Chapter 220: Gambler, Plague God
When the red-haired girl heard that Ryan was a noble, she became even more enthusiastic.
But she didn't just come here to drink and sell her body, she also came here to drain the money out of this "rich man's" pocket.
After listening to Ryan bragging about how his hometown had several mines, the woman cleverly asked, "My dear Baron, do you want to play cards? A handsome guy like you will definitely win money tonight..."
Maybe it was the broker with the mustache who told her that.
From the first step he took into the pub, the man with the mustache would get a certain commission for every consumption.
There was still plenty of time, so Ryan readily agreed: "Okay."
After saying that, the red-haired woman stopped drinking and took Ryan's arm, smiling as she led him across the dance floor to the iron staircase leading downstairs to the tavern.
The woman seemed to be a little tipsy, and she always leaned her delicate body against Ryan, allowing him to clearly feel the smooth touch.
Ryan looked normal, but he secretly took in the entire layout of the tavern.
The second underground floor is a gambling den, and it is crowded with people.
Winning money from gambling is almost the most effective way to stimulate the crazy secretion of dopamine, many times more than having sex. So this is why there is no shortage of gamblers in the world.
"Come on, place your bets, and bet on them..."
"The banker has seventeen points, the player..."
“…”
There is no need to exchange chips, the coins of the two empires can be put on the table, and you can even use "magic crystals" to place bets.
Ryan entered the casino, glanced at everyone present, and then his eyes fell on the blackjack table.
Because there was a guy there who was really eye-catching.
He was a middle-aged man with dark skin, or perhaps an old man. His hair was gray and tied into a long braid behind his head. He was so thin that he was just skin and bones. There was a bottle of beer on the table in front of him. He wanted to drink it, but he spilled it all over the floor when he held it with both hands. He was shaking like he had Parkinson's disease.
This guy, who looked like he had one foot in the coffin, was totally out of place with the red-faced, excited gamblers in the casino.
When Ryan saw this guy's shrunken muscles, he instantly thought of the former Tust.
He wasn't sure if it was poison or disease.
The red-haired woman looked over and introduced with a smile: "That's Mr. Guy, a celebrity in our casino. He's very good at gambling, but...his luck is not very good."
Ryan was somewhat interested and said calmly, "Let's play blackjack."
…
"The banker has 19 points, the player..."
At the gambling table.
It seemed that all the gamblers knew this thin middle-aged man, and they would chat with him during breaks in their bets.
Ryan placed his bet silently, finding it quite interesting to listen to.
"Hey, Old Guy, I heard that you came to Glory City because you were being chased after for stealing a certain marquise?"
"Oh, you vulgar guys, that's love! You know, love! Although her husband doesn't agree, Lady Windsor and I are truly in love... You don't know that the skin of a real high-class lady is smoother than milk. Compared with that, the skin of the women in this tavern is as rough as sandpaper, which is simply not interesting..."
"Guy, you're shaking even when you hold the wine glass now, is that thing of yours still usable, hahahaha..."
"Why not? I tell you, when I was young, I was very handsome. Noble ladies, female knights, beautiful rangers, noble ladies... all threw themselves at me."
"Hahaha……"
“…”
The gamblers laughed and asked about the details of the romantic affairs from time to time.
The middle-aged man named Guy didn't seem to mind, and would tell some details about how he climbed through the window to the Earl's house and enjoyed that half-hour love story.
Climbing over the wall, taking off clothes, getting into bed, and then finding out that the other person is a man, being chased and jumping out of the window... The details and expressions are just right, as if he had experienced it personally.
Everyone laughed when they heard it, treating it as a romantic story and no one took it seriously.
Ryan had no interest in gambling and threw the chips casually. Instead, he was more interested in listening to the story.
But it seems that I have good luck and win more than I lose.
"Wow... Baron, you win again..."
The red-headed girl serving him massaged his shoulders and occasionally helped him sort out his chips.
Ryan also understood the rules of the casino. When he won a big bet, he would put a few silver coins in her bulging bra, causing her to laugh.
But the famous guy sitting a few seats over didn’t seem to be so lucky.
He seemed to be a gambler who would not leave when he won, and would raise the stakes when he lost. The stakes kept getting bigger and bigger. He had about 10 to 20 gold crowns , but now he had lost all of them. For ordinary wasteland hunters, this was definitely a big gamble.
Ryan was even more curious. A man whose hands trembled even when holding chips could not hunt wild animals, and he was not a noble. So where did he get so much money to gamble and become a frequent visitor to the casino?
Then another round, and he lost all his money.
Then I heard Guy shouting with full energy to the tattooed man not far away.
"Hey! Captain Jim, give me some more chips. I'll give them back to you if you win."
"Guy, you owe us eighty gold crowns... You have to pay us back first, right?"
"I'll give it to you if you win! For real this time!"
“…”
Ryan listened to the conversation between the two and understood that this was a loan sharking.
