Chapter 165 – City of The Cursed (Part 2)

In this world, there’s no such thing as a hand so bad you can’t even play a 3. So Your Uncle is aggrieved—he just didn’t want to play them, you know?! He had all pairs, you know?! His 3344556677 could’ve formed a group wedding, you know?!

[System] Spring Field Blossom: If you’re aggrieved, you can rant in your head without typing out every single card in your hand, you know!!!

Spring Field Blossom was so irritated he was about to spontaneously combust =_=

Li Sky was laughing so hard at his computer he was in stitches. With both a King and an Ace in hand, he played his cards one by one, staying in total control the whole game. Finally, a straight followed by a bomb—game over.

The subsequent matches were full of twists and turns. Each time, everyone got different hands—some good, some bad. Luck, like the Earth, is round. Today it’s your turn, tomorrow it’s his. Sooner or later, everyone gets a chance.

However, in this ever-churning universe, there are three rules that remain eternal and unchanging—

[Rule One]

[System] Little Lucky Charm doesn’t call.

[System] Sky.Li calls landlord.

[System] Spring Field Blossom steals landlord.

[Rule Two]

[System] Little Lucky Charm calls landlord.

[System] Sky.Li doesn’t call.

[System] Spring Field Blossom doesn’t call.

[Rule Three]

[System] Sky.Li calls landlord.

[System] Spring Field Blossom: Little Charm, wanna steal?

[System] Little Lucky Charm: ……

…

When his chips dwindled to 333, Your Uncle finally accepted his fate—“If I’m a peasant, I’ll be oppressed forever; if I’m the landlord, I’ll absolutely get beaten and paraded through the streets.” With tears in his eyes, he quit the game.

Though the match ended, the little Spirit Master remained standing by the Landlords table, flanked by two healers—one tall, one short—who hopped around him after Your Uncle left the game.

[Local] Sky.Li: Why’d you stop playing?

[Local] Little Lucky Charm: 凸

[Local] Sky.Li: What does that mean?

[Local] Spring Field Blossom: He’s flipping you off.

[Local] Sky.Li: ……

[Local] Little Lucky Charm: 凸凸！

[Local] Sky.Li: Hey, hey, hey—you lose some, you win some. Your card skills reflect your character, y’know.

[Local] Little Lucky Charm: You two did it on purpose! You went out of your way to avoid teaming with me! Of course I couldn’t win alone!!

[Local] Sky.Li: Uh, well, how do I put this…

[Local] Spring Field Blossom: Does your win rate have any correlation with having teammates?

[Local] Sky.Li: Like =_=

[Local] Little Lucky Charm: I won a few rounds too!!

[Local] Spring Field Blossom: A few?

[Local] Spring Field Blossom: Two!

[Local] Spring Field Blossom: Out of all the games we played, you only won two rounds! And both times were because Li Sky misclicked!

[Local] Sky.Li: Wait, who gave you permission to spread my Chinese name like this…

[Local] Little Lucky Charm: Blossom, you weren’t like this when we played Blackjack earlier. You saw my bad luck and left like a gentleman… TAT

[Local] Sky.Li: Like I said, I was afraid of catching your bad luck ╮(╯_╰)╭

[Local] Little Lucky Charm: And now you’re not scared? If I hadn’t quit, you two would’ve kept going!

[Local] Spring Field Blossom: But teaming up is kinda fun. Even if we really get unlucky, we’d only share 50% of the misery~~

[Local] Little Lucky Charm: Screw you =_=

Even if the deal fell through, they still had camaraderie—and they had won a fair number of chips from others. So Li Sky, with a healer’s mentality, tentatively probed the patient’s condition.

[Local] Sky.Li: By the way, Little Charm, is your luck always this bad?

[Local] Spring Field Blossom: With good luck, would you lose 12 rounds of Blackjack in a row? Would every hand you draw never have a card higher than a King?

[Local] Little Lucky Charm: As much as I don’t wanna admit it…

[Local] Sky.Li: I don’t believe it.

[Local] Little Lucky Charm: Huh?

[Local] Sky.Li: I don’t believe there’s such a thing as constant good or bad luck. Like, we always say someone’s dungeon run is lucky or unlucky based on RNG, but the lucky guy must’ve had bad runs before, and the unlucky one might’ve gotten good drops elsewhere.

[Local] Little Lucky Charm: Really…?

[Local] Sky.Li: Think carefully—have you ever had good luck?

