Chapter 335: Next Time, I Must Win!

“Woo-!”

With a blast of the whistle echoing through the station, the Giant Train began to accelerate, leaving the platform behind and quickly disappearing at the end of the tracks.

The platform was now devoid of Lu Yibei and Ah-Hua, while a small restaurant next to the Cinnabar Pharmacy station had gained two new patrons.

The vagrants lurking near the station recognized Ah-Hua and feared her methods, none daring to approach recklessly.

Moments later, inside the quiet eatery, flies buzzed around, the tables and chairs were worn, and the walls were stained yellow from years of grease and smoke. Yet, this was the most luxurious restaurant in the vicinity of the Cinnabar Pharmacy station.

“Shaxian Snacks never disappoints. They manage to open a chain even in a place like this. I’m curious where I’ll find them next,” Lu Yibei remarked as she sat down, unable to resist a word of praise. She then turned her gaze to Ah-Hua, who wore a complex expression, and asked, “By the way, you mentioned you had something to ask me earlier. Go ahead.”

Whether or not I tell you depends on the situation, Lu Yibei thought to herself.

She understood Ah-Hua’s guarded mindset when approached by strangers in such a place, but there were certain things she simply couldn’t disclose to Ah-Hua.

“I want to ask…”

Ah-Hua opened her mouth, hesitated, and stopped. She had too many questions and needed to organize them.

In the information Jiang Li shared with her about Lu Yibei, she was supposedly a witch type, yet the psychic energy fluctuation typical of witch types was usually cold and bloodthirsty, quite unlike the person in front of her.

Originally, Jiang Li and Ah-Hua speculated that Lu Yibei, a rather good-looking young man, had somehow become a haunting of the witch type, perhaps due to some peculiar hobby.

But now, seeing her psychic energy fluctuation filled with fiery intensity and her youthful appearance, Ah-Hua suddenly thought this kid had quite a broad range of interests.

As a psychic with a Spirit Pattern carrying a small amount of Bì’àn1 power, Ah-Hua had a sharper insight into discerning psychic energy fluctuations than ordinary psychics.

Due to the limited power, she couldn’t achieve anything as exaggerated as distinguishing right from wrong, but she could make more detailed distinctions between types of psychic energy fluctuations.

This was one of the reasons Ah-Hua had a preconceived notion about Lu Yibei upon their first face-to-face encounter.

At that time, Lu Yibei, as a psychic potential bearer, emitted a faint psychic energy fluctuation that made Ah-Hua feel a hint of danger, as if she were not a good person, possibly a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

As for the other reason…

Lu Yibei’s chatter was so incessant it was nearing the point of mental pollution.

“You said earlier you’re Wang Buliuxing, right?” After a brief contemplation, Ah-Hua asked.

“That’s right!” Lu Yibei nodded expressionlessly, just as she was about to launch into a lengthy discourse on the topic to gain trust, Ah-Hua interrupted.

“I’ve heard Jiang Li mention you. I know the basics of what you’ve been through together. Now, I want you to recount the events you experienced together.”

The best way to deal with a chatterbox is to prevent them from starting their “broadcast.”

Although I wasn’t completely sure that the person sitting across from me was Lu Yibei, what if it was?

If it really was Lu Yibei, once she started talking, I was afraid she wouldn’t stop for days.

“Experiences we shared?” Lu Yibei paused to recall and then began with how they met at the southern suburb slaughterhouse.

Ten minutes later.

When Lu Yibei got to the part where Jiang Li’s clothes were torn and they lay together in a bed, tossing and turning unable to sleep, she suddenly stopped.

“What happened next? Keep going! What did you guys do after that?” Ah-Hua asked eagerly.

In fact, by the time she had heard half of it, she had already developed a fundamental trust in Lu Yibei.

After all, the experiences she narrated were almost exactly the same as what Jiang Li had described, except for a few minor details.

Ah-Hua, who had spent years interrogating haunters and psychics on behalf of Jiang Li, considered these kinds of minor discrepancies to be due to different perspectives.

However, just as she wanted to hear more to further confirm things, she heard something about Miss and Lu Yibei sharing a bed-a piece of information Miss had never mentioned-her heart tightened.

