WTYTIAAN Chapter 83

Chapter 83

Mia was very worried, “Xiao Ai… did something happen?”

Xiao Ai slightly turned her head away, not letting Mia see the fear on her face. She tried her best to remain calm, “It’s really nothing, they need me over there. You help Jenny with her medicine first, I’ll be back soon.”

Xiao Ai got up, her hand trembling slightly as she opened the door. She took a deep breath, suppressed the panic in her heart, and walked out.

She didn’t know why a customer would choose her. Her appearance was the most ordinary among all the ‘Per’, her words weren’t sweet, and her personality wasn’t pleasing. Although she was the oldest of the children, customers rarely chose her.

Originally, Xiao Ai wasn’t that afraid of this kind of thing. The people who came here were all regulars, and she had already learned many ways to deal with customers from the older ‘Maner’. She was able to live well in Mantiper, and even get extra tips to bring back to Nika and the others to support the younger siblings.

But since Mantiper announced the ‘Golden Hand’ competition, there were more and more customers in Mantiper, and the situation for both ‘Maner’ and ‘Per’ became difficult.

Nana was the most beautiful among them, and unsurprisingly, she was noticed. They thought they could temporarily escape by fooling the customers as before, but they didn’t expect Nana to end up…

Jenny was frightened by Nana’s situation. Today, she was also bought for time by a high-end customer. Jenny refused the customer, but was beaten like this by Mantiper’s Hooded People…

Mantiper had a rule for ‘Maner’ and ‘Per’: they must not refuse customers who paid to buy their time, no matter what. Jenny was too afraid because of Nana’s matter, so she violated the rule and was left with a body full of injuries.

Xiao Ai was also feeling fear and dread now, but she had no choice. Jenny had already demonstrated in advance what would happen to a ‘Per’ who had thoughts of resistance – a tragic end.

In comparison, going to the customer’s side might offer a glimmer of hope. If she could meet a kind-hearted customer, maybe she could get enough tips from them to have someone bring medicine to Nika and the others to treat Jenny…

From receiving the message to making the decision took only a few seconds, but Xiao Ai took twice as long as usual on the way to the customer.

Would there really be kind-hearted customers coming to Mantiper…?

How would kind-hearted customers buy a ‘Per’s’ time?

No matter how much Xiao Ai delayed her steps, the door to the Beginners’ Venue still appeared before her eyes. She closed her eyes, her neatly trimmed nails digging deeply into her palm, leaving a few crescent-shaped marks tinged with blood.

She reached out and aligned the bracelet with the induction device at the Beginners’ Venue door.

“Ding–”

The employee entrance to the Beginners’ Venue opened.

Xiao Ai gently pushed open that door of the unknown.

*

Yan Yunqing found a corner.

Putting everything else aside, the buffet set up by Mantiper in the corner was actually very delicious. At a glance, it was dazzling, full of high-end ingredients. Eating a meal outside would probably cost hundreds of gold coins.

It was just that very few of the customers who came here would come to the corner to taste these delicious dishes. After all, there were no poor people who could come here. With their assets, it wasn’t difficult to eat some high-end ingredients.

In addition, apart from Yan Yunqing, other customers seemed to have a gambling fever.

Yan Yunqing was eating a lamb chop while sizing up this dazzling casino. From the moment he came in, he always felt that there was something wrong with this prosperous casino, but after a closer look, he couldn’t find anything wrong.

The customers at each table were similar, with many getting rich overnight and many losing their fortunes overnight. There were also many who were consumed by gambling fever, but very few were dragged away by the Hooded People.

Yan Yunqing glanced at his status bar and confirmed that there were no debuffs. He could only attribute this uneasiness to the fact that he thought there was something wrong with this place from the beginning. It was just that he was prejudiced, so he felt that everything was wrong.

Roco was given a plate of cupcakes by Yan Yunqing. He sat on the sofa, eating while observing his surroundings. He originally wanted to find Xiao Ai, but when his gaze touched a machine similar to a slot machine closest to them, he couldn’t take his eyes off it.

Yan Yunqing didn’t care at first. After all, this machine was flashy. If three identical patterns matched, it would emit a burst of cheerful music and then spit out a pile of gold coins. It was normal for a child to be interested in this kind of thing.

However, trying it out was one thing, but this thing was addictive.

He poured himself a glass of juice and glanced casually. He paused when he saw the [Shallow Hypnosis] debuff in Roco’s status bar.

Shallow Hypnosis?

Yan Yunqing frowned and carefully observed Roco’s expression. He found that his gaze was always focused on that machine, and his original action of eating cupcakes had stopped. He was fascinated as he watched the machine operate under the control of the gamblers.

Yan Yunqing suspected that if he had money, Roco would probably have gone up to play.

He clicked his tongue and cursed, “I knew there was something wrong here, there really is a problem.”

Yan Yunqing reached out and covered Roco’s eyes. Roco subconsciously wanted to struggle. Yan Yunqing whispered an Ice Curse and attached a layer of frost to his other hand, directly pressing it on Roco’s exposed nape.

Yan Yunqing said in a low voice, “Wake up.”

Roco was jolted by the sudden coldness, shivering all over, and finally came back to his senses, “Brother?”

Yan Yunqing saw that the [Shallow Hypnosis] in Roco’s status bar was physically interrupted by him. He still didn’t let go of the hands covering Roco’s eyes. He didn’t say it out loud, but informed Roco through the chat system.

