After that deep voice sounded, Guan Tong felt his heart pound; a massive pressure swept through him, his vision blurring as if his nerves were being crushed.
What is this...
He did not think this was a normal procedure under this rule, something had to be wrong.
[Special anomaly detected]
At that moment, the Fire Thief's voice echoed in Guan Tong's mind.
[Demon? Life-Hunting used a drop of primal blood, the original consciousness has replaced the avatar and intervened in this gambling round]
[Due to the Life-Hunting demon's original consciousness intervening, the hidden gambling round has been activated]
After the prompt sounded, many of Guan Tong's bodily discomforts vanished instantly, as if the Fire Thief's power had taken effect.
From the prompt, he recalled the content of the Hidden Rule and understood the current situation.
If you refuse to actively initiate the round throughout and refuse to claim any chips won from the Life-Hunting avatar, you can withdraw entirely or face the dealer directly.
Guan Tong looked toward the darkness across the table. There was no doubt: the presence exerting that enormous pressure on him was the "dealer" he faced.
Not an avatar, but the Life-Hunting demon's original consciousness.
In that case, inside the golden dice in every Life-Hunting avatar's palm, there must be a drop of "primal blood."
When a participant meets the condition of refusing all claimed chips and refuses to start the formal gambling round, that drop of "primal blood" is consumed, summoning the Life-Hunting demon's original consciousness to replace the avatar.
But "withdraw entirely" and "face the dealer" should be parallel options. Even if the Life-Hunting demon's original consciousness appears now, Guan Tong can still choose to withdraw entirely, and the Life-Hunting demon cannot stop him.
Because whether avatar or original, the Fire Thief's prompts prove one thing: the Life-Hunting demon is restricted by the Fire Thief, not the other way around.
This demon and the alien creature that appeared in earlier rules may differ in power, but in essence they are both working for some Doomsday Rule; they cannot contradict the rules set by the Fire Thief, nor the Hidden Rule that might also have been set by the Fire Thief.
"You may choose to continue withdrawing, not participating in my ancient gamble."
As if it had guessed Guan Tong's thoughts, just before Guan Tong could speak to withdraw, the Life-Hunting demon spoke first.
"You may also stay. As long as you win, I will grant you the boon you dream of."
Its deep voice carried a strong temptation. It did not specify what the boon was, but even the earlier avatar had stakes like an End-of-World Rule Challenge Voucher to offer; the original would be even more capable of offering great rewards.
Guan Tong did not waver. He had no reason to take the risk.
Besides, this Life-Hunting demon gave him the impression of someone who "couldn't afford to play." If others refused to join, it insisted on dragging them in, even using up primal blood to bring its original consciousness.
Although Guan Tong did not know what "primal blood" was, the name alone implied great value. Under these circumstances he believed that betting against it would most likely end in defeat.
"I will withdraw," Guan Tong said.
[Confirm withdrawal from the hidden gambling round?]
The Fire Thief's prompt appeared, waiting for Guan Tong's final confirmation.
"He cannot come and go," the Life-Hunting demon's deep voice shifted from temptation to threat, "but can we?"
We?
The white darkness around Guan Tong suddenly changed, small first-person frozen frames appearing.
These first-person perspectives all showed a card table and the human participant across from it—undoubtedly the viewpoints of those Life-Hunting avatars.
What shocked Guan Tong most was that the human participants in those frames... were all people he knew!
One frozen frame began to play.
Frame 1:
Life-Hunting avatar: "Three preliminary rounds have ended, entering the formal round. Life-Hunting gambling rule four: after entering the formal round, prior chips become invalid."
Opposite him, Adam shook his head expressionlessly. "I withdraw..."
Before he could finish, he saw the new stake the Life-Hunting avatar placed on the table: a device that looked like a compass.
[Life-Hunting Tracer]: Provides name and appearance, can ignore distance and interference, pinpoints the target's exact location
Adam's eyes suddenly reddened; the unfinished word "wi-" stuck in his throat.
Guan Tong's heart jolted; he understood what this device meant to Adam.
