However, the number of people in the "Golden Cod Fish" casino has not decreased compared to the past; in fact, it has increased.
The scene in front of us is because at this mont, a large portion of the gamblers in the casino are densely gathered around a certain card table.
Even if just as a bystander, one must witness with their own eyes this legendary night destined to leave a heavy mark in the history of "Golden Cod Fish".
The crowd around the card table is so dense that it completely blocks the view from the outside.
Standing at the entrance, even having sensed sothing unusual, Xia Nan finds it difficult to clearly see what exactly is happening there.
Only occasionally, accompanied by the excited cheers of the gamblers at the table, can one catch a glimpse of the towering stack of chips piled like a small mountain in the gaps of the people’s movents.
"Boss Hera, it’s that table!"
In stark contrast to his burly body and fierce tattoo on the head, the bald strong man now exhibits a behavior quite at odds with his appearance, pointing towards the card table gathering.
"I asked around, he ca to the casino this afternoon."
"It’s been three or four hours by now, but..."
"He’s either tying or winning, not a single loss!"
Hera didn’t speak, just furrowed her brow, with a flash of light in her sapphire blue eyes, as if her gaze could penetrate the crowd to see the card table inside.
"I’ve called all the supervisors on today to check, there are no signs of cheating or any indication of magic particles."
"It’s as if... he’s just purely lucky."
"Winning from the afternoon straight till now."
Luck, whether in the previous world or here in the Aifala Continent where supernatural powers exist, is an elusive notion.
Many tis, it might just be an excuse, but for the very few involved, it also stands as sothing confird with a tone of longing and even reverence.
And for Suo Yu Bay, and indeed the casinos across the Southern Islands, these words have long beco taboo due to a legendary figure from many years ago, becoming a subject to avoid.
Even today, in the shadowed tavern corners strewn with bottles, and deep in the alley shadows, gamblers will still speak of that legendary figure with reverence and fervor:
——[Heavenly Destiny Gambler]·[Eyebrow of Taimola]·A Lin
The only legendary figure in history to simultaneously make it onto the blacklist of all thirty-two major casinos across Suo Yu Bay’s three districts.
No one knows where she ca from or what motives she held, taking on the identity of a gambler to cruelly and relentlessly break down the psychological defenses of every casino manager.
That dark period akin to endless night has beco a nightmare for all casino staff throughout Suo Yu Bay.
Even having never been involved before, after taking over "Golden Cod Fish" from her previous owner not long ago, Hera was discreetly reminded of this secret.
She even developed so interest, using her own channels to delve deeper, but unfortunately, the gathered intelligence was sparse.
It was for this reason that she imdiately understood her subordinate’s hint the mont it was spoken.
"You an, she’s... returned?"
"No, no, no!" The bald strong man’s head shook like a rattle, unwittingly showing a look of fear, "So many years have passed, and few witnesses remain in Suo Yu Bay, but there are powerful factions stationed at the town entrance watching constantly."
"If she really returned, the casinos in the city, especially those in the White Cliff District, would definitely have already reacted!"
"I just felt that the person in our casino now has thods sowhat similar to the one from the legend back then."
Hearing this, Hera breathed a sigh of relief.
But just halfway through, sothing seed to cross her mind, and she held her breath again.
An expression of deep gloom settled on her face.
Standing by, Xia Nan appeared sowhat puzzled.
He could gather that the root of the matter was that a particularly lucky gambler had arrived at the "Golden Cod Fish" and hadn’t lost a ga since the afternoon.
But being new around here, the references to "that person" and the subsequent riddles between the two left him bewildered.
Unaware of what kind of existence it was that even ntioning the na was a taboo.
Not holding back, seeing Hera and the bald strong man hesitating to move forward, he directly voiced his confusion to them.
Perhaps harboring a sort of denial to reality, with a mix of procrastination and reluctance to check, Hera and the bald strong man, though initially cryptic, gradually explained to him after his persistent inquiries.
Upon hearing it all, Xia Nan’s expression suddenly turned odd.
[Heavenly Destiny Gambler]A Lin, putting aside everything else, just the na... he had indeed seen before.
The note on the [Destiny Coin] attribute panel was from her.
Back then, he paid particular attention because of her title [Eyebrow of Taimola], but various real-world events later made him forget, burying it deep in his mory.
But unexpectedly, more than a year later, he actually ca to Suo Yu Bay and heard the na of this legendary figure once again.
A feeling of the wondrous nature of destiny stirred within him.
The illustrious feats she left behind in Suo Yu Bay further led Xia Nan, who had only recently advanced to Level 3 and received future career paths from the attribute panel, to draw associations in his mind.
As though he himself needed to complete a grand ceremony of fear and intimidation and must "ignite the Fire Spark" to fulfill the condition for a part-ti role.
Could it be that A Lin’s actions across the casinos in the Southern Islands were also to fulfill so condition for career advancent?
However, given the scale of disturbance she caused, which years later still left locals in awe and dread, it probably had to be a promotion to a "Transcendent", or even more likely, a "Legendary" level profession.
Realizing that lingering here rely prolonged the inevitable.
Hera took a deep breath, a flicker of determination in her erald eyes.
With a look, she signaled to the bald strong man beside her to part the crowd, and with strides, she moved toward the card table.
Xia Nan closely followed.
Their position was at the side and back of the card table, and although the bald strong man and his subordinates pushed the gamblers aside, they still couldn’t clearly see the face of the gambler whom Hera was treating as a formidable foe.
The first thing Xia Nan noticed was a particularly spectacular mountain of chips within the casino.
The chips that gamblers with red eyes risked everything to bet, now appeared like re pebbles on the roadside, crudely piled high and teetering on the brink.
The topmost chips slightly swayed with the collision of the card table and dice cup, attracting all gamblers’ eyes; so even shouted or stomped amidst the celebration, hoping the mountain of chips would collapse so they could sneak a few.
The gambler who attracted everyone’s attention had his face obscured by people and chips, only an ornate pointed soft hat adorned with white feathers poking from the back of the mountain of chips could be seen.
A pair of elegant high-top leather boots embroidered with clover patterns dangled beside the chair legs, swaying back and forth, seemingly indicating the owner’s current high spirits.
Suddenly, Xia Nan felt that this attire seed familiar.
While pondering, the movent made by Hera’s subordinates parting the onlookers at the table attracted the gambler’s attention too.
The white feather lightly swayed, the pointed soft hat atop the chip mountain shifted sideways, and a fair, slightly flushed face quietly erged from behind the chips.
The amber crystalline eyes gently rotated, locking onto the young adventurer’s face.
A familiar voice rang out at the card table:
"Xia Nan!?"
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