It's so painful! So hard! So difficult!

Smo's voice echoed in the silence. She slapped two cards and said to Bai Lin,

"Bang."

Then, Smo added the hidden card directly onto the card she had dealt in the previous round. With these slightly strange actions, she suppressed the suspicion about Hong Zhong. Her words and actions, like the darkness, simply existed there, without too many waves, blocking out the light. This action could not help but cause the two people in the audience to look at each other with shock.

Impossible! This card should be the red middle, right? That was Bai Lin's original draw. How could she possibly open a gang? Could it be that...

Kronos took a closer look, and a sudden realization struck him, instantly allowing him to guess Smoo's intentions. Originally, there were two kongs on the board, one from the God of Wilderness and the other from Smoo, but now there were three. You know, there's more to losing a game than just emptying the card mountain; opening four kongs is also possible.

This way, even if it was discovered that he had blacked out the red center after the game ended, the poet would still be dead, killed instantly, with no chance of survival. It seemed that the Aragami had already achieved riichi and was unable to assist Sma, but the latter was only one step away from victory.

Smo's actions undoubtedly urged Bai Lin to quickly win the hand. As long as he kept feeding the cards, Bai Lin's chance of winning would not be that far away. This way, the poet's probability of playing the cards that Smo and the God of Wilderness wanted would also increase dramatically.

The devil's sinister plan gradually surfaced. The tense atmosphere grew thicker, and Bai Lin's expression became so gloomy that it was impossible to discern his true expression.

"Ms. Simo, it seems you and your partner, the God of Desolation, are truly more shameless than the other. It's fine if you're just scheming against someone, but you're also trying to cover up your open scheming with actions like this."

Bai Lin couldn't help but say this. She wasn't angry at her opponent's behavior, but simply wanted to mock their tactics, which relied on deception and trickery. They seemed far more despicable than a mere human like her.

And Smoo, still answered calmly,

"Face? I'm just making a rational decision for the sake of ultimate victory, Holy Son. We demons have always done things like this. As long as we can achieve our goal, it doesn't matter what we do within the rules."

Bai Lin remained expressionless upon hearing this, and she drew her intended card. It was a Thirty-thousand, a rare card. Because of this, it was a good alternative for Bai Lin. If she kept it, it would also be a defense against a pair from Smo.

Perhaps hoping Bai Lin would keep this card, the poet tilted his masked face to the side. Meanwhile, Bai Lin stared intently at Smoo across the table, seemingly oblivious to the situation, and flung the cards aside. No matter what tactics or abilities the opponent employed, her actions remained constant.

Si Mo accepted all this calmly. She reached out and took the 30,000 that Bai Lin had thrown away, and replied,

"bump."

The order of playing cards was changed again. In just a few rounds, a lot of side effects had already been revealed. The Big Seven Stars weren't much rarer by comparison. Si Mo, bearing the murderous intent emanating from Bai Lin, raised his hand and stared at Bai Lin's face for a while. Then, he picked up a card, shook it a few times, and said,

"I'm a frank demon. I'll say whatever I want to say. So, you'd better think carefully, Holy Son. I have to play these extra cards. If you miss them, there will be no more."

Bai Lin, on the other hand, seemed to have not heard what Si Mo said, and his expression remained unchanged. Seeing that Si Mo did not move again for a long time, he squeezed out two barely audible words from his throat.

"what ever."

Facing Bai Lin's stubborn defiance, Si Mo gave a rare smile and played his cards. Now, Si Mo was only one card away from completing a four-gang game, and the threat to the poet's life was imminent.

"We're running out of time, Holy Son."

The poet's warning echoed. Her voice trembled slightly, but it seemed only from the weakening of her soul that she felt, unable to feel the fear of death. As she had said, she trusted Bai Lin. It was as if the life she was about to lose wasn't her own. Bai Lin nodded and drew a card in her own round.

This time, the red center still did not appear. Smo's disruption had a good effect, or perhaps the red center was no longer in the river. But when the poet mentioned the card and asked Bai Lin if he wanted to give it away, Bai Lin shook his head firmly and replied,

"I'm the only one who can draw the Red Center. That's clear. No matter what they do, it's just a paper tiger, only effective temporarily. With the few cards Smoo has left, at best, he can make one last play. After that, I'll definitely draw the Red Center and end this round."

"Ya Xun, make three bars from her hands. She doesn't have that kind of luck. At least when facing me, she won't have that kind of spare energy."

Even at this moment, Bai Lin was still patiently explaining to his teammates, offering words of comfort that were not quite consolation. The poet nodded slightly, looking at Bai Lin and replied,

"I believe you. I won't make any more decisions in this round. I'll be on standby at all times."

