Chapter 142: A Gamble at Water Moon Tower

Those who can afford to spend within Water Moon Tower are mostly elites—they don’t lack the ability to make money, nor the courage to bet big.

Rather than letting them lose everything and crawl out of the tower in despair, it’s better to let them keep some funds, so they can come back another day.

This is the essence of ‘don’t uproot the leeks when harvesting’; cut one batch and another grows. In a sense, the tower relies on these elites to harvest wealth from Mozhou.

Thus, this place is the center of Mozhou—both geographically and financially. Its purpose is not merely gambling and entertainment; you see all kinds of people here.

Though they may play the role of mere pleasure-seekers inside, once they step outside, they’ll don suits and congratulate each other, and you might have to address them as ‘Your Excellency.’

Of course, as it was built to be, this is still an absurdly extravagant pleasure palace. Such near-tyrannical opulence is obviously abnormal, and it’s not hard to guess who stands behind it. The only question is which organization…

To ascend the tower, Ye Qing looked at the mere ten thousand credits in her account and felt her heart twist. ‘Damn it, Xiaoyu’s dowry… Well, it’s still for Xiaoyu.’

Besides, to go up, she’d need to multiply that by ten thousand times—exactly one small target.

Ye Qing gritted her teeth and finally bought a single chip. Insurance? Out of the question—she had no spare money to stash. As for why she dared to gamble?

As a magical girl and a key figure in an evil organization, if she couldn’t gain an edge in a casino like this, she might as well go back to drawing illustrations.

She didn’t know if Xiao Chi had any relevant abilities, but Ye Qing could easily sneak behind others and rig the game without anyone knowing.

To be honest, though, Ye Qing didn’t understand gambling. If she actually tried to play, she’d probably only master guessing high or low—since in a sense, that’s also a boneheaded move.

Carrying her chip to the second floor, her eyes first met colorful lights and rows of machines. Friendly-looking slot machines and pachinko machines lined the walls, but few favored these stupid, rigged contraptions.

Most people crowded around the gaming tables, holding their breath as they watched the dealer’s hands.

When the hole card was revealed, some rejoiced while others frowned, cursing as they discarded their hands and pushed forward a stack of chips.

Ye Qing felt an inexplicable pang of sympathy, gripping her own tiny red chip tightly. ‘Damn it, I need to find a safe bet.’ Glancing at the machines, she dismissed them without a second thought—no way she’d entrust her savings to a machine; she’d rather dismantle it and fish out the coins directly.

Just then, at a nearby mahjong table, a girl with chestnut hair let out a sorrowful cry. ‘So close, so damn close! My thirteen orphans…’ The tiles she revealed were a set of all terminals and honors—a yakuman hand if she won.

She was one tile away from winning, likely to draw the last piece on her next turn… But the winner wasn’t her.

Instead, a blue-haired girl beside her, with a plain expression, knocked down her tiles. ‘Win, all simples.’ Not even a single dora—a cheap hand that only scored the minimum points

. Seeing this, even Ye Qing felt a twinge of sympathy for the chestnut-haired girl whose big hand had fallen apart. In terms more relatable than mahjong…

It was as if Sima Yi had schemed endlessly, sacrificed his dignity to seize Wei, led his army to the gates of Shu, only to be scared to death by a wooden statue of Zhuge Liang—a complete failure! More than her wallet, it was the girl’s spirit that needed soothing.

After slumping on the table for a long while, the chestnut-haired girl propped herself up, pulled a pack of cigarettes from her brown leather jacket, and was about to light one. T

echnically, this wasn’t allowed, but given her misery, no one stopped her.

Watching her, Ye Qing felt a sense of familiarity, but couldn’t place where she’d seen her. Still, she had an inexplicable urge to snuff out that cigarette.

Ye Qing didn’t realize the girl before her was Mo Yinling in her original form. Her greed stemmed largely from her gambling addiction.

But without her actual job, relying only on her cover as an information broker and corpse collector, she couldn’t make much money.

So before each ascent, when she wasn’t yet hooked, she’d stash a hundred credits at the entrance for an emergency escape and to fund her smokes and drinks.

In this state, she looked less like a supernatural being with magical powers and more like an ordinary gambler. ‘Uh, sorry, I’ll take my leave. You all continue.’

The blue-haired winner felt uncomfortable staying; after all, that Mo woman was notoriously sticky, likely to cling to her like a vengeful spirit once outside.

So she hurried off. Seeing her leave, Mo Yinling arched an eyebrow and was about to chase after, but just then Liu Qingruo opportunely took the empty seat.

‘How about I take her place?’ Liu Qingruo’s delicate doll face made Mo Yinling pause. She was about to refuse when her gaze inadvertently swept over Ye Qing behind Liu Qingruo. Her eyes shifted subtly.

‘Fine, you can be dealer for her. But you look like a newbie. Don’t cry if you lose everything.’ Mo Yinling hadn’t finished speaking when she saw Liu Qingruo place a single pathetic chip on the table. Her mouth twitched.

‘Uh… that one chip is a bit too shabby. Want me to lend you some?’ Liu Qingruo naturally refused without hesitation. She had absolute faith in Ye Qing’s support and didn’t believe she’d lose.

After all, Ye Qing said that in a pinch, she could sneak back the lost chips… Theoretically, as long as Liu Qingruo didn’t drop that chip into a slot machine, everything could be salvaged.

Actually, stealing others’ chips wasn’t impossible, but that would feel a bit guilty, so it was better to win fair and square through cheating. Mo Yinling twitched the corner of her mouth and said nothing more.

Then, as she watched the sneaky black-haired girl openly stand behind her, she felt even more exasperated. ‘Am I supposed to pretend I don’t see her…’

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