Secret World: I Became a God Through Lies

Chapter 4: Hometown of Returnees

At 7:30 in the morning, in the shabby motel, the room was filled with a slightly damp and musty smell. The curtains were half-drawn, letting in a thin ray of morning light.

Siming opened his eyes, looked at the ceiling quietly, and soberly analyzed his "identity" today.

He stood up, walked into the bathroom, and looked at his face in the mirror as if he were examining a stranger.

The man in the mirror had an indifferent expression and deep eyes, as if he could analyze anyone's emotions to the smallest detail.

"You are Siming, a new rookie who has just entered the world of the secret master." He spoke slowly, muttering his own settings in a low voice, as if confirming the authenticity of this identity.

He chuckled, stroking his chin with his fingers, and continued to mutter to himself, "Leng Ji's first impression of me was curiosity. I'm a gambler who won a card and accidentally entered the world of the Mystic."

He paused, his eyes fixed on himself in the mirror.

"No, I'm a poker player, a calculating gambler. I try to gather as much information as possible from unfamiliar gambling situations. This is the true character of a 'rookie mystic'."

He tapped his temple gently. "Continue to maintain this setting and appropriately enhance the image of precise calculations. This will help us obtain more information."

After confirming that everything was correct, Siming shook off the water droplets on his hands, walked back to the room, and changed into a well-fitting suit jacket - this suit was his "uniform" when he was in the casino.
It appears calm, yet not overly ostentatious.

He glanced at the time; it was still early. The pace of life in the mysterious world was far more chaotic than he had imagined. The whispers from last night still echoed in the depths of his mind, but he instinctively refused to pay attention to them.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, the sky was still bright, but the atmosphere in the casino had gradually become lively. Siming walked into the casino,
He was so familiar with this place that he felt like he was back home. But today, he was not here to work, but to relax in the quiet bar.

Next to the casino's public restroom, behind the decorative money tree lies a strange door. The wood grain on the door slithers as if alive, and a distorted light occasionally peeks through the dark door frame.

The gamblers in the casino hurried past, and no one noticed the existence of this door because it belonged to another world.

Siming reached out and grasped the door handle, whispering, "A homecoming is a homeland."

There was a slight tremor. He turned the doorknob and the moment he opened the door, a familiar feeling of dizziness came over him.
The world seemed to be spinning, space was collapsing, and consciousness was being pulled violently, as if falling into a non-existent dream.

The next second, he fell heavily on the sofa in the bar's booth.

——Or, to be more precise, he was lying on his stomach in an extremely awkward position.

"Ha ha ha ha……"

A crisp laugh rang out in the bar. Si Ming slowly raised his head and saw Leng Ji sitting behind the bar, supporting his face with one hand, looking at him with a playful expression.

Her silver hair shone slightly in the light, and her wine-red eyes flashed with teasing.

"Hey, Mr. Siming, your posture is always very interesting every time you come." Leng Ji Ren laughed, "Welcome, what would you like to drink?"

Siming turned over and sat up, straightened his collar, and sat up calmly, as if the embarrassed look just now was not his own at all.

"Let's have a sober drink first." He raised his eyes and said in a flat tone.

"Oh? Are you worried about something?" Leng Ji raised his eyebrows, picked up a bottle of dark brown wine, and poured it into the glass skillfully.

"How could that be." Siming smiled slightly, took the wine glass and took a sip. The faint aroma of wine and the spicy taste were intertwined, just like his mood at the moment - calm with some unknown variables.

Hometown of Returnees, this small bar hidden in a secret world, still exudes a unique atmosphere.

There weren't many people in the bar, but each one of them was a member of a mysterious world. Some wore hoods and talked in low voices;
Some people were wearing long robes, quietly studying the cards in their hands; there was even a pale-faced man who was using a strange copper coin to perform divination on the table.

Everything here is completely different from the casino world outside. There are no ordinary people here, only secret masters and their deals, conspiracies and rules of survival.

Siming held the wine glass and glanced around casually, but in his heart he was quickly deducing his next plan.

He knew that he had officially stepped into this world, and today, he had to continue to collect more information.

And Leng Ji might be a good "source of information".

He put down his glass and smiled slightly: "Miss Leng, what's new recently?"

Leng Ji narrowed his eyes, and the smile on his lips deepened: "You are really a smart guy."

Her fingertips gently turned the wine glass, and the wine swayed slightly in the glass. She seemed to have seen through Sima Ming's intentions.

"Since you want to know so much...why don't you have a drink with me first?"

She smiled cunningly, and Sima Ming shook his head slightly, but a smile of ambiguous meaning appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"of course can."

The atmosphere in the bar, at this moment, became more interesting.

"Good luck is a good ability. Some people need others who have good luck. Of course... maybe they are just peeking at your good luck."

