The device to select the winning number was basically a massive roulette wheel with the numbers one to a hundred on it. There was a needle above the roulette wheel that would start spinning randomly as soon as the device was activated. As it was controlled by a special formation, it was impossible for anyone to tamper with the results.
The needle would first be spun right before the crowd’s eyes, but after turning a few rounds, a formation would be activated to conceal the needle from sight. Once the needle came to a halt, the crowd would be able to start buying the numbers that they thought could be the winning number.
The process of buying a number was simple as well. It was similar to those olden days casinos where you simply place your money on the number you are buying on the table.
All it took was a glance for Zhang Xuan to figure out what was going on.
“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, as you know, the biannual trial of the Celestial Mountain is going to held tomorrow, but we still have thirty slots here. Today, we’ll be throwing all of them out, so if you have yet to secure a slot for yourself or your loved ones, this is an opportunity that is not to be missed!”
The young man who was in charge of selling the numbers took a look at the crowd before shouting, “Begin!”
Right after those words were spoken, the needle on the roulette wheel immediately began spinning. After spinning a few rounds, the formation came to life, concealing the needle and the roulette wheel from sight.
“Based on my experience, whenever the needle on the roulette wheel spins that quickly, the number is likely to be ten or below.”
“Hey hey hey, don’t be so certain about that. I’ve encountered this situation before, and I can tell you your best bet is to buy the numbers between eighty to ninety.”
“Ignorant! It was eighty the last time and nine the time before that, so in my opinion, it should be around twenty. If you have been paying close attention, you will have realized that it has been a while since the needle has pointed to the twenty to thirty region!”
…
As the needle on the roulette wheel began spinning, the spectators by the side began fervently discussing what the chosen number would be.
A while later, the formation around the roulette wheel stopped shaking, indicating that the needle had stopped spinning.
Shua shua shua!
Those that were holding onto booklets began calculating the initial momentum of the needle, air resistance, frictional force, wind speed, and many other factors, fitting them into their self-created equations to derive the ‘correct answer’.
“Place your bets! Once you have decided on your number, put your money down and back away!” said the young man managing the roulette wheel.
Surprisingly, not a single person rushed forward to put down their bet. Instead, they were looking around to see what the others were doing.
“Eye of Insight!” Zhang Xuan willed as he attempted to peer into the formation.
If he could see through the formation, he would be able to see the results of the roulette wheel directly. That would spare him from having to waste precious Divine Coins.
A moment later though, he shook his head.
It appeared that the formation had been created by a God King in order to ensure that no one would be able to tamper with the results before the formation was released, thus ensuring the fairness of the selections.
“What about the Library of Heaven’s Path then? Flaws!”
Given that the formation was active at the moment, he did not need to touch it in order to compile a book.
He swiftly flipped open the book that had materialized in his Library of Heaven’s Path.
“Twilight City Celestial Mountain Slot Roulette Wheel Concealment Formation. Flaw 1:…”
What was written in the book were the various flaws of the formation, such as the problems with the material that was used to create the formation, the deficiencies of the one setting up the formation, and the fundamental errors with the blueprint.
But none of that had any relevance to Zhang Xuan. He had no need for such information. What he needed to know was what number the needle was pointing at.
With a deep sigh, he was just about to shut the book when he caught sight of the very last line on the book.
“Flaw 68: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9…”
It was an entire string of numbers, ninety-nine of them. The only one that was missing from the string was seventy-three.
Does this indicate that the needle is pointing at seventy-three? The reason the other numbers are labeled as flaws is because the needle isn’t pointing at them? Zhang Xuan thought as his heart skipped a beat.
If that was really the case, it would be no different from him walking into an examination hall with all the model answers on hand. With this, he would be able to guarantee that he won every single bet he made!
“Sun Qiang, go over there and buy number seventy-three!” Zhang Xuan instructed without any hesitation.
“Seventy-three?” Sun Qiang frowned. “Young Master, I was looking at the calculations done by the veterans here, and the common consensus is that we’ll have to bet between thirty to forty in order to stand a chance at winning. I’m not sure if betting on seventy-three is a really good idea…”
There were a lot of people who had calculated where the needle was likely to stop at based on the information they had gathered prior to the activation of the formation.
