Chapter 64

Chapter Sixty-Four: “Gambler” “Heretic” Xia’er.

“I sincerely apologize, everyone, but it seems there’s a small situation that requires immediate handling~”

The dealer raised his palms, lifting his hands as the glass walls stained with blood and unknown fluids were slowly hoisted up. Several piled bodies rolled down the stairs from the platform, streams of blood cascading down like an open floodgate.

“An unprecedented new record at Borough City’s Derton Manor—eighteen consecutive wins! Are there any brave souls willing to continue the challenge?”

The dealer abruptly waved his hand, and four long banners soaked in blood descended from all sides.

“Girl”—8900!!!

A human head rolled to the feet of one gambler, who stepped back trembling. He looked toward the platform where a calm-faced girl had just slaughtered eighteen people, and his heart quivered.

Eight thousand nine hundred pounds in chips was indeed tempting, but…one’s life was more important…

The fervent bloodlust of the gamblers had been cooled by the polluted blood flowing down from the platform.

She must be cheating…but how did she do it?!

No Extraordinary abilities! No Sealed Objects! How could she have done it?!

As the gambling hall fell silent, two dealers wearing Masks adorned with green chips were rushing up the Stairs.

Dub-dub-dub—

They stopped outside a room at the end of the third-floor corridor. One of them approached and knocked on the door.

Inside the luxurious study, a woman wearing a black-chip Mask and dressed in elegant Formal Wear stood before her desk.

In front of her lay a chessboard made of two wooden planks, with black-and-white pieces placed on it. She picked up two dice with her white-gloved right hand, tossed them, and began moving the pieces on the board.

Then, she moved to the other side, threw the dice again, and seeing the two twos on the dice, fell into deep thought.

Dub-dub-dub—

A knock interrupted her thoughts. Irritated, she glanced toward the doorway and said, “Come in.”

She watched the two dealers rush in, caught the dice she had thrown up, and asked, “What is it?”

“Administrator, someone has won seventeen consecutive games in the Roulette of Death!”

“The eighteenth game just started moments ago! It’s probably already broken the record now!”

“Oh?”

The woman stopped playing with the dice and asked curiously, “Which ‘Gambler’?”

The Roulette of Death was usually only participated in by ‘Gamblers,’ second-rank ‘Messengers of Doom’ who could easily kill themselves.

And at the level of third-rank ‘Heaven’s Chosen,’ participating in gambling had no effect anymore, especially in the Roulette of Death. A ‘Heaven’s Chosen’ standing still couldn’t be hit by bullets, even if the opponent added a guaranteed hit—it might cause the gun to explode.

“Not a Gambler, but a newcomer,” the dealer continued breathlessly, “Three dealers have gone up against her already, and we’ve detected no Extraordinary abilities, no Sealed Objects, and no signs of cheating!”

“A newcomer?”

The woman wearing the black-chip Mask threw the dice back onto the table and asked, “Who recommended her?”

“Miss Russell and her bodyguard, along with Redemption Society’s Adelle.”

The dealer provided all the information to the woman.

Hearing these names, the woman behind the Mask paused slightly.

These two…how did they end up together?

This actually simplifies things.

Seeing the Administrator fall silent, one of the dealers asked, “Administrator, should we immediately stop the game and notify An Su? This is a good prospect; the headquarters would be very interested…”

“No need.”

The woman shook her head and walked directly toward the door, bypassing the two dealers and heading out.

The two dealers bowed their heads slowly as she left and drew a strange symbol on their chests.

The woman descended to the second floor and entered the VIP viewing room. The window here led straight into the manor, with a small protruding platform allowing people to watch the gambling games below.

At that moment, the bloody glass room on the left slowly rose to her level. Looking down, she saw the rolling heads, corpses, and trickling blood.

On the right side of the platform sat a beautiful gray-blue-haired girl calmly, while across from her lay several stacked corpses.

The hall seemed to have fallen into an eerie silence. Even the banners symbolizing high bonuses failed to entice anyone to step forward.

The woman wearing the black-chip Mask stared intently at the girl below, and a smile gradually spread beneath her mask.

Indeed, a promising talent…

Although she was currently with those two who disrupted her plans, this didn’t change the fact that she was just an ordinary person.

An ordinary person meant easy to control.

The woman pressed a nearby switch, and the kerosene lamps around her lit up, drawing the attention of the dealers and the girl on the platform.

“Ah! Our administrator, Jiti, has arrived on the scene! Let’s hear what good news Jiti brings us!”

The dealer enthusiastically hyped up the crowd, directing everyone’s gaze toward the second-floor VIP viewing platform.

Once almost everyone was looking her way, Jiti adjusted her black glove slightly with her left hand and then rested both hands on the stone railing in front of her.

“Everyone!”

