Chapter 41 Illusion
Luxianbei and Jiang Li’s jointly planned gambling game was like a rampaging excavator, ruthlessly shoveling through the fields of Dream Come True Entertainment City, taking away a massive amount of chips.
By the third day of the gambling game, the chips in their hands had accumulated to a frightening degree.
5.87 billion chips.
Under normal circumstances, when a gambler’s chips reach a certain quantity, they would choose to challenge the Big Boss or spend chips at the exchange to realize certain dreams that don’t require challenging the Big Boss.
Throughout history, no gambler has ever held so many chips.
Faced with this situation, the gold-clad Bunny Girls managing various affairs in the entertainment city and the Dark Lamps responsible for catching cheaters were under unimaginable pressure, nearly on the brink of collapse.
The gamblers in the entertainment city were like crazed wolves, pouncing on the gambling game, and at first, the Bunny Girls were still paying attention to the wins and losses of each round, but eventually, their only concern became the security of the entertainment city.
Because losing it all and causing chaos was far too common in this entertainment city.
Normally, the Bunny Girls and the black-clad guards could handle chaos well, but in these three days, too many guests had lost all their chips.
Meanwhile, the Dark Lamps were even more concerned about whether Luxianbei and Jiang Li were cheating, yet they racked their brains and could not find any evidence of cheating.
The only possible clue, their exchange of glances, was analyzed frame by frame by several cryptographers among the Dark Lamps, but they found it completely indecipherable.
The conclusion drawn was that the eye contact was just a medium; there was a certain high-level connection between Jiang Li and Luxianbei that they could temporarily not sever, forced to give up.
What worried the staff of the entertainment city the most was that the circulating chips were nearly depleted…
——
The clear lake resembled a priceless sapphire, embedded amidst the pale and barren sand dunes.
In the lake, apart from the golden-red sturgeon and the snow-white koi, there were almost no large fish remaining; they seemed to be entangled like yin and yang fish, almost covering all areas in the center of the lake, exuding an inexplicable harmony, but within that beauty lurked a deadly threat.
The remaining large fish, like fry, retreated to the edges of the lake, afraid to make contact with them.
Only those grass carp continuously emerging from the depths of the lake were still charging towards the two giant entities, as if moths to the flame, throwing themselves recklessly.
Thus, their bodies kept expanding, as if intending to break the shackles of the lake water and push through to the far side.
But ultimately, they were fish; should the lake overflow, they would quickly perish on the barren dunes.
A pair of golden eyes, peering through an unusual mask, watched the swimming fish in the lake, murmuring, “Ah, what a wonderful scene!”
As he spoke, he spread his arms towards the sky, as if to embrace the world, the fluctuations of spirit energy rising step by step until reaching the highest, most spirited posture, the black robe casting a shadow over the lake like wings obscuring the sun.
————
On the third day, at eleven seventeen in the morning, there were still twelve hours and thirty-seven minutes left before Jiang Li’s life expired.
Now, guests holding over five million chips in the entertainment city had almost all participated in the gambling game organized by Luxianbei; only a small portion remained, those rational or having noticed something amiss, who would not join the game again in a short time.
Thus, after the seven hundred twenty-fourth gamble ended, the game fell into a temporary vacuum.
After waiting long, just as the Bunny Girl stationed in the room was about to go fetch the next “victim,” Luxianbei stopped her.
“……”
Huh? What’s going on?
Did the bad person suddenly have a change of heart?
Seeing the Bunny Girl’s puzzled expression, Luxianbei made a silent gesture and turned to point at Jiang Li, who had collapsed asleep on the gambling table.
“Shh——! She’s asleep; could you please pause the game for now?” Luxianbei whispered.
Saying this, she walked toward Jiang Li under the Bunny Girl’s ambiguous gaze.
The close interactions between Luxianbei and Jiang Li over the past few days had been witnessed by the Bunny Girls, who had entertained a series of imaginative scenarios in their minds during their idle time, and every rest period found them discussing it, each one wriggling like a maggot in excitement.
