Chapter 310: Colosseum (18) “Why Not Make a Bet”

“I bet that I can become a god.” Qi Si’s eyes were bloodshot, the silent monologue echoing in his heart.

A pawn without desire isn’t worth a god’s extra Chips, and the Colosseum instance seemed to be Li’s domain, fraught with killing intent.

As Qi retreated behind the scenes, the god on the other side of the chessboard had ample reason to favor his own proxy and raise his pawn to the divine throne.

This was only fair; if their identities and situations were reversed, Qi would do the same—the only difference being how obvious he was about it.

But why be a pawn at the mercy of others? Why… not sit in the player’s seat?

Qi Si could feel that outside the Gods Gamble, under the mechanisms of the Colosseum instance itself, he had similarly been pushed to the edge of the board.

Not just because of Chang Xu, which made him an overt target for assassination in the main quest, but also because the initial passive situation had triggered a chain reaction, leaving him at a disadvantage in points as well.

It was only the second day of the instance, yet he had been heavily wounded as The Undying. While he wouldn’t die immediately, he couldn’t heal either… If he didn’t make a plan, only a slow death awaited him.

Qi Si knew he had to bet.

If he won, there was a slim chance of survival; if he lost, it was just death.

He looked up to meet the gaze of the religious mural on the dome, which looked down at his dying self.

The artwork, battered and ruined by the winds and frosts of time, showed only a blurred outline, yet he suddenly knew what was depicted on it.

It was a dead god.

In the Hopeless Sea instance, Qi Si had once said to Yuna, who harbored ambitions of godhood: “Before the Messiah establishes his kingdom, he must suffer and die.”

So now, was he also to undergo such a process?

Looking down from the high heavens, one could see a patch of striking crimson spreading in the center of the image, with grayish-black and dark red surging and writhing around it.

Every Rat-man in the courtyard received a drop of fresh blood. The Rat-man responsible for distributing the blood used a snake-hair to dab it onto their foreheads. Like sweet rain seeping into long-parched sand, it silently dissolved the curse that had plagued them for years.

The Sword of Damocles hanging overhead, triggered by desire, collapsed with a crash. After being reborn, the Rat-people simultaneously developed a devout faith—not a fanatical belief bred from deception or mockery, but a longing and gratitude for salvation.

One after another, they looked up solemnly and gravely at the young man lying in a pool of blood, waiting for the god’s instructions like pilgrims, and finally received the divine oracle before the god’s slumber.

—They would strictly execute it… Nian Fu watched helplessly as Qi Si lost his breath after draining all his blood. His eyes were closed on his pale face, looking like a real corpse.

The notification for the main quest’s completion, however, was long in coming.

For a moment, she couldn’t judge Qi Si’s state: was he still alive and just in a deep sleep, or was he already dead but the quest wasn’t considered complete because he wasn’t killed by a player?

She couldn’t figure it out, so she could only grasp the pendant on her chest and recount everything that had happened since going underground to “that person” without omission, including the two options Qi Si had given: “conceal the death” and “hand over the corpse.”

After hearing her report, “that person” pondered for a moment and then smiled, “I think Qi Si already knows the solution to this game. The Balance Guild of victory is tipping toward our side.”

Nian Fu still trusted “that person’s” judgment.

In the past, she had fallen into danger countless times and relied on “that person’s” schemes to escape. She believed it would be the same this time.

Of course, even if she wanted to make other plans, hand over the corpse in time, and defect to the other side, she had no way.

The Rat-people were currently conscientiously carrying Qi Si’s body, escorting it in a crowd into a cave where bricks and stones were still falling from the ruins, with no telling where they would hide him.

A few Rat-men remained behind, diligently cleaning up the bloodstains left on the ground, seemingly trying to make it difficult for latecomers to understand what had happened here.

After those Rat-men finished washing the ground, they surrounded Nian Fu, who was sitting on the tiger and dared not move, and said in a respectful tone, “The Lord God said that you are the bridge of communication between Him and us, the Prophet of our tribe. We will do our best to ensure your safety.”

After the curse was lifted, the Rat-people became much friendlier, seemingly transforming into communicative friendly NPCs—though only for Qi Si and Nian Fu.

