[What?]

Watching Xie Antong suddenly open her eyes and hearing the words she spoke, Pleasure felt a slight shock.

His surprise wasn't about the content of what she said, but rather her current demeanor and mental state.

Just now, he had directly used his ability. For an ordinary person's constitution, that ability was nothing short of a spiritual flaying!

Even if she truly had exceptional talent and possessed a certain degree of his energy, thinking under those conditions should have been an immense struggle, an absolute torment.

He had been confident that if she dared to stubbornly think under his interference, she would only become more confused, draining all her chips without reaching any conclusion!

Seeing her hourglass flow faster and faster earlier, he thought everything was proceeding as expected.

But now, with her eyes open, why did she seem... completely different?

That look in her eyes, that complexion—she looked completely fine, even somewhat radiant and spirited.

While thinking might be tiring for ordinary people, for her, who had been suppressing herself earlier, daring not to think too much, engaging in thought now, though exhausting, also brought a strangely exhilarating feeling.

[You're... fine?]

Pleasure's brows, for once, furrowed as he looked at Xie Antong. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was off, that he might have overlooked something.

But at this moment, he didn't dwell on it too much. The surrounding spectator stands had already erupted because of Xie Antong's words. Many people, prompted by that second sentence, even began to mock Pleasure.

"What!? She already figured out the rules? How did she know that!"

"There's practically no information! A dragon beating two numbers—what information is there? I don't get it!"

"That's why you're not qualified to sit at that gambling table. But what she said is also kind of funny. 'I'm definitely not a pig'—what does that even mean, hahahaha!"

"I thought such insults weren't Blank's style. Now it feels like the God's expression is getting a bit ugly."

Perhaps because of Knowledge's death last time, because Lu Ce had pulled the gods down from their invincible pedestal, people in this place had started treating it like everyday commentary, beginning to tease and mock.

Hearing these voices, Pleasure briefly pushed the anomaly of Xie Antong's performance to the back of his mind. With some disgust, he glanced sideways and muttered to himself:

[Such dull creatures. Mere foolish spectators, yet always daring to spout such arrogant nonsense...]

Across from him, Xie Antong lowered her head. The sand in her hourglass flowed slowly. She had confirmed one final thing.

Pleasure's reaction to her earlier statement made her even more certain that "Pig" was not among the cards in his hand.

That made the five cards more reasonable: Ox, Tiger, Dragon, Horse, Dog.

All prime numbers within twelve.

As for any abnormality Pleasure might have seen in her expression, that wasn't something she needed to consider.

Unexpected events could occur at any moment in the Game. She wasn't qualified to focus on them now. The only thing she could afford to expend her mental energy on was this very game she was playing.

[You figured out the rules?]

Pleasure's voice came, tinged with more than a little disbelief.

[Whatever. Let's begin then. You bet first.]

Xie Antong nodded and pushed four chips from her side of the table.

This round, the minimum opening bet was four chips. Pleasure started with three; folding would mean losing at least three.

But how could Pleasure possibly be the type to willingly fold? Without further ado, he directly pushed out four chips as well.

[I call. Come on, let me see how much confidence you have, now that you claim to understand the rules.]

He narrowed his eyes, casually committing the chips, then fixed his gaze on Xie Antong.

He had a growing feeling that ever since a moment ago, this little girl had become less susceptible to his emotional influence.

Xie Antong also looked up at him now. The two locked eyes, sparks seeming to flash in the air between them.

"If you still don't understand the rules of the game at this point, your best choice now is actually to fold immediately and wait for the next round. That way, you'd still have more chips than me."

"Based on your previous playstyle of always choosing the optimal solution, this is the normal approach. Maybe you think one chip more or less doesn't matter."

"But now, sorry, it's my turn to play a big hand!"

As she spoke, Xie Antong suddenly grabbed another handful of hourglasses from in front of her and shoved them onto the gambling table. Now, there were a full ten hourglasses before her!

*Thud!*

The hourglasses struck the table with a solid, weighty sound.

"I raise! See if you dare to call!"

Pleasure's eyelids twitched slightly. His voice took on a shade of chilliness.

[Since when have you dared to speak to me like this?...]

[A few days apart, and you've started getting ideas above your station!]

[Taunting me? Are you worried I might fold and not call!?]

His voice suppressed a flicker of anger as he pushed several more chips from his pile and tossed them forward.

[Make me fold? With just you!?]

[Little girl, I told you, you don't have the talent. Don't try to bluff in front of me.]

Although he couldn't directly attack, Pleasure's Divine Power now enveloped the entire arena. The oppressive, overbearing aura bore down on Xie Antong with an exceptionally heavy pressure.

[I don't care if you've figured out the rules. Even if you have, it doesn't mean you can win!]

[And your tell is a bit obvious. If you truly had a surefire winning method, what's the point of holding onto those few chips in front of you?]

[Isn't it just because you're still worried you might lose, leaving yourself a sliver of possibility, thinking of preserving some chance for that guy in the black box?]

[Not only do I call your bet, I'm going to... raise again!]

By the end, Pleasure's voice had gradually taken on a hint of madness. From the hourglasses before him, he took out several more and pushed them all out together!

Now, fifteen hourglasses lay before him!

As for Xie Antong, after the consumption from the special event, the mental exertion, and her loss in the previous round, she only had sixteen chips left in front of her.

And since sand was still flowing in one of her hourglasses, the number of chips she could actually gamble with was only fifteen!

Pleasure was forcing her to go all-in! The same old tactic—maximum pressure, pushing Xie Antong to the absolute limit!

If she lost this, it would be a complete wipeout, straight into the death settlement.

[Come... let me see your conviction!]