Soul at Stake

1.[Real] Chongming Studio
2.[Fan-made] taetriwhee

From=灵魂筹码 Soul at Stake and Wiki Fandom

Players can freely customize their controls in the Controls tab located in the settings. Listed below are the default settings.

Gambler Side:

Move: W/A/S/D
Run: Shift
Dodge: M2/Right Click
Crouch: Left Control
Interact: M1/Left Click
Buy Items/Cards: M2/Right Click
Switch Cards: Q
Window Vault: Space
Open/Close Doors: R
Pass QTE's: Space
Use Item: E
Point Emote: F1
Follow Me Emote: F2
Clap Emote: F3

Devil Side:

Move: W/A/S/D
Attack: M1/Left Click
Use Devil Ability: M2/Right Click
Pick up downed Gambler: Space
Teleport: Q
Buy Items: M2/Right click
Use Item: E
Destroy Window/Door: R
Execute Gambler: T

Soul at Stake is an asymmetrical horror game where 4 Gamblers quite literally put their souls at stake playing a deadly game involving playing cards and Devils in attempt to change their fates overnight.

Abracadabra • Ashes of History • Catch me if you can • Demolition Team • Deserted House • Devil may cry • Expired Ticket • Freeze! • Give up the ghost • Got carried • I feel itchy • Killing Spree • Lay down your weapon • Lonely Survivor • Lucky Dog • Made it out alive • Make progress every day • Miser • No one left behind • No one survived • Not One Less • Old Doctor • Out-of-body Experience • Overkill • Perfect Chase • Show Time • Silence! • The walls have eyes • Turn over in the grave • Watch your step • Where there is life, there is hope.

#_Atk. Acceleration=1.75 m/s
#_Running Speed=1.75 m/s
#_Aura Detection=30.5 meters
#_Heartbeat Radious=7.5 meters
#_Attack Range=5 meters
#_Wiping=2.5 seconds

#_Running Speed=2m/s
#_Walking Speed=1.5m/s
#_Crouching Speed=1m/s
#_Crawling Speed=0.5m/s

Cardholders:

Cardholders are the main objective for the Gamblers in Soul at Stake. There are a number of these hidden around the map and Gamblers need to complete 5 of them to win the game.

Description:
Cardholders look like blue colored shrines containing a blue flame that have 21 green colored lights on them, 1 at the top and 4 rows of 5 below it.

Gamblers:
To seal a Cardholder, a Gambler must insert playing cards into it until the total card value adds up to exactly 21, at which point the Cardholder will be completed. A Gambler simply needs to walk up to a Cardholder and Interact with it to start inserting their selected card. Inserting cards takes time and the higher the value of the card (Ace: 1, Jack: 11, Queen: 12, King: 13) the longer it takes to insert the card. Logically this means that the Ace is the fastest card to insert having only a value of 1 while King takes the longest with a value of 13.

After a card has been successfully inserted into a Cardholder it removes a number of lights on the Cardholder and awards a Gambler with stakes (chips) equal to its value which they can then use to buy a variety of items to help them survive in the Stores, hidden away somewhere on the map.

Be warned, a Gambler inserting cards into a Cardholder are unable to turn their camera and therefore leave themselves open to two forms of ambush. A Devil may decide to teleport themselves to a Cardholder that a Gambler is inserting cards into, when they do, the Gambler will notice a gust of wind and tree leaves floating around indicating a Devil is about to teleport there, if you are playing as a Gambler and see this, run for it! Another way a Devil might attack is to simply walk over to you in silence. Although a Gambler is able to detect a Devil's presence within a certain range indicated by a heartbeat, the range of this heartbeat is actually quite small which means that by the time you hear the heartbeat the Devil is most likely within striking distance already.

Devils:
Once 5 Cardholders have been completed that is the end for the Devil, so it is imperative for a Devil to not only focus on tracking down and executing Gamblers but to also be aware of the Gamblers' progress on the Cardholders. Keep a close eye on these if you don't want to lose quickly.

Devils are able to teleport to Cardholders, once they have teleported to a Cardholder they cannot teleport back to that same Cardholder for 30 seconds, though they are free to teleport from Cardholder to Cardholder with no cooldown.

Gamblers that are inserting cards into a Cardholder are unable to turn their camera, use this to your advantage by patrolling as many Cardholders as you can on foot as teleporting may be a quick means to get around but it warns Gamblers that are you about to show up giving them enough time to get far enough away from the Cardholder to not take a hit.

Description
The Stores are 2 ominous looking statues where Gamblers and Devils spend their hard-earned stakes in order to buy Items to help them win the game. The Stores spawn on the map in 2 random positions and are found by looking out for green lanterns hanging outside the buildings or rooms they are located in.

Gamblers
Stores are where Gamblers go to acquire new playing cards or exchange the playing cards they are carrying at no charge. Each Store will only have a specific set of playing cards available adding to the difficulty of the game.

