thenovelthief Chapter 96
Chapter 96
Chapter 96: Selling teammates at the speed of light
【Want to live?】
【Then shine my shoes first!】
The sticky note landed on Piano Cassone's face like an imperial decree.
She stared at the black leather shoe before her.
The once high-and-mighty Daughter of the Gambling God from Frankish Nation.
Now looked like a stray dog that had spotted a bone.
"I'll polish…I'll polish it!! "
"As long as you're willing to save me…"
"Never mind polishing—just say the word and I'll lick them clean for you!!"
Piano Cassone didn't hesitate for even a second.
She lay flat on the ground, cradled Jiang Nan's foot in her hands.
Then lowered her head, extended her tongue, and licked the dust from the surface of the shoe.
"……"
The scene left even the nearby Supervisor frozen in place.
Its hundreds upon thousands of eyes rotated, as though contemplating whether this was consistent with the human XP system.
A few minutes later.
Piano Cassone raised her head, her expression utterly fawning.
"M-Master…is it clean?"
Jiang Nan glanced down at his shoes, now gleaming like new, and gave a satisfied nod.
This woman was rotten to the core.
But her professional competency was genuinely beyond reproach—she was a qualified slave.
Splash!
Jiang Nan casually waved his hand.
From the 2,080 Ghost Coins he had just won, he counted out 2,000 and set them before the Supervisor.
"Her buyout fee."
"Take it."
Buzz!
The Supervisor's eyes locked onto the pile of Ghost Coins. It immediately reached out and swept every last one into its arms.
Then it opened its mouth wide and spat out a parchment mortgage contract.
This was the debt-binding contract the hospital had automatically generated because Piano Cassone had been unable to pay the penalty.
No consent from her was required—the mark had already been stamped onto it.
And now…
It belonged to Jiang Nan!
At the same time, the 2,010 Ghost Coins the Bunny-Girl Ghost had wagered had been multiplied tenfold and deposited into her account.
Silk-Stocking Desperado naturally received her 100 Ghost Coins as well.
"Phew…"
Piano Cassone felt the weight lift from her entire body.
The shadow of death vanished in an instant.
She had survived!
"Thank you, Master! Thank you for saving my life!!"
Piano Cassone was so overcome with emotion that tears streamed down her face, and she kowtowed to Jiang Nan again.
"Would you prefer to start with…"
"Me…?"
She twisted her hips, then her expression shifted into something more serious.
"Or would you rather have the intelligence on that woman first?"
Piano Cassone asked.
Judging by his behavior just now.
What he was interested in was definitely not her body.
The only other possibility was the organization she had let slip in her words…
The Arashin-kai…
In this moment, her hatred for her so-called "master" Tiffany—who had left her to die—reached its peak.
And toward this man before her, who possessed absolute power.
She developed a certain pathological attachment.
【Get up.】
【I don't keep useless people.】
Jiang Nan disdainfully nudged her backside with his foot and tossed out 4 sticky notes.
【Tell me everything about the Gambler.】
【What is her ability? And what did she come to this hospital for?】
"Ahh~"
Piano Cassone's expression turned indulgent.
But the moment Tiffany was mentioned, her eyes instantly turned venomous.
She clambered up from the floor and reported through gritted teeth.
She spilled every single piece of intelligence she had without holding anything back!
"Master! That vile woman's name is Tiffany!"
"She didn't come here for any gambling tournament!"
"Her one and only target is the principal of this hospital!!"
‘The Principal?’
Jiang Nan raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, Master!"
Piano Cassone lowered her voice.
"The outside world assumes the Principal is just some powerful ghost—but in reality…"
"The Principal is not a ghost at all!"
"It is a living Cursed Object!!"
"The only way to see it is by joining a high-stakes game!"
"It's called the Fate Slot Machine!"
Hearing this, Jiang Nan's pupils contracted slightly.
‘An S+-Grade Cursed Object?!’
