Secret World: I Became a God Through Lies

Chapter 449 The Heirs of the Fallen Casino
"Wealth is a bargaining chip, life is a bargaining chip, and family ties are also a bargaining chip."

At Harrens's gambling table, the winner inherits everything, and the loser loses everything.

—The Harrens Family: The Gambler's Creed

Deep inside the Golden Country Casino, Fat Hacker's private office gleamed with dazzling gold.

The walls were inlaid with gold coins, the cabinets were filled with rows of diamond-encrusted wine bottles, and even the legs of the desk were covered with thick gold leaf.

The air was thick with the mixed smells of cigars and spirits, so strong that it was overwhelming as soon as you entered.

As Si Ming walked in, he subconsciously narrowed his eyes: "Tsk... Vulgar."

Huck was half-reclined in his chair, a golden die between his fingers, which he slowly turned.

His fat face gleamed with oil under the lamplight, and when he saw Si Ming, he forced a smile onto his chubby face.

“Si Ming,” he began, his voice muffled like a drum, “have you heard of the Harrens family?”

Si Ming pulled out a chair and sat down, casually lighting a cigar: "Who hasn't heard of that crazy family that treats the whole world as a gambling table? They started out with casinos, and even the head of the family had to rely on gambling skills to get to the top."

Hack sighed, as if he were talking about someone else's misfortune: "Yes, that's my family."

He shook the golden dice in his hand and slammed them onto the table; the six on the die gleamed.

"The battle for succession is about to begin. I am one of the unlucky heirs."

Once the gambling begins, I and my golden land—along with all my assets—will be packaged up as chips and thrown onto the gambling table.

Si Ming raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing on his lips: "You make it sound so easy. What if you lose?"

Huck smiled bitterly and pinched the fat on his chin: "If I lose, not only will I be penniless and without a family fortune, but I myself will become part of someone else's bargaining chips."

Whether they are sold like livestock or taken away as slaves depends entirely on the new head of the household's mood.

He spread his hands, the gold rings on his fingers gleaming brightly: "This is Harrens' rule. The winner inherits everything, the loser loses everything."

A brief silence fell over the air, broken only by the sound of raindrops tapping against the window.

Huck took a big gulp of wine, his face flushed red, but he still smiled:

"So, this time I need to find a madman to gamble with my life. And, just right, Si Ming, you are the most suitable madman."

Si Ming twirled the ash from his cigar and glanced sideways at the fat man:

"You came to me wanting me to sit at the table in your place? Don't forget, in my current state... I'm afraid I won't be able to use the Secret Technique more than a few times before I collapse."

Hack chuckled and tapped the table with his fat hand: "You think I don't know? Siming, your Star Calamity power is insufficient, and you're almost too weak to take any more nourishment, aren't you? Even the Golden Eye can see it clearly."

Siming's pupils shrank.

Golden Eye is Loren's ability. Looks like the fat guy's got pretty good information.

"Alright," Si Ming shrugged, "tell me your terms. How do you plan to bribe me? You're not thinking of using your worthless money to sway me, are you?"

Hack's smile now had a hint of ruthlessness: "You don't lack money. What you lack is golden fruit."

Si Ming nearly dropped the cigar in his hand. He suddenly looked up, squinting and staring intently at Hack.

"Several golden fruits are hidden in the secret treasury of the Harrens family. Only the victor can use them."

Hark enunciated each word clearly, each one striking Siming's ears like a die hitting the ground: "As long as you help me win the battle for succession, and I become the new head of the family, I can give you one of those 'die's'."

The air solidified instantly.

Si Ming's heart skipped a beat, but his face remained nonchalant.

"Such arrogance. But I really don't understand, you know my condition, I can't use the Secret Trick many times, so why do you still dare to come to me?"
"If one of the successors hires a high-level sorcerer, wouldn't you be in even more danger?"

Hark raised his hand, the heavy gold ring gleaming under the light. A sinister glint flashed in his eyes:
"That's why I'm looking for you—in the battle for succession, no trickery will work."

“…Huh?” Siming was taken aback.

"When the gambling begins, the host will unleash that legendary treasure—[The Abyss of Gambling Depravity]. Once the domain is activated, all Mysterious Cards and Star Calamity abilities will be sealed off."

Harker sneered, his fat jiggling: "In that gambling city, everyone can only sit obediently at the gambling table and win by their gambling skills. Even on the Star Calamity, it's the same; everyone is an equal gambler."

Si Ming slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, then chuckled wryly: "...So that's how it is. You weren't looking for a mystery master, but a gambler."

