Chapter 239

Liujin Lunpan.

As the only casino in the entire Ronglin Town, even though the town wasn't large, because of the special nature of being a place that "burns gold," it could extract an unimaginable amount of wealth from townspeople and passing adventurers every year.

Coupled with the fact that the casino boss "Lan Jiaozhi" had decent methods, had connections in both the black and white channels, and had several powerful professionals as backers—

In just a few years, he had become one of the most influential forces in Ronglin Town, and because of the manager's extremely vicious and cruel behavior toward enemies, he had become an object of fear for the surrounding civilians.

Of course, no matter how bad the boss's reputation was, the Liujin Lunpan remained incredibly popular with the support of countless gamblers, and there were even rumors of expansion recently.

Even though it was still daytime and far from the busiest time for business, the scorching air of the casino was already filled with the sound of dice cups and the fanatical roars and shouts of gamblers.

"Da da da."

The crisp sound of dice colliding in the wooden cup was like the horn for a charge on the battlefield.

His heart beat violently, and hot, scorching blood pumped through his entire body.

Luka sat at the table, his neck stretched out, his body leaning forward involuntarily.

His cheeks were taut from clenching his teeth, and the unnatural flush on his face reflected the image of the dice cup shaking in the dealer's hand, mirrored in his bloodshot eyes.

At this moment, he no longer looked like the person who once claimed to be the most loyal guard of the Wickliffe family.

That fanatical pursuit of money and excitement between "losing" and "winning," as if he were a different person, was no different from the rich merchant or the shabbily dressed civilian at the table.

"Bang!"

The dice cup slammed onto the table under the dealer's control.

The sultry air instantly became silent, and heavy breathing sounds came from both sides of the table.

For the gamblers at the table, those few dice, no larger than a fingernail, had now become the most important thing in their lives.

Even if the world were to end in the next second, they would still rush up to see the result.

With a standard business smile on his face, under the gaze of countless fiery eyes, the dealer gently lifted the wooden cup in his hand.

"Damn it!"

A thick palm slammed onto the table.

Luka couldn't help but curse, his body, which had been tense as if after a battle, instantly deflated, and he leaned back against the chair.

He just watched as the sloppy man who looked like a vagrant, who didn't know where he got the money to enter, happily gathered the chips on the table—which included his entire month's pay for guard work—into his arms.

On that honest face, which was always simple and incredibly firm even in the face of strong enemies, was a frustration and dejection he had never shown in front of anyone.

In his palm, Luka's last chip had long been soaked with sweat.

The gold coins he brought this morning were already exhausted.

His gaze was fixed on the dice in front, and in his ears was the dealer's sweet and highly seductive invitation to bet, his mind bewitched and floating.

"One more round, maybe I can win it back."

"I still have some spare gold coins left at the inn that I haven't taken out. If it really comes to it, Young Master Haian is such a good person; if I take the initiative to ask him for some pay, he definitely wouldn't..."

Suddenly, a cold wind blew from somewhere.

It made Luka, who had been sinking deeper and deeper, shudder, and a flash of clarity passed through his fanatical and dazed eyes.

Almost forcing himself to stand up, his gaze, filled with unwillingness, lingered on the dice cup.

Finally, he gave the scantily clad dealer a few harsh glares, as if that could make up for his losses, and left the gambling table.

His fingers brushed over his empty waist pouch, recalling the thick, bulging feel it had when he first entered this morning.

Suddenly realizing what he had done, the emptiness of his wallet spread to Luka's heart, and feelings of regret burst forth like a spring.

Of course, no matter how much he regretted it now, or how determined he was never to step into such a place again—

When next month's pay arrived, and when the pressure was released after the mission ended and he had nothing to do... all the determination and guilt would probably be thrown to the back of his mind.

This cycle had already happened countless times.

He reached out and touched the hard, cold object under his shirt on his chest, confirming that the metal block he had accidentally picked up hadn't been stolen by some pickpocket just now.

Luka's heart settled slightly.

This thing was worth much more than the month's salary he had just lost. After returning to Nianshu Ling, whether it was bought by the Mage in the squad or Xia Nan, the gold coins sold would probably be enough for him to splurge in the casino for a while.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but tighten his shirt buttons.

His gaze swept to the side.

The Dragonborn Sawa was still fighting fiercely with the dealer at the card table, but her luck was far better than his.

They had entered the casino at the same time, yet he had lost his wallet until it was empty, while the chips by her side were piling higher and higher.

Luka felt a bit unbalanced in his heart.

But his footsteps only paused slightly, and he didn't dare to look again.

Walking quickly, almost slamming it, he pressed his last chip onto the bar on the side of the casino.

"Give me a 'Hot Surging Dragon Breath'!"

"Coming right up! Please wait a moment!"

After watching the bartender in uniform collect the chips and exchange them for a large glass of fiery red, crystalline strong liquor—

Luka finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He took a big gulp, feeling the coldness go straight into his chest along his throat; that instinctual pursuit of excitement that caused countless people to fall into the abyss was temporarily dispelled.

"Luka? Why are you sitting alone? Where is Sawa?"

Before his stool was even warm, a familiar voice suddenly came from the noisy crowd nearby.

His gaze looked in the direction the voice came from.

He saw Xia Nan and Weirouer walking toward him.

He hurriedly stood up, a slightly awkward, honest smile on his face, and scratched his head, answering:

"Uh... I got a bit tired of it, so I came out to rest for a while."

"Sawa is still playing over there. I saw she was in high spirits, so I didn't go to disturb her."

His gaze followed the direction the other party pointed, scanning the chips on the Dragonborn's card table, and then glanced at the man's somewhat shriveled waist pouch and the wine glass on the table behind him.

Without the other party needing to say it clearly, Xia Nan had already guessed that Luka had lost all his money in the casino.

He wasn't worth pitying, but he wouldn't say any sarcastic remarks either.

As long as he didn't lose his mind and pawn the 【Dream Weaving Corridor】 for money, all the results were the other party's own choice.

He nodded expressionlessly.

"Weirouer and I were just passing by, heard you were inside, so we came in to take a look."

Of course, it was just a look.

Scanning his gaze around, Xia Nan compared the "Liujin Lunpan" with the "Full Bag of Gold" in Kalanfur, which had already turned into ruins in the battle between Fugang and another powerhouse.

Without a doubt, whether in terms of customer traffic or the interior decoration, the latter was the clear winner.

After all, being close to River Valley Town, the people coming and going were wealthy adventurers; a remote town in the wilderness like Ronglin Town couldn't compare.

But no matter how well it was decorated, thanks to the deep-rooted popularization of the dangers of such gambling behavior in his past life's developed society, and the countless horrifying cases that filled the internet in the information age—