The Heavenly Demon Plunders (11)
The dealer has been sponsored 1,000 won by CoinAddict. [I should never gamble. Ever.]
“Me too. I don’t think I could ever make money gambling.”
Enry watched the fraudulent showdown between Ara and the dealer with completely horrified eyes. Ever since the two had openly declared they would cheat each other, the word “restraint” had been erased from their minds. Both Ara and the dealer focused solely on showcasing how flawless their techniques were.
“It’s a draw.”
“Let’s go again.”
This was the tenth time the number 36 had appeared from both cups. There was no way a single person’s luck could produce the number 36 ten times in a row, so it was clearly the result of some technique. Yet Enry couldn’t detect anything no matter how hard she looked. Even though she knew both were using tricks and had been observing from every possible angle, she still couldn’t understand what was happening.
She wasn’t the only one. Thousands of viewers were currently watching her stream, but not a single one of them had caught the trick being performed right in front of them.
Countless discussions flew back and forth as people tried to uncover the trick, but no one could give a clear answer. By the time the thirteenth match between Ara and the dealer ended in yet another draw, Ara finally spoke.
“If you keep thinking there must be some trick, you’ll never find it.”
“What do you mean?”
“The number is already decided the moment the cup is moved. Why would you look for the answer anywhere else?”
As she spoke, Ara shook the cup, and the fourteenth match ended with the same result. Both of them kept drawing the number 36, returning the game to a stalemate.
“Let’s take a short break. I have something to show the others.”
“Of course. Go ahead.”
After getting the dealer’s permission, Ara sat Enry down beside her and tossed the dice into the cup.
“Both myself and that fellow can perfectly control the numbers on the dice inside the cup using sleight of hand.”
“With sleight of hand? Is that even possible?”
“Of course it is.”
Then Ara proved her words. First, six ones appeared. Then six twos. Then threes, fours, fives, and sixes. Each time, the numbers revealed themselves from within the cup, proving her claim.
“And this is also possible.”
Ara then showed combinations of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, along with countless other number arrangements. By now, one thing was crystal clear: Ara could perfectly control the numbers on the dice inside the cup with pure sleight of hand. Her confidence about being able to earn as much money as she wanted had a very solid foundation.
“Where on earth did you learn something like this?”
“Where else would one learn gambling techniques?”
“...I’m suddenly very curious about your past, Hwaryeong.”
When Enry let out a sigh-like voice, Hwaryeong chuckled and replied.
“Anyone from the murim should be able to do at least this much.”
“But you’re a modern person!”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. My homeland is the murim, is it not?”
Even though they had met face-to-face just that morning, Ara continued to shamelessly spout such nonsense. Enry dragged a hand down her face. How had someone like this managed to live quietly until now? With both skill and madness in equal measure, it was strange she hadn’t become famous sooner.
“By the way, Hwaryeong. I have one question.”
“What is it?”
“If you keep getting only 36s like this, can you actually win?”
“I can.”
After all, the one moving the dice was still human. Sooner or later, a mistake would come. *To be precise, one could say she would create that mistake.
She had been watching the man’s hand movements this entire time, but the chances of him making an error seemed low. If he were trying to hide his cheating, that would be one thing, but in this situation where both sides had openly declared they would cheat and were pouring everything into their techniques, the odds of him slipping up were slim. If the number of rounds increased significantly, things might change, but it didn’t look like that would happen. From what she could see, his hand movements while cheating were extremely consistent. Almost like a machine.
In her personal opinion, it looked less like pure skill and more like some kind of system mechanic within the game itself. If it truly were his pure technique, she would have been willing to drag it into a war of attrition and toy with him until he made a mistake. But if that wasn’t the case, there was no reason to keep playing along. She had already enjoyed herself enough, reminiscing about old memories. It was time to bring this to an end.
“Let’s go again.”
“All-in again?”
“That’s right.”
She placed the dice into the cup and shook it. There was no need to pay attention to her own cup. Whether she cared or not, the result she would produce was already decided. So where should her attention go? To the opponent’s cup, of course.