Nian Fu was still in a daze regarding Qi Si’s operations. She forced a stiff, friendly smile and asked, “Did Qi… did the Lord God say anything else to you?”

The Rat-people bowed, their posture even more devout: “The Lord God said to preserve His remains; He will be resurrected in the future.”

Nian Fu couldn’t imagine what kind of skill was so powerful that one could still be lively for a while after their internal organs were shattered, and then have a chance at resurrection after their blood had run dry and their body had gone cold.

If she couldn’t figure it out, she wouldn’t think about it. Generally speaking, although Qi Si didn’t seem particularly extraordinary, his reserve of items was impressive, and his abilities were eerie and mysterious. Her investment was yielding a profit rather than a loss.

With the protection of the Rat-people, regardless of whether Qi Si could successfully resurrect in the end, she wouldn’t be killed by Chang Xu.

There was nearly an hour left before the Colosseum Game ended, and Nian Fu didn’t plan to return to the Colosseum immediately.

The direction of the animal chess didn’t matter; no matter how it was calculated, the other players couldn’t get to her. Under the watchful eyes of hostile players, it really wasn’t as safe as this cave full of allies.

—Better to stay put, take the opportunity to flesh out the world-building a bit, and earn some performance points.

In the dim and lightless environment, Nian Fu sat leisurely amidst the tiger’s soft fur and said to the Rat-people with a smile, “There’s still some time. Tell me about your past experiences.”

…Qi Si was actually not sure if he could resurrect. To be precise, he felt that he would most likely not survive.

The prophecy about resurrection he told the Rat-people was just a casually placed pawn, a bit of bad taste in playing god.

For the so-called “resurrection” to be realized, it had to pass through two key nodes: one with Chang Xu and the other with Lin Chen, neither of which was within his current control.

To make things develop as he had planned, he had to rely on the favor of fate and bet on an extremely low probability.

And even if the plan succeeded, whether he could finally come back to life would depend on the final interpretation of the rules… Qi Si felt that dying in the Colosseum instance might be the final conclusion given by fate.

Even if he were to come back to life later, what walked the world might be nothing more than the lingering delay of an unwilling remnant soul… The moment the number next to The Undying icon turned to 【0%】, Qi Si’s vision was enveloped by a dark void.

He drifted in the void like rootless duckweed, unable to move, speak, or see… His five senses left him, and his body seemed to be stripped away. He was just a clump of residual consciousness or a memory, drifting in the ocean where all souls would eventually converge.

He thought of everything that had happened in the past twenty-two years. Recalling specific events was too taxing, so they turned into a torrent of vibrant colors washing over him, finally leaving a wisp of dark blood-red.

He thought of the day he entered the Eerie Game. At that time, he also held a half-dead attitude, enjoying the years leaking away like fine sand in a countdown like a walking corpse, but then he suddenly learned of the Eerie Game’s existence.

Thus, he gained more interesting experiences, saw many bright scenes, and tried many things he would never do in reality.

His unchanging life branched out from there, yet it ultimately returned to the common end point of death.

Qi Si found his state of mind surprisingly calm, even feeling that staying in the Colosseum instance was a good ending.

The composition of ruins and a pool of blood was aesthetic enough. The divine corpse waiting for resurrection in the Ark had a “religious significance.” Those Rat-people would surely take good care of his body and wouldn’t let it look too unsightly.

Time passed minute by minute, or perhaps there was no concept of time in the realm of death. After an unknown amount of time, his five senses gradually returned, allowing him to hear sounds.

“Qi Si, I didn’t expect to see you again so soon.” In the darkness, the red-clothed, red-eyed god appeared and looked down at him. “You seem to have run into some trouble. Considering the issue of sunk costs, I might be able to make a deal with you.”

“No need.” Qi Si found that he could see now.

He looked at the uninvited Qi and answered silently with his consciousness: “You found that I didn’t grow as you expected, so you deliberately set up an extreme situation to push me to a dead end, making it easier to kick me while I’m down and hike up the price.

“Creating demand and then setting a price is a good business practice. Unfortunately, I suddenly realized that even after knowing the taste of death, I have no desire to survive.”

Qi sighed: “You always think the worst of me; it really saddens me.

“The Colosseum is a ‘Eerie Game’ created by Li that belongs solely to Him, and I am bound by the rules and cannot intervene. Now, we can be said to’share honor and disgrace.’

