Chapter 614: The Strange Monkey
Qiao Jiajin furrowed his brow instantly, looking toward the direction from which the sound had erupted.
The noise sounded like a crowd cheering.
"Well, found it without even looking." Chen Junnan tucked the map into his pocket and also gazed in that direction. "Even though I'm beat today, I've gotta poke my head in there."
"No problem," Qiao Jiajin said. "Let's see what kind of game this Ground Monkey's got going. If it's not too hard, I'll give you a hand."
The two glanced around, making sure no one was nearby, then headed toward that alley.
Strangely enough, there was no "Zodiac" inside the alley either—only an old wooden door that opened inward.
On the wall beside the wooden door, a bunch of words had been painted in red paint.
The first thing that caught their eyes was "Welcome."
Then came "Hours: Sunrise to Sunset."
The last line read, "Be peaceful and harmonious; come and go with fortune."
"Damn..." Qiao Jiajin found it a bit odd. "This kind of entrance... Why does it feel familiar?"
"What, you've been a monkey before?" Chen Junnan asked absentmindedly, looking into the doorway.
"No, man!" Qiao Jiajin pointed at the last line. "I swear I've seen this saying somewhere before..."
The two fell silent. Chen Junnan took a step through the doorway and found another curtain hanging inside. He reached out and pushed it aside, and a thick wave of cigarette smoke wafted out.
The sound of a large crowd chattering immediately reached their ears.
"Holy shit..." Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin exchanged a glance. Something felt off. This didn't seem anything like a "Ground-level" game.
They carefully stepped inside. After passing through a long, smoke-filled corridor, the scene before them suddenly opened up.
Inside a massive room, several tables were haphazardly arranged. Some tables had dice scattered across them, others had piles of cards and mahjong tiles, but for now, all the tables were empty.
In the center of the room stood a large round table, where about ten men were gathered around, watching something.
They were chatting and laughing, cigarettes in hand, looking relaxed and carefree—completely out of place for people in the "Land of the End."
Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin exchanged another glance and slowly walked forward.
By now, Qiao Jiajin had finally remembered where he'd seen that saying before.
It was from those "gambling dens" on the streets.
"Be peaceful and harmonious; come and go with fortune."
On the surface, it seemed like a message to all gamblers, but it was really the casino owner's true wish.
First, they hoped no one would cause trouble. Second, they hoped every person who walked in would bring them money.
The two approached the crowd and looked at the round table. The dozen or so men around them gave the newcomers a casual glance, unfazed, before turning their attention back to the table.
Three people were seated around the table. Two of them were drenched in sweat, while across from them sat a "monkey" whose face was lined with wrinkles.
The monkey was short and stout, a cigarette dangling lazily from the corner of his mouth. He looked both slothful and scornful.
His hand rested on the dice cup in front of him. He cast a sidelong glance at the two men on either side.
Those two men had their hands shielding their own dice cups, looking visibly tense.
Each of the three had several dozen "Dao" stacked on the table in front of them. They were clearly gambling—and gambling heavily.
"I'm first," the Ground Monkey's hoarse voice rang out.
The two men lifted their dice cups and peered cautiously inside.
The Ground Monkey thought for a moment, then opened his own cup for a quick look before announcing, "Six fours."
Qiao Jiajin slowly furrowed his brow. He couldn't shake the feeling that everything about this place felt painfully familiar.
Gambling—the very thing that had ruined his life.
He had entered countless casinos, pleaded with the gambler Rong to quit more times than he could count. But gamblers are always the same—they always think the next round will win back their losses. Reality just kept making them lose even more.
"What are they playing?" Chen Junnan asked, puzzled.
"It's called 'Bluffing.' You probably call it 'Liar's Dice,'" Qiao Jiajin said. "Each person has five dice. You take turns guessing the total number of a certain face showing on everyone's dice. For example, 'six fours' means all the dice combined have six 'fours.' If you believe what the previous player said, you can raise the number. If you don't believe it, you call 'Check'—which is also called 'Open.' Everyone reveals their dice. If the total number actually matches the claim, you lose; if not, the other person loses. Also, 'ones' can count as any number—they're 'wild.'"
"You old dog..." Chen Junnan punched Qiao Jiajin in the chest. "You look all innocent, but how do you know so much? You a gambling god or something?"
"It's a pretty common dice game, but this is the first time I've seen someone gamble with it," Qiao Jiajin said, shaking his head. "I don't gamble, but I've been in a lot of casinos. I even worked security at some, so I picked up a thing or two."
Chen Junnan nodded. Now that he roughly understood the rules, he looked back at the three at the table. The Ground Monkey had called his number, and now it was the middle-aged man's turn. The atmosphere was tense.
"S-seven... seven fours," the middle-aged man said.
After his call, neither of the other two called "Check," and he let out a small sigh of relief.
The young man next in line hurriedly covered his dice cup with both hands, cautiously opened it for a peek, and hesitated. He kept muttering under his breath, "Seven fours...?"
Chen Junnan happened to be standing right behind the young man. He sneaked a glance into his dice cup.
The five dice showed: two twos, two threes, and one one.
The dice seemed custom-made—they didn't have traditional pips but instead directly bore the Chinese characters for "One, Two, Three."
Right now, he had no fours at all—only one one. Following Qiao Jiajin's explanation that a one could count as any number, that meant he effectively had one four.
The young man looked agonized. His predecessor had already called "seven fours," so he would at least have to raise it to "eight fours" or "seven fives." But either option carried enormous risk for him.
After all, no one at the table had called "five" yet, which meant none of them likely had many fives—if any at all. So calling "four" was still the best choice.
But could three people really have a total of "eight fours"?
Chen Junnan crossed his arms. He felt that this dice game was different from something like "Big or Small." It was more of a psychological battle.
Still, something felt off...
Was playing dice really the "Ground Monkey's" game?
The young man deliberated for a long time, then wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand and said, "Eight... eight fours."
The Ground Monkey let out a cold laugh. He turned his head and looked straight at him. "Check."