Piano Cassone continued her explanation.
"That slot machine has a mind of its own—it created every single rule in this hospital."
"The 5 symbols on its face each represent 1 of its 5 terrifying abilities!"
"As long as someone sacrifices flesh and blood to pull the lever, if 3 matching symbols appear, the corresponding divine power is triggered!"
【Joker】—corresponds to the King.
Effect: Invincibility!
Grants an absolute invincible state lasting 1 minute, immune to all damage!
【Revolver】—corresponds to Death.
Effect: Instant Kill!
Produces a revolver loaded with 6 guaranteed-fatal bullets, ignoring all defenses; a single touch means death!
【Werewolf】—corresponds to Fog and Night.
Effect: Blindness!
Strips all vision and perception from everyone within range; only the user retains sight!
【Playing Cards】—corresponds to the 54-card deck of a card game.
Effect: Bombardment!
Summons 14 waves of void explosives, with power escalating from 3 upward until the Rocket combo obliterates all of heaven and earth!
【Dice】—corresponds to size and uncertainty.
Effect: Shrink!
Random determination: either the user stays the same size and all enemies in range shrink, or the user shrinks!
After hearing all of this, Jiang Nan smiled.
‘Interesting…’
‘The master of the hospital.’
‘Is actually an S+-Grade Cursed Object that plays games of luck…’
This was practically a divine artifact tailor-made for someone with Word Spirit·Strong Luck!
He absolutely had to obtain it.
【How do I find it?】
Piano Cassone answered immediately.
"All you need is to reach 5,000 chips and join a high-stakes game!"
"That woman told me all of this!"
"The high-stakes game follows almost the same rules, but with exactly 1 addition."
"That addition is an assistant!"
"That's why she took me on as her apprentice—she needed an accessory to enter the high-stakes game!"
Jiang Nan thought it over carefully. He seemed to vaguely recall seeing a similar setup in a movie somewhere.
But it didn't matter…
That wasn't the key point.
【Then what about Tiffany's ability?】
Jiang Nan tossed out another sticky note.
"Her ability is absolutely disgusting!"
Piano Cassone recalled the scene of her very first loss to that woman, and her body couldn't help trembling.
"I don't know the specifics, but I know the essence of her ability is 【Add Rule】!"
"She can forcibly insert 1 rule that benefits herself within a range centered on her body!"
"During that Joker card game, she added a rule on the spot. ’Except for me, no other player's points may exceed 30!’"
"So no matter what tricks I used, no matter how I swapped cards…"
"My points were forever capped below 30! It was absolutely impossible to beat her!"
Add Rule?
Jiang Nan's mind clicked into place instantly.
‘A conceptual-type ability.’
‘Which means it could only be a Sequence-Type Ability.’
Too bad he didn't have the Sequence Ability Index, so he couldn't pin down exactly which one.
But this intelligence was sufficient.
Jiang Nan nodded, his eyes brimming with the heat of battle.
‘A Rule-Type against a Fortune-Type, hm…’
‘Then let's see—is her 'law' greater, or is my 'fate' harder.’
……
At the same time, 19th floor lobby.
Ding!
The elevator doors slowly slid open.
What greeted them was, again, thick fog—visibility extremely low.
"Daddy……"
Quanquan clutched Guo Shuai's thigh, voice soft and babyish.
"Where did we end up? How come we still can't see anything?"
"Shh! Don't talk!"
Guo Shuai made a silencing gesture.
Quanquan nodded obediently.
Then Guo Shuai took a deep breath and stepped into the fog with Quanquan.
The Danger Perception in his mind did not trigger any warning.
'No red light…'
Guo Shuai felt marginally calmer.
'That means we've temporarily shaken off the pursuers from the 1st floor.'
'But that doesn't mean we're safe.'
Although they were on the 19th floor, the fog had not dissipated.
Who knew what kind of monsters were hiding inside?
