made her look like a wealthy young lady, stepped in to play peacemaker.

She held the man's arm, coaxing him, "Since he's Little Ning's friend, he can't be a bad person, right?"

"Yeah," Gao Fan finally spoke up. "Little Ning is a Deceiver of the World from the Domain of Virtue... What kind of bad person could soone he trusts possibly be?

"—Since he's a friendly person, why shouldn't I introduce him to us? We can't just keep our team at three people forever, never growing or shrinking, can we?"

"Three people is already plenty..."

The man seed to want to argue, but he quickly shook his head instead.

He stepped forward and extended his hand toward Ming Po.

He said, "I am the Ironblood Leader, and this is the Moon Diplomat. We are a team from the Domain of Balance... We don't have anyone from the Domain of Virtue here. I'm sorry."

Ming Po narrowed his eyes slightly.

He understood the underlying ssage.

What this "Leader" ant was that they weren't the kind of team ford under the charismatic guidance of a Deceiver of the World from the Domain of Virtue.

As a pure Domain of Balance team, they had no intention of accepting anyone else.

In other words, he was kicking him out.