Two beautiful girls, especially the temporarily established master-servant relationship, who wouldn’t like that?
Even at the exchange station, books like 【Wang Buliu × A Li: Forbidden Daily Life of Master and Servant】 began to surface, and for those in the know, ten to twenty chips could be exchanged.
Under mental pressure, both humans and urban legends sought amusement to relieve stress.
As the Bunny Girl prepared to lock in this couple pairing, Luxianbei suddenly hugged Jiang Li around the waist, slightly bending her knees, sinking her center of gravity, and with a light exclamation of “Hey, let’s go!” flung Jiang Li onto her shoulder.
The silver-white hair created a beautiful arc in the air, the tips brushing past the Bunny Girl’s nose, and the dull thud of Jiang Li’s forehead hitting the gambling table sent a sound echoing into her fuzzy ears.
Hearing the noise, Luxianbei glanced around, confirmed there was no anomaly, then turned back to the Bunny Girl. “I’ll take her to rest for a while; you…”
Noticing the Bunny Girl’s peculiar look, she paused and tilted her head to ask, “Is there a problem?”
The Bunny Girl hesitated several times, ultimately shaking her head expressionlessly.
“If there’s no problem, then I’ll leave this to you for now. I’m off.” Luxianbei nodded, striding confidently out of the private room as if carrying nothing more than a bag of cement.
Bunny Girl, “……”
————
After settling Jiang Li on the large bed in VIP Room 002, Luxianbei tiptoed to cover her with a blanket, carefully tucking in the corners.
Upon exiting the bedroom, Luxianbei raised an eyebrow at Ahua waiting outside the door. “I leave her in your care; I have to go handle something important.”
Recalling the red mark on Jiang Li’s forehead when Luxianbei had carried her out from the private room, Ahua shot a furious glare at Luxianbei. “I know without you saying; at least I won’t smash her head against the table.”
“Uh…” Luxianbei was momentarily at a loss for words, shrugged, and jogged away from the lounge.
————
Stepping out of the lounge, she traversed the quiet corridor.
As she entered the third-floor hall, the clamor from the gambling tables assaulted her ears, making her head spin.
Here we go again? Those terrifying and bizarre illusions… Luxianbei thought helplessly and gloomily.
This was not her first time experiencing an illusion.
Not sure if it was due to the recent excessive use of her precognitive abilities that left her eyes extremely fatigued, she had started seeing illusions since the second day the gambling game began.
At first, it was just seeing the marble floor crack beneath her feet, revealing an unfathomable abyss below.
Following that, the seemingly everlasting gold began to fade, and the dazzling gems shattered piece by piece into dust.
Later, while walking through the hall, the lights would suddenly go out, and the oil paintings hanging on both sides of the corridor would fade into a chaotic darkness.
Once vividly painted seductive women, as if they had come to life, leaned against their frames, reaching out, waving, scratching, pulling, as if trying to drag someone into another world.
A world where living beings were not allowed.
Or in the instant the lights flickered back on, all the Bunny Girls transformed into decaying corpses, traversing the hall, viciously pouncing on guests, craving flesh and bl**d, like a siege of zombies.
In short, from the second day until now, the frequency of Luxianbei seeing illusions had gradually increased, and each sighting became more horrifying.
And now, the situation seemed to have intensified.
The noise in the hall twisted and distorted in her mind, with every passing moment becoming filled with hidden wails, screams, and roars beneath various sounds.
Her eyes intermittently burned, and the splendid hall’s colors quickly faded.
Following that, yellowing illusions began to play out in every corner of the hall like a cinematic montage.
She saw a boy standing on a rooftop of a tall building, hands trembling, leaving behind a farewell letter in a gambling addiction support group, then stepping decisively into his last moment of life.
She saw a mother who lost everything, forced to leave her baby in a cradle, walking into the entertainment district, selling s*x and alcohol until drunkenly lost, only to wake up to a d*ath notification for her child.
