stonecrandall Page 20
Page 20
A young man with black hair and black eyes walked in unhurriedly.
Sitting at a gambling table, he beckoned to a bunny girl, who walked up to Lin Jiu'an with a somewhat numb, seductive smile.
"How can I help you?"
"Please call your supervisor over."
"I understand, please wait a moment."
The bunny girl bowed slightly and left, as if she hadn't seen the two corpses at all.
She's used to it.
All the women in this underground casino were girls who were either kidnapped or sold here.
Through the madam's daily training, they became tools to provide entertainment for the 'nobles' of the upper city who came to visit.
Those who refused to submit are already dead.
It's fair to say that every woman working here has seen the corpses of many of her colleagues, and has no idea when she herself might become a corpse by offending some powerful figure she shouldn't have, or by overhearing something she shouldn't have.
The gamblers looked at Lin Jiu'an.
Some were surprised and uncertain, some were intrigued, and some were gloating, but no one chose to leave.
Soon.
An elderly man in his fifties, wearing a tuxedo and with gray hair, walked over.
Beside him, on either side, were a middle-aged man with a fire elemental eye tied around his waist, and a burly man with an earth elemental pendant hanging from his chest, completely naked and muscular.
Led by a bunny girl maid, the old man walked up to Lin Jiu'an.
She glanced at him indifferently.
He recognized the man as the one who worked at the "Cat's Tail" tavern, who had been delivering pizzas to Qin every day and had a close relationship with Lisa and the Knight of Honor.
"Are you here to seek justice for your boss's wife?" the old man said calmly.
Lin Jiu'an looked at him, but hadn't said anything yet.
The old man continued, "Young man, you should know the immensity of heaven and earth."
"Considering your relationship with Miss Lisa and the Knight of Honor, kneel down, circle around them, and kowtow a few times to apologize."
"I can let bygones be bygones for the fact that you killed those people."
The gamblers were immediately intrigued when they heard that he had a connection with the recently popular Knight of Honor.
Suddenly, a girl's voice, filled with hatred, rang out from the doorway: "He killed Boca!"
The old man turned his head and recognized the girl as having a connection with Boca. He then stared at Lin Jiu'an in astonishment before shaking his head.
"Since that's the case, then I can't let you off the hook."
"Just surrender obediently, and maybe when Mr. Bartley arrives, he'll give you a quick death."
"Sorry, I'm getting old, I talk too much."
As he spoke, he smiled slightly, stopped his rambling, and looked at Lin Jiu'an with a confident smile, waiting for him to beg for mercy.
There is only one truth on the continent of Teyvat: only someone who also possesses the "Eye of God" can defeat someone who has the "Eye of God".
"You've made a mistake."
"Oh?"
Lin Jiu'an smiled and said, "I'm here to play cards with you all."
The old man found it somewhat absurd, and the muscular man couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Kid, are you kidding me..."
The words stopped abruptly.
'Puff!'
A large, fine human head flew into the sky.
Large gushes of blood gushed from the severed neck, and the headless corpse of the burly man remained standing motionless.
The weapon revealed by the man who had been slashed...
The crowd belatedly looked at the wall a dozen meters behind the burly man, where there was a thin, rectangular vacuum.
poker?
Lin Jiu'an withdrew his hand.
The wind element swirling around his hand dissipated.
"The rules of the game are very simple: you, you, and seven more people, nine people in total, play poker with me."
Lin Jiu'an smiled and explained the rules of Texas Hold'em.
And this time.
Neither the old man, nor the onlookers, nor even the other possessor of the Eye of God beside him dared to utter a sound again.
"As for the stakes..."
Lin Jiu settled in for a moment, then smiled even more warmly.
"Anyone with a lower score than me must die."
Chapter Twenty-Four: Who told you you could leave?
The tall, thin man who possessed the Fire-type Divine Eye looked at the old man.
The old man's forehead was almost dripping with sweat.
He hadn't felt this way in so long. Since taking over the casino, even the head of the family treated him with great respect. The last time he felt this kind of pressure was when he saw that man called "Doctor" from afar at a banquet. He was an absolute pervert.
