Free Web NovelThe Rabbit Girls in the Entertainment City all seemed to have graceful figures, wore inconvenient clothing, were polite to all guests yet kept a certain distance, and you didn't have to worry about them suddenly pulling out a crowbar from somewhere.
However, characters like these, who seemed like mere ornaments, were surprisingly efficient; less than ten minutes after Jiang Li requested a private room for a gamble with Lu Yibei, a luxurious one was ready.
Inside the antique-decorated private room, a gambling table covered in suede fabric was placed in the center, illuminated by hanging ornate palace lanterns; a Rabbit Girl dealer stood at one corner of the table, with various common discard piles and gambling tools beside her. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
In the bar corner, a Rabbit Girl bartender waited quietly, ready to serve carefully prepared drinks to guests at any time.
Sitting before the gambling table, Jiang Li wore a black deep V backless dress, with light makeup on her delicate face, as if she had meticulously prepared for a date.
However, after everything was ready, Lu Yibei was late to appear.
After Jiang Li finished her third cup of strong tea, a Rabbit Girl approached with a delicate teapot, ready to refill her cup, but she waved her hand, interrupting the Rabbit Girl.
"Thank you, no need."
It's already been over two hours, what is that Lu Yibei doing?
Could it be that she's chickened out at a time like this and fled before the battle?
Or, could she know that I don't have much time left and is deliberately trying to delay?
Jiang Li thought, walking to the floor-to-ceiling window of the private room and looking down at the noisy hall.
Soon, she found Lu Yibei's figure among the reveling crowd.
She was too conspicuous, completely out of place among the other guests in the hall who were immersed in drinks, food, and hot dancing.
In her hand, she held a thick stack of flyers, and regardless of whether other guests paid attention to her or not, she kept shoving the flyers into people's hands. After handing them out, she would tirelessly chatter with them for a long time, only slipping away when the other person was about to resort to violence.
Jiang Li, "..."
What on earth is she doing?
It looks like the Miracle Order promoting their heavenly father...
Does doing this have anything to do with our gamble?
"It's related, very related!"
Lu Yibei divided half of the flyers in her hand and stuffed them into A Hua's hand, "If I don't do this, how will anyone know about the gamble between me and your Miss?"
"If they don't know, how can I open an outside bet? I just asked those Rabbit Girls, and the Entertainment City allows outside bets and can even provide basic security, and all of this only requires paying 5% of the amount wagered inside the game."
"Think about it, a gamble involving hundreds of millions of chips, these gamblers will definitely be very interested, right?" Lu Yibei whispered in a voice only she and A Hua could hear.
As she spoke, she narrowed her eyes and scanned over the reveling guests in the hall one by one, like a hungry wolf examining carefully bred 5A-grade fat cattle.
After looking around, Lu Yibei withdrew her gaze and continued, "There are at least two thousand guests on these upper three floors, with more than half participating. Based on the minimum bet limit of one hundred thousand chips, that's over a hundred million."
"But I believe not everyone will only bet the minimum. Conservatively estimated, we can rake in several hundred million chips this time."
Adding the chips Jiang Li has, she will definitely be qualified to go to Wu Hui Land to challenge the Big Boss, and then the second phase of the plan can be carried out.
If the second phase of the plan goes smoothly... Hmph! Who says the only way to bring down this casino is by winning against the Big Boss?
As long as that so-called Big Boss doesn't become enraged and forcibly change the outcome with terrifying power, it will be fine. Lu Yibei thought, looking up at the white spiral staircase in the center of the hall.
That staircase, as if descending from heaven, continuously extended upwards, until it disappeared into the pitch-black abyss.
And behind that constantly rotating abyss, it was as if a pair of eyes was peering into everything in the Entertainment City.
A Hua looked at the flyer in her hand, then at Lu Yibei, and said anxiously, "I know this can earn a lot of chips, but what does this have to do with saving my Miss?"
"It's related, very related!" Lu Yibei patted A Hua's shoulder, comforting her, "From what I understand, saving her requires not only winning the gamble against her but also a lot, a lot of chips."
"But..." A Hua hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back.
"Just rest assured! Would I harm your Miss? She's my kind and lovely superior, Miao Miao Jiang, who has gone through life and death with me. We have the kind of bond where we've shared noodles from the same bowl and slept on the same bed!"
