Eldritch Horror Theatre

”I can tell you two aren’t ordinary people.”

Moglin, however, was a veteran of the gambling tables, his nerves tempered to be as tough as old leather.

Facing an interrogation duo who had skipped straight to the second phase, he remained completely unfazed.

”But unfortunately, even transcendents have to play by my rules.”

”Where you are right now is, in some respects, the strictest place in the world. I’ve taught your self-righteous kind a lesson at the tables more than once. Honestly, it’s quite an amusing feeling.”

”Of course, you can try to use your specialties for a dimensional strike, but you’d better make sure I don’t remember a thing afterward. Otherwise, I’ll definitely make you realize you’ve made a stupid choice.”

”Are you done?”

Sitting in front of Yuan Shan, Fu Qian nodded frequently as he listened to Moglin’s grandstanding. He only spoke when the man finally paused.

”If you’re done, you can give me a convincing reason—”

Moglin’s words came to an abrupt halt as he felt something pressing against his waist.Once he realized what it might be, a subtle metallic click followed, stiffening his body even further.

”Unfortunately, our way of being unordinary might differ a little from what you expected.”

Fu Qian’s smile didn’t waver. He even leaned in to whisper in Moglin’s ear, looking for all the world like two acquaintances sharing a secret.

”In light of this new development, why don’t you try adjusting your strategy?”

His tone was unhurried, even giving the man time to think.

”You’re bluffing! Bringing weapons in here is strictly prohibited. If you’re caught, you’ll be in unimaginable trouble.”

Moglin had clearly lost his initial composure, but after his eyes darted around for a moment, he still chose to call the bluff.

Unfortunately, before he could even finish speaking, he caught a glimpse of a sexy, silvery-white curve from the corner of his eye.

”Do you want to bet on whether it’s empty, or if I don’t dare to shoot?”

After this little display of firepower, Fu Qian offered another suggestion.

This time, Moglin didn’t take the bet.

As a gambler, his judgment of limits remained quite sharp even away from the tables.

For one thing, he had genuinely misjudged them. These two weren’t transcendents; they were outlaws. In this scenario, certain threats actually lost their effect on them.

At the same time, just as he had said, the casino’s security checks were incredibly strict. The consequences for sneaking a weapon inside were severe, meaning ordinary outlaws wouldn’t attempt such a thing.

But that also meant anyone who actually dared to do it was a desperate lunatic. Betting that this guy wouldn’t dare kill him was more than a little irrational.

”I apologize for my rudeness earlier. Please, ask whatever you need to.”

With Mercy acting as a deterrent, Moglin’s internal struggle resolved itself quickly. After a brief flicker in his eyes, he admitted defeat on the spot.

”Ms. Yuan Shan, please allow me to buy you both a drink over there. It’s not very convenient to talk here.”

”You’re too kind, Mr. Moglin.”

Yuan Shan finally pulled her gaze away from Mercy, accepting the suggestion with a smile.

...

”Did you two want to ask about Midas?”

Taking a seat beside Fu Qian and Yuan Shan, Moglin displayed a rather enthusiastic attitude, speaking up before either of them could.

”Yes. How did you know?”

Seeing that Fu Qian had little desire to talk, merely putting his gun away and sitting to the side like a cold-blooded enforcer, Yuan Shan sighed inwardly and decisively took over the interrogation.

”Because recently, almost everyone who approaches me has asked that very question.”

With Yuan Shan willing to converse, Moglin secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Who conducted the questioning often signaled their stance. Given the choice, he absolutely did not want to deal with the lunatic with the gun.

”So you’ve actually had contact with this Midas?”

Yuan Shan nodded, continuing her questioning expressionlessly.

”I have. Though of course, I haven’t told the truth to everyone who comes asking.”

Moglin tried his best to show his sincerity.

”About a month ago, I happened to notice this absurdly lucky man.”

”You know how casinos always have people with baffling streaks of good fortune. I was having a terrible run of luck at the time, so I thought about borrowing some of his and quietly followed him.”

”I didn’t expect him to be so sharp, though. He spotted me immediately.”

”But he was incredibly generous. Not only did he not mind, he even split his chips with me.”

”After that, I experienced the most magical day I’ve had in years, solving all my troubles in one fell swoop.”

”I can tell.”

Yuan Shan eyed the large stack of chips Moglin hadn’t forgotten to bring along.

”So what did this man look like?”

”Around my age, a bit taller, wavy brown hair, pretty ordinary-looking. Um... he wore a golden glove on his right hand. I never saw him take it off the entire time.”

Moglin tried hard to recall.

’Midas Golden Hand?’

Listening from the side, Fu Qian also fell into thought, mentally picturing the mysterious figure.

”Did he ask anything of you after being so generous?”

Seeing that Fu Qian still wasn’t going to speak, Yuan Shan didn’t hold back and pressed on.

”No, absolutely nothing.”

Moglin shook his head firmly.

”He barely spoke to me the whole time. In the end, when I offered to repay him, he even turned me down.”

The more she heard, the more legendary it sounded!

Yuan Shan pondered for a moment.

”Have you seen him again since?”

”No, but I’ve heard some things about him. It’s obvious someone else became the next lucky winner, and all the casinos have made him highly unwelcome.”

”I can imagine. Do you know where to find him?”

”I really can’t help you there. He doesn’t seem to have any preference when picking casinos, and I haven’t heard of him showing up at any entertainment venues.”

Moglin’s tone was sincere, utterly apologetic for his inability to assist.

Yet right after, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the lunatic had pulled out the silver-white revolver again. His fingers expertly spun the weapon, the muzzle swaying toward them in a heart-stopping display.

”...But as far as I know, the last person he helped was someone named Alan. That should’ve been about a week ago.”

”Whenever that guy Alan has a bit of cash, he loves heading to a certain strip club. You could go look for him there.”

Faced with the oppressive threat of Paradise flashing before his eyes, Moglin’s initiative was swiftly ignited. He quickly offered a suggestion and rattled off the name of a strip club.

’Alan, huh...’

In Yuan Shan’s judgment, the chances of this guy lying were quite low. Scaring him any further probably wouldn’t yield any more valuable information.

But when she glanced at Fu Qian, she saw him frowning deeply, even flicking the cylinder with one hand. It seemed he wasn’t quite ready to let the man in front of them go just yet.