As Baru had once said, the Tao existed in all things in this world. Naturally, it existed inside that cup as well. Normally, techniques of this kind were extremely sensitive to even the slightest change. Since they adjusted the outcome by feeling tiny vibrations with their hands, it couldn’t be helped. Therefore, if a small gust of wind were to blow inside that cup, wouldn’t many things be overturned?
“...Huh?”
Once again, her own number was 36, but the man’s number was different. His was 21. A mistake unbelievable from someone who had only produced 36 until now. The man stared at the number that came out of his cup in shock, then looked up at her with wide, bewildered eyes.
“Just what did you—”
“You made the mistake yourself, yet you try to pin the blame on me? I don’t understand. Just hand over the money. We need to start the next game.”
The next game was the same. By creating a breeze inside the cup, she forced the opponent into a mistake. At this point, the man seemed to have realized something, but that didn’t make his defeat disappear. With this, her gold coins had already surpassed fifteen hundred.
“Alright then. Let’s try one more time.”
“I’m sorry. I think we should end it here for today…”
“Oh no you don’t.”
Where did he think he was running off to? How dare he get scared and try to abandon the match? He was the one who started the cheating first. And now he wanted to call it quits? Did he really think she would allow that?
She released the killing intent she had been suppressing inside her body, spreading it around her. The same killing intent that had once made even the wolf that ruled an entire forest lower its head in submission. When she concentrated it and placed it squarely on the man’s shoulders, his face turned deathly pale and cold sweat poured down his forehead.
“Put the dice in the cup.”
Continue the match. Who knows? Maybe her hand would slip and produce some bizarre number?
*After collecting five thousand gold coins, the man finally fell to his knees. Even when he begged her to leave, saying he couldn’t give any more money today, she felt no interest. He was the one who cheated first, and he was the one who accepted the match. There was no reason whatsoever for her to show him mercy.
The only reason she eventually withdrew was because Enry, who had been beside her, said that this was more than enough.
“Five thousand gold coins is enough to last until the streamer server shuts down!”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. There are only so many places to spend money anyway. Eventually you’ll have more than you know what to do with.”
According to Enry, while it would be a huge help for rapid early growth, it would become surplus wealth in just a few days. After hearing that, Ara decided to show the man mercy.
After leaving the dice gambling den, they headed toward Pipi. She had been watching the puppies energetically running around in a daze, but when she heard their story, her eyebrows shot up.
“Five thousand?!”
“That’s right.”
When Ara showed her the bag full of the mountain of gold coins, Pipi stared at it in shock before fainting on the spot. What a great reaction. It made earning the money worth it.
Not long after, Pipi woke up again. She covered her mouth with both hands, staring at the pile of gold coins and muttering nonstop. Since Ara was an outsider to this game, she couldn’t understand the exact details, but she could roughly grasp that it was about future plans and designs.
It was good that her teammate appreciated it, but wasn’t there something she needed to do first?
“Pipi. I’ve brought the money, so it’s time to fulfill the promise you made.”
Hurry up and hand over the shampoo for Neungneung-i.
“Ah! Of course! I’ll make it right away!”
The place Pipi led them to afterward was a shabby building near the gambling den. The house looked like it could collapse at any moment and gave off a bizarre, musty smell. Could shampoo really be made in a place like this? Doubts naturally arose, but since Pipi had been vouched for by Enry, she decided to trust her for now.
Inside the rundown building, a man wearing a robe greeted them.
“Pet shampoo? Making it isn’t difficult. As long as you have the ingredients and the payment.”
When she showed him part of the pile of gold coins, a gleam escaped from the eyes hidden beneath the robe.
“Very well. You seem quite sincere. What kind of pet are you raising?”
“Does that matter?”
“The ingredients change depending on the species.”
“It’s a wolf.”
“A wolf, huh. That’s pretty common. In that case…”
“However, it is far from an ordinary wolf.”