Deceitful Game

Chapter 130 [Fair] Game

After explaining the rules, the Twenty-Faced Man placed his hands together in front of him and smiled as he looked at them.

She even thoughtfully set aside time for them to understand the rules.

It must be said that... different hosts do have different styles.

but……

Mingpo took a deep breath, and a faint, dim yellow light flickered in the depths of her eyes.

A loss means death.

The rules of this game were completely different from the competitive game "Passing the Parcel" that he and Lin Ya had participated in before. It was even more demanding than the "Death of the Minority" game that he had participated in before, which only had three survivors.

This is a bloody game that, from the rules' perspective, can only end when "at least one side is completely wiped out".

Even if a teammate dies halfway through, the teammate will not be brought back to life, no matter how many times they defeat Gao Song, the palace master.

……I see.

Is it because the Palace Master will die if he fails in the game anyway, so they simply set this rule?

As the saying goes, those who have nothing to lose are not afraid of those who have something to lose... This way, at least pressure can be put on the other side. This is to avoid a situation where "one side doesn't die if they lose, but the other side dies if they lose."

The rule set by Gao Song actually brought the game into a more equitable state.

Mingpo remembered that the game of deception could only work if the rules were "fair." However, Mingpo and Gao Fan needed to come up with ideas on their own and get used to this logic... while the other side had already played it countless times. Furthermore, being well-rested, their understanding of the game's rules was deeper than theirs, and they would come up with more obscure terms that were difficult to guess.

In other words... even though the rules are fair, they left themselves a considerable amount of room to maneuver.

...This guy is something else.

With that thought in mind, Mingpo looked up and stared intently at Gao Song.

Although he was only a charlatan at the level of Zhou Zhiqing, he seemed to be quite familiar with the underlying logic of the deception game.

However, the rules specifically state that the use of title abilities is permitted. This means that his title or treasure must be helpful to the game.

Mingpo also realized a detail—why did he specifically create this game rule of one against many?

He recalled that the prototype of this game was "Twenty Questions," which was a "one-on-one" game.

One person asks questions, and the other answers. If you haven't guessed correctly after twenty questions, you lose. And the light doesn't just light up when you say "yes" or "yes or no," but you have to give a clear answer like "yes," "no," or "uncertain."

This game has a browser version, which is a "magical genie that can guess what you're thinking," and its accuracy rate can even be described as quite high... In other words, this game has a mature "one-on-one" version.

However, Gao Song, as the rule-maker and game designer, deliberately modified the rules to create a one-to-many mode...

Mingpo frowned, thinking quickly.

Gao Fan remained silent for a long time.

He looked very nervous and hesitant. Although Gao Fan said he "saved his family's company through struggle," and seemed to have clashed with his uncle Gao Song before, it now seemed that... Gao Song was putting a lot of pressure on Xiao Fan.

"Everyone, break time is over."

The Twenty-Faced Man spoke up: "Now, please pick up the cards."

The three looked at each other again and picked up the black cards in front of them.

"Please visualize an object and silently pronounce its name in Mandarin Chinese. Please note that each card can only hold a maximum of five characters. Once the card heats up, the word selection is confirmed and cannot be reversed; you must immediately place the card face down on the table. Please choose your answer carefully."

...So, it has to be five characters or less?

With that in mind, Mingpo decided to test the game rules first.

—Ai Shiping.

His first thought was quite logical.

The card in my hand didn't get hot; it didn't react at all.

—Aivas.

This is an important storyline character designed by Mingpo himself in the game he wrote. This character is quite popular and is Mingpo's favorite character.

Clearly, Mr. Gao Song doesn't play games. He also doesn't know this term.

At this point, Gao Song had already finalized his lyrics.

He calmly placed his card face down on the table, interlaced his fingers, leaned back in his chair, and smiled at them.

Even Mingpo felt the pressure... not to mention Gao Fan.

In this game, you die instantly if your word is guessed. And there's only one round... so the choice of "absolutely not being guessed" will inevitably make you suspicious and anxious.

If only we had a television.

Mingpo thought to herself.

That way, you can see Gao Song's gaming style and thus determine how to avoid it.

But now, they're not entering the game through the "gate." Instead, they're being pulled into a personal game by the Palace Master, so Mingpo's intelligence advantage is no longer relevant.

but……

Thinking of this, Mingpo had a sudden inspiration.

He figured out what word he should use.

Dionysus Shrine.

Mingpo murmured to herself.

He felt the card vibrate slightly—like a phone on vibrate—and felt a warm sensation like a hand warmer. On the pure black card, the words "Dionysus Shrine" appeared in gold lettering.

Mingpo placed his card face down on the table and leaned back to indicate that he was ready.

Only Gao Fan is still preparing.

Gao Song, however, was not in a hurry at all.

He simply leaned back in his chair with a smile, staring at Gao Fan without moving.

Gao Fan's forehead was already beaded with sweat, and his face was redder than usual.

...Something's not right.

He seemed too scared... Was it because he was used to running away, and now he couldn't escape at all?

"take it easy."

Mingpo offered a soft word of comfort.

Even he, faced with these rules of the game, didn't have many options.

Once Gao Fan's words are guessed, Mingpo can't help him either. Perhaps Mingpo can take on the important task of attacking, but the defensive strategy is something only he can be responsible for.

After hearing Mingpo's words, Gao Fan took a few deep breaths before finally calming down.

Finally, he chose his last word and solemnly placed the card face down on the table.

"The game will begin shortly."

The host, "Twenty Faces," said, "Starting with 'The Survivor,' the next one will be 'The Madman,' followed by 'Mistletoe,' and then it's 'The Survivor's' turn again."

"Once the game starts, I will not give any new prompts unless there is a timeout, a foul, or someone dies."

"Round 1, preparation time 10 seconds per round."

"Let's begin!"

"Is it alive?"

Almost simultaneously, Gao Fan raised the first question.

None of the three cards emitted any light.

This means, no.

"...Is it a building or a natural landscape?"

Mingpo was silent for a moment before asking this question.

This was a test—he wanted to see if he could incorporate multiple elements into a single question.

While this may make the issue a bit more ambiguous, it will help to determine the general direction more quickly.

Since they only have twenty questions in total, if they can't determine a relatively precise range... then when all twenty questions are asked, they will have to start guessing.

Since the game starts from the "challenger's" side... that is to say, if after all twenty questions have been asked, no one is sure of the answers to the other people's riddles, then after the three rounds of "guessing", the challengers will definitely be the first to die.

however.

Even after the Mingpeer problem was resolved, there was still no light at the end of the tunnel.

This means that it still isn't.

It is neither a living thing, nor a building, nor a natural landscape...

With just two questions, the scope of the problem has already been narrowed down by more than half.

"Is it... fictional?"

Gao Song asked the question slowly, his face still bearing a playful smile quite similar to that of the Twenty-Face Man.

There was still no light on the table.

This means that it is not something fictional.

Mingpo's heart suddenly sank.

He just realized a problem...

A very serious problem.

It seems like they are "besieging" Gao Song, but because they don't know each other's secrets, it means that... the questions they ask might accidentally hurt each other!

Because the questions they raised apply to all cards simultaneously. That is, they also apply to teammates' cards. This means they might actually be less able to use overly broad definitions!

as predicted.

Gao Fan's next question caused Ming Po's expression to change.

Even Gao Fan himself suddenly widened his eyes.

Because he asked:

"Is it related to deceptive games?"

then………

Only the black card in front of Mingpo suddenly turned white.