Free Web NovelJust as Lu Yibei and her group were heading from the middle three floors to the upper three floors, deep within the Wu Hui Land inside the Dream Come True Entertainment City.
The sky was deep, the earth pale. In this world that seemed to consist only of black and white, a small, mirror-clear lake was embedded like a blue gem on the pale sand dunes.
At the edge of the lake, gray-white stones were carved into various complex and magnificent shapes, embedded with giant gears, threaded pillars, and incomplete metal structures whose specific shapes were indistinguishable.
Clusters of blooming flowers, magnificent manors, warriors in armor, ferocious-faced demons... surrounded the lake, like a scroll of ukiyo-e encompassing different artistic styles from various eras.
A man in a black tailcoat stood by the lake. On his face, he wore a pale mask. Black lines on the mask outlined his features; the extremely simple strokes of the face looked like a smiling face at first glance, but the slightly downturned corners of his mouth seemed to hold a hint of sorrow.
"Such suffering... when will it end?" the man murmured to himself.
It was like aimless self-talk, and also like questioning some mysterious existence.
After a long wait with no response, the man slowly removed the white glove from his left hand, revealing a terrifying palm.
Dry skin clung tightly to the slightly deformed bones, and the dark red skin was covered with hideous scars and burn marks. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
As his five fingers gently rubbed together, the fragile skin immediately split open, and blood, like molten iron at high temperature, spilled out, falling into the bottomless lake.
The clear lake water rippled layer by layer. In an instant, a high-pitched shriek erupted from the depths of the lake, and the water boiled violently.
Amidst the shrieks and the rumbling of the boiling water, strange black shadows rose from the bottom of the lake, then transformed into outlines resembling fish.
Those swimming fish, like ink paintings, darted quickly through the water. Their outlines constantly collapsed and reshaped, gradually evolving into vibrant ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ colors.
Variously colored and magnificent koi, tropical fish, large flatfish, goldfish with Embroidery Ball-like growths on their heads, ferocious great white sharks...
All sorts of fish, like phantoms, filled the lake, half-real and half-illusory, glowing faintly throughout, chasing the man's seemingly inextinguishable blood, rolling and brutally fighting in the water.
Smaller fish constantly exploded, their bodies turning into fragments like glowing gold coins, merging into the bodies of other fish.
The man narrowed his eyes, watching one particularly large koi among them, whose scales were as white as jade and whose fins on both sides resembled a celestial maiden's ribbons.
He saw that large fish charging through the school, tearing apart the bodies of many smaller fish in its path.
As the fragments like glowing gold coins continuously merged into its body, its physique grew larger and larger, moving through the school like a prehistoric giant beast.
Suddenly, the white large fish leaped out of the lake with a "splash," scattering a sheet of crystal-clear water droplets in mid-air, then fell heavily, crashing into another large red and black fish. Accompanied by the splashing gold coin fragments, its size instantly became one of the largest in the pond.
"Heh, quite formidable..." Seeing this, the man chuckled softly and murmured to himself, "It seems I'll be able to meet Miss Jiang Li again soon."
"I wonder if, this time, she can end my suffering?"
"It's truly something to look forward to!"
As he spoke, the man suddenly noticed a strange fish that looked somewhat like a white sturgeon, but with magnificent gold and red striped patterns on its sides.
The white sturgeon, also known as the Chinese swordfish, is one of the fiercest freshwater fish in the world, but that strange fish did not exhibit any ferocious aura.
It didn't chase and fight for the man's blood like the other fish; it just swam slowly and aimlessly by itself at the edge of the lake, as if it wasn't quite right in the head.
Just as the man wondered why it was acting this way, a school of small fish swam past it. It suddenly moved like a flash of lightning, swallowed all the small fish in one gulp, its size instantly increasing by several circles, and then it became still again.
"..." After a brief silence, the man chuckled softly, "Heh, it seems a remarkable fellow has appeared!"
----
Meanwhile, on the upper three floors of the Entertainment City, inside a private room.
A urban legend covered in mottled demon tattoos and with two faces on its head looked at the silver-haired girl sitting opposite it with cold eyes.