Harker grinned, his smile greasy and sinister: "The gambler is the king of this game."

Three days later.

The Golden Language World, the Harens Islands.

Giant waves crashed against the white reefs, and the main house stood on a golden cliff. From a distance, the entire estate looked like a luxurious casino.

The seven heirs arrived one after another in front of the main house.

With a deafening roar, the golden airship slowly descended, its bow adorned with a single diamond large enough to blind onlookers.

As the gangway was lowered, a tall, silver-haired noblewoman gracefully descended, draped in a gold-trimmed mink coat. Her cold, aloof gaze swept over the entire room, as if all this wealth was her dowry.

Fairytale music filled the air as a pink crystal carriage slowly approached, its body made of transparent glass, its wheels sparking as they rolled over the marble floor.

The car door opened, and a girl in a pink dress with a puffy skirt jumped out, wearing a small diamond-encrusted crown. Her smile was innocent and pure, like a princess who had stepped out of a fairy tale book.

The roar of the helicopter shattered the fairytale, and a storm erupted. A metal cable lashed down, and a cold-blooded assassin with a face covered in scars leaped from the sky, landing heavily and cracking the stone slab beneath his feet.

He was wearing a black trench coat, and his back view was as cold and hard as an unsheathed knife.

A loud rumble resounded, and the ground trembled.

Heavy infantry fighting vehicles slowly drove in, their cannons still steaming.

Hundreds of fully armed mercenaries surrounded the area. A gunman with a gold cigar in his mouth jumped off the roof of the vehicle, grinning and exuding gunpowder and violence.

A black convoy arrived discreetly.

Dozens of luxury cars guarded by men in black stopped at the same time, and the doors slowly opened, allowing a low-key man in a dark gold suit to step out.

His movements were unhurried, his gaze calm, as if he were calculating every single future expense.

A golden door suddenly tore open in mid-air. Inside the portal, the illusory image of the luxurious Golden City Casino flickered, and gold coins cascaded down like a waterfall.

Fat Hack strode out of the phantom with heavy steps, his head held high, a smug smile on his face, as if he were the master of all the wealth.

Behind him, an incongruous figure followed him out.

He wore thick, bottle-bottom glasses with lenses so thick that his eyes were almost invisible; his face was covered in freckles; and his hands trembled incessantly, making him look like an autistic patient.

He hunched his shoulders, looking timid and avoiding eye contact, following Huck anxiously.

That was the disguised Si Ming.

The other heirs cast their gazes over, the silver-haired noblewoman snorted, the girl in pink giggled, and the arms dealer exhaled a puff of smoke, full of disdain.

Nobody paid any attention to this "shaking little good-for-nothing".

The master's steward, dressed in a black robe, stepped forward and said in a cold voice, "Gentlemen, please come in. The gambling game is about to begin."

The gate slowly opened, and golden light engulfed all the heirs.

Amidst the light and shadow, the aura of the Harrens family's secret treasure—the [Abyss of Gambling Depravity]—has quietly awakened.

The hall was silent.

The heirs sat in their respective gilded high-backed chairs, no one spoke, the air thick with the oppressive pressure of solidified alcohol.

Si Ming, pushing up his thick glasses, shrank behind Fatty Hack like a withdrawn coward, not daring to look anyone in the eye.

But he could feel the silent hostility and pressure enveloping the entire hall.

The only sound was the huge antique clock directly above the hall.

"Tick-tock-tick-tick" The second hand climbed higher and higher, slowly approaching noon.

When the hour and minute hands overlapped at the "12" mark, the dull chimes resounded throughout the hall.

"When-when-when-"

As the bell rang, the door slowly opened, and a gaunt old man was pushed in.

He sat in a black wheelchair, his body hunched over, his skin wrinkled like withered wood. Yet his eyes remained sharp as knives.

The entire hall held its breath.

This is the current head of the Harrens family—the soon-to-be-retired gambling tycoon.

The old man slowly swept his gaze across the crowd, his voice hoarse yet clear, like sandpaper rubbing against a piece of iron:

"Everyone is here."

He raised his withered hand and tapped the armrest of the wheelchair, his tone icy:

"Listen carefully, these are the rules of the battle for succession—"

"First, once the Abyss of Depths opens, the secrets are sealed off. Here, whether you are a celestial calamity or a mortal, you are all equal gamblers. All you can use is your gambling skills."

"Second, your life will be the bargaining chip. Your money, property, debts, and servants will all be turned into bargaining chips."

