Secret World: I Became a God Through Lies

Chapter 58 Gambler's Contract

"The contract is signed, the gamble is on."

"But a gambler's chips are wealth or himself."

In the afternoon at the pub, sunlight shines through the window lattices, casting mottled light and shadows.

The pub was still bustling with activity, the laughter of gamblers and the clinking of glasses intertwined together. However, at a wooden table in the corner, the atmosphere was subtle enough to make one feel uneasy.

The table was covered with a thick stack of contract documents, with black ink clearly outlining the terms and benefits.

Siming held a glass of light wine and leisurely flipped through the contract in his hand, his fingertips casually sliding across the paper and his eyes scanning every detail.

His expression was indifferent, with a hint of teasing at the corner of his mouth.

"Okay, Mr. Calvino, now all that's left is your signature."

Calvino looked at the documents on the table with a complicated expression, as if what was in front of him was not a contract, but a ticket to an unknown abyss.

He gave a wry smile and looked up at Siming: "Is this how you mystics like to do things?"

Leng Ji snorted lightly, crossed his arms, narrowed his violet eyes slightly, and said in a cold tone:
"Don't involve us. Siming is an exception. He's not a mystic, he's just a gambler."

"Hey, hey, hey, this is not right, is it?" Siming spread his hands pretending to be wronged, with a helpless look on his face.
"I joined you with a lot of debt. If I don't take some more security, when I come back, Leng Ji, you will plunder me clean. Who can I cry to?"

Leng Ji's lips curled up into a subtle smile, and his tone was gentle but full of danger: "It's no use crying, the guild's debts still need to be collected."

“…Damn.” Siming covered his forehead, feeling that his future was bleak.

Lilia, who was sitting nearby, couldn't help but chuckle, her eyes filled with inquiry and interest. She whispered to Calvino:
"This 'Mr. Gambler' is more cautious than we thought."

Calvino sighed helplessly, and finally picked up the quill and signed his name on the contract.

The contract is established and the gambling begins.

Just when the atmosphere subtly calmed down, a lively and crisp voice suddenly broke the silence.

"A dream? Treasure? That's amazing!"

A scarlet figure suddenly pounced over, with long hair scattered casually, revealing its signature sharp fangs.

The unique charm of the vampires filled the air - Princess of the Blood Moon, Celian.

Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she moved closer to Siming, almost whispering in his ear, her voice filled with unconcealed anticipation:
"Master, when do we leave? I'm tired of living here."

Siming's brows twitched suddenly, and he stretched out his hand to push her away with a headache.

In an impatient tone, he said, "...could you please not get so close?"

Celian tilted her head slightly, revealing an innocent smile: "But Master, I am your servant. Of course I have to follow closely~"

"Go away." Siming moved away decisively, rejecting her obviously bewitching act of coquettishness.

Celian smiled softly, a sly glint in her eyes. She seemed to be full of anticipation for the upcoming journey and had already begun planning her "pirate career" in her mind.

However, at this moment, an obviously weak voice came from the side.

"Uh...Si Ming, this time, I might not go with you."

Everyone turned around and saw Natasha leaning against a chair, her face terribly pale.

She held her forehead with one hand, trying to endure some extreme discomfort, as if she might faint at any moment.

Siming frowned and looked at her: "What's wrong with you?"

Natasha raised her eyes, revealing an extremely helpless expression. She said weakly, "Pirates, the sea, the ship... Uh, I can't do it anymore..."

The entire tavern fell into silence for a moment.

Siming was stunned for a second, then suddenly realized what was happening. He looked her up and down subtly: "Huh? Are you seasick?"

Natasha nodded with difficulty.

"...and it's serious?" Siming's tone was already tinged with gloating. She gave a helpless, wry smile and raised her hand to gesture weakly, "It's worse than you think."

Everyone was silent again.

Siming sighed, a look of regret on his face, and he said with a drawn-out sigh, "Alas, it seems we can't rely on you as our sniper this time."

Natasha's face turned even paler. She waved her hands violently, her voice weak: "Stop talking. I'm starting to feel dizzy..."

In the tavern, the laughter and noise continued, and the fate of the gamblers had at this moment slowly opened the door to the unknown.

After a brief silence, the atmosphere in the tavern became lively again, with cups clinking and the gamblers' laughter mixed with the crisp sound of copper coins colliding, filling the air.

However, at the wooden table in the corner, the atmosphere was subtly stagnant, like a gambling game that had not yet begun, waiting for the real chips to fall.

Siming recovered from Natasha's tragic seasickness, turned to look at Calvino, and said casually: "By the way, do you think I'm enough?"

"Of course not enough!"

This time it was Lilia who answered. She nodded vigorously and said firmly, "We need at least four more people."

She raised her head and looked at Leng Ji and Siming expectantly, a glimmer of hope in her eyes: "Mr. Siming? Sister Leng Ji? Do you have any team members to recommend?"

Leng Ji raised his eyebrows, tapped the table lightly, and looked at Si Ming meaningfully: "You know more people than I do."

Siming stroked his chin and began to mentally sort through the mystics he knew: "Lorca? Avel? I heard they're not in Angel's Tears recently."

He frowned slightly and muttered to himself, "Herman...that guy is so mysterious. I haven't seen him for a long time."

Leng Ji leaned lazily on the back of the chair and asked calmly, "Where's Loren?"

Siming shrugged, looking helpless: "Fatty has been using him a lot recently, so I guess he won't come to help casually."

Leng Ji gently turned the wine glass in his hand, his eyes shifting slightly, and finally said slowly: "Okay, I will issue a recruitment task in the name of the guild."

She paused, a sly smile playing on her lips, her violet eyes flickering with mischief. "However—our guild will charge a 10% handling fee."

Siming almost lost control of the wine glass in his hand. His gaze slowly shifted to Leng Ji, his expression becoming extremely complicated: "Leng Ji...when did you learn how to do business?"

Leng Ji blinked lightly and smiled gently and harmlessly: "This is called a reasonable fee. After all, they are not official members of the Mystic Master Guild."

Siming couldn't help but hold his forehead and took a deep breath. "So I'm the guild's recruitment representative now, right? And I'll have to help you collect the handling fees when the time comes?"

Leng Ji chuckled and nodded, as if it was a matter of course.

Calvino and Lilia did not object to this. For them, wealth was not important - they only wanted one thing.

Lilia lowered her head, her fingertips gently stroking the guidance card in her hand, her eyes flickering slightly, as if she saw some fragments buried deep in her memory through the card.

Her voice was so low that it was almost inaudible: "As long as... we can regain our memories..."

She gently closed her eyes, as if recalling something, but found that her mind was still blank, so blank that it was suffocating.

Her fingers tightened slightly, and she murmured softly: "Everything we lost..."

She slowly opened her eyes, a trace of obsession flickering in her deep blue pupils, as if sinking into the deep sea: "Secret treasures, wealth, can all be yours."

Siming was slightly startled, his eyes fell on her. For a moment, he had a strange feeling - this transaction was far more complicated than he had imagined.

He looked away and looked at Calvino, whose expression did not change much, still with his usual calmness.
Even on the surface, he was better at hiding his emotions than Lilia.

However, Siming could sense that there was something hidden in those deep eyes, some obsession that he could not easily see through.

Leng Ji sighed softly, covered his forehead, and muttered subtly: "...The customers are getting weirder and weirder recently."

Siming leaned back in his chair, tapping the table lightly with his fingertips. He had a vague feeling of unease in his heart, as if something was quietly surging in the gears of fate.

——This gamble seemed to be far more profound than he had imagined.

(End of this chapter)