Doomsday Jigsaw Puzzle

Chapter 158: Chapter 158: The Origin of Casinos

The collision of two powerful forces no longer resulted in the mutual dissolution like the extreme meeting the temperate; instead, it was like the clash of two planets, erupting with immense energy.

Under the influence of this force, the Deep Sea Casino swayed slightly.

Everyone was squinting against the blinding light, watching the two people dueling in the sky.

This was not an ultimate duel where both sides were bound to end with one dead and the other seriously injured.

The moment Bai Wu was able to use the Spirit Possession watch in human form, the outcome of the duel was already determined.

The Bone Demon, with bone wings spread wide and using a bone spur as a spear, pierced through the God of Wealth’s heart cleanly and efficiently.

Then, with a direct downward motion, he forcefully slammed the God of Wealth towards the ground.

The heavily mutated God of Wealth would not die so easily; its terrifying regenerative powers could sustain it for quite some time. However, having its heart pierced by Bai Wu’s bone spur and being stared at by those crimson eyes, it was inexplicably in a weakened state.

Twenty-two minutes remained. The battle was over and if talking time were excluded, Bai Wu was certain that in his current state, he could deal a devastating blow to the God of Wealth.

Of course, it was not that the God of Wealth was not strong, but rather Bai Wu’s transformation into an Evil Fallen had caused his strength to increase too brutally.

He looked down from above at the God of Wealth, whose heart had been pierced by the bone spur.

Even without the casino’s Mutation Entries, Bai Wu could still defeat the God of Wealth, because what truly allowed him to overpower the God of Wealth was the strength of his allies from the Vanguard Group.

The might of his Innate Force elevated Bai Wu to a height that countless Evil Fallen could never reach in their lifetime.

The starting point where he stood was already far beyond the endpoints of many top-tier Evil Fallen.

And it was the Refraction Shield that allowed Bai Wu to win the final blow.

The God of Wealth’s Bone Spur Spiral had hit Bai Wu solidly, but under the effect of the Sequence, Bai Wu took no defensive action and suffered no harm. He countered with an absolute offensive, piercing through his opponent!

It was not just the Mutation Entries he could use; he also possessed powerful Talent Sequences.

If Cain was a human who could use Evil Fallen powers, then Bai Wu now was an Evil Fallen who could use human powers.

The so-called life-or-death battle was void from the beginning, as Bai Wu was in an invincible position.

"I’ll repeat the question, where do these casino staff members come from? And I’ll add a new question, where does the Garrison Corps come from?"

The defeat came so swiftly that the God of Wealth still couldn’t accept the result. In both wit and strength, it had been thoroughly defeated by the human before it.

Time was of the essence, and Bai Wu had many more questions. He stood on the body of the God of Wealth, his gaze sharp.

Bai Wu had already discovered.

Most of the Evil Fallen here were gamblers. But humans had three types of identities.

One was the casino staff, brainwashed to serve only the casino. Their lives would always have but one day left, yet they never died. Another meaning of their existence was to provide fear. Bai Wu had not forgotten the Currency of Fear in the Manor.

The second identity was that of the Garrison Corps "Protectors". Unsurprisingly, this special area was capable of separating various things from a person, even memories. Thus, these people might lose their memories but gain one to two Sequences and Innate Forces. Upon returning to the High Tower, these individuals would become the new talents. No one knew their backgrounds, nor how they got strong.

The third identity was that of the gamblers. They were visitors of the casino, and like many of the Evil Fallen here, were summoned. Perhaps they were miners who thought, "The sixth time will definitely work," or mercenaries and investigators with Innate Forces. The fate of these gamblers was mixed. Some got too caught up in their losses, ending with nothing, while others won too smoothly, advanced to the second floor, and ended with nothing. Few gambled with moderation.

The origins of the humans with the first and second identities were what Bai Wu desperately needed to know.

The God of Wealth’s face was ashen:

"You can’t possibly return the chips like that woman... You have already exchanged them for strength, Mutation Entries, Sequences."

"That woman?"

"Master... I’m sorry, I failed to protect the casino!" the God of Wealth suddenly cried out loudly, with a certain fear and resolve.

Bai Wu inwardly cursed, his gaze scanning in the direction the God of Wealth was looking, but he found nothing.

"Who are you talking to? Your master is a merchant from Black Gold Island? Is he watching this place?"

Bai Wu didn’t find any surveillance devices, but who knows how the devices outside of the tower operate.

A strange thing happened, Bai Wu noticed that the power within the God of Wealth was draining away continuously...

Not just power, but the God of Wealth’s body was also changing; those heavily mutated limbs were slowly reverting back to their original form.