Adam was silent for a few seconds, then raised his eyes. "I'll take part in the formal round."
Life-Hunting avatar: "Life-Hunting gambling rule six: the formal round must be played at least three hands before you may withdraw. The formal round is now open. Place your chips."
Adam: "I stake my Force Field Manipulation ability."
Guan Tong sighed inwardly. The frame froze, and a second frame began to play.
Frame 2:
Life-Hunting avatar: "Black elf beats unicorn, you lost."
Across from it, Silver Fox's face turned ashen as her chips were taken one by one—her speed ability was seized by the Life-Hunting avatar's pure black hand.
Guan Tong was stunned. Why would Silver Fox enter the formal round? Given her personality...
When he saw the stake on the avatar's side of the table, he understood.
[Horn of Resurrection]: When blown, it can awaken departed souls.
Guan Tong remembered that she had deep bonds with the members of her original Squad Dragon Soul, but aside from her and squad leader Dragon Soul, the rest had died.
Was Silver Fox so irrational because she wanted this item to revive her fallen comrades?
Life-Hunting avatar: "The third hand of the formal round will start immediately. Place your chips."
Silver Fox's face was deathly pale. "You've already taken my most precious ability. I have no other chips."
Life-Hunting avatar: "You still possess something that can serve as a chip—your life force."
"...Fine." Silver Fox said, "I stake my life. Begin."
The frame froze. Guan Tong unconsciously clenched his fists.
"Don't be so hasty." The Life-Hunting demon's deep voice carried a faint laugh, "It's not over yet."
Another frame began to play. This time the person in the frame was someone Guan Tong had not thought of in a long time, nearly forgotten.
Frame 3:
Fang Qian looked at the formal-round stake the Life-Hunting avatar had placed, struggling.
It was an optical disc.
[Memory Containment]: After use, you can transfer a portion of your memories into it, freeing yourself from past entanglements.
Fang Qian hesitated and asked into the darkness across from her, "Can this item really transfer away memories I don't want?"
Life-Hunting avatar: "Yes."
Fang Qian: "Is there a time limit? Can memories from more than two years ago be transferred?"
Guan Tong fell silent when he heard that.
He knew very clearly what Fang Qian's "memories from more than two years ago" referred to.
Life-Hunting avatar: "There is no time limit. You can transfer memories from any period."
Fang Qian bit her lip and nodded firmly. "Okay, I will take part in the formal round!"
Life-Hunting avatar: "Then place your new chips."
Guan Tong saw this and could not bear to look further. "Enough."
Besides those three, the frozen frames for Chen Na, Xiaotian, and others vanished together.
He did not see frames involving Shi Jingyi or Yelanka, which relieved him a little.
It made sense that they had withdrawn. Shi Jingyi needed no explanation; owing to her indifferent nature she would not be tempted into the formal round.
Yelanka, as an Administrator of a nation, would surely act cautiously for her people's sake, even if the avatar offered something alluring.
Only the greedy, or those like Adam and Silver Fox who harbored strong obsessions, would...
At that moment the Life-Hunting demon's deep voice sounded again. "Remember what I said earlier. You can withdraw, but can they?"
Guan Tong said coldly, "You use outcomes of other rounds to affect our round. Doesn't that violate your own rules, and the restrictions of the Doomsday Rules?"
His question challenged the Life-Hunting demon and also the Fire Thief.
Why could the Life-Hunting demon view his memories and threaten him by manipulating people he knew into gambling outcomes? Was this permitted by the Fire Thief?
The Life-Hunting demon chuckled low. "The Fire Thief's edicts cannot be broken, but this is the Life-Hunting gambling round's space, so certain matters here are decided by me, the Life-Hunting demon."
The Fire Thief gave no response; Guan Tong knew this meant the Fire Thief would not intervene.
"Well?" the Life-Hunting demon asked. "Will you continue to withdraw? Or will you stay and play one hand of my ancient gamble with me? To show my sincerity, I will add an extra stake..."
"New Life-Hunting gambling rule: If you beat me, I will exempt the chips those people lost just now. If you continue to withdraw, they will remain in my gambling space forever."