Deceitful Game

Chapter 113 How did she do that?

"What... what's going on?"

Ai Shiping was stunned.

He didn't even understand what had just happened.

Suddenly I felt a strong premonition of death, and then I saw the entire building collapse in a dazzling display of fire.

But he was completely unharmed.

It was as if it were all just an illusion.

In the instant the flames soared into the sky, the world was enveloped in a vibrant green glow...

"That's obvious."

Mingpo slowly picked up her chopsticks again: "Someone was fighting in the past."

Gao Fan slowly exhaled, his tense body gradually relaxing.

"It must be... someone from the future learned that the Red Queen would appear here today. So they went back in time and planted a bomb here beforehand."

Gao Fan said with a straight face, "It's possible that the charlatan is pretending himself... or it's possible that he found an agent."

Mingpo continued, "And this explosion clearly didn't kill her—she froze time by pre-activating Zhou Zhiqing's lead chip." "Can the chip of time be activated in advance?"

Ai Shiping felt a sudden inspiration: "I understand... You mean, like preparing a spell slot, you input different commands into different chips in advance. That way, you can activate the effect simply by crushing the corresponding chip?"

Gao Fan nodded: "It's not like 'going back to the past' or 'jumping through time to learn skills.' Commands like 'pausing time,' which would forcibly interfere with other deceivers, are not guaranteed to succeed... Zhou Zhiqing's lead-level time freeze is ineffective as long as one has the authority of 'Moon Silver.' Not even a chip is needed."

"That's the main reason for the privilege escalation, right?"

Mingpo spoke slowly, a dim yellow light gleaming in her eyes: "No wonder... According to the Red Queen, those who are deceitful at the Zhou Zhiqing Lead level are actually living quite comfortably. They have ample 'time,' which is equivalent to having infinite lifespan and superpowers at will. "But if they don't continue to improve their authority, they will be crushed like insects by powerhouses at the Moon Silver and Year Gold levels."

Mingpo's personal time has just been frozen by Zhou Zhiqing's chips.

So all he saw was a blue glow freezing the explosion, and then it stopped abruptly.

Because from that point on, Minper's personal time was suspended.

This means that if the Red Queen intended to kill him, he would be dead by now.

"After the freeze period, the Red Queen returned to the base."

Mingpo narrowed her eyes and analyzed in a low voice: "She must have traced the source of the information leak—she specifically emphasized that she 'is not very bright,' which would be somewhat ambiguous if it were an enemy. She was almost killed by an explosion, so how can that be considered not being bright? It should be described as 'reckless' or 'tempered with death.'"

"So I think there must have been an inside leak of her whereabouts. That's what led to her being assassinated. Maybe it was sold information, but I think the more likely explanation is collusion with outsiders... That's why the Red Queen referred to them all as 'them.'" "They," "now," "have" been captured.

That's not speculation, it's certainty.

This means that she had already caught the mole at that time.

Mingbo continued, "And the fact that she needed to go back specifically to behead someone means that she didn't catch him, otherwise she should have executed him on the spot." It was precisely because of the tyrant's suppression that those who caught the mole dared not kill him directly... because they knew that this matter had to be handled personally by the Red Queen.

"so·……"

Ai Shiping seemed to be deep in thought.

He clarified the true timeline: "The original timeline should have been that after she went back, she said she met an 'interesting person.' Then this news was leaked, and some people who didn't like her, or some insiders colluded with outsiders, went back to an even earlier past and planted a time bomb here."

"However, the Red Queen triggered a pre-recorded 'time stop' Zhou Zhiqing lead, safely returned to the base, and found the mole. She sent someone back in time to cancel the 'planting the bomb,' then returned here, ended the time stop, and said goodbye to us. Therefore... we saw the bomb suddenly disappear?"

After all, the existence of the deceiver is beyond the timeline.

So even if the past was changed, the explosion only appears in their memories because "going back to the past to change it" happened after the explosion. "I still don't quite understand."

Ai Shiping frowned and looked at Gao Fan: "Xiao Fan... why was the Red Queen able to teleport at the end? What effect did this bargaining chip have? Did she accelerate her own time and travel to an hour later?"

"Although it can be used this way..."

Gao Fan shook his head, not entirely sure either: "But no matter how you use the chips, the special effect is the same. The only thing we can be sure of is that it's definitely a piece of Time Red Copper."

"It's possible she ended her manifestation, or she accelerated her time, traveling directly to an hour later. It's also possible she didn't 'walk back' at all, but instead used a token to travel directly from the future to 'the moment of the explosion,' said goodbye to us, and then returned… Considering she has captured those people but hasn't yet beheaded them, I think this possibility is the most likely. But in any case, any explanation is possible."

Because there is only one material world, but the ways in which time can be manipulated are almost infinite.

It's like wanting to kill someone; there are countless ways to achieve this goal. Simple ones, complex ones... but no matter how you do it, the final result will always converge to "he is dead."

The atmosphere among the three became somewhat silent.

The battle just now truly only lasted for "a moment" to them.

But beyond their perception of time, many, many things have already happened.

"...Deceitful people are so dangerous."

Ai Shiping leaned back, unable to drink any more alcohol.

He gave a wry smile, looking somewhat dejected: "We came out to have fun... I'm sorry, it's my fault. If I hadn't chosen this shop, maybe we wouldn't have gotten involved. Or... maybe I should go back in time and deny that we came out to have fun? That way, maybe we wouldn't have been targeted."

"It's no use, it's too late."

Mingpo shook her head, her tone calm and her emotions stable: "The existence of the Deceiver is above the timeline. Even if we go back, she will not forget that we had contact with the Red Queen."

"And don't forget... the Red Queen said she didn't come here intentionally, but was guided by 'luck.' She needed to contact us, and she did. This is clearly not luck for us..."

"So when the luck of the two sides clashes, it means that her luck has overwhelmed ours. This is probably why she knows that 'luck is an attribute'."

"……Feel sorry."

Ai Shiping apologized again, his mood unusually low.

Mingpo smiled slightly instead: "It's nothing. In fact... it's a good thing."