The Cheater at the Pachinko Parlor

Watching the three of them get along so well, Star Color smiled from the heart.

Kamuro had managed to give up half of herself and take that step. Star Color really envied her.

"Chicken soup, coming right up."

Star Color brought out a steaming bowl of chicken soup.

Seeing the other three already chatting away, Star Color felt a little lonely.

Life was like bitter chocolate, even if nothing was certain.

"It's delicious—"

Miki Yamamura took a sip and let out a sigh, then remarked with feeling.

"..."

Masumi Kamuro said nothing, simply keeping her head down and drinking her soup.

"Star Color, your cooking is as wonderful as ever."

Tamiya Emi savored each small mouthful, eating with the air of a young lady. Her praise made Star Color feel embarrassed.

"Once we finish this soup, I can serve the rest."

Star Color only tilted her head, hiding her feelings. She put on the most natural, unnoticeable, and insincere smile—the one she had practiced so many times.

After dinner, Star Color contentedly flopped down on the floor.

Miki Yamamura volunteered to do the dishes, while the other two in the room turned their attention to Star Color.

"Gurgle, gurgle... Soup really is humanity's greatest invention."

Star Color wriggled pointlessly on the floor, holding a novel titled Sakura's Trap, her little feet swinging.

"That Righteous Memories book you recommended was really good, Star Color. 'Turn the false into the real'—it's a wonderful piece of light literature."

Masumi Kamuro suddenly remembered that Star Color had recommended a novel called Only You Can Hear to her. She wondered if she should borrow it from the library tomorrow.

"Speaking of which, Otonashi recommended a book about Mr. Camus to me. 'A person's only duty is to make themselves happy.' Those words have been a great help to me."

Miki Yamamura finished washing the dishes and came over to sit beside Star Color.

Tamiya Emi and Masumi Kamuro saw that and moved closer, too.

"Hey, why are all three of you sitting so close? It's hot..."

(Saturday morning)

Star Color changed into a disguise in the restroom at Keyaki Mall, put on makeup, and donned a masculine wig and colored contact lenses.

"Ah↘ ah↘ ah↘—cough, cough... Good."

Her voice had also been altered into a deep, masculine one.

She changed into a pachinko parlor employee's uniform.

A guy even Zhou Changqing's people couldn't handle? That sounded interesting, didn't it?

As the machines were upgraded, fewer and fewer cheating methods worked on pachinko machines, so Star Color had come in person to meet this Cheat Gambler.

"So noisy."

Since it was Saturday, the groups of staff with nothing to do had completely thrown themselves into it.

In a sense, these people had once been Star Color's bread and butter. She didn't feel right saying anything, so she wore a mask and patrolled the parlor.

A report came through her earpiece. It seemed the Cheater had shown up.

Star Color went to the security room and used the monitors to keep an eye on the Cheater seated at a pachislot machine, telling the patrolling staff not to spook him.

[1. He was searched, but no suspicious devices were found. Even his shoes were thoroughly checked.]

[2. He wasn't playing one specific machine. The machines had all been checked and were fine.]

[3. This guy always won a lot. He had to be carrying a remote control, a radio transmitter, or a signal jammer.]

"Can't find where it is? Interesting."

Star Color slid her finger across the monitor, watching the middle-aged man playing pachinko. A deranged grin spread across her face, and an aura like a rakshasa clawing its way out of hell burst forth.

Now it was her turn to face him. The thrill of devouring a gambler swept through her.

"His luck is about to turn terrible."

Star Color switched on her earpiece and arranged Zhou Changqing's movements. Then she picked up a glass of water and headed toward the man.

"You're pretty good, sir."

The middle-aged man had thick black hair and wore a gray mechanic's uniform, with a pair of black safety shoes on his feet. He sat there with his head tilted back, hitting the buttons. When three sevens lined up, the machine hit the jackpot.

The machine spewed out coins like crazy.

"Got a trick for it?"

Star Color rested her chin on her hand, watching him with interest.