"..." A Hua opened her mouth, just about to say something, when she was pushed by Lu Yibei towards the guests gathered nearby, drinking heartily.
"Go, go, hurry and help me hand out flyers!"
As soon as Lu Yibei sent A Hua away, she saw Liu Banxian approaching. He carefully squeezed through the crowd, slowly climbed over two gambling tables piled high with wine glasses, and stopped in front of Lu Yibei.
"Girl, I've finished the matter you asked me to do!"
Lu Yibei's eyes lit up slightly, surprised, "That fast?"
"Of course it has to be fast!" Liu Banxian straightened his back, saying proudly, "Do you think I've been messing around here for so many years for nothing?"
Liu Banxian had indeed spent a long time messing around on the upper three floors of the Entertainment City and was familiar with many people or urban legend here. If not for encountering bad luck a few months ago, he wouldn't have left this place.
However, what Lu Yibei didn't expect was that a guy who looked like a fortune teller was also so familiar with astrology. One could only say his business scope was truly wide.
"Go and ask around, how many people here haven't borrowed money from me, and how many haven't been beaten by me? We're all familiar! Guiding them on what wine to drink isn't an easy thing?" Liu Banxian added.
"What's more, they're not paying this time."
Lu Yibei, "..."
Why can you say something like this with such pride?
Anyone who doesn't know would think you've beaten them and they owe you money!
After Liu Banxian boasted about his "connections" for a while, he looked at the flyers in Lu Yibei's hand and raised his eyebrows, "How about it, girl? Do you want me to help you hand out flyers next?"
"No need, no need." Lu Yibei quickly refused, "A Hua and I can handle this. You should go rest first? You've worked hard."
"You just wait until the game opens later and place your bets according to what we discussed!"
Lu Yibei knew Liu Banxian's mouth was completely unsuitable for "sales," otherwise he wouldn't have been so poor and destitute back in Peony Street.
After sending Liu Banxian away, Lu Yibei stood by the corridor on the second floor of the hall, her hands resting on the railing, looking down at the entire hall, a hint of joy subtly appearing between her brows.
At this moment, the casino seemed to have transformed into a giant wine vat, the rich aroma of wine drifting through the magnificent hall. The enticing fragrance entered their nostrils, as if endowed with life, constantly stimulating their nerves. Amidst the clinking of glasses, a blush gradually appeared on the faces of the guests, their eyes slightly hazy.
"The wine Liu Banxian recommended is really potent! As expected of the aged brew nicknamed 'Dragon Stifler'," Lu Yibei couldn't help but exclaim, "Now Leader's wallet is going to suffer."
Although most Psychic and urban legend couldn't get completely drunk given the limited variety of drinks provided by the Entertainment City, as ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ long as the right choice was made, getting them slightly tipsy was enough.
If they were completely sober, these cunning fellows would never put all their eggs in one basket. The possibility of them betting entirely on Jiang Li winning the outside game would be very low.
And now, a large portion of them, under the influence of alcohol containing Spiritual Energy, should bet a much higher proportion on Jiang Li.
Although in ninety-nine percent of gambles in this world, the house is the one that profits in the end, I still want to win as much as possible.
Thinking this, Lu Yibei tossed the remaining dozen or so flyers in her hand into the hall and turned to walk towards the private room Jiang Li had prepared.
Inside the luxurious private room.
Jiang Li held the flyer she had asked a Rabbit Girl to help her find, her brows tightly furrowed.
On one side of the flyer, the subtitle of the game was written in very conspicuous font: 【Legendary Gambler ALi VS Unknown Nobody Miss Wang】, and below it, a line of small text thoughtfully included the opening time and location.
On the back of the flyer, the past records of the two were detailed and analyzed. On one side was a legendary figure who had challenged the Entertainment City's Big Boss over a dozen times consecutively, while on the other was a newcomer who had won a few million chips on the middle three floors. The contrast made the difference in skill immediately clear.
A mere few million chips. At least half of the guests on the upper three floors had won an equivalent amount of chips.
As for the reason this vastly disparate gamble came about...
Jiang Li looked at the bolded small text on the back of the flyer, her mouth twitching.
