Chapter 34: Breaking the Game

The air froze.

Lin Han's fingertips barely touched the dice when a bone-chilling coldness surged up his arm, piercing straight to his heart. He flinched instinctively—his palm had already turned pale.

This was no ordinary dice.

It felt alive, like a relic from some ancient, cursed entity, slowly devouring anyone who dared to make contact.

"Walau eh…" Noya muttered through clenched teeth. Her gaze locked onto the dice's intricate carvings, and under a certain angle, the engraved numbers seemed to be trembling.

Su Xueqing's brows furrowed. Her hand was already gripping the hilt of her blade, ready to strike. But Lin Han knew—violence wouldn't solve this.

The game must go on.

First Roll: Phantom Numbers

Lin Han took a deep breath and clenched the dice—he could feel an invisible resistance, as if something was trying to wrestle control from his grip. With all his strength, he threw it!

The dice tumbled across the table, the sound echoing through the casino. Each bounce struck like a hammer against their nerves.

It stopped.

Everyone looked down—six.

A heavy silence fell over the room.

The suited man across the table curled his lips into a subtle smile. "Not bad." He casually picked up the dice, rolling it between his fingers before smirking. "But this round isn't about who gets the higher number."

Lin Han's heart sank.

With a flick of his wrist, the man tossed the dice back onto the table—it spun momentarily before settling on a two.

Su Xueqing's pupils dilated. She stared hard at the dice, barely catching a glimpse of something devouring the six, reshaping it into a two—as if the past itself had been rewritten.

"You lost this round," the man said flatly.

Second Roll: Betting with Life

"Hold on."

Noya suddenly spoke, tapping the table twice with her fingertips. The crisp sound cut through the tension as she smirked at the suited man.

"Didn't you say we could choose?" she asked, tilting her head. "Either we roll the dice… or we exchange a life?"

The man's smile deepened. "And what do you propose?"

Without hesitation, Noya pointed at herself. "Me."

Lin Han's eyes widened, his chest tightening.

"Don't be ridiculous," his voice was low, carrying an edge of frustration.

"I'm not," Noya shrugged, but her expression was dead serious. "I've seen worse in my life. What's one more gamble?"

She paused, her lips curling up slightly as she glanced at Lin Han.

"Sakit kah?"

Lin Han's breath hitched.

It was the same phrase. The same words she had whispered that night in the rain, her fingers grazing over the old scars on his chest.

She had a plan.

Revealing the Foreshadowing: The Curse of Genting

The suited man chuckled, standing up as he adjusted his sleeves.

"Alright. I accept the trade."

With a casual wave of his hand, the entire casino shattered.

Chandeliers, liquor shelves, poker tables—everything crumbled into fragments, disintegrating like shattered glass.

A heavy, metallic scent filled the air.

Lin Han's vision blurred for a moment, then refocused.

They were no longer in the casino.

They had returned to the abandoned temple on Genting Highlands.

And beneath the suited man's cloak, something briefly flashed—a logo.

The emblem of the Genting Group.

Lin Han's stomach twisted.

They had never truly escaped this cursed place.

The air was so heavy it could squeeze out cold sweat. Lin Han's fingertips still carried the scorching sensation of the dice. He instinctively withdrew his hand, only to hear Noya chuckle lightly—a laugh filled with mockery, yet laced with something else.

"What, scared to lose?" She tilted her head, her tone provocative as her fingers tapped lightly on the table.

"Walau eh, you really damn jialat." Lin Han cursed under his breath, but his gaze remained locked onto the suited man across the table.

"The rules have changed." The suited man slowly turned his wrist, his joints letting out a faint crack. His smile remained, but Lin Han could tell—his patience was running out.

"For this round, your lives are the real stakes."

First Round: The Shadow of the Dice

The moment the dice landed, the surroundings blurred for a brief instant. Lin Han's pupils shrank—he saw it clearly, the dice's shadow was reversed!

"This isn't right," Su Xueqing whispered. She had already drawn her dagger, the blade reflecting a cold glint under the dim light.

The dice stopped—six.

"We won?" Lin Han could hardly believe it.

But the suited man simply shook his head. He slowly extended his hand, long fingers gently covering the dice.

Then, something terrifying happened.

The shadow of the dice began to tremble, dissolve, and twist, until it turned into a puddle of pitch-black liquid, which seeped into the table and vanished!

When they looked at the dice again—the number had changed to one!

"Your fate is no longer in your hands," the suited man said with a smile. "The moment the dice landed, the past and future had already changed."

A chill ran down Lin Han's spine.

He suddenly realized a crucial fact—perhaps they were never meant to win in the first place.

Second Round: Su Xueqing's Choice

"I'll play this round."

Su Xueqing's voice was unnervingly calm as she let her fingertips brush against the sharp edge of her blade, a flicker of something unreadable in her eyes.

Without hesitation, she grabbed the dice and threw it.

The dice tumbled in the air, leaving faint, flickering afterimages as though time itself had slowed.

Finally, it stopped—five.

This time, the suited man did not move. Instead, he raised an eyebrow.

"Interesting."

He slowly lifted a hand and pointed to his left eye—only then did Lin Han notice that deep within the man's pupil, a tiny phantom dice was reflecting the exact same number as the one on the table!

The suited man chuckled. "Dice don't lie... but people do."

The next moment, Su Xueqing suddenly let out a muffled groan and dropped to one knee, clutching her left eye—blood seeping through her fingers!

Lin Han's face changed instantly. He rushed forward to hold her.

"Xueqing!"

Her body trembled slightly, and in her left eye, the shadow of a dice had appeared!

The dice had become a part of her.

Old Wounds Resurfacing: Lin Han's Hallucination

Noya suddenly leaned in close, her fingers brushing against Lin Han's wrist as she whispered: "Do you remember?"

Her nails scraped lightly over an old scar on his hand.

Lin Han's heart stopped for half a second.

Of course, he remembered.

That night in the rain, Noya's palm had also brushed across his chest like this. Her voice had been just as soft, carrying a barely noticeable tremble: "Sakit kah?"

Now, she was asking him again.

But this time, he was too afraid to answer.

Breaking the Illusion: The Cursed Dice Game

"Stop struggling." The suited man finally stood up, sweeping his gaze over the three of them before settling on Noya.

"Don't you understand yet?" He smiled lightly. "This dice game was never just a gamble."

The surrounding space began to collapse, and an eerie murmuring echoed through the air.

This wasn't a game. It was a ritual.

Lin Han clenched his fists, finally realizing the truth—the dice had never been a tool to decide winners and losers. It was a medium for sacrifice.

At least one of them was not going to leave this place alive.

"I don't believe in this bullshit." Lin Han took a deep breath and suddenly slammed his hand on the table, speaking each word clearly:

"One more round."

The suited man's smile widened.

"Very well."