Deceitful Game

Chapter 116 Witches Gathering

Seeing Gao Fan fall silent, Virgil looked back at Mingpo—when she spoke, she would cast her gaze upon the person she was talking to.

"I think you probably don't know about the 'Red Queen' organization, or what the people behind her want to do."

Virgil did not conceal his motives, but frankly stated: "Because she took the initiative to contact you, I had to come in person to show that I value her."

According to the regulations, I need to inform you of the following:

"The Red Queen's deceitful group, 'Tea Party,' is affiliated with the transnational deceitful criminal organization 'Witches' Gathering.'"

"The Witches' Gathering is an extremely dangerous organization of deceivers—this danger is not limited to their transgression of law and morality, but also to their disruption of the timeline itself."

"...Timeline?"

Mingpo's heart stirred, as if he had a glimmer of inspiration.

He remembered the seven incense sticks in front of his "memorial portrait" in his living room. Two of them had already burned out, and one was still burning.

Mo also seemed to have said that... modifications made by one Deceiver to another Deceiver only take effect when time completely collapses and is reset. This is why the two "Raccoons" in the "previous timeline" tried to modify the past... but it only took effect in this timeline.

The Minpah that the raccoon saw was actually a completely different person—the Minpah she saw clearly had memories. She also possessed an ability similar to that of a "Wraith," capable of dragging people into illusions.

She confused the two Minpas. That's why she hallucinated at the last moment, leading her to kill herself.

Looking back now...

This collapse of the timeline and the start of a "new cycle" seem to have some basis in fact.

"That's right."

Virgil nodded.

She countered, "You should know that the Deceivers have altered the old restrictions, right?"

………for example?"

Ai Shiping asked somewhat hesitantly.

After all, he hadn't used any chips to modify the past.

Or rather, aside from resurrecting his family, he didn't have any particular past he wanted to correct.

"The past that a con artist alters must be a past that he/she has personally experienced."

Virgil clearly stated the rules for using the Time Chips, a rule that even Mingbo had not clearly figured out: "When you go back to the past, you can only use the 'Title Ability' and the 'Time Chips,' and the only change you hold is your own memories."

"You can't take any treasures, documents, files, or other props back with you. You can't take any changes to your body, such as disabilities, scars, or marks from training back with you."

"Those who travel back in time cannot return to an even earlier past or to the 'near future.' If they have urgent business to attend to and want to leave, they can only choose to end the process. This ending will leave their 'body' directly behind in its original location. If they encounter danger or even die, there is a high probability that their future selves will become paradoxical. This is something to be especially careful about."

"Furthermore, once you stop making changes, no future memories will remain in your body. All the changes, comments, and inventions you made will be automatically rewritten into something reasonable, becoming your past 'spur-of-the-moment ideas' or 'adolescent fantasies.' Therefore, it will be almost impossible to have a conversation with your past self."

"Only in very rare cases can one dream of fragments of lingering memories. This is what's known as a 'precognitive dream.'" "...This is the first time I've heard of such detailed rules and experiences."

Gao Fan said gratefully, "Thank you."

Mingpo, however, seemed to realize something and frowned slightly: "From what you're saying... it seems you don't mind us changing the past?"

She even taught them how to modify the past more safely...

Virgil smiled gently, his bright, watery eyes filled with understanding: "Since you've become a deceiver and fought so hard to survive until now, it means you must have a past you want to change."

"If we order you not to make changes, that would be inhumane and unreasonable. What would be the point of obtaining the bargaining chip of time then? Since most people won't follow such rigid rules... then the rules themselves are useless."

"It's like telling students not to copy homework. If there's so much homework that they can't finish it without copying, then talking about it is useless. Instead of repeatedly threatening, checking, and investigating, it's better to reduce the amount of homework itself, or let students review their lessons through other means besides homework. ...Besides, we past deceivers have already used our bargaining chips. If we don't let future deceivers change, wouldn't that be selfish tyranny?"

"In that case, that witch gathering..."

"This is the morality of a liar."

Virgil held up one finger, his expression serious: "No matter how much a person benefits by altering the past... whether he saves his family, gains wealth, or makes up for regrets, in the end, he is only doing it for 'himself,' so such changes to the past are irrelevant."

Even if someone becomes one of the wealthiest people, they will still need to spend money. That part is irrelevant.

"But if they want to change others, it could create chaos."

