I Will Grind My Way To Godhood

“The handsome young man won, huh? That's great... I really didn’t want to see him die, what a waste that would be."

“It’s just a rock-paper-scissors win... The real outcome is still uncertain."

“Now he gets to choose whether to go first or second. He'd probably choose to go first; the chance of the first bullet being real is only one in six. Statistically, going first is advantageous."

"The kid's really lucky, having the first move gives him a big edge."

The surrounding chatter seeped into the ears of the tall man, his expression flickering with varying emotions.

Luck? Luck?

How on earth could this be luck?

At the last moment of the rock-paper-scissors, he changed his gesture at a speed unfathomable to ordinary people, showing scissors.

And yet, the outcome was that he lost.

【Self-check complete, system running well, no anomalies detected.】

A line of green text appeared in his cybernetic eye.

No errors, meaning he definitely saw his opponent show ‘paper’ at the last critical moment.

Which leads to only one possibility.

‘This kid... his reaction and action speed surpass mine.’

The tall man's heart sank.

In the final moment, the kid showed ‘paper’, and after he saw the ‘paper’ and showed scissors, the opponent swiftly changed from paper to rock.

The time it took for both reaction and action was likely less than 0.01 seconds.

Yet, this kid managed it, how could that be possible...

Jo Ying finally noticed something was amiss, realizing this alluring young man was not simple.

She looked at Xue Jing with complex emotions, remaining silent.

"Then I’ll start from my side."

Xue Jing’s eyes glimmered with a smile as he reached for the revolver on the table.

"..." The man did not speak, just watched Xue Jing's movements.

Logically, this kid shouldn’t know which shot the real bullet would be fired.

He was the one who loaded and spun the cylinder, only he knew on which shot it would fire.

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but feel relieved.

Out of an extra layer of caution, he placed the real bullet far back...

in the fifth chamber.

As long as the kid fires less than four times at himself, he can still win.

"By the way, sir... what's your name?"

Xue Jing casually asked as he disabled the safety on the revolver, as if he were reaching for snacks in his own living room.

"...My surname is Wei."

The tall man surnamed Wei replied blandly.

Xue Jing raised the revolver, aimed it at his head, and pulled the trigger.

"Click——"

The cylinder of the revolver spun with a sound. No bullet was fired, but a low murmur spread through the crowd. Some people even shut their eyes, too afraid to watch.

"Oh? So it's Mr. Wei," Xue Jing remarked with a smile.

He didn't know which "Wei" it was, but it didn't matter.

While speaking, Xue Jing engaged and disengaged the safety of the revolver and then aimed it at his own head, firing once more.

"Click——"

A low murmur rippled through the onlookers again, and even the head of security, Chen Liang, grew anxious, swallowing hard.

Mr. Xue... Truly a master capable of walking away unscathed even when faced with dozens of armed opponents.

To the unknowing, it seemed he was just playing with a toy gun.

His actions were so casual, so effortless.

"I have a question for Mr. Wei," Xue Jing said with an expression unchanged, showing no sign of being in a life-or-death crisis.

The man with the surname Wei narrowed his eyes slightly and said blandly, "Speak."

"Click——"

Xue Jing pulled the trigger on himself for the third time.

"This is the third shot!"

Someone in the crowd exclaimed.

"That's enough! Don't fire again. Three shots and no real bullet, but now every shot carries a one-third chance of being fatal..."

"No, that's not how probability works... I can't remember exactly, but the chance of the next shot having a real bullet is high!"

"Bet one more shot! I suggest betting one more. The three shots already fired are 'past probabilities' and have little relation to the next one. We should leverage our luck to increase the opponent's bullet hit rate!"

"Tch, gamblers are truly terrifying."

The surrounding noise didn't disrupt the scene within.

Xue Jing toyed with the safety of the revolver, seemingly contemplating whether to fire again.

He rubbed his chin, "Hmm... I just want to ask, Mr. Wei, since you're going to die soon, how do you plan to give me the promised ten million?"

"Can you transfer it in advance?"

The man named Wei gave him a deep look, "I never break my word."

Xue Jing chuckled but said no more.

He raised the revolver and fired the fourth shot at his head.

"Click——"

The cylinder spun once more, still no bullet.

The crowd erupted.

"Fourth shot! Four consecutive shots with no bullet!"