Gamblers can also use a Store to spend stakes to buy themselves Items that will be critical to their survival, currently the Stores offer the following items to Gamblers:

Teleporter (Cost: 11 stakes)
Stealth Charm (Cost: 11 stakes)
Smoke Screen (Cost: 16 stakes)
Herbal Elixir (Cost: 16 stakes)
Ginseng Pill (Cost: 19 stakes)
Victim Doll (Cost: 19 stakes)
Devils
Devils are able to use the store to spend stakes to buy Items that help them track down and execute the Gamblers. Currently the Stores offer the following items to Devils:

Auras Radar (Cost: 18 stakes)
Ghost Eye (Cost: 18 stakes)
Bear Trap (Cost: 22 stakes)
Mist Wall (Cost: 22 stakes)
Soul Bell (Cost: 25 stakes)
Roaring Totem (Cost: 25 stakes)

The following is a list of items available in Soul at Stake.

Description:

In every gamble, the Gamblers can obtain stakes by inserting cards into cardholders and Devils by injuring, catching and executing Gamblers. These stakes can be redeemed for a variety of surviving and hunting items from 2 Stores located in a gamble.

Gambler Items:
Teleporter (Cost: 11 stakes)
Stealth Charm (Cost: 11 stakes)
Smoke Screen (Cost: 16 stakes)
Herbal Elixir (Cost: 16 stakes)
Ginseng Pill (Cost: 19 stakes)
Victim Doll (Cost: 19 stakes)

Devil Items:

Auras Radar (Cost: 18 stakes)
Ghost Eye (Cost: 18 stakes)
Bear Trap (Cost: 22 stakes)
Mist Wall (Cost: 22 stakes)
Soul Bell (Cost: 25 stakes)
Roaring Totem (Cost: 25 stakes)

"Xi’E builds illusions based on the real world, so realistic that one wouldn't be able to tell apart one from the other. Gamblers and Devils face off against each other on these maps, Gamblers hoping to change their fate and become rich and powerful over night while Devils kill in an attempt to prolong their existence."
1._Name=Pestilential Train Station
1.1_Description=This train station has witnessed countless laughs and tears, also gave life to an orphan. The peaceful days were broken by leprosy which tortured his flesh and mind, until the very good in him were taken away. He started killing.The station was locked up due to that slaughter, and no one dared to enter ever since. Only when in midnight, people can still hear the sound of heavy banging and something cracking.
2._Name=Mysterious Palace
2.1_Description=This palace has been deserted for hundreds of years now, full of spider webs and dusts, mouse and bats nesting in it. Nothing can be heard except the wind blowing the windows and white lanterns. The peacetime is nowhere to be seen. Who would even bother understanding a dead king or his vision? During the midnight, the white candles in the mourning hall would light themselves, and the cold wind blowing the white paper money onto the floor, mixing them with fallen leaves and dusts.The mystery shadows swaying on the walls. No one could tell whether they are sighing or speaking with hatred.
3._Name=Bewitching Hakka Tulou
3.1_Description=This far-away Tulou does not count as a rich one. People are living relatively peaceful. However, since the Embroidering Lady was forced to be married to a ghost, Tulou lost its peace. Everyone who had witnessed the horrible death of the lady had died of terrible deaths. Bad luck was gradually spreading the Tulou. Some elders say that it was the curse casted by the lady when she was dying. No one can hide from it until everyone in it had died.Finally, Tulou has become empty. During the midnight, near the ancestral hall, sad weeping can still be heard. No one knows whether it is from the lady's spirit or some wandering ghosts mourning for what had happened here.
4._Name=Frozen Village
4.1_Description=The snowstorm raged throughout the night, at daybreak the snowy ground was covered in the mottled scarlet of firecracker debris and dried-up blood. The northern wind swept through with what felt like a folksong or spell incantation woven within, and a shrill cat cry pierced through the lonely silence of the night. The hunched figure stumbles into the snow and wind, the black cat's eyes bent over its shoulders flashed fiercely with vengeance. No one is innocent, it seeks, thirsting, to disembowel them all, gouge out their hearts and savor every moment of pain and fear.
5._Name=Mourning Theater
5.1_Description=Little did people know the well-known theater would ended up in the ashes.The leading actor April's performance is still unforgettable to many people. They filled this theater every night only wishing to listen to his remarkable vocal and fascinating performance. To everyone's surprise, the theater became a living hell in one night. The numerous opera put up on this stage, as well as the everlasting romance happened here, all ended up in the flames and mourns, together with April's finale.
6._Name=Dreadful Dyehouse
6.1_Description=Grab a piece of white cloth. Dye it in a vat. The cloth gets a new color.One may wonder - is it possible to dye humans in the vat as well?Everyone is born a piece of white cloth, and gradually get dyed with various colors, be it kindness or evil, in the sophisticated world.This dyehouse has been shut for ages, along with the massacre happened in there. Peculiarly, faces could be vaguely seen on the cloths at midnight under the moonlight. Does any one of the faces ring a bell for you?
7._Name=No.9 Residence
7.1_Description=The old, wooden door carved with western patterns, the mottled walls covered in vines, and the garden piled up with fallen leaves, all of these reveal the cold, bleak and lifeless.It used to be a luxurious, foreign residence and home to a harmonious and happy family of four. Every friend complimented the host on his elegance and his family's state of harmony.But overnight, the whole family disappeared.The laurel tree in the garden bloomed as usual, knowing the secrets buried here. Who is singing that song...
8._Name=Sakura Shrine
8.1_Description=The name of this historic shrine is forgotten, not a single person remembers what god it was dedicated to.Sin and blood have defiled this holy place of worship. It enjoys none of God's blessings and is mired in a miasma of evil and bitterness.No one knows how many souls perished here, nor how many wraiths are buried in the shrine. In the quiet garden, the cherry blossoms fall, with each petal having witnessed a tragedy.Only the God enshrined on the altar is more mysterious and ferocious than the shrine itself.
9._Name=Ancient Stockade
9.1_Description=There is an ancient village in the deep mountains shrouded in clouds and mists. People here make tea for a living and have no dispute with the world.Since the fog in the mountains is getting stronger and stronger, residents in the village have found that clothing, bedding and even furniture have begun to rot, and people have become ill. The thick fog has become deadly radon.The villagers who have lived here for generations have fled. There is no one in the village anymore, but there are often exciting drumbeats echoing in the mountains.Some people say that it's not drums, but cymbals.The drum sound is a maddening poison, a curse that cannot be escaped.

