Chapter 91: Admiration
With a gentle toss, the roulette ball began to rapidly spin along the edge of the outermost wheel.
Yuran thought that she was only putting on a show to bluff him and thought nothing of it.
Meanwhile, Aike was holding the one Loony coin, looking at Lana with a concerned expression.
A faint smile appeared on Lana's face as he grabbed the coin from him, then tossed it forward.
The coin spun end over end as it flew through the air in a beautiful arc.
Aike didn't even get a chance to feel the sensation of Lana's hand on his own before it was gone, and by the time he tried to latch onto the cool and delicate feeling of Lana's slender fingers, they had already drifted far away.
The Loony landed on the grid for the number "37", and it refused to settle, spinning on the spot without displaying any signs of stopping.
The outermost wheel stopped spinning, and the ball landed on the number "24". The middle wheel then stopped spinning shortly thereafter with the ball on the number "11", and finally, the innermost wheel stopped spinning with the ball on the number "2".
Right as the roulette ball landed on the number "2" on the innermost wheel, the spinning Loony finally drew to a rest.
A collective exclamation of surprise instantly rang out from the crowd.After the adjustments made to the odds, the odds for a total of 37 points was only 1:36, but what everyone was so surprised by was the calmness and composure that Lana had displayed throughout this entire process, as if everything were in her control.
As for Aike, he was still completely enamored with Lana and failed to react to what was happening around him.
His feelings toward Lana had already gone beyond the realm of admiration. In fact, he was beginning to worship this woman.
"You were just complaining that I was betting too little, what do you say now?" Lana asked as she cast an amused gaze toward Yuran.
Yuran's eyes were wide with shock and he was completely stunned by Lana's technique. He could clearly sense that she hadn't used any magic, but the power and spin that she imparted upon the roulette ball and the angle at which the ball had bounced up from the roulette wheel all indicated to him that she was an expert in this game.
It was clear from her appearance that she had to be from either a wealthy or a noble family, so why was it that she was so skilled in a game played mostly by the common folk?
Yuran was naturally unaware of the fact that Lana had spent large chunks of her life by her father's side in the army. There weren't battles to be fought all the time, so how did the soldiers entertain themselves when there was no fighting to be done? Even though Lazaar enforced strict regulations on his troops, some things couldn't be banned. Furthermore, Aiden was an avid gambler as well, and as a result of these experiences, Lana had learned many tricks of the trade.
The burly skeleton had read through all of Lana's memories, so it was naturally aware of why she was such an expert in this game. In contrast, Perry was completely oblivious, and it was clapping vigorously to celebrate Lana's win.
"Give her the money," Yuran instructed without even turning around.
Only then did Yuran's subordinates recall that the long-faced lackey, who was responsible for looking after their finances, was lying unconscious on the ground, and that he was still carrying their bag of money.
The long-faced lackey's name was Lucian, and no one dared to touch him for fear that he would succumb to his injuries, following which they would be liable to be extorted by Yuran and his group.
Right as his companions were untying the bag of money from his belt, he suddenly woke up from his unconscious state before grabbing onto the hands that were untying the bag. "What are you doing?!"
"Brother Yuran just some money," his companion explained. "Let go of me!"
However, Lucian grabbed onto the money bag before clutching it tightly to his own chest, then fell unconscious again in a rather comical sequence.
After a herculean struggle, his companions were finally able to pull the money bag out from his death grip, and if it weren't for the fact that they were friends with one another, they would've been inclined to give Lucian a firm kick out of frustration.
Yuran stacked up a pile of 36 Loonies before pushing them forward.
Lana took a glance at the stack of Loonies, then turned to Yuran with a smile as she said, "I'm worried that you won't have enough money in that bag to pay me after my second bet."
"Your skills are very impressive, young lady." At this point, Yuran's confidence was also beginning to waver. He knew that there was no chance for him to win so long as the roulette ball was in Lana's hands.
"Why does it sound like you're not very happy with the situation?"
"I just think that it would be unfair for you to continue to toss the roulette ball. You already tossed it once, so it should be my turn, right? That would only be fair, wouldn't it?"
Lana nodded in response with a faint smile. "That does make sense. You can toss the roulette ball for this round."
Everyone developed an even greater sense of admiration toward Lana upon hearing this, but at the same time, they were quite concerned that she was going to be screwed over by Yuran.
Aike was just as concerned as everyone else, if not more so, and he hurriedly cautioned in a quiet voice, "Be careful, Ms. Lana. This man gambles for a living!"
Lana nodded in response with a faint smile, and it was clear that she wasn't fazed in the slightest.
Yuran set the roulette wheels into motion, and he was just about to toss the roulette ball forward when he was interrupted by Lana again.
"What is it this time?!" Yuran was truly reaching the end of his wits.
Lana paid no heed to Yuran's frustrated display, and her smile remained unchanged as she said, "I feel like this is a little too boring. Hold on a moment."
She then pulled out the white lace sash around her waist in an elegant manner, using it as a blindfold to cover her eyes.
Aike looked on as Lana removed the sash with languid elegance before tying it over her own eyes, and he couldn't help but feel a burst of heat flow through his lower body, while his breathing also accelerated involuntarily. Her pronounced nose, her seductive red lips, and her swan-like neck presented an irresistible combination that completely set Aike's heart aflutter.
All of the other men present were also overcome by a sense of lust, just like Aike.