The atmosphere in the bar was still relaxed and eerie, the air was filled with the aroma of aged wine, and there was a faint sense of oppression unique to this mysterious world.

Leng Ji smiled and chatted with Siming, his tone relaxed and casual, as if he was chatting with a friend. But Siming knew that this was just a meaningless perfunctory.

Her fingers tapped lightly on the wine glass, her body leaned back slightly, her eyes wandered, and she looked completely unengaged - this was a typical "boring social interaction" mode, exactly the same as those casino dealers who dealt with people.

Siming was not in a hurry. He patiently observed her subtle body movements until he was sure of one thing: trying to get information out of Leng Ji without any reward? It was impossible.

"Transaction" is the basic rule of the mysterious world.

Siming rubbed his head in distress, making a frustrated expression typical of a gambler, frowned and sighed, reached into his pocket, took out a stack of banknotes, and spread them out on the bar.

"I only brought a little over a thousand today." He deliberately lowered his tone, like a gambler who was anxious about losing money.

He pushed the banknotes aside and sighed, "Six hundred yuan is the capital for my work today. Miss Leng, is this thousand... enough?"

His words carried the unique tone of a gambler, a sense of helplessness, but also a hint of hidden expectation, as if he was betting on an unknown game.

Siming's eyes flickered slightly, with the "eager anticipation" that gamblers often have when pushing their chips - but in fact, his mood was calmer than ever.

This is not a monetary transaction, but a psychological gamble. He is betting on Leng Ji's assessment of the value of information.

Leng Ji grinned. She lowered her head slightly, glanced at the money Siming pushed over, and flicked it lightly, and a few banknotes slid across the bar.

"Not bad, Siming, you're quite understanding." She said with a smile, "I can tell you some information, but as for how to judge... it's up to you."

She picked up the wine glass, took a sip leisurely, then raised her chin slightly, motioning Siming to look at a woman in black on the other side of the bar.

Siming followed her gaze and saw a woman in a black windbreaker sitting in the corner, drinking quietly.

Her expression was somewhat cold, her eyes sharp and alert, like a wild cat ready to strike back at any time.

But Siming looked more closely and saw that her fingers were tightly gripping the rim of the cup, exerting a little force, and her knuckles were turning white.

——She is very nervous.

"That woman," Leng Ji said casually, "She's been targeted by a card hunter and needs some assistance."

Siming raised his eyebrows, a hint of an ambiguous smile on his face: "Card Hunter? Those people yesterday? I don't think I can help with that."

He pretended not to be interested in the matter, maintaining the "caution" characteristic of gamblers.

Leng Ji smiled and shook his head: "That's not necessarily true. She needs to play a game with the card hunter, a small game of luck and probability. If she wins, she can keep her secret, but if she loses, she won't see the sun tomorrow."

She paused and added slowly, "And she needs 'the favor of fate', you know."

Siming's eyes flashed slightly.

"Fate's Favor" - One of his "Secret Cards", theoretically grants the holder a brief period of good luck, but it comes at a price.

This woman needs "good luck", while the card hunter covets the ability of "luck" itself.

——This is a naked chip game.

Siming looked down at the wine glass on the table, his fingers gently turning the rim of the glass, lost in thought.

Everything in the secret world requires a gamble, and he must ensure that the risks and rewards of this gamble are within an acceptable range.

"So... what's the reward?" He raised his eyes and asked, with a slight smile on his lips.

Gamblers never participate in gambling games without high returns, and Siming is now going to play the role of a gambler.

Leng Ji's smile deepened, and he said lazily, "A legacy card, said to be one of that woman's collection, and half of the other card hunter's bet."

She pointed at the bar with her index finger and said with a hint of joking, "Maybe the other party played two cards."

Deed card + half of the bet.

This means that Sima Ming has a chance to win "up to three cards" in this game.

——This is already a big gamble. Siming raised his head slightly, a glimmer of excitement flashing in his eyes.

He knew very well how to play this scene - the gambler needed to show enthusiasm in order to cover up the edge of rationality.

He licked the corner of his lips, as if thinking for a second, then said with a smile:

"interesting."

He lowered his head and adjusted his cuffs, as if he was about to walk towards the players at the card table, then raised his head and gave Leng Ji a smile that was very characteristic of a gambler.

"Then please help me, Miss Leng Ji, to make the connection."

As soon as he finished speaking, the smile in Leng Ji's eyes was magnified. She looked at Si Ming and smiled meaningfully.

"Of course, I'd love to."

A gambling game is about to begin.

"Is fate's favor a blessing or a curse?"

"Can Siming's chips really turn the tables?"

"In this world, there is no real 'luck', only carefully woven lies."

"A good poker player never participates in an unknown game. If you want me to play, at least let me know the rules."

