Lu Ce was currently sitting with his legs crossed, leaning back arrogantly in his chair, his head tilted backward against the headrest.

Now, watching Pleasure and Death emerge, he slightly raised his neck to look at them and spoke.

He seemed like the most relaxed person in this game.

Speculating about the game rules, pressuring opponents, analyzing the situation—none of it had anything to do with him!

He was purely here for the experience, occasionally tossing out psychological attacks at the players when he had nothing better to do, completely unaware of his purpose for existing in this game.

Pleasure glanced at him and Xie Antong, not wanting to engage with him either, his face slightly gloomy as he walked towards the Gambling Table and sat down directly.

But Death was not like that. His current demeanor was very natural, as if he had shed much of his aloof superiority, even appearing somewhat amiable.

[Oh? Have you two already discussed things in advance? Quite efficient, I must say.]

Hearing his words, Xie Antong and Lu Ce both looked over at him.

Speaking in such a conversational tone really didn't fit Death's gloomy persona.

Death also smiled as he walked towards Lu Ce, arriving at the chair opposite him. He placed both hands on the armrests and slowly sat down.

"Yes, indeed. Who knew your efficiency could be so low?" Lu Ce lowered his head slightly. "In full public view, you put up a Barrier so people can't see. Who knows what you're up to."

Death fell silent for two seconds before continuing with a chuckle.

[These eyes of yours, tainted by Lust, truly see everything through the same 'colored lens'.]

His two-second silence wasn't because he was stunned by Lu Ce's outrageous words. He was simply using his power to cleanse his own thoughts, avoiding the influence of the Ignorance Aura.

On the other side, Pleasure, who had just sat down opposite Xie Antong with a tense face, was already struggling to maintain his composure. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Black lines practically covered his forehead. He didn't know when Death had become so outrageous.

To say they must take this absolutely seriously, and this is how seriously he takes it?

[You...]

Boom!

He had just turned his head, not yet spoken, when a tremendous roar sounded before him. A black curtain separated the space on both sides, as the black box descended from the sky and crashed onto the ground.

Sin and Death vanished simultaneously, swallowed by the darkness, re-entering that sunless torment.

Thus, Xie Antong and Pleasure turned their heads in unison, shifting their attention back to each other, preparing to enter the wager.

For some reason, facing Pleasure before her, Xie Antong felt the pressure he exuded seemed even stronger now!

This guy, who knows what he discussed with Death just now.

Well, following Lu Ce's style, if you don't know, then just ask, right?!

"What an imposing aura. Is this really necessary against a mere human like me?"

"By the way, what did you and Death talk about just now?"

[Heh, quite direct with your questions, aren't you? Nothing much. That guy just blamed me for losing and gave me a warning, that's all.]

[He warned me that in dealing with you, I must spare no effort and stop at nothing!]

As he spoke the last words, a threatening smile on his face, he practically enunciated each syllable. A powerful surge of Divine Power enveloped Xie Antong, like a mountain crashing down!

"No direct attacks are permitted during the wager."

Suddenly, the pressure melted away like ice and snow. The Arbitrator appeared before the Gambling Table.

Only after Sin was sealed within the black box did he calmly reappear here, dissipating Pleasure's power.

But even that brief moment of pressure was unprecedentedly terrifying, nearly causing Xie Antong to collapse onto the table.

Pleasure's move just now was a complete exploitation of a loophole in the Rules!

Since direct action wasn't allowed, he simply used his energy to apply indiscriminate, overwhelming pressure. If it violated the rules, he'd just let the Arbitrator stop it.

This method, in principle, was something he would disdain to use—it was rather undignified—but... it was indeed very effective!

He now seemed not to care anymore, looking at Xie Antong opposite him with that same half-smiling, half-mocking expression.

[What? Didn't he warn you? You seem completely unprepared.]

Warn her about what?!

Xie Antong sat up with some difficulty, her brow tightly furrowed.

Judging by the opponent's current state, the gods had definitely made a decision to stop at nothing in this game.

Moreover, judging by his words, Lu Ce should have anticipated something? But he hadn't told her anything!

Earlier, when she intended to fully exchange views with Lu Ce, he was utterly unwilling. That act didn't seem like just nonsensical performance; he genuinely didn't plan to say anything.

He simply kept repeating that his life was already in her hands, that she should just play seriously, that this was her wager and had nothing to do with him...

To this moment, she still didn't understand what exactly had provoked Death. Could it really be just because she won that one round?

Recalling her earlier exchange with Lu Ce, he hadn't hidden anything from the countless Spectators at all.

At that time, he had gently patted her shoulder and said to her:

"Take the game seriously. Think when you need to think. Your brain is meant to be used, don't hold back. This game is your forte."

"However, you only need to think about the game itself. Everything else, there's no need to think about it at all!"

After saying these two sentences, he had already sat back in his seat, starting to shake his head and sway, like a Gatekeeper enjoying his leisure.

She had almost instinctively begun pondering the deeper meaning behind his words.

But now, thinking about it... he already said she shouldn't think about anything else!

It seems his plan and Death's were completely different game strategies.

Forget it. It's best to just trust him.

Thus, Xie Antong truly stopped caring about all the trivial details. She simply looked at the Gambling Table before her and spoke.

"Let's begin. How does the game proceed?"

The Arbitrator glanced at her, seemingly somewhat surprised by her reaction after Pleasure's pressure attack just now.

"For this round, the Players' hands will be exchanged!"

After the Arbitrator announced this, he raised a hand. The Gambling Table before the two of them directly floated up, turned around end-to-end, and then crashed back onto the ground with a boom!

Pleasure glanced at Xie Antong's Hourglass, which showed no consumption of sand at all, and immediately raised an eyebrow.

[Oh? Not bad. How did you suddenly become so much calmer?]

"No choice, what else could I do?" Xie Antong smiled and looked at Pleasure. "For pawns like you and me on the board, we just need to follow the chess player's strategy and do our own jobs well."