Xie Antong now needed to maintain balance, meticulously calculating the use of her own thoughts.

On one hand, she still had to play the game using her own strengths, unable to completely disregard inferring the game's rules like her opponent.

But she also couldn't be like before, recklessly letting her thoughts diverge, gradually unraveling the truth from countless possibilities.

The direction of her thinking now had to hit the mark with a single strike! There was no room for going down the wrong path.

Therefore, without sufficient information, it was best for her to stop at the right point and not continue thinking further.

Now, both she and [Pleasure] clearly understood that the existence of the spectators in the stands was also part of the game, a kind of double-edged sword to some extent.

So now, both of their cards were placed face down on the table, not picked up again. All relevant information was limited to those few seconds when they were first picked up.

This also indirectly indicated that the game design was truly quite fair. [Pleasure] hadn't initially realized the need to prevent the spectators from seeing the cards either, perhaps related to His inherent disdain for humans...

During that brief moment earlier, the stands gave eight different answers regarding [Pleasure]'s five cards!

At this distance, it was quite normal for there to be misidentifications. One person said 'cat,' most likely mistaking the tiger.

Based on the range determined by the majority of answers, Xie Antong now concluded that the opponent's five cards were drawn from the Zodiac Animals.

And currently, there were at most six possibilities: Ox, Tiger, Dragon, Horse, Dog, Pig.

It was unclear which one was misidentified or which answer was a wild guess.

Selecting five cards from the Zodiac Animals, Xie Antong refused to believe this was a random choice or mere coincidence. There had to be a deeper meaning to the game.

But the specifics, she couldn't say yet.

No sooner said than done, [Pleasure] Himself certainly wouldn't give Xie Antong this much time.

In fact, immediately after He finished speaking earlier, He had already taken action!

Although letting her think was also a way to consume chips, since [Pleasure] Himself didn't intend to deduce the game rules, of course He had to apply pressure constantly.

[Pleasure] forcefully pushed two hourglasses forward, placing them in the very center of the gambling table, the momentum as if He had pushed out mountains.

[Hehe, why such a serious expression?]

[Little girl, why are you frowning like that? In such an interesting game, you should smile more.]

[Also, I have already started betting. Hurry up and call, play your card!]

Accompanying [Pleasure]'s sinister laughter, a number floating in the air above the two of them appeared simultaneously.

30... 29... 28...

It was a countdown, marking the time Xie Antong had to push out her chips.

Before betting started, both sides could delay as long as they wanted. But once betting began, every call had a time limit.

According to the game's betting rules, Xie Antong, as the caller in this round, had to bet at least one chip.

If she conceded this round right now, that one chip would go directly to [Pleasure].

Of course, even if conceding, she still had to discard the card she intended to play this round.

And if she wanted to gamble, she had to match the bet, which meant two chips, the same as the opponent.

Xie Antong had no time to continue thinking and looked up at the countdown overhead.

She hadn't felt it while dawdling before, but now that the game had started, the urgency of time was comparable to the countdown of her own life!

Placing a bet under completely unknown rules was something her own principles could least accept. She would never play a game like this normally!

Suppressing that instinctive anxiety, she still pushed out two chips when the countdown had passed halfway.

She was very uncomfortable with this state of relying entirely on luck, but at this moment, there was no other choice.

At the cost of two chips, to gamble on an unknown, she needed to know the outcome of this round to infer the next piece of information.

"Come on, I call. Let's start the first round..."

[Wait, it's not over yet~]

A somewhat ferocious smile appeared on Pleasure's face, interrupting Xie Antong.

[Since I placed the bet first this round, I have the opportunity to raise once when you call for the first time!]

Saying this, He raised His hand again, picked up three more chips, and slammed them heavily onto the table!

BANG!!

[I'll... raise a little bit!]

Amidst the dull sound, [Pleasure] looked at Xie Antong with a smile.

Five hourglasses were neatly arranged on the table, as if nothing had happened.

Xie Antong: !

The corner of her eye couldn't help but twitch, the pressure in her heart rising another notch.

Meanwhile, the spectator stands on both sides were already in an uproar!

"What does this mean? Why raise extra? Does He already know the rules?"

"Impossible! Even if He knew, He wouldn't know what card 'Blank' will play, and 'Blank' hasn't even played a card yet!"

"What's the meaning of this? Without knowing the rules, shouldn't He test more in the early stages? Isn't He afraid of losing the bet?"

Xie Antong remained silent. Hearing the voices from the surrounding stands, the delighted smile on [Pleasure]'s face grew even more pronounced.

Just like this... this is good! He enjoys this.

The mortals' shocked exclamations were the nourishment for His self-satisfaction. Listening to their voices was like hearing the inner thoughts of the prey before Him.

[How about it? Call it. My cards have been lying there all along~.]

[Pleasure] pointed at the cards on the table and said with a laugh.

......

Inside the black box, [Death] very conveniently spoke up again at this moment.

[I want to know, how did you know earlier that she was about to break?]

"Hmm?"

[I don't believe your earlier actions were just madness. You appeared precisely when "Pleasure" was applying extreme pressure on her and relieved her psychological burden.]

"Who knows? I just felt it was a bit stuffy here and wanted to go out for a look."

Hearing "Sin" spouting nonsense here, [Death] shook His head and continued:

[This kind of game of tormenting people psychologically is what "Pleasure" excels at.]

[However, gambling is gambling. What you need to win isn't the game itself; you only need to win your opponent!]

[Your teammate, even playing normally afterwards, won't be able to withstand His pressure.]

[How to remain calm under pressure is the first major challenge at the gambling table, especially when "thoughts are treated as consumables."]

Saying this, He raised His head, facing the darkness before Him, and smiled slightly.

[This was originally your forte. Your ability to remain 'abnormal' under pressure is something we have all witnessed.]

[This is truly... a pity.]