Secret World: I Became a God Through Lies

Chapter 448 A Sip at the Homecoming Bar

"The calamity of the stars is not a blessing, but a poison. Those who drink it will suffer hunger and thirst, and only the fruit of the tower can cure it."

So they climbed the tower not for a wish, but for immortality.

—Fragments of the Secret Records of the End

Rainy night, Hometown Bar for Homebound Travelers.

The signboard outside the wooden door rattled and creaked in the wind, as if it might be torn to shreds at any moment.

Behind the bar, the blue-haired girl, Leng Ji, was humming a tune as she wiped the wine glasses with a clean cloth over and over again.

She was in a rare good mood—the rain was getting heavier, so no one would bother her, and she could close the door early and go back to her room to sleep.

As a result, the wooden door creaked open.

When Leng Ji looked up and saw the unfortunate-looking figure at the door, the smile on his face vanished instantly.

"...What a jinx." She sighed.

The disheveled Siming walked in, looking haggard, as if he hadn't slept for days, with dark circles under his eyes almost pressing down on his cheeks.

"Hey, Leng Ji." Si Ming shrugged and sat down at the bar. "The usual, just make me a drink."

Leng Ji slammed the glass down on the table, her tone icy: "Hurry up and tell me what you want to drink? I'm about to leave work."

Si Ming smiled, pursing her lips: "Why aren't you happy to see me back? You must have missed me terribly, right?"

Leng Ji glanced at him sideways: "I only saw a dying patient push the door open and come in. Si Ming, just by looking at you, I can tell—you're in big trouble."

Si Ming was taken aback and subconsciously touched his face. He had indeed been acting strangely lately.

Walking down the street, he would suddenly see whales leaping out of the ground, or entire building complexes hanging upside down in the air.

Sometimes, he couldn't even tell if he was dreaming or had stumbled into someone's mysterious realm.

"I thought it was just a side effect of insomnia..." Si Ming muttered softly.

Leng Ji chuckled softly and pushed a glass of whiskey toward him:
"Insomnia? You're practically spacing out. Do you know, the look on your face is like—you're not even sure if you're still in reality."

Si Ming paused, holding his wine glass without saying a word.

The raindrops outside grew heavier, pattering against the signboard.

Leng Ji withdrew her gaze, looked at him, and her tone suddenly became serious:

"You should be grateful you managed to walk to the bar entrance on your own. Any later... and you might not be 'Si Ming' anymore."

Si Ming sighed and downed his whiskey in one gulp: "...So, what exactly did you figure out?"

Leng Ji tapped the table twice: "I've already thought of a name for you—'Star Calamity Thirst Syndrome'."

Si Ming was taken aback: "That sounds like a drunkard."

Leng Ji sneered: "Pretty much. It's just that a drunkard lacks alcohol, while you lack a celestial calamity. You'll still experience hand tremors, hallucinations, and mental instability, eventually going insane."

Si Ming frowned: "Star Calamity? Isn't that the source of power? I just advanced not long ago, how could it be insufficient?"

Leng Ji put down the rag and slowly explained, "Before Ms. Ruoli left, she said something like, 'Above the Star Calamity, it's like a fish entering another sea.'"

But there is no water in the mortal world. Once you start exerting yourself, you can only use up the little water you have inside your body.

She made a gesture, like pouring sand from an hourglass: "A little goes by, and there's less left. There's no way to replenish it naturally outside."

Si Ming froze. The chaotic images of the past few days flashed through his mind—whales leaping from the ground, buildings hanging upside down, and illusions blurring the lines between reality and illusion.

He whispered, "...So I'm really drying up?"

Leng Ji nodded, his voice carrying a hint of indifference:
"At best, you'll slowly lose your mind and become a madman. At worst, you'll be completely alienated and become a monster you can't even recognize yourself."

Si Ming smiled bitterly: "This explanation is not comforting at all."

Leng Ji raised an eyebrow: "If you had toned it down earlier and stopped showing off and making a big fuss in public, you might have been able to last a few more months. It's a pity that you set off too much fire in that show in Alleston."

Si Ming covered his face and sighed, "There's nothing we can do about it."

Leng Ji pushed the wine bottle: "No way? If you still can't come up with a solution, then prepare to be put on the 'kill list'."

Once you've completely gone mad, the Mysterious Guild will personally turn you into a card—"The Lie Weaver: The Fate Master."

Si Ming looked up, his face grim: "...This joke isn't funny at all."

Leng Ji shrugged: "This is not a joke. It's a warning."

The bar was dimly lit, and the liquor sloshed around. A silence fell, broken only by the heavy patter of rain against the windowpane.

Si Ming remained silent for a long time before finally managing to say, "Then what should I do? I can't just sit here and wait to die."

Leng Ji took a sip of wine, casually flipped out a thick auction catalog, and slammed it down in front of him:

“There is a way. Teacher Ruoli mentioned it in her message. The name is—The Gaze of the Primal One.”

Si Ming frowned: "That sounds ominous."

“Its nickname is even more straightforward—Golden Fruit.” Leng Ji turned the page and pointed to an illustration.

When Siming peeked out, he immediately gasped for breath.

The fruit was golden yellow all over, but it was not an ordinary round fruit. Instead, it looked like countless tiny eyes squeezed together, with the whites of the eyes and the pupils blending into bizarre patterns.

It emitted a ghostly glow, as if it were watching anyone who looked at it. "...You call this thing a fruit?" Siming's face turned pale.

Leng Ji shrugged: "Eating it will instantly restore the Star Calamity within your body, faster than any other treatment. And only it can quench your thirst."

"Sounds like an elixir of immortality." Si Ming's lips twitched. "How much?"

