100 :D
Helping him escape from prison, clearing his na, and allowing him to take revenge with his own hands was already an enormous favor.
What ca afterward would depend entirely on his own choices.
Still, the fact that he managed to travel from teor City on the Yorbian continent to this place suggested he wasn't without so ans.
After a brief conversation, Morin gave the man a pat on the shoulder, which made him wince in pain thanks to Uvogin's earlier slaps. Then, the vagabond left on his own.
Morin still had sothing to take care of—visiting the ho of that older man.
"Shall we go?" Morin asked, stepping over the streams of blood on the ground without so much as a glance.
Without causing a stir, the three left the scene quietly and unnoticed.
Yet the blood-soaked corpses left behind spoke volus about the chaos that had unfolded.
Beneath the court's emblem of fairness and justice, a ssage had been scrawled in blood:
"We do not reject anything, but don't think you can take anything from us. —teor City."
When the stench of blood finally wafted out and alerted those outside, they rushed into the courtroom.
And when they saw the scene before them—
Boom!
The entire Mosibia royal capital erupted.
Such a catastrophic case involving the deaths of more than 30 people, occurring during the Queen's birthday celebrations, was beyond shocking.
This wasn't sothing that could be dismissed with phrases like "vile nature" or "serious societal impact."
Digging deeper, it might even hint at a greater conspiracy—or worse, an affront to the royal family itself.
And then there was the bloody inscription on the courtroom wall, with its chilling signature: teor City.
"teor City…"
While the outside world was poised for upheaval, Morin, Uvogin, and Nobunaga returned to their previous location.
This outing hadn't required much effort from Uvogin and Nobunaga, but they had thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
After spending years in Heaven's Arena, they rarely had the chance to experience the world outside.
Sure, Heaven's Arena brought in strong contenders from across the globe, but it was still a confined environnt.
While the internet could offer a wealth of worldly knowledge, neither Uvogin nor Nobunaga seed like the type to sit and browse.
Relying on them to solve problems online? That was as likely as Feitan suddenly growing two inches taller.
Curious, Morin took the opportunity to ask them about their delayed arrival.
The two were straightforward in their explanation: they'd been exposed and subsequently hunted by Heaven's Arena.
After hearing the full story, Morin was at a loss for words.
Should he marvel at Machi's audacity and her ability to rake in money, or should he criticize her recklessness?
Given their superficial relationship and limited interaction, Morin decided it was better not to ddle in Machi's affairs for now.
The fact that the two had escaped unscathed suggested they could handle themselves.
Once back at their original location, Morin knocked on the wall.
Three seconds of silence passed, but no one ca to open the door.
All three exchanged puzzled glances.
"Hmm?"
Morin knocked again, harder this ti.
Finally, the wall shifted, revealing a pink door.
They relaxed slightly.
"For a mont, I thought the 'Sothing Out of Nothing Door Sticker' had failed," Morin joked.
But when the door opened, the person who greeted them made Morin pause.
"Shalnark?"
The one who opened the door was none other than Shalnark, whose deanor always seed sowhat out of step with the rest of the Phantom Troupe.
Shalnark didn't speak. Instead, he gave them a sowhat peculiar smile before heading back inside.
Uvogin and Nobunaga exchanged wary looks, sensing that sothing was off.
Morin, anwhile, caught a faint clattering noise coming from behind the door and frowned.
"Could it be…?"
With an ominous thought in mind, he pushed the door open.
What greeted him made his eye twitch slightly.
In the center of the room was a standard eight-sided table.
Seated around it were eight people, all deeply engrossed in the ga before them.
"Click."
Machi placed a white tile into the pile on the table.
"Pon!"
Across from her, Phinks eagerly shouted, his excitent palpable.
"Finally, it's my turn to make a move after all of you have been targeting !"
With that, he grabbed the tile and added it to the three matching ones he already had.
"You idiot!" Feitan, holding his candy-covered book, scolded him from the side. "You broke up your winning hand just to make a move!"
The book-loving Feitan didn't even seem interested in his favorite pasti right now.
"Shut up, Feitan!"
Sitting beside Machi, Franklin frowned and barked, "No outside comnts during the ga!"
