Chapter 117: Talent Market |
After signing the Watch and Assist Protocol, Virgil departed.
Having been approached by two Silvers of Moon in rapid succession, Ming Po and his two companions lost all interest in continuing their stroll.
Coincidentally, their Manifestation time was almost up. They chose not to extend it, settling their bills and deciding to head home instead.
On their way back, they witnessed another battle between Deceivers—
Or perhaps... it wasn't a battle at all.
It was a hunt, or an act of revenge.
Just as Ming Po and his companions walked down the subway stairs, preparing to enter the station, a group of five or six Deceivers rushed out from behind them. With chaotic, thundering footsteps, they sprinted straight into the subway station.
Subway stations did not possess "doors".
Security checkpoints and turnstiles were meaningless to Deceivers. These physical barriers in the Material Realm, failing to form true "doors" and "walls", were phased through as effortlessly as ghosts passing through air.
Ming Po noticed a man standing by a subway pillar, whispering frantically to another Deceiver. His expression was urgent, while the person he was speaking to looked hesitant.
However, the moment the man spotted the group charging in, he turned and fled without hesitation!
Surprisingly, the man made no attempt to use Time Chips. He didn't even make a move to retrieve them.
Likewise, his pursuers carried no ranged weapons.
They sprinted a long distance just like that.
In front of the stairs leading to the underground level, he was finally pinned down.
The mob surrounded him, kicking him to the ground and stomping on him mercilessly.
The sheer viciousness of their blows made it clear they were trying to beat him to death.
No matter how the man begged for mercy, it was useless.
Meanwhile, the surrounding Deceivers turned a blind eye to the scene, continuing their hushed conversations. At most, they spared a passing glance, not even breaking their stride.
Ai Shiping furrowed his brows and looked as though he wanted to say something, but Gao Fan tugged at his sleeve to stop him.
Ming Po, on the other hand, kept his gaze straight ahead, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. Maintaining a steady pace, he walked right past them.
It was only after the three of them boarded the train and found seats that Ming Po shot Ai Shiping a half-smile.
"What, still want to play the brave hero?"
"I just couldn't bear the sight of it, that's all."
Ai Shiping shook his head, standing in front of him and grabbing an overhead handle. "But then I realized... if you didn't react, there must be a good reason."
"I'm not as kind-hearted as you are," Ming Po retorted. "So what if I didn't react?"
He scoffed coldly before slowly continuing, "You really need to train your ears. You have the sharpest hearing out of all of us, yet you completely missed the crucial details.
"That man was initially begging for a loan. He wanted to use himself as collateral to secure some starting funds. And the reason those people wanted to beat him to death was because he backstabbed and killed their companion during a game. How did you expect me to intervene? Go over and give the guy a kick myself?"
"I see... He was bankrupt, wasn't he?"
Gao Fan, sitting beside Ming Po, suddenly realized the truth.
He displayed a rare, mocking expression. "Makes sense. After all, someone who relies on backstabbing to win a game basically proves they lack the ability to thrive in the Game of Deception. They might scrape by once, but if they keep participating, it's only a matter of time before they lose it all."
Looking at a confused Ai Shiping, Gao Fan elaborated, "The Game of Deception requires an entry fee. Even the lowest difficulty game demands one Hour's Red Copper as a ticket. If a Deceiver's chips are completely drained, they can't enter any games."
Having no chips meant being unable to enter games, unable to alter the past, and unable to Manifest in the world.
They would be reduced to a true ghost, forever cursed to wander between heaven and earth.
"At first, I assumed that running out of chips would turn you into a Paradox, eternally trapped within your Mind Anchor."
Ming Po chuckled. "But later, I noticed that Deceivers in the Material Realm actually communicate quite closely with each other... I knew right then it couldn't be that simple."
Gao Fan nodded, a pained expression on his face.
Seeing the lingering confusion in Ai Shiping's eyes, Gao Fan answered bluntly: "The talent market."
"The talent market?"
"Some Deceivers can predict, to a certain extent, what type of game they'll face next. It might be due to the effects of a Treasure, an authority level, or perhaps a Host leaking information..."
Gao Fan spoke slowly, "And some types of games are incredibly dangerous. They don't want to bring their teammates along... or maybe their teammates simply refuse to participate. Alternatively, their squad might be missing a crucial role needed to complete the upcoming game's mission.
"In these scenarios, they will rent a Deceiver from the local talent market... and this so-called 'talent market' is essentially made up of Deceivers who have lost all their chips. They have nowhere left to go and no chance to turn things around, forced to rely on others to take them into games.
"This kind of rental is incredibly cheap—because there are no contracts protecting the arrangement. If they demand too high a rental fee, they are highly likely to be murdered during the game so the employer doesn't have to pay the remaining balance. Usually, rented Deceivers can only earn the minimum clear reward from the game."
Gao Fan's voice turned haunting. "It's exactly like a penal battalion on a battlefield, forever executing the deadliest missions. It doesn't matter if they die. Therefore, whenever there's a dangerous job, these rented 'expendables' are the ones sent to do it.
"Furthermore, because they are entering the game from someone else's base Anchor Point, turning around and killing their employers isn't an option either. When you emerge from the game and the others do not... no amount of pleading or explanation will save you. The remaining teammates at the base will immediately execute the rented player as a traitor.
"Deceivers willing to rent themselves out are all terrified of dying. And it is precisely because of this overwhelming deterrent that they obey orders, participating in excessively dangerous missions that offer at least a sliver of survival. If they disobey, they will be killed; if they fight back and kill their employers, they still die. Perhaps some would dare to blow everything up and drag everyone down with them... but those kinds of people rarely survive long enough to hit zero chips in the first place."
"The time their body reappears at the base is when the game ends. However, they wake up slightly later than that. During this window, a Deceiver has absolutely no ability to resist. They cannot use their Title, they cannot wake up, and they cannot spend chips—it is when they are at their most vulnerable."
Gao Fan sighed softly as he spoke, "You could say that these Deceivers who have lost their Time Chips are nothing more than slaves.
"Aside from those entering games to earn chips and assist with clearing stages... the rest suffer the same fate.
"Serving as servants, as bodyguards, as researchers, as tools... It's even worse for beautiful Deceivers. Without chips, they cannot enter the Game of Deception, meaning they have absolutely no way to change their destiny. And Time Chips are impossible to steal. Even if you manage to assassinate or poison a Deceiver who holds chips, you cannot extract them from the corpse unless you possess at least that fundamental 'single chip' required to summon the Host.
"Once you lose all your Time Chips, you face a despair deeper than death. If no one is willing to lend you money, you have no choice but to sink into hell. But Time Chips are basically equivalent to time, the future, life, and power... They are directly tied to a person's very survival.
"Under such circumstances, who would casually lend their chips to someone else?"
Gao Fan smiled bitterly.
He looked as if he had personally experienced that exact hell.