Deceitful Game

Chapter 32 The Mask of Paradox

When Mingpo woke up again, he was still in his bed.

This seems to be some kind of fixed refresh point.

"...I clearly walked out through the main entrance, but I respawned in bed?"

Mingpo complained as she climbed off the bed and immediately went to the mirror.

This time, however, the image in the mirror has changed—

The shattered part on the left side became the face of some unknown minor celebrity that he is now using.

The part on the right that wasn't broken, however, still shows his real appearance before he wore the "fake face".

"This stuff is pretty good."

Mingbo was quite satisfied.

Compared to the mediocre acting skills he disliked, getting a new face was a much better benefit for him.

This means that I have avoided the possibility of having my box opened.

Judging from Chang Ning's lesson, it is entirely possible for a deceiver to be killed or "redeemed" from the past.

It is still unknown what would happen if someone were killed prematurely... But if someone were to redeem them beforehand and lose the possibility of dying unjustly, then the remaining part of them as a deceiver would be locked away in their own mental palace as a paradox.

Having this mask is equivalent to having a fake identity.

This is far superior to any mask—it's not easy to tear off, nor is it easy for anyone to discover that it's fake. He could even wear another mask over the first one... As for the stitching, that's proof of the ability's activation and cannot be removed.

But it can be easily covered with a scarf, so it's not a big problem.

Moreover, most people would never even think in this direction.

Even Chang Ning—if it weren't for the fact that his left and right hands were completely unbalanced, the stitches on his body had become abnormally large due to overload, and his muscles and appearance didn't match, Mingpo wouldn't have thought that "his face is also fake."

but……

As Mingpo thought about this, a new idea popped into her mind:

The deceiver locked in the palace of the mind has become a "paradox," not died. So, if someone were to rewrite history for him at this moment, giving him the possibility of becoming a deceiver again, would he be saved?

Moreover, to put it another way...

If a cheater accidentally loses all his chips in a game but happens not to die, does that mean he becomes a paradox?

After all, without chips, there is no "ticket" to enter the game.

Doesn't that mean we'll be stuck here forever?

Thinking of this, Mingpo felt a chill run down her spine.

He could not accept this eternal imprisonment more than death.

And so, he finally began to truly value the game of deception.

—Yes, until just now, he didn't really care that much about winning or losing the game of deception.

After all, his memory was still unclear, and there was nothing he absolutely had to do. If he couldn't become the final victor, then all the previous victories would have been meaningless... So, Mingpo's mindset was actually, "Living is good, dying is fine too."

But now, Mingpo has finally encountered something he "absolutely does not want to do."

That means losing all your chips but not dying... or having your past altered, resulting in you being locked in a mental palace.

But Mingper realized something else—

"...Even if no one opens my box, if someone modifies too much of the history, it can easily affect me."

For example, someone might bring back several years' worth of assets to a point in time more than a decade ago.

Without a doubt, the whole world will change!

It might be engulfed in war, or it might transform into cyberpunk. Wouldn't such a self inevitably be locked into a paradox?

A sense of urgency rekindled in Mingpo's heart.

This means that once the final winner is determined—

In other words, once a sufficiently powerful deceiver decides to relinquish their deceitful identity and "cash out," a large number of other deceivers will inevitably be imprisoned as a result.

Given that anyone can alter history, he certainly wouldn't hesitate to act ruthlessly.

He will do everything he can to make the world completely unfamiliar—to abolish all the deceivers, including himself, in one fell swoop!

Those who can resist him are only the uninvolved deceivers. If they cannot accurately correct the altered past, it means the world will be permanently dragged into the next cycle of reincarnation.

"...So this is what they call 'Round-2'?"

Mingbo murmured softly, but his instincts told him that this didn't seem quite right either.

Never mind, I won't think about that now.

He shook his head, got up, and walked towards the liquor cabinet.

Sure enough, a bottle of wine had appeared in the wine cabinet.

It was a bottle of brandy, the same brandy that Frankenstein drank in fear in the original Frankenstein novel.

The cover, however, did not depict Victor Frankenstein as a scientist, but rather a gigantic figure—Frankenstein's monster. Its face and all were tightly shrouded in a black shroud, like a shroud. It stood in the snowfield, resembling both a snowman and a corpse.

Mingpo did not look at the title effect behind him again.

Instead, he turned his attention to the whiskey he had drunk once before.

At that moment, the bottle of whiskey was once again perfectly intact, as if Mingpu had never opened it.

"Thank goodness it's not like every sip reduces the amount..."

Mingpo smiled, relieved.

Although he didn't plan to use "Frankenstein" to enter the instance for the time being, Mingbo didn't immediately switch back to "Werewolf" mode.

In his werewolf form, he looked far too dangerous. Even Mingpo herself might have wanted to call the police if she saw him like that. But in his current form, he seemed much more approachable.

He now has three Sun Chips—one of which is reserved for the next game's entry fee and cannot be touched.

To repair the mirror to the next stage, we'll need another one... but we don't need to use this one right away. We can save it as a deposit and use it when we have enough surplus.

After all, Mingpo didn't know what the repaired mirror could actually do.

As for the remaining one, Mingpu plans to break it down into twenty-four "hours".

For him now, spending "a day" is still a bit too much of a luxury. Many things can be changed without that much time.

Although chips can be split but not combined, having enough "hours" on hand as spare change is likely to be much cheaper than being forced to use "days" to change something small.

Thinking this, Mingpo picked up a fake gold of the sun.

He gently wiped the chip, watching the pattern on it gradually change into "24".

Immediately afterwards, Mingpo exerted a little force—

It burst forth with golden light, then suddenly shattered, turning into a shower of chips that fell to the ground!

Mingpo didn't reach out to pick it up, but only slightly raised her hand.

The next moment, the chips flew up on their own and were absorbed into Mingpo's body.

Mingpo stretched, feeling much better mentally after participating in the promotion game.

The previous unpleasantness and loneliness have now been washed away by excitement.

"Let's go explore a bit more..."

Mingpo looked out the window.

The sky outside was completely dark.

Colorful lights illuminate the streets outside, marking the height of Shanghai's vibrant nightlife.

—Isn't this the time for someone like him from the underworld to go out for a stroll?

Just then, Mingpo was also planning to do what she had promised Changning—to go and see how Gu Ke'er was doing.

The little girl nicknamed "Coco" is now likely an orphan because Chang Ning altered the past and killed her father. It's unknown whether his ex-wife still cares for her, or how she's doing now…

But if things still aren't going well, then let Mr. Ghost have some mercy and give us some support from the underworld.

If people don't help each other properly, even ghosts can lend a hand.

Speaking of which, what time is it now...?

Thinking of this, Mingpo unconsciously looked at the blood-written words on the wall.

But unexpectedly, the bloody words on the wall did not return to 168 hours.

Instead, five hours were inexplicably deducted.

——162:43:10

——162:43:09

——162:43:08

……

"Five hours... Did the game I just played really take that long?"

Mingpo frowned slightly and murmured softly.

He felt somewhat uneasy.

How can this time be increased?

When this time reaches zero... what will happen then?