"Unbelievable, this luck! I suggest going all in for the fifth shot! Half-and-half chance?"

"It's not calculated that way. While there's indeed one empty and one real bullet left, you can't simply compute it as 'one shot yes, one shot no.' You have to calculate it as 'out of six, it's the fifth shot,' and that probability is much higher than one-half, though I forget exactly how much."

"It's quite simple, the probability of missing the first shot is 5/6, the second is 4/5, and the third continues in this pattern. You multiply the probabilities of each shot to get the final probability, let me calculate..."

"The probability of the fifth shot being empty is—one in six!"

"Hiss—then the probability of the next shot being a real bullet is over 80%..."

"Switch, buddy! Give the gun to the other side, you've basically won already!"

Some people from the audience began shouting suggestions to Xue Jing.

Xue Jing remained silent.

The man with the surname Wei kept a blank expression, seemingly unmoved.

In silence, Xue Jing slowly raised the pistol, aimed it at his own head, appearing as if he was about to fire the fifth shot...

The man named Wei’s heart skipped a beat, forcibly suppressing his emotions, showing no sign on his face.

The fifth shot is a real bullet!

This kid, he's too reckless, wanting to gamble on all five shots being empty? Suicidal!

He stared intently at Xue Jing's finger on the trigger.

Press it, fire, shoot!

The Wei surname man wished he could step forward and help press it himself.

He seemed to already see the scene where the upper part of the youth's head in front of him blows open, brain matter and blood splattering everywhere.

'...It’s the fifth shot.'

Xue Jing felt the tingling chill from his temple pressed by the gun barrel, and his whole body's instinctive opposition alert. He thought to himself.

Twin instincts.

A strong gut feeling that had been completely unresponsive for the first four shots finally reacted as he was about to press down the trigger for the fifth shot.

"This gamble... I've already won the moment the rock-paper-scissors ended."

"Hmm, it seems Mr. Wei deserves some involvement, so I'll leave the fifth shot to you."

He smiled as he passed the revolver to the man named Wei.

"..."

The Wei surname man silently looked at the revolver handed over.

This gun was custom-modified by him, incredibly powerful, capable of shooting an elephant from head to tail in one shot.

Though he had 'B3 protective skin', 'R2 golden muscles', and even 'giant's blood' implanted in his bone marrow, thus nearly completely transformed, his bone hardness and hematopoietic ability were far superior to an ordinary person.

Taking a shot from this revolver wouldn’t be fatal to him... but if aimed at the head, it’d result in serious injury at least.

Even if the bullet itself couldn't penetrate his body, the kinetic shock would suffice to badly harm his brain.

Serious injury wouldn’t matter, but the issue was that he had an important mission to complete...

The complexion of the man with the surname Wei fluctuated unpredictably.

Jo Ying, who had been silent, also changed her expression.

She had worked alongside the man named Wei for a long time, well aware of his modus operandi, already knowing what was about to happen next.

"Wei... are you sure you want to do this?"

Jo Ying called out loudly, her tone filled with deep reluctance.

A man with the surname Wei reached out to take the revolver offered by Xue Jing, but instead of aiming it at his own head, he turned and pointed it at Xue Jing’s forehead.

“Huh?”

The crowd around them was filled with disbelief. This was...

𝑋𝑢𝑒 𝐽𝑖𝑛𝑔, with a gun pointed at him, showed no change in expression, merely sighing softly.

“It seems, Mr. Wei is planning to go back on his word.”

The man with the surname Wei spoke in a composed voice:

“Ten million... I will transfer it to your family.”

“As for going back on one's word... do you remember the terms of our original bet?”

With these words, someone in the crowd with a good memory recalled aloud:

“It was something like... 'If you survive, I’ll give you ten million Zhuxia currency; if you die... no further cost is needed.'”

The crowd immediately grasped the Wei man's implication.

Xue Jing shook his head, speaking calmly, “Mr. Wei, this is sophistry.”

“Indeed, it is sophistry.”

Wei nodded in acknowledgement.

“But... sorry about that.”

“Bang——”

The trigger was pulled, the chamber spun.

In the shocked gaze of the crowd, the loud gunshot echoed across the casino.

A brass bullet shot forth, heading towards the forehead of the always composed young man.

In the very next instant.

“Bang!”

