Game of Deception Chapter 40: I Will Bear Your Wish

The reason was simple.

No matter how low the difficulty of a ga was, it could never be infinitely low.

As long as soone accumulated enough chips to drastically alter the annals of ti... they would easily be erased by the massively changed past.

This was essentially just waiting to die.

"...There's no helping it."

Gao Fan smiled helplessly, his bloodstained face full of exhaustion. "We don't have a true captain, after all."

"Isn't that 'Ironblood Leader' your captain?"

"Of course not," Gao Fan said. "At the very least, it would have to be soone from the Domain of Force or the Domain of Virtue. If a team lacks a true core, it simply cannot expand. Once the numbers grow even slightly, it will inevitably fall apart.

"Only by uniting people through 'force' or 'virtue' can they be commanded and managed. Only then will people listen. Without soone from the Domain of Force acting as the leader, or submitting to the leader, there is almost no room for resistance the mont a real conflict occurs."

"What about you, then?" Ming Po countered. "Why did you join them?"

"...I misjudged soone." Gao Fan sighed. "Our 'leader' wasn't brought back by ."

'Yes, I could tell.' Ming Po remarked inwardly.

But he didn't interrupt Gao Fan's narrative, choosing to listen quietly instead.

"Xiao Ning, Wen Yu, and I entered during the sa Preliminary Match. Our Host was from the 'Domain of Virtue'. Because of that, she didn't assign us an overly difficult ga..." As Gao Fan spoke, his thoughts gradually drifted back to the past.

At that ti, twelve people had arrived.

They were stranded on a deserted island without any tools or supplies.

The island was a small, ten-square-kiloter landmass with abundant marine resources, but no fresh water. There were also so animals and unknown fruit trees scattered across the island.

The mission objective was to survive for seven days by any ans necessary.

'...Huh?'

'Why was your ga so easy?'

Ming Po listened in sheer bewildernt.

To him, a difficulty level like that was no different from a casual picnic.

And it wasn't just him... anyone with even a passing knowledge of wilderness survival could easily accomplish it.

Unless attacked by an animal like a bear, it was highly unlikely that anyone would even die.

But clearly, it was impossible for any ferocious beasts to exist on a deserted island of that size. Unless they were artificially introduced—the food chain there simply wasn't sufficient to sustain a predator population.

The only real difficulty, perhaps, was figuring out how to make the others listen.

"The first two days were actually quite good," Gao Fan murmured. "Everyone worked together. We built temporary shelters and a seawater filtration device... we had gathered so food, and it looked like the mission would be completed soon."

"And then soone started causing trouble, right?" Ming Po said casually.

Gao Fan nodded in silence.

This was perfectly normal.

When humans were pushed to the brink of life and death, the sheer pressure of survival made it easy for them to band together... but the mont that pressure eased, fierce disputes were far more likely to erupt.

Thinking of this, a mory flashed before Ming Po's eyes—a fragnt of a heated argunt among several companions while climbing a snowy mountain.

"There was this one guy... who wanted to control the others through violence. He wanted to be the leader... and his target was clearly Wen Yu," Gao Fan spoke softly.

Even by Ming Po's standards, Wen Yu was undeniably a very beautiful girl. Unlike Lin Ya or internet celebrities like Raccoon, she looked exactly like a young lady from an incredibly affluent background.

It wasn't surprising that soone would set their sights on her in a lawless wilderness.

"At the ti... another man imdiately voiced his opposition. He was very smart, likely highly educated. He was the one who had guided us in building all the survival gear... in fact, he was the only one among us who actually understood wilderness survival.

"His target was obviously Wen Yu as well. But compared to that dangerous brute, this man at least seed refined and unlikely to resort to violence. So, Wen Yu and I threw our lot in with him. Aside from us, most of the others felt the sa way... only the two most unpleasant individuals chose to join the other guy.

"Consequently, the team split. We were actually quite thrilled at the ti, thinking we had finally chased away those annoying jerks... and without the support of our facilities, they were bound to die out there. Although they looked physically stronger, we had nine people, giving us an absolute advantage in numbers."

