Secret World: I Became a God Through Lies

Chapter 56 Youmeng's Gamble

Chapter 56 Youmeng's Gamble
"Nights in the Golden City belong not to dreams, but to gamblers."

"You don't want fate, but fate finds you."

The atmosphere in the bar fell into a brief stagnation. Calvino frowned, his eyes wandering between Siming and Leng Ji.

He clearly felt that the man in front of him would not be persuaded by anything.
Treasure, adventure, the unknown world... none of these can really impress him.

But they needed companions, desperately. In the Sea of Dreams, a ship could never have only one captain.

The pirates believed that without enough sailors, the ship could not sail.

However, Siming just casually leaned back in his chair, lazily turning over the glass in his hand.

The fingertips tapped on the rim of the cup, making a crisp sound.

His expression revealed undisguised boredom and indifference.

"Gold, silver, and treasure?" Siming glanced at the guidance card on the table. "Sorry, I'm not interested in the unknown future."

Calvino clenched his fists slightly, his brow furrowed tighter and tighter:
"Don't you have any sense of adventure? You're a master of the mysteries."

"Yeah." Siming yawned and said nonchalantly, "That's why I cherish my life more."

His voice was lazily as a matter of course:
"I'm only interested in the things of the present, such as... my money, my life, and the stakes for tomorrow's entertainment and work."

"...So you really only care about those insignificant chips?" Lilia couldn't help but ask.

"Of course." Siming shrugged. "Do you think I'm the kind of idiot whose eyes light up when I hear the word 'secret treasure'?"

Lilia looked at Leng Ji for help. She finally realized that Siming's character was even worse than she had imagined.

But Leng Ji just smiled, with a hint of teasing in her violet eyes. She supported her chin with one hand and swayed the wine glass leisurely.

"As you can see, this guy is more realistic than you think." Her voice was soft, with a hint of nonchalant teasing, "So realistic that it's annoying."

Calvino was silent for a moment, his eyes slightly lowered, as if thinking about something.

After a moment, he murmured in a low voice: "Could it be that... even if the secret treasure contains the Brilliant Star Diamond, you don't care?"

"what?"

Leng Ji's wine glass suddenly stopped, and a rare hint of surprise appeared on her expression.

"Brilliant Star Diamond?" she repeated in a low voice, with a rare solemnity in her tone.

Siming blinked, sensing the atmosphere was a little subtle, but he remained calm: "Sounds like some high-end gemstone?"

Leng Ji exhaled lightly, and then explained slowly:
"...That's a precious treasure that can increase the upper limit of the Mystic's Fate Star by one star."

She paused, her eyes becoming more profound:
"No one knows where they come from. They are extremely rare. Even the Mystic Guild couldn't buy one with hundreds of Mystic Gold Coins."

After hearing this, Siming's expression remained excessively calm. He even took a leisurely sip of wine before nonchalantly saying, "What does that have to do with me?"

Leng Ji: “…”

Lilia: “…”

Calvino: “…”

The atmosphere of the entire bar was subtle to the extreme.

"You're not a mystic?" Calvino asked tentatively.

"Yes." Siming answered lightly.

"So you don't want to become stronger?"

Siming smiled, his eyes looking at a madman with wild dreams: "Becoming stronger? It sounds like a very hard thing."

Calvino felt his temples throbbing. He had never seen such a mysterious master.

Generally speaking, this type of people are passionate about power and the unknown, but the man in front of him seems to have no interest in all of this.

Leng Ji sighed softly and shook his head helplessly: "Do you know what 'Seven Luminaries' means?"

Siming shook his wine glass casually, motioning her to continue.

"If you can break through the hexagram and enter the realm of the seven stars, your star of reason will be able to support more powerful mysteries..." Leng Ji said slowly.

However, Sima Ming still curled his lips in boredom.

"Oh—it does sound impressive."

He glanced lazily at Calvino, then smiled lazily.

"What a pity, I still only care about tomorrow's bet." Calvino clenched his fists tightly, trying hard not to overturn the table.

Lilia also looked helpless: "Are you really a mystic?"

Siming's smile remained unchanged, but his eyes narrowed slightly, and he uttered lazily: "I'm just a gambler."

At this moment, something strange suddenly began to stir in his pocket.

Siming's hand paused slightly, and his brows frowned almost imperceptibly.

His intuition told him that this was definitely not an ordinary movement, but... something was trying to "echo" something.

His fingertips slowly slid into his pocket and touched a cold card.

——The One with a Thousand Faces.

At that moment, a low murmur sounded in his mind, with a vague smile:
"The wheel of fortune always turns."

Siming's pupils shrank slightly, and a strange feeling surged in his heart.

He raised his head and looked at Calvino and Lilia, his eyes becoming a little deeper.

The gambling game might have already begun, and he seemed to have already sat down at the card table without even realizing it.
-
Deep in my mind, that familiar whisper suddenly sounded, like the murmur of a madman, with uncontrollable excitement and greed.

The sound sometimes comes and sometimes goes, like a ghost lurking in the darkness, spying, tempting, and waiting.

"Would you watch such a precious thing slip away from you?"

The One with a Thousand Faces is getting restless.

Siming's smile froze slightly, and his fingers tightened subconsciously.

He could clearly feel that the cards in his pocket were getting hot, and that restless power was surging, trying to break free.

"Don't forget..." The voice was slow and deep, as if it was a sigh from fate, "One day - I will come."

"By then, if you still can't control me—you—will be left with nothing but your corpse."

The whisper was like the night wind blowing past the ears, bringing with it a chilling chill, tempting greed, inciting desire, and making it impossible to ignore its existence.

Siming's fingertips tapped lightly on the rim of the cup in a steady rhythm, as if resisting some invisible erosion.

He knew that this guy was trying to manipulate him.

He exhaled slowly and asked in a leisurely tone, "Where is your ship?"

Calvino was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly and shook his head: "We don't have ordinary boats."

Siming blinked, as if he had heard something absurd: "No ordinary ships? What do you mean?"

He raised his eyebrows slightly, his eyes flickering slightly: "Then how do you carry out your sailing plan?"

Lilia's voice dropped a few notches, a hint of embarrassment barely perceptible in it: "We... need to rebuild the fleet."

Siming leaned back in his chair, his lips curled up slightly, a meaningful smile flashing in his eyes: "So, you don't even have the capital to go to sea?"

Calvino's lips were pressed tightly into a line, and his fingertips gently stroked the table, as if he was suppressing some emotion.

Lilia lowered her eyelids, as if unwilling to admit this fact.

Silence spread, as if the deal was doomed to fail.

But the next moment, Sima Ming suddenly smiled, and that smile revealed a bit of teasing, but also some real interest.

"It sounds more like a complete gamble."

Calvino slowly raised his head, his eyes as deep as the night. He did not deny, nor did he retreat, but quietly met Sima Ming's gaze.

"……Yes."

His voice was low, but firm.

"But this is a gamble we must win."

Sima Ming looked at him quietly, as if observing the struggle of prey, observing a gambler making a desperate bet in desperation.

The bet has not yet been settled.

And he has not yet decided whether to sit at this gambling table.