Both fell in love with a man named Lu Yibei? An undying emotional entanglement?
Lu Yibei, you actually have the nerve to say something like that, you're something else!
When I win this gamble, I really need to correct these improper behaviors of yours!
Jiang Li thought fiercely. Just then, the door of the private room opened, and Lu Yibei, wearing a mink Coat transformed from her Coat, strolled in. In her left hand, she held a figure of 【Flower of Parallel Time-Space Distortion】, in her right hand, she held a lacquered box, a pair of brown toad-eye glasses hung on her nose, and a half-eaten spicy stick was in the corner of her mouth.
She walked to a chair and sat down, fiddling with the half-human-tall figure that had nowhere to be placed. Then she frowned and waved at the Rabbit Girl nearby, "Excuse me... get a chair for my wife!"
Taking the figure Lu Yibei handed her, the Rabbit Girl said blankly, "Okay, okay Miss, would you like something to drink?"
Lu Yibei thought for a moment and said seriously, "How about Wahaha AD Calcium Milk!"
The Rabbit Girl looked at Lu Yibei's petite and cute appearance and figure, nodded thoughtfully, and felt her request was very reasonable.
Jiang Li watched Lu Yibei without a word, walked to the seat directly opposite her, and said calmly, "Miss Wang, you're quite late! Have you decided what we're gambling on?"
"Dice or Pai Gow? Mahjong or Chess? Or perhaps any poker game is fine, I have them all ready for you."
"Bang—!"
Lu Yibei forcefully placed the lacquered box on the table and pouted, "Miss Jiang, don't be so rigid in your thinking! Does gambling have to be about those things?"
"In ancient times there were cockfighting, horse racing, and cricket fighting. Now there are football, basketball, and ping pong..."
"Uh, sorry, you can't gamble on ping pong if Z Country is participating. Let's change it. E-sports, even e-sports has some sons of bitches betting on it. Can't we play something new?"
"You want to play games with me?" Jiang Li furrowed her brow, then slowly relaxed it, her chin slightly raised, casting a look of disdain and pity towards Lu Yibei.
"Don't tell me you think I haven't practiced games?"
"Let me tell you, when I challenged the Big Boss for the seventh and ninth time, I chose MOBA games and shooting games respectively."
"Holy crap! You can play games too?" Lu Yibei completely ignored Jiang Li's killing gaze and exclaimed in surprise, "I never heard you mention it before? Shall we arrange something after we go back?"
"Let me tell you, I usually play games alone on the sofa at home and it's quite boring. I've been wanting to find someone to play with for a long time! It's fine if you stay at my place when you're tired of playing, my bed is quite big!"
Who doesn't want a skilled teammate to play games with? If that teammate is also a beautiful girl, even better! Lu Yibei thought.
"..." Jiang Li opened her mouth, suppressing the urge to agree, and raised her eyebrows. "This matter needs careful consideration. We'll talk about it after we go back."
"So, you're planning to give up the game with the Big Boss and come back with me?" Lu Yibei said.
It seems her resolve has wavered slightly!
"..."
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After a few seconds of silence, Jiang Li looked at the lacquer box in Lu Yibei's hand and said seriously, "Let's talk about the main issue? Is that box what you want to bet with me?"
"Exactly!" Lu Yibei affirmed. "We'll bet on this. Do you agree?"
Jiang Li examined the lacquer box in Lu Yibei's hand. She couldn't see any clues from its exquisite and gorgeous exterior. She asked doubtfully, "What is that?"
Lu Yibei rolled her eyes. "Don't worry about what it is, just say whether you'll bet with me or not?"
"I don't even know what it is..."
"Tsk tsk tsk, my dear legendary Gambling King, one of the top ten outstanding agents who has slain countless urban legend, the strong and independent modern woman Miss Jiang Li, you're not scared, are you?" Lu Yibei said sarcastically.
As she spoke, her eyebrows wiggled back and forth provocatively. Combined with her expressionless face, she looked extremely punchable.
"If you're really scared, I can relax the conditions a bit. Guess what's in this box. If you guess correctly, you win!"
Jiang Li gripped the edge of the gambling table with both hands until her knuckles were slightly white, then she sighed silently. "No need, let's just start!"
