Translator: AnubisTL
Meanwhile, Chen Mang and his group, led by Biaozi, had successfully reached the first entertainment city. It was massive, resembling a castle at first glance, with spotlights from the rooftops of surrounding skyscrapers illuminating its surface.
The castle exuded an immediate sense of decadence and luxury.
A large artificial river encircled the castle.
The architectural style wasn't medieval; it was futuristic. Giant billboards displayed photos of nude women, and numerous female robots, all with perfect features and scant clothing, moved provocatively outside the castle.
"Let's go inside and take a look," Chen Mang said.
There were no security guards. He twisted the throttle of his motorcycle and drove toward the entertainment city. Even before reaching the main entrance, he saw numerous slot machines scattered around.
"Does anyone know how to play these?"
"Nope."
Chen Mang didn't linger. He drove straight through the main entrance. He'd never touched a slot machine before, only vaguely understanding the basic rules: pull the lever and win if you get three matching symbols.
This Entertainment City was divided into six floors.
The first floor was immediately filled with hundreds of gambling tables. Each table was attended by a stunning female dealer in a red bikini. At this moment, nearly half of the dealers turned their heads with smiles, gazing at their group.
"Damn..."
Biaozi instinctively took a step back, looking at the scene before him with a sheepish expression. "Sexy? Why does this feel more creepy than alluring?"
"If this fortuitous encounter map hadn't been labeled as an entertainment map, I'd have thought it was some kind of map filled with paranormal entities."
"And where did all these customers even come from?"
The moment they entered the hall, all the female dealers had turned their heads with smiles, creating a truly unsettling atmosphere. Fortunately, it was daytime, and the hall was brightly lit. If it were nighttime, with flickering light bulbs and eerie music playing, their group would have turned and fled without a second thought.
Hundreds of gambling tables filled the hall. More than half were empty, while the remaining tables were crowded with customers. Their eyes were bloodshot, their emotions running high as they slammed Chips onto the tables, the hall echoing with the gamblers' shouts.
"I don't believe it! I'll bet big on the next hand!"
"Hahahaha, it's really big, really big! We've hit the jackpot!"
"If I'd known, I would've bet with you too."
"..."
Chen Mang scanned the gamblers and quickly reached a conclusion: "If I'm not mistaken, these are all shills for the casino, robots designed to create an atmosphere."
"Now that the city is deserted, these shills have resumed their programmed routines after being reactivated."
"But the Virtual Map Chip clearly states that the city's laws forbid robots from fully mimicking humans. They must visibly display their mechanical components."
"Look."
Chen Mang tilted his head towards the casino wall. "What does that sign say?"
"No Smoking, No... No... Dealer-Fucking?"
"Mm."
Chen Mang nodded, pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and exhaled a puff of pale blue smoke. He then pointed towards the gambling table where gamblers' shouts erupted intermittently. "What's going on at that table?"
"Dealer-Fucking?"
There were four or five people at that table. Three gamblers were excitedly raising their hands and shouting, while another, clearly overwhelmed by excitement, stood behind the dealer and pinned her body firmly against the table.
He kept grabbing chips and stuffing them into the dealer's clothes.
The dealer played along perfectly.
If the place were packed, this scene wouldn't have seemed too unusual. It would have actually heightened the customers' excitement. In a frenzied environment, emotions run high, and that naturally leads to bigger bets and quicker losses.
But—
With only shills present, the scene looked rather strange.
"I'll give it a try," Biaozi said, a flicker of suspicion in his eyes. He immediately walked over to the nearest dealer and had just begun to press him against the table when the dealer spoke: "Sir, would you like to play? 100,000 points."
"Alright, old man, just stand still. Don't let your hands shake or your legs wobble."
Biaozi straightened the dealer before returning to Lord Mang's side. "Damn, that's expensive. 100,000 points per round? That's more than those Customs Shops charge!"
"This place is selling emotions," Chen Mang said, rubbing his temples with a headache. "Let's go upstairs and see if there's anything profitable on the second floor. This Mechanical Civilization is pure capitalism—everything costs money."