[Local] Little Lucky Charm: Yes! During cross-server PvP, my opponent and I both fell off a cliff. He died, I didn’t!

[Local] Sky.Li: Exactly! See, you always lose at Blackjack and Landlords, but maybe you win elsewhere. There’s gotta be some game where your luck stops to rest!

[Local] Little Lucky Charm: So… I should try something else?

[Local] Sky.Li: Yeah!

Your Uncle’s confidence, almost reduced to ashes, showed signs of rekindling. Accompanied by Li Sky, he wandered left and right before settling on the slot machines nearby.

If he wanted to test his luck, this was the most straightforward game.

Slot machines were quite popular in the casino because they were simple to operate—just insert chips, pull the lever, and the three rows of symbols on the screen would spin automatically. When they stopped, if all three symbols matched, it was a jackpot—the biggest win. If the symbols didn’t match but included a special symbol (cherry), it was a small win—still earning some money. If all three symbols were different and lacked the special symbol, it was a loss—chips gone.

The slot machines in Las Vegas featured symbols like beer, the number 7, gold coins, sabers, and more. Among them, the cherry was the special symbol—meaning even if the three symbols didn’t match, the presence of a cherry still counted as a win.

There were three slot machines in total. By the time Your Uncle and Li Sky arrived, all three were occupied. Unlike Landlords, where clicking the table allowed you to enter a match, the slot machines only had three physical machines, meaning only three players could play at once. This design was mainly to facilitate spectators—whether you liked it or not, if you passed by and zoomed in, you could clearly see the results of the players’ spins. Besides, other games already had enough space, so the slot machines didn’t need to divert players.

While waiting, Your Uncle glanced at his tall companion beside him.

[Local] Little Lucky Charm: Why are you still here [side-eye]

[Local] Spring Field Blossom: ……

[Local] Little Lucky Charm: Didn’t you ditch me? [side-eye]

[Local] Spring Field Blossom: ……

[Local] Little Lucky Charm: If I lose again, it’s because you cursed me [side-eye]

[Local] Spring Field Blossom: Fuck off!

Spring Field Blossom didn’t have as much brotherly love as Li Sky. He only came to see if Little Lucky Charm (damn, every time he said that name, his body shuddered) was truly cursed or if it was just coincidence, as Li Sky claimed. His mood was like watching a magic trick on New Year’s Eve—both afraid it would fail and hoping it would fail.

[System] Congratulations to Rain Through the Woods for hitting the jackpot!

[Local] Qiao Feng: Amazing!

[Local] Wings of Light: Nice!!

[Local] Lonely Alien: God-tier!!!

The crowd suddenly erupted—the leftmost machine had landed on three matching symbols! The player was a Spirit Master, ID: Rain Through the Woods. Before this, his chips were at 598, but now they skyrocketed to 778!

Ignoring the crowd’s admiration, the Spirit Master coolly collected his winnings and left the slot machine, blending into the crowd on the deck—his legend remained, but he was gone.

Rain Through the Woods left, and Tofu Arhat took his place. Li Sky was puzzled and asked Your Uncle—

[Party] Sky.Li: Why aren’t you rushing to that spot? It’s finally free.

[Party] Little Lucky Charm: I’ve studied this. Slot machines have a fixed payout rate. You have to put in enough chips before a big win becomes possible. Rain Through the Woods just hit the jackpot—it’s been cleared out. This machine won’t pay out big again anytime soon. Playing now is just throwing money away.

[Party] Spring Field Blossom: You’ve really researched this.

[Party] Little Lucky Charm: Of course. Don’t think Tofu Arhat is lucky for grabbing the spot—he’ll flip the table any minute now.

[Party] Little Lucky Charm: Wait, why are we in the same party? =_=

[Party] Sky.Li: It took countless glances in past lives to earn one game of Landlords in this one. Fate is fleeting—cherish it.

[Party] Little Lucky Charm: ……

[Party] Arhat Tofu: Fuck! What kind of scam is this?! Laozi is done!!!

[Party] Spring Field Blossom: ……

After Arhat Tofu left, five more players took turns on that machine, all leaving in defeat. Meanwhile, the other two machines remained silent—no jackpots, not even a single cherry. Yet the players at those machines stubbornly refused to leave.

