Clap. Clap. Clap.

A slow, deliberate clap echoed through the room.

William grinned, revealing teeth stained faintly red. He lowered his hands and chuckled.

“If you wanted to provoke me, then you’ve succeeded.”

He leaned forward, his voice dropping to a low hiss.

“So, how would you like to die?”

His words plunged the room into a murderous silence. The very air seemed to freeze over. The other players held their breath, terrified the master of the cruise ship would tear them to shreds at any moment.

Beside William, the black-robed figure slumped to the floor.

Only then did Ms. Black Cat realize what had happened.

The companion she was supposed to meet was now a withered skeleton! The corpse was shriveled like firewood, drained of every last drop of blood.

A chill shot down her spine.

We’re screwed! Change of plans!

But to her shock, Wu Wang only doubled down.

The pressure on Wu Wang was immense, his face turning purple from the strain, but he pressed on with his verbal assault.

“I have to admire you. You can face a pile of your own lies, smile, and say everything is fine. Buddy, your ability to delude yourself is impressive!”

He leaned in, his voice a low taunt.

“Did I hit a nerve? Is it because she never loved you at all?”

William finally lost his composure.

“Enough!”

The knives on the table shot into the air and flew straight at Wu Wang’s forehead. Just as they were about to pierce his skull, Wu Wang laughed mockingly.

“You don’t dare to kill me. I’m today’s 【The Warrior】.”

Shnk!

The tip of a knife pierced his mask. It grazed the skin on his forehead, drawing a bead of blood, but plunged no deeper.

The fury in William’s eyes subsided slightly, replaced by a dark, gloomy glare.

“Heh heh. We both know why you stopped.”

Wu Wang’s grin was infuriating.

“【The Warrior】 has to die willingly. Until I agree to it, you can’t kill me.”

Wu Wang recalled hearing this condition from the Marys in the 【Back Kitchen】. Even then, he’d found it amusing. The irony was that he was willing to die at any moment. He just couldn’t seem to manage it.

It was an absurd fact no one would ever know. He had always wanted to die but was simply unable to.

Seeing Wu Wang’s confident expression, William retaliated by grabbing Fox Loli by the neck. He needed an outlet for his rage.

If I can’t kill you, I’ll just kill the others first!

Just as he was about to tighten his grip, Wu Wang spoke again.

“No, you can’t kill them either. If you do, I guarantee I’ll die ahead of schedule.”

This time, William completely lost it.

He roared, “You’re lying!”

Wu Wang spoke with the nonchalance of a dead man.

“I’m not lying. I drank a bottle of poison before coming in here. If I don’t get the antidote within an hour, I’ll die a violent death. And only one of them knows where it’s hidden.”

The threat was obvious. If William killed the other players, Wu Wang would die from the poison. It would not be a willing death.

And the ritual would fail all the same.

Bei Lang forcefully suppressed his fear and backed him up.

“That’s right! If you touch us, he’ll die without the antidote!”

In truth, he had no confidence at all.

Brother Yan! What poison?! Didn’t you just eat a damn snack cake before you came in?! How are we supposed to know where the fucking antidote is?! If you have a plan this insane, could you at least give your brothers a heads-up!

But things had already gone this far. He had no choice but to play along.

Thud!

William threw Fox Loli across the room. She crashed heavily onto the floor, her insides churning. She collapsed, dry-heaving, but she was alive.

The veins on William’s forehead and hands bulged.

“Good! Very good! You’re the first person to ever threaten me! What do you want?”

William knew countless ways to torture people, not just physically, but mentally as well. Over the years, he had seen 【The Warrior】s who knelt and begged for mercy. He had seen others try to trade their wealth and status for survival. He had even seen a tough-as-nails hero who only broke and begged for death after days of torture.

But he had never seen a 【The Warrior】 use their own death to threaten him.

This was an absolute reversal of the natural order. Who on earth drinks a bottle of poison before a meeting?

In any other ritual, William would have sneered at the threat. But not this time. If this ritual failed, the Calamity Cult would surely unleash their fiery vengeance. He wouldn’t get a second chance to use their enhancement item.

This was his only chance.

Wu Wang’s cheekiness was maddening.

“I’m the first person to threaten you? I don’t buy it.”

“What about that rich woman decades ago, the one who framed Mary and tricked you? Did she not threaten you?”

“When you were a lapdog for high society, you’re telling me no one ever threatened you? Come on, get off your high horse.”

“You, of all people, should know why the ‘flower language’ of a steel wool ball is ‘forbearance and wealth.’”

“…”

William was left completely speechless. He found that no matter what he said, this bastard would just mock him. The worst part was, everything the man said was true.

His defenses were utterly shattered.

Seeing William’s silence, Wu Wang finally revealed his insane proposal.

“Mr. William, I want to bet my life against yours.”

Everyone, including William, was dumbfounded. Bet their lives? Was he serious?

It was a miracle they could even threaten William. The two sides were nowhere near equal in strength. If not for the ritual, William could crush them like ants. What right did Wu Wang have to bet his life against William’s? He might as well have just tried to threaten William into letting them all survive the five days.

“Please. I’m a dead man either way. If the ritual fails, you’ll kill me to vent your anger, won’t you?”

“Since I’m going to die one way or another, why should I let you get your wish?”

“So, either you agree to this bet now. If you win, I’ll die willingly. If you lose, you die willingly.”

“Or, you can just wait for the ritual to fail and take your anger out on me then.”

He gave a slight, mocking bow.

“Just be gentle with my corpse, okay? Don’t get weird with it.”

Wu Wang’s voice wasn’t loud, but to everyone in the room, it was deafening.

Only one word flashed through their minds.

Madman!

At that moment, William finally understood why Captain Cook had lost. This strangely dressed man’s logic couldn’t be measured by common sense.

The key was, he wasn’t wrong. If the ritual truly failed, he would absolutely torture him to death in the most brutal way imaginable. It’s just that no normal person would ever base their thinking on the premise of “I’m bound to die”!

“This bet is… that there will always be someone whose choices have nothing to do with money and status!”

“From now on, you cannot interfere with any of the guests. You can only be an observer.”

“After we leave this room, we’ll forget everything that happened here. We’ll become ordinary tourists who boarded the ship for the ball.”

“But at the Fifth Night’s Ball…”

“I bet that someone will have chosen the same person, steadfastly, from beginning to end!”

Wu Wang’s words made William tremble. His purpose in building the Mary wasn’t just to resurrect his beloved with the ritual. He also wanted to prove that pure feelings meant nothing in the face of money and status. He needed to prove his own past choices weren’t wrong.

And now, some foolish kid wanted to use his decades-long, flawless experiment to refute him?

In all these decades, not a single person who boarded the ship had ever… steadfastly chosen the same person for all five nights under the influence of the Sound of Joy!

That was right. The Sound of Joy was not his own interference. It was an ability bestowed upon the Mary by his master. In other words, even if he accepted the bet, the Sound of Joy would still exist.

Under the 【Cruise Ship Rules】, this bet could be established. The power of the rules would alter their memories, just as the bet required. It would turn them completely into ordinary tourists.

Not Descenders.

This was a bet he was guaranteed to win.

Win it! And prove, once and for all, that my choices and beliefs were not wrong!

“This bet…”

William’s eyes gleamed with manic certainty.

“I accept!”

“I will win!”