Just then—
A burly man in a pink tank top, holding a glass of champagne, approached Chen Mang and the others with a friendly smile.
"Oh?"
A flicker of surprise crossed Chen Mang's eyes. These shills were surprisingly intelligent. He wondered if it was a programmed feature, allowing them to interact with customers. The robots he'd encountered in this city were far less intelligent than Xiao Ai, and even less advanced than the ones he'd met in the Sky Piercing Tower's fortuitous encounter map.
They were essentially pre-programmed routines, rigid in their execution. Each robot remained in its designated spot, waiting for customers to enter its service zone before initiating its service program.
This was the first robot he'd encountered that could actively engage with customers.
Although the burly man appeared indistinguishable from a human, only robots could exist in this long-abandoned city.
The man in the pink tank top approached Chen Mang and his companions, raised his hand in a delicate orchid finger gesture, and draped his arm over Biaozi's shoulder. His eyes were glazed with intoxication as he bit his lip suggestively, offering the champagne glass to Biaozi.
"100,000 points. Go lie face down on that table over there."
"Huh?"
Biaozi stared at the burly man before him in disbelief, instinctively wanting to throw a punch. But he quickly remembered that in the mechanical accessory shop, the "Zombie Siege" Virtual Map Chip cost only 50,000 points.
100,000 points could buy two of them.
His eyes slightly reddened, Biaozi gritted his teeth, about to turn and say something to Lord Mang.
But before he could, Lord Mang had already kicked the pink-clad strongman.
Bang.
The pink-clad man, struck squarely in the chest, stumbled backward a few steps, landing heavily on his rear before mumbling a few words and getting up to wander the casino again.
"Grandpa Mang," Biaozi said, "I think you're a bit crazy too."
Chen Mang sighed wearily, patting Biaozi's shoulder. "Next time you encounter something like this, don't hesitate. It's just 100,000 points. I don't want my right-hand man defiled by some pink-clad brute. It would make it hard for me to look you in the eye afterward."
"Come on, let's go to the second floor. At least we've confirmed our suspicions: this fortuitous encounter map does indeed offer opportunities to make money, but we need to dig for them."
"Though if I'd known this would happen, I would have brought a more handsome strongman from among the survivors. And..."
Biaozi glanced back at Biaozi with a strange look.
"You don't look effeminate at all. You're clearly a rough-and-tumble guy. Why would he be interested in you?"
"Maybe it's the beard," Biaozi replied, feigning composure, though his heart was already leaping with joy. This was the first time Lord Mang had called him his confidant. Those two words meant far more than his position as captain of Guard Team One. It seemed Lord Mang had been watching his performance all along!
Confidant, huh?
He'd have to probe Old Pig later and ask if Lord Mang had ever used those words with him.
The Entertainment City was called Sun City.
The second floor housed various shops.
About half of them were open, and they were mostly ordinary establishments like "Leather Goods Shop" and "Clothing Store."
The only thing that stood out was the prices.
"..."
Biaozi stared at the plain short-sleeved shirt in front of him, his eyes wide with disbelief. He turned to the attendant beside him. "How much is this shirt? 880,000?"
"Are you fucking serious?"
The shirt had no price tag. He'd only learned the price after asking.
A flicker of human-like disdain flashed in the service staff's eyes as they pointed at the sun-like logo on the garment. "See this? The brand is Blazing Sun. This is top-tier luxury, understand?"
"Do you even know what top-tier luxury means?"
"Hey!"
Biaozi was momentarily infuriated, but then he chuckled in disbelief, turning to Lord Mang. "Lord Mang, this guy is still mocking me."
"Let's go."
Chen Mang waved his hand dismissively. "Normally, luxury stores train staff to subtly express superiority when dealing with customers who appear poor, to stimulate purchases. But such blatant disdain probably indicates a programming error or a unique cultural trait of the Mechanical Civilization."
"That eyeball, though, is quite impressive. It can actually detect disdainful emotions."