Bai Lin nodded silently, without saying anything more, just looking at Simo, staring at him closely. When it was Simo's turn, she just touched the cards normally, but when she was about to cut the cards, she seemed to suddenly remember something and said,

"By the way, Holy Son. You just seemed to be questioning my hand. To be more precise, you were worried that I had just taken the red center that originally belonged to you, right?"

"For minor requests that don't affect my ultimate goal, I'll always try my best to satisfy them. Leaving you hanging on by your laurels, enduring this kind of suspicion until the end, is indeed a bit too cruel for you."

Bai Lin looked at Si Mo, her eyes seemed to be a little more confused, she replied,

"I never thought you could say something like that. Are you begging for mercy? It doesn't seem like it. What on earth are you planning?"

Seeing that Bai Lin seemed to have fallen into the trap, Simo continued,

"Next round, I won't reveal anything. You know that well. By then, you should be confident you'll have a Red Center. Then, I'll reveal whether the Red Center is still on the river. Then, you can make your decision. How about that?"

Chapter 863 Hidden Card

Bai Lin thought for a while, then exhaled and replied,

"That sounds good. If I hadn't reached this point, I might have agreed."

"But now, it's meaningless, Smo. Your target is her, and my target is you. I will kill you before you kill her, so all your attacks, cunning tricks, will no longer be able to change my goal. And..."

When he said this, Bai Lin raised his head a little, stared at Simo fiercely, and said,

"The only possibility is that I got the red center. This is inevitable. The big seven stars I almost heard the other day are proof of it. Your card is not the kong you wanted, but it is definitely not a red center either."

Bai Lin's serious talk, coupled with her current expression, did not seem to be in a healthy state of mind. Simo, on the other hand, did not respond, but simply played a card.

Then, the God of Wilderness played his cards, and Smoo immediately slapped down two cards, one bright and one dark, and knocked them down. Her eyes were cold. She stared at the last card hanging in front of her, silent. But her intentions were clear.

Arashi and Smo, one in Riichi and the other in Hell, clearly had no intention of defending. Facing the Great Seven Stars, they offered themselves virtually no escape route. Bai Lin refused to retreat, and neither did they. It was as if they knew perfectly well that the remaining red center would not fall into Bai Lin's hands.

Hard, hard. It's like you stab me with a knife, I chop you with a sword, a bloody but no-frills face-to-face confrontation.

"My Fu Lu has two pentas, and now I'm in a pair, which I believe isn't hard to see. Since you're so sure you can draw that red middle, go ahead and try."

Simo's voice was extremely profound, giving people enough pressure yet seducing thoughts, just like a black hole. Bai Lin just laughed secretly and replied,

"At this point, you're still trying to bluff me. Aren't you... underestimating me a bit? Your exposed kang was clearly a forced chase. Even if that card wasn't a red center, your actions were forced and deliberate."

"This round, luck is on my side. Your cards won't easily make a winning hand like a pair, even with all the tricks you've put in. It'll take at least another round or two before you can even draw."

As she spoke, Bai Lin's face gradually emerged from the shadows. Her lifeless eyes reflected the calm sea of ​​blood and corpses. She placed her hands on the table, staring at Si Mo, and spoke clearly.

"And your only chance now is to persuade me to give up my Seven Star draw. If I change my draw, it might give you more time to execute your remaining rounds. Whether it's your inducement or the pressure you're putting on me, it's all for this one purpose."

As Bai Lin's words progressed, Si Mo's expression finally relaxed a little. She put her hand back under the table and turned her eyes slightly to the side, seemingly looking down at Bai Lin, but in fact, it seemed as if she was avoiding his sight.

At this point, Bai Lin finally showed a little smile in this game.

"Finally, are you still a little scared? But no matter what you want to do now, I will never change my choice."

Bai Lin said, without even looking at it, she grabbed the next card from the pile of cards, which was also her last discarded card. The Eight-Tie was slammed heavily on the table, as if announcing the end of the tactic. And Smo also sighed in a very appropriate way and said,

"Emotions are truly a rich and powerful energy. Some say that only by remaining rational and free from emotion can one be a complete person."

"But if that were the case, there wouldn't be firefighters risking their lives to protect half a city, police officers taking bombs they couldn't defuse and moving them away from the crowd, martyrs using their bodies to turn the flames, and civilians supporting the bridge with their own flesh. Such heroic acts driven by emotion wouldn't happen. Sacrificing one's life for justice, transcending the limits of humanity, is truly... astonishing."

Smoo explained calmly, seeming to have returned to her previous state. She admired sincerely, her eyes full of awe, and then suddenly changed the subject and said,

"But, what we demons are best at is manipulating what you call emotions."

A cold gaze came from Smo, locking Bai Lin's mind. If Bai Lin's murderous intent and malice were a blazing sea of ​​fire, then Smo's was just an ice needle, piercing through the sea of ​​fire and piercing her brain, causing Bai Lin to tremble a little. But Bai Lin recovered in an instant, she opened her mouth and asked Smo,

"Now, what exactly do you want to say?"