She saw urban legends revealing their vicious forms, continuously causing slaughter, hands stained with bl**d, carrying the filthy and muddied Primordial Spirit as they boarded the Titanic.
…
Selfishness, greed, deceit, hypocrisy, pretense, cowardice, betrayal, indifference, despair, stinginess, rage, vanity, obsession, depression.
All sorts of negative emotions flooded her mind.
At that moment, it felt as if the gates of hell had been torn open before her.
From the gap, she glimpsed the evil of all the gamblers in the world.
In a daze, Luxianbei felt something in her pocket rustling; instinctively, she reached in and pulled out a mass of decaying flesh crawling with maggots.
In fright, she released it, and a soft sound echoed in her ears.
“Ding——!”
The crisp and pleasant sound, like the midnight bell, neutralized all “magic” effects, and the illusions before Luxianbei instantly vanished.
In silence, she stared at the shimmering emerald lying quietly on the marble floor.
Gazing at this exquisite gem, she seemed to see the mountains of bones piled beneath the most luxurious entertainment city.
For a long time, Luxianbei, having engaged in an ideological struggle between money and life, swallowed her saliva, not bothering to pick up the emerald, and swiftly made her way to the entertainment city’s exchange.
This is getting more serious!
It seems that once this round is over, I need to rest properly before proceeding with the next plan.
After correcting one defect, her spirit abilities strengthened, and recently, she had not seen those ghostly illusions. If this continued, she might “break down” again.
Luxianbei thought, rubbing her dry, itchy eyes.
————
Moments later, Luxianbei arrived as promised at the third-floor exchange and encountered the gold-clad Bunny Girl, who posed as perfectly as a sculpture.
Upon seeing Luxianbei approach, she bowed slightly and smiled, “Hello, miss. How can I assist you today?”
“I’d like to exchange for something.”
“Of course, please wait a moment.” The Bunny Girl said as she bent down, retrieved a tablet from beneath the counter, and handed it to Luxianbei.
Taking the tablet, Luxianbei opened the special section without thinking and found “Lifespan,” pointing to that column, she said to the Bunny Girl, “Could you exchange this for me, please?”
The Bunny Girl’s eyes sparkled with meaning as she asked, “May I ask, is this for helping Miss A Li?”
Yes, she was also one of the many secretly shipping the CP.
Is she thinking of eating me up? Sensing the Bunny Girl’s odd gaze, Luxianbei inwardly grumbled, subtly stepping back, and nodded, “Yes, it’s for her.”
“Alright then, hee hee!” The Bunny Girl covered her mouth and chuckled softly, throwing Luxianbei an understanding look as she quickly calculated the chips needed for exchanging lifespan for Jiang Li.
“Hello, for exchanging ten years of lifespan for Miss A Li, it will require 1.43 billion chips. Do you find this acceptable?”
Has it gone up again? But now Jiang Li has less than half a day left. According to their calculation method, this is reasonable. Luxianbei grumbled inwardly, nodding at the Bunny Girl.
“Exchange!”
“Okay, then I’ll…”
“Wait!”
Just as the Bunny Girl was about to exchange lifespan for Jiang Li, Luxianbei suddenly remembered something and interrupted, “I recall you saying that the longer the lifespan, the less valuable it is for exchange, right?”
“Well, it’s not completely worthless; uh… that’s about the gist of it.” The Bunny Girl said, bewildered.
“Then how about you calculate for me how many chips are needed to exchange twenty years.”
The Bunny Girl leaned over the crystal ball and rubbed it for a moment before responding, “It would require 1.64 billion.”
“And forty years?”
“1.77 billion…”
Luxianbei thought for a moment and asked, “What about a hundred years?”
“Uh, 2.03 billion.”
“Fine! Give her a whole hundred years.” Luxianbei decisively said.
“This… are you sure? Wouldn’t it…” The Bunny Girl hesitated, a glimmer flashing in her eyes.