While it was beyond them to calculate the exact number that the needle would land on with absolute precision—they would have already made the bets themselves if that was the case—it was still able to provide those who were going to participate in the bets some direction to work with.
“Just shut up and do it,” Zhang Xuan replied impatiently.
With a helpless shake of his head, Sun Qiang walked over to the table and placed a Divine Coin, saying, “I’ll bet on number seventy-three.”
“You are betting on number seventy-three? You really don’t fear death, do you?”
Seeing how the first number bought was completely at odds with the common consensus, the crowd burst into laughter.
Based on the calculations done by the crowd, they had agreed that the chances of the needle being on thirty to forty was the highest. Thus, they could not help but feel that it was foolish and ignorant of the young man to place a bet on something that was completely at odds with their professional analysis.
At that moment, an old man with strands of white hair walked over with confidence in his eyes and said with gusto, “Friend, you bought number seventy-three? Let me tell you, you are sure to make a loss with that number. Listen to me and buy number thirty-six instead. I guarantee that you will surely hit the mark!
“You don’t know who am I, right? I am Yao Shan, and I have been here since the roulette wheel system was first implemented! I have been at every single number drawing over the last few decades, and I have helped more than thirty people successfully acquire a slot. How about it? Trust the words of a professional, and you’ll never go wrong!”
“Professional?” Zhang Xuan’s eyebrows rose. “May I know why you are offering your help to me?”
“It’s simple. If you select the right number, I hope that you can give me ten Divine Coins as a reward for my services. If you don’t select the right number… if the difference is within three numbers, you’ll have to give me one Divine Coin. If the difference is within ten numbers, you’ll have to give me one hundred Semi-Divinity Coins. If the difference is above ten numbers, I’ll pay you one hundred Semi-Divinity Coins!” Yao Shan said confidently.
Hearing these words, Zhang Xuan chuckled softly and asked, “What if the difference is beyond thirty numbers?”
“If the difference is beyond thirty numbers, I’ll pay you a Divine Coin!” Yao Shan replied confidently.
Based on years of studying and analysis, he had already developed a complete system of laws that only he himself understood. Based on how the needle on the roulette wheel spun earlier, he deduced that the number was between one to ten. Even at the very worst, it would not go beyond thirty to forty.
Zhang Xuan blinked contemplatively for a moment before replying, “I think I’ll still go with my seventy-three. You can bet on your thirty-six if you want. As for the wager, why don’t we do this instead? If you get your number right, I’ll pay you two Divine Coins. However, if my number is right, you’ll have to pay me two Divine Coins. How does that sound?”
Yao Shan hesitated a little.
To be honest, Yao Shan did not have absolute confidence in his number. He only appeared confident in order to inspire confidence in him. He had set up the payouts in a manner that favored him, such that as long as he could win the trust of others, the chances were high that he would walk away with a profit. If he somehow got the right number, he would even be able to make a huge killing!
In his view, this was much safer and more lucrative than betting on the roulette wheel directly. In fact, he had earned quite a lot of money through this over the years, and he had managed to buy a residence in a prime location within Twilight City!
2LDK, it had two rooms, a living room, a toilet, and a kitchen.
So, wagering on the numbers directly left him feeling rather iffy, and the stake was a jaw-dropping two Divine Coins at that!
“What if neither of us hit the mark?”
“Hmm. Since I am the one proposing the bet, if neither of us hit the mark, we’ll count it as my loss too. I’ll pay you two Divine Coins,” Zhang Xuan replied with a smile.
“Deal!”
Hearing those words, Yao Shan’s eyes immediately lit up. He quickly headed into the crowd, and a moment later, he brought a young man over. It looked like the young man had listened to his words and bought down number thirty-six.
The discussions continued for ten minutes before all the numbers were finally bought up.
“Now that all of the numbers have been taken, I’ll be removing the formation right now in order to determine the allocation of the slot!” The young man laughed heartily as he tapped his finger on the formation.
Hu!
The veil of mist within the formation gradually dispersed, allowing the results of the spin to unfold right before the eyes of the crowd.
“I hope that you’re ready to pay up,” Yao Shan said with a light chuckle as he looked at Zhang Xuan gleefully.
