Chapter 125: Poaching and Counter-Poaching |
Without a doubt, the blonde girl standing before him, dressed like Little Red Riding Hood from a fairy tale, was a completely different person from the Nameless in Gao Fan's memory.
'...Was it a Title ability that could alter her appearance?'
Realizing the kind of power Nameless possessed, Gao Fan immediately looked at her with wariness.
The ability to turn into a completely different person meant she could simultaneously hold different identities... This was undeniably dangerous. Even the delicate, doll-like face she wore right now might not truly belong to her—she might not even be a girl.
Possessing an ability capable of flawlessly changing into others naturally warranted disgust and caution. In a sense, it was its own kind of "uncanny valley" effect.
"Don't be such a stranger."
Unlike Ming Po's coldness, Nameless seemed quite enthusiastic.
Like a clingy little girl, or perhaps a salesperson aggressively pitching their wares, she stuck close to Ming Po's side. "We're acquaintances who have gone through life and death together, aren't we?"
"I stand by what I said."
Yet, even as he turned his back to leave, he spoke in a leisurely tone loud enough for Nameless to hear, "If you truly know me... then you should know I hate riddlers. If you have something to say, say it directly. If not, don't waste my time."
"I know, I know!"
Nameless complained loudly, but she followed him anyway.
Seeing this, Gao Fan hesitated. He couldn't figure out the relationship between the Captain and Nameless... They didn't seem like strangers at all. In fact, they were overly familiar.
Although Ming Po had a somewhat irritable temper, he was actually quite polite to strangers.
Only when facing acquaintances would he bluntly display his aggressiveness.
When dealing with enemies, however, Ming Po often preferred to conceal his threat, appearing smiling, gentle, and rational. Once he found a flaw, he would strike a silent, lethal blow.
That kind of camouflage seemed to be a part of his hunt.
But their relationship... seemed somewhat delicately tense.
If they were friends who had parted ways, they seemed too calm right now; if she was an ex-girlfriend, she shouldn't be this clingy; if they were best friends who had argued, they seemed far too distant...
Gao Fan had no choice but to remain silent, quietly following them from a distance—not daring to interject, and unwilling to get too close.
"Today... someone from Divine Comedy approached you, right?"
"Did she invite you to join?" Nameless asked, trailing closely behind Ming Po.
Hearing this, Ming Po stopped in his tracks.
He glanced back at Nameless. "Isn't the minimum threshold for Divine Comedy the Silver of Moon? You shouldn't be from Divine Comedy either, right?"
"I'm currently with the Brothers Grimm Society."
This time, Nameless didn't remain silent but answered straightforwardly, "When I contacted you before, the Ghost Phone I used was borrowed from Virgil."
"The Brothers Grimm Society... meaning Grimm's Fairy Tales?"
Ming Po was slightly surprised. "You really are Little Red Riding Hood?"
When Ming Po first saw her outfit, that name had immediately come to mind.
Looking at it now, Nameless's true appearance probably wasn't what it currently seemed. This outfit was likely a form she used to match her 'identity.'
Nameless didn't respond directly to Ming Po's question.
She simply looked at him and asked earnestly, "If I give you all my intel, my abilities, and my secrets—if I entrust my fate to you—will you come with us?"
"Before, perhaps I would have."
The corners of Ming Po's mouth curved up slightly, but he shook his head with deep regret. "But not anymore."
If Nameless had spoken to him this candidly during their first interaction, Ming Po might have actually gone with her. After all, at that time, Gao Fan was nothing more than a temporary collaborator he was using. He could have abandoned Gao Fan at a moment's notice if necessary.
Back then, Ai Shiping hadn't become a Deceiver of the World either... Ming Po acted entirely without scruples, doing whatever he pleased.
Moreover, Ming Po was actually somewhat afraid of loneliness deep down.
Even knowing the other party was hiding something or harboring ulterior motives, Ming Po probably would have agreed.
But the situation was different now.
Their own team had been officially established.
Although the team didn't have an official name yet, Ming Po already considered it his own.
It was precisely because Ming Po viewed Gao Fan as his companion that he was willing to take risks for Gao Fan's 'personal affairs.'
Since they had become partners, how could he possibly abandon Gao Fan and Ai Shiping to leave?
Even bringing them along wasn't an option... When Ming Po was alone, it was fine. He could go wherever he wanted, and the worst that could happen was dying there. He didn't have any strong obsession with staying alive anyway.
