Chapter 525 - 'SPECIAL GAMBLING EVENT'
LAN YU was led by an NPC to the fourth floor of the pavilion. He actually had never been in this place. He was actually not interested in ever going to such an establishment. He only tried going here once. And that's during the opening night. Even then, that was only because he heard that the place would be inviting a lot of famous players.
He thought that he might be able to see Li Xu Min if he went. But sadly, one couldn't go if they're not invited. And because he's not exactly a famous player back then, he didn't receive any.
But that must be a blessing in disguise because Li Xu Min didn't even go. The one who went from Celestials were that bitch, Song Liuli, and that other guy he couldn't be bothered to remember the name.
He actually didn't like this kind of establishment. Even if it was all just virtual reality, it's still disgusting. People who went here clearly only did it so they could have beautiful NPCs pander to them. Which was worse because they're not even real. He truly wondered what kind of kick those players get when some NPC served them or something?
That's why it's quite ironic that he was actually here, hoping once again to meet Li Xu Min. But it was what it was. If he could meet him, then he was even willing to crawl out of a sewer.
The NPC leading him stopped in front of a double door with an ancient design. Then she turned to him and a domino mask appeared on her palm. "Master, please wear this mask before you enter."
Lan Yu picked up the domino mask. "Does everyone who enter this room have to wear a mask?"
"Yes. It's one of the requirements to enter our pavilion's gambling den. It's so that guests who don't want their identity to be known by others can have privacy and play to their hearts' content without any worries," the NPC explained in detail.
Well, he could understand that reasoning. Some people who had an addiction to gambling but didn't want others to know would definitely approved of that rule. He no longer asked and just wore the domino mask.
The NPC opened the door for him and gestured for him to enter. When he walked inside, the door behind him closed. He was a bit confused. Because he thought that the NPC would continue to lead him inside.
"Dear guest, are you here for the special gambling event?" suddenly said by a voice on his side.
Lan Yu turned to the direction of the voice but he didn't see anyone. But when he gazed down, he saw a male gnome. His fringe was covering his eyes and a veil was covering the lower part of his face. He was wearing a robe that had a similar design with what the other NPCs in this place were wearing. And based on the way he spoke earlier, it was a safe guess that the other was an NPC.
But seriously, why didn't the NPCs here have names above their head just like other NPCs in businesses in this game. He snorted. That's probably the company's strategy to make the players who go to this place have the illusion that the NPC serving them were not Ais but real people. Disgusting.
"Yes," he simply answered.
"Follow me, please," the gnome NPC said and started walking.
Lan Yu followed. They walked through a narrow and dark corridor. The glow from the lamp lights were very soft that it almost seemed like they were floating. The nearer they were on the exit, the louder the noise he'd been hearing.
When they exited, he squinted his eyes because of the sudden light. After his eyes got used to the light, he was a bit surprised at what appeared in front of him. It's like he was suddenly transported to a high-end casino.
He didn't know much about gambling. So, he couldn't recognize some of the things here. But he could see gambling tables surrounded by players wearing domino masks.
He wasn't sure if there were famous players here because of those masks. But he was not worried that he wouldn't be able to recognize Li Xu Min among these people. Even with just the lower half of his face visible, Lan Yu was confident that he could recognize him anywhere.
He took back his gaze and continued to follow the gnome NPC. He stopped in front of another door.
"Here, dear guest," the gnome said, giving him some kind of scroll.
"What shall I do with this?" he asked, picking up the scroll, thinking that it looked like some kind of teleportation scroll.
"Please, tear it the moment you stepped inside. If not, then your qualification to participate in the event will be null and void."
Before he could answer to that, the door in front of them had already opened. He had no time to think more and just stepped inside. There was no light. All he could see was darkness. He felt a bit suffocated. So, he just tore the scroll he was holding on instinct.
Then he felt the usual feeling whenever he teleported to some place in this game. He closed his eyes like he always did whenever that happened. Because he seriously didn't like the feeling of teleporting.
But as he was being transported to god knows where, he started to feel suspicious. Because why the hell was he needed to be teleported somewhere for this 'special gambling event'?
Before Lan Yu could think of an answer to that, he already arrived at his destination. It was inside a small pavilion floating at the middle of a lake. He saw the main building of Yuexing Pavilion at some distance. Which meant that he was still in the vicinity of that property. The suspicion he just felt slowly subsided.
And then he realized that he was not alone inside the pavilion. There was another man there. He had black hair and a pair of cold blue eyes. He wasn't wearing a domino mask but the lower half of his face was covered by a black mask.
"Are you also here for the special gambling event?" he thought of asking.
The other didn't answer. He didn't even look at his direction.
Lan Yu felt annoyed. He wanted to say something scathing, but before he could, two other people suddenly appeared.
He turned to the newcomers and completely froze.