Chapter 355: Jenga

Lu Yibei, not knowing what she had done wrong, silently looked into Jiang Li’s eyes, trying to communicate with her through eye contact.

[Wang Buliuxing has initiated an eye contact chat]

But…

[The other party has rejected your chat request]

“…”

Lu Yibei hesitated to speak several times, finally testing the waters carefully, “Uh… Are you really planning to gamble with me?”

“Of course.” Jiang Li nodded slightly, her tone indifferent. “Wasn’t it you who brought it up?”

As she spoke, she raised her chin a little, her gaze rolling upwards with a hint of contempt, the corners of her mouth curving into a half-smile, half-smirk, her expression a mix of disdain and pity.

Some women’s gazes could make people nervous. If that woman happened to be a beauty, the effect was even stronger-and Jiang Li was precisely that type.

Her beautiful, captivating eyes, which seemed able to pierce through all sorts of falsehoods in a single glance, were undoubtedly her trump card.

If she threw in a few lines of overt praise or veiled sarcasm, anyone with a weaker psyche would instantly break down, suffering a ton of damage.

This unique look, a perfect fusion of temperament, appearance, and personality, had an apt name: “killer gaze”.

However, even the killer gaze had its nemesis-if the person being stared at felt no shame, then the gaze lost all effect.

Lu Yibei was clearly someone with a very thin sense of shame, so…

[Killer gaze failed to penetrate Wang Buliuxing’s armor]

Lu Yibei acted as if she hadn’t noticed Jiang Li’s look at all, nodding nonchalantly, “Sure! It’s just a gamble, no big deal.”

Although she hadn’t had a proper gambling game since coming to the Entertainment City, she wasn’t afraid at all. After all, she was a battle-hardened veteran.

Back when she played games, if she ran into trash teammates, she’d always make bets-mid-lane solo, loser deletes their household registry.

Granted, she was the only person on her own household registry, but she’d never feared those wagers. So what’s there to fear about losing some chips to Jiang Li?

She calculated silently, then looked at Jiang Li with a serious face. “Since we’ve decided to gamble, you pick the time and place.”

“No problem,” Jiang Li replied.

“If there’s no problem, then let me set the terms of the gambling game. That way it’s fairer,” Lu Yibei hastily added, as if afraid Jiang Li might change her mind.

Retreat to advance-let Jiang Li choose the time and place, then she herself picks the game. That had been Lu Yibei’s plan from the start.

It was just like when she used to solo in games-generously letting her opponent pick their best hero first, then counter picking, and using her own solid skills and the hero’s strengths to crush them.

But given that Jiang Li was quite sharp, this little trick would be easy for her to spot, so Lu Yibei had to finalize the rules before Jiang Li realized what was happening.

She still wanted to win this gambling game as much as possible.

Even if Jiang Li was a girl, and even though the outcome didn’t really matter, as long as all the chips were in her hands, wouldn’t that mean she could make Jiang Li do whatever she wanted?

If you’ve lost all your chips, how are you going to go to the No Return Place and play against the Big Boss of the Entertainment City?

No way!

“…”

Jiang Li quickly saw through Lu Yibei’s intentions. After a moment’s thought, she nodded, “Alright, let’s do it your way.”

She could tell Lu Yibei was playing a little trick, but she didn’t care. She’d been studying all sorts of card and board games since she was little-she had absolute confidence in this area.

“But there’s a small issue here.”

Lu Yibei raised an eyebrow, “You’re not planning to add some weird clause to the gambling game, are you? Like a big clause with a small clause underneath, the small clause with a tiny clause, the tiny clause with a teeny-tiny clause, and the teeny-tiny-“

“Stop!” Jiang Li interrupted before Lu Yibei’s trash talk could spiral endlessly. “That’s not what I’m talking about.”

Damn, I really ran into a chatterbox… Jiang Li grumbled inwardly, then added, “What I mean is, since you want to gamble with me, your chips need to at least be roughly equivalent to mine, right?”

“Do you have that many chips?”

“Tch! Who are you looking down on?” Lu Yibei rolled her eyes. “I’ve got a few million chips!”