"Little Girl, don't think you can bluff me just because you've won many times recently! I never have the habit of folding until the very end."
As it spoke, a strong Spiritual Energy fluctuation suddenly erupted from its body.
"Call! I want to see your cards!"
As it spoke, the urban legend pushed the chips in front of it to the center of the table, flipped over its hole cards, and slammed them onto the table.
An Ace of Hearts, a Jack of Hearts, and the Queen of Hearts, 10 of Hearts, and 7 of Hearts from the community cards formed a flush. This hand is considered quite strong in Texas Hold'em.
On the other side of the poker table, Jiang Li's silver-white long hair, with her Spirit Mark fully unfolded, gently swayed behind her, and pale blue flames, almost solidified, leaped in her eyes.
She watched the urban legend opposite her, slowly and deliberately raising her slender arm. She didn't count the chips, but simply tilted her chin slightly upwards, revealing her hole cards with a very confident posture.
"Sorry, I'll be taking your chips."
9 of Hearts, 8 of Hearts...
Her hole cards, combined with the community cards, formed a smaller straight flush, which beat the urban legend' simple flush, winning her the chips.
"Impossible! You must have cheated! Cheating in front of me is asking for death!"
The urban legend roared, suddenly rotating its neck, revealing a ferocious face with a "crack, crack" sound of bones.
In an instant, a massive shadow appeared behind it, as if rising from hell. The outline of the face, resembling a Buddha, was covered in gold and red grooves, and several thick arms waved, scattering burning dust.
In the end, the entire private room was plunged into eerie darkness, every corner covered by the ubiquitous scorching firelight.
And the urban legend, surrounded by terrifying illusions, was like a king of the world descending here, awe-inspiring and not daring to be looked at directly.
The black-clad guards surrounding the private room were intimidated by this majesty and were slow by half a beat. By the time they recovered and wanted to step forward to stop the urban legend, they saw that Jiang Li had already moved first.
She leaped from the chair, and then, as if weightless, landed lightly on the card table.
Her slender legs, encased in silver armor, stepped over the scattered chips as if tapping a light rhythm, and her figure darted forward like a flash of lightning.
Then, with a flash of silver light, a long blade glowing with a faint blue light was raised over her shoulders with both hands and placed against the neck of the urban legend, piercing the skin and oozing a few drops of black blood.
And then...
The Hydra's toxin was released. The urban legend' body twitched a few times, then it fell to the ground with a "bang!"
At this time, the black-clad guards swarmed forward and subdued the urban legend.
The black-clad guard leader came before Jiang Li and bowed slightly, "Miss, I apologize for the fright you experienced. We..."
Jiang Li waved her hand, interrupting the black-clad guard leader, and said calmly, "It's alright. I'm used to hunting urban legend. It can't hurt me."
"Instead of apologizing to me, why don't you do me a favor and call two Rabbit Girls over to help me count the chips? I think after winning this hand, my chips should be back in the top three."
The black-clad guard leader was stunned for a moment, then bowed and said, "Thank you for your generosity. I will go and get someone for you now."
After speaking, he hurried out of the private room.
Watching the black-clad guard leader leave, and after the door closed again, Jiang Li jumped down from the table and slowly walked towards the bathroom in a corner of the private room. She entered it and locked the door from the inside.
The moment she locked the bathroom door, her body suddenly twitched violently as if she had been electrocuted, then as if all the strength had been drained from her body, her legs went weak, and she leaned against the wall, slowly sitting down on the ground.
"Hoo—hoo—!"
Her vision blurred repeatedly. One hand clutched her chest, which was rising and falling violently, trying her best to draw as much air as possible into her lungs.
After the strong discomfort subsided slightly, she used a trembling hand to take out a test tube-shaped vial from her pocket, pulled out the stopper, and poured the medicine that looked like mercury between her pale lips.
After taking the medicine, she slowly stood up, supporting herself on the washbasin, and watched as the blood gradually returned to her colorless face in the mirror. She sighed silently.
"..."
She knew it would be like this...
The fifteen days the Entertainment City's Big Boss mentioned probably weren't actually fifteen days. Jiang Li thought.
