An invasion from the Abyss? I, a demonic cultivator, laughed.

Chapter 138 The Road to Success
The masked man was completely terrified when he saw the demonic arm in front of him.

He never imagined that someone could withstand two cannons without being injured while bound by the chain of the bet!
Dude! If you're this good, why are you even trying to play games with me?
If you'd beaten me up earlier, I would have behaved!

A smile more like a grimace appeared on the half of his face that was left: "You're planning to beat me up with both hands at the same time, aren't you?"

"so smart."

Chu Xiu stepped forward with a smile.

"Wait! Wait! Don't kill me, I'm still useful!" the masked man screamed. "Information! Intelligence! I'll do anything you want! Spare my life!"

Chu Xiu slowly stopped in front of him, stroking his chin: "I do have some things I'd like you to do."

These words made the masked man nod repeatedly as if he had grasped a lifeline: "Whatever it is, I will do anything!"

"But before that, you should give me the chips you have."

"Yes Yes!"

The masked man scrambled to his feet, pried open a floor tile in the corner of the room, and took out a wooden box. Chu Xiu was right behind him, staring coldly at him. The Blood Curse Bone-Piercing Nail was ready to be unleashed. If he made any unusual moves, he could kill him immediately!

Fortunately, the masked man seemed to be aware of his situation and was terrified of Chu Xiu. He did not play any tricks and instead obediently held the box in front of Chu Xiu and opened it.

Chu Xiu looked down and saw six coins engraved with ancient patterns and several cloth bags inside, but nothing else.

He picked up a coin, and then a panel appeared in front of him.

[Champions of Destiny: A universal currency personally issued by the God of Gamblers; followers of the God of Gamblers can slightly improve their luck by holding it.]

"Can it improve my luck?"

In the extraordinary world, fortune is something ethereal yet real.

Chu Xiu remembered Jiang Xue, whom he had met before. Her profession was High Priest of Fate (S), which seemed to be related to fortune and was very mysterious.

Although it's only S-rank, it seems to be even rarer than SS-rank.

"This is a good thing."

However, Chu Xiu felt that since it was used as a base currency, the specific increase in value should not be significant, and it could only be effective if one believed in the God of Gamblers.

But soon, he frowned again.

"Why are there only six?" Chu Xiu asked in a cold voice.

The masked man seemed to have anticipated Chu Xiu's question, and said with a mournful face, "I really only have this much left. I've used all my chips to exchange for living supplies. Here, we common gamblers are actually working for the lord to earn chips."

Chu Xiu looked incredulous: "The betting requires you to put up at least ten chips."

"This is a gamble with death; my life is worth ten chips."

Chu Xiu: "."

He rubbed his forehead: "That's not right either. According to this logic, you should have ten chips for each win, but you said you've killed a lot of Awakened Ones. How could you only have so few?"

The masked man lowered his head: "I... I used it all to exchange for living supplies."

"Is that so?" Chu Xiu sneered. The Heavenly Demon Hand reappeared behind him without warning and crashed down from the sky towards the masked man!
In a flash, the masked man shrieked, "Bliss Grass! I'm going to buy Bliss Grass!"

Chu Xiu's arm paused, and the Heavenly Demon Hand, a fist as huge as a water vat, hovered above the masked man's head.

"Pastoral grass?"

"Yes, this is a herb that can bring you ultimate joy from the depths of your soul. Would you like some, sir?"

Chu Xiu thought of something, lifted the remaining cloth bag in the box, and found that it contained some grayish-yellow powder.

He suddenly realized: "So you're a poisoner after all. No wonder."

Drug addicts are usually extremely afraid of death, but when their addiction kicks in, they immediately turn into reckless madmen. Their minds have been completely destroyed, so it's reasonable that they can't accumulate enough resources to risk their lives every time.

Seemingly sensing the disdain in Chu Xiu's eyes, the masked man's eyes flashed with resentment, and he couldn't help but defend himself: "Sir, do you think I wanted this? Although I am just a commoner gambler, I was quite famous in my old town. The head chef of the town's gambling house even arranged a marriage between me and his daughter. But after coming here, I was tricked by the local lord into drinking fruit wine mixed with Bliss Grass, and I have been enslaved by him for the rest of my life ever since."

"I also want to break free from his control and return to my hometown where people are waiting for me, but once you're exposed to that feeling, you can never get rid of it."

Before he could finish speaking, Chu Xiu waved his hand to stop him: "I don't care."

The masked man immediately shut up.

"Tell me in detail about the situation here, what high-level combat forces are here, how they are distributed, and what special rules there are."

