“Let go! I didn’t mean that!” Ryker panicked， scared the fight would erupt and get him killed.

  “Oh， that’s not what you meant? Should’ve said so. Almost misunderstood you.” Jax let go with a grin， sneaking a glance at the clock. 23:56.

  Dammit. Only one minute passed.

  Jax’s act made Ryker’s eye twitch. He stared at the black handprint on his shirt， wanting to cry.

  Who said he was better? He was still crazy! What kind of mushroom had this kid eaten， with a side effect this bad?

  “Uh… Jax.” Talan called cautiously from behind.

  “You sure you’re completely okay? Maybe…”

  Jax was already looking for another way to stall. Perfect timing.

  He raised an eyebrow， snapping.“Maybe you should do it! I hate people whispering behind my back! If you don’t trust me， step up yourself!”

  Talan’s face froze. Being yelled at by a slave in public was humiliating. He wanted to shoot Jax on the spot.

  But he held back. Mutant horrors circled Ashwood Town. If no one bonded with Breath of Bone， the whole town was doomed.

  He swallowed his anger， telling himself not to lose his mind over a crazy person.

  “Start already. Everyone’s waiting. Bond with the artifact.” Viper， the West District leader， said coldly， gripping his gun.

  Ryker took a deep breath， calming down， and stared at Jax across the table.

  Actually crazy? Or faking it?

  Didn’t matter. Because from now on， he controlled this game.

  A confident glint flashed in his eyes， the confidence of 10 years of cheating at cards and guns.

  His nickname was Sleight of Hand for a reason. He could feel the suit of a card through his fingers， even spin a revolver’s cylinder to exactly the slot he wanted. That meant he chose which shot fired.

  Rock-paper-scissors was child’s play. Win first turn， load the bullet， spin the cylinder， and control the game.

  “I’ll play scissors.” Ryker said sharply， trying to get inside Jax’s head.

  Jax didn’t care. His whole focus was on the clock. Three more minutes!

  Dammit， why were three minutes so long?

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  He had to keep stalling.

  Jax suddenly scoffed.“You know Roulette of Fate has an unbeatable trick?”

  The words stunned Ryker， and everyone listening.

  “This game is all luck. There’s no way to win for sure.” Ryker said.

  Jax looked at him like he was an idiot.“Just because you don’t know it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”

  The boy spoke with such certainty that even Ryker， a veteran cheater， doubted himself.“What trick?”

  Jax smirked.“The unbeatable trick is， let the other guy shoot first.”

  Everyone was confused. That’s it? That’s the trick? What then?

  “You’re joking. Then what?” Ryker asked， suspicious he was telling a terrible joke.

  “Then?” Jax shrugged.“Take the gun and shoot him five times.”

  Ryker:???

  The air went dead silent.

  In the square of hundreds， the mood turned icy.

  Turns out bad jokes really do kill the mood.

  “Pfft—” someone snickered.

  Others cursed out loud.

  “What the hell kind of trick is that?! Why not just shoot him six times?!”

  “Hah.” Ryker laughed coldly.“Not funny. Let’s rock-paper-scissors.”

  Jax ignored the outstretched hand. Two more minutes.

  Seconds ticked by. Ryker’s arm grew sore. Mumbles spread through the crowd.

  “What’s Jax doing? Why won’t he start?”

  “He’s gone crazy again!”

  “Crazy my ass. He’s scared! He rushed up here thinking he could control the artifact， but now that it’s real， he’s chickened out.”

  Talan’s face darkened. He’d put up with Jax because he’d volunteered. But now Jax was freezing up? He couldn’t stand it.

  “If you’re scared， get off the stage and stop embarrassing us!” Ryker pulled his sore hand back， annoyed.

  Doubt grew louder. But the final two minutes still hadn’t passed.

  Jax， about to be torn apart by criticism， smiled.

  “I’m not scared. I’m just bored.”

  “Bored?” Ryker frowned.“A game of life and death bores you?”

  “Breath of Bone holds six bullets. Only one’s loaded. One-in-six chance to die. That’s boring. If we’re playing， let’s make it real.”

  “What do you want?”

  “Add more bullets.” The boy’s words exploded through the crowd.

  A one-in-six death chance was already terrifying. No one expected Jax to want more risk.

  Ryker’s heart sank. He was a cheater， yes， but he only practiced one-bullet Roulette…

  Add another， and his perfect win rate dropped to 98%. Too risky.

  Seeing Ryker hesitate， Jax pressed on.“Do you know why you’ve won three times and still can’t bond with Breath of Bone?”

  “Why?”

  “Because you’re a coward.”

  “The hell—” Ryker exploded.“Fine! Add bullets! Now!”

  He slammed two more brass bullets into Breath of Bone， glowering at Jax.

  “That’s more like it. Only the brave and lucky deserve Breath of Bone. But…” Jax’s tone sharpened.“It’s still not enough.”

  “What?! Not enough?!” a gasp rang out.

  “Two bullets and it’s not enough? Is Jax crazy enough for three?!”

  A chill went through the crowd. Three bullets， 50% chance to die.

  Ryker was stunned too. Three bullets， and his win rate dropped below 80%. It was basically suicide.

  Jax glanced at the clock. One minute left!

  He steeled himself， snapping.“If you’re scared， get off the stage and stop embarrassing us!”

  Hearing his own words thrown back， Ryker snapped. A cheater scared of some kid?

  “Fine. I’ll play with you.”

  He loaded the fourth bullet.

  But Jax shook his head.“Still not enough.”

  Ryker gaped. Not enough?! Four bullets? He was going all in?

  He couldn’t meet Jax’s aggressive stare. His hand holding the gun trembled. The crowd’s noise made his head spin. He wanted to back down， but something hard pressed into his back.

  Viper’s cold voice came from behind.“You know what happens if you don’t get the artifact.”

  Jax in front， Viper behind. Ryker was trapped.

  Humans were strange. When there was no way out， a reckless courage flared up.

  Ryker gritted his teeth， calmed down， and loaded the fourth bullet.