A figure flew back at tremendous speed, smashing through countless tables and chairs, breaking through multiple walls, leaving several human-shaped holes before disappearing to parts unknown.

In the scene left behind, the young man clad in a burgundy suit slowly lowered his right leg from a kick.

White smoke curled around the black shoe, and Xue Jing furrowed his brows slightly.

At the mere instant the revolver bullet was fired, he activated his "Twin Speed," dodging the bullet while unleashing a ‘Star Shaker’ kick.

This move was a defensive breaking technique of the type "hitting a bull across a mountain," designed to inject kinetic energy into the opponent’s body for a bursting effect. Seeing that the opponent had the ‘Protective Membrane’ that could defensively ward off kinetic energy, Xue Jing opted for this attack to bypass the membrane.

But logically speaking, this technique employs soft energy, and should not have had such a forceful result, kicking the opponent so far away.

Unless...

“The soft energy was entirely blocked outside, unable to penetrate internally, ultimately only erupting on the outside...”

“To be able to defend against even the ‘Star Shaker’ to such an extent, the Protective Membrane's restraining power against martial artists is incredibly exaggerated.”

Xue Jing shook his head.

“Bang!”

Following the gunshot, with the "Twin Instinct" activated, Xue Jing slightly tilted his head, letting the bullet whiz past his ear, carrying a gust of wind that ruffled the hair on his left side.

It was then that the crowd finally realized what had transpired, panic-stricken as they began to flee the casino, with occasional screams echoing through.

Xue Jing was just tracking down the whereabouts of the man with the surname Wei, when suddenly his senses were alerted by a slight fluctuation in the air currents.

Instinctively, he reached out and caught a slender wrist approaching him with a black dagger ready to stab.

"Oh? My good sister, you've hurt my feelings a bit now," Xue Jing remarked with a hint of surprise as he looked at Qiao Ying standing in front of him.

Her eyes were filled with overwhelming complexity, with tears at the corners, yet her hands moved swiftly, twisting the black dagger in a reverse grip to force Xue Jing to release her wrist, then launching another rapid attack.

As she launched a series of fatal moves, she choked back sobs saying, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

Xue Jing's palm was covered in dense dragon scale-like imprints, receiving a direct stab, he clutched the dagger, immobilizing Qiao Ying.

With his other hand, he grabbed her neck, lifting her whole body a foot off the ground.

Spiral grooves appeared on Xue Jing's arm, muscles tensed, and his grip tightened on her slender neck.

"Sigh—"

"Crack—"

Accompanied by a dragon's roar and the terrifying sound of bones breaking, Qiao Ying's neck was compressed to about the thickness of sugarcane.

"Ah—ah..."

Her pretty face turned ashen as her eyes rolled back and her mouth opened wide, with her tongue grotesquely protruding completely outwards.

A copious amount of blood and fragmented flesh spilled from her mouth and nostrils. Qiao Ying's head lolled to one side, her limbs stiffened, and she ceased her struggle.

Tossing her corpse carelessly aside, Xue Jing spoke with an unchanging tone, "You may think an apology is enough..."

"But sadly, I am a true advocate of gender equality..."

Adjusting his slightly wrinkled burgundy suit, Xue Jing squinted his eyes slightly.

Most of the crowd had fled the casino, leaving the room in an eerie silence.

Xue Jing leisurely began pacing around.

His footsteps made creaking sounds on the floor scattered with wood chips, chips, and cards.

Xue Jing suddenly entertained a peculiar thought.

"Why do I feel like I'm some kind of BOSS... being strategized by someone?"

The man with the surname Wei, hidden in the shadows, glanced at the leisurely strolling Xue Jing, lifted his shirt, and touched the prominent red shoe print on his chest.

"What a monster..."

In his eye implant, analytical data of the young man in the distance constantly updated.

【Estimated Physical Level: 3.6~4.2】

【Body Aberration Rate: Less than 1%】

......

【Comprehensive Danger Level Assessment: 4.1~4.5】

The man with the surname Wei lingered on 【Body Aberration Rate: Less than 1%】 in astonishment.

"...No implanted extranals, no consumption of illicit drugs."

"And yet this guy is... practicing traditional martial arts?"

The man with the surname Wei watched the young boy in the distance closely, noting his obviously juvenile features, causing his lips to twitch involuntarily.

…