The prolonged dry spell wore down the crowd’s interest, and spectators began to drift away. Li Sky and Spring Field Blossom grew impatient, asking several times if they could start already. But Your Uncle refused to play on Rain Through the Woods’ machine, so they waited… and waited… until finally, one of the players at the other machines gave up and left in despair.

Your Uncle rushed over—his hand speed in PvP wasn’t even this fast.

[Party] Little Lucky Charm: Based on my observations, this machine hasn’t paid out in 87 consecutive spins. It might’ve been even longer before we arrived—maybe over 100 spins. So the jackpot has to be within the next 20 spins! Now, witness the miracle—

[System] Little Lucky Charm pulls the lever.

[System] Little Lucky Charm pulls the lever.

[System] Little Lucky Charm pulls the lever.

[System] Little Lucky Charm pulls the lever.

[System] Little Lucky Charm pulls the lever.

[System] ……

[Local] White Rhino: He’s still pulling…

[Local] Mamba: I think I’m getting sleepy. This is like watching a pocket watch swing—hypnotic…

[Local] Xiamen U QR Code: What’s the situation now? It got too painful to watch, so I stopped looking.

[Party] Spring Field Blossom: Has it been 200+ spins yet…?

[Party] Sky.Li: Dunno, but he’s down to 111 chips…

[Party] Spring Field Blossom: I thought we were here to witness a miracle.

[Party] Little Lucky Charm: This is too fucking rigged!! This machine must be tampered with!!

[System] Little Lucky Charm leaves Slot Machine #2.

[Party] Sky.Li: Done playing?

[Party] Spring Field Blossom: If you kept going, you’d lose your pants too.

[Party] Little Lucky Charm: That Rain Through the Woods must have cheated!

[System] Lonely Alien enters Slot Machine #2.

[System] Congratulations to Lonely Alien for hitting the jackpot!

[Party] Mamba: ……

[Party] Xiamen U QR Code: ……

[Party] White Rhino: [candle]

[Party] Spring Field Blossom: ……

[Party] Sky.Li: In a way, we did witness a miracle =_=

Your Uncle felt like his entire being had been shattered. Just a little more—just one more spin—and he would’ve hit the jackpot! Why couldn’t his ass have stayed glued to that chair for one more second?!

[Local] Lonely Alien: Holy shit, I actually won something in my lifetime TAT

[Local] Lonely Alien: I really was just trying my luck! The friend before me must’ve done all the hard work, and I just happened to be here for the payoff TAT

[Local] Lonely Alien: Wait, Spirit Master, have we met before?

[Local] Lonely Alien: Your tragic aura feels weirdly familiar…

Your Uncle’s 200+ spins had already attracted plenty of attention. Now, Lonely Alien’s comments just raised the crowd’s curiosity to new heights—this guy’s bad luck did have a history!

Your Uncle loved being the center of attention, but not the butt of jokes. Too aggrieved to even congratulate Lonely Alien, he left the party and fled the scene of his humiliation!

Li Sky and Spring Field Blossom thoughtfully didn’t follow. The two remaining party members decided to give him some space—

[Party] Sky.Li: So there really are people cursed with eternal bad luck.

[Party] Spring Field Blossom: Now you believe me?

[Party] Sky.Li: But it’s like exams—getting all the answers right by guessing is hard, but getting all of them wrong is even harder. I think we can turn trash into treasure, heh heh heh…

[Party] Spring Field Blossom: What kind of perverted scenario are you imagining to laugh like that =_=

[Party] Sky.Li: 734XXXXX, my YY channel. Join me, and I’ll explain.

After leaving the slot machines, Your Uncle played one round of Stud Poker. Just one. His chips dropped to double digits. The formula for calculating the area of his psychological shadow was no longer simple arithmetic—it required a triple-variable equation.

Dawn hadn’t even broken when Your Uncle logged off in despair. Unable to sleep, he dragged himself to work with dark circles under his eyes.

Dazed and confused until 5 PM, he took the bus home—and missed his stop. By the time he finally got back, it was already 6:30. He boiled instant noodles, slurped them down in three bites, washed his face, and logged back in.

[Casino City] Mamba: The Great Unluckster [Little Lucky Charm] is online! Anyone who wants to spectate, hurry—coords (237,159).

[Casino City] Former Dynasty Scholar: Where? Where? Missing yesterday’s show was a total loss. I heard he spun the slots over 200 times without winning, and the next guy hit the jackpot on his first try?

[Casino City] White Rhino: As an eyewitness, I confirm this is 100% accurate.

