"What do you want to play?"

Ming Po asked his friend for his opinion. "Adventure or Confrontation?"

Currently, Ai Shiping's Title Level was low, and his authority level was at the absolute bottom. If they entered a Confrontation game, they would very likely be targeted by higher-level Deceivers of the World.

From a rational standpoint, a PvE Adventure game would undoubtedly be safer.

However, Ming Po wasn't the type to think, 'My teammate is too weak, so I must protect him and keep him away from danger.' To him, that kind of overprotectiveness was a sign of weakness.

If Ai Shiping said he wanted to play Confrontation, Ming Po wouldn't hesitate to enter a Confrontation game—even if he currently only carried the Title of "Detective."

"I'm fine with either."

Ai Shiping answered without hesitation, his demeanor flippant. "As long as I get to play ranked with my brother, anything goes."

"Let me remind you, this isn't like the games you usually play."

"Ah, I know that, of course."

Hearing this, the smile on Ai Shiping's face faded significantly.

He lowered his gaze and whispered, "In the game I just cleared... I already experienced that."

"Are you talking about... that Deceiver of the World from the Domain of Slaughter?"

Ming Po recalled the guy Ai Shiping had mentioned earlier who had "leaked secrets" to him.

An idea struck him, and he said, "Give me a rough summary of what happened in your last game. While you're at it, tell me what your Title's effects are. I need all your information to command effectively."

"Nothing much really happened. Someone was being targeted, so I went to help, and as a result, everyone targeted me instead. I was almost killed right alongside him. But someone else helped me out. He was really short on money, so to repay him, I traded him all my chips."

Ai Shiping spoke crisply. "I still have three Hour's Red Coppers. That's the reward I just got from clearing the game. The rest are all gone."

"Don't you have enough for the entry fee, then?"

Ming Po said, annoyed, "Then why did you just say you didn't even have the chips to join a game?"

Ai Shiping was a walking contradiction. He was incredibly generous to others and absolutely stellar to his friends, yet at the same time, he loved taking advantage of petty gains.

He would unhesitatingly spend all his money to treat someone to a meal, and he would lend his friends as much money as they needed; but he would also have the thick skin to beg for a sip of a friend's cola, only to chug down half the bottle in one breath.

His earlier complaining was definitely a ploy to fleece an entry fee out of Ming Po. Yet, he had also given two-thirds of his most precious Treasure to Ming Po without a second thought, not even mentioning a word about reimbursement.

"Ah, calm down, calm down..."

Ai Shiping chuckled sheepishly. "I was just exaggerating! Don't tell me you're running low on chips too? If so, then don't pay for me."

Seeing that the threat of death was gone, Ai Shiping seamlessly switched his address for Ming Po from "Daddy" to "Brother," and then simply back to "you."

His demotion speed was incredibly fast.

Just as fast as his promotion speed earlier.

"I have enough for both of you."

Ming Po didn't hesitate at all. "Since I am the captain, I will naturally cover your entry expenses.

There's no logic in this world that dictates the junior should treat the senior."

He had the self-awareness of a leader.

As a leader, he was the older brother, the teacher, the guardian, the father, and the alpha wolf of the group. It was only right that he enjoyed the best treatment, was respected, and did not tolerate betrayal or questioning from others. But at the same time, he also had to take on the responsibility of protecting the weak and foraging for his pack.

Despite being called a "junior," Ai Shiping showed no signs of dissatisfaction.

He simply accepted it with a beaming smile, calling out "Big Brother" three times in a row. "Hello, Big Brother! So generous, Big Brother! You're awesome, Big Brother!"

"You really should be a streamer, Ai Shiping,"

Ming Po retorted. "Anyway, from now on, I'll call you [Fox], and you call me [Detective].

Just in case we accidentally call out our real names later."

"Got it, Big Brother. No problem, Big Brother."

Ai Shiping said with a grin, before catching onto a detail. "Wait... 'both of you'? Did you find another teammate? Or is it..."

A strong sense of excitement flashed in his eyes. "Is it my sister-in-law?"

"It's a guy, named Gao Fan,"

Ming Po emphasized.

But after thinking for a moment, he added, "Even if it were a woman, it wouldn't necessarily be your sister-in-law. There might be other teammates in the future, so don't be rude to them."

"You can relax about that." The smile never left Ai Shiping's face. "Even if you offend them, I would never offend them."

'That much is true,'

Ming Po thought to himself.

Ai Shiping continued, "My Title, Fox, belongs to the Domain of Balance and has two effects.

"Its passive effect allows me to sniff out hostility in the air. There are two specific details to this effect.

"First, even if the hostility isn't directed at me, I can still smell it. It acts like an odor that gradually dissipates with air circulation but becomes more pronounced in enclosed spaces.

"Second, if the hostility is directed at me, my nose will hurt or sting. It feels exactly like suddenly inhaling freezing cold air."

"A good ability."

Ming Po nodded. "Very practical."

Although it seemed ordinary, if used correctly, this ability could play a critical role.

"There's also an active effect!"

Ai Shiping boasted proudly, "I can use the active effect of this Title to temporarily enhance my sense of smell, at the cost of sealing the passive effect for a period of time. When active, I can smell the 'scent' of hidden things. The longer I keep it active, the longer the passive effect takes to recover.

"In my last game, I used this ability to find a Deceiver of the World who was spying on me with an invisibility ability, and I also sniffed out a key hidden inside a mechanism. Activating it for ten seconds locks out the passive effect for about five minutes.

That's the minimum activation time."

"You can even smell things like keys?"

Ming Po was somewhat surprised.

It wasn't strange that it could be used to counter invisibility, considering that canines naturally had a sharp sense of smell.

But to be able to sniff out buried, inanimate objects...

"What a good dog,"

Ming Po praised.

Ai Shiping raised an eyebrow and shot back, "What about you? The abilities of a [Detective] couldn't possibly be worse than a Fox's, right?"

"They just might be, actually."

Ming Po shook his head. "My passive ability is Thought Speed, and I can also see an Item Description. If used actively, I can Highlight Important Clues instantly. However, every time I use this effect, it burns up a massive amount of physical stamina."

"Must be nice."

Ai Shiping was a bit envious. "Titles from the Domain of Force boost strength, and Titles from the Domain of Wisdom boost intelligence. Why do Titles from the Domain of Balance offer absolutely nothing?"

"Not necessarily," Ming Po joked. "Following that logic, maybe it boosts agility. And then you'll evolve all the way from a fox to a nine-tailed fox..."

"No way! I don't want to be a little animal. I want to be human!"

Ai Shiping shook his head, full of hope. "I heard that in a Promotion game, if you completely solve the game, you can inherit a rare Title. I hope I can get a good one..."

"That is true."

Ming Po hummed in agreement, confirming the statement.

So far, Ming Po's most powerful Title was Frankenstein, which he had inherited from a Standard Promotion Game.

The effect of this Title was almost equivalent to a weakened version of the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception—even though the activation condition wasn't "cutting along the dotted lines" but rather required him to use his hands to "twist" or "tear off," meaning he couldn't use it while wielding weapons.

It could only be triggered by touching the opponent with his bare hands.

However, its lethality against living beings was simply staggering.

It could even deal effective damage to that ghost security guard from before. This meant that basically any humanoid monster with a physical body—as long as his reaction speed could keep up—was highly unlikely to pose a threat to Ming Po while he was in his Frankenstein form.

Thinking of this, Ming Po's heart stirred.

'I just don't know... if it'll work on monsters without a humanoid form.'