As Utopia was about to leave through the fog door, she suddenly realized sothing.
She turned back to Ming Po and asked, "By the way, who is your Host?"
"It's Ink," Ming Po replied.
He was quite curious about Ink's reputation himself, so he saw no reason to hide it.
"...That guy."
Utopia nodded, her expression relaxing slightly; evidently, she didn't have much of an issue with him. "He's alright. He's a normal person. Although he likes to set up highly dangerous Confrontations to breed the strongest survivors, he won't maliciously arrange gas that players can't handle, nor will he hide crucial information or deliberately sow discord."
'Ink is actually considered normal?'
The thought popped into Ming Po's mind.
His very first ga was supposed to be either Death of the Minority or Escape the Sheepfold. Regardless of which, both were bloody gas where twelve people would be whittled down to just three.
So, in the Host industry, being a "normal person" was already considered above average?
Then what kind of attitude did the abnormal ones have?
Shouldn't Hosts be focused on nurturing powerful Deceivers of the World to save themselves?
She cast a thoughtful glance at Ming Po. "Then I think I know who you are. Ink did ntion that he encountered an incredibly formidable figure... It seems he was talking about you."
After that, Utopia said nothing more and departed through the fog door.
It wasn't until the Host left that Gao Fan finally relaxed and slumped onto the sofa.
"You were as nervous as an elentary schooler getting a ho visit from their horoom teacher."
Ming Po said leisurely, "Utopia seems to have a pretty good temper. What were you so afraid of?"
"It's scarier than that," Gao Fan grumbled. "She feels more like my mom than my teacher."
Ming Po was speechless.
For a split second, he almost spat out a sarcastic remark.
However, to maintain his persona as a cold and aloof tough guy, he held it in.
Although his attitude toward Gao Fan had softened considerably compared to the beginning as they grew more familiar...
Until he revealed that Xiao Ke was a fake na, Ming Po was firmly determined to play his role perfectly.
"Don't you think," Gao Fan muttered incessantly, "that Utopia's expectations for ... are too high? I'm under a lot of pressure. I really don't want to disappoint her, but I simply can't et them..."
Ming Po didn't respond, only giving him a rather peculiar look.
Gao Fan coughed and said to Ming Po, "Anyway, that's how it is—Deceivers who die in the real world simply die. Their bodies won't disappear, but the Host can extract the remaining Ti Chips from their corpses.
"This procedure requires one chip as a toll for the Host to travel to the Material Realm, and then half of the remaining chips are taken as a processing fee."
"...Since that's the case," Ming Po suddenly asked, "would there be people who don't participate in gas and just constantly hunt other Deceivers in reality?"
"Of course there are, which is why everyone bands together."
Gao Fan shook his head. "Unless the other party voluntarily opens their door, a Deceiver cannot enter another person's ho. They can only freely enter public transportation that 'allows anyone to enter.'
"But even so, there are still people who ambush others near residential zones or subway stations... That's why I was so scared when I saw you."
"For example..."
Ming Po recalled the saying that 'the Domain of Slaughter only knows how to kill', so he asked, "Are you talking about Deceivers from the Domain of Slaughter?"
"Yeah. Abilities from the Domain of Slaughter usually aren't good for clearing gas, but they are highly effective at attacking other Deceivers. They are often targeted in gas, so they take revenge on others in reality... or resort to robbing and plundering chips."
Gao Fan added, "However, killing a Deceiver might also trigger retaliation. Their Host will know about it, and if the Host thinks highly of that person, they might share your information with their other contracted Deceivers as revenge. But whether those people will actually make a move against you is not guaranteed."
He spoke softly, subconsciously glancing at the sofa—the exact spot where Wen Yu used to sit. "Wen Yu's Host and mine are both Utopia, and the Host of our forr 'leader' is nad Shi Gandang. He also despised that man's behavior, so you don't need to worry about being retaliated against, Brother Xiao."
"Are the ranks of all Hosts... that high?" Ming Po asked.
"None of them are too low. The lower-rank ones usually revive after six months to a year."
Gao Fan shrugged. "The ones who can hold out and refuse to revive are basically all veterans."
"Alright..."
Ming Po said, walking toward the main door.
He looked back at Gao Fan. "Do you need to rest a bit more?"
"Ah... no need. I can't sleep anyway. Let's play a round."
"Speaking of which, do we really need sleep? Aren't we already dead?"
"I don't know, I've never felt sleepy anyway. But with so much free ti on our hands, what else is there to do besides sleep... host a wild party?"
Gao Fan shook his head, picked up the three chips from the table, and walked over.
He pointed at the slots on the door. "The thod to team up for a ga is very simple... As long as multiple people are present within your own Anchor Point, the team-up chanism is already activated.
"Whoever inserts their coin first is the one initiating the ga. After that, don't open the door. Wait until everyone else has inserted their coins, and when you open it, it will be a multiplayer ga.