"What I'm trying to say is, demons aren't that easy to hunt, Holy Son."

Smo put his left hand on the only remaining card, and with a light tap of his finger, he knocked it down.

"Rong, yes, 4800."

Looking at this scene, Bai Lin opened his lips slightly, was startled at first, and then replied solemnly,

"Knowing that his own vice-reveal was a hidden card, he still went for a tie. This is a very deliberate bluff..."

"Of course I know. Since you care so much about my card, why don't you open it and take a look yourself. See if I forced it on you?"

Such calm words came out of Si Mo's mouth, which made Bai Lin feel a little dazed and shaken for a moment. But she quickly stared at Si Mo, stood up, stretched out her hand, and instantly snatched the hidden card into her own hand.

Throughout the entire match, Bai Lin never relaxed. As long as she was within sight, no matter how skillful or swift Si Mo's moves were, Bai Lin would definitely notice them. But when her hand touched the cards, Bai Lin froze.

The card slowly slipped from her palm and fell on the table. Everyone saw that it was Smoo's Kong card, an 8p.

How can it be?

Looking at Bai Lin who was completely frozen, Simo lit a cigarette for himself, then casually took out all the extra hidden cards from his desk and presented them in front of him.

"Failure isn't terrible, and admitting failure isn't too difficult either. But if you're still so sure of your own judgment when you clearly haven't seen anything... that's simply foolishness. A person's goal is naturally to be good without interference. Good people doing good by any means necessary, and bad people doing bad by any means necessary. Both are powerful and celebrated."

Chapter 864 It is indeed dark...

"You are indeed very powerful, Holy Son. I cannot treat your luck lightly, but..."

At this point, Si Mo raised the cigarette, pointed at the other party, then held her hands in front of her body, leaned forward, stared at Bai Lin with her unique deep eyes and said,

"Demons are not so easy to hunt."

The Great Seven Stars, that miracle of convergence, perished like this. Along with the light in Bai Lin's eyes, they were swallowed by the black hole. She fell forward, her upper body slumped onto the table, completely powerless, like a corpse whose soul had been drained. And Smoo casually took the reward he deserved.

Cheer up, sister!!

The poet sitting next to him didn't show excessive concern for Bai Lin, instead casting his gaze towards Si Mo. But Mi Yu, behind him, couldn't sit still. Such a direct and heavy blow might have crushed Bai Lin's mind. At this moment, she couldn't just collapse like this... otherwise, she would die!

Miyu ran to Bai Lin's side. Not much taller than the mahjong table, she grabbed one of Bai Lin's arms and shook it anxiously. Then, a chilling aura began to emanate from her body. Her eyes, like Bai Lin's before, were filled with murderous intent as she glared at Smo before her.

If my sister was no longer able to continue the game, then there was only one option left—to forcibly break the contract. Although my sister and the others had signed the contract, I had not participated in it.

As long as he could remove the materialized state of his spirit and borrow his sister's body, he would still have a chance.

"Little Miyu, don't have such dangerous thoughts. You are no match for me and Smoo, even if Bai Lin comes to do it himself, at least not now. And I don't want to fight you, because if I hurt you, the subsequent troubles will continue. However, it's hard to say about Smoo——"

As if seeing through Miyu's thoughts, the God of Wilderness spoke with a smile. Even now, her tone remained casual and friendly, laced with jokes, almost like a casual game of mahjong. And Si Mo didn't deny this. She had been quite calm throughout the day, simply sitting there quietly, as if nothing had to do with her.

Only Smooth understood and believed that, in fact, she had lost the game just now. Because she had not achieved her goal, even after using so many methods, she still could not harvest the poet's remaining soul.

Despite using every trick in her power, she still couldn't shake Bai Lin's resolve. She had originally intended to force Bai Lin to retreat during this early round, then proceed with her plan to kill the poet, but Bai Lin never gave up. She was incredibly certain that after this round, Bai Lin would definitely draw the red center.

In that fierce, ruthless exchange of blows, she herself took a step back, seizing the opportunity to win the game and sever Bai Lin's arm. Five soul points, even gaining a first place, this seemingly enormous advantage was like a small boat on a stormy night, vulnerable to capsizing at any moment.

She could only hope that the loss in this round would tie up Bai Lin - no, that was simply impossible, even though she now looked like she had collapsed from the blow.

The worst part was that this ocean was completely unpredictable. She had no idea what Bai Lin would do next. And her own trump card was already laid bare before Bai Lin.

“…Yayu.”

A hoarse cry, almost voiceless, came out from Bai Lin's mouth. Mi Yu's expression changed instantly. She was about to ask Bai Lin about his well-being, but Bai Lin's hand pressed hard on her shoulder, urging her to step back.