He did not think that anyone would be so foolish as to make such a skewed bet with him. As long as the needle pointed at any of the ninety-nine numbers other than seventy-three, he would be able to earn two Divine Coins!
Thinking about the small fortune that he was going to earn very soon, he began debating whether he should use it to buy the latest horse carriage model so that he could flaunt it before his friends or spend it at a bar and have a lovely time with a beauty.
At this moment, the results were finally revealed, and the young man at the forefront announced, “The one to acquire the slot is… number seventy-three!”
“Seventy-three?” Yao Shan was stunned by the announcement. He quickly turned to look at the roulette wheel, and the needle had indeed stopped at number seventy-three. It was extremely far from the thirty-six that he had proposed.
“How is this possible? Did we calculate it wrong?”
“Even if one of us made a mistake, there’s no way all of us could have possibly made the same mistake together!”
“I told you that the roulette wheel is completely random, and there’s no way those calculations of yours work, but you just wouldn’t listen!”
…
The results had left the many professional analysts among the crowd stunned.
They swiftly reviewed their calculations, and there were no mistakes at all. So why would the final result end up being so different from their predictions?
“So, the slot goes to… Sun Qiang!”
Paying no heed to the discussions beneath, the young man in charge of the roulette wheel passed a jade token to Sun Qiang.
As Sun Qiang accepted the jade token, he could not help but stare at Zhang Xuan so hard that it looked as if his eyes would fall to the ground at any moment.
Given that so many professional analysts had deduced that the needle would fall between thirty to forty based on their calculations, he had thought that the seventy-three proposed by Zhang Xuan would definitely stand no chance at all. Yet, who would have thought that it was actually right!
“Young Master…” Sun Qiang was in such disbelief that he started to wonder if Zhang Xuan was the real deal.
“It was simply good luck,” Zhang Xuan replied calmly before turning his gaze to Yao Shan. “The results are out. Two Divine Coins.”
“Fine!” With a reddened face, Yao Shan gritted his teeth and passed over two Divine Coins.
Having hung out there for several decades, he could be considered a reputable figure. If he avoided his payment, there was no way he would be able to make a living there anymore.
Soon, the needle on the roulette wheel had begun spinning once more, and it did not take long for the formation to activate and conceal it amid a thick layer of mist.
Having watched the entire process carefully to take careful note of every single detail, Yao Shan turned to Zhang Xuan and asked, “Do you dare bet with me again?”
“Sure!” Zhang Xuan shrugged nonchalantly.
“I’ll bet on fifty-seven and the numbers within a range of ten around it,” Yao Shan said. “Just like before, the wager is two Divine Coins!”
“Fine by me,” Zhang Xuan replied with a smile. He turned to Zhao Ya and said, “Head over there and buy number ninety-five.”
“Yes, Teacher!” Zhao Ya quickly walked up and bought number ninety-five.
Yao Shan also quickly found someone to buy number fifty-seven.
A moment later, the result was out…
Ninety-five!
Yao Shan clutched his hair in a frenzy.
His calculations had turned out to be extremely off the mark both rounds, and in contrast, the other party had actually hit the mark both times! How in the world did the other party manage to do it?
Was the roulette wheel not supposed to have some degree of randomness?
Or was it actually possible to calculate the right number?
With tightly clenched jaws, Yao Shan reluctantly passed another two Divine Coins over to Zhang Xuan.
He was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Having been there for decades, he was able to tell that the other party was a first-timer based on how he acted. This was also why he had approached the other party to make a deal with him, hoping to profit off him. Yet, from the looks of it, it felt like he was the one being baited instead!
He had lost four Divine Coins in the blink of an eye!
More importantly, the other party had even managed to obtain two slots on top of his earnings from him.
“Do you want to continue?” Zhang Xuan asked with a smile as the needle started spinning once more.
He could not help but think that this Yao Shan was a really kind soul. At this rate, he might just be able to walk out of the casino with the slots he required and some extra income.
“No, I’ll pass…” Yao Shan shuddered at the notion of losing another two Divine Coins.
If he continued betting with this young man, he had a feeling that he might just lose the house that he had just bought too. In fact, he felt as if he had just lost a toilet already!
Looking at the young man before him with incredulous eyes, he could not help but wonder…
Was he actually staring at the reincarnation of the God of Gambling?