"Only Promotion gas don't have a Host; all other gas are selected by a Host. 'Adventure' refers to PVE, and 'Confrontation' refers to PVP. If you enter an 'Adventure' alone, it could be single-player or multiplayer... but a 'Confrontation' is guaranteed to be multiplayer, and teaming up for an 'Adventure' also guarantees it will be multiplayer.
"Furthermore, an 'Adventure' ans the ga has a specific world setting. If you can decipher this world setting, you can record the world and continue entering it next ti.
"The two worlds I've recorded are 'Nuclear Wasteland' and 'Doomsday Zombies.' They are said to be quite dangerous, but I feel they're alright. However, they are both 'Hour's Red Copper' rank gas... I suppose you definitely wouldn't want to play such low-rank gas again, right?"
Gao Fan said, looking at Ming Po.
He was quite smart.
When Gao Fan heard Utopia say she might know who 'Brother Xiao' was, he had already guessed that his new captain might be an outrageously fresh newbie—perhaps soone who hadn't participated in any gas other than the Preliminary Match and the Promotion ga.
Ming Po smiled. "Of course."
He gently touched the door, and information surfaced:
[Promotion, Cost: 1 Zhou's Azure Lead]
[Adventure, Cost: 1 Hour's Red Copper / 1 Day's False Gold / 1 Zhou's Azure Lead]
[Confrontation, Cost: 1 Hour's Red Copper / 1 Day's False Gold / 1 Zhou's Azure Lead]
[Leave, Cost: None]
"The gas you can participate in are based on your rank, plus or minus one level. Once you are promoted to the third tier, 'Zhou's Azure Lead,' you won't be able to enter Hour's Red Copper gas anymore."
Gao Fan spoke frankly, "This is probably an anti-smurfing chanism... which is why I've always been doing loot runs in 'Hour's Red Copper' rank gas. The strongest players you can et here are at most the sa rank as , making it relatively safe."
"Loot runs?"
"Ah, it ans avoiding combat and just collecting resources. Do you not play video gas, Brother Xiao?"
"I've played a few, but not many."
Ming Po lied, placing a Day's False Gold into the second slot.
A clink rang out as the coin was inserted, followed by black and red rose patterns spreading across the door, creeping out like blooming rust.
In the exact center of the door, a golden sun emblem materialized.
At that mont, two chips were suddenly stuffed into Ming Po's hand.
"...Hm?"
Ming Po looked back at Gao Fan in confusion.
He had handed two of those three chips to Ming Po. The remaining one, he inserted into the sa slot alongside Ming Po's.
In the next mont, the black and red rose patterns slowly multiplied, making the design on the door even more complex.
"Dividing the spoils."
Gao Fan didn't look at Ming Po, rely saying nonchalantly, "Just open the door now."
"Heh..."
Ming Po smiled and didn't hand them back.
"It's not dividing the spoils."
He spoke, picking up one of the chips and absorbing it into his body. "This is a commission."
Then, Ming Po picked up the other one. "And this one...
"I'll use it to purchase your loyalty."
Saying that, Ming Po flicked it into the air.
It flew up, spun a few tis, and landed perfectly in Gao Fan's hand.
At that mont, Ming Po suddenly experienced a brief hallucination—
Watching Gao Fan frantically catch the chip, he thought of Lin Ya.
'I wonder if that little rabbit is still alive right now.'
Ming Po's gaze darkened slightly as he thought of the "rabbit" and the "fox."
'...I also wonder if Lin Ya was the one behind the operation that killed Ai Shiping.'
'Taking my money and still wanting to betray ... it won't be that easy.'
Thinking of this, Ming Po gripped the door handle even tighter with his right hand.
He forcefully pulled the door open, and a cold, gloomy wind howled in his face.
Outside the door lay a black and red vortex. Deep within its center was nothing but pitch-black darkness where one couldn't even see their own fingers.
Since Gao Fan was willing to give him an extra chip, Ming Po decided to protect him one more ti.
Ming Po didn't really care for the single chip.
Compared to tangible benefits, Ming Po cared more about the attitude of others. Just like a gift given by a child to their parents...
Ming Po didn't lack the money to buy the gift; rather, he valued the filial piety behind it.
It was only at this mont that he truly viewed Gao Fan as a "potential teammate"... and not just a "subordinate" to be ordered around.
"Let's go."
After speaking, Ming Po walked into the vortex without looking back.
Gao Fan hurriedly absorbed the chip into his body, gritted his teeth, and followed him in.
After swallowing the two of them, the vortex and the darkness slowly vanished.
Following that, the door closed on its own.
And when Ming Po woke up again...
He found himself seemingly transported back to his school days—
To be more precise.
He found himself sitting in a high school exam room.
In the dead silent classroom, the invigilator was strolling around at the front, while exam papers were being passed backward one by one.
But out of the "students" sitting in the classroom... very few actually looked like students.
When the person in front of him turned around to pass the paper, Ming Po's eyes widened in astonishnt.
Because Ming Po recognized this person.
—It was the "Fox," Chen Bingwen.
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