"Young master, this... this doesn't seem appropriate?"
"What's there to fear? It's fine."
"But... I'm still a bit nervous."
"That's how it always is the first time."
"I'm scared, though."
"Don’t be. I’m here with you. Once you try it, you’ll love the feeling."
"That thrill and excitement will become addictive. Don’t worry."
"But..."
"Enough with the 'buts'! Are you two betting or not? It’s just a game of high or low—why so hesitant?"
"Damn, listen to that nonsense. I was starting to hallucinate, thinking I’d walked into the wrong place."
"Tell me about it. I almost mistook this gambling den for a brothel."
"Hurry up! Are you betting or not? If not, don’t waste our time."
Inside the Peace Gambling House, the chatter of the others made Gu Xian'er even more nervous. She couldn’t decide whether to bet on high or low.
She glanced at Chen Chang'an for help, only to receive an encouraging look in return.
"Then... high it is!"
Gritting her teeth, Gu Xian'er pushed all the gold in her hand onto "high."
Seeing her bet, the others immediately piled their money on "low," which infuriated Gu Xian'er. What did they mean by that? Was her luck really that terrible?
"Bets are closed!"
"Open!"
"Four, five, six—fifteen points, high!"
The dice dealer’s face paled as he saw the result.
How could this be?
He had controlled the dice—it should’ve been low. Why was it high?
"Young master, I won! I won!"
Gu Xian'er’s heart finally settled. Who knew such a simple gamble could be so thrilling?
"See? I told you—nothing to worry about with me here," Chen Chang'an said with a smile.
"Mhm, you’re amazing, young master."
Gu Xian'er nodded excitedly, then held out her hand, signaling the dealer to pay up.
The dealer broke into a cold sweat at the sight of the gold on the table. How had the bet gotten so big?
If he paid out, he’d probably lose his job. But if he didn’t... with so many witnesses, the gambling house’s reputation would be ruined.
"This... this amount is quite substantial. I’ll need to inform the manager."
"Please wait a moment, you two."
Upon hearing the news, the manager rushed over. A loss like this could wipe out half a year’s profits for the gambling house.
After all, Gu Xian'er had bet a hundred thousand taels of gold—not silver!
"Manager, these two are cheating. I controlled the dice, but when they opened..." The dealer whispered the details.
Hmm?
Daring to cheat here? Were they trying to cause trouble?
Though furious, the manager kept his composure. Business had to go on.
But they had no intention of letting Chen Chang'an walk away with the money.
"Might I ask which esteemed families you two hail from? You seem unfamiliar," the manager asked with a smile.
"Just passing through. Thought we’d try our luck for fun," Chen Chang'an replied casually.
Passing through?
So they were outsiders?
Good. That made things easier.
"Hahaha! A hundred thousand taels of gold—just for fun?"
"You must come from illustrious families to gamble so recklessly."
"Peace Gambling House prides itself on fairness. Since you’ve won, we’ll honor it."
"Someone, fetch a hundred thousand taels in gold notes from the treasury."
"Yes, sir."
The manager’s swift compliance earned admiration from the other gamblers.
"Now that’s the Peace Gambling House for you—generous to the core. A hundred thousand gold, not even a blink!"
"Of course. That’s why you should always gamble here. Reliable and trustworthy."
"Any other place, and these two would’ve been in trouble."
Soon, the treasury delivered the gold notes. Handing them to Chen Chang'an, the manager smiled. "Care to continue?"
"No, we’ve had our fill. We’ll stop here."
"Very well. Safe travels, then."
Truthfully, the manager was relieved Chen Chang'an didn’t keep playing. Even if they could reclaim the money later, the losses from other gamblers following his bets would be catastrophic.
So when Chen Chang'an left, the manager didn’t stop him—just signaled his enforcers with a glance.
Outside, Da Huang’s eyes lit up at the sight of them. "Did you win?"
"Obviously. When have I ever lost?"
"A hundred thousand gold—enough for you to splurge."
"Hehehe, perfect! Brothel time, brothel time!"
Chen Chang'an rubbed his temples. All of this was Xuan Wudao’s fault!
"Let’s find a place to eat first."
"We’ve been traveling nonstop—haven’t had a proper meal in ages."
"Tch. You can eat at a brothel too."
"Shut up."
Ignoring Da Huang, Chen Chang'an strode ahead.
After a few steps, Gu Xian'er frowned. "Young master, the gambling house’s men are following us."
"I know."
"Should I deal with them?"
"No need. Let them follow."
Two streets later, the pursuers quickened their pace.
Soon, they surrounded Chen Chang'an and Gu Xian'er.
"Kid, you dare cheat at Peace Gambling House? You’ve got a death wish."
"Hand over the gold notes, and we’ll let you live."
Chen Chang'an regarded them calmly. "Do you know what happens to those who cross me?"
"Hahaha! I don’t know what happens to you, but I know what’ll happen to us if we don’t get that money back."
"Enough talk. Don’t make us use force."
Force?
"Ah, what a pity."
"You’re really making this difficult for me."
"Fine. Can’t be bothered with you."
"Da Huang..."
Woof woof woof!
Da Huang’s sudden barking startled the thugs.
Seizing the moment, the dog bolted past them.
"Damn it, Da Huang, you bastard!"
"Xian'er, run!"
Cursing, Chen Chang'an grabbed Gu Xian'er’s hand and sprinted away, leaving her utterly bewildered.
"Damn! Thought he was tough. After them!"
The men gave chase but soon realized they couldn’t keep up.
"How... how are they so fast?"
"Ugh... screw this. I can’t run anymore."
"I can't go on, I'm completely out of strength. You guys chase ahead, I'll catch up later."
"Chase my ass! They're already long gone!"
Seeing no one pursuing them, Chen Chang'an finally stopped running and turned to glare at Da Huang.
"Da Huang, you actually ran first?"
"Duh. If I didn’t run first, you would’ve bolted."
"That’s so disloyal of you!"
"Pfft, pot calling the kettle black. Don’t think I don’t know what you were planning—using me as a decoy to draw their attention."
"That’s an insult to my character!"
"You have character?"
"Master, why… why did we even run?" Gu Xian'er was utterly baffled. Those people? Even she could’ve wiped them out with a wave of her hand.
But Chen Chang'an and Da Huang were clearly powerful. Why flee?
"This is called fun."
"Life shouldn’t be taken too seriously. Never had an experience like this before, have you?"
"Definitely not."
"Exactly. You’ve got to try everything once to truly savor the flavor of it all."
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