So the 2 figures—one large, one small—pressed themselves flat against the ground and crawled forward on all fours.
And at that very moment.
Click.
From deep within the fog to the left, the sound of a door lock turning suddenly rang out.
"Big sis Desperado! You're ba—...back?"
A girl with twin pigtails pushed open the door and looked toward the stairwell.
It was Ye Yilin.
She had assumed it was Silk-Stocking Desperado and Guan Ming returning.
However.
When she made out the 2 "creatures" illuminated by the light, crawling on the ground, her smile froze solid on her face.
One was a man with half his face burned beyond recognition.
The other was a small monster with a perfectly round target-like face.
4 eyes and 1 hole met.
The moment was deeply, profoundly awkward.
"……"
Ye Yilin's pupils contracted.
That was the instinctive terror of a human confronting an unknown organism.
Not a single one of these 2 things looked remotely human!!
"Monster!!"
She screamed and reflexively moved to slam the door shut!
"What the hell?! Don't!!"
Guo Shuai reacted lightning-fast and lunged forward!
Bang!
One second before the door fully shut, he jammed his hand into the gap!
"Miss!! It's a misunderstanding!!"
"We're not bad people!! Don't close the door!!"
"Iya!! That's right!"
Quanquan saw what was happening and stuffed its little hands into the gap too, trying to help its daddy pry the door open.
"Who'd believe that?!!"
Ye Yilin had gone completely pale with fright and pushed back against the door with all her strength.
"These 2 look even more like monsters than the actual monsters, okay?!"
"One's got a rotting face, and the other is literally a freak!!"
At this point, the 4 prison guards who had been keeping watch inside the rooftop safety zone had also noticed the commotion at the door.
They each drew their Type 64 Pistols from their holsters and charged over.
"What's going on?!"
Senior prison guard Shi Zhongshan called out.
"There's a ghost!! A ghost is breaking in!!"
Ye Yilin shouted, voice cracking.
"Hurry and help!! Hold the door!!"
"What?!"
The prison guards went pale with shock and rushed forward to lend their weight.
"A ghost dares to force its way into the Safety Zone?! Does it have a death wish?!"
According to the hospital's rules, no Cursed Creature was permitted to enter a Safety Zone that a player had fully bought out.
Any violation would be met with merciless dismantling—the Full-Set Gene Enhancement Serums treatment courtesy of the Ghost Doctor and the Supervisors!
Liu Rui helped brace the door while rubbing his chin in puzzlement.
"Uh, Miss Ye…isn't there a possibility that those actually aren't ghosts?"
But before Ye Yilin could answer.
A round, chubby little head suddenly squeezed its way in through the gap beneath the door.
It was Quanquan.
It protested loudly.
"That's right!! Me and Daddy aren't ghosts at all!!"
"We're good people!! Open the door already!!"
"What the—!!!"
Everyone stared at that sanity-shattering target-face and froze on the spot.
Then.
Clack clack clack clack!
4 gun barrels swung simultaneously and locked onto the doorway!
"Oh hell!! This confirms it!!"
Liu Rui yelled.
"They're definitely not ghosts!! They're freaking mutant monsters!!"
Outside the door, Guo Shuai caught a glimpse through the crack and saw these people pointing their guns at his son—and he immediately lost it!
"Your grandfather's!!"
"This is my master's Sequence-Type Ability!!"
"If you break it, how am I supposed to be the sharpest blade in the boss's hand?!"
Rage taking over, Guo Shuai dropped the act entirely.
He'd originally planned to blend in with them as an ordinary person, but what did he get in return? Distance and gun barrels…
‘Forget it. No more pretending. Cards on the table!!’
‘Boom!’
Guo Shuai's Grade B physique erupted to its full power in an instant!
How could these people possibly hold him back?
"Open—up!!"
Bang!!
A thunderous crash.
Ye Yilin and the prison guards bracing the door felt an overwhelming force slam into them.