If you lose your chips, reality will immediately take them away.

Once you run out of chips, you won't even have your personal freedom anymore. You'll be taken back and sold off like livestock.

"Third, the gambling game is hosted by the Abyss of Depravity."

Dealing cards, rolling dice, calculating points—any form of cheating, any method of cheating—as long as you have the ability to avoid getting caught, you can use it.

Only the Secret Technique, once used, will devour you, leaving not even ashes behind.

The old man paused, then a chilling smile spread across his withered lips:
"Of course, you still have a few options—"

"If you want to live, you can surrender once."

"Hand over 90% of your assets, get out of the family, and never touch Harrens's property or name again."

"You can also form an alliance, give your chips to others, and once you sign the contract, you can't go back on your word. If the other party wins, you can get a position in the family."

His gaze was like a knife, sweeping over the heirs one by one:

"But in the end, the casino could only accommodate one person as the dealer."

The victor will become the new head of the household.

You can get two things—

The old man raised two trembling fingers, but his tone was as firm as iron:

First, all the family's businesses and resources.

Second, our clan's secret treasure—the [Abyss of Gambling Depravity].

He suddenly looked up, his hoarse voice like the tolling of a judge's bell:
"From this moment forward, each of you will bet your entire life on the table."

Then, he uttered a low, strange, and mysterious language:

"—Sink into the abyss of gambling, all you gamblers."

boom! ! !
The next instant, the hall began to flip.

The chandelier transforms into a giant die, rolling in the air; marble floor tiles fall off one by one, turning into chips covering the table; the oil paintings on the wall twist and stretch, becoming roulette and a card table.

The entire main house was transformed in an instant from a classic Italian-style mafia mansion into a boundless gambling city.

Fat Hack paused in front of the seat, then subconsciously touched his neck and fingers.

His gold cane, ring, bracelet, and even his diamond-encrusted cufflinks had all disappeared.

Instead, stacks of colorful chips suddenly appeared on the table.

Si Ming pushed up his glasses, squinted and scanned the denominations, quickly counting them in his mind.

"Total value... three hundred and twenty."

Hark smiled bitterly and muttered to himself, "So all that hard work, all the gold mines, all the gambling dens, all the businesses... it's only a mere three million two hundred thousand."

He reached out, his fat fingers gripping the stack of chips like a gambler grasping his own life.

"...It's all here."

As the cryptic language echoed, the casino finally stabilized.

Before each heir, a neat stack of chips appeared on the table, each a different color with edges gleaming coldly.

筹码的面额清晰标记，从 2元、5元、10元到 50元、100元不等。

Here, one yuan equals ten thousand mysterious gold coins.

In other words, each of these small round pieces is equivalent to a casino, a piece of real estate, or even a human life.

Huck stared at his stack of chips. He was breathing heavily, his fingers clenched tightly as if he were gripping his own breath.

On the other side, the silver-haired noblewoman coldly glanced at the approximately 500 chips in front of her, which resembled a small mountain.

There were about two hundred scarred assassins in front of him, about the same number as Hack, but they were arranged neatly like an army.

The chips were scattered haphazardly in front of the arms dealer. He had a cigar in his mouth, a violent laugh on his face, and tapped the chips with his fingertips as if he were beating a war drum.

The understated man in a suit had a hundred chips, not one more, not one less, arranged as neatly as an account book.

When everyone's gaze turned to the other side, the air suddenly froze.

The girl in pink, like a princess from a fairy tale, was sitting gracefully on a high chair.

Her skin was so white it was almost translucent, and she wore an innocent yet stiff smile.

She barely moved; it was just the cold-faced maid beside her who played with the chips for her.

Before her stood over a thousand chips, piled up like a golden palace.

The oppressive aura caused the faces of the heirs present to darken.

This means that she has an absolute advantage right from the start.

She hummed a fairytale melody softly, as if playing house. But her eyes were empty, devoid of any emotion.

Si Ming pushed up his glasses behind Hack, his eyes scanning over each stack of chips, silently memorizing the numbers.

A slight smile played on his lips, as if he had seen a game of chess destined to fall apart.

The gambling table is set; the chips are life or death.

Of the seven successors, only one will have the last laugh.

"Their wealth became bargaining chips, and so did their lives."

One yuan to ten thousand, two yuan to one hundred yuan, numbers are cold and impersonal.

But at the gambling table, they are hotter than blood.

If seven people sit facing each other, six are bound to lose.

—Annotations to *The Abyss of Gambling*

(End of this chapter)