[Casino City] Qiao Feng: Huh? Isn’t he the guy who lost 12 rounds of Blackjack in a row?

[Casino City] Lonely Alien: Yours truly happened to benefit~ [blows kiss]

[Casino City] Little Lucky Charm: Fuck, who are you people?! Don’t you have anything better to do?!

[Casino City] Xiamen U QR Code: He’s mad, he’s mad! But with your score in the double digits, how can you even argue? Haha

Everywhere has its share of bored people. Your Uncle told himself not to get angry—after all, this wasn’t the first time he’d been mocked. Bad luck was bad luck, but there’s a saying: Man can conquer nature. He believed in curses, but he really wanted to overcome them!

[Whisper] Great River: Hello.

The sudden whisper caught Your Uncle off guard. Out of politeness, he replied—

[Whisper] Little Lucky Charm: Hello.

[Whisper] Great River: I don’t know you, and I don’t mean anything by it, but I heard people say your luck is pretty bad. You can blame me for butting in, but I genuinely want to offer a suggestion.

[Whisper] Little Lucky Charm: Huh?

[Whisper] Great River: You’ve played Blackjack and slots before, right? Did you lose both times?

[Whisper] Little Lucky Charm: Yeah. I’ve blacklisted those two games… No, scratch that—I wanna blacklist every game in Las Vegas!

[Whisper] Great River: I get it. But here’s the thing—whether it’s Blackjack or slots, don’t they both rely on luck?

[Whisper] Little Lucky Charm: Right.

[Whisper] Great River: So, you can’t control luck, but you can control yourself.

[Whisper] Little Lucky Charm: Doesn’t help. I’ve played Landlord too—died even worse.

[Whisper] Great River: What about Big or Small? Have you tried that?

Big or Small was simple—bet a certain number of chips on Big or Small. The system would shake three dice in a cup, then reveal the result. If the sum of the three dice was ≤10, it was Small; if 11~17, it was Big. If you bet correctly, the system would return your stake and give you an equal amount as winnings. However, if all three dice showed 6 (totaling 18), it was a Triple Six—the house (the system) won automatically, and all bets (Big or Small) lost.

[Whisper] Little Lucky Charm: No, but you can guess—whatever I pick, the opposite will happen.

[Whisper] Great River: Then try this—listen to your gut. Whatever it tells you to pick, bet on the opposite.

[Whisper] Little Lucky Charm: ……

[Whisper] Great River: Well?

[Whisper] Little Lucky Charm: Why didn’t I think of that sooner?! I’ll try it now! Thank you!!!

Though he wanted to thank the kind stranger in person, the deck was too crowded, so he shelved the idea.

The Big or Small table was in the center of the deck, right next to Stud Poker—one of the most popular games because of its simplicity and fast rounds. Betting limits were flexible, making it highly addictive. One second in heaven, one second in hell—that was Big or Small in a nutshell.

Your Uncle only had 97 chips left, but if Great River’s method worked, even 9 chips would be enough for a comeback.

[Casino City] Sky City: Breaking news—Unluckster’s at the Big or Small table!

With that one line, the world lit up again. It seemed the casino crowd loved gossip—especially when it involved someone else’s misery.

Your Uncle was irritated, but he tried to ignore the distractions. His teammates were grinding in other zones, and he was definitely falling behind—but he couldn’t just give up and resign himself to despair!

Clicking the table, he entered the game—

[System] Little Lucky Charm, please choose—Big or Small?

Your Uncle closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and cleared his mind.

From somewhere far away, a faint voice guided him—Pick Big…

The voice was so clear, so melodious…

[System] Little Lucky Charm chooses Small (5 chips).

Gritting his teeth, he clicked the mouse and held his breath as the system rolled the dice.

[System] 3, 4, 5—Big.

TAT

Heartbroken and with nowhere to vent, he turned to his angel, Great River—

[Whisper] Little Lucky Charm: You there? I did what you said… and lost again. 5555555555

[Whisper] Great River: Still here. Maybe you’re new to Big or Small and haven’t gotten the hang of it yet. Try a few more times.

[Whisper] Little Lucky Charm: Okay!

[System] Little Lucky Charm chooses Small (10 chips).

[System] 4, 6, 6—Big.

[System] Little Lucky Charm chooses Big (5 chips).

[System] 1, 1, 1—Small.

[System] Little Lucky Charm chooses Small (25 chips).