There was no resisting it—they were all sent flying!
"Ahhh!!"
The group crashed onto the concrete of the rooftop, dazed and scattered.
Before they could even recover.
Whoosh!
A blur of motion shot up onto the rooftop.
Guo Shuai descended like a tiger from the mountain—his speed was terrifying!
The others didn't even have a chance to pull their triggers before Guo Shuai had knocked them all down!
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
"Ugh!"
Shi Zhongshan and the other 3 prison guards, all professionally trained.
Were completely taken down in a single exchange, writhing on the ground clutching their wrists and stomachs.
"Hmph!"
Guo Shuai snorted coldly.
"Don't you dare hurt my son!!"
"Daddy is so cool!!"
Quanquan ran in from behind, clapping with delight.
The scene was one of total chaos.
Ye Yilin clutched her scraped arm and scrambled up from the ground in terror.
"You…who are you?"
"Why did you break in here?!"
She gritted her teeth and tried invoking a name.
"I'm telling you…this is a Safety Zone bought outright by Silk-Stocking Desperado!!"
"Under the hospital's Castle Doctrine, the owner has the right to deal with any intruder!"
"You broke in illegally—you're going to face serious punishment!!"
But her eyes were trembling as she said it.
The rule did exist.
But…the Safety Zone's owner had to be present for it to apply!
The door could only be opened from outside by the owner, but opening it from inside was different—that was a physical lock, and anyone could do it!
This had been a completely improbable series of events that Guo Shuai had stumbled right into!
Guo Shuai raised an eyebrow.
"Silk-Stocking Desperado?"
"You think dropping a name is going to scare me?"
"I'm the White Silk Wanderer myself!!"
"Don't try to bluff me! Now I ask, you answer!"
Guo Shuai picked up one of the guns, gave it a spin in his hand, then tilted his head back to look up.
There was no fog up here—the night sky and stars were clearly visible.
Obvious enough—this place was the same as the Archive Room at Rose High School!
A special Safety Zone!
"I…I…"
Ye Yilin stammered, unable to respond.
She was afraid, but she absolutely refused to betray the big sis Desperado who had protected her.
"Quite a stubborn mouth."
Guo Shuai's gaze swept across and landed on the prison guards nearby.
'Soft persimmons are easier to squeeze.'
His gun barrel passed over Shi Zhongshan and finally stopped on the youngest one—Liu Rui!
"You! Speak!"
"Old timers know more and have more tricks up their sleeves."
"You look like an honest guy."
Liu Rui felt like crying, raising both hands.
"Why does it always have to be me…?"
But after catching the slight nod in Shi Zhongshan's eyes, signaling his permission.
He answered with a trembling voice.
"What…what do you want to know?"
Guo Shuai narrowed his one eye.
"First—who are you people?"
"We're…prison guards and family members from Xingcheng Prison in Huaxia Nation."
"Xingcheng Prison?"
Something stirred in Guo Shuai's chest. He knew that place—which meant they were all fellow Huaxia compatriots.
But his wariness did not lower because of it.
Hadn't there been plenty of cases of compatriots stabbing each other in the back?
Even prison guards couldn't be fully trusted!
What was noble was never the profession—it was the person!
So he continued pressing.
"Second—have you seen a man who…"
"Looks like the kind of person who's just inherently cool and imposing?"
Liu Rui shook his head vigorously, eyes sincere.
"No! Absolutely not!"
"You're the first stranger I've seen today!"
"Besides us, there's no one else on this floor!"
Guo Shuai could tell he wasn't lying, and didn't press further.
Then he threw out his final question.
"Then…3rd question."
"Who is Silk-Stocking Desperado? Is she your boss?"
At that soul-searching question, everyone's pupils constricted at once.
This was a question that would mean betraying a teammate!
If the answer was yes, it would mean exposing big sis Desperado's information to this dangerous man.
