Chapter 23: Fooling Amanda Young

Seeing the system notifications, Tristan remained unfazed—he had already expected this. Besides, as an unwelcoming parasite in the Land of Death, it was only natural for them to see him as something to be eradicated.

'But you think you can kill me?'

A flicker of disdain crossed Tristan's eyes. The reincarnators were in the light, whereas he thrived in the dark.

'Let's see who kills who.'

Sneering inwardly, he slid into the police car he brought with him to Betsy's house yesterday and drove to the abandoned factory, following the location Jigsaw had provided.

The building matched the setting he'd seen in the movie, confirming that Jigsaw wasn't trying to pull any unexpected tricks, at least not yet.

With a creak, Tristan pushed open the rusted door and stepped inside. The factory had clearly been deserted for years, and the air was stale and oppressive. But Tristan moved forward calmly.

Suddenly—

Whoosh!

The faint sound of wind sliced through the stillness.

But since Tristan's superhuman senses had picked up on the person sneaking behind him long ago, he effortlessly stepped to one side and dodged the attack.

Sharp, swift—he moved like wind, spinning on his heel to face the attacker. It was a figure in a pig mask that lunged at him with a syringe.

Needless to say, before the attacker could comprehend its failure, Tristan's hand shot out like a viper. In a blur, he snatched the syringe from its grip, while his other hand grabbed the masked figure's throat, effortlessly lifting it off the ground.

Everything happened in an instant. By the time the attacker realized what had happened, it was already dangling helplessly in the air, as Tristan ripped off its mask with a flick of his finger, revealing a familiar face.

'Amanda?'

Upon discovering the attacker's identity, he seemed to have understood the situation's crux and immediately lost interest. The game was no longer fun.

Without a second thought, Tristan's boot connected with her stomach, sending her crashing into a nearby wall.

Bang!

Fortunately, since he still wanted to eat this bitch, he didn't hit hard, and the impact was painful but not lethal. Or else he could've easily torn her in half if he'd chosen to.

"Take me to Jigsaw," Tristan said coldly, his eyes narrowing. "Or should I test how much more you can handle?"

"Ugh!"

Amanda groaned, clutching her abdomen in pain. But Tristan was already standing in front of her, ready to hit again if she disagreed.

"Cough... who the fuck are you?"

She coughed, wiping blood from the corner of her mouth.

Before she could get an answer, though, her intercom vibrated to life. She paused, listening intently to the brief message, then wiped the blood from her lips. Her expression hardened, and then without a word, she motioned for Tristan to follow, leading him deeper into the factory—down into Jigsaw's lair.

Soon, a familiar figure came in front of him. Jigsaw, or rather John Kramer, stood there with his arms wide open.

"Welcome to my studio, Tristan."

Tristan's lips curled into a cold smile.

"Welcome? If that earlier encounter was your version of a welcome, you should be grateful I didn't kill her on the spot. The compensation you'd owe would be more than you could ever bear."

Upon hearing that naked threat, cold sweat trickled down Jigsaw's back, and his composure almost slipped for a second before he hurried to explain.

"It was a mistake—just a mistake. She didn't know it was you."

Actually, Jigsaw had informed Amanda that someone was coming, but he hadn't told her who in detail. So, Tristan's arrival in a patrol car caught her off guard, and without warning, she had attacked, unaware of who she was up against.

"Make sure it doesn't happen again."

Tristan shrugged it off.

He knew Jigsaw wasn't an idiot. If the man had any real intentions of causing trouble, it wouldn't have been Amanda standing in his way. Plus, considering Amanda's nature, it might really be her impulsive action.

Seeing that Tristan did not press the matter, Jigsaw let out a quiet sigh of relief. He knew better than to provoke Tristan. If the man had truly meant harm, no one would be able to leave this place unscathed.

"You've already met her, but let me properly introduce you," Jigsaw continued, back to his calm state. "The protagonist this time isn't me—it's Amanda. She survived one of my earlier games. I'm pleased to see her turn over a new leaf and rediscover her passion for life."