Leng Ji flipped to the price list and said calmly, "Estimated value—1.5 million Mysterious Gold Coins."

"How much?!" Si Ming almost overturned his chair.

He snatched the catalog, staring intently at the row of numbers, his lips trembling: "One and a half million...? Are you kidding me?!"

Leng Ji lazily added, "And this is just an estimate. You'd better be prepared to multiply the actual transaction price by ten."

Si Ming collapsed onto the table, letting out a heart-wrenching scream: "My God!!"

The bar was quiet for two seconds, with only the sound of rain as its companion.

Leng Ji couldn't help but laugh out loud: "I never thought that the so-called master of lies would be defeated by a wallet."

Siming looked up, her face full of sorrow: "Do you know how much I had left after the last battle? A few dozen gold coins! And that woman, Selian, took them all for a shopping spree!"

Leng Ji laughed so hard he almost fell over: "...Serves you right."

Si Ming clutched his head and wailed, "One and a half million? Even if I sold myself, I couldn't scrape together a fraction of that!"

Leng Ji patted him on the shoulder: "Then you should start thinking about your coffin soon. Without fruit to replenish your supplies, you won't last more than a few months."

Si Ming, while pulling at her hair, spun it back and forth on the table, her voice growing louder and louder:
"Damn! I painstakingly completed several missions and only got a few thousand gold coins."

"I lost everything in the last big battle. I barely managed to save a little, and then Celian dragged me off to buy dresses, shoes, and cosmetics... I'm practically starving!"

Leng Ji chuckled, resting his chin on his hands: "Oh, so you, the mighty Lord of Lies, are actually just a sucker and a wallet-elf?"

"I...I just..." Si Ming hesitated, then finally slammed his hand on the table.
He roared, "Who wants a Star Calamity Assassin as their bodyguard?! I'll work for him for a hundred years! Room and board included! No holidays!"

Leng Ji raised his eyelids to look at him, and said indifferently, "Heh. Who would want you? Your Star Calamity is pitifully low right now. You'll have to lie on the ground pretending to be a corpse after using your ability twice. We'd rather keep a dog than have you."

"..." Si Ming's face was full of sorrow, like a pitiful worm that had been pierced by a finishing blow.

He downed the last bit of whiskey in his glass in one gulp and slammed it heavily on the table: "What are we going to do? We can't exactly rob a bank, can we?!"

Leng Ji rolled her eyes: "Can the money in the bank make up for your celestial disaster? You're thirsting for celestial disaster, not short of spare change."

Si Ming let out a mournful cry and slumped into his chair:

"It's over, it's over. I'm destined to die in bed. Before I die, I'll go crazy and won't even recognize my own name. In the end, I'll turn into a mysterious card called 'The Unrepentant Fate Master'."

Leng Ji almost burst out laughing, but shook his head after he managed to hold it in: "Natasha didn't see you in this state, otherwise she would definitely be very happy."

Si Ming raised his hand in a pleading gesture, his voice weak like that of a dying patient: "Lord Leng Ji, please have mercy and help me think of a way... I don't want to die yet."

Leng Ji tilted his head and thought for a moment, "How about you try your luck in Hark's Golden Village? His business has been booming lately."

Si Ming's eyes lit up.

The Golden Township Casino was still brightly lit, with the sounds of dice rolling, chips clattering, and screams echoing throughout.

Fat Hack was crammed into a specially made gold chair, his fat jiggling, his face even more unsightly than the green chips on the table.

"Hack!" Siming pushed open the door and entered, his face beaming, as if he had come to a banquet rather than to borrow money.

The moment Hack saw him, he almost jumped out of his chair: "Siming! Damn it, what are you doing here again?! I knew you were going to cause me trouble!"

"Don't say that." Si Ming plopped down on the table and tapped it.

"I've heard that Golden Township is a place to make a fortune, so I'm here today to win 1.5 million."

"What did you say?!" Huck's neck was almost completely stuffed through his collar, his eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets.
"One and a half million Mystic Gold Coins?! Are you out of your mind?! Even if you won my entire Golden City, it wouldn't be enough! You're dreaming! You're insane!"

Si Ming looked innocent: "How would you know if you don't try? In a gamble, there's always a glimmer of hope."

Huck slammed his fist on the table in anger, and with a thud, all the chips on the table bounced to the ground.

"Forget about it! Even if I had the money, I would never give it to you! Just give up on that idea!"

Si Ming shrugged and slowly said, "Hark, I never said I wanted to borrow. I'm here to gamble."

Hark's face turned a deep purplish-red, his finger trembling as he pointed at Siming, so angry he almost fainted: "Gamble? Gamble my ass! Go back to starving!"

He took a few deep breaths, finally suppressing his emotions; the oil on his fat face gleamed under the light. He stared at Si Ming for a long time, as if finally resigned to his fate, and lowered his voice:
"Never mind... come with me. I really don't have that much money to give you, but—"

He paused, his gaze turning serious: "I know a place where you can find what you're looking for. It's just—it depends on whether you dare to go."

Siming's eyes lit up, and he laughed excitedly, "Dare? Of course I dare! Hack, I love your mysterious side. Lead the way!"

Hark grabbed him, his fat jiggling, his voice hoarse: "Don't get cocky. That's not a casino table where you can cheat. In that place... if you make one wrong bet, there's only one outcome: death."

Si Ming tilted his head and laughed nonchalantly: "Death? It doesn't matter. As long as I walk into that table alive, I've already won half the battle."

"The gold mine can't buy life, only the golden fruit in the tower can quench thirst."

The gamble has begun; whether or not you dare to place your bet is the dividing line between destiny and destruction.

—From *The Gambler Hark's Sayings*

(End of this chapter)