Chapter 132: The Suppressive Power of "Luck" |
Gao Song did not even spare a glance at Gao Fan. Instead, he kept his eyes locked on Ming Po and said, "Although some people insisted on playing to the bitter end, the number of those who truly fought until the last moment was quite small.
"Many 'friends' fell into despair as the game entered its late stages. They would blame and resent each other... especially when someone's answer was guessed by me.
"Looking at a friend's corpse, people will instinctively shirk responsibility, particularly when they themselves are indeed at fault. What follows is arguing, distrust, suspicion... and ultimately, complete disintegration.
"You might think this all sounds like a joke right now. That doesn't matter; you will understand later."
Gao Song spoke with the tone of someone who had been through it all. "I am telling you this directly because this kind of suspicion is impossible to resolve."
"I understand."
Ming Po closed his eyes and said calmly, "It's that... creeping dread of gradually being locked onto."
Confirming one question after another was like a fox running across a snowy plain, locked onto by the old hunter closing in from behind.
Just listening to those slowly approaching footsteps was enough to drive someone mad.
Because he liked doing the exact same thing.
It was just like hunting. Shoot the prey once, then track them all the way down the path they fled. Just hang far behind, occasionally giving the target a glimmer of hope until their stamina was drained...
"This is an open scheme."
Ming Po stated with absolute certainty, "You are telling us directly because knowing it is useless.
"When you are slowly being cornered, how many people can firmly believe they will survive until the end? After all, you die the moment your answer is guessed... and your Title even involves Luck.
"And even if you are resolute enough, it is useless... because you still have teammates, right?"
As a teammate's answer gets guessed right more and more times, they might become increasingly panicked.
Because it is impossible to determine what a teammate will choose, and you cannot be certain if they will actually betray you... you might choose to strike first, selling out your teammate before they suffer a true mental breakdown.
Thus, this became a classic prisoner's dilemma in the Game of Deception.
And if you didn't want to fall into this situation...
"What would you do if I covered my card?"
As Ming Po said this, he openly reached out with both hands and covered the card he was holding.
Seeing this, realization suddenly dawned on Gao Fan.
Oh, right!
The rules only stated that hindering the opponent from answering or peeking at their card was not allowed... but they never said covering your own card was forbidden! In that case, the opponent wouldn't be able to see the card's color at all!
No matter how they guessed, it would be impossible to get effective feedback...
"Sir," Twenty Faces suddenly interjected at that moment. "This falls into the domain the Host is responsible for.
"You may cover your card, but if everyone does this, the game simply cannot proceed. Therefore, to ensure the game runs normally and to maintain a baseline of fairness, I will directly inform your opponent in their mind whether the covered card changed color. At the same time, I will respect your desire to not leak intelligence and will not reveal the answer to your teammate. This way, there is no need to worry about your teammate panicking. How does that sound?"
In other words, if Ming Po covered his card, Gao Fan indeed wouldn't know if it lit up, but Gao Song, sitting opposite him, would.
"Then that makes it boring."
Ming Po smiled and pulled his hands back from the card.
Looking at Ming Po, Gao Song offered a silent smile.
He stared at Ming Po and asked,
"Is it a Title or a Treasure?"
The card in Ming Po's hand lit up.
This was exactly the effect of Luck triggering!
Gao Song had keenly detected Ming Po's vulnerability and intended to continuously compress the survival space of this "external help."
Gao Song did not choose to attack his nephew Gao Fan, whom he was more familiar with. Instead, he relentlessly pursued Ming Po, who was the first to show weakness.
Compared to his nephew Gao Fan, he was clearly more interested in Ming Po.
Waiting for the next round, if Gao Song asked either "Is it a Title?" or "Is it a Treasure?", he could directly narrow Ming Po's word down to "Treasure"!
It still required two questions to precisely lock onto an answer... but if Gao Song used the process of elimination this way, the efficiency would be far greater than asking one by one.
Although if he merely swapped the order of the two questions, there would likely be no change. After all, the questions had a chance of "sinking to the bottom."
'A dichotomy method...'
Gao Fan had a very sharp mind.
In just these few minutes, he had intuitively learned this method of questioning without being taught.
He mimicked Ming Po's previous action, folding his arms and placing them over his card like a good student paying attention in class. This was exactly the "covering the card" action Ming Po had just abandoned!
Gao Fan asked earnestly,
"Is it a tool or a toy?"
The card in front of Gao Song finally gleamed with a white radiance.
Which meant "Yes."
Gao Fan grew excited.
"Yes!"
He suddenly punched the air hard, silently venting the joy in his heart.
"Why aren't you showing me?"
Ming Po suddenly turned back and questioned Gao Fan, "Or are you planning to bear it all by yourself?"
Gao Fan choked immediately. "I..."
But aside from that, he really didn't say anything.
"It's meaningless," Ming Po sighed. "You don't think you're being clever, do you, little Fan?
"Since you are blocking it, that means there is something you don't want me to see. Aside from it glowing, what other answer could it be?"
Hearing this, Gao Fan fell silent and slowly moved his arms away.
Sure enough, his card, like Gao Song's, was shining with a white light.
This meant Gao Fan had asked a question that would inevitably harm himself—its purpose was to help lock onto Gao Song. Even if it only added a tiny sliver of possibility...
The reason behind this was also simple.
It was probably because... Gao Fan had already realized his Luck was suppressed.
Relying on luck to directly find the answer was almost impossible now. But if he guessed broadly, he might accidentally guess Ming Po's word. Therefore, Gao Fan chose to bear the cost of this "leak" himself.
Simply put, it was "equal damage sharing."
Even if this question didn't lock onto Gao Song... it would only expose his own intelligence, not Ming Po's.
With Gao Song currently targeting Ming Po, any question that might weaken or expose Ming Po could be seen as a traitor's act. So, Gao Fan opted for another approach.
Which was to intentionally deplete his own "health"!
By actively revealing information, he made himself an easier target for Gao Song, thereby saving Ming Po!
After all, Ming Po was initially exposed because Gao Fan asked a question about Deceivers of the World. Gao Fan couldn't stand the fact that he had made such a grave mistake, so he intended to "atone" for it!
At the same time, because this action itself was "foolish" and could "harm himself," it already fell into the category of "bad luck."
It was precisely by relying on "bad luck" that he wouldn't be interfered with by the more powerful luck on Gao Song!
'This kid... so stubborn.'
Ming Po sighed and chose to accept this goodwill.
He asked openly,
"Is it a tool?"
Consequently, the card in front of Gao Fan lit up.
This meant Gao Fan's word was indeed "some kind of tool."
It had already been established earlier that Gao Song's word was a man-made object, and now there was Gao Fan's confirmation...
Since it "belongs to a tool or a toy," and its identity as a tool was now denied, it could only be a toy.
Some kind of man-made toy.
This was the scope of the word Gao Song had selected.
At the same time, the scope for Ming Po and Gao Fan had also been locked in.
Gao Fan was "some kind of man-made tool."
And Ming Po was confirmed to be a "Title or Treasure."
Only eight questions had passed, and the intelligence had already been narrowed down to a scope precise enough that they could even start guessing! However...
Contrary to Gao Fan, who acted as if he were facing a formidable enemy, there was not a single trace of nervousness on either Ming Po or Gao Song's face.
The two stared at each other, serious and calm.
Evidently realizing... the person opposite them was a rare rival they hadn't encountered in years!