Jiti’s voice beneath the black Mask was impassioned as she loudly addressed the crowd below, “Today, our Roulette of Death record in Borough District has been broken once again!”

“This is a historic moment worth commemorating! As the administrator here, I decide!”

Jiti pointed toward the banner and announced, “To add 2000 pounds worth of chips to the original stake!”

A few seconds later, the new banners were lowered.

“Girl”—10900!!!

“In addition to the extra chips, I will introduce a new rule!”

Jiti slapped the railing forcefully and shouted, “Challenger, if you can defeat the Defender, you can inherit all her consecutive wins and receive all the accumulated rewards! And erase all debt records!”

“The time for a comeback is now!”

“If you win, you’ll make history! Straight to the management team of Derton Manor! Change your life!”

With Jiti’s words, the gamblers erupted into excited roars, the previous fear seemingly dispelled by her speech. Now, their hearts were filled only with the impulse to win.

Jiti pushed off the railing and leaped down from the VIP platform.

The gamblers, breathing heavily, parted to make way for her. Jiti pushed through the crowd, walking step by step toward the platform.

Plop—

Her boots landed in the sticky blood, pulling threads of blood as she walked, stepping along this path of blood until she reached the gambling table.

“Congratulations on breaking the record, miss,” Jiti smiled and told the girl, then lifted her hand and clapped softly.

Two dealers carrying trays quickly ascended the blood-stained steps and placed the trays in front of the girl.

Jiti uncovered the cloths on the trays, revealing a Potion on each tray.

One swirled like thunderclouds, flashing within the small bottle, while the other resembled a mass of pitch-black oil, as if something was moving inside.

These were the Potions for ‘Gambler’ and ‘Messenger of Doom.’

Jiti placed both Potions in front of Xia’er and gently said, “Come, continue creating miracles.”

“That ‘Gambler’ Potion, you can drink it anytime.”

“Next, I will serve as the dealer.”

At this point, Xia’er, staring at the Potions placed before her, felt a slight sense of caution rise in her heart.

This administrator… gave Xia’er a dangerous feeling.

Since her appearance, she had been stirring the emotions of the entire hall.

It was as if there was some peculiar power in her voice that made others subconsciously trust her.

When she mentioned drinking the Potion earlier, Xia’er really felt a wave of thirst, as if her body’s instincts were driving her to consume the ‘Gambler’ Potion.

The previous dealer left, and Jiti, wearing the black-chip Mask, took the position of the dealer.

The cleaned glass room was slowly lowered again, enclosing the two of them inside.

Under Jiti’s increased stakes and emotional manipulation, gamblers who had lost everything climbed the blood-soaked stairs and stood outside the glass room.

Moreover, due to Jiti’s arrival, many gamblers engaged in other games elsewhere also stopped their games and surged toward this hall, increasing the crowd so much that it nearly burst the entire hall.

The frenzied gamblers and the new dealer, Jiti, gave Xia’er an ominous premonition.

This premonition compelled her to want to end the Roulette of Death immediately, but she didn’t.

Knowing the dangers ahead yet proceeding anyway—more dangers revealed in the Simulation meant greater safety in reality.

“Are you not afraid?”

A voice suddenly sounded in Xia’er’s mind.

She startled and looked toward Jiti. Xia’er was certain this voice came from the woman wearing the black-chip Mask in front of her.

“You’re very talented… child.”

Jiti slowly raised her hand and lightly touched her masked face.

“Let me see your limits…”

This extraordinary ability that manifested in her mind… Xia’er had only seen it in one Path before.

The Path of the Reformed Monk.

Previously, when facing Xiu, Radiant Bishop Xiu had directly transmitted sound into Xia’er’s mind, screening out other noises.

Could it be that Jiti wasn’t on the ‘Gambler’ Path?

Aivana had clearly told her that members inside Derton Manor were either on the ‘Adventurer’ Path or the ‘Gambler’ Path…

“Defender Girl, you have the first move,”

Jiti raised the revolver in her hand and asked with a smile, “How many live rounds do you intend to load?”

“One.”

Xia’er took a deep breath and replied.

No matter what the other party was thinking, Xia’er had no choice but to continue the game.

“A bold choice.”

Jiti loaded the bullets, spun the cylinder, and handed the revolver backward to Xia’er.

Xia’er accepted the Pistol. Her right hand was already slightly numb from firing multiple times, and upon receiving the revolver again, she felt it become even heavier.

At the moment Xia’er received the Pistol, she saw a puff of smoke emerge from its muzzle.

Fired…?

A blank shot would automatically fire after one second?

Xia’er wanted to quickly turn the barrel toward herself, but she suddenly realized her body was no longer under her control.

Click—

Even though Xia’er’s hand wasn’t on the trigger, the trigger was pulled automatically.