Even though he knew Tristan was already aware of everything, Jigsaw still pretended to not know and explained in a steady tone. His peculiar charisma had always allowed him to manipulate conversations with ease, leaving others second-guessing his true intentions.

The woman who attacked Tristan just now, Amanda Young, was a crazy woman who survived Jigsaw's twisted test by carving open a drug dealer's stomach and pulling out the key that saved her life.

Later, she, a drug addict and self-harming psychopath, believed Jigsaw's test had helped her by teaching her to value her life, and she began to see John as her savior and father figure, agreeing to become his apprentice and assist him in his games.

Of course, only she knew what she truly understood, or the twisted ways in which John's game benefited her.

"Amanda, right? You know, drugs aren't exactly the best way to value your life."

His sudden comment caught her off guard, and her eyes widened with confusion.

"Huh? How do you know?"

"Dilated pupils. Restless, unfocused eyes. Needle marks from fresh injections. Dark circles under your eyes, poorly masked with makeup. Pale, dehydrated skin. You're not just anxious—you're twitchy. Hands trembling from withdrawal. You try to hide it, but it's written all over you."

Shocked, Amanda's face tensed as his words hit their mark. He knew, and he didn't even need her to admit it.

"I get it. Quitting's hard," Tristan continued. "But there's a trick—a method to help distract you. It's highly effective."

Suddenly saying something incomprehensible as if it were a matter of fact, like he was giving advice on something trivial, Tristan ignored the shocked Amanda and looked at the surveillance video, where there were already several people.

Coming to her senses, Amanda asked quickly, a little confused.

"What method?" 

Her criminal past and time in prison had hardened her, but even she wasn't prepared for the next words out of Tristan's mouth.

"Just have sex with me."

Tristan spoke seriously. But it only made Amanda's frown deepen. She couldn't believe what she had just heard, and with a quick, sarcastic laugh, she shot back.

"Are you crazy?"

Even Jigsaw, who stood silently in the background, felt his lips twitch in disbelief. He had known Tristan was shameless, but he didn't know it was to this extent.

Naturally, Tristan ignored their reactions and simply raised a finger, wagging it as if correcting a child.

"No, no, no. You're the one who's mistaken. Sex isn't just about physical friction. Making love is a form of exercise. It triggers your brain's reward pathways, flooding it with dopamine. It gives you a similar high without the damage of drugs. In fact, sex with me is even more beneficial since it can keep you young."

Upon hearing those technical words spoken with such confidence, Amanda couldn't help but stare at him, baffled by the absurdity of his claim. The effects of the [Essence of the Earnest Grace] Tristan had used before coming here made his words strangely compelling, even though they sounded utterly ridiculous.

Still, she wasn't easily fooled.

"If it's so effective, why doesn't everyone do it? You just want to fuck me, don't you? If sex was really the answer, quitting drugs wouldn't be this hard."

She sneered, thinking she had already exposed his intention for these absurd claims that she thought were a clear lie.

But what she didn't expect was that Tristan didn't even flinch. Instead, he nodded shamelessly, accepting her accusation with a smirk on his face.

"You're right. I do want to have sex with you. That's one reason. Why else would I go out of my way to give you advice? But if you want to know whether I'm lying, you can ask Jigsaw. I cured his cancer with my potion. Even his ex-wife—who I've fucked, by the way—is regaining her youth. What's a little drug addiction compared to that?"

"What?!"

Instantly, Amanda's fists clenched in anger, and she nearly punched at him for disrespecting Jigsaw. But she stopped, realizing that she was no match for Tristan. So, she shot a furious glance at him and turned to Jigsaw, expecting him to deny Tristan's outrageous claim and put him in his place.

However, when she noticed that Jigsaw did not refute Tristan's claims but instead merely sighed and nodded, her anger transformed into sheer disbelief, causing her eyes to nearly pop out of their sockets in shock.

"You... can't be serious, right?"

The true shock came from Jigsaw's next words.

"Amanda, as unbelievable as it sounds, if Tristan says he can cure you, then he can. My cancer—gone. And... yes, my ex-wife is now his lover."

"…."

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