Endless Evolution: Last Star

The croupier continued to spin the roulette wheel and announce the results. Each time, someone lost, and someone won.

Sure, unlike poker, roulette was more about luck than skill, but compared to slot machines, where almost nothing depended on the player, mathematics could be useful here.

Some people preferred not to bet on the same color twice, some understood that black or red could easily come up two, three, or even four times in a row, but were wary if the streak continued.

In fact, sitting patiently at the table and waiting for the moment when the same color came up more than three times in a row, and then betting on the opposite color, was a good tactic.

For example, red came up four times in a row. The chances of the ball landing on red for the fifth time were quite small, and it was logical to bet on black this time.

True, the ball could have landed on red for the fifth time as well, and the bet on black would have lost, but in that case, it was worth betting on black again while increasing the amount.

No tactic in any game of chance guaranteed success; it was impossible. But some strategies were clearly better than others. Many people who came to the casino hoping to make money did not follow any plan at all and simply played on their emotions, hoping that this time they would finally get lucky.

Well... Alexia was clearly one of those people. Her gambling was significantly higher than Silvana's, and she couldn't stop.

In half an hour, they played roulette more than fifteen times, and the results of the rounds were disastrous, at least for one of them.

Thump.

Alexia hit her forehead on the bar when the bartender placed a third glass of whiskey in front of her.

"Shit! I'm just unlucky! Again!" She exclaimed, looking at her remaining chips.

By the time Adam arrived, she had 1,000,000 credits left, or ten black chips. She had already lost 1.5 million, meaning that before she sat down to play roulette, she had twenty-five black chips.

And now...

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Five black chips fell from her grasp like sand, bouncing off the counter.

At the same time, Adam looked at his fifteen orange chips. He had managed to earn a few thousand credits by making a few correct bets, reaching 15,000 credits.

Louis, who preferred a cup of coffee to alcohol, shook his head.

"No one forced you to bet three times more than usual back then. If you hadn't done that, you wouldn't be in such a big deficit now, but you can't change anything now."

Alexia puffed out her cheeks like a child.

"I was sure it would be red that time! FUCK! The most upsetting thing is that it wasn't just black instead of red, it was 0! The green one!"

She buried her face in her elbows in disappointment.

"Why couldn't I be so lucky? Do you have any idea how much he made from that one bet?"

Louis slowly took a sip of his coffee and placed the cup on the saucer.

"The odds were 1 in 37. If you had tried to win that bet from the moment we sat down at the table, betting on zero every time, you would have lost everything before Adam and Silvana came over."

At that moment, he turned and raised his cup like a wine glass in acknowledgment.

"I think from that point of view, it's actually good that you made the bets you made. But, Alexia, if you continue at this pace, we'll soon run out of chips."

Strangely enough, Alexia wasn't angry that Louis had once again reminded her of her loss. She had been playing at the roulette table, and now... now it was Louis's turn.

"First of all, I still have a lot of money. Although you're not the one I should be telling this to, since you're the one who manages my finances."

Adam glanced at her.

"Oh, is it the same for you?"

Alexia nodded lazily. "Yeah... He doesn't just make sure our spending is optimized and that the mission department pays for everything I do at the Dead Lands, he also invests that money! Tsk, I don't know where and what exactly he does, it's not that important to me."

"Agh, Alexia, money is always important, whether you're rich or poor, you have to know how to use money. What's more, if you want it badly enough, you can lose even a few billion and be left with nothing. Sure, it's a rare case, but it does happen."

It seemed that Alexia hadn't even heard him. She was even more carefree about her financial situation than Adam.

"Pffft! Adam, you have to understand me, right?" She turned to him. "I mean, what's the point of calculating interest rates, keeping track of expenses, and thinking about investments when you can go and kill a couple of the Black Threat Monsters, and the government will pay you a few million!"

Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.

Adam scratched the back of his head, feeling awkward. He didn't want to take sides, especially knowing that Silvana definitely supported Louis's approach to money management rather than Alexia's gamble.

"Well, actually, I agree with both of you. I don't think ignoring your money is a good idea, but... Alexia has a point. When you're a Phantom of such a high level, earning a few million becomes easy."

"Ahem." Silvana coughed. "Actually, it's tens or even hundreds of millions if you constantly go on missions assigned by the mission department."

Louis nodded. He didn't deny it.

"Sure, both parts are important. But Alexia fights, and I use our money effectively. By the way, in about a month, we should open our coffee shop."

Silvana and Adam looked at each other, surprised.

"Agh?"

Alexia smirked.

"Yeah, you can consider it a family business. Although, I'd rather open a bar with booze!"

"Hahaha," Louis chuckled as he looked to the side. "So, where do we go next? Poker or blackjack?"