Mechanical Alchemist

Qian Tiao precisely threw a stack of thick green bills into the lady's tray, without giving it a second glance.

Looking at her swift action, she was definitely a regular in the casino.

But even for a cadre of the Cross Society with a generous salary, ten thousand dollars was no small bet.

Su Lun watched, his eyelid twitching slightly, hoping the boss wouldn't blame him if he lost.

Then, not to arouse suspicion that he was not purely a gambler, he also followed by buying a thousand on the blue square.

....

"Ding dang dang~"

The bell chimed crisply, and the match began.

With a charge, two Gladiators collided in the octagon, starting a fierce fight to the death.

No one knew if it was due to luck, but that round, the seriously injured blue square narrowly won.

"Wow~ won, you lucky guy!"

Qian Tiao exclaimed softly, in good spirits.

Having won money, she turned with a smile and looked at Su Lun again, then asked, "Who do you think will win the next match?"

"..."

Su Lun didn't care about winning or losing.

He didn't understand betting; he just bought whatever came to mind.

But now, with a gang leader right beside him, earnestly asking, it would be inappropriate for him to be dismissive.

To appear more like a gambler, he thought for a while, then uttered a piece of metaphysical advice, "After a series of reds, there must be a series of blues, I think the blue square will win again... maybe?"

"Right!"

Upon hearing this, Qian Tiao blinked, seeming to find it very reasonable.

She had just won a round, and even after the casino's cut, still had eighteen thousand.

Following Su Lun's suggestion, she signaled the betting lady to push all her recently won money on, saying boldly, "Together, bet on the blue square."

"..."

Su Lun felt something was wrong listening to this; the boss seemed a bit too fond of gambling.

After hesitating for a moment, he added, "I'll bet a thousand too."

If not for the menacing tattoos, the four long swords at her waist, who would think this woman, whose eyes sparkled with excitement while gambling, was a gang cadre.

Glancing surreptitiously, Su Lun carefully sized her up. If he hadn't known this boss was a professional killer with a heavy heart, he would definitely find Qian Tiao's features pretty attractive, her figure excellent, and her aura somewhat seductively mature.

But actually... she was a killing god.

Hiss~

Unmanageable, absolutely unmanageable.

Su Lun withdrew his gaze.

....

"Ding dang dang..."

The bell rang out, and another gambling fight began.

This match was deadlocked, perfectly matched. The two Gladiators in the octagon exhausted all their skills in a fierce, bloody struggle, offering the gamblers an intense show.

The gambler's area erupted with tidal waves of cheering.

Qian Tiao, too, was no different from ordinary gamblers, screaming at the top of her lungs for the blue side she had bet on.

"Oh, kill him, Blue Knight!"

"Hey, buddy, use the 'guillotine', strangle him, strangle him!"

"Damn, what an idiot, go for the kill!"

"..."

Qian Tiao was like a heartbroken coach, shouting while also giving tactical advice to the gladiators on the platform.

Su Lun stood by, torn between laughter and tears, unsure whether this counted as cheating. A grandmaster like her, her guidance could naturally change the outcome of the match.

However, Su Lun's attention wasn't on who won or lost but was instead keenly observing the movements of the two Gladiators in the ring.

Unlike before, whenever he focused on the Gladiators' fists and feet, their movements seemed to slow down, allowing his gaze to clearly catch every detail.

Just like watching a slow-motion scene.

"It's not an illusion, something strange happened to my left eye..."

Su Lun murmured to himself, confirming his earlier suspicion.

Since his induction, he had noticed changes in his "All-knowing Eye."

Not only could it see farther, but it could also see more clearly.

Like the fly that flew past before, whereas he previously only saw a blur, now he could distinctly see the frequency of the transparent wings flapping.

Watching the match, the Gladiators' strategies were all clear to Su Lun, and he was sure that the awakenings brought by his profession had also enhanced his innate talents.

"An S-rank talent is indeed not so simple."

Su Lun was certain that [Talent S-018-All-knowing Eye] was not just for identifying items; it had many more abilities yet to be developed.

This "dynamic capture" was one of them.

Lost in thought, Su Lun was suddenly jolted back to reality when a strong arm roughly wrapped around his neck. He instinctively wanted to reach for his gun, but remembering something, he relaxed.

Then, Su Lun found himself crashing into a soft, wave-like sensation.

"Haha! Won again!"

Hearing Qian Tiao's excited voice next to his ear, Su Lun realized what had happened.

But he also marveled, was this the power of a cadre?

Now very agile, his high neural response speed allowed him even to dodge crossbow bolts. But just then, he almost didn't react in time.

Su Lun inwardly exclaimed, and felt his head buzzing from the crash into Wen Yu...

Qian Tiao let go of Su Lun, laughing heartily, "Wahaha, good thing you're lucky, kid, otherwise if I had lost this last bit of salary, I'd have to rely on my brothers in the gang to get by for the rest of the month."

"..."

Hearing this, Su Lun slightly stunned.

Was Qian Tiao, a formidable gang cadre, really down to her last ten thousand dollars?