"You just have to use your brain with these machines. The interval is 0.02 seconds, and there are 16,384 slots. That means you can get the symbols to line up by pressing the handle at the right moment. It takes 3 minutes, 52.24 seconds."

Star Color's eyes widened, and she didn't hold back her praise.

"That's amazing! You're using your biological clock to calculate the jackpot cycle!"

"Kid, watch and learn. You're a new employee, right? Remember me, and don't be like those other useless employees, checking whether I'm cheating."

"Your style is a lot like someone's... that Heart-Striking Silver Bee."

Through her colored contacts, her sunflower-yellow eyes stared at the middle-aged man who was undoubtedly cheating.

"Th-that's right! I'm his disciple!"

"But that method only works on old machines, doesn't it? Modern machines use a Pseudo-Random Algorithm. You can't calculate the results with just a human biological clock, sir~. Unless your brain is a precision calculator."

Star Color rested her chin on her hand, baring a predator's ferocious grin.

"You're accusing me of cheating?!"

He immediately stood up and backed away a few steps. She had been so friendly just a moment ago, but now she was like a monster.

"Why are you so scared? I can hardly believe there's a Cheat Gambler in such a small parlor."

"Cheat Gambler? I'm not cheating!"

"Hold him down. You can use force if you have to."

Zhou Changqing appeared behind him, seized the Cheat Gambler's arm, and pinned him to the ground.

"You're using violence! I'm reporting you! I'll make sure you can't set foot in this school again!"

Nobody was playing the machines anymore. Everyone had gathered around to watch.

Star Color poured the water in her glass over his head.

"That wig must've cost a pretty penny, sir. Hiding a radio transmitter in your wig was a pretty good trick."

Star Color used her foot to flip his wig off.

"Bald, huh, sir? Wearing a wig to look young? That's so lame."

Star Color bent down and picked up the transmitter.

"Heh, looks like there's a new gadget again. After we installed strong-magnetic-field alarms on the machines, you started using transmitters to imitate the signals of the remotes used to adjust the machines' settings during maintenance. Your methods keep evolving fast."

Star Color had previously caught a guy who hid a jammer in the lining of his shoe, and another who wore a mask and held one in his mouth. This was the first time she'd seen someone hide one in a wig. Modern manufacturing was just too good; they could make things look completely real. It was no wonder Zhou Changqing hadn't thought of it. With the parlor so peaceful and the method fairly inventive, it was an easy thing to overlook. If Star Color hadn't been wearing a wig today and made the connection, she would've had to keep watching for quite a while.

[Only those who cheat can truly understand other cheaters.]

Star Color planted her foot on the man's head.

"He cheated his way to three million points. What do you think we should do with a cheater?!"

The crowd around them clapped and shouted. Who wouldn't be jealous of a guy who'd won so much money by cheating? Even if he hadn't cheated, some people would've loved to see him caught in the act.

"Beat him up!"

"Hand him over to the yakuza!"

"Hey, hey, this is a university campus. There's no yakuza here."

Star Color quipped.

"But we can hand him over to the police~."

After all, the Neon police were the pachinko and pachislot industries' protectors, providing them with stable, easy, honorary jobs after retirement. Neon civil servants already received generous pensions, but who would say no to more money? The Kisen Group had established around twenty organizations related to the pachinko and pachislot industries, including the Neon Game Business Cooperation Alliance and the Neon Game Business Revitalization Association. Most were staffed by retired Neon police officers.

The Neon police issued licenses to the parlors and managed how brazenly they could operate. The public could lose money at pachinko parlors and still think kindly of the police... and little by little, the Kisen Group had worked its way in.

(The police in this fictional world definitely aren't meant to imply anything about Neon! Definitely not!)

Star Color kept her foot on the man's head. Her golden-yellow contact lenses couldn't stop that predatory gleam from spilling out. Even Zhou Changqing couldn't believe the murderous aura she exuded. Was she really a monster wearing a child's skin?