Me, The Sovereign of the World? [Modern Evolution]

February 3, in the afternoon.

Zoe sat on the sofa, scrolling through her phone while waiting for her friends to arrive. On the table in front of her were some snacks she had stocked up on earlier.

Not long ago, she had used her "Transparent World 2.0" ability to watch two elderly men downstairs play a full game of chess, and then watched them play two more games despite it being mealtime.

Throughout the games, she was able to fully grasp the fluctuating emotions of the two men with her newfound mental ability. This ability to vaguely perceive others' emotions felt wonderfully indescribable.

Unlike judging someone's thoughts through micro-expressions and actions, she could accurately feel their true emotions at that moment. It was as if she could see through their minds.

Of course, she couldn't see their specific thoughts, but she could sense general emotions like tension, excitement, and fear. In front of Zoe's "Transparent World 2.0," everyone almost lost all their secrets. The combination of vision, hearing, smell, and mental power could strip anyone bare.

This ability was so fascinating that Zoe couldn't help but want to see everyone’s emotions, a temptation almost impossible for any normal person to resist.

However, after observing the emotional ups and downs of the two elderly men playing chess, Zoe immediately thought of practical applications for this ability.

Without hesitation, she dialed Benny's number. She remembered how this guy used to boast about being the best gambler in the world and claimed he could have been a famous gambling king if he didn't find gambling inelegant.

Back then, Zoe didn’t believe him and played a few rounds of poker with Benny, only to be utterly defeated.

Now, with her emotion-sensing ability combined with her calculation skills, Zoe's first reaction was to give Benny, who had once shown off in front of her, a good lesson. She thought about it and decided to act on it.

At 2 p.m., while Zoe was still watching authors chat in an authors group, there was a knock on the door.

Using "Transparent World 2.0," she saw that Benny had arrived as promised. But there was another person at her door—a woman. The woman had faint emotions of shyness and joy, and her eyes occasionally glanced at Benny, indicating she liked him but hadn’t expressed it.

She had a mix of scents: benzaldehyde (almond scent), vanillin (vanilla scent), toluene, ethylbenzene (sweet scents), and 2-ethylhexanol (floral scent), with a slight hint of mustiness, typical of old books. Clearly, she was someone who often stayed in bookstores.

Additionally, she had a fresh, light red wine aroma, similar to the type Benny often drank. Just from this moment of perception, Zoe understood why Benny would hang out with this woman. Reading books and drinking wine—they had common interests. It seemed that the occasional voice chats she had noticed between Benny and a woman were with her.

Raising an eyebrow, smiling and mentally commenting on it, Zoe walked to the door and opened it.

"Always think that the more foolish a person is, the more they believe they can deceive a clever person," Benny said, holding a bottle of red wine and bowing slightly. Although his actions were gentlemanly, his words carried a teasing mockery typical of friends.

The implication was clear: Are you really looking to play cards with me again? You must be asking to get beaten.

"Don’t act like that’s your own quote from Vauvenargues. Besides, do you think you’ve won before we even start?" Zoe rolled her eyes at Benny. She casually took the red wine from Benny and opened the door wider to let them in.

Benny sat on the sofa as if he were at home. The woman timidly stood aside and only sat down on the other end of the sofa after Zoe gestured to her.

"What made you think of playing cards with me? It's so rare, I even brought a new friend to make up the minimum number," Benny replied, curiously looking at Zoe.

He had been chatting with the owner of a new bookstore about their favorite books when Zoe suddenly asked him to play cards. He had nothing else to do, so how could he refuse such a request to get beaten?

"Feeling itchy, want a challenge. How about a three-player game of Landlord?" Zoe cut to the chase, her face displaying an expression that begged for a beating. Her exceptional control made this expression particularly vivid and lifelike—one look would make anyone want to punch her.

In reality, if someone could sense emotions, they would notice that Zoe was suppressing her excitement and anticipation. She was eagerly looking forward to testing her new cheating-like card-playing ability.

"Alright, alright! Let me show you what it means to be the emperor and sun of the poker world!" Benny laughed as he picked up the deck of cards from the table and skillfully began shuffling and dealing them.

His movements were simple and elegant, a pleasure to watch. His face radiated confidence, so much so that Zoe didn’t even need to use her mental ability to sense it; anyone could see his self-assuredness.

The game started quickly. Zoe didn’t immediately use her mental power to sense Benny’s cards. Playing with open cards wasn’t her goal. The main reason she invited Benny to play was to test the practical application of her emotion-sensing ability.

She had already experienced the powerful perception of her mental power fused with "Transparent World" while watching the elderly men play chess.

Now, she wanted to see how this emotion-sensing ability felt in practice. Theoretically, people’s emotions fluctuate during card games due to various situations, just like the elderly men playing chess.

Sensing these emotional fluctuations should assist in playing cards. By understanding the quality of the opponent’s hand and their changing attitudes towards her moves, Zoe thought she could gain an advantage.

After experimenting with this approach, Zoe found playing cards much easier. The emotion-sensing ability was indeed useful. Combined with her strong calculation skills, which allowed her to count cards effectively, playing several rounds felt almost the same as playing with open cards.

She could basically see through the opponents’ hands.

When it was time to lose, she did so decisively. When she could win, she almost always did. As the landlord, she nearly always won. As a farmer, cooperating with two reasonably competent teammates, winning wasn’t difficult either. This made Zoe happier with each round, and she became increasingly proficient at using her emotion-sensing ability.

On the other hand, Benny became increasingly bewildered, confused, and incredulous. Despite his calm exterior, Zoe’s "Transparent World 2.0" saw through his inner turmoil and the cold sweat forming on his neck.

"Looks like… the emperor of poker is about to fall," Zoe thought after winning another round as the landlord. She calculated her points and found she was far ahead of the other two.

Facing Zoe’s mockery, Benny pondered for a long time and had to reluctantly admit a fact: it seemed the emperor of poker had indeed fallen. Zoe had become absurdly strong.

Benny prided himself on his Poker skills, not claiming to be the best in the world but certainly top-tier. Yet now, without cheating, he was completely crushed. Every move seemed to be thoroughly seen through!

Looking at Zoe, Benny decisively conceded, saying, "There can’t be two suns in the sky! In my heart, you’re the only sun!"