That bold bet of ten thousand earlier, was it really all her savings?

Indeed, in any world, the life of a gambling addict was nothing.

....

Su Lun thought Qian Tiao would quit while she was ahead, having already won tens of thousands. But instead, she spoke again, "Hey, who do you think will win the next match?"

At this moment, Qian Tiao looked at Su Lun with eyes sparkling with an odd green gleam, excited and full of vigor...

Su Lun had already won two matches, no, including the previous two, he had won four in a row.

The stakes he gambled were small, so winning or losing didn't matter much to him.

But now that he knew this was all of Qian Tiao's fortune, Su Lun also felt considerable pressure.

He asked, "Do you still want to gamble?"

"Why not?"

Qian Tiao countered his question, then grumbled, "Being out of town for a few months really suffocated me... I need to indulge myself tonight."

She paused, then explained seriously, "Besides, being afraid to follow up after a win and refusing to leave after a loss are the two great taboos of gambling!"

"..."

Hearing that tone, Su Lun thought, damn, no use advising her.

A confirmed gambler, it's confirmed.

But he also thought that if she lost everything, she probably wouldn't bother him any further while he watched the match. With that in mind, he felt less burdened and casually said, "I'm planning to bet on red next time."

Qian Tiao asked curiously, "Are you still only betting a thousand?"

Su Lun nodded, "Yeah."

"Heh... The fact that you're not greedy is indeed commendable."

It sounded like praise, but Qian Tiao's face looked unimpressed as she suddenly shifted in tone, lamenting, "But gambling without raising the stakes has no soul! If you don't bet more on good luck, how can you ever get rich?"

These gambling catchphrases, one after the other... left Su Lun with a headache.

Ignoring whatever Su Lun felt, Qian Tiao directly called over the betting lady, saying, "Come on, put it all on red!"

"..."

Su Lun watched, a vein throbbing on his forehead.

Going all-in every time... this woman is really fierce.

Well, if she loses, there would be peace at last.

....

But contrary to his hopes,

it seemed fate was playing games, and Su Lun incredibly guessed right again.

This time, the red side tangled then killed the blue side.

Then, a dramatic scene continued to unfold.

Qian Tiao would ask Su Lun before every bet, then Su Lun would casually say a side, and she would go all-in...

A gambling novice daring to speak, a tiger mom daring to bet.

Just like that, this odd pair gradually became the focus of the entire betting hall.

The next round,

won;

the round after that,

won again...

No matter how Su Lun guessed, he could win just by speaking!

The familiar scenes, mysterious and bizarre, replayed over and over...

Eventually, the two consecutively guessed right eight times!

Qian Tiao's ten thousand yuan principal, being all-in every time, turned into an astounding over two million in cash.

Even Su Lun was seeing such a large pile of cash for the first time.

A mound of green bills constantly stimulated everyone's nerves, plunging the gambling den's patrons into madness!

Su Lun originally didn't want to be so high-profile, but it seemed his luck was absurdly good.

But fortunately, after the eighth round, he also breathed a sigh of relief, as the final round of the gladiator match had also ended.

Finally, he didn't have to nervously make predictions for this gang leader anymore.

...

"Hahaha, Goethe's gambling secrets really came in handy. If luck isn't on your side, follow someone with good luck; or otherwise, bet against someone unlucky!"

"Your name's Su Lun, right? From now on, you're Qian Tiao's man. If anyone bullies you, just drop my name!"

"..."

Winning money, the boss was very happy.

Su Lun decisively rejected her proposition to continue gambling upstairs and planned to make a quick exit.

But just then, Kai, covered in blood, found them.

"Sister Qian Tiao, why didn't you notify me when you came?"

"Eh, kid, how did you get yourself covered in so much blood?"

"Just had a little conflict with a few blind fools, probably 'Steam party' folks."

"Oh? Where are they?"

"Killed them, dumped them in the sewer. Just some small fry, wasn't worth making a big deal."

"..."

Listening to Kai's words, Qian Tiao pursed her lips, and the hungry long knife at her waist seemed to settle down once again.

But today she had won money and was in a good mood, so with a wave of her hand, "Come on, I'm treating you guys to a drink."

As a key figure in winning money, Su Lun naturally couldn't refuse and reluctantly accompanied them to the tavern.

All the way there, Kai kept talking to Qian Tiao.

"Sister Qian Tiao, what brings you to Green Street? Heh, is it something you want arranged?"

"You little rascal, I'm here on official business, okay?"

"What business?"

"To meet someone, and also to pass a message to you."

"Meeting that 'Red Demon' Goron?"

"Yo, kid, you're pretty sharp. The head wants to recruit him into the club, so we needed a leader to meet with him."

"Oh... Any other news?"

"Yesterday, an enemy who attacked our headquarters escaped. He took something very important from the warehouse. We've been tracking him, and the trail goes cold near the areas around Green Street. The head doesn't want that item and the 'Forbiddens' taken away; keep an eye out…"

PS. Seeking votes on Monday, monthly tickets, recommendation tickets~