Contempt

Ren Yi looked at him, his tone tinged with amusement. "You said before that you didn't think you'd die in the entertainment city."

"It seems you were right."

The Battle-Damaged Guy's smile widened. He reached up to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, his tone light. "Indeed. It's all thanks to your help."

"With you here, I knew I wouldn't die."

On Ren Yi's shoulder, Wang Zhixin stood quietly, showing no signs of agitation and offering no warning.

So, was he telling the truth this time?

It was the complete opposite of before.

Had he changed his mind after achieving his goal and finding he had room to breathe?

The smile on Ren Yi's face gradually faded, and his gaze grew somber.

He stared intently at the Battle-Damaged Guy and spoke slowly.

"You're very optimistic."

"Optimism is a good thing."

He changed the subject, his eyes sharpening as he asked each word with deliberate weight.

"So, Mr. New God of Gamblers, isn't it time we discussed your true purpose for coming here?"

The smile on the Battle-Damaged Guy's face stiffened. He looked at Ren Yi, remained silent for a few seconds, and then suddenly spoke.

"Sir, I thought you wouldn't care about such things."

Ren Yi shook his head slightly. "I'm just curious."

"After all, betting one's life on a single gamble can't be that simple."

The Battle-Damaged Guy looked at him, realizing he could no longer hide the truth, and gave a somewhat helpless smile.

Instead of answering directly, he asked a question in return. "Mr. Ren Yi, what do you think my purpose is?"

Ren Yi fell silent for a moment, then began to list possibilities casually.

"I've considered many things."

"For instance, do you have some secret method to plunder the God of Gamblers' Luck talent for yourself?"

"Or perhaps you wanted to rescue him and use his Luck to find a way to save the world."

"Or maybe you were searching for such a top-tier talent user to use his power to supplement or repair the world's will?"

He rattled off several theories, each more imaginative than the last.

The Battle-Damaged Guy's smile became even more helpless. "You think far too highly of a small fry like me."

"In any case, it seems none of those guesses were right."

Ren Yi rubbed his chin, his eyes flickering as he posed another question.

"So, did you know the former God of Gamblers beforehand?"

"Do you believe his Luck is responsible for the world's destruction and want revenge?"

Hearing this, the Battle-Damaged Guy suddenly burst into laughter. His laughter grew louder, tinged with both relief and helplessness.

"You've misunderstood."

"I never said we knew each other."

"Hmm?" Ren Yi's gaze faltered, and he instinctively glanced at Wang Zhixin on his shoulder.

Wang Zhixin remained motionless.

Ren Yi knew that the Battle-Damaged Guy was likely telling the truth now.

But this answer was indeed unexpected, nearly overturning all his previous assumptions.

"But the former God of Gamblers acted as if he knew you," Ren Yi said, his tone filled with confusion and doubt.

"Yes, we 'knew' each other," the Battle-Damaged Guy said, still smiling. "It seems our previous conversation did cause some misunderstandings."

"But in reality, before today, he didn't even know who I was."

"The first time we met was in the entertainment city's restaurant. You were there, too."

"Then what were you doing when you went to see him back then?" Ren Yi asked, puzzled.

"Did you go there specifically to tell him you were from the Tiangan World?"

The Battle-Damaged Guy showed no surprise at the mention of the Tiangan World, as if he had long known Ren Yi was aware of it.

"To talk trash, of course. Cough, cough." He wiped the corner of his mouth, speaking as if it were obvious.

"Cough, cough, cough. Okay, cough, I'm joking."

"Actually, I went to see if he might have a sudden lapse in judgment and agree to a gamble with a 'stowaway' like me."

"Looking back, having no stake of my own while demanding the opponent provide the buy-in and the prize for a head-to-head confrontation..."

"...In the adult world, such a 'romantic' notion was far too idealistic..."

Romantic? What a bizarre choice of words.

Ren Yi helplessly wiped away non-existent sweat from his forehead.

Fine, it was his mistake to try and understand the Battle-Damaged Guy through normal logic.

"So, you went through all this trouble just like you said before..."

"...Because 'challenging the house to dethrone the guy with the Luck talent' is 'romantic'?"

"Cough, cough. No, cough, cough. That's not 'romantic,' that's just being a drama-lover."

The Battle-Damaged Guy immediately waved his hand, sternly criticizing the notion as if he were offended.

"And that 'saving the world' stuff you mentioned earlier is just too grim and heavy. It's not 'romantic' at all. I'm not that noble."

He quickly added an explanation, his tone carrying a hint of childish stubbornness.

"Then what is your idea of romance?" Ren Yi completely gave up on trying to follow his train of thought.

"For me, I suppose it's... killing someone I think deserves to die for reasons that have nothing to do with me. That's 'romance.'"

The Battle-Damaged Guy rubbed his chin and spoke with sincerity.

But in the end, you didn't "kill" the God of Gamblers.

Ren Yi watched the Battle-Damaged Guy's eyes but said nothing.

But the Battle-Damaged Guy clearly understood his look and gave a helpless smile.

"His Luck was in the way, so there was no helping it. Stopping him from doing any more evil is close enough to my goal."

"I see." Ren Yi nodded thoughtfully. "You think he's an evil man?"

"From what I've seen, he's just a pathetic man pushed into this entertainment city by his own Luck."

Ren Yi changed his tune. "And yet, to many people, he's a savior."

"Don't you think you might be biased?"

"To put it bluntly, your 'romance' is nothing more than a judgment from a purely personal perspective."

These words clearly provoked an unexpected reaction from the Battle-Damaged Guy.

He froze for a moment, then shook his head. "No, cough, cough, you've still misunderstood."

Justice has nothing to do with why I wanted to kill him.

It seemed the Battle-Damaged Guy had laughed enough. His expression settled into one of profound seriousness.

He looked at Ren Yi and spoke with that same stubbornness, enunciating every word.

"You're mistaken. I don't care about his past."

"World survival, talent plundering, saving my kin... those things are too far removed from me. I don't care about them."

"When he said he still trusted his talent implicitly, I knew I'd found the right person."

Then, he said something that Ren Yi felt he had heard somewhere before.

"I wanted to kill him simply because..."

"...I despise the current 'God of Gamblers,' that's all."