203: Winning or losing doesn't matter

The game continued in an eerie and high-pressure atmosphere.

Both sides seemed to have torn away their final disguises, entering a naked 'open hand' phase—or perhaps, some unspoken 'rule' had been broken.

Leib Beiyala utilized his home-court advantage, manipulating the order of the deck almost crudely in an attempt to force high-point ingredients to his side. Meanwhile, Lin Luo, relying on his inconceivable 'luck' or 'ability,' precisely 'snatched' key high-scoring cards from the opponent's layout time and again.

The cards on the gambling table were dwindling at an astonishing speed.

High-point ingredients were being contested and divided as if by two invisible giant hands, constantly disappearing and transforming into leaping, climbing numbers on both sides' scoreboards.

The atmosphere grew increasingly heavy. The Casino's side had long since lost its initial clamor, leaving only a bated-breath tension. Machi and his men maintained absolute silence and vigilance, their hands always near their weapons.

From their initial shock and worry, Erina and Kobayashi Rindō had gradually become numb, and by now, they had completely turned into 'logistics support staff.' They focused on processing the various strange and even dangerous ingredients Lin Luo 'Hit' at the fastest possible speed—even though Lin Luo often didn't need them to process them at all and just swallowed them raw.

Finally, as another round of contention ended, only six lonely cards remained scattered across the vast, empty expanse of the gambling table.

In truth, there was no longer any need to continue the game.

Because what remained were either extremely low-point 'trash' ingredients or... worthless 'empty cards.'

Machi glanced at the scoreboard, his voice ringing out clearly in the deathly silent room:

“Current points—”

“Lin Luo's side: 1980 points.”

“Leib Beiyala: 1400 points.”

A 580-point gap.

Unless a miracle occurred—such as Leib Beiyala being able to flip all the remaining high-point cards in a row while Lin Luo failed consecutively—the outcome was decided.

Lin Luo's Divine Sense had already quietly swept over those last six cards.

Two were 'empty cards' with no points.

The remaining four had point values of: 30, 50, 70, and 90.

Added all together, they were only 240 points.

Even if Leib Beiyala's luck exploded and he took all 240 points while Lin Luo got zero, there would still be a 340-point gap in the total score.

And the reality was, it was Lin Luo's turn to flip a card first.

Leib Beiyala's massive frame was sunk deep into his chair, and his crimson chef's uniform seemed to have dimmed a few shades. That signature, unsettling smile on his face had long since vanished, replaced by a cold, almost inorganic silence.

He 'looked' at Lin Luo. Within his eyeless sockets, a chill that could freeze a person seemed to be churning, along with something... extremely dangerous that comes from being pushed into a corner.

Lin Luo's fingers lightly tapped the smooth tabletop, producing crisp 'thud, thud' sounds that broke the silence which had almost solidified into substance. He looked up at the figure across the table, who was like a silent volcano, and stated the facts calmly:

“I think there's no longer any need to continue the game.”

Leib Beiyala's massive body gave a violent jolt. Then, a hideous grin, its curvature exaggerated to the point of nearly tearing, split open on his distorted face once more.

He slowly stood up. His crimson, skin-tight chef's uniform tightened with his movements, outlining a terrifying sense of power beneath.

His giant hands slammed onto the gambling table with a 'bang' as he leaned forward, the shadow he cast nearly enveloping half the table.

“In-deed.” His raspy voice ground out each word like rubbing rusted gears.

Then, he suddenly raised his hands high, as if making some evil proclamation. His voice abruptly rose, filled with distorted excitement and naked malice:

“Fine! The game doesn't matter anymore! Boys—!!!”

The moment the words fell, a fierce light simultaneously erupted in the eyes of the 'staff members' standing solemnly around the room, dressed in chef's uniforms and holding sharp blades!

They slowly closed in from all directions, surrounding Lin Luo's group. The kitchen knives and deboning knives in their hands reflected the eerie colors of the brain-convolution lights on the ceiling, radiating a chilling Killing Intent.

Leib Beiyala lowered his head. His eyeless 'gaze' swept over Lin Luo, Erina, and Kobayashi Rindō, finally landing on Machi. His voice carried a sense of release and cruelty from finally tearing away his mask:

“Whether I win or lose... regardless, none of you are escaping today!”

“I expected as much.” Machi gave a cold snort, showing no fear. Instead, a look of cold severity appeared on his face, as if he had anticipated this.

He took a step forward, shielding Lin Luo and the others. His right hand rested steadily on the hilt of the long sword at his waist. “Competing with strength was my original wish anyway. Leave those small fry to us to handle.”

Zheng—!

A crisp, lingering ring of a blade sounded. Machi's long sword was already unsheathed by half a foot. The cold light, like water, illuminated the deep scar on his face and the burning Battle Intent in his eyes.

The several trusted subordinates behind him also drew their weapons simultaneously. Their eyes were as sharp as hawks as they formed a simple defensive formation back-to-back, protecting Lin Luo and the two young women in the center.

The atmosphere instantly shifted from the stalemate of a gamble toward the edge of a bloody, violent conflict.

Erina and Kobayashi Rindō's faces turned slightly pale. Kobayashi Rindō pulled a short blade from her boot, her golden eyes warily scanning the surroundings as her canine teeth bared slightly.

Lin Luo, however, remained seated in his chair, not even standing up.