Seeing the gentle breeze between Lin Jiu'an's palms, he knew he needed to answer.
The answer is simple: there's only one word for survival.
drag.
They were dragged on until the Knights of Favonius arrived.
No matter how powerful he is, he can't possibly disregard those team leaders.
The old man took a deep breath and sat down, while the tall, thin man could only helplessly sit down as well.
Both of them were used to living on the edge, climbing their way up step by step. When they had the advantage, they controlled other people's lives, and they had long anticipated that others would control their lives when they had the advantage.
However, the gamblers couldn't remain so calm.
They were all natives of this upper-town area, and since childhood they had been the ones to play with other people's lives, never the ones to be played. When they heard the bet that "if you lose, you die," they all stopped laughing and turned pale with fright.
Lin Jiu'an looked at the bunny girl and asked, "How many years have you been working here?"
"I've been working for two years."
“Choose seven regular customers,” Lin Jiu’an said calmly.
To say that no one who comes here to have fun is a generalization, which is a bit of an overgeneralization.
But I come here often.
That would definitely not be a good thing.
The bunny girl hesitated.
Just then, the crisp sound of high heels clicking on the ground rang out.
A cool and aloof female croupier dressed in a suit walked over.
"I've worked here for five years, may I be of service?"
Lin Jiu'an remained noncommittal and tossed her a deck of playing cards imbued with wind elements.
"If they don't come, we'll kill them."
Lin Jiu'an rested his elbows on the table, looking down as he played with cards.
After two screams.
The aloof female dealer led seven trembling people to their seats.
There were men and women, young and old among them.
The female dealer then went to the card-dealing position.
Lin Jiu'an then sat down facing the gambling table, and then threw two playing cards behind him without turning his head.
Two sharp sounds of weapons piercing flesh followed.
The bodies of the two gamblers who had tried to sneak away lay limply on the ground.
"I hate it when people who are dressed smartly hang out here."
Lin Jiu'an glanced at the seven of them, smiled, and spread his hands, saying, "Let's begin."
The twenty cards were dealt quickly.
Lin Jiu'an fiddled with the playing cards.
Of the ten people seated, even the old man and the tall, thin man had trembling hands, except for him, while some of the less resilient were already sweating profusely.
"Gambling is nothing more than the process of gaining and losing."
"It's like pursuing a woman; the most enjoyable part is always the process, because you don't know if you'll be together. The feeling of 'gaining' and 'losing' is what brings the most joy and sorrow."
Lin Jiu'an gently pressed down the two cards.
"Then what could be a bigger gamble than life itself?"
Then turn it over.
Everyone held their breath as they watched Lin Jiu'an take on three opponents.
"Flip it."
Heavy breathing filled the card table.
Some people couldn't hold onto their cards properly several times, and their sweat dripped onto the table.
Some people covered their mouths, afraid to make too much noise.
Some people, however, looked at the five public plaques, clasped their hands together, and kept reciting prayers in their hearts, offering their most sincere prayers to the wind god who had never lingered in their hearts for even a second in the past decades.
this moment.
They were tens of thousands of times more devout than monks who dedicated their entire lives to the gods.
The aloof female dealer looked at Lin Jiu'an, and after seeing him nod slightly, she turned over the first card with her snow-white hand.
Four of Diamonds.
The person wiping their sweat had even more trembling hands.
The person who was breathing had a deeper, more gruff voice.
People who hold hands tightly grip even tighter.
The person praying silently recites the words faster in their heart.
The second card was turned over.
It's the eight of spades.
The third card, the fourth card...
The aloof female dealer placed her hand on the fifth card. Under the tense gaze of the nine people, she did not turn it over like the previous two cards, but only lifted a corner that was covered by her fingers.
The old man was getting annoyed with the previous training he had given these dealers on how to create 'suspense'.
"That's the most interesting part of this game."
Lin Jiu'an's voice reached their ears and settled on their tense hearts.
"Until the very last moment."
"You never know whether you are dead or alive."
As Lin Jiu'an finished speaking, the aloof female dealer turned over the last card.