Golden Finger Casino

Ling Chu froze when she heard that. She had not expected things to develop like this.

This man had said it was high-stakes gambling...

Could this ship actually be a casino?

"This is... the Golden Finger Gambling Ship!"

Titch let out a low cry behind her.

"You know this ship?"

"I do. Their sail bears the symbol of a golden finger," Titch whispered in her ear. "This ship is famous throughout these waters. It has a huge casino inside. Some people become rich overnight there, while others lose everything they own."

"Have you been inside? What does it look like?" Ling Chu asked.

"No," Titch said, his old face reddening. "Besides, I don't have any money, and I wouldn't dare go."

Ling Chu did not have any money either, but she had guts.

She had never gambled before. People were always curious about things they had never experienced.

For some reason, she thought of an ID in her friends list: Stay Away From Gambling, Drugs, and Vice.

She would not gamble. Surely just taking a look was fine.

"What about my ship?"

Ling Chu did not think this ship would stop here specifically for one customer like her.

Seeing the interest on Ling Chu's face, the attendant in a suit lowered a gangway to connect the two ships. He told her, "Please don't worry, miss. We will tow your ship behind us while we sail. Once you are done playing, you may return to your own vessel at any time."

With her concerns gone, Ling Chu boarded the cruise ship via the gangway.

The attendant's smile grew even brighter as he led her toward the cabin. "Allow me to introduce our Golden Finger Gambling Ship, miss. Not only do we have the largest casino at sea, but we also offer all kinds of entertainment."

"Our ship has five decks in total. Decks one and two are public casinos, deck three contains the bar and dining area, while decks four and five are VIP areas, which require a card for entry. The VIP areas offer not only many exclusive services, but also auctions. There happens to be an auction tonight. If you are interested, miss, you may consider getting one of our VIP cards. You certainly will not be disappointed."

Hearing that familiar sales pitch, Ling Chu could not help recalling how she had once been talked into buying a gym membership card the same way.

"How do you get one of your VIP cards?"

"You can get one for ten thousand Sea Shells. It is absolutely worth the price."

Ling Chu's mouth twitched. "Maybe next time."

The cabin entrance consisted of two heavy, carved wooden doors, watched over by two people dressed as guards. The attendant stopped at the door, and Ling Chu stopped with him, giving him a puzzled look that asked why he was not opening it.

Seeing this, the attendant had no choice but to rub his hands together and say, "Well, our rules state that you must purchase starting chips before entering. One hundred Sea Shells can be exchanged for one chip."

"How many chips would you like to purchase?"

One chip cost one hundred Sea Shells? That was expensive.

Her entire fortune amounted to only 211 Sea Shells...

Ling Chu considered it for a moment. Barefoot people were not afraid of those wearing shoes. She was already this poor, so what was there to worry about?

Still, gambling probably depended quite a bit on luck, right?

She secretly took out Gambler's Coin and flipped it once on the spot.

It landed heads.

Double Luck!

If you enjoy this book, please remember to add it to your bookshelf so you can find it again next time.

Ling Chu waved a hand grandly. "Then give me one chip."

"One?"

The attendant's smile froze. He thought he had misheard.

Even the stingiest guests he had seen bought ten chips!

Ling Chu shook the coin in her hand. "My Goddess of Luck told me one chip would be enough."

"O-okay..."

The attendant's mouth twitched. He did not believe that broken coin could bring her any good luck at all.

If not for the ship's rule forbidding them from turning away guests, the attendant truly wanted to kick Ling Chu into the sea. She had wasted so many of his smiles for nothing.

Still, the procedure had to be followed. The attendant took one hundred Sea Shells from her, pulled out a pure White Chip, and placed it in her hand. With a blank expression, he said, "Remember, there are only three rules at the Golden Finger Casino."

"First, chips are the only currency here."

"Second, if you gamble, accept the outcome. Once you leave the table, there are no regrets."

"Third, never attempt to default on a debt."

The attendant's expression did not change, but his glance at her carried a deeper meaning. "We have our own ways of 'collecting debts.' The price is something you would never want to 'pay' in any form."

Ling Chu understood. In any case, she only had this one chip. If she lost it, she would leave. She had nothing more to offer.

The heavy wooden doors slid open inward without a sound. In that instant, it felt as though she had stepped into a golden dream completely severed from the world of the sea outside.

Countless enormous Crystal Chandeliers hung from the lofty dome, making the entire space as bright as day without being harsh in the slightest. Every surface gleamed with a magnificent golden halo.

The air was filled with a mingled scent—the smoky aroma of Cigars, the refined and expensive perfume worn by the ladies, and the fragrance of chilled champagne spilling forth as bottles were opened. Beneath their feet lay a thick, soft Crimson Velvet Carpet embroidered with golden Vines and wave patterns. Footsteps made almost no sound upon it, and everywhere the eye could see was luxury.

Ling Chu inwardly marveled. This golden-finger boss was seriously rich.

The gambling tables throughout the hall were orderly yet exceptionally lively. The clatter of dice, the stacking of Chips, and people's gasps of excitement or regretful curses came together into a symphony of decadent extravagance.

The Dealers were both men and women, dressed in fitted vests. Their expressions were professional and composed, their movements precise and fluid like clockwork.

Twenty-One, Texas Hold'em, Sic Bo, Pai Gow... Besides these common gambling games, there was even a row of Slot Machines along one wall of the hall.

The machines were made of polished brass, rare wood, and colored enamel inlays. Elegant in design, they looked like works of art. Their screens displayed animations of graceful dolphins leaping from the water, or sharks devouring dolphins. Ling Chu personally saw someone win a prize. The machine played a brief cheerful melody, and a Treasure Chest emerged from the shark's mouth on the screen, while a huge pile of Chips poured out from the payout slot below.

As Ling Chu looked around, she also used the Eyepatch to observe the people nearby.

She discovered that among the several hundred people in this casino, there was not a single player.

Thinking about it, that was only normal. Sea Shells were hard to come by, and the one-hundred-Sea Shell entrance ticket alone had already excluded the vast majority of people. A few days ago, A Silly Bird had ranked fourth on the regional Wealth Ranking and still could not afford an Island Locator Card that cost one hundred Sea Shells.

Everything here was bright, cheerful, luxurious, and filled with the seductive allure of money.

Ling Chu did not know any card-table gambling techniques. Relying on Double Luck, she wanted to try a game based purely on luck. The first thing she had set her sights on was the Slot Machines, but when she found that each play cost two Chips, she could only give up.

In the end, her gaze was drawn to something in the corner: an enormous Lucky Wheel.