"Ah... I can probably guess what happened next." Ming Po shook his head. "Sothing happened to your leader?"

"...Yes." Gao Fan remained silent for a mont before nodding. "When we woke up... we found that he had been captured, tied to a tree, and stoned to death.

"If he were still alive, perhaps everyone would have tried to find a way to rescue him. But he was already dead... and so, the team instantly fell apart.

"But they had absolutely no idea how to maintain or use the facilities. After tinkering around for a whole day, they only managed to waste a significant amount of purified water and food.

"Although that man was strong, he didn't know how to hunt either. None of us knew how to fish or hunt... and we had pretty much scavenged all the edible fruits we could find. So of them even caused stomachaches...

"And so... he decided to eat the forr leader's flesh."

"Did you eat it?" Ming Po asked curiously.

For the first ti, Gao Fan showed anger. "Of course not! Or rather, only four people ate it... we realized that if we stayed there any longer, it was highly likely we would beco their next al.

"Fortunately, he probably realized that if he continued to expend energy, surviving would beco even more difficult, so he didn't make another move on Wen Yu. Therefore, Wen Yu took Xiao Ning and and fled."

"Because you two looked the youngest, right?" Ming Po guessed why Wen Yu had done that. "She's quite clever... you two are technically of the opposite sex, which would invoke a protective desire in you, yet make you easier to command. And because you were 'younger', your personalities were naturally more docile and obedient... at the sa ti, being boys, you could help with so of the physical labor.

"The reason she brought two people was probably also for checks and balances."

"Yes..." Gao Fan looked exhausted just recalling it. "Fortunately, although the deserted island was small, there were still places to hide. We hid in a cave for three days, encountering wild dogs and snakes along the way... as well as other refugees seeking help.

"After we fled, two more people died at the camp. In the end, that 'leader' himself was bitten to death by a venomous snake... after that, so people went mad, and others fled. Our food and fresh water were already running low by then, but Chang Ning still split his own share and gave it to them.

"...Which imdiately attracted even more people."

No wonder he ultimately left the team, despite having obtained a Title from the Domain of Virtue.

Ming Po shook his head.

Because his very kindness had brought danger upon Wen Yu and Gao Fan.

"In the end, I was the one who led them through the dense jungle to escape. Those people quickly lost our trail... and precisely because of this shared experience of hardship, we ford a permanent team. I let them all stay at my house so we could participate in the gas as a group, lowering the risks.

"Xiao Ning would often undertake dangerous actions to help others... which also brought us more danger.

"And later... after Xiao Ning realized that his actions frequently conflicted with ours, he left the team on his own.

"I originally intended to take Wen Yu to find the next reliable team... However, after secretly participating in a ga by herself, Wen Yu brought that man back.

"He seems to be a forr classmate of Wen Yu's. Of course, even though she called him her boyfriend, I think he's just a simp.

"She brought him to my house without saying a word to —what could I possibly do? He already knows where I live, and he knows my real na. Yet I don't even know his full na."

Gao Fan spread his hands helplessly. "After all... I'm only this tall."

"You could just kill him." Ming Po narrowed his eyes and spoke softly. "Just like... what happened to your first leader."

"The two of them live together, which makes it too difficult." Gao Fan looked sowhat despondent. "Of course, you could also call a coward... If I expose any intention to kill him, he will kill ."

"What are their abilities?" Ming Po asked. "Titles shouldn't be unique, right?"

"Low-level Titles aren't, but special Titles with a certain classic significance like 'Frankenstein' should all be unique."

Gao Fan offered the information very readily. "The Diplomat's ability can simultaneously increase mutual favorability. The more secrets each party knows, the more favorability increases. And the 'Moon' prefix allows her to exchange secrets for secrets in the dead of night... Brother Xiao, you should already know this one.

"As for the 'Leader's' ability, he can use words to command those who are willing to obey him."

"Spirit words?" Ming Po was astonished. "It's that powerful?"

"Pretty much. As long as soone verbally acknowledges 'I will obey your commands' or 'I am willing to submit', he can directly order them to do anything. And augnted by the 'Ironblood' prefix, even if the target falls unconscious or into a state where they cannot move, as long as they can hear his voice, they can still be controlled."