"I have not carried out my master’s orders well, I am already dying, but my life has been fulfilled! In life, I could never hold onto wealth, but at least for three hundred years, I have been in companionship with countless treasures, hahahaha..."

When someone tries to laugh in the midst of fear, their laughter is bound to seem crazed and maniacal.

The God of Wealth’s body was becoming more and more like a cat. The Mutation Entries on him began to slip away relentlessly.

But strangely, the Mutation Entries on Bai Wu were not slipping away.

Bai Wu looked around; the gamblers hiding in the corners, trembling with fear, showed no change, but one by one, all the casino’s staff members collapsed to the ground.

With the Eye of Insight bound to him, Bai Wu quickly spotted the problem—the remaining lifespan of all casino staff was originally one day, and at this moment, it was rapidly falling to zero.

They fell like dominoes, causing the casino workers who had not yet fallen to be in utter terror. It was as if a touch-and-go plague was rapidly spreading.

Recovery.

Bai Wu finally understood that the merchant from Black Gold Island was reclaiming all the resources of the casino.

But it seemed, due to the bond of an oath, the winnings of the casino’s customers were not being taken away.

Who set up these oath-bound rules? What exactly was the original form of this casino?

Bai Wu had wanted to save these children, but now, he could only watch them die one after another.

"The legendary Mutation Entry ’Disassemble Everything’ is one of the fundamental axles for the casino’s operation, and the merchant is quickly reclaiming these places. It seems very likely that as the Black Gold Island Master, he can monitor all the industries of Black Gold Island through some means. Did my actions make him sense danger? Is he going to shut down this casino?"

Thinking of this, Bai Wu no longer paid any attention to the disheartened God of Wealth.

His figure flashed, and he instantly appeared behind Wu Jiu and the others.

At this moment, the entire casino hall was in chaos, as staff members continued to die, leaving the gamblers to fear that they would be the next ones to perish.

Even though they knew that this silver-haired Evil Fallen was Bai Wu, when the Bone General suddenly appeared beside Wu Jiu and the others, everyone was still startled by his towering frame and the pair of bone wings carrying the aura of death.

"It’s me, hurry up and start a gambling game with me, I’m going to redistribute all the resources! The casino is closing down!"

"Damn, stay away from me, you look so damn scary! What the hell is this..."

Lin Wurou’s question was cut off by Bai Wu:

"Stop asking, we’re running out of time!" freёweɓnovel.com

To save time, Bai Wu directly set up a simple group game that could instantly determine the outcome and resource distribution.

The game was very simple: the most common game of guessing hand back or palm.

In just two short minutes, everyone from the Investigation Corps had won back their Innate Force and Talent Sequences from Bai Wu.

Not only had they recovered their original powers, but all the Innate Forces that had been bought at the casino, although not much, were also distributed to the six people, including Bai Wu.

Now, Bai Wu’s Innate Force had reached the sixth rank and ninth stage, while the others had also crossed the threshold of the sixth rank.

The exploration this time was brief, yet the profits were substantial. Most importantly, Bai Wu was certain that, should a crisis arise, those willing to trust him weren’t limited to just the team leader.

Wang Shi, Shang Xiaoyi, Yin Shuang, Lin Wurou, and others were willing to trust him, among whom Yin Shuang and Lin Wurou seemed to trust him particularly.

This really was a very strange matter, but it was also something that brought Bai Wu joy.

Apart from the Innate Force, Bai Wu had granted some Talent Sequences, but whether these Talent Sequences were permanent or temporary would only become clear once he returned to the High Tower.

The hundreds of employees at the casino died one by one; they couldn’t escape or struggle. Just moments ago, they were saying they would dedicate their lives to the casino, and that suddenly came true.

The number of living humans dwindled, Bai Wu didn’t dwell on it. After taking care of his teammates’ affairs, he went directly to the second floor of the casino.

[Soon, that annoying little fairy will leave your body, which shows she’s unreliable, a limited-time rental. But before that happens, I’ll give you one final reminder—you have a missed call.]

At this moment, on the second floor of the casino—the ring of a telephone could be heard.

Although the faint ringing was drowned out by the fearful wails of the crowd.

The caller at the other end seemed very patient.

...

...

Black Gold Island, undersea chamber.

The mysterious man in the shadows said:

"It seems that in this bet without odds, I have won. The biggest gain from my visit today is meeting an interesting child."

"This... As expected of you. My vision was indeed shortsighted, failing to anticipate this twist. I never thought that this human’s Evil Fallen transformation could reach this realm. It’s a very rare occurrence. I am curious about this little guy. If there are... not just one of him in the High Tower, then that prophecy might not be an empty rumor after all. Perhaps we have underestimated the changes within the High Tower."

