Bandit Logic

Ren Yi turned to look at the waiter beside him. "Those three just now—they're also Participants for this Instance, right? Didn't they provide any collateral?"

The waiter seemed to realize something was amiss. He pulled a palm-sized terminal from his pocket and operated it for a few moments before shaking his head at Ren Yi.

"Sir, they are not on our guest list. Those three do not possess invitations to our Entertainment City."

Ren Yi was stunned and instinctively followed up. "No invitations? Then how did they get in?"

The waiter replied, "We generally refer to such people as stowaways."

Dr. Lin spoke up at the right moment from the side. "To put it bluntly, this Instance has become a sieve again. Any Tom, Dick, or Harry can crawl in."

Ren Yi tilted his head slightly. The word "again" was quite telling.

"Dr. Lin," the waiter's voice drifted over eerily. "Isn't it a bit inappropriate to slander your former employer like that?"

Ren Yi looked up at the two of them—one sitting, one standing, both locked in a tense standoff.

Before either could speak again, Ren Yi suddenly stood up in silence. Under the stunned gazes of Dr. Lin and the waiter, he walked away and sat down on the other side of Ren Man.

He left Dr. Lin and the waiter in their original spots, facing each other.

No matter how slow Ren Yi might be, he could tell something was off with this waiter.

Although Dr. Lin wasn't exactly proper and his behavior was a bit exaggerated, he wasn't the kind of Anomaly who would vent his frustrations on an innocent waiter for no reason.

Moreover, Dr. Lin kept asking, "How much do you make in a day?" while the waiter kept insisting, "I am just a very ordinary service worker."

Thus, Ren Yi felt it was better to change seats and eat elsewhere, rather than disturb the two experts' "refined interests."

However, though he had fled, the waiter didn't intend to let him off.

"Mr. Ren Yi." The waiter circled around Dr. Lin and caught up to the table. "Please do not be misled by him."

"Our Xinglong Entertainment City is a legitimate enterprise that strictly follows the Alliance's rules and regulations. All customers are invited or allocated according to Alliance requirements."

"Although this is a permanent Instance, which occasionally allows Participants to enter illegally through items, once these people enter, they are unable to leave..."

"They will not become our customers, and since they have no chips, they will absolutely not disturb the gaming experience of our guests!"

"You're saying they aren't customers?" Ren Yi suddenly looked up and asked.

The waiter nodded without hesitation.

Ren Yi didn't say anything more and looked back at Ren Man.

Ren Man was still frowning, his gaze fixed on the tabletop, looking at no one. His fingers rested on the edge of the table, his knuckles slightly white from the pressure.

He was enduring.

Ren Yi knew exactly what he was enduring.

Before they came, Dr. Lin had warned them that the Alliance had already been "urbanized."

Ren Man bringing him to live in the Alliance meant he had chosen to become a part of this order.

Ren Man remembered this, so he had been constantly exercising restraint.

But he was uncomfortable.

Ren Yi followed his own perception and looked toward the corner of the restaurant.

The Battle-Damaged Guy and his trio were still there.

The female Participant was huddled in the innermost part of the seat, while the other young man kept his head down, his shoulders trembling slightly. The Battle-Damaged Guy sat on the outside, seemingly discussing something with them.

The pain emanating from them was too loud.

Anxiety, fear, confusion.

Under the somewhat startled gazes of Dr. Lin and the waiter, Ren Yi suddenly stood up and walked toward the Battle-Damaged Guy's group.

Sensing someone approaching, the Battle-Damaged Guy and the others instantly became alert. The female Participant shrank back in fear, her leg accidentally hitting the chair leg, nearly tripping her.

Dr. Lin sat in the distance, only seeing Ren Yi walk up to the Battle-Damaged Guy and whisper a few words.

The Battle-Damaged Guy's expression shifted violently, but he eventually nodded.

Then, Ren Yi handed him something. After receiving the item, the Battle-Damaged Guy's group quickly turned and left the restaurant.

Ren Yi stood up and walked back to his original seat.

