Chapter 159: Double Agent Ming Po |
As a result, Ming Po's previous plans had to be completely overhauled.
Since slaughtering had no meaning, there was no need for him to kill everyone in his path.
Unless someone provoked him, killing too many people would only drag him into deeper trouble, scattering his limited attention and consuming his time and resources.
'Since that's the case, I should kill less in the future,' Ming Po thought.
'Of course, unless they provoke me, or have a truly despicable character.'
'And unless they try to attack me and my teammates.'
'Or unless they hold an incredibly tempting Treasure...'
Thinking of this, Ming Po fell silent.
He abandoned the "friendly plan" he had just formulated.
If he wanted to kill, he would kill; if he didn't, he wouldn't. At least there was no longer a quota demanding he "kill them all."
Ming Po relaxed slightly, leaning back on the sofa with a liquor bottle in hand.
He tried his best to empty his mind.
Staring at the ceiling, he sank into deep thought.
Now, he had successfully established connections with both the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Divine Comedy, the two most influential Deceiver organizations in the country... The Chinese Chamber of Commerce's objective was very clear.
Although their individual ideals varied slightly... generally speaking, they all sought to use Paradox Technology to propel the era forward into the next stage of "modern society."
They were essentially radicals.
Divine Comedy, on the other hand, was the exact opposite.
As a Deceiver organization working with the government, they seemed to control the surveillance of all public areas... It was highly likely they also held the personal files and other data of the vast majority of citizens. This was probably why the Chinese Chamber of Commerce had specifically warned Ming Po to avoid appearing on camera whenever possible. It was likely also the reason why Heavenly Query could deduce the future.
If a big data system could obtain everyone's personal information and monitor all the nationwide cameras in real-time, then it was indeed possible to achieve a degree of "precognition" or detect disturbances in the timeline.
[Psycho-Pass? I've seen it too... but I don't think the Sibyl System is wrong. What's more, the one truly doing this is someone else.]
Shen Yiqi's words echoed in Ming Po's mind.
"The one truly doing this is someone else."
That statement carried a massive amount of information.
At the time, Shen Yiqi hadn't known Ming Po was already a Deceiver of the World, so it was highly unlikely he was putting on an act. His phrasing carried a certain disgust and a lofty arrogance.
He despised this "someone else" and placed them beneath his own ideals. Yet, he also somewhat agreed with the concept.
This didn't feel like an attitude toward other "colleagues" in the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, but rather toward an enemy... a strategic dismissal coupled with tactical caution. If this "someone else" referred to Heavenly Query, then everything made sense.
By utilizing ultimate surveillance capable of detecting timeline disturbances, by observing the "present" to predict the "past," and pinpointing the exact location of every spacetime disruption... they could then dispatch a Deceiver of the World back to a specific point in the past to kill the person trying to change it, thereby correcting spacetime. Wasn't this exactly like the legendary Time and Space Administration?
They wanted everything to remain unchanged, but they couldn't stop all Deceivers of the World from using Time Chips. So, they took a massive step back, exercising only the right to monitor and interfering only when absolutely necessary. Even the rampant Chinese Chamber of Commerce was only marginally suppressed, without any direct conflict ever breaking out. The Chinese Chamber of Commerce's headquarters was massive, standing openly right there, yet no war had erupted. However, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce was clearly wary of Divine Comedy's surveillance—this already proved Divine Comedy's "tacit approval" and "suppression" of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce.
This wasn't cowardice.
It was conservatism.
This was the exact modus operandi of extreme conservatives who despised any variables outside their control and excelled at compromise and appeasement.
After all, while the Authorities' primary partner was Divine Comedy, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce also harbored national scholars like Academician Zhuang. Academician Zhuang's research could also greatly enhance national strength and even permanently alter the global landscape. From the country's perspective, this sort of "Paradoxical Technology" was absolutely necessary and acceptable.
To say the nation was completely ignorant of this and didn't interfere was impossible.
