Free Web NovelLu Yibei, who didn't know what she had done wrong, silently looked into Jiang Li's eyes, trying to make eye contact with her.
【Wang Bu Liu Xing initiated an eye contact chat】
But...
【The other party rejected your chat request】
"..."
Lu Yibei stopped herself from speaking several times before finally testing the waters cautiously, "Uh... are you really planning to gamble with me?"
"Of course." Jiang Li nodded slightly, saying indifferently, "Didn't you propose it?"
As she spoke, her chin tilted slightly upwards, her eyes rolled disdainfully, and the corners of her mouth curved into a half-smile, revealing an expression of both contempt and pity.
Some women's gazes can make people feel nervous, and if that woman happens to be beautiful, the efficiency of causing nervousness is even higher, and Jiang Li was just such a woman.
Her beautiful and captivating eyes, which seemed capable of instantly seeing through all kinds of false pretenses, were undoubtedly her ultimate weapon.
If combined with a few lines of seemingly praiseful but actually sarcastic remarks, those with slightly weaker psychological fortitude would instantly break down and suffer immense damage.
This special gaze, born from the fusion of temperament, appearance, and personality, has a fitting name: "Gaze Kill."
However, Gaze Kill also has its nemesis. If the person being stared at has no sense of shame whatsoever, then this gaze is completely useless.
Lu Yibei was clearly someone with a very thin sense of shame, so...
【Gaze Kill failed to penetrate Wang Bu Liu Xing's armor】
Lu Yibei acted as if she hadn't noticed Jiang Li's gaze, nodding nonchalantly, "Alright! It's just a gamble, no big deal."
Although she hadn't had a proper gamble with anyone since arriving at the Entertainment City, she wasn't afraid at all if it came down to it. After all, she was someone who had been through countless battles.
When she used to play games, she would often make bets with trash teammates, like a mid-lane solo where the loser's entire family line would die.
Even though her household registration only listed herself, she wasn't afraid of such bets. What was there to be afraid of losing some chips to Jiang Li?
She quietly calculated in her mind, then looked at Jiang Li, saying seriously, "Since we've decided to gamble, you can set the time and place."
"No problem," Jiang Li said.
"If there's no problem, then I'll decide the content of the gamble. That's fairer," Lu Yibei quickly added, seemingly afraid that Jiang Li might change her mind.
Using retreat as a means to advance, letting Jiang Li choose the time and place, and then choosing what to gamble on herself – this was a plan Lu Yibei had made early on.
It was like when she used to solo people; she'd generously let the other person pick their best hero first, then she'd pick a counter-hero, and then use her already decent skill and the hero's counter-mechanism to beat them until their own mother wouldn't recognize them.
However, given that Jiang Li was very smart, this little trick could easily be seen through, so she had to finalize the rules with lightning speed before Jiang Li could react.
Lu Yibei still wanted to win this gamble as much as possible.
Even if Jiang Li was a girl, and even if winning or losing didn't really matter, as long as all the chips were in her hands, wouldn't Jiang Li have to do whatever she wanted?
If you don't even have chips, do you still want to go to Wu Hui Land and play against the Big Boss of the Entertainment City?
No way!
"..."
Jiang Li quickly realized Lu Yibei's intention. After pondering for a moment, she nodded, "Okay, we'll do as you say."
Although she saw through Lu Yibei's little trick, she didn't care. She had been studying various card and board games since she was very young, and she had absolute confidence in this area.
"However, there's a small issue here."
Lu Yibei raised her eyebrows, "You're not going to add some weird clauses to the gamble, are you? And then big clauses nested with small clauses, small clauses nested with tiny clauses, tiny clauses nested with tiny tiny..."
"Stop!" Jiang Li interrupted before Lu Yibei's rambling could loop infinitely, "That's not what I wanted to say."
Damn it, I really ran into a Tang Monk... Jiang Li grumbled inwardly, then added, "What I wanted to say is, since you want to gamble with me, your chips should at least be roughly equivalent to mine, right?"
"Do you have that many chips?"
"Tsk! Who are you looking down on?" Lu Yibei rolled her eyes, "I have a few million chips!"
"I..." Jiang Li said lightly, "Probably have a little over 100 million chips."
