"Wake up, wake up."
Liu Zheng was roused by a series of heavy slaps.
When he opened his eyes, he was met with the large face of Niu Tou.
"Boss, you gotta brush your teeth after eating."
He said instinctively.
"Like you ever do."
Niu Tou rolled his eyes.
"Hurry up, we're running out of time."
It extended its broken horn and hooked Liu Zheng up.
"Did we get the money?"
He asked, flexing his muscles.
He felt no different from before he was sold. Could it be that as long as he wasn't reduced to an empty shell, it didn't really matter?
"Here."
Niu Ma opened his mouth and spat out a wallet.
Liu Zheng picked it up and opened it to find a stack of banknotes with unfamiliar patterns printed on them.
"Where to next?"
He asked.
"You still have to deliver food, so those entertainment activities are out of the question."
Niu Ma said with regret.
It had cooked up that pot of rat-people soup for use tonight, but who would have guessed this kid wouldn't play by the rules?
"Making money is what's important."
Liu Zheng consoled.
"True. Let me think what you can do."
Niu Ma fell into thought.
"You definitely can't fight in the boxing matches, a flyweight could kill you with one punch."
It shook its head first.
Liu Zheng offered no counterargument.
With his current strength and speed, he could win boxing championships in the real world until his hands were full.
But in this strange world, he could only bully the security guards at the entrance of residential compounds.
"Smuggling won't work either, I'm going on vacation in a few days and don't have time to find buyers."
"Scavenging won't work either, you obviously don't have the eye for it."
Niu Ma suggested several options and rejected them one by one.
"Forget it, let's go."
It walked towards a door.
"To do what?"
"To gamble, of course."
Niu Ma replied.
-----------------
"Man, it's crowded."
Liu Zheng couldn't help but remark upon seeing the bustling crowd in the gambling den.
Although, there were hardly any people inside.
Apart from himself, the creature most resembling a human was a Demon with ram horns and a tail.
The other patrons could only be described as very "free" in their appearance.
If they were to run around in the real world, they could star in twenty or thirty horror films and still have room to spare.
Noticing Liu Zheng eyeing it, the horned Demon even raised its glass in a friendly gesture.
"Don't mess with that guy."
Niu Ma warned.
"Is it dangerous?"
Liu Zheng obediently shifted his gaze away.
"It won't start a fight, but it's the biggest gambler in this place. If it sets its sights on you, you wouldn't have enough money to cover the losses."
Niu Ma explained.
"And you still brought me here to gamble?"
He said incredulously.
He had thought that Niu Ma had some guaranteed way to win.
But this was it?
"Nonsense, other than gambling and robbery, what else is there to get rich overnight?"
"Then why not rob?"
Liu Zheng asked seriously.
With their skills, robbing would just be a reckless slaughter.
"I don't have a death wish, and of course, I'm not completely unprepared."
Niu Ma opened his mouth and spat out a metal box.
He caught it, but instead of opening the box, he stared at Niu Ma's gaping maw.
"What?"
It was slightly annoyed by his gaze.
"I'm just curious how much more you can pull out of your mouth."
Liu Zheng commented.
"None of your business. Now, open it."
Niu Ma urged.
He opened the metal box to find a playing card inside.
Joker, the Joker Card. There are usually two in a deck, commonly referred to as the big and small Jokers in reality.
"Name: Lucky Clown Card"
"Type: Item"
"Quality: Fine"
"Effect: When holding this card and dressed as a clown, Luck Value increases. The effectiveness is directly related to the authenticity of the costume."
"Can be taken out of the instance: Yes"
The joker on the card was painted with blood-red lipstick, smiling creepily.
"Where am I supposed to dress up as a clown?"
Liu Zheng said, speechless.
"I've been ready for a while."
Niu Ma reached a hoof into its mouth and dug around vigorously until it finally pulled out a flashy clown costume and a colorful funny hat.
"So you've been prepared, huh?"
He watched its performance with a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.
"Nonsense, otherwise our money would be wasted."
Niu Ma replied.
"Then what was with that pretense of analysis earlier?"
"One must go through the motions; otherwise, it seems too predetermined."
Niu Ma shrugged its shoulders.
Under its gaze, Liu Zheng changed into the clown costume.
The costume was very spacious and could be worn directly over a vest.
"What about the makeup?"
He pointed out the flaw.
"This is simple."
Niu Ma suddenly leaned forward and its broken horn scraped across Liu Zheng's tentacle.
Blood spurted out.
"See, there's your lipstick."
It said, proudly.
"If we win money, I'm definitely going to beat you to within an inch of your life."
Liu Zheng said with a deadpan expression.
"As long as you help me earn retirement money, I don't mind being beaten to near-death."
Niu Ma replied nonchalantly.
"Heh."
He dabbed some blood and drew a bright red smile on himself.
"'Lucky Clown Card' has taken effect."
The system prompt followed immediately.
"Where should we start?"
Liu Zheng looked around and asked.
The gambling space wasn't large, but it had a complete set of equipment, featuring almost all the gambling tools he recognized.
Of course, that's as far as his recognition went.
"Having turned into a Lucky Clown, we should first try our luck."
Niu Ma nudged him toward a Pachinko machine.
This type of machine is a Japanese specialty in reality, and it's confusingly popular.
Whether in Tokyo, Osaka, or even in sparsely populated Hokkaido, you can find Pachinko parlors everywhere.
Especially those middle-aged men, who would rush in early in the morning to occupy their favorite machines, sitting there all day long with their lunch boxes and cigarettes.
Liu Zheng had never played a proper Pachinko machine, but he had played a schoolyard version at the entrance of primary schools in the Heavenly Kingdom.
A wooden board, a few nails, a glass ball, and an owner sitting on a stool smoking.
He had lost quite a bit of pocket money on those.
"Hey, someone get us some chips."
Niu Ma shouted.
Soon, a half-human-tall pile of Slime wobbled over.
"Oooh see dee see, why bee ba boo?"
It uttered a muffled noise.
"Give it the money."
Niu Ma told Liu Zheng.
"How should I give it?"
Liu Zheng asked.
No matter how he looked at it, the creature didn't seem to have hands to take it.
"Just throw it in."
Niu Ma replied.
He let go, dropping the wallet onto the Slime.
The wallet slowly sank into the Slime's body and then disappeared.
Liu Zheng was surprised to find that its body was only seemingly transparent.
"Gurgle gurgle, bubble bubble."
After more unintelligible murmurs, the Slime squirmed away.
Where it had been, there was a pile of chips covered in slime.
"What did it say just now?"
Liu Zheng asked as he picked up the chips.
"It said there's a promotion today in the casino, deposit ten thousand and get a thousand extra."
Niu Ma declared.
"So, we can't lose?"
"Wishful thinking, just look at the chips in your hand."
Niu Ma gestured with its mouth.
Liu Zheng looked down at the chips he held—black, red, yellow, and white, various colors.
The black was 1000, red was 100, yellow was 10, and white was also 1000.
"The white ones are the bonus; they can't be cashed in. You can only exchange them for other chips if you win at gambling, otherwise, do you think the casino is stupid?"
Niu Ma said.
"Oh."
He peeled off a yellow chip, sticky with slime, and tossed it into the Pachinko machine's coin slot.