"Tch."
Feitan stuffed his hands into his pockets, pouting, but he said no more.
"Phinks, you haven't drawn your tile yet," Shalnark reminded him.
Phinks retorted, "Of course I know that! I was just checking my tiles!"
He reached out to draw from the neat stack of tiles.
"You drew the wrong one," Pakunoda pointed out from across the table. "When you declare a ld, you draw from the back of the stack."
Shalnark helpfully gestured to the correct spot.
Phinks, embarrassed, cleared his throat and continued the ga, acting as if nothing had happened.
"See?" Feitan glanced at his tile and smirked. "If you hadn't declared the ld, you'd have drawn a winning tile just now!"
"Shut up!" Phinks snapped. "If I hadn't lded, I wouldn't have even gotten this tile!"
"So, you're admitting you're no good?"
Feitan narrowed his fox-like eyes, his fingers beginning to twitch. "If you're that bad, just step aside and let take over."
"I might be bad, but who was it that just lost big ti and got kicked out of the ga?" Phinks shot back rcilessly. "And let's not forget, you lost with a triple payout, feeding three hands in one go!"
"That was just bad luck!" Feitan refused to acknowledge that it was due to his lack of skill, much less admit he was worse than Phinks.
"Stop saying useless stuff." Phinks settled back into his seat. "Either way, I'm not giving up my spot!"
"If you two are going to argue, do it outside!"
Franklin, the group's elder brother figure, looked displeased. For so reason, his mood seed particularly sour.
"Feitan, a bet's a bet. Accept your loss and follow the rules of the ga. One more word out of you, and I'll shoot you in the head."
"And Phinks, how long are you going to hold onto that tile?! Play already!"
Bang!
Phinks scratched his head and finally tossed out what he considered a less important tile.
"Six of Circles."
And then—
Tap.
Three players simultaneously laid their hands down on the table.
"Won."
Machi, Shalnark, and Pakunoda declared in unison.
Phinks: "..."
Feitan: "...Heh, heh, heh (￣︶￣)"
Feitan chuckled openly, his sly gaze filled with mockery, which only made Phinks even more annoyed.
"How is this possible?!" Phinks slamd the table in frustration. "Why is my luck so terrible?!"
"No, I'm playing another round!" Phinks demanded, desperate to redeem himself.
"Not until you settle your losses," Machi cut off his ambitions swiftly.
"Uh..."
The ntion of money instantly deflated Phinks's bravado.
"How much...?"
Reluctantly, he pulled out his wallet. Being an Enhancer, he didn't have much in savings to begin with.
"Well, first of all, you fed three hands in one go, so you owe the three of us," Shalnark began calculating at lightning speed. "Then Machi made a ld, and so did Pakunoda, doubling the payout.
"Lastly, you fed the winning hands after declaring a ld, which shifts the penalty. So on top of everything else, it's doubled again."
Shalnark snapped his fingers. "In summary—
"You owe twice the payout, and Machi and Pakunoda four tis each."
"Pay up."
With the tally complete, Machi was the first to extend her hand toward Phinks.
Phinks:
Just hearing their calculations left him feeling utterly defeated.
He shook his wallet, emptied its last contents, and still owed Shalnark, Machi, and Pakunoda a significant amount.
And so, the completely bankrupt Phinks could only leave the table dejectedly.
"Let take over this ti," Feitan said as he pushed aside the dazed and self-doubting Phinks. Rubbing his hands together, his eyes narrowed with sharp determination.
"This ti, I'm going to dominate the table!"
A hint of killing intent even seed to rise in his gaze.
Clack-clack!
The crisp sounds of tiles being shuffled and clinking together filled the air.
Morin: "..."
He rubbed his eyes and confird once more that he wasn't imagining things. His expression turned faintly bewildered.
Machi and the others were... actually playing mahjong?!
That's right. What Machi, Feitan, and the rest of them were currently engrossed in was none other than mahjong—the national treasure of Morin's previous life!
It was sothing Morin had left behind for the Phantom Troupe as a way to pass the ti and alleviate boredom before he left.
Read 2 months ahead at:
[email protected]/NenMaster
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