Aqiang is a sailor and a native of the Kaos Empire.
However, although Aqiang had a sailor's badge, his farthest voyage in his life was to spend five silver coins to bribe the first mate of a merchant ship to sneak into Shark Bay from the Storm Strait in the eastern part of the Kaos Empire. During the rest of the time, he was either helping people carry supplies on the shore of Shark Bay, or wandering around in the gambling house until he lost the last penny in his pocket.
Shark Bay is full of sailors like Aqiang, but what is slightly different from them is that in Aqiang’s hometown, the Storm Strait, in the port city there, Aqiang once had an enviable small bungalow. , once had a beautiful wife, once had a decent job.
Yes, once...
Aqiang was once very rich, but his slightly ordinary life made him feel very boring. He always looked at the bustling port on the hillside of the city, envying the free life of the sailors.
"It would be great if I could be this free."
Aqiang always prays to the altar of chaos in the suburbs, praying that he can find true freedom.
As a result, the altar really received Aqiang's wish.
A demon named "Gambling" came to Aqiang and granted him true freedom after Aqiang paid a heavy price:
One day, some colleagues who liked small gambling took Aqiang to a newly opened gambling house in the city. After a few rounds, Aqiang was completely obsessed with the excitement of gambling. In the days that followed, Aqiang stayed up all night and stayed in the casino every day.
In the following story, the fate of Aqiang and all desperate gamblers overlap.
The ever-increasing chips and the ever-expanding gap made Aqiang sell all the valuable belongings on hand, mortgage his real estate, and even write the names of his parents and wife on the signature line of the loan shark's guarantor.
Until Aqiang once again lost all his money and returned home cursing in the middle of the night. The debt collectors had already searched the entire house. The bodies of his mother and father were already cold. Hiding under them, his wife who was still alive was also He had lost too much blood and his face was pale.
"Dear Aqiang, take this snakeskin bag and run away! The snakeskin bag contains the last bit of money, as well as the family heirloom that my father gave me before he died. Dear Aqiang, please survive and return. Yes, don’t…don’t…bet again!”
Aqiang can no longer remember the embarrassing situation in which he escaped to the port, and how he persuaded the first mate of the merchant ship to allow him to sneak into the merchant ship. Aqiang only remembers that he felt like he was having a nightmare. Usually, when he wakes up, he is already lying on the shore of Shark Bay, and there are indeed five silver coins missing from his snakeskin bag.
After encountering such a major change, has Aqiang successfully quit gambling?
Obviously, no.
He walked like a zombie for a while, was confused for a while, hated himself for a while, and was in self-exile for a while. In the end, Aqiang completely put down his bottom line and returned to the gambling house.
The money in the snakeskin bag was quickly lost. With his good strength, Aqiang was able to support himself, but the little money he earned from doing odd jobs, except for three meals a day, was used for gambling. .
Interestingly, Aqiang kept the "family heirloom" that his wife gave him before she died - not because Aqiang was nostalgic, but simply because no one wanted it.
It was a button with the same material and size as the ancient coins of the Kaos Empire. The size of this button is usually only matched with a cloak, and there is a strange name engraved on the front of this bronze button:
Jack!
In any case, Aqiang lived the life he longed for, gambling, making money, and then gambling again. Apart from not being able to keep money in his pocket, this life was also "free".
until today……
It was another ordinary day. Ah Qiang, who had made some money by running errands, found a gambling shop to have fun. Soon, he found a gambling table where he rolled dice and guessed the numbers. After squeezing through the bustling crowd of onlookers, Ah Qiang Qiang came to the gambling table.
Relying on his intuition from many years of gambling, Aqiang was ready to make a blind guess first. However, just as he was about to place a few cheap coins on the "big" handicap, a voice suddenly appeared in Aqiang's mind:
Eleven o'clock, all-in!
It was the first time such a strange situation occurred, and Aqiang was so frightened that he almost screamed. However, the voice was so sonorous and powerful, so unquestionable that Aqiang simply changed his mind and took all the copper coins and cheap coins in his pocket. The coins were thrown to the eleven o'clock position.
"Eleven o'clock, little one!"
The croupier's opening voice was as sweet as the sound of nature. At that moment, Aqiang's originally anxious heart soared into the sky, and his overwhelming sense of accomplishment lifted him into the clouds. In his excitement, Aqiang did not forget to look around, but he could not find the angel who transmitted the voice to his mind, which made Aqiang feel a little disappointed.