“Oh! ‘Girl…’

“She fired a blank round!!!”

Jiti walked past the gambling table and moved forward, shouting to the gamblers below who were roaring in excitement, “She! She finally made a wrong bet!”

Xia’er’s mind went blank. She suddenly looked down at her shadow—a White Phantom that was crouching on her shadow, almost merging completely with her.

Since this simulation only involved her non-extraordinary body, Xia’er could barely see this faint phantom and couldn’t offer any effective resistance.

By now, Jiti had already reached Xia’er’s side, taking the pistol from her hand, and then approached the gambler on the opposite side.

“It’s your turn, brave challenger.”

Jiti handed the gun to him.

“Ha… hahaha…”

The gambler stared incredulously at the gun being handed to him, snatched it abruptly, and burst into laughter.

“Hahahahaha!!! Luck has finally come my way!”

Laughing wildly, he spun the chamber, aimed it at his forehead, and pulled the trigger without hesitation!

“Bang—!”

A fiery streak shot out of the barrel, piercing through his forehead at close range, spinning as it exited through his skull, leaving a gaping hole at the back of his head. The blood blossomed against the transparent glass behind him.

“Nineteen consecutive wins!”

Jiti retrieved the gun from the corpse, approached Xia’er, and shouted to the audience below: “‘The Girl’ makes mistakes too! She’s beginning to feel tired! If you want to win, you need to act fast…”

What… is she trying to do?

Xia’er was almost certain now that the other party also possessed the ability to control shadows.

Xia’er coldly watched as the other person continued to provoke the emotions of everyone below, continuously encouraging gamblers to step over the blood-soaked path onto the stage.

She regained control over her body, but Xia’er did not resist. Instead, she cooperated with the other person and directly executed the next gambler.

Xia’er wanted to see what tricks the other person was playing.

Twenty wins in a row… twenty-five wins… forty wins…

One hour… two hours… eight hours…

As each game of Russian roulette ended, Xia’er’s stamina began to wane gradually.

In between, Xia’er’s gun predictably “misfired” a few times when it fell into the other person’s hands, but every time they pulled the trigger, it resulted in their own immediate suicide.

Bodies piled up on the steps, but those below had lost all rationality, their eyes wide with madness. At this moment, Jiti placed a bottle of third-stage “Celestial Chosen One” potion on the stage.

Nearly everyone’s attention was drawn to the “Celestial Chosen One” potion. Those gamblers who sought a reversal of fortune or rapid success had lost all reason and were rushing to fill the position vacated by the previous challenger like automatons.

Fifty wins… sixty wins… seventy wins…

Ten hours… twelve hours… fourteen hours…

Most of the gamblers below had been replaced multiple times, yet people kept coming to Derton Manor, falling into the fanatical atmosphere.

Xia’er’s finger on the trigger had become numb, and her spirit began to feel weary. She mechanically pulled the trigger based on what she saw ahead.

Several times, she clearly saw bullets shooting toward her forehead but almost pulled the trigger on herself—long-term mechanical repetition had left her numb.

Xia’er’s physical strength was becoming increasingly difficult to sustain, forcing her to rest occasionally before continuing.

But the entire hall seemed to retain its fervor.

With every shot Xia’er fired, Jiti’s voice grew louder, eventually becoming so frantic that it was almost unbearable.

Even Aivana and Adelle were raising their hands high and clapping hard. Even “Crown Guard” Nia raised her fist, celebrating each kill Xia’er made.

They had unknowingly blended into the atmosphere here.

Eighty wins… ninety wins… ninety-nine wins…

“Bang—!”

Until Xia’er trembled, lifting her hand to fire the last bullet through the head of the gambler across from her, her breathing quickened uncontrollably, and the revolver slipped from her right hand.

That familiar voice echoed again in her mind.

“You are the ‘Gambler’ chosen by heaven… drink it. This is the will of Mother Goddess Sadaña…”

Xia’er’s mind buzzed, and the stacked corpses before her blurred. Her thoughts slowed as if she were drunk.

She struggled to focus and looked below.

Underneath the scattered bodies, all the excited and arrogant gamblers seemed to have stopped.

There was no expression on their faces as they stood calmly upon the blood, gazing upward at Xia’er.

Her peripheral vision caught sight of a silver-white armor trembling, and soon the armor broke free from some kind of restraint, charging toward Aivana, who was looking up at Xia’er. It grabbed Aivana and ran off toward the exit of the hall.

“In endless darkness, I call upon you, Sadaña…”

“In the rifts of time and space, your existence surpasses all things…”

“Silent whispers echo within us, bringing infinite fear and reverence…”

“…May this child, under your guidance, transcend humanity and enter eternal darkness…”

Inside the glass room, Jiti’s low murmurs reverberated in Xia’er’s mind. All the gamblers below had knelt down, including Adelle kneeling among them—her eyes vacant, muttering something unintelligible.

