Luck

【Luck】.

This was Ren Yi's first time encountering high-level powers that sounded profound and mysterious just by their names—things involving Fate, Time, and Causality.

In the countless stories he had read, such abilities were almost always BUG-level talents exclusive to the protagonist, the ultimate cheats that stood above all rules.

But of course, there were varying degrees of Luck.

Minor Luck might just be finding five dollars on the street, having an umbrella right when it starts raining, or narrowly missing a traffic jam.

But truly top-tier Luck could twist probabilities, evade death, rewrite endings, and produce all sorts of absurd and exaggerated results.

"So, this gentleman's Luck means he wins every time he gambles?" Ren Yi asked the waiter.

"No, of course not just that," the waiter denied with a smile, his tone carrying an unidentifiable subtext.

"This gentleman's Luck is of a very high level. One could say it is the Highest Unique Talent birthed by his world."

"Averting disaster, amassing fortune, having beautiful companions on either arm—every good thing you can imagine will actively seek him out."

"In Instances, various accidents will happen at just the right moment, ensuring he almost never triggers any Anomaly rules."

"For example, if he encounters an Anomaly whose rules are triggered by communication, he'll suddenly catch a cold and lose his voice, unable to utter a single word."

"Sometimes, even if he trips on flat ground, he'll happen to fall right onto a specific Anomaly Artifact that counters that particular Anomaly."

"All malice directed at him will ultimately backfire on the perpetrator. Anyone wishing him ill will be struck by a mysterious backlash of fortune, meeting a miserable end."

"Is that so?" Ren Yi shook his head, his face full of skepticism. "I'm not so sure about that."

"If his Luck were truly invincible, then..."

"How did he end up here? And how did he become your 'Entertainment City's God of Gamblers'?"

Ren Yi's gaze fell upon the God of Gamblers, who was surrounded by the crowd.

Despite being covered by a collar, he could still see that from the neck down, the man's flesh was faintly becoming transparent.

This was exactly the same as the Participant from earlier, before he had returned his chips and redeemed his body.

This meant that, up until now, he was still in a state of having mortgaged "himself" to the casino.

This "mortgaged" state also proved one thing: this God of Gamblers had not been converted into an NPC.

In other words, he did not belong to the casino, nor was he recognized by the Alliance's rules. Like all the Participants who had come with invitations, he was still a "customer."

With the status and gambling prowess represented by the title "God of Gamblers," it was impossible for him to lack the ability to redeem himself and leave safely.

Therefore, the waiter's phrase "our Entertainment City" became quite intriguing.

The corners of the waiter's mouth curled up, his eyes behind the mask seemingly crinkling into a smile, and his tone was light.

"That is naturally because our Entertainment City itself is Mr. God of Gamblers' 'Luck.'"

Ren Yi didn't reply; he just looked at the other person quietly, signaling that he was all ears.

The waiter also seemed happy to chat about these things.

He first led them to a table, tossed the menu casually to the idle Dr. Lin, and then stood back beside Ren Yi, lowering his voice as he began to speak slowly.

"As I mentioned before, the Entertainment City provides food and lodging for all customers. As long as you have chips in your hand, you can live here forever."

"Compared to those Instances outside, where danger lurks at every step and death is a constant threat, this place has culture, entertainment, and cuisine from various worlds."

"Rather than returning to one's own world only to be forcibly thrown into Instances again and again by the world's will to struggle for survival, isn't staying here a form of 'Luck' in itself?"

Ren Yi nodded; he understood now.

It was a false sanctuary.

"You also said the prerequisite is having chips," Ren Yi said doubtfully. "In that case, aside from this God of Gamblers, there shouldn't be many people who can stay here indefinitely, right?"

After all, the house always winning was an ironclad law, and losing in the long run was the norm.

No one could keep winning forever on the dealer's turf.

"That was indeed the case in the past," the waiter shrugged nonchalantly.

"But since Mr. God of Gamblers arrived, the number of people willing and able to stay has increased significantly."

"Because this Mr. God of Gamblers is very happy to share his chips with the other customers who stay here like him."

"To use a human expression, I suppose they are huddling together for warmth."

Ren Yi stared at the fellow before him, who maintained a perfect smile, and suddenly spoke out of the blue.

"Do you look down on him?"

The standard smile on the waiter's face didn't change in the slightest, and his tone carried a perfectly measured confusion.

"Hmm? I don't understand what you mean. Who are you talking about?"

"The God of Gamblers," Ren Yi said, enunciating each word, his eyes fixed directly on the mask the waiter wore.

"How could I?" the waiter immediately replied in the most respectful tone. "I am merely an ordinary service worker. I have absolute respect for every customer."

"Furthermore, Mr. God of Gamblers is a prominent figure here, separated from someone like me by a vast chasm. Why would I look down on him?"

"Because he's selfish," Ren Yi answered.

"By taking everything he won here back to his own world, he could have achieved the highest status there as well, but he didn't."

"Moreover, as a unique talent birthed by his world, the world must have paid a significant price to bestow such an ability upon him."

"But now, all those costs have gone down the drain."

"So when all is said and done, he's just afraid of dying."

"I like enemies like that, and I imagine you do too. But that doesn't stop you from looking down on him."

This time, the waiter truly laughed—not the standard smile welded onto his face, but a laugh that seemed to come from finding something genuinely interesting.

"Now you've truly misunderstood."

The gaze behind his mask seemed to flicker.

"Mr. God of Gamblers is very 'lucky.'"

"When he first came to our Entertainment City, he played here for a full seven days. Participants from countless worlds, and even many Anomalies, came because of his reputation to gamble against him."

"Of course, restricted by the casino's rules, even Anomalies are just ordinary customers here and cannot use powers beyond the rules."

"But they all lost."

"He put on a seven-day-long display of madness, performing countless miracles that were almost impossible, making everyone realize that before absolute Fate, we are but withered leaves drifting with the current."

"It wasn't until seven days later, when no one in the entire Entertainment City dared to play against him anymore, that he finally stopped."

"At that time, Mr. God of Gamblers had made a killing, exchanging for countless rare resources. He had long since returned the initial chips he mortgaged and was walking toward the exit gate step by step."

"But in the end, he didn't walk out."

"During the seven days he was playing in the Entertainment City, a Calamity descended upon his world."

"So you see, how 'lucky' he is."

"At the moment his world collapsed, his 'Luck' allowed him to stay—and stay forever—in the safest place."

He paused there for a moment.

"So you've really misunderstood. I don't look down on that gentleman for not leaving the casino back then."

"I only look down on this 'God of Gamblers' he is now."