"As I just said, the deceitful person exists in the form of 'memories projected from the future.' That is to say, it is impossible to modify memories from before one's birth."

"Among those who are wiped out by those deceitful people... if they are related to them causally, then it's alright. Whether it's revenge, jealousy, or hatred, they can all be included in one's own karma."

"But if the people they killed in the past were completely unrelated to them—then the victims would be wrongfully killed."

"Could it be...?"

Upon hearing this, Mingpo's pupils dilated slightly.

He realized something.

Those who die unjustly can become charlatans, and charlatans can rewrite their entire past since birth.

What if...they killed an [old man]?

If someone born in the 80s becomes a con artist in 2020, then if they travel back to their teenage years and kill an elderly person born in the 40s, they can make that elderly person a wrongfully deceased person.

If the old man passes the test, he can become a conman. Then the old man can return to his teenage years... so he can kill an old man born in the Qing Dynasty.

And so it goes...

If all goes well, they could even alter the past infinitely far into the past!

The price is that even they themselves will be submerged in the ebb and flow of time.

If modifications are made based on that level of the past.

So, even saving one person or killing one person could create a butterfly effect that could destroy the lives of tens of millions of people in the future! And if they act recklessly...

Human civilization will be altered to a completely unknown form!

"It seems you understand."

Virgil lowered his hands.

She looked at Mingpo and sighed softly: "I guessed... you might soon understand what this means, so I came here in a hurry."

"Once the time storm accumulates to a certain extent, we must actively disrupt the timeline and restart the deception game. This is all to combat those madmen who keep spreading the deception game."

As she spoke, she handed the blue folder to Mingpo: "I hope you can join the 'Watchmen Mutual Aid Agreement'."

Seeing Mingpo intently reviewing the documents, Virgil explained, "The Watchful Mutual Aid Organization is a subordinate organization of Divine Comedy. It's also a deceitful organization with which we've established a cooperative relationship with the government. It doesn't require deceitful individuals to refrain from using their inherent authority... but rather hopes that you will report 'what you've done' whenever you make any changes."

"In addition, any abnormalities you see in your daily life—such as a milk tea shop suddenly changing its owner, someone's child suddenly dying more than ten years ago, or someone who didn't graduate from high school but has now suddenly been admitted to a key university—can be reported on the designated website or using the designated email address."

"Any anomalies are acceptable; don't worry about me remembering things wrong. The organization has ways to distinguish between truth and falsehood."

"If enough clues are gathered, the artificial intelligence [Tianwen] can sort out any changes in the timeline and monitor and trace them in real time. I learned about your intelligence not from surveillance, but from Tianwen's judgment that you might join the tea party in the future... so I came to stop you in advance."

"If any drastic changes occur, or if someone tries to create an 'overly ancient charlatan,' we can immediately send people back in time to stop it."

Virgil's voice was gentle: "Of course, you don't need to do such dangerous work. That falls under the purview of *The Divine Comedy*. In return, all those who join the Watchful Mutual Aid Organization will receive more intelligence. If you attempt to alter the past but are unsure of the consequences, you can submit an application in advance for Tianwen to conduct a deduction and assess the likelihood of it affecting your own chances of becoming a deceiver."

"If the Divine Comedy team needs to add members in the future, they will be selected from the Overwatch mutual aid organization first."

"……Can."

Mingpu was silent for a moment, then held out his hand to Virgil: "Give me a pen, I'll sign."

It wasn't for that calculation.

Instead, he realized something else—

Without joining a group of con artists, it is impossible to eliminate all con artists on an individual basis.

Because someone is deliberately creating more charlatans... not just in the "present," but also in the "past." The game of deception is spreading uncontrollably.

The world is no longer as "precarious" as it seems.

If we were to use a person as an analogy, it would probably have been "defibrillated" several times already.

After signing, Mingpu handed the folder back to Virgil.

"...I have another question."

Mingpo asked, "Do you know Miss 'Nameless'?"

Virgil was taken aback upon hearing this.

She looked Mingpo up and down and gave him a bright smile: "Yes, I know him."

"However, I need Ms. Wuming's authorization to tell you anything about her, and I apologize for that. But the reverse is also true—I will not disclose any information about you to her."

In other words, the Nameless One was not a member of The Divine Comedy.

He had already understood Virgil's implication.

"Yes, it's alright. Thank you."

Mingpo nodded politely.