“I…” Jiang Li responded nonchalantly, “Probably just over a hundred million chips.”

Lu Yibei, “…”

After a brief silence, she silently pulled out half a pack of spicy strips and offered them to Jiang Li, “Big shot, have some spicy strips!”

Why is she carrying this weird stuff around… Jiang Li frowned slightly, pushing away the spicy strips. “Seriously, how are you planning to make up for the chip gap?”

“Well…” Lu Yibei frowned. “Other than chips, I don’t have much of value. Maybe give me a few days, I’ll think of something, try to scrape some together?”

“…” Jiang Li fell silent, her eyes dimming for a moment as she murmured, “I can’t wait that long.”

“So what do we do? I’m just one person, I can’t exactly bet myself, can I?” Lu Yibei said helplessly. “How about if I lose, I’ll be your servant?”

Jiang Li’s eyes lit up, “Sure!”

Lu Yibei, “???”

She agreed that quickly? There must be a catch!

“Ahem!” Sensing Lu Yibei’s strange look, Jiang Li cleared her throat and explained expressionlessly, “What I mean is, I can just barely accept that wager.”

As she spoke, she pressed the little bronze statue of a small demon on the coffee table to summon service. “I’ll have a bunny girl arrange a private room in a bit. Once you’ve decided what to gamble on, we can start anytime.”

“I’ll need to think about it carefully,” Lu Yibei pouted. “Ah-Hua and the others are still waiting for me downstairs! I’ll go let them know first. Once I’ve decided what to bet on, I’ll come find you.”

“Mm.” Jiang Li nodded slightly, “I’ll wait for you.”

As she said this, an inexplicable flutter stirred in her heart.

For a moment, she seemed to genuinely anticipate winning the gambling game against Lu Yibei.

But why was there such anticipation?

“Alright, see you later!” Lu Yibei said, getting up and walking out of the lounge.

Jiang Li kept a stern face, as if Lu Yibei owed her 1.2 billion chips, watching her leave.

It wasn’t until the lounge door closed that she collapsed onto the sofa, then slowly turned, burying her face into the cushion, her long legs drumming against the sofa like a beating drum.

Just then, the doorbell of the lounge rang, and the voice of a bunny girl came from the little devil on the coffee table.

“Miss Ah-Li, did you just call for service?”

Jiang Li sat up straight in an instant, looked towards the door, and said expressionlessly, “Yes, come in!”

After leaving Jiang Li’s VIP lounge, Lu Yibei did not immediately go to find Liu Seer and Ah-Hua. Instead, she pondered what to bet on to ensure a win while heading towards the chip exchange on the upper three floors.

At this time, the entire upper three floors were still in a frenzy, but the chip exchange, which should have been bustling, was rather quiet. Only a bunny girl in a golden outfit stood behind the counter, her posture as precise as a statue.

Seeing Lu Yibei approach, she bowed slightly and smiled, “Hello miss, how may I assist you?”

“Could you please show me your exchange list? I’d like to exchange for something.”

“Certainly, please wait a moment.” The bunny girl said, bending down to retrieve a tablet from under the counter and handed it to Lu Yibei with both hands.

Taking the tablet, Lu Yibei quickly browsed through over three hundred miscellaneous items in the list, a hint of disappointment flashing in her eyes.

Even on the upper three floors, there was nothing rarer than the Bai Xiaohua figurine of The Flower of Chaotic Parallel Timelines.

In fact, Dream Come True Entertainment City claimed to fulfill all the wishes of its guests, which was not an empty boast. The list at the exchange only included some regular options, while wishes beyond these required guests to make special requests.

Shaking off her disappointment, Lu Yibei quickly opened the special items section and immediately found what she wanted to exchange for.

In the first column of the special items, it boldly stated “Lifespan.”

“…”

It actually exists!

I thought such a thing wouldn’t be on the list!

Lu Yibei thought to herself, raising her head to look at the bunny girl in front of her, pointing to the “Lifespan” column on the tablet and asking, “I want to exchange for this. How many chips do I need?”

