Game of Deception Chapter 57: A Not-So-Late Game of Honesty

When Ming Po woke up again, the physical sensation was incredibly unfamiliar.

Only then did he realize... he wasn't lying in a bed, but sleeping on the sofa in Gao Fan's living room.

—The classic spot where he had previously jamd the TV remote.

If Wen Yu's corpse hadn't been cleaned up, this would have been the exact spot for a lap pillow.

"Spare ..."

Ming Po muttered, slowly pushing himself up from the sofa.

He looked thoughtful.

'So that's how it is... If I enter the ga from soone else's base, logging out will bring back to this exact sa base, rather than returning to my own.'

He attempted to mobilize his power, and a faint crimson glow ignited in the depths of his eyes.

"...Just as I thought."

Ming Po adjusted his glasses, dispersing the power of Frankenstein.

Even though he had obtained the Detective Title from the Domain of Wisdom, Ming Po hadn't been forcibly switched over to it.

According to what Gao Fan said earlier... if one obtained a Title from a different Domain, the old Title would be overwritten.

This was the so-called Domain Shift, or Skew. Because of this, Deceivers of the World who entered a stable state tended to avoid behavioral patterns that deviated too much from their Title, lest the power they were familiar with be suddenly replaced by an unfamiliar one.

This was also generally how Deceivers of the World judged each other's behavioral patterns based on their Titles.

Even if they could adopt behavioral patterns contrary to their Title in the Material Realm... the prerequisite was being able to resist the Title's corruption of their personality. But as long as they were in the ga, they had to play the part.

Following normal logic, as a Deceiver of the World from the Domain of Force, it would never be Ming Po's turn to solve this puzzle.

If he talked too much, his Title could potentially be overwritten!

—However, Ming Po was a special case.

The Titles Ming Po obtained weren't equipped imdiately. Instead, they all beca "wine" stored within his mysterious wine cabinet. This allowed him to act freely without his behavior being restricted by a Title.

He rembered Utopia ntioning that a Host nad Ling Bo Prison possessed a similar ability.

"...It seems I can't place too much trust in Deceivers of the World from the Domain of Virtue either."

Ming Po narrowed his eyes.

At that mont, the bedroom door was pushed open.

Gao Fan swayed as he walked out.

"How did it go?"

Ming Po remained leaning against the sofa and asked casually, "How many chips did you get?"

Gao Fan paused for a mont before answering, "Three."

As he spoke, he raised his hand, and a golden light seeped through the gaps between his fingers.

He materialized one of the chips and walked toward Ming Po with it.

But Ming Po simply waved his hand. "No need to give it to ."

He guessed at a glance why Gao Fan had just paused his steps—

It was definitely because Gao Fan was reminded of his old captain, assuming Ming Po was about to take a cut!

Ming Po spoke, half-mocking and half-pitying, "You've been wronged by wicked people, and now you can no longer recognize the good ones."

"...True enough."

Hearing this, Gao Fan carefully checked Ming Po's expression again.

Only when he realized Ming Po wasn't being sarcastic did he finally breathe a sigh of relief and withdraw his chip.

"Thank you, boss."

Gao Fan walked over and gave a slight bow, speaking with absolute sincerity.

"Get out of here."

Ming Po waved his hand lazily. "You look like you're bowing to a corpse... Are you Japanese or sothing?

"Spending the money you earn yourself is only natural. We're teammates, not superiors and subordinates... I'm no gang boss, nor am I so capitalist. There's no need to play this ga of paying tribute."

"...Boss, you really are a good person."

Gao Fan said, subconsciously adding another half-sentence, "Even though you look pretty fierce."

"I'm no good person..."

Ming Po instinctively retorted.

But the mont he finished speaking, he paused slightly.

Because even Ming Po himself didn't know why he felt the need to reject such an obvious complint.

'Automatic contrarianism?'

He remained silent for a short while before speaking softly, following up on his previous sentence, "If you want to be a good person, you have to do the stupid things that good people do."

"Good people easily end up with guns pointed at their heads."

Gao Fan nodded, clearly understanding what Ming Po ant. "That's why I... didn't leave with Ning back then."

"Right, speaking of Chang Ning."

Ming Po no longer wanted to hide this fact, lest it blow up into a massive problem later on.

He had always liked eliminating unstable hidden dangers.

"I didn't have the chance before... but I'll make it clear to you now."

Ming Po leaned back on the sofa, propping his cheek on his right hand, his eyes fixed on Gao Fan. "Chang Ning and I didn't know each other before."

"..."

Gao Fan fell silent.

And Ming Po continued, "My first Promotion ga featured Chang Ning, who had transford into a Paradox.

"After he denied his own past, he beca a [Paradox]. After I thoroughly defeated him, I seized the power of Frankenstein from him.

"This Title was originally his. Even the face I'm wearing was used by him... I don't know this person at all."

"...Actually, I roughly guessed as much earlier."

Gao Fan sighed, his gaze toward Ming Po growing a bit more complex. "I just didn't dare to ask."

"There's nothing wrong with asking."

Ming Po said lazily.

He held the once-again clean TV remote, pointing it at Gao Fan from afar, and randomly pressed a few buttons. "I stand by what I said—if you have any thoughts of getting revenge for your old teammate, just be honest and tell . I'll move out of your place, and when we et in the ga, I'll take your wretched life.

"But don't play at secret betrayals. If you want to stand against , say it. If you're dissatisfied, say it. If you're unhappy, just speak up directly. We can discuss anything; I'm a reasonable person. Also... don't secretly throw a tantrum and make guess what you're thinking... Have I made myself clear?"

Perhaps due to the influence of Frankenstein, Ming Po's words were much more straightforward than in the past.

But seeing this, Gao Fan actually breathed a sigh of relief.

He shook his head. "There's no... need for revenge."

His expression was sowhat complicated. "Not having to see Ning after he beca a Paradox can be considered a kind of blessing. I hope I'll never see such a day for myself either."

—Gao Fan seed to know sothing.

Ming Po realized this, so he didn't respond, rely staring at Gao Fan.

Gao Fan walked over to the other sofa, his body sinking deeply into it. From Ming Po's angle, Gao Fan was almost completely out of sight.

"Because I've... 'stayed' in quite a few teams."

Gao Fan stumbled over the word before continuing, "So, I know a lot more than the average second-tier Deceiver of the World.

"The so-called Paradox is a Deceiver of the World who has denied their own self.

"Even though a Deceiver of the World will be eliminated from the ga as long as their past is altered, thereby destroying their motive for becoming one... not all Deceivers of the World who exit this way will turn into a Paradox."

As Gao Fan spoke, he held up three fingers. "There are three conditions to becoming a Paradox.

"First, the past is changed, erasing the motive and possibility of becoming a Deceiver of the World. Anyone can indeed achieve this point. If it was just this, then as long as history changed again and they beca a Deceiver of the World once more, they could rge with the self locked within their Anchor Point, instantly restoring them to their pri.

"Second, the self that serves as a Deceiver of the World denies their original motive for entering the ga. Only the individual themselves could possibly do this. Yet, even if they reach this step, they can still restore their identity as a Deceiver of the World and participate in the ga again... they just won't be able to reclaim their past power.

"Third, is to be thoroughly corrupted by the power of a Title... In that case, there is no longer any possibility of ever becoming a Deceiver of the World again."