However, compared to the excitement brought by gambling, this disappointment quickly disappeared. Aqiang returned to the gambling table again. This time, touching the bulging snakeskin bag, Aqiang had the confidence to use copper coins to do it. Bet on it.
lose money,
win money,
Keep losing money,
A few more wins,
Lose again in the end!
The rhythm is almost exactly the same as before. The only difference is that every time Aqiang loses half of his wallet, there is always a disembodied voice telling Aqiang which high-risk and high-reward market he should go to and try his luck. Bet, and every time, Aqiang could always make a lot of money by relying on the all-in game. Even in the end, the snakeskin bag on Aqiang's waist could not hold the extra silver coins and copper coins, so he could only Go to the window of the gambling shop to exchange for larger chips to load the money.
Of course, not to mention the dealer, even the surrounding gamblers noticed this unusual anomaly. Whenever Aqiang was about to go all-in after losing halfway, the handicap he chose was almost full of chips, and The dealers try their best to operate secretly. Even if these arrogant gamblers suffer a defeat, it will be a victory for the casino.
However, the mechanism under the gambling table failed, and the magic of the mage operating in the dark also failed. The croupier's thousands of skills that have deceived countless gamblers for more than ten years have encountered an unprecedented Waterloo.
In this case, no matter how stupid the person in charge of the casino is, he should have guessed what happened——
I met a master!
The stupid Aqiang is naturally not the master. He is just a "target" who is kept in the dark. So who is the "fisherman" hiding behind it? After a little investigation, the person in charge of the casino quickly focused on a seemingly ordinary person.
There was no other reason for targeting him. He was the one who followed Aqiang around the casino and made a lot of money.
Five big and three thick gambling thugs shuttled through the crowd in an orderly and rapid manner, closing in on the man in an encirclement manner, and the light of their swords was faintly flashing in their sleeves.
However, before these gambling thugs could get close to that person, another wave of people quietly appeared behind the gambling thugs and knocked them down easily.
"...Sir Maier, please go upstairs and have a chat. Don't be nervous, buddy, Lord Maier just wants to temporarily hire you as a gambler."
"Okay, but give me a minute and I'll have a word with that person."
Aqiang, who was so excited, naturally did not notice the undercurrent in the casino. However, when he inadvertently looked up, he noticed that a certain "taoist friend" at the same gambling table was actually being raped on the second floor. The big shot fell in love with him and even hired him as a gambler!
The gambler can be said to be a unique role in this plane's gambling house.
There are crooks in gambling houses in any plane, and due to the existence of magic, the cheating methods in this plane are more personal and more numerous.
Those rich squires may be very rich and love gambling, but they may not have the ability to protect their property in front of professional gamblers. At this time, they often ask similarly professional gamblers to gamble on their behalf, and the rich squires It opens the outside game, that is, placing bets behind the bettor's back, which not only increases the winning rate, but also gains a sense of participation, so why not!
And for gamblers, gambling agents are even more important, which is very enviable!
But why was the gambler who had just been hired as a gambler walking toward him with a smile on his face?
Ah Qiang doesn’t remember knowing such a big shot!
"Man, I accepted the reward for helping you, you're welcome. Also, I made you win enough money that you won't be able to spend in a lifetime, so promise me you won't come to the gambling house again!"
A Qiang left the gambling shop with the whole bag of money he had won in a daze. After Aqiang thought about it, he spent some money on a good meal, bought some decent clothes, rented a boat and returned to the Storm Strait, bought back the small bungalow he had lived in for more than ten years, and found He got a decent job and even married a young and beautiful wife to accompany him.
The days seemed to be back to the way they were in the past. The only difference was that he could never get back the cloak button, a family heirloom that his ex-wife had given him before she died.
"He probably took it."
Whenever he thinks of the lucky star who passed by him, Aqiang always feels very lucky. But at the same time, every time he thinks of the joy of immersing himself in the gambling house in Shark Bay every day, Aqiang can't help but feel a little empty in his heart. of.
Although this life is comfortable, I always feel that something is missing...
free?
correct……
It's freedom!
"Well, it's decided. Let's go to the gambling house tonight and have some fun. Anyway, I have so much money now. Losing two silver coins is not considered a loss!"
The remaining warmth of the setting sun will eventually disappear, and the cold darkness will come again quietly!
…
