Chapter 393: Destiny Gambler

"Golden Cod" Casino was located two blocks east of the "Three-legged Sea Dog" tavern, close to the core area of the Salt District.

On the surface, it was called a casino, but compared to the large gambling venues that were golden and brilliant like castle palaces in Xia Nan's impression of his previous life, the appearance of "Golden Cod" could be said to be incomparably simple.

Located in the cracks of crowded and dense buildings, it was transformed from an old ship equipment warehouse.

The building itself had no aesthetic value at all, it was a low and wide single-story long house, the thick wooden wall surface was painted with ugly anti-corrosion coke paint, the roof was covered with several layers of mottled canvas, there was no decoration, only the huge sign hanging above the door lintel—a cod painted with gold lacquer, showing its identity.

Rather than what "casino", the word "gambling house" was more appropriate.

The air was filled with a complex atmosphere mixed with strong tobacco, sweat, inferior ale, and sweet spices used for refreshing; the crisp sound of dice shaking, the clattering sound of chips being roughly swept away, short curses, crazy laughter, scolding and fighting sounds...

Even if he hadn't entered the gambling house, just standing on the street at the door, he could already feel the greed emanating from it, almost condensing into substance.

The heavy door curtain at the entrance was suddenly lifted, a thin young sailor who looked malnourished was pushed out from it, staggered a few steps, and fell into the mud puddle in front of the door.

Struggling to get up, the dirty mud water soaked the thin shirt on his body, his waist bag was shriveled, but he held a few copper coins tightly in his hand, as if treating them as his hope for turning over.

He slowly raised his head, his cheeks stained with mud water, his eye sockets slightly red, but he didn't cry, only a kind of hollow confusion remained in his eyes, as if he had no real feeling for the reward he had worked for two months on the ship, which was all lost in half a night.

Subconsciously wanting to turn back and enter the gambling house again, he only took two steps forward before being intimidated by the gazes of the thugs standing on both sides of the door.

Hesitating for a moment, he finally turned around and walked towards the other side of the street in a daze.

Withdrawing his gaze from the other party's back, Xia Nan, who had never been interested in such places, couldn't help but frown.

Keenly perceiving the change in the black-haired adventurer's expression beside him.

Knowing that the other party was visiting Suoyu Wan for the first time and was not familiar with the environment here, and also worried that he would have a bad impression of himself because of this.

Hela took the initiative to explain to Xia Nan:

"Suoyu Wan is like this, eating people without spitting out bones, just like the Mist Forest where you are."

"Like this kind of person with weak will who can't withstand temptation, even if he doesn't leave his money in the casino, he definitely can't save money in an environment like Suoyu Wan, and it's just a matter of time before he gets cleaned out by others."

"What's more, our 'Golden Cod' is actually considered quite good. At least when they lose everything, they really let people go. If it were the practice of other casinos in the town, they would take the opportunity to provide some 'capital for turning over', the interest is terribly high, using the income of future voyages or even their own bodies as collateral, and they won't even think about walking out of this door without peeling off three layers of skin."

"Anyway, they are going to be deceived, so it's better to pay some tuition here. Maybe after learning a lesson, they won't gamble in the future."

"At that time, there will be no debt on their body, and they can start over at any time."

Xia Nan was noncommittal about this.

Hearing Hela say this, the bald strong man beside the two showed a surprised expression on his face.

Of course, it wasn't because he was surprised by the information Hela revealed. His main work was usually in this gambling house, so how could he not know the actual situation here.

What really surprised him was that his Hela boss would take the initiative to explain to others.

It seemed that this exceptionally young adventurer was not the thug he originally thought his boss had newly hired.

Unconsciously, he had raised Xia Nan's importance level again, and even began to recall whether he had offended the other party along the way.

In this world possessing extraordinary power, the differences between individuals were infinitely widened, and there was a clear distinction in status.

Hela, who was a professional herself and controlled part of the underground forces in Suoyu Wan, valued Xia Nan because of his potential beyond expectations; the bald strong man who had to lower his voice to show respect in front of her, but could make the two fierce guards at the door not even dare to lift their heads when facing them.

Respectfully lifted the door curtain of the gambling house for the three.

Walking into "Golden Cod", the first thing that came into view was the dim smoke lingering in the air, people were moving, the entire gambling house was crowded, and in normal times, the desktop could hardly be seen, only occasionally accompanied by a moment of silence when attention was concentrated, and the subsequent cheers and wails could glimpse a corner of the card table in the gaps of the crowd.

River Valley Town also had similar places, perhaps there were differences in environment and details, but the performance of gamblers was basically the same. Those who lost money either walked out staggeringly, or sat on the ground leaning against the wall with hollow eyes, while those who won money had red eyes, waved money bags, and greeted their companions to buy wine and consume with false joy.

But strangely, the scene in "Golden Cod" right now had undergone some changes compared to usual.

The card tables that were usually full of gamblers were now eerily left empty, leaving only the dealer standing alone in place; the air that was usually filled with noisy noise was now filled with a tense atmosphere composed of whispers and low muttering.

But the number of people in the "Golden Cod" gambling house had not decreased compared to the past, and even increased instead.

The reason for the scene in front of him...

Was because a large part of the gamblers in the gambling house were densely surrounding a certain card table.

Even if it was just as a bystander, they had to witness this legendary night that was destined to leave a heavy mark in the history of "Golden Cod".

The crowd surrounding the card table was too dense, completely blocking the sight from the outside.

Standing at the entrance, even if he noticed the abnormality at that time, Xia Nan couldn't see clearly what happened there specifically.

Only intermittently accompanied by the excited cheers of the gamblers at the table, in the gaps of the crowd jumping, could he glimpse the towering chips piled up like a small mountain at the innermost side.

"Hela boss, it's that table!"

Compared to his burly body and the ferocious tattoos on his head, the bald strong man's performance at the moment was quite contrasting, just like a student complaining to a teacher, pointing his finger in the direction of the crowded card table.

"I found someone to ask, he came to the gambling house this afternoon."

"It's been three or four hours now, but..."

"Either draw or win, he hasn't lost a single hand!"

Hela didn't speak, just frowned, a glimmer of light flashing in her blue eyes, her gaze as if it could penetrate the crowd and see the card table inside.

"I called all the masters on duty today to come and see, and didn't find any traces of cheating, nor any signs of magic particle induction."

"It's as if... he's just purely lucky."

"Winning from afternoon until now." ===== CHAPTER 394 =====