Xi'E is the ghost/demon who has created the entirety of the game Soul at Stake.

Lore
Xi'E is said to be a demon, evil in nature, extremely powerful yet not able to kill on his own who seeks to use the greed in people and lure them to the gamble to perform this cruel soul-gambling, game after game.

Xi'E uses his unique power to build dreams, turning the gambling game into a small illusion, luring the attendants into it. For those who are inside the illusion, the gambling game is nothing but a real as life killing game. Gamblers be hunted by Devils during the escape and Xi'E would conjure many Cardholders to allow people to expel those devils, who themselves are but poor souls that are imprisoned by Xi'E.

#The Base Characters=
1.Name=兇尸
1.1???="I am a wound, as well as a blade. I am a prisoner, as well as an executioner. The real criminals coldly disregard me, while I am being the joke in other's eyes."
1.2_Role=The Corpse
1.3_Gender=Male
1.4_Overview=The Corpse can approach the Gamblers in no time, hunting them down.
2.Name=詭王
2.1???= "A human's heart is like a hole of darkness, believing in them would be a grave mistake. Truths and lies are forgotten over time, whereas reality and illusions remain eternally in one's memory."
2.2_Role=The Prince
2.3_Gender=Male
2.4_Overview=The Prince can hide his aura, approaching the Gamblers without being noticed.
3.Name=綉娘
3.1???="Her eyes stare at the abyss of desperation. No matter how glorious they used to be, they are now mirrors reflecting nothing but grief."
3.2_Role=The Bride
3.3_Gender=Female
3.4_Overview=The Bride can scare and confuse the Gamblers with her mirror images, and switch places with her mirror image.
#The DLC characters=
4._Name=神婆
5._Name=幽伶
6._Name=畫皮
7._Name=河女
8._Name=雙瞳
9._Name=花傀
10._Name=惘靈
11._Name=歲憚
12.Name=???
12.1???=None
12.2_Role=The Gravekeeper
12.3_Gender=???
12.4_Overview=???
13._Name=血僕
14._Name=傀仔
15._Name=
16._Name=
17._Name=
18.Name=???
18.1???=None
18.2_Role=The Nightmare
18.3_Gender=???
18.4_Overview=???

#Tips:
1.Playing as The Corpse:
Know when to use the Charge. If you can't make the distance to a running Gambler, it might be better to teleport to a cardholder to try and ambush them.
Keep in mind The Corpse will growl loudly and gives away your general position while you use Charge.
The longer you hold down the M2 button while charging, the further the Charge distance.
It's also best to try and get the first hit on a healthy Gambler in without your charge. Saving your Charge for the right moment is important.
Veteran Gamblers will do a 180 and run behind you to avoid getting hit after you charge at them, to counter this, try canceling your charge early then go for a short lunge.
During your charge if the Gambler you are pursuing is making many tight turns, it is best to give up and set up an ambush. If they only make one turn into a straight hallway, try turning a bit earlier than you would to prep him for making the full 90-degree turn. Pursuits in areas with multiple paths and turns aren’t best.
Don't be afraid to use your Charge to reach destinations quicker. If a Gambler sealing the cardholders around a shop you know the location of, use your Charge to make the distance.
Playing against The Corpse
2.Playing as The Prince:
Once you see a Gambler you can try ambush them by activating Hidden Breath, which turns your heart beat off, and waiting for them alongside a point of interest that is close by.
Playing against The Prince
3.Playing as The Bride
Mirror Images have collisions. You can use them to block Doors and narrow escape routes.
Guard objectives by placing Mirror Images around Cardholders, Shops, etc.
Mirror Images will emit heartbeat when Gamblers near them. You can use this to approach the area of a Mirror Image without Gamblers knowing you are doing so.
Playing against The Bride

He was an orphan. He never heard his parents' names. But from other people's mocks and insults, he slowly realized it was a shameful story. People called him an idiot, a bastard. Born dumb, he used to think those were his names.