“Did you hear? He approved.”

Jiti slowly lifted her hand to remove her mask, revealing a face filled with intoxication and immersion. She looked at Xia’er and said, “He says you can start the ritual, girl.”

[Calm Thinking Lv.2]

A refreshing sensation rippled through Xia’er’s mind, clearing away the chaos that had enveloped it moments ago.

She looked up at Jiti in front of her and managed to force a few words out with all her remaining strength.

“You… are a ‘Missionary’…”

The “Reformed Monk” pathway wasn’t exclusive to the Salvation Goddess Religion—as Aivana had mentioned earlier. An easier way to advance along this path was to be an evil cultist, brainwashing others forcefully.

The Jiti in front of her was not a “Gambler,” nor was she just a casino manager…

No.

She was both the casino manager and an evil deity worshipper.

And most of the people in the casino had already been unknowingly brainwashed into cultists.

“You’re very perceptive, child.”

Jiti gazed at Xia’er with her grayish-white, death-like pupils and smiled. “Someone with your exceptional talent would make a perfect disciple.”

Xia’er’s right hand was involuntarily raised, reaching for the “Gambler” potion in front of her.

“Don’t worry, child.”

Jiti stepped closer to Xia’er, gently wiping the blood splattered on Xia’er’s face with her fingers, speaking softly. “When you hear Him and feel Him, you’ll thank me.”

A system screen appeared before Xia’er, displaying a countdown flashing before her eyes.

[Countdown: 00:11:58]

Only eleven minutes remained.

This massacre lasting an entire day, claiming one hundred lives, was about to end.

Xia’er’s right hand was controlled to pick up the “Gambler” potion, while her left hand unscrewed the cap, aiming the cloud of thunder and lightning inside the bottle toward her mouth.

A tingling pain spread from Xia’er’s throat to her veins, her mind growing chaotic. Each heartbeat amplified in her head until it consumed all her perception of sound.

“Child…”

A sacred voice arose in Xia’er’s mind, offering her a slight relief from the excruciating pressure threatening to explode her brain.

Xia’er didn’t notice that tears of blood streamed down her eyes. On the platform built from corpses, she opened her eyes and looked at Jiti standing atop the gambling table.

Behind Jiti, black light seemed to swirl, deep within which dark clouds churned. Attempting to peer further caused Xia’er’s spirit to experience intense pain.

“Ugh…”

Xia’er raised her hand to clutch her chest, feeling a warm hand resting on her head, dispelling all her fear and pain.

“Child, what is your name?”

Jiti knelt halfway in front of Xia’er, lifting her chin gently and asked softly.

“Xia’er…”

“A good name.”

Jiti’s smile widened. “From now on, call me Priestess.”

“Yes, Priestess.”

“Now, can you tell me how you’re related to those who disrupted our plans?”

“Plan?”

Xia’er looked up in confusion at the friendly figure before her.

“Never mind, child, I got carried away.”

Jiti smiled and swept her hand over Xia’er’s eyes. “You should rest now…”

A strong wave of drowsiness overwhelmed Xia’er, enveloping her in peace.

“Say with me, Mother Goddess Sadaña reigns above.”

“Mother Goddess Sadaña reigns above…”

Xia’er’s consciousness slowly drifted into darkness…

…

Suddenly, a blinding silver light tore through everything. Xia’er stood there, staring at the version of herself whose eyes had turned grayish-white, her heart racing.

What… is happening?!

[Would you like to save the character save file?]

After calming her breathing slightly, Xia’er focused her spirit and looked ahead.

“Save to No.3.”

A flash of silver light passed, and the previously empty No.3 slot was now occupied by a version of herself with ash-blue hair, gray-white pupils, and an emotionless expression.

Two prominent entries hovered above this name.

[No.3: “Gambler” “Cultist” Xia’er]

Had I just been brainwashed into a cultist during the simulation?

The white light quickly dissipated, and Xia’er’s surroundings gradually came into view—she was sitting in the casino lounge, a light barrier unfolding before her eyes.

[Reality]

[Sheng Year 741, June 20th, 08:08]

[Evaluation: Congratulations, Host, you finally have your own faith ^^D]

[With undetectable cheating methods, you became the highest-streak winning, most promising “Gambler” in history… and then joined a cult haha!]

[Take it, it’s yours based on your performance.]

[Reward: Mortality Points ×25, [Character Save] all slots unlocked]

[Mortality Points: 64]

[Note: When all first-tier roles from all pathways are collected in Character Saves, the Host will receive a free Old Days Simulation activation.]

[The Host may influence reality within the Old Days Simulation and create their own pathway.]