The merchant’s expression turned unexpectedly solemn.

The image on the screen at that moment was Bai Wu silently dissolving all of the God of Wealth’s attacks.

When they saw this scene, the three people in the room were astounded.

Humans transforming into Evil Fallen certainly heightened their power, but this strange human’s increase was excessively exaggerated.

Without a doubt, Bai Wu’s Evil Fallen form had touched the edge of "black."

"His transformation into Evil Fallen must have involved external items," said the "blacksmith" who had been quiet until now.

"Then why didn’t he do that from the beginning?" the merchant asked, puzzled.

"Because some items have unstable properties."

The merchant had been studying Mutation Entries and power, trying to materialize this foreign gift from outside the tower.

Meanwhile, the blacksmith had been seeking the secrets of Spirit Possession items. Both had achieved some success but were still far from the truth.

The man in the shadows, listening to the blacksmith’s words, turned his gaze to Bai Wu’s hands.

"The casino can be reclaimed," the man stood up.

Although the Deep Sea Casino was the merchant’s property, he agreed without hesitation upon hearing this:

"Ho ho ho, what a pity to lose such a wonderful place. But even I’m not sure I could kill him. The God of Wealth’s qualifications are just too low. If I encounter this human in the future, Lord Jing Wu, I hope you will help me deal with him."

The man in the shadows was Jing Wu.

Jing Wu did not directly agree to the merchant’s request. He just looked at the screen, watching the figure with a violent dunking posture pierce the God of Wealth into the ground, and hesitated for a few seconds before saying:

"This human’s physique is very special. I’m not sure if it’s because of the Spirit Possession item on him or because he truly possesses the qualifications to use two powers."

"Moreover, from beginning to end, his expression has been very calm, which might be a good thing."

"A good thing?"

Jing Wu did not explain why.

Soon, the merchant began to reclaim the resources of the casino. It stretched out a tentacle that kept extending and made its way into a pitch-dark room.

Shortly after, the sound of a box opening came from the room.

At the same time, the power of the God of Wealth began to drain continuously; not really draining but, more accurately, returning in another form to a certain box.

It wasn’t just the God of Wealth: the humans serving in the casino also fell to the ground because the last vestige of their lifespans was reclaimed.

After a while, Bai Wu returned his power to his teammates and started towards the second level.

As for Jing Wu, who was originally preparing to leave Black Gold Island, he suddenly dialed the phone connecting to the casino.

The phone functioned, naturally, differently from a normal phone, as Black Gold Island was home to many bizarre Spirit Possession items.

After another minute—the phone connected.

"Hello, interesting little fellow," Jing Wu spoke first.

"Who are you?" Bai Wu could tell this wasn’t the merchant.

Jing Wu did not answer Bai Wu’s question but said instead:

"The location of Black Gold Island cannot be found without guidance. Telling you who I am is meaningless. All those humans dying one by one, you must feel some regret, right? After all, they are just children."

"I’m not interested in Black Gold Island, but please let these people go."

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Jing Wu laughed and continued:

"Honestly, I’m surprised that one day I would be speaking like this to a human—oh, I forgot, you are no longer human. But seeing you so confident, you must have a way to deal with the various side effects of becoming an Evil Fallen, right? Or perhaps you can undo this state? It’s not something unusual since among the people I know, there is such an item."

"What exactly do you want to say?"

"Just small talk. Watching the humans around you die one by one makes for an interesting chat, doesn’t it? By the way, as gamblers, you can rest assured that you are actually safer than the casino staff. After all, when the casino was established, someone made a covenant and set rules."

"As for the covenant and the origins of the casino, if you’re interested, I can tell you all about it."

Bai Wu did not speak. He silently calculated the time and speculated about who this person, who was not the merchant, might be.

Jing Wu said:

"I’ll take that as a tacit agreement. It’s rare to meet an interesting human; I’m quite in the mood for talking. You might need to know that the High Tower, the place upon which your survival depends, was not always accessible to everyone."

"There are simply too many humans, and even though most have become Evil Fallen, the remaining ones are still enough to overcrowd the tower. Yet everyone wanted to reach the High Tower. Can you guess how humans solved this problem back then?"

These words seemed unrelated to the covenant, but Bai Wu faintly guessed that what this person was going to mention... was the Ark project.

"They initiated the Ark project, building what was said to be ships capable of reaching the sanctuary. What you don’t know is, there was not just one of these ships—there were two."

(Anti-theft word count 4220 Official word count 4458.)