Liu Rui bit down on his lip, lowered his head, and said nothing.
He'd just gotten on big sis Desperado's bad side not long ago—if he ran his mouth again, he was genuinely afraid she'd chop off his hands.
And at that moment.
"I know."
A voice spoke up.
Senior prison guard Shi Zhongshan clutched his stomach and forced himself to his feet, stepping in front of all the younger people.
"That's right—Silk-Stocking Desperado is our boss."
"This rooftop is one she purchased."
"We're all…dead weight to her."
"She stepped out for now—she'll be back shortly."
"Shi-ge?!"
Everyone stared at him in disbelief.
Ye Yilin especially—her eyes were filled with shock and incomprehension.
As if asking why he was betraying their benefactor.
Shi Zhongshan had always been the one with the most backbone among them.
Shi Zhongshan didn't acknowledge anyone's gaze. He just smiled.
"If you don't believe me—or think I'm lying."
"You can kill me right now."
"Or rather…"
"I'll jump off this rooftop myself, right now, to prove I'm telling the truth."
As he said it, Shi Zhongshan walked forward of his own accord and pressed his forehead directly against the gun barrel!
He looked at Guo Shuai, pleading.
"I only ask one thing…don't kill these children."
"They're still young…they have long lives ahead of them."
In that moment.
Everyone finally understood.
Shi Zhongshan was not afraid to die—and he wasn't trying to betray anyone.
He was…
Trying to trade his own life—a life he considered worth very little—for these young people's chance to survive.
Shi Zhongshan's eyes were steady as he held Guo Shuai's gaze.
Was he afraid?
Of course he was afraid.
But at his age—a man who had accepted his fate—
Over 50 years of wind and rain had long since worn down his edges.
He was tired.
Truly exhausted.
As a prison guard, he had spent his entire life maintaining order.
But now that order had collapsed, and he—a prison guard—felt more like a prisoner.
He had no desire to gamble on a 1-in-10,000 chance.
To cross a thousand mountains and rivers to find his family, only to discover they had become corpses or monsters.
If it came to that…
He'd rather die clean.
Because he was nothing more than an ordinary person…
…left behind by the times.
"……"
Guo Shuai looked at him.
He recognized that look.
Because it was the exact same look he himself had worn just a few days ago.
Living for the sake of dying.
Moving forward for the sake of dying.
Just to find release.
‘The pressure this world places on ordinary people…is too immense.'
And now…
Guo Shuai glanced at Quanquan playing with his fingers nearby.
'I have a new goal. I have this convenient son of mine.'
'I'm going to become a Divine Chosen, and take Lao Yang to see every corner of the Savage Realm.'
'And the boss…'
'I want to become the sharpest blade in his hand.'
Clunk.
Guo Shuai lowered the gun.
"Good."
He looked at Shi Zhongshan, his tone softening.
"Your answer…has satisfied me."
"I won't kill you."
"Huh?"
Shi Zhongshan blanked, standing frozen in place.
What was going on?
This ferocious, fearsome man—wasn't he the same kind of lunatic as those prisoners?
Everyone let out a long sigh of relief, feeling as though they had taken a stroll right up to the gates of hell and back.
And just then.
Creak~
The rooftop door was pushed open once more.
A lazy, elegant female voice drifted through.
"My, my~"
"What a lively scene~ Looks like I've arrived at just the right moment?"
Everyone turned.
There stood Silk-Stocking Desperado, hands tucked into her pockets, leaning against the door frame with a half-smile.
Behind her, Guan Ming—one arm severed—was staring at Guo Shuai with a grave expression.
Silk-Stocking Desperado's gaze swept across the disheveled crowd.
Finally, it settled on Guo Shuai's face, and the corners of her lips curved upward.
"My friend with the 'ruined face'…"
"If you don't mind, why don't we…"
"Have a proper chat? Perhaps…"
"I'll know the answers you're looking for~"
Bunny-Bunny