The Second Private Car

"Bet big, bet small! Place your bets and no more changes!"

The croupier's hoarse shouts were swallowed by the roaring crowd. Around the smoke-filled gambling table, dozens of gamblers were packed tightly together, staring with bloodshot eyes at the dice cup in the center of the table while suppressed growls rumbled in their throats.

"Big! It's definitely big! This handsome guy has won seventeen hands in a row! Follow his lead, guaranteed profit!"

"Bullshit! How can anyone's luck be good all the time? Listen to me, bet the opposite on small! One hand to turn it all around!"

Lucas leaned back in his chair, his left arm draped casually around Baccarat's waist, pulling her half into his embrace.

The croupier opposite him had cold sweat pouring down his forehead, trickling along his jawline and dripping onto the gambling table to form a small, dark stain. He gritted his teeth, and taking advantage of the moment he bent down to lift the cup, his knee used an extremely light and fast force to nudge the hidden mechanism under the table.

This was an old trick in the casino, capable of changing the dice rolls without a sound. It had never failed before.

However, under the invisible influence of the Lucky-Lucky Fruit, the gears beneath the table jammed with a sharp click.

The mechanism had failed.

The croupier took a deep breath, suppressing the panic in his heart, slapped a professional fake smile on his face, and slowly lifted the dice cup.

The next second, his smile froze on his face.

Three dice, six-six-six, big.

The croupier's worldview nearly collapsed.

He had even cheated himself, yet he still managed to lose?

What the hell kind of monster luck was this? This made no sense!

"That's it for today." Lucas patted Baccarat's waist and stood up with a smile.

"Accompanying my lady back to rest now. Please convert these chips into Beli."

Baccarat raised her head, giving him a charming, sideways glance. Her gaze hid a hint of reproach, as if blaming him for casually taking advantage of her with his words.

"You two, please follow me. The exchange room is this way."

The croupier feigned composure as he gathered the mountain-like chips on the table, lowering his head to lead the way in front. His steps felt somewhat weak, and his back was already soaked through with cold sweat.

Lucas's ears twitched slightly, and he calmly wrapped an arm around Baccarat as he followed behind.

The hallway grew deeper and the lights grew dimmer. Pushing open a heavy metal door, they entered a enclosed lounge. A burly, bald brute sat boldly on the sofa, toying with a switchblade in his hand.

"Before we start, I want to ask a question."

Lucas glanced around the surroundings. "Is the Beli really stored here?"

"Kid, you're quite smart. You could actually sense something was wrong."

The brute sneered, suddenly standing up. The muscles all over his body bulged and knotted.

"Too bad, being too smart means you're stupid. Remember in your next life, don't be too greedy!"

"You're done for! Now get on your knees and beg for mercy before--"

The brute had just found a backing and was preparing to throw his weight around with some arrogant threats.

"Bang!"

A muffled explosive sound echoed. The brute backhanded a slap, directly shattering the croupier's head into pieces. Red and white matter splattered all over the wall, and the limp corpse collapsed onto the ground.

"Useless trash. You can even lose when cheating, what's the use of keeping you around?"

The brute spat out a glob of saliva, turned to look at the two of them, and his gaze was as ferocious as if he wanted to eat people.

Dense white long hairs suddenly sprouted from every pore on his entire body. His physique swelled in size within seconds, his head transforming into a ferocious bear head, and his height reached nearly five meters, stuffing the entire room to the brim.

Zoan, Bear-Bear Fruit, Polar Bear Form, Beast Form!

A violent aura rushed toward them. Baccarat's expression changed abruptly, and she subconsciously wanted to retreat, but her wrist was firmly gripped by Lucas, unable to move a muscle.

Watching the furry giant palm slap toward them with a fierce gale, she closed her eyes in fright.

A muffled sound of bone fracture exploded. Lucas raised his right arm and drove it straight forward to meet the bear paw.

The moment the furry bear paw collided with the human fist, the massive bear paw unexpectedly burst apart like a rotten watermelon.

Flesh, shattered bones, and white fur splattered everywhere, yet they were steadily blocked by an invisible barrier of Busoshoku Haki half a meter in front of the two of them.

The overwhelming counterforce poured out along the fist.

The polar bear brute let out a piercing wail, and his massive body flew backward, violently smashing through the alloy-reinforced thick wall and crashing heavily into the vault next door. The Beli banknotes fluttering across the sky fell onto him like snowflakes.