If it were not the train stationmaster who adopted him, he could have been long dead. In his mind, the stationmaster gave him a second life and deserved his lifelong gratitude.

The stationmaster, however, was certainly not a philanthropist. There were tons of tough work to do at the train station, and he was born big and strong and capable of carrying crates which normally required three men. The stationmaster meant to use him as a powerful laborer.

His hard-working attitude didn't come well to other laborers who soon found their jobs were under risk. So in return, they put more efforts in bullying him. However, all the insulting words meant nothing to him, the pranks hardly embarrassed him, and basically, nobody could ever beat him. Nonetheless, he didn't care about others' opinions on him, except for the stationmaster's.

He always followed the stationmaster's orders, as if he were the stationmaster's private pet. He was happy as long as he stayed with the stationmaster.

At that time, railways only connected major cities, and if a small city was in the network, there must be some sort of resource, such as ores. This was a small station in a small town of rich iron ore and woods. Every time a train loaded with resources set off from this station, the local general, General Liu, always had his army to escort the train. Easy to imagine, the stationmaster of this train station was not a simple person.

In addition to cargoes, there were a few passenger services at this station. Since the town was too small, the train station naturally became the most popular place in town. Most people living there had some sort of business with the station, and most major incidents initiated there, such as a plague. Due to the nature of the train station, no matter where the plague originated, it would eventually break out there.

General Liu's army immediately responded and blocked off the station. If ores and wood were money, the train station would be the bank, which obviously was General Liu's highest priority.

To prevent further spread of the plague, our orphan were locked in the station with many other laborers. Unlike others, he felt indifferent about the situation, and instead of panicking and crying as others do, he decided to contribute his strong power and do some help.

Medics were delighted to have his help so that they didn't need to touch the dead bodies of the plague themselves. Unfortunately, because of either the plague being too intense or the insufficient medical technology at the time, the plague wasn't under control even though the station had been locked down for a while. People started to transfer outside bodies to the station. The whole station was filled with bodies, slaked lime, and formaldehyde.

He was very dedicated in carrying bodies and not realizing how dreadful it could be, until one day he found some poxes on his arm. He showed them to the medics, who ran away from him in panic and refused his help since then. He was cast away to the platform with some other newly infected and denied access to the waiting lobby.

More and more people died and perished on the platform, stench spread everywhere, and the imprisoned people went desperate. They cried, tried to break the doors and some of them even hanged themselves.

He felt somehow afraid, or to be more accurate, helpless. He thought of his stationmaster as that was the only person who made him feel safe. He tried to speak to the medics and soldiers, but nobody understood him since he was born aphasic, needless to mention that nobody dared to get close to him at all.

Just in a few days, he became the last man standing and breathing on the platform. He no longer felt feared, but more frustrated, and curled up in a corner just like a dog missing its owner.

Suddenly a familiar voice came to his ears. He stood up and listened carefully, and jumped with joy when he positively recognized that it was the stationmaster's voice. Even though his skin was rotting, he was still strong enough to open a crack on the door, through which he found his stationmaster standing in wrinkled uniform next to General Liu, both wearing masks and latex gloves.

"Oi, oi, oi"

He tried to draw his stationmaster's attention while pushing the door hard. The stationmaster was giving orders to some guys holding torches and looked at the door following the sound. Quite to his surprise, the stationmaster hardly believed there was still someone alive in there. However, he didn't come close but only watched from a distance cautiously.

He was very excited and yelled thousands of times "It's me!" in his mind, and ran into the door with all his strength. Superb as his power was, the heavy door was crashed into pieces. He then ran towards the stationmaster directly.

The stationmaster was shocked and horrified. Recognizing it was him in a rotten form, the stationmaster rushed away, yelling "Stop him! Quick!"

Soldiers were very hesitant when they saw him as a giant, angry, violent monster. He then felt confused and halted, staring at his stationmaster, not understanding why he fled away, but also noticing some difference.

The stationmaster yelled again, "Burn him! Quick! NOW!"

He was stunned in front of the crowd, witnessing the man who gave him a second life, now demanding to execute him. The last piece of conscience in his mind collapsed.

He didn't fight back and instead stepped back, slowly. And out of nowhere, he stamped his foot on the head of a body, squeezing out some brain residuals.

He looked at his foot and the headless body under, somehow getting much pleasure from it.

He was born an idiot. He used to be frustrated about his brain, but now he found the headless body on the ground more reasonable.

Because why does anyone need a brain after all?

Prince Achtzehn was the youngest among his brothers, yet he appeared to be very talented. He comprehended difficult literature even as a young boy and showed to be quite skillful at hunting and equestrianism. Soon he became the old king's favorite son.

Jealousy spread between princes. Among the princes, Prince Vier seemed to be the only one who didn't care about succeeding the throne. He had been a dear friend with Prince Achtzehn since his childhood.

During a spring hunt, Prince Achtzehn chased a deer to a cliff, where he got ambushed by assassins. Injured by an arrow, he fell off the cliff. Witnessing this incident, Prince Vier was the only one to rescue him. After that, Prince Achtzehn couldn't feel more grateful to his brother Vier.