Is this the overbearing master of Miss A Li? So envious! the Bunny Girl thought.
Does she think I’m a fool for spending so many chips to exchange lifespan for someone else? Luxianbei scrutinized the Bunny Girl and frowned, “Less chatter, just do it if I want!”
“Alright, I’ll get that for you…”
“Wait!” Luxianbei interrupted the Bunny Girl again.
Are they going to increase it again? The Bunny Girl looked at Luxianbei quizzically, wanting to say something but holding back.
“Do you have emeralds here?” Luxianbei asked.
“Uh, yes.” The Bunny Girl said, taken aback.
Luxianbei pondered for a moment and said seriously, “Get me the biggest one!”
Well, she still couldn’t forget the emerald scale she discarded due to being startled.
The Bunny Girl, “……” Why does she always want to exchange for something so strange every time she comes?
————
After completing the exchange, Luxianbei made her way back to VIP Room 002.
Standing outside the VIP lounge, she waited for Jiang Li to wake up while observing the situation in the hall through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Three hours later, she made a startling discovery.
The frequency and severity of her illusions had decreased!
Based on the frequency just after the conclusion of the gambling game in the morning, she would see an illusion roughly once an hour, but now, after three hours had passed, only one illusion had appeared, and its intensity had diminished greatly.
Why is that?
Luxianbei contemplated, carefully reviewing the changes in the past three hours that might have influenced the frequency of her illusions, her gaze becoming grave.
Currently, the most obvious changes were halting the use of her precognitive abilities, giving her eyes some rest, spending a substantial amount of chips, and acquiring a piece of emerald the size of a soccer ball.
Excluding the influence of the emerald, that only left the two options regarding her eyes getting rest and spending chips.
If it’s the former, that’s fine, but if it’s the latter…
That would be troubling; I might have to adjust the original plan. Luxianbei thought.
Her initial plan was to collect more chips by employing methods that radiated to more guests on the third floors and lower levels, ultimately gathering the majority of circulating chips within the entertainment city, causing guests to be unable to normally exchange chips, allowing her to effectively control the situation and achieve the purpose of shutting down the entertainment city.
But if holding too many chips leads to severe side effects, this tactic might not work.
Just as Luxianbei was lost in thought, a sound of a door opening suddenly came from behind her. Turning, she saw Jiang Li walking out from the lounge.
“Yo, you’re awake? Still adapting to your new body? Do you feel like you have boundless energy, endless youth, all sorts of infinity, as if you’ve jumped from menopause back to adolescence, unable to resist wanting to have a tumultuous romance?”
Listening to Luxianbei’s nonsense, Jiang Li scrutinized her up and down, frowning.
At this moment, Luxianbei was still wearing that red and white collared jacket, but there was a pocket that emerged from the outer coat at her abdomen, stuffed with a round emerald the size of a wild egg.
“It’s indeed quite tumultuous.” Jiang Li nodded, shifting the topic, “I heard from Ahua that you went to exchange for my lifespan?”
“Yeah, I exchanged for a hundred years!”
Jiang Li was taken aback, “Why did you exchange for so much?”
“Because it’s worth it!” Luxianbei shrugged, “This is just like when you encounter a super market sale where one item is 20% off, and if you buy three, it’s 60% off; if you don’t buy it, you’re missing out.”
“I even want to go exchange for another hundred or eighty years now!”
While testing, I want to see if the illusions I witnessed are caused by holding too many chips… Luxianbei thought.
Why does this person also want to take advantage of such things? Jiang Li gave Luxianbei a glance and said flatly, “Living for that long, everyone around you would be gone anyway. What’s the point?”
“They won’t all be gone; I’m still here, right?” Luxianbei patted her chest. “Urban legends should be able to live a long time, right? How about we compete to see who dies first?”
“……” Jiang Li silently stared at Luxianbei for a long while, then slightly nodded, responding, “Mm.”
