Dare?
That last sentence almost made Lu Ce laugh out loud!
Such a lousy provocation tactic. The guy was actually afraid Lu Ce wouldn’t take the bet.
“Heh.” Lu Ce chuckled and looked at Yan Hong.
“You may not be very smart, but that performance amused me a little. Guess I should thank you for the laugh.”
“Up to you—set the bet, the stakes, even guess the time first if you want. Doesn’t matter to me.”
Lu Ce said casually, then picked up a white towel from the table nearby and began wiping his hands.
The Lust Mask… honestly, it took some getting used to…
The previous Masks were mostly just amplifications of human traits, but the Lust Mask included things like obsessive cleanliness—something Lu Ce would never normally have.
Yet now, he had to wipe his hands after every bite. Even if it was a reflex driven by the Lust Mask’s influence, it was still something he couldn’t quite adapt to.
Please don’t let this be real germophobia—this sh*t is annoying.
Yan Hong saw the same indifferent attitude as before, like Lu Ce wasn’t interested in the topic at all, and he felt a bit lost.
He’d already tried hard to find a game of pure luck—one where “Sin’s” abilities wouldn’t interfere.
In his eyes, “Sin’s” confidence—even arrogance and narcissism—couldn’t be due to mental issues.
On one hand, it was confidence in his own powerful Strength and Peak Ranking. On the other hand, he suspected Lu Ce understood gambling techniques.
Or more precisely, sleight-of-hand—some kind of related skill.
He’d figured out the small-ball grab earlier—it was essentially a math-logic trick.
But what he hadn’t figured out was how the guy managed to feel out the right ball and grab it within seconds.
So now, he suspected that “Sin” had some ability like “magician’s hands,” tailor-made for a casino setting—hence the total calmness.
But at this moment, he was starting to feel uneasy again.
“Alright then. One Star. But since it’s you, the bet doubles—so two Stars.”
“Fine.” Lu Ce replied.
The moment both agreed, two beams of light enveloped them—bet confirmed, no backing out under these terms.
Yan Hong glanced at “Sin’s” pale, slender hands, but didn’t dwell on it. He looked toward the slot machine in the distance.
The slot game was simple—single-bet per round, amount was up to the player.
Then, three spinning reels would start and could be stopped at any time.
If all three showed different icons, the bet was lost.
If two icons matched, the player could either try again or walk away with no loss.
If all three matched, the bet was doubled and returned.
Very simple rules. No skill involved.
And in Yan Hong’s eyes, the man in the green clothes had been standing in front of that slot machine for nearly ten minutes, playing nonstop since the beginning.
The guy’s personality was easy to read—a bit timid, not very confident in his own abilities. Afraid that gambling with others or with a Fake Human would end badly.
So he chose to keep playing that one slot machine, leaving his fate in the hands of a machine.
At first, he only had one Star. After playing so long, he’d only reached two Stars.
Win some, lose some—but never bet big.
It also showed that the slot machine had no tricks—it was a relatively fair Game.
But now, the guy’s gambler’s mindset had started to take over. He looked rooted to the spot in front of the machine.
Gesturing with his hands, like he was calculating odds—just like those “experts” at lottery shops analyzing patterns.
Yan Hong had been watching the guy for a long time and could tell—this man was addicted.
Yan Hong wasn’t dumb. When he chose this bet, he’d thought it through thoroughly.
It won’t be a short wait!
“Are you brain-dead? Staring this long—how hard is it to just guess a time?”
Yan Hong had been so focused on the slot machine guy that he forgot the time—Lu Ce was getting impatient.
“Haha, don’t rush me. I’m just thinking.”
“Alright then, I’ll guess… thirty minutes.”
He turned his head, smiling at Lu Ce.
“Honestly, how long you think doesn’t really matter.”
“Since it’s just about who guesses closer, the optimal move is for you to guess one second longer or shorter than me.”
“That way, the bet turns into: does he leave before or after thirty minutes?”
“Each of us has a fifty percent chance.”
“No big deal. I never thought I had to beat you. I’m fine losing two Stars to you.”
“I just want to see if, standing in front of you, I have a fifty percent win rate—if this casino is ruled more by fate, or by Strength.”
Yan Hong spoke sincerely. He wasn’t trying to challenge “Sin”—just trying to make contact.
As long as “Sin” picked one second more or less than him, he’d consider it a win. That tiny interaction would be enough for gauging Strength and establishing a connection for future contact.
After all, the guy didn’t seem interested in talking to weaklings—just ignored him the whole time.
From afar, Xie Antong also turned her head. The All-Seeing Eye transmitted all the data.
She didn’t have much faith in Yan Hong—because he was too straight-laced.
From experience, she knew: trying to beat “Sin” using fair, proper methods... was impossible.
“Done yapping? Who asked you?” Lu Ce looked at the slightly long-winded Yan Hong with a deadpan stare.
“So your final answer is thirty minutes?”
“Yes.” Yan Hong confirmed.
“Oh, cool. Then I’ll guess three seconds!”
Before Yan Hong could even process whether he’d misheard, Hell Roar appeared in Lu Ce’s hand.
BOOM!
He fired a blast straight at the ceiling!
The violent roar made everyone present flinch. Every head turned—including the green-clothed man who had been glued to the slot machine.
That man quickly realized in horror—the gun was aimed right at him!
?!!
BANG!
No time to think. Instinct took over—he dove away, rolling and crawling more than ten meters, finally hiding under a table and shouting wildly, gesturing at the Slime in the distance.
Lu Ce turned to look at the now-frozen Yan Hong.
“Fate, or Strength?”
“Strength is my fate.”