Gao Fan explained the other party's abilities in ticulous detail.

This was clearly also the reason why he didn't dare to rebel.

"Then how do you break it?" Ming Po asked. "The Domain of Balance... shouldn't it be an equal exchange like the 'Diplomat'? Or like you, completely devoid of any offensive power."

"The flaw is actually quite simple. He cannot directly order the target to die, or to jump off a cliff... The more the target resists, the more physical stamina he consus. He can only control one person at a ti, and if he switches his command, the previous person breaks free from his control. Therefore, he will only enter a ga with one of us at a ti," Gao Fan explained.

—So that was it.

Ming Po realized that the battles and gambits between Deceivers of the World were, in a sense, information warfare!

In a situation where neither side knew the other's abilities, even a very weak ability could very likely allow the weak to defeat the strong!

With Gao Fan's intelligence, Ming Po had finally truly integrated into the circle of Deceivers of the World!

Suddenly, Ming Po thought of sothing.

He asked casually, "You ntioned earlier... that the Domain of Force plays the role of a 'tyrant' or 'protector' within a team. So I suppose the Domain of Wisdom should take the role of a strategist or commander...

"Then, what about the Domain of Slaughter?"

"...They're just a bunch of psychopaths."

Gao Fan frowned deeply. "Even our previous leader could only ever belong to the 'Domain of Force' at best, and could never obtain a Title from the 'Domain of Slaughter'.

"The act of overwhelming others with power falls under 'Strength'. Even if one kills everyone in the process, it still belongs to 'Strength'. Only when the sole purpose itself is killing can one obtain the 'Domain of Slaughter'.

"So... if possible, we usually prioritize targeting Deceivers from the Domain of Slaughter. Because no one knows what they are thinking. Moreover, in terms of pure combat power, Deceivers from the Domain of Slaughter usually cannot compare to those of the sa tier from the Domain of Force... What they excel at is rely the 'ability to kill others', and all their Titles co with negative side effects.

"Of course, unless it's a pure battle of wits or a pure physical combat ga... then people from the Domain of Wisdom or the Domain of Force must be eliminated first. Because they're just too skilled."

Gao Fan added, "At least, that's how it's played at our rank. Whoever the expert is, gets targeted first."

"I understand..."

Ming Po nodded slowly.

He stared at Gao Fan for a mont, and just as Gao Fan was beginning to feel a bit creeped out by the intense gaze, Ming Po suddenly asked, "What is your wish for participating in the Ga of Deception, Gao Fan?"

Hearing these words, Gao Fan froze.

But soon, this clever little man understood the intent behind "Brother Xiao's" words—

—If necessary, he would kill him.

Whether a conflict of interest arose during a ga, or if he was forced to abandon him to escape... or even if they had to fight to the death in a final ga.

He would kill him.

And after that, he would help him fulfill his wish.

It was like finding a scapegoat to take the fall for a cri, and asking them, "How much money does your family still need?"

The mont those words were spoken, it was equivalent to selling himself out.

Although incredibly cold-blooded... it felt surprisingly okay.

It was far better than being sold out rcilessly without ever being asked, and having half the cut taken to boot.

"...You'll resurrect , right?"

Gao Fan couldn't help but plead.

"As long as you don't betray ."

Ming Po smiled, coaxing him in a low voice. "Although there can be only one final victor... they never said that this one person can only do one thing, did they?

"If I obtain the authority of a god, why wouldn't I help my friends?

"Although by then you probably won't even rember ... won't know that you had a friend like . But your wishes will all be fulfilled, and you'll live a happy life in a peaceful world. What's wrong with that?"

Gao Fan remained silent for a mont before stating his wish.

"I want to resurrect my parents."

"Done."

Ming Po nodded. "I'll rember it. I will bear your wish."

Saying this, he pointed toward the main door.

"Then co on," he stated. "Let see what you're capable of.

"Teach how to team up and enter a ga."

Ming Po didn't plan on switching back to his "Werewolf" Title, nor did he intend to return to his own ho.

He intended to see just exactly what kind of ttle his "teammate" possessed.