Chapter 59: The Forgotten Gamble

Lin Han took slow, deliberate steps toward the casino that the world had abandoned.

His heartbeat was heavy, each footstep pressing into a ground that felt… wrong. As if he were walking through a memory rather than reality.

In the distance, the ruins of Genting Casino loomed like a skeletal corpse. Once a beacon of greed and fortune, it now stood as a crumbling relic of something erased from existence.

The neon signs flickered, their once-bright lights now just floating fragments, hovering in midair like lost ghosts.

Lin Han tilted his head upward, staring at the rusted "Genting" sign, its edges corroded, its letters incomplete.

This place was never meant to exist.

But his instincts screamed at him—Ah Rong was here.

Taking a deep breath, Lin Han stepped inside.

The air inside was thick with the stench of old cigarettes, mixed with the damp, rotting scent of something long abandoned.

But what made Lin Han's skin crawl was—

The sound of gambling.

Not voices.

But the rhythmic clatter of dice rolling, the slow clicking of a roulette wheel, the faint rustling of cards being shuffled.

But there was no one there.

The casino was playing itself.

Lin Han approached a nearby blackjack table, his fingers grazing the surface.

A single card was already flipping over by itself.

Ace of Spades.

His blood ran cold.

Then—

He heard laughter.

A faint, distorted chuckle coming from across the table.

Lin Han's breath hitched as he snapped his head up.

"Took you long enough."

Lin Han's pupils constricted.

Ah Rong sat on the opposite side of the table, grinning just like he always did—but his body was distorted, his face blurred at the edges, as if he were a badly rendered image in a corrupted video file.

"Ah Rong?!" Lin Han's voice was hoarse with disbelief.

Ah Rong cocked his head to the side, still smiling. "Walau eh, you sure took your time. I was starting to think you weren't coming."

Lin Han rushed forward, reaching out—

His hand passed straight through Ah Rong.

Ah Rong wasn't real.

Lin Han stumbled back, his stomach twisting into knots.

Ah Rong looked down at his own hands, smirking. "Yeah, about that… I'm not exactly 'alive' anymore, bro."

Lin Han's throat tightened. "Then what are you?"

Ah Rong sighed, his expression unreadable. "A gamble."

Lin Han stiffened. "A what?"

Ah Rong gestured to the table.

"In this place, when the world erases you, you don't just 'die.'"

"You become a bet."

"If you want me back, you'll have to wager something in return."

Lin Han's heart clenched.

The air in the room suddenly grew colder, the walls around them warping like a melting painting.

Lin Han knew.

This was it.

If he lost, there was no coming back.

Ah Rong leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "But here's the catch—I can't play this round."

Lin Han's stomach dropped.

Ah Rong lifted his hands, looking at them with a sad smirk. His fingertips were turning translucent, like sand slipping through an hourglass. "I'm not a 'person' anymore. I'm just… waiting."

Lin Han clenched his fists.

Then—

A slow clap echoed through the empty casino.

Lin Han turned sharply.

P01 was standing at the entrance, watching them with his usual unreadable smirk.

"So, what will you bet?"

Lin Han slowly sank into the chair across from Ah Rong. His mind was racing.

"What are the rules?"

P01 snapped his fingers.

The cards on the table rearranged themselves.

Three golden cards floated before Lin Han.

The First Card: The Memory Card – The winner may steal a memory from the loser. The loser forgets something permanently.

The Second Card: The Time Card – The winner steals one year of life. The loser instantly ages.

The Third Card: The Reality Card – The winner can retrieve someone from erasure. The loser becomes the new forgotten one.

Lin Han felt his breath grow shallow.

This wasn't a normal bet.

This was gambling with reality itself.

If he won, he could bring Ah Rong back.

If he lost, he would take Ah Rong's place.

Ah Rong let out a nervous chuckle. "Tiu… maybe you shouldn't gamble after all."

Lin Han locked eyes with him, determination burning in his gaze. "I'm not leaving you here."

P01 simply smiled, snapping his fingers.

The game had begun.