Two years later, the old King passed away without appointing his successor. Princes started to fight for the throne. Prince Achtzehn, who earned the most prestige amongst the officials, was favored to be the new king. However, Achtzehn had too much respect for his brother Vier, and rejected the offer. Instead, he pushed Prince Vier to become the new King. Prince Achtzehn was bestowed the title "Lord Virtue", which signified that he would be loyal to the new King.

At the beginning of the new era, opposing parties, including other princes and some officials, pushed a lot of pressure onto the new King. However, with the assistance from Lord Virtue, the new king managed to stabilize the situation and keep everything in order. Since then, there was nothing more powerful than the bond between the brothers, and no one had his new king's trust more so than Lord Virtue.

It's not surprising that Lord Virtue became the biggest enemy of the opposing party. They started to slander Lord Virtue, saying that he was corrupted and had committed felonies. They also bribed the Queen to whisper lies to the King that Lord Virtue was planning on a rebellion. Furthermore, they were spreading the rumors that Lord Virtue had prepared a royal gown and wanted to be crowned.

The King remembered how he gained the throne - he was never the first candidate and only became the king because his younger brother supported him. Naturally, he became skeptical about his brother. It was not helping at all that Lord Virtue had earned more and more reputation over the years. The King had to be cruel to defend his throne, resulting in the cutting down of Lord Virtue's allowance, disbanding his army, and no longer involving him in political affairs.

The opposing party noticed that their strategies worked. They framed more crimes on Lord Virtue. Finally, the King sent investigators to Lord Virtue's palace and found a replicated crown. It was certain to the King that Lord Virtue wanted more than a title of lord. This enraged the King, who immediately demanded to imprison Lord Virtue. When the army arrived in his palace, Lord Virtue realized there was no way out. He only wanted to die with dignity, so he drew out his dagger and attempted suicide. Unfortunately, soldiers came with the order of capturing him alive, so they stopped him and tied him up.

The King valued his old memories with his little brother, but a death sentence was inevitable. He did, rather mercifully, allow a less brutal sentence; a "water sentence". Namely, a soldier used a piece of paper towel to cover the lord's entire face, wetting it thoroughly and then applied a second layer of wet paper. They repeated this until the lord eventually died of suffocation.

Lord Virtue was not the only victim. His offsprings and entire family were sentenced too. The day after the Lord's death, all family members were hanged in his palace. The once prosperous family disappeared in one night.

Today, the palace has been deserted for over a century. Only dust and rodents inhabit this place. The spacious gardens remain quiet, with only sounds coming from the breeze blowing past windows and lanterns. At midnight, the candles at the family shrine randomly ignite. White paper coins [In Chinese tradition, paper coins are the currency for the afterlife.] fly with the leaves and dust. Spooky shadows quiver on the walls as if they were expressing their own sorrow.

In the early 20th century, many bandits and thieves tried to loot this ancient palace. Peculiarly, they never found the treasure in this palace, and neither did any one of them escape. Nobody knows what happened to them. The best theory is that they perished there, joining the other spirits of the deserted gardens and this Mysterious Palace for eternity.

In the Chen Castle, there resided a remote and tiny Tulou in Yongding County, inhabited by about two hundred folks. The whole castle along with the farm nearby was governed by the landlord, Lord Fusheng Chen, and the life was tranquil there.

Xiu was born and raised in the Tulou, only managing to live a poor life with her mother, Wu. Wu was in her 30's but looked much older due to years of harsh labor. Wu's ex-husband was a lazy man who loved gambling. He owed Lord Chen an enormous debt and fled, leaving his wife and kids. Wu had no choice but to work for Lord Chen so that she could raise Xiu.

Years later, Xiu finally grew into an attractive and charming young lady. She was also very skilled at sewing. The clothes and handkerchiefs she made were quite popular among neighbors. Although she rarely socialized, her beauty was hard to hide. Young bachelors dreamed of her every night, and matchmakers visited her all the time. Of course, Xiu herself had pictured a pleasant life with her Prince Charming. However, it was hard for her to find a match.

Her hesitation came to an inevitable end when Xiu received a proposal from Lord Chen.

The Chen family was surely the richest in the whole county. Unfortunately, Lord Chen's only son was born with tuberculosis. He never spent a day without medication, and he was even too weak to finish sentences. Everyone was surprised he survived this long.

Sadly, the lord's son was getting worse and worse. Lord Chen was worried since all the doctors he consulted were unable to find a solution. The desperate lord sought help from a fortune teller, who claimed that to cure the disease, the son must marry a girl with a matching destiny. Coincidentally, Xiu happened to be a match.

Lord Chen immediately sent a matchmaker to persuade Wu and Xiu. The matchmaker condescendingly explained that it was a great honor for Xiu to be selected, as a servant's daughter no less, to marry a lord's son. Wu had been working for the Chen family for years and clearly knew the condition of the lord's son. Would any mother be willing to marry her daughter to a dying man? But considering the debts her husband owed the lord, and the fact that she was merely a servant in this Tulou, Wu wasn't given the opportunity to say "no" and save Xiu.

When she saw the wedding gowns carried to her room, Xiu immediately realized what had happened, and silently submitted to her destiny.

