blogombal Page 158
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However, the robot stood even straighter, staring blankly at its newly restored hand, a screw falling out of its eye.
"Uh, I remember there wasn't this screw when it was repaired." Jiang Kehan looked at the completely transformed robot and suddenly felt a little guilty.
She had no idea where the screw came from; it couldn't possibly be a robot's tears, could it?
"Hurry, leave quickly!" the robot slowly spoke, seemingly unaccustomed to normal speech, but its first complete sentence was a frantic call for Jiang Kehan and the others to leave.
"Don't be afraid, tell us what happened." Xiao Ting pressed down on the robot's head, shifted her gaze to it, and spoke in a voice as hoarse as a rock in the tide.
“We are warriors who will defeat the evil dragon, so don’t be afraid,” Jiang Kehan added, smiling as she said, “Look, I’ve healed you.”
Seeing that the group remained motionless, the robot also stopped. It turned its gaze toward the Happy Casino, its longing tinged with fear.
"The casino...the casino is broken, it's completely out of control!"
"When happiness is forced, the casino is already heading towards the precipice, and someone is deliberately speeding it up!"
As the robot spoke, it suddenly twitched, but Jiang Kehan was certain that she had fixed it; it could only be out of fear and reluctance.
It seems to view modern casinos as a nightmare.
"Oh? Forced pleasure?" Xiao Ting didn't deny it. She withdrew her hand from the robot's head and said calmly, "It can't be that simple. I smelled blood on the garbage mountain."
"There's still a hint of cannibalism in the air."
She suddenly coughed softly twice, her voice growing increasingly hoarse, as if she had just emerged from the flames of war.
The robot fell silent.
He suddenly straightened his metal tie with his hand and spoke hesitantly.
Do you really want to get involved in this nightmare?
"You'd better run, I'll take you away."
Ya Rou gently kicked the robot, sighing slightly, "And then you came back all by yourself to change all of this, right?"
"It's too late." She looked at Xiao Ting, who was lost in thought, and said regretfully.
"Xiao Ting will not leave."
"Let's go, let's see for ourselves what's really going on inside."
Ya Rou straightened her clothes, looking like a true young lady, and then turned her gaze to Louis and White Horse Princess.
"As for the two of you, please continue to guard our goods, after all," she said with a confident smile, head held high, "that's a private matter for us."
"Even Xiao Ting has things she can't ignore."
"Don't say anything." Xiao Ting's expression was a little bad. She glanced at Ya Rou, then looked apologetically at Louis and White Horse Princess.
"Please let me handle this; consider it my request."
“…Okay.” It was Louis who spoke. She grabbed the White Horse Princess’s hand and forcibly dragged her back to where she was.
"Why should I?" White Horse Princess retorted, somewhat unconvinced. "As the casino's neighbor, I can't just turn a blind eye."
"Because you're an idiot." Louis sighed helplessly, nodding to Jiang Kehan and the other two. "Leave it to us."
Xiao Ting raised her head slightly and looked at the robot, saying, "Lead the way."
Let's take her to see what kind of circumstances would force someone to cut off their own flesh to feed their loved ones!
Chapter 226 Those who always win at gambling are afraid of gambling.
The short distance to the casino took Jiang Kehan and her friends a long time to walk.
The robot led the way slowly, seemingly hoping that this desolate road would keep the people behind it away.
Its slightly trembling body wasn't so much due to being washed by the wind carrying sand and gravel, but rather because of a fear of some future.
"Are you really not leaving?" the robot asked without turning around.
"What are you afraid of?" Xiao Ting said expressionlessly. "It seems you have very little confidence in us."
The robot fell silent. It led the way until they were almost at the casino, at which point it looked up at the casino's towering sign and murmured something.
"Because even the most powerful person can fall into endless pleasure."
"Unless you're like me, S is just a machine that only knows how to take responsibility."
"Oh?" Xiao Ting looked at the robot with disdain and asked.
"If I'm not mistaken, casinos are the ones that rob us of our happiness."
The robot nodded and recalled, "Yes, but before the clown became the casino boss, the happiness we gave out was very small, but very heartwarming."
Its lips curled up slightly, as if it were recalling the smile on the other person's face when it offered happiness.
"It's like leisurely sitting in a garden, when suddenly a butterfly lands on your finger, slowly flutters its beautiful wings, kisses your forehead lightly, and then flies away, leaving you with a delightful surprise—it's beautiful and worth remembering."
"But I will never become addicted to it."