Leng Ji's introduction allowed Siming to stand in front of the woman in black. She sat at the bar, her aura cold and her eyes sharp, her fingers gently tapping the wine glass, as if weighing something.

Leng Ji smiled and mixed two glasses of wine for them. Then he patted the bar lightly and raised his eyebrows at them: "Have a good chat."

Then she left.

Siming did not speak immediately. He just looked at the woman quietly, as if observing a card that had just been dealt to him.

She didn't trust herself, that was for sure.

Sure enough, the woman spoke first, her tone polite but with a clear rejection:
"I need something that's certain. After all, I could lose my life in this game, so I have to choose carefully. I'm sorry, sir."

Her tone wasn't sharp, but it held a certain stubborn defensiveness, as if any thoughtless action would cause her to end the conversation immediately.

Siming smiled slightly and did not refute immediately, but instead sorted out his thoughts a little.

Leng Ji has left, so now it’s time for him to change his identity.

A gambler with great luck? A favorite of the goddess of fate?

He rubbed his temples slowly, speaking in a softer tone with a hint of apology:

"I'm sorry for the presumptuous act of introducing myself. Miss Leng Ji told me that what you need is good luck, so I came to give it a try."

He paused, then smiled modestly yet with a hint of confidence.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Siming, and I'm a small gambler playing cards in the casino. I've always had good luck. How about you give it a try?"

His tone was extremely tempting, as if inviting the other party to place a bet, and this bet was full of unknown possibilities.

The woman frowned slightly, as if considering the possibility of success.

"Luck?" She tilted her head, thinking seriously about the concept.

She was weighing the risks - if Siming's luck was really as he said, then she might be able to turn the tables in this gamble.

But if it was just the ravings of a boastful gambler, she might die a horrible death.

加注
Sima Ming observed her micro-expressions and knew that her defenses had not completely dissipated.

So he raised the stakes appropriately.

"Although I have just become a secret master and don't know much about my secrets, I am clear about one of my abilities." Siming said slowly, tapping his fingers lightly on the bar.

"Its description is very clear. There's a 90% chance of fate favoring me after it's triggered. That's more than enough for me to win most of the pots. Isn't it?"

He spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, as if he was stating an irrefutable fact.

The woman was stunned for a moment, then smiled and shook her head gently.

"A 90% chance is indeed a good probability." She laughed softly, a hint of hesitation flashing in her eyes.

If she had such good luck, she would probably buy lottery tickets every day, waiting for the day when she would become rich.

But at this moment, her bet is not just money, but her life.

Unfortunately... she had no other choice.

The woman took a deep breath, as if she had finally made a decision.

She slowly extended her hand, ready to shake hands to seal a cooperation agreement: "Okay, sir, you've convinced me."

But just when she was about to touch Siming's hand, Siming did not respond immediately. Instead, he folded his arms slightly and looked at her indifferently.

"However, as a poker player, I'm not used to participating in gambling games with unknown rules." His voice was still gentle, but it revealed a sharp calmness.

"Before I join, can I know...how your game is played?"

His eyes flickered slightly, with the caution unique to gamblers.

A smart gambler will never enter an unknown game.

The woman was silent for a moment, then withdrew her hand and began to organize her words.

"Of course." Her tone relaxed a little. "Commoner, noble, king—a three-card guessing game."

When Siming heard the name, he raised his eyebrows slightly.

The woman continued, "I've arranged with them to have it in two hours in a private room on the third floor of the Golden Country Casino. You've probably played there before, right?"

A meaningful smile appeared on Siming's lips.

"Of course." He raised his hand gently and rubbed his thumb slowly across the joint of his index finger.

"I am a master of my craft. Fortune has always been kind to me, my lady."

This time, he took the initiative to extend his hand.

The woman was stunned for a moment, then the corners of her mouth rose slightly and she stretched out her hand to shake hands with him.

"Very good, my name is Nashanova, Mr. Sima."

The two shook hands and reached a cooperation agreement.

Commoners, nobles, kings - this game is a complete game of strategy.

Three cards: Commoner, Noble, King. Each person draws one card without being seen by the other.

The common people are eaten by the nobles, the nobles are eaten by the king, and the king is eaten by the common people - a cycle of checks and balances.

Players can deceive their opponents through language, psychological suggestion, false information, etc., causing them to misjudge the cards in their hands.

Luck and lies are the main themes of this game.

This is not just a simple game of luck, but a deep psychological warfare.

And what Sima Ming is best at is deception and psychological games.

This bet was enough to excite him.

Fate's favor? Perhaps... he didn't need it at all.

But he knew that this was not just a gamble, but a real game of life and death.

"The gambling game is about to begin."

"A true gambler doesn't rely on luck, but controls it."

"And in this round, who holds the chips of fate?"

(End of this chapter)