Ironically, that little bastard Lu Yibei had stopped right at that moment.

Ah-Hua thought, if Lu Yibei were some kind of novelist, she’d probably send her three boxes of razor blades for stopping at such a point.

“Hold on, the food is here, let’s talk later…” Lu Yibei said, nodding at the chubby owner who was coming over with two bowls of Beef Noodle.

After paying with a chip valued at “5”, Lu Yibei took the Beef Noodle from the owner, ready to enjoy them, but was stopped by Ah-Hua.

“Wait, first tell me what you did!”

“Well, we didn’t do anything!”

“I don’t believe that!” Ah-Hua frowned, her own Miss was a beauty, who could resist lying beside her?

She certainly couldn’t.

“Uh…” Lu Yibei put down her chopsticks and grimaced, “Then we did.”

“Did what?”

“Just did!”

“You… you…” Ah-Hua’s cheeks turned red, and she was at a loss for words for a moment.

Lu Yibei rolled her eyes and picked up her chopsticks again, only to be stopped by Ah-Hua once more.

“Don’t eat!”

Lu Yibei said impatiently, “Whether I do or don’t, you’re not satisfied, so what do you want? Schrodinger’s did, is that okay?”

“You misunderstood…”

Ah-Hua said, glancing towards the direction of the restaurant’s kitchen, then leaned closer and whispered into Lu Yibei’s ear, “You’re a stranger here, it’s best not to eat anything near the Cinnabar Pharmacy.”

Lu Yibei paused, asking softly, “What do you mean?”

“Here…” Ah-Hua paused to explain, “Almost everything edible here could potentially be addictive.”

“…” Lu Yibei was silent for a few seconds, expressionless, “You knew there was something wrong with this place, why didn’t you stop me from ordering? It cost me five chips!”

Ah-Hua twitched her mouth, annoyed, “Wasn’t it you who saw a fellow townsman and cried, insisting on treating me to a meal?”

“I was just being polite, who knew you’d take it so seriously?” Lu Yibei said nonchalantly, “It’s like giving red packets during the New Year.”

“I act like I want to give it to you, but actually, I am reluctant.”

Ah-Hua, “…”

Alright, now I can confirm, this person in front of me is definitely that little bastard Lu Yibei!

Finally, Lu Yibei and Ah-Hua left Shaxian Snacks under the resentful gaze of the plump owner, who seemed to watch helplessly as his prey slipped away.

Back at the waiting area of Cinnabar Pharmacy, the two found a secluded spot, sat down, and began to eat the compressed biscuits and energy bars Jiang Li had left behind before her disappearance.

As the rain and clouds loomed endlessly over the city at the end of the Dream Come True Journey, the dazzling neon lights that filled the city could not reach its darkest corners.

Dream Come True Entertainment City, like a gem embedded in the heart of the city, was a magnificent white building illuminated by golden lights.

Beautiful girls in Qipao or bunny girl outfits greeted guests at the entrance, while men in black suits roamed inside and outside the building, armed with shotguns loaded with alchemical bullets.

As they entered the lobby, the opulent corridor was adorned with large vertical scrolls of calligraphy proclaiming, “Gambling is the root of evil, harmful to oneself and others,” “Gambling is the greatest of all evils,” “One gambler brings disaster on the whole family”…

At this point, Lu Yibei couldn’t help but interrupt, “Wait a minute! Are you sure you’re talking about an Entertainment City, not a gambling rehabilitation center?”

“How can a casino make money with such slogans?”

Ah-Hua rolled her eyes at Lu Yibei, “Do you think those words make a difference? Cigarette packs still say smoking is harmful to health!”

“Some people just have a strong defiant streak. Even knowing it’s harmful, they can’t control themselves.”

While talking, Ah-Hua glanced towards the dim corner of the waiting area, her gaze shifting to those addicts lurking behind pillars, in wall crevices, and around corners, waiting for their prey.

“You see, many people here, along with hauntings, have become like this after buying drugs from Cinnabar Pharmacy, which always warns them about the potential addictive side effects of their products.”

“Oh?” Lu Yibei narrowed her eyes, inquiring further, “Can you really buy any drug you can think of here?”

“Like an antidote for regret or a potion to turn someone into a Lolita?”