Hearing this, the bunny girl bowed slightly and explained, “Miss, you may not know, but if you want to exchange for lifespan, you need to undergo a test first. The number of chips required will vary depending on how much lifespan you have left.”

“Uh…” Lu Yibei scratched the back of her head, “What if I want to exchange it for someone else?”

Liu Seer was so certain that Jiang Li didn’t have long to live. Although Lu Yibei didn’t say it out loud, she was very worried inside, concerned that even if Jiang Li didn’t gamble with the Big Boss of the Entertainment City, she might suddenly die.

To prevent her from suddenly dying, it seemed safer to secretly exchange a bit of lifespan for her.

After all, we have plenty of chips now, don’t we? Several million! Lu Yibei thought.

“Then, may I ask if you can provide detailed information about the person you want to exchange for?” the bunny girl inquired.

“Let me think…” Lu Yibei thought seriously for a moment and said, “Jiang Li, female, nineteen years, three months, and seven days old, weight unknown as I haven’t carried her, hobby is playing Mahjong…”

The bunny girl seemed to catch onto something and asked, “Are you referring to Miss Ah-Li?”

Lu Yibei’s eyes lit up, “Yes, yes, that’s her! Let’s get her ten years of lifespan first?”

“Alright, let me check…” The bunny girl responded, fiddling with the deep blue crystal ball in front of her for a while, then announced a number that shocked Lu Yibei.

“Hello miss, to exchange ten years of lifespan for Miss Ah-Li, you need 1.2 billion chips.”

“What?” Lu Yibei’s eyes widened in surprise, “Why so much?”

Jiang Li, as the second-largest chip holder in the entire Entertainment City, only had just over one billion chips. Asking for 1.2 billion was a bit too much.

Indeed, as a certain domestic online game’s advertisement says, “Your time is very valuable.”

“Forget it, how about I exchange for ten days then?”

If ten years of lifespan required 1.2 billion, Lu Yibei roughly estimated that her chips could exchange for about ten days.

It’s a bit less, but keeping Jiang Li alive is more important.

“Alright.” The bunny girl responded again, fiddling with the crystal ball in front of her once more, and smiled as she replied, “For ten days, it requires 1.023 billion chips.”

“What the heck?” Lu Yibei was dumbfounded, “Did you make a mistake? Why does ten days cost so much too?”

“Miss, I did not miscalculate!” the bunny girl patiently explained, “The exchange for lifespan is priced based on the remaining lifespan of the target. For example, if a haunting has five hundred years of remaining lifespan, exchanging ten years would only require two hundred thousand chips.”

“And Miss Ah-Li currently only has three days and fifteen hours of lifespan left, so the cost to exchange lifespan for her is quite high.”

It’s confirmed, Liu Seer’s prediction was spot on. Three days and fifteen hours, Jiang Li is practically buried up to her forehead!

“Is that so?” Lu Yibei nodded thoughtfully.

After listening to the bunny girl’s explanation, she finally understood how the Entertainment City’s rules for exchanging lifespan worked.

She suddenly recalled a question she had seen online before.

The question was: What is the most precious time in a person’s life?

The answers below the question were varied and strange. Some said it was the time spent with loved ones, others said it was the time of good health, and some even mentioned the time of enlightenment.

However, among all the answers, the one that left the deepest impression on Lu Yibei was “the moment of birth and death.”

Now Jiang Li was close to dying, and every day spent extending her life was a struggle against death, which is why the chips needed to exchange for life were ridiculously high.

“Miss, do you still need to exchange?”

“…” Lu Yibei looked at the bunny girl in front of her, remained silent for a few seconds, and then spoke in a voice of poverty, “I’ll think about it.”

With that, she dashed away.

Can’t afford it, can’t afford it.

However, she hadn’t run far before she turned back.

“By the way, do you have Jenga here?”

This was the game she thought of in a short time that could fully utilize her advantages. After all, it was a gamble with Jiang Li, and if she resorted to some shady tricks, she feared Jiang Li wouldn’t acknowledge the loss.

“Huh?” The bunny girl was taken aback, seemingly not understanding Lu Yibei’s meaning.