But now, Ming Po had no idea what this new place was like, so it was impossible to let Gao Fan and Ai Shiping risk their lives with him. It was fine if something happened to him... but he couldn't let his friends suffer because of his decisions.
"Or rather..."
Ming Po looked at Nameless and half-joked, "How about you come with us instead?
"This is a team I established myself. Aside from me, there are only two other people. If you join us now, you'd be considered a founding member."
"That..."
Nameless hesitated, looking conflicted. "Then I'll have to go back and tell our acting leader. Plus, I might not be able to leave right away. The organization I'm currently in is transitioning between two leaders... If I leave at this sensitive juncture, it might trigger an avalanche. If others leave the organization because of me, that would be a huge sin..."
"...Huh?"
Ming Po fell silent.
What felt bizarre to him was... Miss Nameless was actually seriously considering his proposal!
This sincerity, instead, made Ming Po feel somewhat at a loss.
Just like the Confrontation games he had participated in before—when facing hostility and conspiracy, the greater the predicament and danger, the more excited Ming Po became. He would never fear his enemies.
Yet now, faced with another person's goodwill and sincerity, Ming Po found his resolve wavering.
But... he really didn't know her. Even though he knew she definitely recognized him...
Ming Po took a deep breath, falling uncharacteristically silent.
This sense of dislocation made him very uncomfortable.
It felt as though he had lost his memory, and everyone was just humoring him.
While they paused, whispering near the building's entrance, Gao Fan didn't disturb them. Instead, he silently took out a chip of Hour's Red Copper. He still hadn't figured out their relationship, where they knew each other from, or what they were planning to do.
But he felt that interrupting their conversation right now would be somewhat impolite.
Gao Fan thought to himself.
So, without disturbing Ming Po and Nameless, he used a barely audible whisper to inform the Time Chip of his intention.
[I will walk to my company to search for suspicious traces of Deceivers of the World. This is expected to take less than an hour.]
As Gao Fan activated Precognitive Stealth once more, the "him" in his future vision made his way toward the company building he hadn't approached since his death.
The company wasn't far from Gao Fan's home; even walking there would take less than twenty minutes. That was also why he hadn't activated his stealth earlier, but had planned to physically go and check—information about a Deceiver of the World appearing in a specific location usually spread from subway stations.
Because who got on and off at which station was far too easy to investigate.
After all, Deceivers of the World appeared in color... Unless they spent a chip to Manifest in the Material Realm, they were impossible to miss.
As the future memories flooded into his mind, Gao Fan's eyes slowly widened.
"Captain!"
Gao Fan no longer cared about being polite. He shouted hastily, "I just finished scouting!"
"Oh?"
Given the out Gao Fan provided, Ming Po immediately turned around, asking earnestly and attentively, "What were the results?"
"From the outside, you can't see any difference at all..."
Gao Fan said seriously. "But when the 'me' in the precognitive vision tried to infiltrate the top-floor executive office, I discovered something...
"My entire company feels like it's been turned into a 'demon realm'... Everything I saw was full of bizarre anomalies! It was like a supernatural dungeon—no matter where I walked, it felt like someone was watching me. And in the end, my head was snapped by someone..."
Although he didn't know exactly what was happening, Gao Fan clearly realized something was wrong.
"That's Palace-ification."
Nameless suddenly understood.
Seeing that Ming Po and Gao Fan were a bit confused, she took the initiative to explain. "Deceivers of the World at the Zhou's Azure Lead level or higher can expand their personal Anchor Point, transforming it into a magnificent, divine, or eerie 'palace'. And the deepest room in the palace is their original Anchor Point.
"Other Deceivers of the World can enter the outer layers of the palace... This is also how you visit them, because a Deceiver can sense everything happening within their palace. But there's a problem here...
"That is, Zhou's Azure Lead level Deceivers of the World can already design games. And if they want to, they can pull all the Deceivers who enter the outer layer of their palace into their own games.
"The games they design themselves still require a Host to run. And as designers, they must also participate as players. If they lose to the challengers, they will die.
"Although the Game of Deception demands fairness, these games often take place within their own palaces... Therefore, relatively speaking, they consist of rules that favor them, or are games they are better at..."
Nameless offered a warning. "So, if you really plan to confront a Zhou's Azure Lead level Deceiver of the World in their own palace, directly assassinating them through brute force is almost impossible. Conversely, as long as you beat their game, you can defeat them despite being weaker. But this is still a game where they hold a distinct advantage...
"...Or there's another choice, which is... temporarily retreating?"