Something horrible happened just two days before the wedding - the lord's son was too ecstatic about the upcoming wedding and drank too much. His body couldn't handle that much alcohol. His lungs bled from intoxication and killed him.

The sudden death of the lord's son made Xiu feel a bit relieved because the wedding would be called off. She asked her mother to cancel the wedding, only to hear the shocking news that Lord Chen insisted on the marriage regardless. That being said, she would be marrying to a dead body.

In southwest China, necrogamy is a long historical custom, but asking a living human to marry a dead person? That just doesn't make any sense.

Wu was totally against this idea. She just couldn't allow her beloved daughter to make such a huge sacrifice. She begged Lord Chen, asked for his mercy, and said she was willing to do anything to cancel the marriage. Lord Chen, who was grieving over the loss of his only son, went mad and commanded his guards to whip Wu and throw her out.

On the day of the wedding, the lord's men came to Wu and Xiu's house to take Xiu, despite how hard she cried and resisted. Wu tried to stop them but those guards ruthlessly broke Wu's legs under Lord Chen's order. Wu crawled to her daughter, only to get kicked by one of the guards, slamming her head on the stairs. Blood started to flow from the wound, resulting in Wu being murdered right in front of her daughter's face.

Xiu was stunned, no longer feeling her own heartbeat. When she came to, she was already at the wedding ceremony next to a coffin. Xiu started to recall the last 17 years of her life. She remembered when her father abused her mother, when her neighbors bought clothes from her, when her mother died in front of her while no one took a stand against it... The desperation devoured her soul, she grabbed a pair of scissors which she used for sewing and walked out of the room.

The guard outside of her room tried to stop her, but Xiu didn't hesitate at all, stabbing his chest with the scissors. She knew where she was going - the center of Tulou, where the wedding was about to take place. All the helpers were too busy finishing the final decoration to notice her. She could hear her neighbors cheering and fawning over Lord Chen. She felt betrayed, disgusted and ashamed. She then walked to the family shrine, where the Chen clan worshiped their ancestors. She ground her teeth so hard that her mouth started to bleed. She hated the Chen family, she detested the Tulou castle, and she had nothing in this place left other than agony and torture. She loathed everything and everyone there, so much that even the most excruciating curse wasn't enough.

Xiu looked at her wedding gown, and used the bloodstained scissors to cut it into pieces, and knotted them into a rope.

Finally, people noticed that Xiu had disappeared. Not until midnight did people find her body hanging in the Chen family shrine. Xiu's hands and feet were as cold as ice. She was still holding the scissors, blood remaining on her mouth, and the red cover hiding half of her face. Her neck was twisted at a strange angle. Her eyes were still wide open, emitting the hatred of the last moments of her life.

Lord Chen didn't seem too concerned when seeing Xiu's body. He had his men take the body to the ceremony to finish the wedding and bury both bodies after a few days. As he said, now it really was a posthumous marriage. Others mostly were scared by Xiu's death, but eventually, let it go.A day after the marriage, Lord Chen had a sudden seizure attack, poking his own eyes and smashing his face. Following him, all family members and helpers of Chen family died one by one due to different causes. And in the following week, many other residents of the Chen Castle started to die for no apparent reason. Terrified people started to flee from this cursed place, but not everyone survived. Two days later, the whole castle became deserted.

Rumors say that at midnight, there can still be faint cries heard near the Chen family shrine. Nobody knows whether it's Xiu's ghost, or spirits mourning for the tragedy of the bewitched Hakka Tulou.

1.Charge [The Corpse]

The Corpse can quickly charge a short distance forward and adjust the direction of the sprint with the mouse.

Ability Notes

Charge has a cooldown of 20 seconds.
The maximum distance of Charge is 18 meters.
The maximum duration of Charge is 2 seconds.
The movement speed of Charge is 36 m/s.

2.Hidden Breath [The Prince]

The Prince can hide his heartbeat, making him harder to detect and therefore easier to achieve a stealth attack and his movement speed is slightly increased. However, his perception and vision while the skill is active will be affected and the Gambler's Aura cannot be detected.

Ability notes

The Prince can still sense the auras of Gamblers with Death Breath or aura reading items while Hidden Breath is active.
The movement speed is increased by 0.2 m/s while Hidden Breath is active.

3.Soul Split [The Bride]

The Bride can create a Mirror Image at her location. The Bride can press Q to transfer to the position of a Mirror Image, taking its place and destroying it in doing so.

Ability notes

Soul Split has a cooldown of 20 seconds.
Each Mirror Image can last for 120 seconds.
The Bride can maintain up to 6 Mirror Images.
Each new Mirror Images will replace the oldest one.
The Mirror Images have collisions.