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This doesn't mean that the Big Boss deceived her, but rather that the fifteen days he mentioned referred to fifteen days for a normal, healthy adult human.
If Spiritual Energy is used during this period, this time will be significantly shortened.
However, it is impossible to win money on the upper three floors without using Spiritual Energy at all.
According to her calculations, these fifteen days were actually only about a week.
Fortunately, she won the Entertainment City's top three chips in less than four days. The remaining time was almost enough to gamble with that Big Boss again.
Withdrawing her thoughts, Jiang Li turned on the faucet, cupped her hands to wash her face with cold water, carefully dried the water droplets with a tissue, and then left the restroom with her head held high.
Before entering the Wu Hui Land to gamble with the Big Boss, according to the Entertainment City's rules, there was one troublesome thing she absolutely had to do.
“Creak—!”
As the light sound of the door opening rang out, two beautiful Rabbit Girls in golden outfits immediately came forward to greet her.
"Miss A Li, the preparations below are complete. As soon as you come down, the bell can be rung," one Rabbit Girl said.
The other Rabbit Girl held a well-made pink and white evening gown in her hands and presented it to Jiang Li, "Miss A Li, this is the dress we are giving you this time. Would you like me to take you to change now?"
"Mm," Jiang Li nodded slightly, "Thank you for the trouble."
After speaking, noticing the expectant look in the Rabbit Girl's eyes, she slightly furrowed her brow and added, "After the bell is rung, I'll give this dress to you."
Upon hearing this, the Rabbit Girl was stunned for a moment, then joyfully said, "Uh... ah? Thank you, Miss A Li, thank you, Miss A Li!"
Dream Come True Entertainment City was still very wealthy and extravagant. Almost every time a guest won enough chips to ring the bell, the Entertainment City would present a beautifully made, well-sourced, and outstandingly designed evening gown.
In the previous instances, after the ceremony ended, Jiang Li would give the dress to the Rabbit Girl who served her.
After all, she didn't know which time she entered the Wu Hui Land she would never come out again. Keeping such things in her hands was likely a waste.
Although these dresses were insignificant compared to the chips in her hand, their value was still enough to make those Rabbit Girls go crazy.
However...
Jiang Li looked at the Rabbit Girl who was jumping with joy in front of her, and the two mounds on her chest that moved like startled rabbits, about to burst out, and rolled her eyes.
However, this dress would probably need significant alterations before they could wear it.
————
"Holy crap? Holy crap! Holy crap!?"
Standing in front of the upper three floors' hall, looking at the resplendent hall in front of her, adorned with gold and jewels everywhere, a picture of ostentatious wealth, Lu Yibei let out three exclamations in succession.
"Is there a need to be so surprised?" A Hua squinted at Lu Yibei, pouting, "Isn't the decoration style here similar to downstairs?"
"Moreover, didn't you claim to be a student of the School of Literature? How come you also rely on a single 'holy crap' to get by?"
Lu Yibei turned her head and rolled her eyes at A Hua, "What do you know? The decorations downstairs, with all the bright red, purple, and gold, I found them vulgar..."
A Hua looked around blankly, "Isn't it the same here?"
"It's not the same, completely different!" Lu Yibei said seriously, "The difference is that downstairs they used gold plating, paint, and glass, while here they used pure gold, mineral pigments, and natural gemstones. It's even more vulgar."
"Then why are you still..."
"But extreme vulgarity is extreme elegance! This place is too elegant!" Lu Yibei said in all seriousness, reaching out to touch the pure gold mermaid statue in front of her. Just then, a bell rang from inside the hall ahead.
"Dong—dong—dong—!"
The bell, like a dragon's roar, suddenly rang out, shaking the soul.
Lu Yibei's outstretched little hand "Swish!" retracted immediately.
"I'm not, I didn't, I wasn't planning to pry off a chunk to take away, I just wanted to do some academic research!"
Liu Banxian, "..."
Is this girl really the same person as the one who almost trapped all the Psychic and urban legend on the middle three floors just now? Why does it feel a bit embarrassing?
A Hua, "..." The sneaky Wang Bu Liu Xing is offline, and the timid Lu Yibei is back online, huh?
