Secret World: I Became a God Through Lies

Chapter 31: Crazy Sacrifice

"So-called fate is nothing more than a gamble you can't refuse. When I bet everything on it, are you sure you can still afford it?"

Siming felt his consciousness gradually withdrawing from the reality of the card game and finding himself in a dark and foggy world.

Standing before him was the familiar yet strange secret card - The Thousand Faces.

The faces on the cards kept changing, each one mocking his predicament and struggle.

It whispered, full of sarcasm and temptation:
"Oh, Siming, it seems you've reached a desperate situation. Let me take a good look at how you, a poor bug, try to reverse your miserable fate."

Sima Ming laughed, with an almost insane ease and self-mockery.

His eyes gradually became fanatical, but his tone was more firm than ever:
"Comeback? Isn't that a simple thing, One of Thousand Faces?"

He stared at the secret card and spoke slowly, each word as if engraved into his soul:

"I'm a crazy gambler, a real gambler."

"As long as I can gamble, I don't care about the bottom line, the chips, or even my life."

"The Duke thought he was threatening me? No, he just turned me on more!"

"True lies, what an interesting ability it is. Deceiving others, deceiving myself, no, everything I say is true."

Siming raised his right hand, and the star representing reason shone brightly.

It was just a slight flash, and it seemed that Sima Ming's lie made the Thousand Faces Man very satisfied.

"Hahahaha...!" The Thousand Faces Man laughed loudly, his face changing in an instant.

It turned into Sima Ming's own appearance, with crazy eyes and a raised mouth, like a distorted mirror.

"Very good, very good! Siming, you have never let me down."

Its voice was filled with joyful madness, "Come on, let me see what a real gambler is!"

On the real gambling table, Siming suddenly opened his eyes, his pupils as deep as the turbulent sea.
A dangerous curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Duke Bloody Night's originally relaxed expression faltered slightly as he keenly sensed something. His eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of inquiry flashing in them.

"What's wrong, stranger?" The Duke said in a calm tone, his eyes fixed on Siming's fingers. "Are you scared? Your hands are shaking."

Siming licked his cracked lips, his voice filled with a hint of excitement.

His eyes were fixed on the Duke, like a beast licking its fangs before hunting:

"No, it's not trembling." The corners of his mouth curled up into an extremely dangerous smile, "It's excitement."

The air around the gambling table suddenly became tense. Loren's breathing stagnated slightly, and Natasha's fingers clenched unconsciously.

Avel's brows were deeply furrowed, and there was a hint of alertness in Herman's eyes that had never been seen before.

The Duke narrowed his eyes slightly, he felt that Siming's aura had changed -

This is not fear, nor is it feigned calmness, but a kind of unrestrained madness.

"Are you...excited?" the Duke repeated slowly, a hint of inquiry in his voice.

Siming chuckled softly and tapped the gambling table lightly with his fingers. The rhythm was casual and relaxed, but it was full of provocation.

"Your Majesty, your bargaining chip..." He stretched out his voice and paused deliberately, "It doesn't seem to be enough."

The Duke didn't move, his red pupils staring at him quietly.

Siming's smile deepened, and his eyes swept across the gambling table uninhibitedly.
He casually ticked the chips with his fingers, with undisguised contempt.

"You kill them all? Hahahaha... so what if you kill them all?"

He tilted his head as if he had heard some ridiculous joke, "If the stakes aren't exciting enough, why don't we increase the stakes?"

The air suddenly became more strange. Luo Ka stared at Siming, as if he couldn't believe that he would say such a thing.

Natasha's fingertips trembled slightly, and she vaguely realized that Siming was not acting.

He means it.

He really intended to risk his life to fight for the final chance of victory.

Siming looked at the Duke, suddenly raised his right hand, and under his gaze, slowly made a gesture, as if he was really weighing his own chips.

"For example, my hand?" His voice was full of temptation. "How about it?"

Loren's expression changed instantly.

Avel's eyes were as gloomy as dead water, Herman remained silent, and Natasha stared at Siming with an unprecedented shock in her eyes.

The Duke's smile finally faded a little.

Sima Ming noticed it, and his fingertips tapped lightly on the table. The sound was very light, but it seemed as if every tap was hitting the Duke's heart.

"Or..." He narrowed his eyes, and the gambling smile on the corner of his mouth deepened a little, "My life?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire hall fell into silence.

The air seemed to freeze, Roca's breathing stagnated slightly, Hermann's hand slowly tightened, and the Duke... continued to look at him silently, his eyes obscure and difficult to read.

At this moment, everyone understood.

Sima Ming is no longer just a gambler.

He has become a real madman, a madman who is willing to throw everything he has into the gamble just for a chance to turn the tables.

The Duke of Bloody Night finally began to look at him seriously, and for the first time, an inscrutable meaning emerged in the depths of his eyes.

This bet is finally interesting.