[System] 3, 5, 5—Big.

[System] Little Lucky Charm chooses Small (5 chips).

[System] 3, 3, 6—Big.

[System] Little Lucky Charm chooses Big (15 chips).

[System] 2, 2, 2—Small.

[System] ……

Your Uncle felt like he was losing his mind. The guiding voice in his heart grew stronger and stronger, yet no matter whether he followed it or went against it, he kept losing. Just one win would’ve been enough—but nothing!

His chips were down to 32.

Your Uncle knew he was staring at his coffin—but whether to shed tears or not, he couldn’t decide.

[Whisper] Great River: Why’d you stop?

[Whisper] Little Lucky Charm: Kept losing…

[Whisper] Great River: Remember the slots? The moment you quit, someone else won.

[Whisper] Little Lucky Charm: Yeah!

He got up, grabbed an ice pop from the fridge, and devoured it by the kitchen window. The cold seemed to soothe his frustration. By the time he returned to his computer, his mind was calmer.

[System] Little Lucky Charm, please choose—Big or Small?

Your Uncle closed his eyes and listened for the distant divine guidance once more. Five seconds later, he made his decision. He opened his eyes, moved the mouse, and was about to click when a line of text popped up at the bottom of the screen—

[Whisper] Spring Field Blossom: Stop playing.

Your Uncle froze. His mouse hovered, unclicked, until the selection time ran out—his inaction counted as forfeiting the round, leaving his chips unchanged.

[Whisper] Little Lucky Charm: What? Why?

[Whisper] Spring Field Blossom: Are you stupid?!

[Whisper] Little Lucky Charm: Huh?

[Whisper] Spring Field Blossom: Can’t you see the entire room is just messing with you?

Your Uncle frowned. He didn’t understand what Spring Field Blossom meant, but his gut told him it wasn’t a joke—he was being sincere.

(Though his gut had never been reliable =_=)

After a moment’s thought, Your Uncle clicked the table again—

[System] Little Lucky Charm, please choose—Big or Small?

When the system prompted for a choice, the left side of the screen also displayed a list of all players who had placed bets, including their wager amounts. Before, Your Uncle had only focused on his own bets and ignored this list. But now, he realized—there were no player IDs on it.

No one had placed a bet yet!

How was that possible? Was he the only one playing against the system?!

13 seconds remained to choose. Your Uncle gently clicked—Big, 1 chip.

In the blink of an eye, after his ID appeared as the first on the betting list, dozens of others flooded in—all choosing Small!

Even an idiot could see it now—the entire room was betting against him. Whatever he picked, everyone else chose the opposite. Spring Field Blossom wasn’t lying—he was an idiot.

This had been a setup from the very beginning—starting with the suggestion to play Big or Small…

[Whisper] Little Lucky Charm: Do you know Great River?

[Whisper] Spring Field Blossom: You know him too.

[Whisper] Little Lucky Charm: ……

[Whisper] Little Lucky Charm: Li Sky?!

[Whisper] Spring Field Blossom: I thought it was obvious.

[Whisper] Little Lucky Charm: Why didn’t you tell me sooner?!

[Whisper] Little Lucky Charm: I get it—you were using me to make money too, weren’t you?

[Whisper] Spring Field Blossom: No.

[Whisper] Little Lucky Charm: Why should I believe you?

[Whisper] Spring Field Blossom: Don’t care if you do.

[Whisper] Spring Field Blossom: Yesterday, Li Sky wanted to team up with me. I refused.

[Whisper] Little Lucky Charm: Why?

[Whisper] Spring Field Blossom: If I wanted your money, I could take it anytime—no need for an elaborate scheme.

[Whisper] Little Lucky Charm: ……

[Whisper] Spring Field Blossom: But he’s got a whole legion. He couldn’t just bring them all to leech off you openly.

…

[Whisper] Spring Field Blossom: You there?

[Whisper] Little Lucky Charm: I’m pissed.

[Whisper] Spring Field Blossom: You’re the one who’s dumb.

[Whisper] Little Lucky Charm: I’m really pissed.

[Whisper] Spring Field Blossom: I know.

[Whisper] Little Lucky Charm: But there’s something you don’t know.

[Whisper] Little Lucky Charm: You think my attack range only covers me?

[Whisper] Spring Field Blossom: …Otherwise? =_=

[Whisper] Little Lucky Charm: Stay away. What’s coming next is an AoE…