Lu Yibei, "..."
After a brief silence, she quietly pulled out half a pack of spicy strips and handed them to Jiang Li, "Boss, have some spicy strips!"
Why would she carry such a bizarre thing with her... Jiang Li furrowed her brow slightly and pushed away Lu Yibei's spicy strips, saying, "Seriously, what are you going to use to make up the difference in chips?"
"This..." Lu Yibei frowned, "Besides chips, I don't have anything else valuable. How about you wait a few days? I'll try to figure something out and raise some?"
"..." Jiang Li fell silent, her eyes dimming for a moment as she said faintly, "I can't wait that long."
"Then what should I do? I'm just this person, I can't bet myself, can I?" Lu Yibei said helplessly, "How about, if I lose, I'll work like a slave for you?"
Jiang Li's eyes lit up, "Okay!"
Lu Yibei, "???"
She agreed so readily, is there some kind of trap?
"Ahem!" Seeing Lu Yibei's strange look, Jiang Li cleared her throat and explained expressionlessly, "What I mean is, I can reluctantly accept this bet."
As she spoke, she gently pressed the button on the coffee table's little devil statue to call for service. "I'll have a Rabbit Girl arrange a private room later. Once you've decided what you want to gamble on, we can start anytime."
"I'll have to give that some serious thought," Lu Yibei pouted. "A Hua and the others are still waiting for me downstairs! I should go down and give them a heads-up first. Once I've decided what to gamble on, I'll come find you."
"Okay." Jiang Li nodded slightly, "I'll wait for you."
As she said this, a strange flutter ran through her heart.
For a moment, she seemed to genuinely look forward to winning the gamble against Lu Yibei.
But why would she have such an expectation?
"Alright, see you later!" Lu Yibei said, getting up and walking out of the lounge.
Jiang Li maintained a poker face, as if Lu Yibei owed her 120 million chips, watching her leave.
It wasn't until the moment the lounge door closed that she collapsed onto the sofa, then slowly turned over, burying her entire face in a cushion, her long legs drumming against the sofa like drums.
Just then, the doorbell of the lounge rang, and the voice of a Rabbit Girl came from the little devil's mouth on the coffee table.
"Miss A Li, did you call for service just now?"
Jiang Li sat up straight in an instant, looking towards the door, and said expressionlessly, "Yes, come in!"
----
After leaving Jiang Li's VIP lounge, Lu Yibei didn't immediately go to find Liu Banxian and A Hua. Instead, while pondering what to gamble on to ensure a win, she walked towards the chip exchange on the third floor.
At this time, the entire third floor was still in full swing, but the chip exchange, which should have been lively, was quite deserted. Only one Rabbit Girl in a golden uniform stood behind the counter, her posture as standard as a statue.
Seeing Lu Yibei approach, she bowed slightly and smiled, "Hello, Miss. How may I assist you?"
"Could you please show me your exchange list? I'd like to exchange for some things."
"Certainly, please wait a moment." The Rabbit Girl said, then leaned down to retrieve a tablet from under the counter and handed it to Lu Yibei with both hands.
Taking the tablet, Lu Yibei clicked on the miscellaneous items section and quickly browsed through over three hundred items, a hint of disappointment flashing in her eyes.
Even on the third floor, there was no White Little Flower figurine more rare than the 【Flower of Chaos from a Parallel Dimension】.
In fact, Dream Come True Entertainment City's claim that it could fulfill all guests' wishes was not an exaggeration. The list at the exchange counter only contained some standard options, while wishes beyond these standard items required guests to make a separate request.
Putting away her disappointment, Lu Yibei quickly clicked on the special items section. As the page changed, she immediately found what she wanted to exchange for.
In the first column of the special items, the words "Lifespan" were clearly written.
"..."
It actually exists!
I thought something like this wouldn't be on the list!
Lu Yibei muttered to herself, then raised her head to look at the Rabbit Girl in front of her, pointing to the "Lifespan" column on the tablet and asking, "I want to exchange for this. How many chips does it cost?"
Upon hearing this, the Rabbit Girl bowed slightly and explained, "Miss, you may not know, but if you wish to exchange for lifespan, you must first undergo a test. The required chips will vary depending on the amount of lifespan you have remaining."