#The Base Characters=
1.Name=安琪,Angie
1.1???="Sweet dreams are transient illusions, haunting you in every insomniac night. Only by fooling yourself and taking reality as lies, can you experience the dreams nobody else could understand."
1.2_Role=The Celebrity
1.3_Gender=Female
1.4_Overview=Angie is always aware of danger ahead of others.
2.Name=小蝶,Daisy
2.1???="Naivety, weakness, and cowardice. These not only torture one's nerves, but also satisfy those who live to brutalize and abuse. Praying is useless. Regretting is pointless. Crying hardly eases any traumas of the past."
2.2_Role=The Student
2.3_Gender=Female
2.4_Overview=Daisy is good at hiding herself, and that makes her harder to be found by the Devil.
3.Name:丁大力,Daniel
3.1???="Nothing could be crueler and more stone-hearted than humanity, whereas a heart soothing all the hideosity and sorrow is a candle that lights the darkest night."
3.2_Role=The Docker
3.3_Gender=Male
3.4_Overview=Daniel's strong body enables him to survive for a longer time when he is seriously wounded.
4.Name=段長髮,Charles
4.1???="Desire is like the shackles of torture, tying crave, evil and destiny closely together. The stronger the heart, the more difficult it is to break free from its bondage."
4.2_Role=The Banker
4.3_Gender=Male
4.4_Overview=With his little tricks, Charles can always gain more profits.
#The DLC characters=
5._Name=卢弘业,Henry
6._Name=蘇菲,Sophia
7._Name=杨金阙,Jacob
8._Name=小春子,Oliver
9._Name=萬雋洋,Aoki
10._Name=榮氏,Rose
11._Name=招娣,Judie

Gamblers start off in a random position on the map and are given 3 playing cards. Playing cards are meant to be inserted into Cardholders which are blue and silver colored shrines with 21 green lights on them, of which there are several located on the map. Cardholders spawn in random positions on the map, 5 of which need to be sealed in other for Gamblers to win the game and at the same time banishing the Devil they were facing.

To seal a Cardholder, a Gambler must insert playing cards into it until the total card value adds up to exactly 21, at which point the Cardholder will be completed. A Gambler simply needs to walk up to a Cardholder and Interact with it to start inserting their selected card. Inserting cards takes time and the higher the value of the card (Ace: 1, Jack: 11, Queen: 12, King: 13) the longer it takes to insert the card. Logically this means that the Ace is the fastest card to insert having only a value of 1 while King takes the longest with a value of 13.

Be warned, a Gambler inserting cards into a Cardholder are unable to turn their camera and therefore leave themselves open to two forms of ambush. A Devil may decide to teleport themselves to a Cardholder that a Gambler is inserting cards into, when they do, the Gambler will notice a gust of wind and tree leaves floating around indicating a Devil is about to teleport there, if you are playing as a Gambler and see this, run for it! Another way a Devil might attack is to simply walk over to you in silence. Although a Gambler is able to detect a Devil's presence within a certain range indicated by a heartbeat, the range of this heartbeat is actually quite small which means that by the time you hear the heartbeat the Devil is most likely within striking distance already.

After a card has been successfully inserted into a Cardholder it removes a number of lights on the Cardholder and awards a Gambler with stakes (chips) equal to its value which they can then use to buy a variety of items to help them survive in the Stores, hidden away in the map. To find a Store, one should pay attention to the green lanterns, they'll indicate a Store is located inside of a room or building.

When hit by a Devil, Gamblers become injured and will require medical aid, either from another Gambler who can walk up to them and Interact to perform healing or from buying a Ginseng Pill in the store which can be used to immediately heals their wounds. If struck by the Devil while in the injured state, the Gambler will enter the downed state and will start to bleed out over time. Once a Gambler has bled out enough and is close to dying, a Devil will be able to walk up to them and execute them on the spot, removing them from the game. Being downed twice normally causes you to immediately bleed out to the point where the Devil can execute you, this can be prevented by running the cheat Resilience.

Once 5 shrines have been brought to completion, the Gamblers win the gamble!

Angie enjoyed dancing between different men as if she were the apple of everyone's eye, and that type of life is exactly what she wanted. Despite gossip saying she was a shameless whore, she believed they were spreading those rumors because they were jealous of her. Those men were wealthy, powerful, and very much obsessed with her - aren't they a perfect match for her? She preferred the overindulging and lustful life to the tough days of the past.

Mingling between the governors and businessmen, she had mastered the skill to sense other men's mood and please them. With this expertise, she became the most popular girl among the upper-class. Gradually, Angie started to have the wrong impression that she was a princess who belonged there, and her Prince Charming had just made his appearance. With this man, she felt that she was the happiest lady in the world. However, one day her lover robbed everything from her and disappeared. Her house was sold and her lover left her nothing. Her sweet dream was destroyed.

Her old acquaintances had already lost interest in her - Angie, just like other women, was just amusement to them. Broke, Angie had nowhere to go but to take some shots at a local pub. She was still dressing fancy, which made her really stand out in the pub. The deja vu of being the center of men's attention hit her again. She closed her eyes and imagined she was not sitting in a divey pub, but in a high-class club with a splendid dance pool and crystal chandeliers.

Once she came to her senses, she noticed a note under her glass, with an unfamiliar address and a line - you can bet anything and win anything you want here.

Is this a joke or destiny, she wondered...

Daisy didn't come from a rich family, but she managed to go to a Christian school thanks to her father's support. However, the sole reason why her father favored her was because her brother, had deeply disappointed her father.