At this moment, Dr. Lin and the waiter were staring each other down. Seeing him return, they immediately turned their attention to him.

"What did you do?"

Ren Yi sat down, first glancing at Ren Man.

Ren Man's brow had relaxed, and he had returned to that slightly dazed, indifferent look.

Ren Yi withdrew his gaze, thought for a moment, and answered Dr. Lin. "I went to resolve their 'pain.'"

"Huh?" Dr. Lin blinked, clearly not understanding.

Ren Yi then explained in detail, "I told them their pain was 'noisy' on our end and told them to leave quickly."

"They were that obedient?" Dr. Lin clearly didn't get it. "Did you threaten them?"

"No."

"Then what did you say?"

"I bought them," Ren Yi said.

Dr. Lin's expression went blank for a second.

"Wait." Dr. Lin clutched his head. "What's the situation? What did you buy them with?"

"Three chips," Ren Yi answered succinctly.

"Huh?" This time, Dr. Lin got a bit nervous. He stood up, pulled Ren Yi to his side, and shielded him from the waiter.

"Let me tell you," he said in a low, rapid voice. "This place is very shady. Don't go messing around randomly."

"Of course, if we really run into trouble, I'll support you... just let your brother follow through on what he said before."

Ren Yi looked up at the waiter, who was still standing by the table with a meaningful smile on his face, watching with great interest.

Just then, the waiter suddenly said, "Young Mr. Ren Yi, I hope you remember that using abilities on others is not allowed within our casino."

Ren Yi paused. Just now, while handing over the three chips, he had indeed taken the opportunity to plant three seeds.

At the same time, he had clearly felt the positive emotions overflowing from them, which had just happened to refill his "magazine."

However, this was the first time his ability had been directly discovered by someone else.

Hearing this, Dr. Lin looked at Ren Yi, then glanced at Ren Man, who had relaxed and was now watching with a tilted head.

"Come on, I'm ready," he suddenly said to the waiter. "Anyway, I'm currently debt-free and light-hearted."

"Ready for what?" The waiter was momentarily taken aback by the interruption.

"To fight our way out of your casino!" Dr. Lin said with an eager expression.

"I've got it all planned out. We'll smash open the restaurant doors, rush all the way to the elevator lobby—the elevators are easily blocked, so we'll take the escalators back to the first floor, and then—"

"Stop, stop, stop." Ren Yi pulled Dr. Lin back with a look of exasperation, then turned to the waiter.

"Don't try to intimidate us. The rules of the Entertainment City state that customers are not allowed to harm each other."

"And they are now my property."

"It is only natural for me to dispose of my own property as I see fit."

The waiter fell silent for a moment. "They have already entered the Entertainment City; they are Participants of the Entertainment City Instance."

"You should be trading with the Entertainment City, not with them directly."

"First of all, they were not invited by the Entertainment City," Ren Yi countered. "As stowaways, they don't have invitations in their hands."

"Secondly, I did not use 'violence, coercion, or fraud.' I feel I acted with benevolence." Ren Yi made a prayer-like gesture with his hands.

"And finally, you just said that stowaways cannot leave directly."

"You also said that the God of Gamblers is very willing to give chips to those who want to stay here."

"But those stowaways just went to the God of Gamblers, and they clearly made some request that was not granted."

"Therefore, what they wanted wasn't chips, but invitations."

"The reason you say stowaways cannot leave is because they cannot go through the redemption process at the entrance."

Ren Yi spoke clearly and deliberately. "If a stowaway wants to leave, they can only do so by borrowing a customer's identity, which requires an invitation and enough chips to redeem themselves."

"Regardless of how they get an invitation... I just gave them each a chip. They will inevitably try to earn the chips needed to redeem themselves."

"Whether they succeed or fail in the end, those chips will eventually flow back into the hands of the Entertainment City."

"Calculating it this way, I've actually given you three chips for free and sent three Participants back into your game for nothing."

"Not counting the Participants... right now, it should be you who owes me three chips instead."