While muttering to herself, she patted Lu Yibei's shoulder and said testily, "Wang Bu Liu Xing, that bell means someone has won the top three chips in the Entertainment City and has obtained the qualification to gamble with the Big Boss." freeweɓnovel.cøm
"There should be a carnival soon."
"Eh? Isn't it a burglar alarm?" Lu Yibei patted her chest and straightened her back, "You should have said so earlier, you scared me to death."
"By the way, you said carnival just now? What does that mean?"
"Hehe," Liu Banxian chuckled upon hearing this, "It's exactly what it means. Tonight, the entire venue is paid for by a Big Shot, drinks are free, food is enjoyed to your heart's content, beautiful women... cough cough, anyway, you'll know when you go in and see."
"Oh, I see..." Lu Yibei nodded thoughtfully and walked towards the hall. The moment she brushed past the mermaid statue, she quietly pried off an emerald scale from its tail...
As soon as she entered the hall, Lu Yibei immediately noticed the significant difference between the upper three floors and the lower three floors.
A black vortex was suspended beneath the ceiling, over thirty meters high. A pure white spiral staircase, wide enough for only one person, led directly into the black vortex, which was quite conspicuous.
"Is that the passage to the Wu Hui Land?" Lu Yibei asked, pointing at the pure white spiral staircase.
Liu Banxian's mouth twitched when he saw the emerald in her palm that she hadn't had time to hide, and he replied, "Yes, that's the place. It is said that the Big Boss is up there."
"Can I go up and take a look?" Lu Yibei pressed.
"How can you just go to a place like that?" Liu Banxian patted her shoulder and said, "Fellow, don't even think about something like that. Only guests with the top three chips are qualified to gamble with the Big Boss."
"That's right!" Lu Yibei nodded and said seriously, "It says you need to be in the top three for chips to gamble with the Big Boss, it didn't say you can't go up and take a look if you don't have enough chips, did it?"
"I'll just go up and look, I won't gamble with him, so I don't need to be in the top three for chips, right?"
"This..." Liu Banxian was momentarily speechless, remained silent for a long time, and then mumbled, "I haven't heard of anyone doing that. No one has tried, so there should be a reason."
"..." Lu Yibei didn't say anything further, just narrowed her eyes and looked at the long pure white spiral staircase, lost in thought.
At the same time, a young girl in a pink and white evening gown with her silver hair meticulously coiled up, leaning on a staff decorated with a unicorn, gracefully walked onto the stage in the center of the hall and stood beside the demon with the Succubus Power in the urban legend.
"I didn't expect it to be Miss A Li again this time..."
Upon hearing the words "Miss A Li," Lu Yibei and A Hua's pupils simultaneously contracted. After exchanging glances, they almost simultaneously stood on their tiptoes, their gazes passing over the crowd towards the stage, and then they saw Jiang Li's familiar face.
"That's right, it's my Miss!" A Hua exclaimed.
Lu Yibei, "..."
Liu Banxian, who had also stood on his tiptoes to look at the stage with the two of them, was stunned for a moment upon hearing this and asked doubtfully, "You two really know this Miss A Li?"
"Yes! Didn't we tell you already?" A Hua said.
"Tsk tsk, if that's really the case, you two should quickly go and persuade her? Although I don't know what she plans to do next, looking at her face..."
Liu Banxian paused mid-sentence and continued, "As the saying goes, a belly full of essays is useless, a body full of martial arts doesn't fill the stomach. People always have lofty aspirations, but when luck is not on their side, they just worry in vain..."
"What does that mean?" A Hua asked Liu Banxian, pressing for an answer.
"It roughly means that she knows everything, but she can't accomplish what she wants to do," Lu Yibei chimed in from the side, "Banxian, am I right?"
"That's about the meaning, and also..." Liu Banxian slightly furrowed his brow and looked at A Hua, "Your Miss is going to die. If this continues, she can only live for another four or five days at most!"
Upon hearing this, Lu Yibei suddenly felt as if her heart was being fiercely squeezed by an invisible large hand. It tightened inexplicably, and she was momentarily stunned, completely unaware that Liu Banxian had been chased away by A Hua...