"Don't even think about lying. I'll be taking you with me from now on, and if I find out you've lied even once, I'll take your life immediately."

"But if the information you provide is satisfactory enough, I won't need those Bliss Grasses."

Upon hearing Chu Xiu mention the words "Paradise Grass," the masked man's eyes immediately lit up. He subconsciously licked his dry lips and hurriedly told him everything he knew.

A few minutes later, Chu Xiu had a general grasp of the situation in this world.

This world is ruled by an extraterrestrial demon who worships a god of gambling; he himself is the king of this place.

Below him, detailed ranks were established for various gamblers, from lowest to highest: slaves, vagrants, commoners, knights, knights, nobles, and royalty.

The city was ruled by a baron, who had a knight and four knights under his command.

A gambler's rank grants them special blessings, most notably the "Chain of Contracts" and the "Notary." The higher the gambler's rank, the stronger their "Chain of Contracts" and the higher the rank of their "Notary."

In addition, a gambler's rank determines the maximum number of Fate Chips they can hold. For example, a commoner gambler can have a maximum of forty chips. Once they hold forty or more, the Chain of Bets will summon nearby knight gamblers to play a game.

This is to prevent low-level gamblers from having too much luck, thereby undermining the fairness of the game.

There are only two ways to improve a gambler's rank: either win against a higher-ranking being in the "Grim Reaper's Game" and take their place, or win against eight gamblers of the same rank in a row and take their lives as sacrifices to advance.

Another type is the conferment of honors by a "king" or "god," which is extremely rare and at least beyond the reach of someone of Chu Xiu's rank.

"I see. Passing this trial is not as simple as I thought. It's not just about winning the bets and earning enough chips. You also have to play the 'Grim Reaper's Gamble' with gamblers of the Knight rank and take their rank."

"Four knights, is it just right for us four awakened ones to gamble?"

Chu Xiu thought to himself.

According to the masked man, gamblers of the Knight rank are usually powerful individuals of the Fierce rank, and their notaries are stronger and more intelligent, and the binding effect of the chain of contracts is also enhanced, meaning it is more difficult to win through means other than gambling.

As for that baron, he was undoubtedly a general! Thinking of this, Chu Xiu thoughtfully stroked his chin and asked, "What would happen if we attacked the notary?"

“Notaries will immediately retaliate, and nearby notaries who witnessed the attack will also help.”

"At the same time, they will also suffer the backlash of the chain of bets, and the chains of bets of others will be automatically mobilized to help them."

Chu Xiu nodded: "Go ahead and try attacking a notary now."

"Huh???" The masked man was dumbfounded.

Chu Xiu sneered, "Didn't you say you were willing to do anything?"

The masked man swallowed hard, hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth, grabbed a shotgun from the side, and fired a shot at one of the notaries!
Amidst the explosive sound of gunpowder exploding, a notary was blasted away, his formal attire torn to shreds, revealing his grayish-white skin underneath. But he quickly got up and charged at the masked man along with four other notaries nearby!
At the same time, a pale green light appeared on the masked man's wrist, as his chain of wagers appeared automatically and locked firmly on his own hand!

Chu Xiu sensed some of it. Because he hadn't actively accepted the constraint, the chain of the bet was much less effective, but even so, it was still a rather powerful negative buff.

While Chu Xiu was pondering, the masked man who had attacked the notary for the first time was terrified and turned to run away. At this moment, Chu Xiu threw out several items: "Equip them."

The masked man didn't have time to think before he immediately did as instructed.

Immediately, the Vampire Earl's Wings, the Perfect Skeleton Armor, and the Perfect Skeleton Spear were equipped on the masked man. With these three pieces of equipment, the masked man's strength increased greatly. Not to mention defeating the five notaries, he could protect himself for a short period of time.

After seeing that the six people had been entangled for a long time, and that a notary had been killed without causing any further commotion, Chu Xiu was completely relieved.

With a flick of his finger, three Blood Curse Bone-Piercing Nails shot out, swiftly and cleanly killing the remaining notary.

Upon seeing this, the masked man's initial thoughts of resistance, fueled by his sudden surge in strength, vanished instantly. He obediently removed his equipment and returned it to Chu Xiu.

Seeing that he was so sensible, Chu Xiu nodded slightly, put away his equipment, and began to think about his next move.

Currently, there are actually three ways to win a bet.

First, he could win the bet normally. Looking back at the bet with the masked man, it can be seen that Chu Xiu was not entirely without a chance of winning. After all, the cheating method of destroying evidence, which was almost like cheating, could only be used once. If Chu Xiu could have seen through his first cheating method earlier, or if he had not lost the fourth round, he might have been able to win.