Baccarat curiously reached out a slender finger, poking at the invisible barrier in front of her.

Just a moment ago, this thing had blocked all the flying bits of flesh and blood.

"Don't move, you'll get hurt."

Lucas reminded her in a low voice.

She sheepishly withdrew her hand and curled her lips without leaving a trace.

Lucas stepped on the sticky, bloody floor and walked over to the surveillance Den Den Mushi in the corner of the wall. Facing the lens, he revealed a bright yet wicked smile, deliberately letting the other party record his appearance clearly. After confirming it was done, a wisp of bright blue electric arc flashed across his fingertips, and with a bzz sound, the Den Den Mushi instantly turned charred and dead.

After doing all this, he finally strode into the vault.

The brute was already thoroughly dead. Lucas squatted down, stabbed his fingertips into the other's neck, and the ability of the Vampire-Vampire Fruit activated. Blood, life energy, and the Lineage Factor belonging to the Devil Fruit were continuously extracted.

He skillfully separated the Lineage Factor, guiding it to inject into a pear resting in a fruit basket nearby.

The fruit skin quickly turned yellow, and a circle of black spiral patterns surfaced on its surface. A brand-new Bear-Bear Fruit was quietly reborn in his hands.

Baccarat had no mind to pay attention to these mystical operations of his.

Her gaze had long since been completely captured by the piles of Beli stacked like mountains in the vault.

Bundles of paper currency were neatly stacked from the floor all the way to the ceiling. She had never seen so much money in her entire life, and for a moment she was somewhat dazed looking at it.

The two of them found a dozen large suitcases and spent a full half hour packing up the Beli in the vault.

Late at night, dragging several full cases of money, they quietly returned to the inn where Lucas was temporarily staying.

"Right, I haven't asked your name yet."

Lucas leaned back on the sofa, looking at the red-haired girl squatting on the ground and counting money.

"Baccarat."

She didn't even raise her head, her fingers rapidly ticking off the banknotes, her tone filled with an undisguised sense of elation.

"Miss Baccarat, I have a new proposal. Want to hear it?"

"Go ahead."

"Be my woman, follow me, and you'll have endless money to spend."

"Cough-- cough cough!"

Baccarat was choked by those blunt to the point of rudeness words, coughing repeatedly as her chest heaved up and down. She raised her head and gave him an uncharitable sideways glance.

"Who says it like that? This little bit of money and you want to buy me for a lifetime?"

She could earn money on her own; wanting her to submit heart and soul was not that easy.

"It's not just money."

Lucas stood up, his figure flickering as he appeared in front of her. Before Baccarat could react, he reached out, pulled her into his arms, and lowered his head to kiss her.

The moment their soft lips touched, Baccarat's entire body stiffened. She had zero experience in this area, and her brain instantly went completely blank.

Immediately afterward, a gentle yet mellow energy was passed over along the tip of her tongue.

That was pure life energy.

The warm current spread through her throat to her limbs and bones, feeling as if she had soaked into a warm hot spring, with every inch of her skin stretching and being reborn.

After a long while, their lips parted.

Embarrassed and angry, Baccarat just wanted to activate the Lucky-Lucky Fruit to teach this scoundrel a lesson when a small mirror was handed out in front of her eyes.

The woman in the mirror had her skin transformed from its original healthy wheat tone to a fair, delicate, cold-white complexion. The tiny fine lines at the corners of her eyes had vanished without a trace, and her entire person looked at least five years younger, glowing with health as if she had undergone a complete rebirth.

She stared blankly as she touched her own face, the anger in the depths of her eyes quickly replaced by pleasant surprise.

"I can make you stay youthful forever."

Lucas's voice rang in her ear. "Now you can give me your answer. But think carefully, once you follow me, you'll most likely be targeted by many people in the future. Staying youthful forever is just too easy to invite envy."

On this sea where the weak were prey to the strong, love was a luxury, far less reliable than real gold and silver and solid strength.

A man who was tyrannical in strength, outstanding in appearance, and could provide her with endless money to spend along with the eternal youth that every woman dreamed of—for Baccarat, who had engraved profits into her very bones, there was simply no reason to refuse.

Even if there were risks on the road ahead, it was worth a gamble.

She raised her head, ripples of light shimmering within her green eyes as they reflected the lamplight, shining startlingly bright.

"I'm willing."

As her words fell, she raised her hand and slowly untied the first button of her top.

TO BE CONTINUED