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"Uh..." Lu Yibei scratched the back of her head. "What if I want to exchange it for someone else?" fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
Liu Banxian was so certain that Jiang Li wouldn't live long. Although Lu Yibei didn't say it out loud, she was still very worried, worried that even if she didn't gamble with the Big Boss of the Entertainment City, she might die suddenly.
To prevent her from dying suddenly, it's safer to quietly exchange some lifespan for her.
Anyway, we have a lot of chips now, don't we? Several million! Lu Yibei thought.
"Then, may I ask if you can provide detailed information about the person you wish to exchange for?" the Rabbit Girl pressed.
"Let me think..." Lu Yibei thought seriously for a moment and said, "Jiang Li, female, nineteen years and three months and seven days old, height one meter..., I haven't held her, so I'm not sure about her weight. Her hobby is playing mahjong..."
The Rabbit Girl seemed to catch on to something and pressed, "Excuse me, are you talking about Miss A Li?"
Lu Yibei's eyes lit up. "Yes, yes, that's her! Let's get her a full ten years of lifespan first, shall we?"
"Okay, let me see..." the Rabbit Girl replied, lowered her head, and fiddled with the dark blue crystal ball in front of her for a while, then stated a number that shocked Lu Yibei.
"Hello, Miss. To exchange ten years of lifespan for Miss A Li, it requires 1.2 billion chips."
"Ah?" Lu Yibei's eyes widened, and she exclaimed, "Why does it cost so much?"
As the guest with the second-highest amount of chips in the entire Entertainment City, Jiang Li only had a little over 100 million chips in her hand. Demanding 1.2 billion with every open and close of the mouth was simply too exaggerated.
Indeed, just like the advertising slogan of a certain domestic web game said, "Your time is very valuable."
"Forget it, then how about I exchange for ten days first?"
If ten years of lifespan cost 1.2 billion, Lu Yibei estimated that her chips could probably exchange for about ten days.
It's a bit short, but helping Jiang Li cling to her life first is more important.
"Okay." The Rabbit Girl replied again, fiddled with the crystal ball in front of her once more, and responded with a smile, "For ten days, it requires 1.023 billion chips."
"What the heck?" Lu Yibei was dumbfounded. "Did you read it wrong? Why does ten days also cost so much?"
"Miss, I didn't calculate it wrong!" the Rabbit Girl patiently explained. "The exchange price for lifespan is based on the remaining lifespan of the target. For example, if a certain Strange Tale has five hundred years of lifespan remaining, then exchanging for ten years of lifespan only requires two hundred thousand chips."
"As for Miss A Li, she only has three days and fifteen hours of lifespan left, so exchanging lifespan for her will be quite expensive."
It's confirmed, Liu Banxian's calculation was really accurate. Three days and fifteen hours, Jiang Li is practically buried up to her forehead!
"Is that so?" Lu Yibei nodded thoughtfully.
After listening to the Rabbit Girl's explanation, she finally understood how the Entertainment City's lifespan exchange rules worked.
She suddenly remembered a question she had seen on Zhihu before.
The question was: When is the most precious time in a person's life?
The answers below the question were diverse and strange. Some said it was the time spent with loved ones, some said it was the time when one is healthy, and some even said it was the time after sex.
However, among all the answers, the one that left the deepest impression on Lu Yibei was "the second of birth and death."
Now that Jiang Li is close to death, every day of lifespan helped to extend is snatched from death, which is why the chips needed to exchange for lifespan are ridiculously high.
"Miss, do you still wish to make an exchange?"
"..." Lu Yibei looked at the Rabbit Girl in front of her, was silent for a few seconds, and then spoke with a voice of poverty, "I'll think about it."
After saying that, she quickly ran away.
Can't afford it, can't afford it.
However, not long after she ran off, she came back.
"Oh right, do you have Jenga here?"
This was the game she thought of in a short time that could fully utilize her advantages. After all, she was gambling with Jiang Li. If she resorted to some crooked methods again, Jiang Li probably wouldn't accept the loss.
"Huh?" The Rabbit Girl was stunned for a moment, seemingly not understanding what Lu Yibei meant.