Academician Zhuang was an academician, researching and developing nuclear technology.
The sudden "resurrection" of such a major figure couldn't possibly go unnoticed by the higher-ups.
It was just that the nation had adopted a "neutral balance" stance leaning toward tacit consent.
On the surface, they supported Divine Comedy's maintenance of stability, but secretly, they also condoned and even supported the Chinese Chamber of Commerce's technological research. Since neither side wanted to destroy the social order or affect the big picture, they temporarily accepted the current division of power.
Intuition told Ming Po that whether the Chinese Chamber of Commerce won or Divine Comedy won, it wouldn't be a good thing.
Ultimately, both Divine Comedy and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce aimed to preserve the Game of Deception and monopolize the Time Chips for their own use. If either side completely crushed the other and brought the country, or even the world, under their control, it absolutely wouldn't be the future Ming Po desired. But conversely...
If he could bounce back and forth between these two organizations, which were as opposed as the two poles of a battery, he might be able to reap enough benefits and learn enough secret intelligence!
This gave Ming Po a clear direction to strive toward.
As for the High Mountain Association, whose influence was mainly in Europe, and the foreign Deceiver organizations like Witches' Coven and Noble Blood, Ming Po couldn't reach them yet. But surely they had their own objectives... otherwise, they wouldn't be able to attract enough supporters.
After all, Deceivers of the World were simply too free.
Low-level Deceivers might still be restricted by a lack of time... but once they reached the rank of Zhou's Azure Lead and possessed a palace, they seemed able to resist spacetime turbulence to a certain extent.
At that stage, if a Deceiver chose not to continue advancing, there was almost nothing left but enjoyment. Danger was negligible. Just like Gao Song—who had safely bombed fish for ten years. If he hadn't run into an overpowered powerhouse like Ming Po, he could have kept doing it for decades more.
At this very moment, Ming Po finally felt like he was truly standing on the stage of the Game of Deception, able to truly touch the curtain of truth...
Even if it was only a light touch.
Before this, Ming Po hadn't even found the "door to the party"!
He was just an outsider jumping around outside the ballroom to the leaked sounds of revelry.
"But, if that's the case..."
Ming Po fell into thought, his fingers tapping on the sofa.
He increasingly felt that Witches' Coven was an anti-Deceiver organization.
As an equally ancient organization, Witches' Coven must know many secrets. They definitely knew some unknown truths about the Game of Deception. This would include the knowledge lock of "how to turn a designated target into a Wronged Dead."
Their behavior of "repeatedly returning to the past to create more ancient Deceivers"... now seemed to Ming Po like an attempt to "trace back to the very beginning of the Game of Deception," ending everything from the start.
Of course, this was just Ming Po's wishful thinking.
They might be thinking that, or they might not.
The only certainty was that the secrets and intelligence they held must be vast.
It was just a pity that he definitely couldn't sneak in.
Since the organization was called "Witches' Coven," they probably only recruited girls, right?
And Ming Po currently didn't have a single girl in his group. Sending someone in as a mole was unlikely to be pos... sible...?
"...Hmm."
At this thought, a name popped into Ming Po's head.
Nameless.
Ming Po hesitated.
She seemed to owe him a significant favor, but Ming Po had absolutely no memory of it, so he didn't know if he should forgive her—it wasn't that he was petty, but how could he offer forgiveness when he didn't even know what she had done?
Besides, he had just yelled at her not long ago...
Ming Po absentmindedly twirled the liquor bottle in his hand.
When his gaze focused on the bottle, his thoughts suddenly scrambled for a second.
...Two organizations... double agent... mixture...
...Liquor.
...Mixing drinks?
Ming Po suddenly realized something and sat bolt upright in an instant.
If...
Titles existed in the form of "liquor," and his Title switched when he "drank" one of the bottles.
Then what if...
He mixed two bottles of liquor together and drank them at the same time? What would happen then?
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