Ah-Hua’s expression suddenly became cautious, sternly saying, “Why are you asking that? I’m telling you, not while I’m around!”

Besides, aren’t you already a Lolita? Ah-Hua thought to herself while giving Lu Yibei an odd up-and-down look.

“Don’t get so worked up!” Lu Yibei shrugged, “I’m asking for a friend, just continue, keep going…”

Dream Come True Entertainment City, as the final destination of the Dream Come True Journey, boasts the ability to fulfill any wish, no matter how extravagant or absurd. Becoming more beautiful, stronger, or smarter are just the basics.

Going further, spending a night with a popular idol, or having a lively conversation with the King of Hauntings-of course, spending a night with the King of Hauntings and chatting with a popular idol are also possible.

These wishes are considered normal, but there are also desires like ruining a competitor’s family, taking over someone’s life, or making someone wish they were dead… There’s nothing that can’t be achieved, only things that guests haven’t thought of.

However, the prerequisite is to pay enough chips.

The allure of a gamble that can completely alter one’s life trajectory is irresistible to both people and hauntings. They flock here, almost gambling with their futures.

So, the idea of small bets for fun simply doesn’t exist in Dream Come True Entertainment City. Those who lose want to turn the tables, and those who win want to win even more. Everyone, whether human or haunting, hopes to leave the Entertainment City with a life-changing outcome.

“What if someone wishes for the Entertainment City to disband right where it stands? Can they really make it happen?” Lu Yibei interjected.

“That’s exactly the wish Miss made,” Ah-Hua replied, her eyes dimming as she spoke. “But to fulfill that wish, she had to defeat the Big Boss of the Entertainment City…”

“She lost, and then she disappeared, right?” Lu Yibei frowned.

Ah-Hua nodded, her voice tinged with sorrow. “Yes, she lost thirteen times. The outcome of the fourteenth is unknown.”

“Well, I think she might have won,” Lu Yibei scoffed. “Precisely because she won, the Big Boss had no choice but to make her disappear.”

“They wouldn’t really disband, would they? One dares to wish, and the other dares to gamble.”

“If you ask me, you guys are too bold. Is that kind of wish something you can just say in front of the Big Boss?”

Ah-Hua lowered her head and muttered, “Miss thought they would keep their word.”

“Keep their word? Yeah, right!” Lu Yibei cursed. “The nail that sticks out gets hammered down. You guys made yourselves so conspicuous, who else would they target?”

Ah-Hua remained silent.

“Do you think Miss is still alive?”

Suddenly hearing Ah-Hua ask this question, Lu Yibei paused, her gaze dimming for a moment before brightening again.

“Alive, she’s still alive.”

She must be alive… Lu Yibei silently added in her heart.

Then.

She patted Ah-Hua’s shoulder and said seriously, “Don’t worry, I’ll go to that place later, and…”

Halfway through her sentence, Lu Yibei lowered her voice and leaned closer to Ah-Hua’s ear, “And, I want to meet that so-called Big Boss myself!”

Ah-Hua was taken aback, looking at Lu Yibei with surprise. “You’re willing to go to such lengths for Miss? That Big Boss is terrifying, don’t be impulsive, it could be dangerous.”

A gambler desperate to win is far more frightening than addicts or lustful wolves, and the Big Boss of Dream Come True Entertainment City can easily suppress them, showing his formidable strength.

That’s why Jiang Li didn’t force her way in.

So, upon hearing that Lu Yibei was willing to take risks for Jiang Li, Ah-Hua felt both shocked and a bit touched.

If the miss was interested, maybe they could actually spend some time together? When it comes to finding a partner, background doesn’t really matter; reliability is what counts, Ah-Hua thought.

“What do you mean by going to such lengths for her? I was already thinking of doing this,” Lu Yibei frowned.

Such a tsundere… Ah-Hua thought to herself, and reminded again, “Anyway, make sure you don’t have a direct confrontation with the Big Boss.”

Lu Yibei glanced sideways at Ah-Hua, “Do you have some misunderstanding about my character? Would I do something that risks my life? Even if it involves helping Jiang Li, it’s not worth risking everything, right?”

My relationship with her isn’t that deep, Lu Yibei thought.