"Too bad this map prohibits attacks. Otherwise, I'd dig it out and bring it back for Xiao Ai. She'd probably love it."
They had already explored the second floor.
Nothing was within their budget.
It was all luxury boutiques.
Even a plain, ordinary comb, simply labeled "handcrafted" and bearing a brand logo, was priced at 1.28 million.
Such an absurd price.
Chen Mang guessed that in the Mechanical Civilization, many goods were mass-produced on "Parts Production Lines," making them identical for everyone. In such a society, handmade goods became a powerful status symbol, and using them was a clear way to display one's identity.
That's quite clever.
Ordinary gamblers who managed to win a little money on the first floor would likely spend it all on the second floor.
Money earned by the wind is often swept away by the wind.
The second floor still offered no real opportunities to make money.
It wasn't until the third floor that things changed dramatically.
The space opened up to reveal a variety of small games, similar to the carnival booth games he'd encountered before—ring toss, balloon darts, and so on—but presented with a more upscale aesthetic.
Each booth was staffed by a beautiful woman in a bikini, and the hall pulsed with rhythmic music.
Since ancient times, only three things have consistently stirred human emotions: sex, violence, and death. These emotions are often conveyed through words, audio, and visual experiences, with the latter two being the most direct and visceral.
Clearly, this "Entertainment City" had gone all out to maximize its guests' excitement. Bikini-clad beauties were everywhere, seemingly free of charge, using visual stimulation and music to constantly push people's emotions to a fever pitch.
A subtle fragrance permeated the air.
The Oxygen Machine in Chen Mang's train was always on, so he could clearly feel the abundance of oxygen in the hall, constantly maintaining a high-oxygen state. These factors, combined with the surging crowds and the oppressive heat, made this place a potent catalyst for human emotions.
Simply stepping inside was enough to fully ignite one's passions. Even a monk who had eaten only vegetarian food for ten years would find himself clasping his hands together and muttering, "Meat and wine pass through the gut, but the Buddha remains in the heart."
Chen Mang glanced around, then leaned on his cane and walked toward the first stall game. He felt little excitement, not because he was a Sage, but because he had visited such places too many times in his previous life. He had already indulged in all the thrills, experiences, and excesses he could handle.
With his threshold for excitement infinitely raised, returning to such a place now left him largely unmoved. Especially since they were the only ones here, the atmosphere lacked the necessary frenzy.
If a young man had been here instead, he would already be flushed and flustered.
Like Li Shiji.
Chen Mang stood at the first stall, turned to speak to Li Shiji, and saw him standing rooted to the spot, his face red with embarrassment, his breathing slightly quickened as he stared at a bikini-clad beauty.
"Sigh."
After a soft sigh, Chen Mang turned to Biaozi beside him. "Bring that guy over here. And I have another mission for you: after we return to the train, take him out and show him a good time."
"A man who can't walk straight when he sees a woman... will never achieve greatness."
"It's only natural," Biaozi said. "It's against human nature to expect a man to remain calm in the face of female beauty."
There are only two solutions:
Get tired of it.
Get impotent.
"Understood!"
"Lord Mang."
Li Shiji, quickly dragged over, stood awkwardly beside Biaozi. Just as he was about to speak, Chen Mang cut him off.
"All virgins are like this. It's perfectly normal. Now, take a look at the game rules. Think you can handle it?"
Li Shiji blinked, then carefully examined the rules displayed on the screen in front of the stall.
Sun Entertainment City Minigame
Game Name: Quick Eyes, Quick Mind
Rules: Minimum bet: 1,000 Chips. Maximum bet: 10,000 Chips. You will be shown a 3D image of a cube containing 18 golf balls for three seconds.
You must memorize the arrangement of the golf balls.
After the screen goes dark, arrange the golf balls on the table in the exact order they appeared on the screen, placing them back into the cube.
If you arrange all the golf balls correctly, you will receive double your bet back.
If you make any mistakes, you will lose your entire bet.
During the arrangement phase, no one other than the contestant is allowed to offer verbal assistance. Doing so will result in immediate disqualification.
(End of the Chapter)
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