After I win, I'll have to correct those eyebrows too... Jiang Li muttered to herself.
She suddenly had a feeling that she hadn't met a prince, or Tang Monk, but rather an Indian monk. Otherwise, why would their eyebrows dance?
"Since that's the case..." Lu Yibei lifted the lid of the lacquer box and "whoosh" poured all the blocks onto the table. Then, the expressions of Jiang Li and the Rabbit Girls present instantly froze.
What did she want to bet on?
"Let's start! We're betting on Jenga!"
Jiang Li, Rabbit Girl, "..."
How could someone bet on Jenga in the Dream Come True Entertainment City?
This feeling was like a group of gang members dressed in black suits trading in an abandoned underground passage, but the traded goods were ridiculously milk powder.
The Rabbit Girl dealer had never done anything like building Jenga for guests. As she built the blocks one by one according to the instructions Lu Yibei gave her, the corners of her mouth twitched from time to time. It was three minutes later when the Jenga tower was built.
"You two guests may begin."
As the Rabbit Girl signaled that the game could begin, Lu Yibei and Jiang Li rose from their seats, moved closer to the Jenga tower, and began their game.
"Please, Miss Jiang, you first!" Lu Yibei made a gesture to invite.
Jiang Li glanced at Lu Yibei, stepped forward without a word, and leaned down to look at the stack of blocks piled into a rectangular column.
Although this kind of game was not within Jiang Li's area of expertise, for most people, even if they hadn't played it themselves, they must have seen others play it.
The rules of Jenga are very simple: roll the dice to determine the number, then the participating players take turns pulling out the same number of blocks from the stacked tower as the dice roll, until the tower collapses.
Jiang Li rolled the dice, getting a three. Then her eyes were fixed on the tower, her brain working rapidly. After studying it for a while, she pulled out three blocks from the upper, middle, and lower parts of the tower, with lightning speed.
These three blocks should have a certain load-bearing effect. If another load-bearing block at the same leverage point is removed, it should collapse quickly.
Lu Yibei, you've miscalculated this time. Some games can be quickly mastered without practice!
Jiang Li thought confidently, but then saw that Lu Yibei had already rolled the dice, extended a finger, and rhythmically flicked five blocks from the tower, with an interval of about five seconds each time.
【After removing this block, the tower shows no reaction】, 【After removing this block, the tower shows no reaction】, 【This one...】...
The predictive thoughts constantly flashed through Lu Yibei's mind, with each interval also being about five seconds.
Seeing Lu Yibei perfectly avoiding the blocks that could cause collapse, Jiang Li's expression immediately became serious.
Oh no, it seems Lu Yibei came prepared.
She seems to be very good at playing this kind of game...
Jiang Li thought, silently rolled the dice, and then began to draw blocks according to the number four. However, when she drew the fourth one, she suddenly paused.
This one... and this one... both have some risk. No, I need to think again...
Just as she was thinking, a sudden wave of warm, moist air carrying a faint fragrance puffed into her ear, causing her body to tremble slightly.
Subconsciously turning her head, she saw Lu Yibei's face close by, almost touching hers.
In a daze, that young, fair face seemed to blur, while another handsome young man's face slowly emerged. The two gradually overlapped, causing Jiang Li's heart to race.
Jiang Li took a deep breath, adjusted her emotions, and said coldly, "What are you doing?"
"I'm just looking!" Lu Yibei said indifferently.
"I suspect you're trying to interfere with me."
Lu Yibei frowned and said innocently, "How am I interfering? Can't I even look?"
Jiang Li didn't speak, just looked at Lu Yibei expressionlessly, until she wisely retreated to the side. Only then did Jiang Li turn back and pull out the last block.
"Whoosh—!"
Jiang Li mobilized the power of her Spirit Mark, quickly pulled out a block from the tower, watched it sway twice without collapsing, secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and then looked at Lu Yibei, saying lightly, "It's your turn!"
After rolling the dice, Lu Yibei leaned over the gambling table. Suddenly, as if remembering something, she turned her head to look at Jiang Li, then patted the empty seat beside her and said, "Do you want to watch? I won't say you're interfering with me."
"..."