It was clear that Lana's attempt to make the situation more exciting was paying off handsomely as far as all of the bystanders were concerned.
Meanwhile, Perry was staring at Lana with a stunned expression, clearly not anticipating that she would go so far just to show off. It was completely unable to understand where her confidence was stemming from.
Could it be that this game is so simple that it can be played even without looking? it thought to itself, then cast its gaze toward its master, only to find that the burly skeleton had an indifferent look on its face and didn't appear to be concerned with the outcome of the game at all. This made sense to Perry. After all, why would his master be interested in a game played by these mundane beings?
"What is the meaning of this?" Yuran knew that Lana was insulting him through her gesture, and he was furious, but there was nothing that he could do.
Lana didn't respond to Yuran's question, merely making an inviting hand gesture, indicating for him to continue.
Thus, Yuran tossed the roulette ball into the wheel with a furious expression.
Only then did Lana's relaxed expression fade as she began listening carefully.
At the same time, Aike could clearly see that Lana's ears were moving ever so slightly.
Just as the roulette ball gradually began to decelerate and was about to land on the outermost wheel, Lana flicked her finger through the air, releasing the original Loony that Aike had given to her. The Loony was sent flying before crashing into the stack of 36 Loonies, propelling them over the table so that they glided into the grid for the number "69".
The odds for that are 1:1,037! Surely she's not going to actually get it, all of the bystanders thought to themselves.
The roulette ball landed on the number "34" on the outermost wheel.
Everyone's eyes immediately widened upon seeing this. The fact that the roulette ball had landed on such a large number on the outermost wheel bode very well for Lana's bet of 69.
As the roulette ball clattered onto the middle wheel, it bounced up once again due to the rotational force of the wheel, which was spinning anti-clockwise.
A short while later, the ball finally drew to a rest on the number "24".
Another large number had been secured on the middle wheel, thereby keeping Lana's hopes alive.
If the ball were to land on the number "11" on the final wheel, then that would secure her the win.
Surely not... There's no way anyone can be this good at this game!
The roulette bead began to drop toward the innermost wheel.
All of the lackeys behind Yuran had already turned their heads to the side, not daring to look at the outcome. As for Yuran himself, he appeared to be quite calm and collected, but in reality, his heart was also thumping in his chest.
8... 9... 10...
All of the bystanders were looking on with bated breath as the roulette ball skipped over one grid after another.
Finally, the roulette ball used up the last ounce of momentum that it had to move toward the grid next to the number "10".
In the end, it landed on 11! Thus, the sum of the numbers of the three wheels was 69!
Yuran closed his eyes with a defeated expression upon seeing this.
A collective gasp instantly rang out across the entire pub, and all of the bystanders were astonished by what they had seen. They had just witnessed a miracle unfold right before their very eyes, and some of them were even pinching themselves to make sure that they weren't dreaming.
Perry was so shocked that it was trembling uncontrollably, and a renewed sense of admiration welled up in its heart toward Lana. She was the one that it admired the most aside from its own master. Of course, it was impressed by Lana's gambling expertise, but even more so, it admired her for being able to live such a vibrant and exciting life. Perry had never had much of a passion for living. It had always been of the opinion that its only purpose in life was to obey its master's orders. After all, its life had been bestowed upon it by its master. However, after meeting Lana, it was beginning to realize that life was something that was potentially extremely exciting and fun.
At this moment, Yuran was completely silent, and he was overcome by the sense of dread that befell all gamblers at some point. It was the despair of losing everything that he had in an instant, and if it weren't for the fact that he was still trying to keep up appearances, he would've already fallen off his chair and collapsed onto the ground.
Listening to the stunned gasps ringing out within the pub, Lana merely gave a faint smile, then casually undid the sash from around her own eyes before tying it around her waist again. It was as if everything had been going exactly according to her plan.
After the commotion had died down, Lana turned to Yuran with a smile and said, "Let me see... With the odds of 1:1,037, you owe me 37,332 Loonies. Looks like that bag of Loonies isn't going to be enough."
"Go and bring over all of the Loonies that we've won recently." Even though Yuran had lost the game, he was still able to maintain a respectable front as he looked right back at Lana.
"Brother Yuran..." one of his lackeys protested, clearly very unwilling to follow this order.
"Go!" Yuran commanded once again in an implacable voice.
The group of lackeys didn't dare to protest any further, and they scurried away to fetch the money.
This came as quite a surprise to Lana, who had thought that Yuran would refuse to pay her.
However, Lana certainly wasn't going to extend any sympathy toward someone like him, and she jibed, "To think you're going around scamming people with such elementary tricks. I must admit, your courage is quite commendable."
"You beat me fair and square. I have no complaints," Yuran said in a serious voice.
A short while later, Yuran's lackeys returned with a chest of Loonies, panting heavily from the exertion of carrying the chest into the pub.
"Do you have enough Loonies in there?" Lana asked as she raised an eyebrow in skepticism.
"No," Yuran replied in a straightforward manner, making no effort to trick or placate Lana.
"Oh? Does that mean you're blatantly refusing to pay me the amount that you owe me?" Lana asked with a faint smile.
Yuran's expression remained completely unchanged as he hoisted the chest onto the table. "This chest and that bag combined contain a total of over 12,000 Loonies. That's all I have right now. I'll make up the rest with this hand of mine, is that alright?"
Yuran slammed his right onto the table as he spoke, setting it beside the chest and the bag.
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