But...will loan sharks lend money to people who are unable to repay?
Just as he was beginning to wonder , a gambler interrupted him, "Hey, Captain Jim, just lend it to him. I heard that the girl from the Guy family made a lot of money this time. The guys from the 'Iron Hammer Group' made a lot of money, so they rewarded her with a hundred gold! She'll probably pay it back soon."
Ryan also understood. This addicted gambler has a daughter who can earn money?
But he was also very curious, what kind of job could earn a hundred gold at a time? This money was a small amount for nobles, but it was a huge sum for common people.
"Huh? Really…"
Sure enough, upon hearing this, the tattooed loan shark immediately changed his attitude.
He decisively took out a bag of gold coins and threw it in front of Guy: "Okay. I'll lend you another 20 gold crowns. After you've pumped the water, you can use it to play..."
Those who can sit at the gambling table are all high rollers, and there are also some individual gamblers with small bets in the back.
Seeing a bag of gold coins pouring onto the gambling table, some people began to whisper.
"Hey, this old guy has a rich daughter?"
"You still don't know? Has the 'ghost girl' heard about it?"
"Ah... Is that Plague Star the girl from Guy's family?"
"With her ability, it would be easy for her to make money. But it's a pity that she has such a gambling father, so she lost all her money before she could even get a chance to use it."
"Yes, other people who earn so much money are afraid of being targeted. But no one dares to pay less than that 'ghost girl'. Even street thieves dare not steal. Last time, I heard that a thief from the enemy who didn't know her stole a gold coin from that girl. He was just bragging to his accomplices when he was hit and killed by a steam locomotive... Don't you think it's weird?"
"Tsk tsk... this father and daughter are a perfect match, one is a gambler and the other is a plague god."
“…”
The people behind him were whispering, but Guy seemed to be used to it and ignored the gossip. He gambled when he should gamble and drank when he should drink, without any abnormality at all.
After listening to this, Ryan finally understood. The little girl called "ghost girl" whom he met outside the city before was actually the daughter of this gambler?
There was something slightly strange in his eyes , and any normal person would think he was an asshole upon hearing this.
Your daughter works hard outside to earn money, and you're just gambling here?
However, the evaluation given by the system is very strange... The comprehensive evaluation of this gambler is actually not a "red-label" scumbag?
At this moment, he squinted his eyes and used his peripheral vision to observe the details of Guy's gambling.
…
"Pah! My luck tonight is really bad. Hey, Captain Jim, can you lend me some more? I want to make a big bet and I will definitely make a profit..."
The guy named Guy seemed to be unlucky. He lost all the gold coins he had just got after a few rounds of cards and had to borrow money again.
Coincidentally, just when Guy had only a few silver coins left, the casino, which had been as noisy as a pot of boiling water, suddenly stopped.
The sound became smaller and smaller, and after two breaths it became completely quiet, with the entire place being silent.
No one spoke anymore, and a path was automatically formed in the crowd. Even the most ruthless gangsters looked as if they were avoiding the "plague" and stayed away from it.
At this moment, everyone saw a little girl in ragged rag clothes walking down the stairs at the entrance of the gambling den.
"It's really her..."
Ryan's pupils shrank slightly. This was indeed the little girl he met outside the city before.
In her hand, she held a "sword" wrapped in rags. Oh no, look at the rusty look on it, it was just a piece of broken iron bar!
She looked extremely weak and walked over with difficulty. With every step she took, one could clearly hear her heavy breathing.
The little girl walked up to Guy and silently took off a bag from her back like a mute. Then, because it was too heavy to lift, she stumbled and the bag fell to the ground, with gold coins rolling all over the floor.
Gu...
Coo coo...
The gold coins rolled on the wooden board, making a series of crisp touching sounds, and then stopped when they hit the edge of the table in the corner with a "ding-dong" sound.
If it was a gold coin dropped by someone else, it would have disappeared in the blink of an eye in this crowded gambling den. But at this time, no one dared to grab the gold coins on the ground, and some even stepped away in fear that the gold coins would touch them.
No one helped her pick it up.
She lay on the ground like a helpless stray cat, picking up the fish bones she had finally found from the garbage dump, and picked up the gold coins one by one and held them in her hands.
Old Guy just looked on with a cold face, showing no intention of helping.
The entire casino was watching in silence, no one said anything. The casino manager saw that it affected business, but he was too embarrassed to say anything.
Everyone just watched as the little girl picked up the dozen or so gold coins that had fallen and put them into the animal skin bag.
Then she dragged the bag of money with great effort, placed it in front of Guy, and raised her head. As if she was afraid that her father would be angry, she tried to force out a sad smile, as if to say: Here you are.
Then, the little girl seemed to remember something, and she handed over the "iron piece" wrapped in rags in her hand with a serious look, as if she expected the man in front of her to catch the... sword.
