This is the twenty-second day since Gustav discovered the new world.

A completely new, untouched, virgin land.

The first to summon him was a foolish middle-aged Asian man. This man lived a comfortable life, had a decent job, and seemed to have no dissatisfaction in life. Yet his wish was to gain an ability... a power possessed only by a few, even though it might alter his life’s trajectory.

Gustav granted his wish, turning him into his puppet. A puppet is naturally a form of power, far beyond mere mortals.

Simultaneously, he harvested the man’s soul.

This is the demon contract; despite the countless traps within, as long as the surface needs are met, rewards can be gained instantly.

Since it’s a new world, as a powerful demon, he naturally wouldn’t let go easily. This puppet manages a company with thousands of employees, giving him free reign to plunder these mortals’ souls and turn them into his servants.

The downside is that these people’s soul power is rather shallow; although easy to enjoy, it lacks flavor.

Until the fifteenth day, Gustav encountered an Ability User—at least in this world, people call these extraordinary lucky ones as such.

He didn’t hesitate to force the other into making a choice: be killed, or offer everything to him. When the Ability User’s wish to survive was fulfilled, ten times the soul power of ordinary people became the best reward for him.

However, Gustav also learned from his servants that in this world, very similar to his homeland, there was a group of people with special abilities maintaining order. They called themselves Dimensional Limit Mechanism, reminiscent of the Angel Alliance that Gustav loathed.

So he decided to continue hiding in the city, using puppets and servants to select targets for him, rather than proactively hunting everywhere.

Then... Gustav saw a full and rich soul, its luster ranking within the top three of those he had enjoyed. So he used a puppet to invite the person to the general manager’s office. Now, this person stands before him, unaware of the trap they’ve fallen into.

As a demon, Gustav loved savoring the desperation and agony of his opponents rather than forcing them to sign contracts outright, for intense emotional fluctuations make the soul sweeter, and the contractual rewards richer.

Unfortunately, the person before him seems a bit dull.

While feeling somewhat disappointed and angry, Gustav’s competitive spirit was also stirred.

"Deal the cards!"

He believed that whether genuinely dull, feigning calm, or truly resilient, after enduring indescribable endless pain, they would awaken and beg for mercy.

For such situations have occurred more than once.

Chen Xuan received his hand: hearts J, clubs Q, diamonds K, spades A, and simultaneously understood the rules of this gambling game.

"Isn’t this just a simple size comparison?" he sneered.

Simply put, one side attacks, the other defends, each round playing a card. The attacker must declare which card they play, and the defender responds. J, Q, K, A increase sequentially, but J can beat A. After comparing, the smaller card is slain, while the larger one returns to the hand, and the next round’s attack and defense swap. The game ends when one side’s hand is entirely slain.

This means both will have these four cards, but the suit is random.

Moreover, without the declaration phase, it’s purely luck-based.

But with declarations, it adds a layer of psychological warfare.

For example, one side actually plays A but declares Q, if the other believes and plays K to beat the Q, they are countered by A.

Since cards can be reused, the core is the confrontation between A and J; as long as A isn’t caught, it can keep eating cards; conversely, once A is caught by J, the situation immediately deteriorates.

Chen Xuan, though outwardly laughing, harbored no underestimation of this ability. Because he knew the stakes of the gambling match are certain to be paid, just like the previous Guess the Coin.

If he lost, he would inevitably encounter the endless pain the opponent spoke of, and by then, not to mention resisting, his sanity and self might be obliterated.

However, Chen Xuan didn’t understand why the demon set such a checkpoint instead of directly letting the victor take the loser’s abilities and life like Fei Wuniang.

Could it possibly be because the other party is merciful?

"Indeed, it’s a size comparison, but it’s a size comparison determining fate." Gustav took out a card, placing it on the table, "The card I played is—K!"

If he wasn’t lying, using A would win.

Honestly, Chen Xuan’s hand was pretty good; the largest A is spades, meaning as long as it doesn’t encounter J, even if it meets the opponent’s other suits’ A, it can steadily eat it. Of course... the opponent’s A might also be spades, as the rules don’t specify only one card of each suit.

Logically, playing spades A is a safe strategy, with a 4/16 chance of losing, 11/16 chance of winning, 1/16 chance of drawing.

Chen Xuan didn’t hesitate long and directly slapped down his A.

The blue hand picked up both cards, and then Gustav’s card returned to his hand while Chen Xuan’s spades A was slashed into pieces in midair!

"It seems you lost this small round... Did you play A, or the largest spades A?" His opponent’s lips curled up, "Wanting to chase the safest result with your suit’s superiority, able to beat K and eat three suits’ A, at least secure a draw, am I right? But you lost your ace in one go! Your idea was too easy to guess!"

"So you played J?" Chen Xuan asked expressionlessly.

"Precisely." Gustav even flipped the returned card openly to show him, "It’s hearts J."

The second round was Chen Xuan’s turn to attack.

He immediately placed a card from his hand face down, "The card I played... is also A!"

Gustav froze, then tilted his head back, laughing loudly, "Fool, suits might repeat, but card types absolutely can’t repeat; everyone will only get one A. How can you play A consecutively?"

"Who said I played A just now?" Chen Xuan laughed along, "I’ve long seen through your ploy, laid as J; unfortunately, the suit didn’t beat yours. This time I laid down the real A!"

"Nonsense, do you think your sophistry can fool me? You clearly played A!"

"Regardless of winning or losing, the cards are face down; how can you say mine was definitely A? Unless... can you see the card bottoms?"

Gustav’s face sank.

He felt something was amiss; why is this person so calm? Normally, after losing their ace, anyone should shiver and even collapse on the table in fright.

But this man named Chen Xuan not only wasn’t panicking but had the guts to challenge him, not seeming like feigned toughness.

Could it be the truth? Could the first card actually be J instead of A?

Thinking of this, Gustav decided to use his special privilege to peek at the face-down card. Yes, as the ability holder, he had one chance per round to see the card’s underside, so whenever he drew spades A, he’d boldly play J as K, inducing the opponent’s A to move, a tactic that repeatedly worked.

If unexpectedly losing J, he could still use the cheating advantage to single target the opponent’s J; the worst outcome would be a draw.

As the thought emerged, the card’s pattern on the table turned transparent.

Gustav’s keen gaze captured the card face—hearts J.

It’s... too easy to deal with. He chuckled inwardly, playing A was indeed a bluff; more foolishly, the opponent handed over their only turnaround card so quickly.

So, the first card must be spades A.

No matter how much the opponent continues to talk tough, it won’t change the fact of losing.

Gustav casually covered a Q.

Panic now, upon discovering both key cards down!

Chen Xuan watched as the blue hand retrieved the cards.

If this were a fair contest, he might ponder setting traps and locating the enemy’s core cards. But just like Guess the Coin, this ability isn’t a gamble but a trap; he never intended to earnestly compete with the opponent.

This ability genuinely tests both sides’ field control and cheating skills.

Just before the cards revealed, Chen Xuan aimed at the blue hand and activated his pre-prepared ability—

"Decomposition and Re-Fusion"!

Not playing, flipping the table!