Seeing the bunny girl’s puzzled expression, Lu Yibei gestured while explaining, “It’s the kind where blocks are stacked together, and two people take turns pulling out a piece. Whoever knocks over the blocks loses.”

With Jenga and my predictive ability, this round is impossible to lose!

The only thing to consider is how to get Jiang Li to agree to play this. Lu Yibei thought.

The bunny girl was stunned again, nodded, and said, “A children’s educational board game? Yes, we have it.”

“How many chips?” Lu Yibei asked.

“Two, two chips.”

Lu Yibei’s eyes lit up, and she pulled out a chip worth ten thousand and slapped it on the counter, “Give me one!”

“And also…”

“I just saw an ancient lacquer box in the miscellaneous section, get me one of those too!”

“Uh, this… Please wait a moment.”

Thus, three minutes later, the bunny girl at the exchange counter watched with a strange look as a peculiar girl who spent two chips on Jenga and eighteen thousand chips on a lacquer box walked away.

In a corner of the upper three floors’ hall.

Liu Seer and Ah-Hua finally found a relatively quiet place to settle in the chaotic and restless crowd.

Liu Seer squatted in the corner, a half-burned cigarette dangling from his mouth, his eyes scanning back and forth through the hazy smoke at the reveling guests in the hall.

“Little girl, in such a lively scene, aren’t you going to join them for a while?”

Ah-Hua gently shook her head, “No, Wang Buliuxing went to see my miss, and hasn’t returned for so long. I’m worried she might have failed to disguise herself and got caught.”

“I’d better wait here!”

“And you? Why aren’t you going?”

“My old bones can’t handle it.” Liu Seer chuckled bitterly, slowly exhaling a smoke ring.

Ah-Hua tilted her head, showing a puzzled expression.

I saw you were quite sturdy when you were beaten at the station!

Like you had practiced Iron Shirt Kung Fu.

Sensing Ah-Hua’s confusion, Liu Seer explained, “Actually, I didn’t come here to play in the first place, so I don’t have that desire.”

“I see, you’re here to fulfill a wish, right?” Ah-Hua said, noticing a hint of dimness in Liu Seer’s eyes, she immediately shut her mouth.

He must not have fulfilled his wish yet, since he hasn’t left after staying for so long. Bringing up the topic of wishes is undoubtedly rubbing salt in his wound.

“It’s okay, little girl. My wish probably won’t come true.” Liu Seer chuckled bitterly, opened his mouth to say something more, but then saw Lu Yibei running over from afar, clutching a lacquer box, “Oh, that girl is back.”

Upon hearing this, Ah-Hua followed Liu Seer’s gaze and saw Lu Yibei. She hurriedly stepped forward and asked anxiously, “How did it go? You weren’t discovered, right? Did you see my miss?”

Lu Yibei scratched the back of her head, “I did see her, but…”

“But she didn’t recognize you? Did she kick you out? Didn’t I tell you what to say to her before you went? Didn’t you say it?”

According to Ah-Hua, Jiang Li’s memories of Lu Yibei should have been exchanged long ago, so before Lu Yibei set off, Ah-Hua deliberately prepared some memories she believed Jiang Li would never exchange, and told Lu Yibei, so she could recognize Jiang Li.

Listening to Ah-Hua’s barrage of questions, Lu Yibei frowned, “It’s a bit strange, she did recognize me, but…”

“Tsk, I didn’t quite understand what I said wrong. Anyway, the situation now is, I have to gamble with her later. If I win, all her chips are mine; if I lose, I’ll have to serve her for the rest of my life!”

Upon hearing this, Ah-Hua’s face darkened, muttering, “Then it’s over.”

“Why is it over?”

“You can’t possibly beat my miss. She’s been practicing for years to win this gambling game, even integrating many psychic abilities into her gambling skills…”

“So, she’s very good at Jenga?” Lu Yibei interrupted, shaking the lacquer box filled with blocks in her hand.

Ah-Hua, “…”

What the heck is Jenga?

Liu Seer, “???”

Can you even gamble with something like Jenga? How could anyone agree to that?