Chapter 338

As the Gambler stood up and walked toward the man, Mei Lin, who had been sitting between them, also stood up and left her seat, clearing a path for the Gambler. Her movements were so smooth and fluid that Ning Zhe felt she was only missing the words, "Please, right this way, my lord."

"No, don't, I beg you, don't... no..."

As the Gambler approached, the foul stench of rotting flesh rushed toward him. Waves of chill crawled up the man's spine like maggots clinging to bone, leaving him limp and slumped on the sofa. His trembling legs could no longer support his body's weight; he couldn't even stand up.

"No, no, no..."

In the quiet room, only the 'loser's' pleas and groans echoed in the air. Ning Zhe saw the Gambler's broad palm grab the man's head, its five fingers locking firmly onto his skull, just like a basketball player gripping a ball with one hand.

"Hmm?" Ning Zhe frowned slightly, suddenly realizing something was wrong.

"It is true that Fen Wu used the Gambler's power to strip the Serpent God Zhao You from me. His goal has indeed been preliminarily achieved, but... Fen Wu is very unlucky."

"It is known that the only way to take something from the Gambler is to present a wager of equal value and win it in a gamble. Gambling relies on luck, and as it happens, the Gambler currently has very good luck. It has obtained Zhao You's almanac and the Serpent God's favor. By avoiding misfortune and seeking good fortune, the Gambler is currently blessed with immense luck."

Previously, when the Gambler played Russian Roulette with Sha Li Sha Li and the others, or played Old Maid with Xia Yubing and the others, it had not lost a single round after several turns. This was the manifestation of that 'immense luck.'

"While the Gambler's luck is off the charts, Fen Wu's own luck is extremely poor. With one rising and the other falling, the disparity in their luck has reached an unfathomable degree. Under such a gap in luck, even the smallest probability becomes infinitely large. If you flip a coin Graham's number of times, there will be Graham's number of outcomes where the Gambler wins. Fen Wu cannot possibly beat the Gambler at gambling; the probability of him winning against the Gambler is infinitely close to zero."

Unless he cheats.

In a flash, Ning Zhe thought of many things. Glancing up, he saw the Gambler's five fingers had already dug deep into the man's skull, pinching out bloody holes around his head. With a 'Crack!', his skull cap was forcibly pried open, and the three of them were momentarily stunned.

"No, that's not right..." Ning Zhe felt a chill in his heart. He had already discovered that something was wrong with the current situation, but what exactly was it?

The Gambler has good luck, Fen Wu has bad luck, and the outcome of gambling depends entirely on luck. Is there any way to ignore the gap in luck and forcibly win a gamble?

... Yes, there is.

Once cheating is discovered by the Gambler, the wager is directly confiscated. In other words, as long as one is not discovered by the Gambler, it is fine.

*Plop. * The Gambler tossed the bloody skull cap, still covered in hair, onto the table. Its thin, long fingers reached into the open cranial cavity like chopsticks dipping into a hot pot, and it plucked out a white, plump worm about the thickness of a finger.

【Tai Sui】 worm.

As the worm was pulled from his brain, the man's body convulsed violently several times, his legs kicking wildly under the table like a bullfrog that had been decapitated. Before long, he lay limp on the sofa, motionless.

"This is the 'wager' carried by this man, which possesses the same value as the Substitute Straw Man."

Seeing the Gambler place the worm dug from the man's brain on the table, next to the Substitute Straw Man it had lost earlier, Ning Zhe felt a slight sense of relief, yet he was also somewhat puzzled.

In her notebook, Xia Yubing described the worm parasitizing Forsolus's brain as being very large, about the size of a human brain or even larger, bulging and filling his cranial cavity. But the worm the Gambler dug out now was only the thickness of a finger, more than ten times smaller than the one in Forsolus's brain.

Ning Zhe stood up and looked down into the man's open cranial cavity. Unlike Forsolus, after the worm was removed, his head did not become empty; his pink brain could still be seen inside the cranial cavity. He had not turned into a completely empty shell like Forsolus.

In fact...

Ning Zhe sat back on the sofa, his gaze fixed on the man's dull expression. His eyes were unfocused and lifeless, but the moment Ning Zhe's gaze fell upon them, the two bloodshot eyeballs suddenly rolled around. Both eyeballs quickly turned in the same direction, and a resentful gaze stared straight at this side, meeting Ning Zhe's eyes.

Immediately after, an eerie smile appeared on his face. "Heh..." Ning Zhe smiled slightly: "Interesting."

While he was deep in thought, the Gambler, having obtained the wager, had returned to its seat. Mei Lin, who had recovered from her shock, also sat back on the sofa, looking pale as she stared at the man beside her with the eerie smile on his face and his pink brain exposed to the air.

The man sat up straight, meticulously tidying his collar and cuffs that had been disheveled during his struggle. He picked up his wine glass, took a sip of the gin inside, and then picked up the bloody skull cap from the table and gently pressed it back onto his head. His movements were as elegant as if he were putting on a top hat, and he smiled politely at Ning Zhe.

Witnessing this scene, how could Ning Zhe not understand?

That mortal man from just now was already dead; the one sitting here now was Fen Wu.

"Allow me to ask a presumptuous question." Ning Zhe looked at Mei Lin, who had just sat down, and said: "Where is your Young Lady now?"

Mei Lin frowned, a look of vigilance appearing on her face: "Which Young Lady are you talking about?"

"Pulu Meiliya Fulimmisslet." Ning Zhe said calmly: "Where is she now?"

Seeing that the other party could accurately state the Young Lady's name, the vigilance in Mei Lin's eyes deepened: "I have no obligation to answer your questions."

"I understand. Then let me rephrase the question." Ning Zhe continued: "Is your Young Lady safe now?"

"Safe? Why do you ask that suddenly?" Mei Lin's attitude became visibly anxious: "Do you mean someone wants to harm the Young Lady's safety? Speak clearly!"

"That is not the attitude of someone asking for help." Ning Zhe smiled, fortunately, he was a magnanimous person: "I guess your Young Lady is hiding somewhere in the opera house right now, waiting for your signal at any time, ready to 'take back her move' at any time, right?"

"... It really was you!" Mei Lin gritted her teeth: "You really are the Ascender who played the Requiem in the castle and took away the 'Necromancer'! What exactly do you want to do!"

"I have no obligation to answer your questions." Ning Zhe returned the sentence to her.

Mei Lin bit her lower lip tightly, her glare at him as if she wanted to eat him alive.

"In short, if my guess is correct, and your Young Lady is indeed hiding somewhere in the opera house right now waiting for your signal, then I suggest you tell her to run quickly."

A charming smile appeared on Ning Zhe's face, and he said softly: "If you wait any longer, she won't be able to run."

Because a guy even more terrifying than a ghost has already set his sights on her.

Mei Lin was stunned upon hearing this. Suddenly, as if possessed, she turned her head, only to see a well-dressed man sitting lazily beside her with his legs crossed, holding half a glass of gin, his face covered in dripping blood, smiling broadly.

"You are quite good," he said.

As he spoke, he raised his glass to Ning Zhe from afar: "It would be even better if we weren't enemies."

(End of chapter)