Chapter 628: Charging the Formation

"That's easy," said Di Hou, a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth, looking utterly indifferent. "You can start with some pinball machines or slot machines. Once the customers start arriving, you can open a table for gambling. Mahjong, Pai Gow, dice—whatever games you want to play. The shop just provides the equipment and doesn't interfere with the proceedings."

"What the...?" Xiao Cheng was stunned. "So your setup is just for 'participants' to gamble against each other?"

"You could also choose to gamble with me," Di Hou replied coolly. "But I play for high stakes, and you might not be able to handle it."

"You..."

Xiao Cheng knew full well that Di Hou had been running this place for years, making him a seasoned gambler. Challenging him directly could lead to a complete loss.

"Tian Tian..." Xiao Cheng turned and said, "We probably need to discuss this with you two."

"We both have the 'Echo'," Tian Tian said. "Rather than dying at any moment over the next few days, it's better to go out with some meaning now."

Zheng Yingxiong nodded after hearing this. "And besides, we might not die."

Xiao Cheng pondered for a few seconds, then decided not to hesitate any longer. He nodded and counted out six "Dao" to hand over to Di Hou.

Di Hou accepted them without a second thought and said, "You're in luck, folks. The original ticket price is four 'Dao', but since you're new faces, I'll give you a discount and take just two."

"Don't lie," Xiao Cheng retorted with a frown. "It says right on your wall that the entry ticket is two 'Dao'."

"Oh? Is that right?" Di Hou nodded. "Well, no way around it. Please forgive me, gentlemen. A casino boss can't stay in business if he doesn't bend the truth a little."

The three of them stopped talking to Di Hou and turned to enter the casino.

Inside, there were indeed some machines for solo play. If they were lucky, they could win a few more "Dao" before the other participants arrived.

Xiao Cheng thought for a moment, then rummaged through his bag and pulled out three "Dao" to hand to Tian Tian.

After Tian Tian took the "Dao" with a puzzled expression, she saw Xiao Cheng hand another three "Dao" to Zheng Yingxiong.

"We each get three," Xiao Cheng said. "Let's split up and play. I see those solo machines are all luck-based games. It doesn't make sense for just me to play them. If the three of us go separately, our chances of winning 'Dao' will be higher."

"But will that work?" Tian Tian asked with some worry. "I'm clueless about these things..."

"I'm not much better than you," Xiao Cheng said, shaking his head. "We'll just rely on luck."

Zheng Yingxiong looked down at the three "Dao" in his hand, his expression one of surprised delight.

"But I probably can't..." he said in his childish voice. "These things... I don't know..."

"We're a team, little brother," Xiao Cheng said, reaching out to pat Zheng Yingxiong's head. "This is a 'Di Ji Game', and you can participate too."

After hearing this, Zheng Yingxiong looked up at Xiao Cheng with a very serious expression. "Can I really?"

"Why do you always ask if you 'can'?" Xiao Cheng asked, puzzled. "Didn't we already agree when we brought you here?"

"But... I mean, I've never participated in a game before..." Zheng Yingxiong said quietly. "Just being able to join you two in the game these past couple of days has made me really happy."

"You've never... participated in a game?"

Xiao Cheng and Tian Tian exchanged glances, finding it hard to understand.

His memories seemed to span a long time, yet he had never taken part in a game?

"It's okay..." Xiao Cheng thought for a moment and said. "Whether you've participated before or not, we're all in this together now, so you can do anything you want."

Zheng Yingxiong clutched the three "Dao" tightly in his hand and nodded earnestly.

After deciding on a few nearby machines, the three of them split up and went their separate ways.

Xiao Cheng walked for a while and came to a "Tui Bi Ji".

More accurately, it was like a "Tui Dao Ji".

The machine was packed full of "Dao", round and piled up, looking as if they were about to spill out from the outlet, which was very tempting.

There was an input slot at the top where you could drop in the "Dao" from your hand.

Xiao Cheng had played "Tui Bi Ji" in arcades before. These machines weren't really about luck; they required "capital".

If you only had two or three coins, playing this was like drawing water with a bamboo basket. But if you had two or three hundred coins, the machine could potentially create even greater wealth for you.

Xiao Cheng thought it over and decided to move on.

Even though those "Dao" looked ready to fall, "Dao" could stack up, and if he didn't time his inputs right, he might lose all his chips in just ten seconds.

After walking a bit further, he saw a long table.

At the end of the table, there were six small holes arranged in a triangle: one at the top, two in the second row, and three in the third row.

The top hole was very small, about the size of a "Dao", and labeled "Eight Times Da Jiangjun".

The two holes in the second row were a bit larger, labeled "Three Times Zuo You Xianfeng".

The three holes in the third row were the largest, labeled "Two Times Bu Zu".

On the side of the rectangular table closest to Xiao Cheng, there was a spring-loaded cylindrical launcher, just right for placing a "Dao" in it, and it was labeled "Chong Zhen".

The distance between the launcher and the holes was over three meters, adding some unpredictability.

This machine seemed to treat "Dao" as a soldier charging into battle. If it made it into the "Eight Times Da Jiangjun" hole, it meant the charger had slain the enemy general, earning an eightfold reward—one "Dao" turning into eight.

Overall, the machine didn't seem too difficult and involved some skill, not just pure luck.

However, the "Da Jiangjun" was surrounded by its own "soldiers"—not only the first row of "Bu Zu", but also the second row of "Zuo You Xianfeng".

These holes were fairly large, so winning the eightfold reward would be tough.

Glancing around, Xiao Cheng saw that on both sides of the table, there were indentations filled with "Dao" from failed attempts. These fallen soldiers lay quietly there, like lifeless bodies on the battlefield.

Xiao Cheng thought it over and finally decided to use this game to test the overall difficulty of the "Di Hou Game".

If he kept being overly cautious, he wouldn't just fail to win any "Dao"—when the other participants arrived, he might not even have the stakes for a proper gamble.

He took out one "Dao", placed it in the launcher, and then pressed the switch with a serious expression.