“So…” Ah-Hua pondered for a few seconds, “You’re still doing this for the miss, right? I understand, I totally understand!”

Lu Yibei, “…”

Damn it! Why can’t I explain this properly?

I can’t exactly tell her that I’m now the head of Hua City’s underworld, and I’m doing this for the countless hauntings in Hua City, can I?

But what’s the deal with these three shops along this route? They seem to be getting more mysterious, Lu Yibei thought.

While Lu Yibei and Ah-Hua lingered at the Cinnabar Pharmacy.

At Dream Come True Entertainment City, within the No Return Place.

This was a desert shrouded in darkness, where the undulating gray-white dunes blurred with the sky at the horizon, and the deep sky was devoid of any starlight.

Here, the air seemed to stand still, with not a breath of wind, and the surroundings were deathly silent.

In the center of the desert, a silver-haired woman in a gown stood alongside a tall and slim man dressed in a tailcoat, wearing a bowler hat and a black-and-white mask.

Between them, a massive transparent cube floated, filled with black and white chess pieces densely arranged like a polymer model.

Three-dimensional Go, this was the game Jiang Li was playing against the Big Boss of the Entertainment City.

In regular Go, surrounding one piece requires four pieces, surrounding two pieces requires six; in three-dimensional Go, it requires six and ten pieces, respectively, and so on. As the number of pieces increases, the complexity and the thinking required in three-dimensional Go grow exponentially.

A regular game of Go could last several days, and it’s normal for three-dimensional Go to take months.

This was why Jiang Li had disappeared.

She hadn’t lost, nor had she won and been secretly eliminated as Lu Yibei speculated; the gambling game simply hadn’t ended.

Of course, she hadn’t intentionally chosen such an obscure method to compete with the Big Boss; each game was a mutual decision.

One person proposed the type of game, while the other suggested the rules, and a coin toss decided the order.

In her past thirteen failures, Jiang Li had tried various games like Mahjong, Pai Gow, poker, and dice, all ending in defeat. This time, she spontaneously chose Go, only to find the Big Boss suggested the three-dimensional Go format.

Having never encountered this type of gameplay before, Jiang Li found herself in a rather passive position initially, almost pushed to the brink of defeat. As she gradually grasped the rules of the game, she managed to claw back some advantage, but…

Days and nights of intense mental exertion were not something an ordinary person could endure. In the end, she had to rely on her psychic energy to barely hold on.

Yet, compared to the Big Boss sitting across from her, her psychic energy was still too weak.

At this moment, while the opponent remained calm and composed, Jiang Li’s face had turned pale, her body drenched in fragrant sweat, and her thoughts were becoming sluggish.

“Snap-!”

The Big Boss flicked a piece in front of him lightly, and the pure white piece shot into the cube like a meteor, landing on the board with a soft sound.

Immediately, a series of explosions echoed within the cube.

The black pieces suspended in mid-air, surrounded and eliminated, burst one after another, turning into powder and scattering. In the blink of an eye, the black pieces inside the cube were reduced by seventy to eighty percent.

“Miss Jiang, I think there’s no need to continue this game. You’ve already lost. Can we call it a day?” the man said gently.

“Huff-huff-!”

Jiang Li’s chest rose and fell slightly as she breathed heavily, her bloodshot eyes fixed on the man opposite her. After a long silence, she gritted her teeth and said, “Fine.”

Jiang Li knew that the game was beyond saving; continuing would only deplete her psychic energy without any hope of turning the tide. Yet, she couldn’t help but feel a bit unwilling.

“Ha-ha, don’t be angry, Miss Jiang,” the man laughed, seeing her expression. “Honestly, you’re the smartest human I’ve ever met, with unprecedented spirit. Losing to me these times might just be a matter of a little bad luck. I’m looking forward to our next match.”

“Hmph-!”

Listening to the man’s typical casino spiel, Jiang Li scoffed coldly, stood up, and walked towards the vortex that had reopened behind her, leading back to Entertainment City.

Next time, she vowed fiercely, she would win!

Footnote:

1. Bì’àn(狴犴): Bì’àn is a mythical creature in traditional Chinese culture, symbolizing justice, majesty, and law.