Chapter 615: Life-Covering Money
The young man was startled at first, then slowly revealed a fierce expression. "Fine, I'll open... Don't you regret it..."
The three of them opened their dice cups one by one, revealing their numbers.
The young man first glanced at the middle-aged man beside him. His dice were four "fours" and one "five."
The young man instantly breathed a sigh of relief. He had just called "eight fours." Now, with the middle-aged man having four "fours" and himself having one "one," that added up to five "fours."
As long as Ground Monkey had three "fours" in his hand, he couldn't lose.
What's more, Ground Monkey had called "six fours" at the start, which meant he most likely had multiple "fours."
But when Ground Monkey lazily opened his dice cup, the previously noisy crowd suddenly fell silent.
Inside his cup were three "twos" and two "threes."
"You motherf—" The young man slammed the table hard, feeling tricked. "You don't even have a single 'four,' yet you opened with 'six fours'?!"
"Is there a rule against it?" Ground Monkey tossed his dice cup onto the table, took the cigarette from his mouth, and pinched it out between his thumb and forefinger. "I don't have any 'fours' myself, but I felt like you guys did."
"You... you..."
"Besides, you could have called 'open' too. I might have lost, right?" Ground Monkey pulled another cigarette from his pocket, put it in his mouth, and lit it. "A bet is a bet. Nobody gets to welch."
While the logic was sound, calling "open" on "six fours" right at the start was far too bold. If all three people actually had "six fours" among them, the one who called "open" would lose.
"This Monkey old-timer is something," Chen Junnan whispered to Qiao Jiajin. "Playing mind games."
"Gambling has never been a game of luck," Qiao Jiajin said. "There are way too many factors that can influence a game. A game of bluff like this is even more so. People who just want to rely on luck never win."
The young man stared at the dice on the table, looking both annoyed and angry. The crowd around them had started whispering among themselves.
"Damn it... fucking with me..."
Ground Monkey sneered. "Can't take the loss? If you're not afraid to die, go ahead and cause trouble."
"I..." The man naturally knew what causing trouble in front of a "Ground Grade" meant. He didn't even need the "Divine Beasts" to step in; the Ground Monkey right in front of him could tear him limb from limb.
"Forget it. I lost."
The young man pushed the dozens of "Dao" in front of him over to Ground Monkey, then stood up to leave.
"Hold on." Ground Monkey reached out and tapped the table. "Where are you going?"
"I'm broke. I'm leaving," the young man said.
"Oh, that's a real shame."
Ground Monkey wore an ambiguous expression, then pointed to the wall behind him. There was a very old handwritten poster with just two lines of text.
Entry fee: Two "Dao."
Exit ransom: Ten "Dao."
Ground Monkey slowly raised his eyes to look at the young man. "Two 'Dao' to come in and play freely. If you win, it's all yours. But since my casino is open here, naturally I need to charge for the refreshments."
"You..."
The young man was stunned. He reached into his pocket, but he had already gambled away all his "Dao." How could he possibly have any left to pay the ransom?
"I provide the venue here, and free cigarettes for you to smoke. It's not unreasonable to charge a little, is it?" Ground Monkey said. "If people who win 'Dao' want to leave, and people who lose 'Dao' also want to leave, how am I supposed to do business?"
"You... wait a minute..." The young man froze. "How about this—give me some more time... I'll go play something else... and come back with ten 'Dao' later..."
Ground Monkey looked around the venue and said, "Fine. Mahjong, Pai Gow, dice, cards, slot machines, pinball—play whatever you like. But... do you have any capital?"
"I..."
The young man was clearly panicking. He turned around and looked at the crowd, then grabbed Chen Junnan's arm.
"Brother... can you lend me ten 'Dao' to buy my life?"
His voice was trembling. He really seemed to have no way out.
"Sorry, pal, I don't have any either. I'm so broke all I've got left is my underwear," Chen Junnan said with an awkward smile.
"Brother!" He reached out and grabbed Qiao Jiajin, but Qiao Jiajin was just as broke.
"Damn, I'm so broke all I've got left is my vest..." Qiao Jiajin also smiled awkwardly.
He had seen too many people like this on the gambling floor. When they lost everything, they would beg those around them for help, naively believing that someone would reach out a generous hand, lend them money, and get it back when they made a big comeback.
But how could you trust a gambler's word? If they were really capable of a big win, how could they have lost everything?
Pay back? Pay back with what?
When he had begged all around and no one would lend him any "Dao," the young man's expression turned frantic. He quickly changed his tune: "Two! Can you just give me two? I'll go to another table right now and pay you back both in a bit!"
But everyone present still looked on coldly. Was it really that rare in the "Terminus" for a stranger to die because they'd gambled away all their "Dao"?
The number of people dying here was increasing every day. Today was especially bad.
Everyone kept their pockets tightly sealed and avoided the young man's gaze.
"Damn it!" The young man cursed loudly. "One! Can you lend me just one?! I can make it back with just one!"
By then, Ground Monkey had slowly stood up and pulled a dirty pair of gloves from his pocket. "Dear customers, please excuse me. Our shop has an after-sales service to handle. As they say, 'Red and fiery, see blood and make a fortune.'"
Seeing the situation was bad, the young man turned and ran. Ground Monkey took one big step forward, his fat body leaping into the air and lunging toward the young man.
Trying to escape by running on foot in front of a "Ground Grade" was utterly ridiculous. Before the young man could even take three steps, Ground Monkey had landed on his shoulder. Then, crouching on the young man's shoulder, he reached out and tapped him lightly on the head.
In the next second, the young man's eyeballs turned bloodshot. His limbs twitched for a moment, then he fell straight down and went still, clearly dead.
"Heh." Ground Monkey jumped down and let out a light laugh. "Looks like my killing technique has improved lately. Didn't even draw blood."
Seeing a "Ground Grade" start killing, the expressions of those present didn't change much. After all, they had already seen "Heaven Grades" kill countless people today.
"Hey, don't mind me, everyone." Ground Monkey waved his hand. "No blood spilled, but we can still make money. You all came to my casino to relax and have fun. Don't let these little interruptions bother you."