novelraw Chapter 141: Clash! Have We Met Before?
Chapter 141: Clash! Have We Met Before?
Lu Ce looked with some surprise at Xie Antong, who now seemed like a completely different person.
Under the current conditions, the Lust Mask’s emotional manipulation had become extremely difficult, nearly impossible to sense.
Was that drug really that effective? If it worked that instantly, he kind of wanted it too.
Moreover, just in terms of aura and presence, her overall level had risen by a whole tier.
At the very least, at this gambling table where fists and firearms were sealed, she was now someone qualified to sit across from him.
“Heh, what’s this? Switched out to someone else? You got split personalities?” Lu Ce looked at Xie Antong across the table and sat a bit more upright as he spoke.
“Not quite switching to someone else.” Xie Antong tried her best to keep her flying hair under control. She still had no idea why her hair turned like this every time.
“Just like when you were ten years old—same person, but naturally your thoughts and mindset were totally different from now.”
“Oh.” Lu Ce nodded. “So basically, you’re saying you’ve aged quite a bit.”
Xie Antong: ......“You sure have a talent for analogies.”
With that, she stopped exchanging jabs with “Sin” and lifted her gaze to take in the purple room, her eyes unfocusing as her mind began to rewind everything.
In that brief moment, she had completely forgotten that the person sitting across from her was the terrifying world number one. She was simply enjoying the sudden surge of power.
It was just like when Lu Ce first broke through his genetic lock and added points to his strength—that euphoric rush of power far beyond his comprehension.
But Lu Ce’s power was permanent and constantly increasing, so he eventually adapted. Her current mental strength, however, hadn’t adapted yet.
Unadapted power was the most exhilarating.
Looking around at the purple room—it felt like the perfect mental shield, cutting off all external information from the world.
But as soon as her mind began to recall, the entire timeline started replaying in her head. The whole world surged toward her like crashing waves!
Every person’s image, every frame that had once flashed through her mind but hadn’t been paid attention to, was now crystal clear.
Smiles at the corners of people’s mouths, furrowed brows, colors on the bones of the Fake Humans, walking gaits, the surging Black Sea, a beam of light, a gust of wind—they all echoed through her mind.
Every connection that could’ve been missed was now extremely obvious. She realized that Jiu Tian must’ve come from a violent authority but definitely not the military; that Li Wei’s one-sided disc herniation might be an occupational illness from truck driving; that his bone structure was off—probably had cosmetic surgery recently.
She remembered the suspicions about classmates in her class; Lu Ce’s ability definitely related to physical enhancement! The classmate by the window was probably a Chosen One too—just no one had said anything…
Even more chaotic, incomprehensible information poured in—but instead of pain, she let out a low moan of pleasure and opened her eyes.
In that instant, the flood of information was instantly cut off and locked onto one target—
The man before her.
He was the key to everything! The most important thing at this moment.
The moment Xie Antong’s gaze refocused and landed on him, Lu Ce felt for a second like his underwear had just been seen through.
Good thing he had the Lust Mask on—it wasn’t just for covering his face. Otherwise, he’d wonder if he’d just been recognized.
And then, the first clash between the two had already begun.
Nothing to do with the cards.
“Not used to it, huh?” Xie Antong looked at “Sin” and smiled.
“That mask of yours is Lust. Doesn’t suit you, does it? You don’t handle it nearly as smoothly as the previous masks.”
Lu Ce’s index finger was tapping lightly on the table. At her words, it suddenly stopped.
Xie Antong twirled her long hair around a finger and continued:
“Your masks represent the Seven Deadly Sins. Each one gives a different ability bonus, and also a side effect. The stronger the side effect, the stronger the bonus.”
“So every time, you deliberately dive into the side effects in exchange for more power.”
“But this time, it’s obvious you’re not comfortable. Which proves that this whole lust, OCD, vanity thing—it’s way too far from your true personality.”
“You’re absolutely not like this in real life.”
“But the masks you handled so well before—that proves those qualities were already part of your nature: wrath, greed, chaos, madness—you’re used to those.”
“Gang member? Underworld? Or maybe you just had a really tragic life.”
She kept dissecting from an information standpoint, her eyes fixed on “Sin’s” hand that was drumming on the table.
She knew he must also be using some kind of mental ability, trying to disturb her emotions.
They were doing the same thing—both trying to disrupt the other’s mind and gain a mental edge.
But when she saw that hand, Xie Antong was truly shocked. Before, she hadn’t been sure. Now she realized—this world’s number one was terrifyingly young!
Right now, major organizations had profile sketches of “Sin” pegged as a 30–40-year-old with either a mental illness history or criminal background.
But this hand—she remembered clearly—it was original, not some regenerated product from the game.
“You’re actually... this young.”
Xie Antong stared hard at that hand. Suddenly, a flood of inexplicable information surged into her brain, and even in her current state, she felt mentally overloaded.
Why did this hand... feel so strangely familiar?
Huh?
She felt weird. A stabbing pain pricked inside her head.
She suddenly had an urge—wanted to pull another injection from her backpack, to push her limits even further.
But right now, her body was already nearing its threshold...
Bang!
Suddenly, an unpleasant sound snapped her out of her mental world. She realized “Sin” had slammed his index finger down hard on the table.
A dent had formed on the purple table—that’s how much force was behind that one tap.
Lu Ce leaned back slightly in his chair, clapped slowly, and smiled:
“Hahahaha, not bad, not bad. Looks like I finally gave myself a halfway decent opponent.”
“Good analysis. You almost stripped me bare.”
“But I only have one question… what’s the cost?”