He looked at Leib Beiyala's face, distorted by greed and rage, then at the surrounding murderous chef thugs. He sighed softly and shook his head: “So I say... why bother. If you can't afford to lose, don't play.”

Lin Luo's fingertip gave one last light tap on the table.

Buzz—

An invisible but irresistible impact force, centered on him, spread outward silently and swiftly like a circular wave triggered by a giant boulder dropped into a calm lake!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The murderous chef thugs closing in from all directions seemed to have their chests slammed by invisible giant hammers simultaneously. Muffled groans merged into one as their bodies stumbled backward uncontrollably, flying off and crashing into surrounding tables, chairs, and equipment. They fell in a chaotic heap, and for a moment, none could immediately climb back up.

And in that flash of lightning, Lin Luo had already risen.

His movements didn't seem fast, yet he perfectly met the enraged Leib Beiyala who was lunging at him! The latter's massive frame brought a foul wind, and at some point, he had grasped two curved twin blades. An ominous dark red light flowed over the edges as they slashed crosswise toward Lin Luo's neck!

Lin Luo didn't dodge. He simply raised his right hand, and his palm was instantly covered by a thin, solid layer of energy shimmering with a five-colored halo.

Clang—!!!

An ear-piercing metallic crash exploded! The twin blades slashed hard against the five-colored halo, erupting in dazzling sparks!

However, the expected cutting did not occur. In the next instant—

Crack! Boom—!!

A series of crisp, tooth-aching snapping sounds rang out!

The two curved blades in Leib Beiyala's hands—clearly no ordinary items—seemed to have struck a substance billions of times harder than diamond. The blade bodies were instantly covered in spiderweb-like cracks, then, with a louder boom, they completely shattered into countless sharp metal fragments that shot out in all directions!

Leib Beiyala's massive body swayed violently from this sudden counter-shock. For the first time, clear astonishment appeared in his hollow eye sockets.

Lin Luo didn't pause. At the moment the twin blades shattered, his left fingers spread slightly, and he made a grasping motion in the air! Several of the largest and sharpest blade fragments seemed to be pulled by an invisible force, flying into his palm like lightning.

Without even looking, he flicked his wrist—

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The fragments turned into several cold lights difficult for the naked eye to track, accurately shooting toward several killers who had just scrambled up and were trying to ambush Erina and Kobayashi Rindō from the side and rear!

“Argh—!”

“Puchi!”

Screams of pain and the muffled sound of blades entering flesh rang out simultaneously! The fragments embedded themselves deeply into the killers' shoulder blades, thighs, and other non-lethal areas that were sufficient to make them lose their combat capability. The intense pain caused them to collapse, screaming once more.

Meanwhile, Lin Luo's free right hand curled a finger and pointed lightly toward Erina and Kobayashi Rindō.

Two nearly imperceptible specks of five-colored light arrived in an instant, landing on the two of them. Then, the light flowed and rapidly expanded, forming a layer of 'Five-Colored Rainbow Raiment' on their bodies—thin as a cicada's wing, yet shimmering as if woven from countless tiny rainbows.

Erina felt a warmth envelop her, and her nerves, which had been tight from tension, inexplicably settled. Kobayashi Rindō curiously touched the beautiful light membrane on her body, finding it warm to the touch.

Having done all this, Lin Luo finally turned his gaze back to the close-at-hand Leib Beiyala, who was in a brief state of paralysis due to his weapons shattering. His tone remained calm: “I think you can calm down now.”

Leib Beiyala's massive frame trembled slightly, and the muscles on his hideous face twitched uncontrollably. It wasn't from anger, but from a cold warning signal originating from the depths of his Soul.

He slowly turned his massive head. His now-blackened eye sockets swept past his own sides—at some unknown point, hundreds of dense, radiant light blades had appeared, floating there!

Each blade was as thin as a cicada's wing, shimmering with a freezing, sharp glow. They silently occupied every inch of space, completely sealing off all his paths of retreat and angles of evasion.

The tips of the light blades trembled slightly, locking onto his vital points. With just a single thought, they could instantly shred his powerful body into thousands of pieces!

Cold sweat truly soaked Leib Beiyala's back for the first time.

He hadn't managed to capture when or how these lethal light blades had appeared at all! The opponent's control over power had reached a level he could not understand, let alone contend with.

All his rage, unwillingness, and greed rapidly melted away like snow under a blazing sun in the face of this absolute power gap, leaving only the most primal survival instinct and cold logic.

He slowly, and extremely stiffly, loosened his grip.

Clatter, clatter.

The two remaining, twisted hilt fragments slid from his giant palms and hit the floor with dull thuds, mirroring his current state of mind.

“...I surrender.” Leib Beiyala spoke raspy, his voice as dry as if it had been ground by sandpaper, no longer possessing its previous arrogance and excitement. His massive head lowered slightly, showing a posture of submission.

“What do you want?” He looked up, his hollow 'gaze' toward Lin Luo, his tone carrying a sort of 'honesty' that came from having nothing left to lose. “Anything I have, I can give to you—wealth, rare prohibited ingredients, intelligence, even...” He paused, pointing to the interface at the back of his head that still glowed slightly, his voice carrying a hint of imperceptible heartache and deeper self-mockery, “including my most precious collection, all the 'Culinary Memories' stored here.”

He gave up all resistance and handed over his most valued 'Treasure Trove,' seeking only a chance to live.