Jiang Li remained silent, hesitating for a few seconds. While Lu Yibei was focusing on the Jenga tower again, she quietly walked over and squatted beside her.
But...
Out of the corner of her eye, she secretly looked at her profile. The blocks seemed to have evaporated, disappearing from her sight...
----
Meanwhile, in the hall.
In front of a gambling table, the Rabbit Girl responsible for organizing side bets for Lu Yibei was waving her hands, conducting the final round of betting.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the bets will close in five minutes! Guests who are interested, please place your bets quickly!"
"Although this game is a bit interesting, what the heck are they betting on? Jenga? Never heard of it. Only a fool would bet on it." a standard model Mr. Zombie wearing a Qing Dynasty court robe scoffed.
"What do you old monsters know? At the Lanruo Inn Brothel, my favorite thing is to play this with the Misses. Lose one round, take off one piece of clothing, it's so exciting!" a fat-headed Psychic sneered. "Two beautiful girls betting on this also fits their character! I bet ten million, ALi wins!"
Mr. Zombie seemed to be at odds with the fat-headed Psychic. After glaring at him fiercely, he put down twenty million chips. "I'm betting too, ALi wins!"
"Old monster, you can't stand me, shouldn't you be betting on that Miss Wang?"
"Pah! I'm not an idiot! Have you ever seen Miss A Li lose?" Mr. Zombie cursed in a low voice. "I absolutely cannot let you win alone!"
...
As time passed, the chips on the gambling table increased, with most of them placed on Jiang Li, though there were also bets on Lu Yibei, but the amount was significantly less.
Just then, Liu Banxian crept up and placed all his chips on Lu Yibei...
----
Beside them, the Rabbit Girl dealer, who had initially treated this game as child's play, watched as the faces of the two girls leaning over the gambling table got closer and closer, and the situation became more and more tense. Her emotions couldn't help but become nervous as well.
At this moment, out of forty-eight blocks, only twenty-one remained. The originally square tower had clearly turned into a very twisted shape, teetering precariously.
"Whoosh—!"
After Jiang Li pulled out the last block of this round from the tower, she let out a long breath, then turned her head to look at Lu Yibei, a hint of playfulness flashing in her eyes.
Through her precise calculation, among the remaining twenty blocks, only two would absolutely not cause the tower to collapse after being removed.
Next, Lu Yibei would lose the game whether she pulled the wrong block or rolled a number greater than two on the dice.
Calculating comprehensively, that would be an extremely low-probability event. Throughout the game, Lu Yibei had not shown any signs of using Spiritual Energy. If she had no other means, it could almost be determined that she had lost.
After all, if she truly had some special means, why wouldn't she have used it earlier?
After I win the game, I must properly correct her behavior. If she continues like this, she will sooner or later end up on the Night Watch's wanted list.
Also, I need to ask her why she became a Strange Tale, and then find a way to help her get better.
I remember there are several methods within the Night Watch to reverse the core of urban legend that were transformed later on back into Spirit Marks.
Just as Jiang Li was secretly planning how to deal with Lu Yibei, the soft sound of a block falling onto the gambling table interrupted her thoughts.
She was startled for a moment, looked towards the gambling table, and her heart suddenly tightened.
Lu Yibei had rolled a two, and had successfully removed one block. If she removed the last block that would absolutely not cause the tower to collapse, she would definitely lose.
But...
Jiang Li frowned, bit her finger, watched Lu Yibei, held her breath, and kept whispering in her heart, "Pull the wrong one, pull the wrong one, pull the wrong one!"
She didn't want to lose.
However...
After removing one block, Lu Yibei stopped and didn't make another move for a long, long time.
Jiang Li, "..." What was she waiting for? Could it be that she couldn't find the last block that could be removed?
Lu Yibei focused her attention on the tower, feeling the predictive thoughts flashing through her mind, and her mood became chaotic.
She had already found the last block through her predictive thoughts, but...
【Remove this block and you will be lonely for life】
Lu Yibei shifted her gaze from the last block and looked at a block on the right that would cause the Jenga tower to collapse.
【Remove this block and you will gain happiness】
Lu Yibei, "..."
What the ♦ heck is this!
Aren't we playing Jenga? How did it get involved with lifelong matters?
Can we still play?