The second strategy is to decisively engage in a strong attack at the start of the game, which means simultaneously facing five level 9 warriors and one level 5 warrior with the Chain of Gamblers, and also fighting on the opponent's home turf.

This was naturally easy for Chu Xiu, but much more difficult for ordinary trial participants. At least an S-rank professional with decent equipment would have a chance to do it.

And this is just a betting game at the level of ordinary people.

As for the last type, it's simply relying on sheer luck.

Even with cheating methods, the masked man's win rate is not 100%. If Chu Xiu draws more cards in blackjack every time, the masked man can only watch helplessly no matter how much he cheats.

"I will naturally choose to kill them outright without a doubt, but I need to think carefully about how to do it," he thought to himself.

After all, this dungeon looks quite difficult.

Next, Chu Xiu inquired in detail about the power arrangements in this area from the masked man.

Because of their faith in the God of Gamblers, people in this world are very hostile to the act of robbing people directly without going through the gambling process, and there are special guard teams patrolling the area.

In fact, there was a quick alarm device under the wooden table in front of the masked man, but he knew that pressing it would only hasten his death.

These guards are mostly composed of warrior and ferocious creatures of various races, and are well-equipped, not much weaker than awakened beings of the same level.

Having made up his mind, Chu Xiu prepared to leave the room.

The masked man gave a fawning smile: "Sir, I've done everything you said, can you spare my life?"

Chu Xiu nodded.

The masked man's eyes lit up, and he licked his lips again: "Then the 'Paradise Grass' we agreed on before."

Chu Xiu tossed the wooden box back into the masked man's arms. His eyes lit up with ecstasy, as if he had been itching for a long time and had been holding back his desire. As soon as he got the box, he reached out to grab it.

However, at that moment, the Heavenly Demon Hand appeared without warning and instantly crushed his head.

With a loud bang, blood splattered all over the room.

Chu Xiu turned around and expressionlessly picked up the Bliss Grass again and put it away.

He naturally wouldn't let go of something that could be used to change his fate.

Moreover, he couldn't possibly leave a gambler and poisoner like the masked man alive; the variables were too great.

Letting him die amidst anticipation and joy was perhaps one of the few acts of mercy Chu Xiu showed him.

"Snapped."

Pushing open the door, Chu Xiu strode out.

Only then did he realize that he was in an iron house with walls made of concrete and a lot of steel, and there were three similar houses not far from him. At that moment, two men and a woman were chatting in the center of the four houses.

Seeing Chu Xiu come out, one of the boys waved to him and said with a smile, "You're finally out. If you hadn't come out, we would have been going in to look for you."

The man had a rather handsome face, a sunny smile, and curved eyebrows and eyes. Coupled with his white robe, he gave people a gentle and approachable feeling.

In contrast, Chu Xiu at this moment was wearing the eerie and ferocious [Undying Corpse King Mask], a black robe stained with the blood of the masked man, making him look like a dark and perverted monster.

However, each Awakened One has their own peculiarities, so the three of them didn't pay any attention to it. The man who had greeted him earlier extended his hand: "My name is Song Linchuan, what's your name, brother?"

"Chen Ce".

"So it's Brother Chen. Come, let me introduce you. This beautiful lady is Bian Guanyue, and this is Lin Ji."

The two people beside Song Linchuan both had extraordinary bearing. Bian Guanyue was tall and slender, with a heroic air about her. She carried a long spear on her back. Lin Ji had an ordinary appearance and seemed a little reserved next to the other two, but his equipment was of high quality, indicating that he was also someone of considerable importance.

Of course, given the difficulty of the betting game, those who manage to pass are clearly not simple individuals.

However, Chu Xiu noticed that among the three, only Song Linchuan was completely unharmed, his white robe spotless. The others had bloodstains on them to varying degrees, and Lin Ji even had a large, obvious tear on his left shoulder armor, clearly indicating that he had suffered a serious injury in the previous betting game.

However, judging from his current condition, he has probably been healed using healing items.

As he silently observed the three, the others were also observing him. A few seconds later, Bian Guanyue nodded slightly to Chu Xiu, while Lin Ji extended his hand in a friendly manner: "I wonder where Brother Chen comes from? Perhaps we will have the opportunity to cooperate in the future."

"Jiangcheng."

"Jiangcheng?" Lin Ji's face showed surprise, and he blurted out, "You're not from the inner city?"

(End of this chapter)