Daisy understood that her father put all of his expectations on her instead of her brother. She worked very hard on coursework and succeeded in her studies. Years of reading caused her to become nearsighted, so she had to wear glasses. Her nerdy look and quiet personality made her come across as a weird person to others.

One day, her brother who had gone missing suddenly appeared at her school. He eagerly asked about the whereabouts of her and the family. He regretted about what he had done to the family. He said he had started a new business, paid off all of his debts, and even had some savings. He wished to go home and reunite with his loved ones, so he begged Daisy to say some nice words to their parents so that they would welcome him again.

Daisy, being very naive, was more than happy to do the favor. She was excited for both her brother and father. After the meeting, Daisy's brother gladly invited her to visit his new house.

They traveled to an old suburban house, which used to be phenomenal but now remains quiet and unoccupied. After walking into the lobby, Daisy's brother asked her to wait at the study while he prepared a gift for their parents. When Daisy opened the door to the study it was extremely dark. She blindly tried to find the lamp, only to hear a sudden sound of the door being latched behind her. Daisy panicked and attempted to open the door again, but it was stuck. Then a dim light emerged, revealing a group of strangers sitting at a round table in the center of the room.

Her brother never had any business, and certainly could never pay off his debts unless he won the destiny-changing gamble where the cost is souls. But a coward like him wouldn't dare to bet on his own life. He tricked Daisy to this deserted place and used her soul to gamble. If she won he would take all the benefits, and if she lost, well...

When he was 18 years old, Daniel, along with other refugees in Northern China, came to Shanghai. They became the poorly educated manual workers who didn't fit in the luxurious world of Shanghai. Daniel was one of the loading workers at a pier.

In the tough years, the government was powerless, letting underground gangs take control of the piers. Most workers exhausted themselves to earn a few coins, which barely provided enough for food. Most of the profits, of course, went into the gang's hands or capitalists' pockets.

What got worse, since there were more and more immigrants in Shanghai, the number of pier workers increased quickly, but there were fewer job openings. So even though the pay was pathetic, pier workers still fought badly for the scarce jobs they had.

Pier workers began to form groups based on their hometown, and there were serious conflicts between groups. However, this indeed amused the bosses of the piers - they took the chance to further lower the salary. Pier workers' lives turned into a desperate situation.

The pier workers came from a complex background of lower classes, but Daniel stood out from his peers. He pointed out that if workers kept fighting each other, the situation would just become worse and worse and there would be absolutely no good outcome of it.

He persuaded the workers into ceasing the fights and discrimination, and instead getting united to fight against the capitalists who exploited their work. Workers soon realized who their true enemies were.

The pier workers formed a union and elected Daniel as their chair to organize strikes and protests. They urged the underground boss controlling Shanghai Transportation Bureau, Mr. Young, to pay off the workers' delayed stipend. Daniel became a hero among workers, as well as a thorn in Mr. Young's side.

At that time most businesses were controlled by Mr. Young's gang. Nobody really dared to challenge him. Mr. Young appeared to be a well-mannered businessman, in reality, he was a ruthless and cruel thug. The pier business is one of his most important sources of income.

Mr.Young agreed to pay off the workers' delayed stipend, but right after Daniel claimed the money on behalf of the worker's union, he immediately commanded his men to kidnap Daniel's village men, cut their fingers, and then send them to Daniel to blackmail him.

The requested ransom happened to be exactly the same as the stipend Daniel claimed earlier. Daniel soon realized that it was Mr. Young behind this whole scheme. He wanted to blackmail Daniel to get the money back, and afterward, if the workers wanted their money, Daniel would be the one to blame.

Daniel fell into a dilemma - he didn't want to risk his village men's lives, neither did he want to be the scapegoat for looting the worker's money.

Finally, he made up his mind - he was going to risk his life to earn the money.

He dared to sacrifice his flesh, his blood, and his life, as long as it cleared his name and won back his dignity.

He shall win what he wished for in this game.

Charles is a cunning man, but he also has his sentimental side. Born and raised in a poor family, he was determined at a young age to fight to become a member of the upper class.

His endeavor paid off and he managed to get recruited to a bank. His efforts earned him his supervisor's trust. However, even though he was one of the quickest promoted employees, it was hardly fulfilling his desires - money, lots of money, the money that could raise him so high that everyone would have to submit to him. The desires blinded his eyes. He started to appropriate bank funds. Later on, he became the son-in-law of the Bank's President. With his new connection to the President, he was becoming bolder and more obsessed with appropriating money.

Soon the bank's debt grew impossible to cover. The government began their investigation, freaking out Charles, and just when he was thinking of solutions, his father-in-law, the President, was taken into custody because of embezzlement.

Charles suddenly lost his most powerful support, as well as his social status. Desperately, he put on his long shirt, trying to cover his face with his hat, and walked out onto the street. He couldn't believe that his career and life were over.

He walked to a local tavern, drank a whole bottle of strong liquor, and got completely wasted. While drunk, he heard whispers in his ear: there's a special gamble going on at a secret location, where he could get a great fortune beyond his imagination.

When he woke up the next morning, he found a note in his hand, written on it was a strange address...