Seeing the Rabbit Girl's puzzled expression, Lu Yibei gestured while explaining, "It's that toy where blocks are stacked together, and two people take turns pulling out a block in order. Whoever makes the stack fall loses."
Jenga plus my predictive ability, I definitely can't lose this round!
The only thing she needed to consider was how to get Jiang Li to agree to play this. Lu Yibei thought.
The Rabbit Girl was stunned again, then nodded and said, "A children's educational board game? Yes, we have it."
"How many chips does it cost?" Lu Yibei pressed.
"Two, two chips."
Lu Yibei's eyes lit up. She took out a ten-thousand-chip and slapped it on the counter. "Get me one!"
"Also..."
"I just saw a Qing Dynasty lacquer box in the miscellaneous items, get me one of those too!"
"Uh, this... Please wait a moment."
Thus, three minutes later, the Rabbit Girl at the exchange counter watched with a strange look in her eyes as a peculiar girl, who had exchanged Jenga for two chips and a lacquer box for over eighteen thousand chips, walked away.
----
A corner of the upper three floors' hall.
Liu Banxian and A Hua finally managed to find a relatively quiet place to settle down amidst the chaotic and restless crowd.
Liu Banxian squatted in the corner, a half-burnt cigarette dangling from his lips, his eyes scanning back and forth through the hazy smoke at the /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ reveling guests in the hall.
"Little Girl, with such a lively scene, aren't you going to play with them for a while?
A Hua gently shook her head. "No, Wang Bu Liu Xing went to see my Miss and hasn't returned for so long. I'm a little worried that she might have failed in her disguise and been captured."
"I'll just wait here!"
"What about you? Why aren't you going?"
"These old bones of mine can't play anymore." Liu Banxian said with a bitter smile, slowly exhaling smoke rings.
A Hua tilted her head, a look of confusion on her face.
I saw that when you were beaten at the station, your body was quite sturdy!
Like you've trained in the Iron Shirt of the Thirteen Grand Guardians.
Noticing A Hua's confusion, Liu Banxian explained, "Actually, I didn't come here to play in the first place, so I don't have that kind of desire."
"I understand, you're here to fulfill a wish, right?" A Hua finished speaking, and seeing a hint of dimness flash in Liu Banxian's eyes, she immediately closed her mouth.
He had stayed for so long without leaving, his wish must not have been fulfilled yet. Bringing up the matter of wishes now was undoubtedly reopening his wound.
"It's alright, Little Girl, my wish probably won't be fulfilled." Liu Banxian said with a bitter smile, opened his mouth, wanting to say something more, when he saw Lu Yibei running over in a hurry, holding a lacquer box, "Oh, that girl is back."
Hearing this, A Hua looked in the direction Liu Banxian was looking, saw Lu Yibei, and hurried forward a few steps, eagerly asking, "How was it? You weren't discovered, were you? Did you see my Miss?"
Lu Yibei scratched the back of her head. "Yes, I saw her, but..."
"But she didn't recognize you? And kicked you out? Didn't I tell you how to talk to her before you went? Didn't you tell her?"
As far as A Hua knew, Jiang Li's memories related to Lu Yibei should have been exchanged long ago. So, before Lu Yibei set off, she deliberately prepared some memories that she believed Jiang Li would definitely not exchange and told them to Lu Yibei, so that Lu Yibei could recognize Jiang Li.
Listening to A Hua rattling off a string of questions like a machine gun, Lu Yibei frowned. "It's a bit strange. She did recognize me, but..."
"Tsk, I didn't figure out what I said wrong. Anyway, the situation now is, I have to gamble with her later. If I win, all her chips are mine. If I lose, I'll have to work like a slave for her for the rest of my life!"
Hearing this, A Hua's expression darkened, and she muttered, "Then it's over."
"Why is it over?" freewёbnoνel.com
"You can't possibly win against my Miss. She has practiced for many years to win this gamble, even integrating many Spiritual Energies into her gambling skills..."
"So, she's very good at Jenga?" Lu Yibei interrupted, shaking the lacquer box full of blocks in her hand as she spoke.
A Hua, "..."
What the heck is Jenga?
Liu Banxian, "???"
Can you even gamble on something like Jenga? How could she possibly agree?
