Chapter 183: Old K Casino (Part 1)
About thirty or so people followed Ian onto the island, wanting to have some fun.
As they made their way up the island, Ian spotted from a distance a magnificent building perched halfway up the mountain, gleaming with gold and splendor.
That was the only casino on the island, as Zeke had mentioned.
The group followed Ian toward the casino, but along the way, they noticed something very strange.
Just as they had observed earlier, the residents of this island seemed extremely poor.
Many of the houses were not only small but also dilapidated and shabby. Upon closer inspection, Ian noticed that most of the people he saw were women and children, with very few men in sight.
These women and children looked malnourished, their clothes patched and frayed, covered in dust. Although there were fields on the island, it was these women and children who were working in them, sweating under the scorching sun as they swung their hoes.
Back when Ian was at the Shimotsuki Village dojo, he had also worked in the fields. He crouched down, grabbed a handful of soil, examined it carefully, and then sniffed it.
The soil here was actually quite fertile, Ian judged.
However, when he looked at the seedlings in the fields, he noticed that the crops were growing poorly, yellowed and wilted. Large stretches of land even lay abandoned.
"Zeke, where did you buy the water and food?" Ian asked, puzzled. "If it's this poor here, how could there be any surplus goods to sell?"
Zeke pointed to the glittering casino halfway up the mountain. "Where else? The casino, of course. When we landed, we searched everywhere but couldn't find any shops. Finally, we asked the villagers and learned that only the casino sells things. So we had to go there to buy supplies. That's also how we got the information about the casino."
"Why are there only women and children in this village?" Ian asked further. "Even the farmers are all women and children. Where are the men?"
Zeke pointed to the casino again. "Almost all of them are in there!"
This time, not just Ian but everyone was stunned. "What!?"
"Are all the men in the village working at the casino?" Ian asked in surprise.
"No," Zeke shook his head. "They're all in there gambling!"
"All the men go to gamble, leaving the women and children to work the fields?" Ian found this utterly absurd.
Zeke shrugged. "What can you do? I heard this Grambo Island is also called Gambler's Island."
Ian was about to ask more when suddenly, a cry of anguish came from ahead. Looking up, he saw a household where a gaunt, sallow-faced woman was wailing and struggling on the ground. She clutched a bundle tightly in her hands, while a red-eyed man grabbed the other end, yanking it forcefully.
A three-year-old child was crying nearby.
"Let go! Do you hear me? Let go!" the red-eyed man snarled viciously at the woman.
"No, I won't! This is the last valuable thing we have left at home. I can't let you take it!" the woman sobbed.
Ian initially thought someone was being robbed and was about to have Zeke and the others intervene, but then the woman pleaded bitterly, "Husband, you can't go gambling anymore! There's no food left in the house. We were counting on this to trade for some food to survive. If you lose it at the casino again, the whole family will starve!"
Husband!? Wait, that man was her husband!?
Ian felt a sense of disbelief. This scene was like something out of a cheap melodrama.
Sure enough, the woman's pleas didn't soften the man's heart. Instead, he slapped her across the face, knocking her to the ground. Then, clutching the bundle, he ran off in a flash.
As he ran, he shouted, "I've got money again! This time, I'm going to win it all back, with interest!"
Needless to say, he was heading straight for the casino.
The woman got up, ignoring the red handprint on her face, and pulled the crying child into her arms. The two of them wailed loudly together.
Ian looked around and noticed that the other women in the village watched this scene in silence, their eyes hollow and numb, as if they had seen this too many times.
"What's going on here?" Ian asked, watching the scene unfold.
But no one around him could answer.
There were countless casinos in this world, but none of them were like this.
"Let's go. Let's see what kind of place this casino really is," Ian said coldly.
Everyone nodded and followed Ian.
Before long, they arrived at the casino's entrance. Compared to the village below, it was like a different world. The casino building was vast and towering, with a giant neon sign outside that flickered with mesmerizing lights. At the entrance stood two rows of greeters: on the left, a line of scantily clad, attractive young women; on the right, a line of impeccably dressed handsome young men. When they saw Ian and his group approaching, they all smiled in unison and bowed.
"Welcome to the Old K Casino. Please, come in!"
Ian glanced at the greeters without a word and stepped inside.
Once inside, they saw how enormous the place was. It looked like a legitimate casino, lavishly decorated with golden lights everywhere. Bunny girls with rabbit ears on their heads and revealing outfits carried trays of drinks, weaving through the crowd. Black-suited, sunglasses-wearing security guards were stationed in inconspicuous corners around the casino.
However, the patrons of the casino were a stark contrast to its opulent decor. The place was bustling and noisy, but most of the customers were shabbily dressed. They crowded around the gambling tables, shouting loudly, their eyes fixed on the dealers as they revealed the results. Moments later, some would cheer "I won!" and frantically scoop up their chips, while many more would slump in disappointment, then red-eyed, place their bets again.
How to describe it? It was like a luxury casino in Las Vegas, but set in the middle of rural Africa...
It felt incredibly bizarre.
The casino was divided into several areas, each with different games. Ian thought for a moment, then walked to the service counter and exchanged over 400,000 Berries for chips. He distributed some to each member of the Dragon Hunter Pirates. "Go have some fun, but remember to ask around and find out what's really going on here."
"Got it, Captain!" they nodded in acknowledgment.
Ian himself took 20,000 Berries' worth of chips and wandered around the casino. He wasn't familiar with casinos, having never been to one before.
He came to a roulette table and squeezed in to watch.
The giant wheel was spinning, with a small ball bouncing around inside. It seemed like it was about to stop. The gamblers who had placed bets on the numbers the ball was approaching shouted "Stop!" frantically, while those who hadn't bet on those numbers yelled "Move!" The scene was lively.
Ian wasn't paying much attention to the ball's movement. Instead, his focus was on the dealer beside the table. The dealer wore a white shirt and white gloves, standing by the wheel with his hands clasped behind his back, perfectly still.
The ball soon stopped on a number. One gambler who had bet on it cheered in excitement, but many more sighed in frustration.
Ian looked at the dealer with a puzzled expression, then back at the ball in the wheel.