As the robot spoke, its expression gradually darkened: "And now, the joy of losing to others in the casino is just a fleeting joy that sweeps in like a tsunami; there's nothing else worth reminiscing about."
"A fleeting obsession from which one is unwilling to awaken."
Jiang Kehan glanced at Xiao Ting with concern. Although witches have strong mental resistance, they might still be temporarily obsessed with such completely harmless pleasure.
At least Jiang Kehan herself was not confident that she had the ability to quickly detach herself from this kind of "quick and easy fun".
Xiao Ting, however, smiled confidently.
"So all we have to do is lose to the casino, right?"
"Huh?" Jiang Kehan stared at Xiao Ting in surprise, while the robot stopped and looked at Xiao Ting anxiously, trying to dissuade her.
"How could we possibly let you lose! Everything in the casino is designed to make the guests lose. The only difference is that before, the losses were comical, meant to amuse the guests."
"Now, the chances of guests losing are completely limited, even to the point of cheating!"
Xiao Ting strode past the robot, placed her hands on the casino door, and looked meaningfully at her reflection on the smooth metal surface before her, saying...
"That's not necessarily the case."
As she forcefully pushed open the door, several cannon salutes suddenly exploded, and colorful ribbons rushed out along with the cheers.
"Welcome to Happy Casino!"
A clown, standing on a yoga ball and tossing six small balls in his hands, juggled as he burst out of the ribbons, then jumped in front of Jiang Kehan and the others, bowing slightly.
"I am the master of this place, the clown!"
Many chibi-style clown robots joyfully ride unicycles, scattering fragrant flower petals and shouting loudly.
"welcome!"
"Welcome to this place to embrace happiness, endless happiness!"
After the clown stood up, he looked at the familiar robot and narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Hey, isn't this the old boss of the casino? Which kind soul picked you out of the junkyard?"
"Or perhaps..." he smiled, a hint of undisguised threat in his eyes, "that you've thought it through before joining us?"
"If you kowtow twice, I might forgive you and let you experience what it's like~"
The clown opened his exaggeratedly large mouth, grinning, but his eyes flashed with a ruthless red light.
"I've experienced what it feels like to be betrayed!"
"Hahaha!"
The clown clutched his stomach, seemingly laughing so hard he was crying. He took out two tomatoes and exaggeratedly pressed them against his eyes, making it look like he was bleeding.
"But I'll let you off the hook for now." He glared at the robot with a threatening look, then wiped the tomato juice off with a handkerchief, becoming "humble" again, and looked at Jiang Kehan and the other two with a fawning smile.
"What do you guests want to play? The casino can satisfy you. Don't let this shabby place spoil your mood."
"Twenty-one," Xiao Ting said calmly.
Jiang Kehan looked at her curiously and couldn't help but lean closer to Ya Rou and ask.
"Is Xiao Ting very good at group gambling?"
Ya Rou looked a little embarrassed, nodded, and then shook her head.
"Hmm?" Jiang Kehan looked at her in confusion, a bad feeling suddenly rising in her heart.
Ya Rou leaned closer and explained.
"Xiao Ting knows nothing about gambling techniques, but she has a lot of luck."
"She has almost never lost; the last time she lost was when she was facing the Great Witch."
Jiang Kehan seemed to hear the echo of the strong luck, but at this moment her heart skipped a beat, and she tentatively asked.
"So the results are what Xiao Ting wanted, right?"
Ya Rou shook her head and stared silently ahead.
"She seems to simply want to win, and sometimes winning comes at a greater cost."
"It's like an unreasonable blessing."
Jiang Kehan couldn't help but worry. She secretly took out her floating cannon staff, shrunk it, and hid it in her palm.
If Xiao Ting causes any problems, she will immediately resort to violence to resolve them.
Xiao Ting even seemed to be smiling slightly.
She followed the clown to the magnificent long table and sat down gracefully.
"Haha, to be fair, how about you shuffle the cards?" The clown laughed as he spun around in his chair, then tossed the cards in his hand to Xiao Ting.
Xiao Ting did not take the cards, letting them scatter all over the ground.
“I’m not interested. Your hands are too dirty.” She looked at the clown casually, causing his mouth to twitch violently. “Besides, there’s no need for it.”
The clown clutched his stomach, and although he was laughing, his tone sounded sinister.
"Guest, you seem quite confident. You must have heard of the Happy Casino and come here to experience the fun!"
His eyes were red, and thick smoke billowed from his nostrils. He stared intently at Xiao Ting like a furious bull.
"Then let the machine shuffle the deck."
He took out another deck of cards and put it into the card dealer on the table.