The rhythm of the gambling game was completely out of control. Siming's bets were fanatical and aggressive, without any hesitation or reservation. His smile was no longer playful, but pure madness. Every time a chip fell into the gambling pool,
They were like flames burning on this bloody stage, setting the originally stable gambling game on the verge of collapse.

His eyes were fixed on the Duke. Every time the Duke raised the bet, he would follow without hesitation, or even go a step further.
He kept raising the stakes, without considering that he had very few chips left, nor did he care that Natasha and others had been pushed to the brink of life and death.

That desperate attitude made the Duke feel uneasy for the first time.

The trembling and fear that originally enveloped Siming had long since disappeared without a trace.

Instead, there was a frenzy that was purer than the vampires' hunting instinct.

It was an absolute intoxication with the gambling game and a complete madness with the game of life and death.

Sima Ming was like a wild beast hunting a hunter, counterattacking frantically at the card table, even forcing the Duke to fight in person.

The Duke's pupils shrank slightly, and for the first time he whispered:
"What the hell are you?"

This question was asked suddenly, even with a hint of uncertainty.
It was as if he was no longer sure whether he was facing an ordinary stranger or a nightmare he had never imagined.

Sima Ming tilted his head slightly, a smile slowly spreading across his face, the curve of his mouth both strange and dangerous.

"Human?" His voice was low, with a hint of crazy teasing. "No, no, no, I'm a gambler."

He slowly leaned over, getting close to the Duke, staring directly into the blood-red eyes that had once frightened him, and whispered softly, like some kind of hypnotic whisper:

"You think you can kill me?" Siming's smile deepened, his voice filled with chilling joy. "No, you can't."

He slowly raised his hand, pointed his index finger at the gambling table, and tapped it lightly with his knuckles. Each tap seemed to strike at the Duke's psychological defenses.
"Because I haven't had enough fun yet."

At this moment, the Duke's eyes paused slightly, revealing a hint of hesitation.

He is thinking.

He is evaluating.

He was trying to understand - when did this gamble start to get out of his control?

However, before he could figure it out, Loren suddenly spoke, his voice low and revealing a hint of unprecedented complexity.

"Si Ming..." His Adam's apple rolled slightly, "Are you... still human?"

He lowered his voice to a very low level, as if he didn't dare let Siming hear it, but he could no longer ignore the terrible thought in his heart.

He became afraid.

It’s not that he’s afraid of the vampires, nor is it that he’s afraid of winning or losing in the gamble, but he’s afraid of Sima Ming.

Natasha's face was so pale that it was almost transparent. She stared at Siming, her voice trembling slightly, as if she finally realized something.

"Si Ming, you bastard..." She murmured to herself, her lips trembling slightly, "You are not kidding, right?"

Her fingertips slowly tightened, her nails digging into her palms, and her voice rang out softly in the silence of the gambling game:

"You are really crazy."

When Siming heard her voice, he just laughed out loud, and his laughter echoed over the gambling table.

Crazy and joyful, like a gambler who has completely broken free from his shackles and declared his victory.

He waved his hand, and all the chips rolled under the candlelight, reflecting a blood-red luster. His smile became more and more arrogant:
"Natasha, dear, this is the essence of gambling!"

He opened his eyes, his black pupils seemed to be burning with a twisted light:
“Life, blood, even our souls—the value of the chips is all that matters to gamblers.”

"As for your lives?" He tilted his head slightly and murmured softly, "That has never been something I cared about."

He slowly turned his head and looked at the Duke, the smile on his lips becoming more and more crazy, his tone frivolous and provocative:
"The important thing is—Duke, how far can you play with me?"

At the gambling table, Loren, Avel, Herman, and Celian all had different expressions, but no one spoke again.

The atmosphere of the entire gambling game was so strange that it was suffocating.

Sima Ming chuckled softly and slowly pushed away all the chips. His movements were wild and crazy, not like a human being, but more like a monster that had completely fallen into the abyss.

His voice echoed under the candlelight, filled with excitement and anticipation that was difficult to conceal:

"Come, Your Majesty."

He slowly raised his eyes, and the curve of his mouth widened, like a hideous smile from the dark abyss.

"Let's play bigger this time."

His tone was relaxed and casual, yet it was like a pronouncement of fate:

"Either I kill you, or you kill me..."

He tapped the gambling table lightly with his fingers, his eyes so deep that he seemed to see through everything:
"Anyway, the end of this gamble is only blood and death."

A dead silence.

Duke Bloody Night slowly put away his smile, and for the first time, he completely lost his sense of control.

He looked at Siming quietly, and finally realized one thing:

The prey that he thought he could control at will was no longer prey.

He is a monster.

He is an unpredictable storm, a disaster that even fate is unwilling to intervene.

The Duke's pupils contracted slightly, and his fingertips tapped slowly on the table. The sound was very light, but it suppressed an invisible murderous intent.

He finally realized the most terrifying thing.

——Control of the gambling game has completely slipped away.

(End of this chapter)