Then, Bai Lin's hand flashed past everyone's sight and she made a move that surprised everyone. She clasped her hand tightly around the needles on the side of her neck, and then pulled out all three soul needles at once.

"Ahem, cough."

Bai Lin's body trembled as she stood up hunched over. She coughed up a lot of blood, all of which fell onto the mahjong tiles in front of her. Then her hands went limp and she almost fell down at the table again. Simo frowned and picked up a towel from the table next to her and handed it to Bai Lin.

"What are you going to do? A normal creature's body can't possibly withstand the rapid extraction of so much soul. Even if you want to commit suicide, we have to complete the bet according to the agreement."

Bai Lin seemed too weak to lift her head, only slowly raising her hand. But just as it was about to touch the towel, she exerted her strength and grasped Smoo's hand. The instantaneous pressure, like a hydraulic clamp, made Smoo's entire arm tremble, and from her sleeve, a mahjong tile fell. It was a hidden card.

What?! Did she really cheat to beat her sister?

Miyu's eyes widened in shock. Meanwhile, Bai Lin slowly stood up. She extended her other hand and placed it on Simo's shoulder, not caring about the large amount of blood oozing from her mouth. She panted and said,

"That's a good trick, Smoo. You took advantage of my blind spot, right? That's why I didn't see it."

That's right, this was the Devil's trick that caused Bai Lin to misjudge. The opening card mountain was drawn from Smoo's right hand side, then moved to the side of the God of Desolation, allowing the God of Desolation to make some subtle moves. And Smoo also took advantage of the position of this card mountain.

During her last round of card draws, she took advantage of the opportunity to draw two cards. Then, while she was drawing cards, she replaced the hidden card in the Kong. Bai Lin couldn't see any of this from her perspective; the mountain of cards served as a natural shield. At the time, Bai Lin's attention was completely focused on Si Mo, but such a natural action didn't arouse her suspicion.

The poet, under pressure from Smo's attack, kept his gaze fixed on Bai Lin, awaiting the signal for him to send a card. Therefore, he completely missed the scene, which he could have easily seen from the side. Thus, the demon completed the trick.

A bloody yet warm breath emanated from Bai Lin's mouth, brushing against Smo's cheek. A gleam of light reappeared in Bai Lin's eyes, but while powerful, it wasn't the kind of light that could illuminate the path ahead, revealing his intentions. Instead, it was a vast expanse of white, peeking through the mist, a kind of "light pollution" like the mist itself. His hollow gaze was completely impenetrable, even terrifying, even to the point of fearing "light."

Chapter 865 Awakening

Madness? Malice? Or was it the certainty of victory, the confidence in controlling everything? Looking directly at Bai Lin, Smo couldn't give a definite answer. She used her free hand to push Bai Lin away, averted her eyes, sat back in her seat, and took a towel to wipe her hands. Bai Lin also wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. She opened her mouth slightly and said in a weak but unpleasant tone,

"Hehehe... I was right, demon. And, God of Wilderness, you took action too, right? Those two red middle cards..."

"Hey, don't frame me. You need evidence for everything you say and do! Of course, there's no evidence now, hehe."

Huang Shen immediately interrupted Bai Lin's speech, but it seemed that he also implicitly agreed with Bai Lin's statement. Si Mo did not intend to dwell on this issue too much. She quickly regained her composure and said to Bai Lin,

"Although you did discover my method, the game is over anyway, and doing this now will not help. Tell me, what do you want to do by removing your soul? Let me tell you in advance, if you want to use this as a condition for transformation, I will not--"

"Don't worry, I don't intend to do that. I just want to propose an additional condition. And, this condition is in your favor."

Although Bai Lin looked much weaker, her face unusually pale from her actions, her aura was even more enigmatic. Her demeanor shifted from calm to something... formidable. She narrated in the most ordinary of words.

"Oh? What are the conditions?"

"It's simple. Those three souls... just treat them as belongings outside of my body. The conversion rules will remain the same as before, so there won't be any violations. However, I won't be using them as points to pay for firing a cannon."

Bai Lin, saying this, she placed the three needles next to the soul point and continued,

"Of course, I won't use soul points like that anymore. Simply put, if I fire your cannon, I'll die instantly, my soul will belong to you, and we'll lose. Pretty good terms, right?"

What? No—

Miyu immediately objected, but Bai Lin held out her hand to stop her. There wasn't a hint of hesitation on her face, but no one could be sure if she was truly mad. Regardless of what others thought, Bai Lin's decision wouldn't change. She simply stared at Si Mo, waiting for his response.

The somewhat empty look in his eyes actually made Si Mo feel even more uneasy. She let out a long breath and extinguished the cigarette.

Yes, this sounds like good news for Smo, but the hesitation in her eyes never ceased. Finally, she nodded and said,