Base No. 7

Chapter 9: The Gambler

In the room, Xu Mo closed his eyes and took deep, steady breaths. For the past few days, he had spent most of his free time practicing his breathing technique

Now, he could more clearly sense the energy field around him. The farther he moved from it, the weaker the energy field b

In this state, he could sense Mia playing with Yao’er, the passersby on the street, the street vendors sho

Xu Mo focused his thoughts on controlling the energy field. To his surprise, a book in front of him sl

“Whew…” Xu Mo took a deep breath. After practicing the breathing technique for a while, he was able to control the energy field and retrieve objects from a distance. His perception, vision, and physical abilities were all steadily improving. He pulled a set of leather cases from under his bed, opened them, and found many throwing darts inside. These were specially crafted by someone Xu Mo had hired, designed to be star-sh

He didn’t rush to hun

In this br

Xu Mo took one of the throwing darts and placed it in his palm. He focused on it, and with a thought, the dart hovered in the air. Then, it began

“Stop!” S

Clearly, his control over the energy field was still limited. For now, he could only influence the dart's flight speed and direction, and it took quite a toll on his energy. However, Xu Mo was quite satisfied with his progress. It hadn’t been long since he started practicing the breathing technique, but he already felt reborn, even developing what could be considered "superpowers."

After resting for a moment, Xu Mo left the room and went downstairs.

“Mia, I’m going out for a bit,” Xu Mo said, greeting Mia. His abilities had improved significantly, and he thought it might be a good idea to visit the black market to see if he could run into any of the murderers.

“Alright,” Mia smiled and nodded. “Come back early.”

“Where are you going, big brother?” Yao’er walked up and grabbed Xu Mo’s hand, asking.

“I’m just going out for a walk. Be a good girl and listen to Miss Mia,” Xu Mo pinched Yao’er’s cheek. Recently, Yao’er had become closer to Mia and even often slept with her at night.

“Then come back soon, I’ll be waiting for you,” the girl said, nodding obediently.

“I know,” Xu Mo rubbed her cheek before leaving the department store. Mia watched his back, a bit worried.

As Xu Mo walked down the street, he thought to himself that although he worked at the department store, most of the time it was Mia who was helping. This couldn’t go on forever; he still needed to move out when he had the chance.

Moreover, when the enforcement team had questioned him earlier, they didn’t find out anything, and the murderers hadn’t come looking for him. He wasn’t sure whether they didn’t know he had survived or simply didn’t care about him, but regardless of the reason, he couldn’t afford to be careless.

...

Arriving at the black market again, Xu Mo wore a mask and a hat, dressing in loose clothing to conceal his figure. This time, he wasn’t followed. Maybe it was due to his disguise, but no women dared pull him into any of the small houses on the way.

The black market was a chaotic place with all kinds of people. Someone like Xu Mo, dressed oddly, would naturally not be approached since his background was unclear.

The casino and the fighting arena were still the most crowded places in the black market. When Xu Mo arrived, he saw many people gathered around. As he walked closer, he saw a young woman in a torn white dress, covered in blood, lying on the ground.

She looked about nineteen, her hair a mess and her face stained with blood. However, beneath the grime, her delicate face and beautiful features could still be seen.

Beside her was a middle-aged man, his foot on her leg, preventing her from crawling forward.

“Two thousand, I’ll take two thousand,” the middle-aged man said to someone standing outside the casino’s iron gate. The person was younger, around thirty, with gold-rimmed glasses and a gentle smile.

“My daughter has always been obedient and well-behaved. She’s also quite beautiful; she’s worth two thousand, right?” The middle-aged man gripped his hands tightly, his eyes wild with desperation.

“Oh? So she’s a virgin?” The surrounding crowd jeered, their eyes fixated on the girl as if they could devour her with their gaze.

“Boss Bai, you know the situation well. If this were before, your daughter would’ve been a young lady from a rich family, but now...” The young man adjusted his glasses, glancing at the middle-aged man. “You should walk around the black market and see who can afford that price.”