“I don’t understand what information Li told you using the instance’s mechanisms, but I can tell you that desire is not a necessity for existence. All gods have no desire.”

A seamless explanation, with no flaws or errors to be found.

Qi Si regained the ability to speak and said lukewarmly, “I know this information, but I believe there is some connection between gods and desire.”

“You’ve guessed correctly.” Qi smiled approvingly and suddenly leaned down.

Countless blood-colored threads spread from His body, extending in all directions, connecting thousands of ethereal human figures that flickered and intertwined in the vast darkness.

He said, “Gods are the carriers of desire. The desires of the world’s people sketch the form and shadow of the gods.”

Qi Si remembered the dream he had on the first night of entering the instance.

The monster with his face smeared the desires of all living beings onto his body, and so he was seen by all living beings.

What all living beings saw was not him, but the desires they carried that were borne by him. They longed for their desires to be realized, so they believed in gods.

From Rose Manor to Wraith, the core of every instance was desire.

Pursuing beauty, survival, freedom, money, fame… The world’s people are bustling and scrambling, all because they cannot let go of desire.

“They have desires for you, so their souls are under your control. And you seem unable to control me anymore.” Qi Si lowered his gaze and saw that there was no red line connecting him and Qi. The line that had once been tied to his pinky in the Hopeless Sea instance was also gone.

“Because you have no humanity, you only treat all experiences as part of the fun, and after being satisfied, you quickly lose interest in seeking more.”

Qi said in a declarative tone: “In the past twenty-two years, you have felt desire three times, and only those three times:

“The first time was ten years ago, when you developed a longing for bloody slaughter, a desire that grew to an uncontrollable extent. You killed for the first time and have since treated killing as ordinary as eating or drinking.

“The second time was six years ago, when you neared death under abuse and bullying, and felt the desire to live amidst the pain. I saved you, pulling you out of the quagmire of death.

“The third time was in the Hopeless Sea instance, when you realized your disadvantage and couldn’t find a possibility of victory, but you wanted to win. So I helped you win that game.

“Unfortunately, the feeling of desire cannot remain in your heart for long. You are like a sheet of transparent plastic; no pigment can color you.”

“So you regret helping me. If I had remained unsatisfied, my desire might have been exceptionally surging.” Qi Si commented casually, then negated himself, “No, this game has no solution. If I had died at the very beginning, you would have also lost the Gods Gamble.”

He thought for a moment and laughed self-deprecatingly: “Looking at it this way, there’s something wrong with my factory settings. Not adding any humanity at all is bound to lead to trouble.”

“No.” Qi shook his head, “I never intended to control you. I hope that one day you will take my place and participate in this gamble as a player.”

This wasn’t the first time He had expressed a similar sentiment, yet its veracity remained questionable.

Qi Si gave an “oh” and tilted his head: “Unfortunately, I’m already dead. Dead as a doornail. You can’t cheat and bring me back to life again, can you?”

Qi said indifferently: “There’s no need to test me with such words; all the information is already out in the open. When you clear the Colosseum instance, I will tell you the final part of the truth you are curious about.”

“You’ve placed a great deal of confidence in a tiny probability, as if you’re certain I can be resurrected.” Qi Si looked at the red-clothed god with a half-smile, “I always feel like you know something I don’t.”

“It’s just a bet.” Qi laughed, “Just like the bet you made with Li.”

Qi Si also wore an identical smile on his face: “Ho, so you knew.”

…Two hours ago, inside the high tower.

Qi Si said to the Idol sitting on the shrine, “Li, long time no see. Interested in making a deal?”

Li revealed his form in the Sangshen Temple, looking down at him: “You and Chang Xu are already in a life-and-death situation, and I am his bettor—you know all of this.”

“But I’ve always believed that there are no permanent friends, only permanent interests.” Qi Si curled his lips into a sincere smile, “I believe I can offer you greater value than Chang Xu. To put it bluntly—I would be a more suitable pawn than him.”

“With your current strength, you are not qualified to negotiate a deal with me.”

“But I don’t think so.” Qi Si looked up, his smile remaining, “Lord God, why not make a bet?

“I bet that in this game, I will be the one to live until the end.”