The middle-aged man’s face turned ashen. He looked at the crowd and said, “If anyone can offer this price, I’ll let her go, and you can do whatever you want with her.”

The girl struggled to crawl forward, her hands stained with blood.

“Shut up and stay still!” The middle-aged man kicked her. She screamed in pain, her face pressed against the cold ground, despair evident in her posture. This was her own father, who, after becoming addicted to gambling, lost all his wealth, drove her mother to death, and still had no regrets, now attempting to sell her.

“Such a fine girl turned into this. Maybe she was worth two thousand before, but now, at most, a thousand,” the young man with the gold-rimmed glasses said with a sigh. “Or perhaps Boss Bai would like to gamble with me? If I win, I’ll take the girl. If you win, I’ll give you three thousand, and I won’t take her. What do you think?”

The middle-aged man hesitated, staring at the young man, before finally nodding.

“Good,” the young man said with a smile. “Let’s begin, Boss Bai.”

The crowd around them grew louder, eager to watch the spectacle.

Xu Mo stood off to the side, observing everything. The onlookers didn’t show any signs of sympathy.

In his two lifetimes, he still couldn’t understand the mindset of a “gambler.” Not only had they lost their humanity, but they also seemed to have lost their basic judgment. The middle-aged man clearly only wanted to gamble, without needing to pay for the girl.

Xu Mo followed them into the casino.

At a gambling table, surrounded by a crowd, the young man with the gold-rimmed glasses and the middle-aged man stood on opposite sides. In the middle, a casino "attendant" acted as the referee, mediating the bets.

The attendant handed each of them a set of dice, three dice per set, allowing them to inspect them before covering the sets and saying, “The winner will be the one with the highest score. Please begin.”

“Please go ahead, Boss Bai,” the young man with the gold-rimmed glasses said with a smile.

The middle-aged man’s hand trembled slightly as he gripped the dice cup, staring at it. He shook it, while the young man across from him smiled, also shaking his dice cup.

After a long time, they both stopped and moved their hands away from the table.

The attendant placed his hand on the middle-aged man’s dice cup and opened it. The three dice showed: four, four, six.

Fourteen points!

There was an uproar in the crowd. The middle-aged man clenched his fist, his eyes shining with excitement. Fourteen was a high score.

The young man with the gold-rimmed glasses watched the scene with a smile. The attendant placed his hand on the young man’s dice cup and opened it, revealing the numbers. Everyone stared intently.

Five, five, five.

Fifteen points!

The crowd erupted in excitement, and people jeered at the middle-aged man. His face turned pale, and he glared at the young man across from him. “This is impossible, it can’t be…”

“Boss Bai, you lost,” the young man with the gold-rimmed glasses said with a smirk. He glanced at the girl beside him, his expression one of amusement.

The girl tried to escape, but two of the young man’s subordinates stopped her.

“You cheated,” the middle-aged man shouted angrily.

“Boss Bai, here, you can’t say such things,” the young man with the gold-rimmed glasses said coldly, while the attendant glared at him. The middle-aged man’s face turned pale as he slumped to the ground.

The young man with the gold-rimmed glasses walked up to the girl and looked at her face, leering. “Miss Bai will be following me from now on.”

Bai Wei’s face went ashen as she looked around at the crowd, feeling an icy coldness in her heart.

“Shall we have a bet?” A voice suddenly interrupted. The young man with the gold-rimmed glasses turned to see a man wearing a black hat and mask sitting at the table, facing away from him.

“Are you talking to me?” The young man with the gold-rimmed glasses asked.

Xu Mo nodded, placing 1,700 Federal coins on the table.

The young man’s interest was piqued. “How do you want to bet?”

“This is my stake,” Xu Mo said, pointing to the coins. “The rules are the same as last time. If I win, the woman belongs to me.”