[HiAn (Private)] Don’t look, you’ve been hypnotized. Do you remember what you were thinking just now?

Roco panicked, opened his mouth, and then realized. He quickly used the same method to answer Yan Yunqing.

[Roco (Private)] I was hypnotized? I don’t know anything. I was just looking at that thing and I found it very interesting and I couldn’t help but take a second glance.

[Roco (Private)] Then… then I thought the person operating that thing was so stupid. If it were me, I could definitely make that thing spit out gold coins.

Seeming to realize something was wrong from his own words, Roco clenched his fingers.

[Roco (Private)] That’s not right, I’ve never had so much money before, and I wouldn’t think of that. Instead of trying that thing, I should be thinking about how much money is in that person’s money bag, and whether I can try to steal it.

Yan Yunqing sighed: Sure enough, he was hypnotized, but kid, are you too honest? You want to steal from a rich person as soon as you see them? Are you the real phantom thief?

[HiAn (Private)] It’s weird that I’m always covering your eyes. Do as I say next. I’ll let go of the hands covering your eyes, and you have to control yourself and not look at those machines again. Always tell yourself what you came here for.

Roco nodded almost imperceptibly, “Understood.”

Yan Yunqing tried to loosen Roco’s eyes a little, always paying attention to his status bar. Seeing that the [Shallow Hypnosis] didn’t appear again, Yan Yunqing slowly breathed a sigh of relief.

Roco opened his eyes a little, controlling the direction of his gaze. It was best not to look at the gambling tables, so he could only widen his eyes and scan the surrounding dishes, and observe the passing waiters.

Luckily, luckily, the hypnosis condition wasn’t so easily achieved if he didn’t look at it.

Roco’s will was still relatively low, and he was too easily influenced by these things. People with high will like Yan Yunqing were not afraid of this kind of sneaky mental state skill.

But looking at it this way, the gamblers around who were consumed by gambling fever were not entirely because of their lack of self-control, but because this Mantiper was filled with things that could directly affect the mind.

It was just that Yan Yunqing had not yet figured out what this thing was.

“Brother!” Roco suddenly called him.

Yan Yunqing came back to his senses, thinking that Roco was affected again, and prepared to use the same trick again. He then discovered that Roco’s eyes had some excitement that he couldn’t hide.

[Roco (Private)] It’s Xiao Ai!

Yan Yunqing looked in the direction Roco indicated, and saw a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl in a black and white uniform walking over slowly. She always kept her head down, and the hair on both sides covered her face. Yan Yunqing couldn’t see her expression at the moment.

[Roco (Private)] She is Xiao Ai! Brother, let’s go ask her questions now!

[Yan Yunqing (Private)] Don’t worry.

Roco was very obedient. Although he was very excited to find their target, he still restrained his urge to jump up and recognize Xiao Ai. He sat obediently on the sofa, but he really wasn’t in the mood to eat that cupcake.

Xiao Ai came to the lounge in the Beginners’ Venue according to the location indicated by the bracelet. She just raised her head, preparing to look around for the customer who bought her time, and saw that there were only two people sitting in the lounge.

One was a child who was younger than her, dressed like a young noble master, and the other was a handsome man with red eyes and messy black hair. He was sitting lazily, playing with a silver fork in his hand. It was clearly a very simple movement, but Xiao Ai saw an elegance of calmness and confidence.

Xiao Ai was stunned. She had never seen such a person in the Beginners’ Venue. He exuded an undeniable nobility, unlike those gamblers she had seen before. Even the most rational people, when they entered this hall, would become crazy, and their eyes could only see countless chips and gold coins.

She paused, and her heart unexpectedly calmed down. Such a noble customer shouldn’t be too brutal. Perhaps her previous fantasy had come true, and she could really meet a kind-hearted customer.

Xiao Ai stepped forward and whispered, “HiAn, Master.”

Yan Yunqing almost choked when he heard this. Hearing this title, he almost thought that Xiao Ai knew him. When he heard “Master” later, Yan Yunqing knew that he had misunderstood.

This HiAn was just simply saying hello.

Indeed, this Mantiper underground casino didn’t see the sun. There wasn’t even a clock in the entire hall. It was easy to be confused about the time in it. At this time, it was naturally impossible to greet good morning or good night.

Thinking of this, Yan Yunqing keenly realized the impact that the confusion of time might bring, and couldn’t help but become more vigilant towards this Mantiper.

A person has limited energy in a day and needs to replenish it through sleep. People who were originally addicted to gambling would make mistakes in their control of time. In addition, there were no clocks here to remind them. The gamblers kept betting, losing money, winning money…

In this process, energy was constantly being consumed. Gamblers who didn’t realize that they should rest were in worse and worse condition, and their will would also decrease, making them easily influenced by the things in this hall that could confuse people.

It really was one link after another.

Yan Yunqing couldn’t help but sigh.

He met Xiao Ai’s gaze and beckoned to her, “Come here.”

Xiao Ai obediently approached. Yan Yunqing pointed to Roco next to him, “I didn’t buy you for anything else. My brother came in with me. He’s always bothering me, so I bought someone to play with him.”

Xiao Ai was stunned. She looked in the direction Yan Yunqing was pointing. This was the strangest request she had ever heard since entering Mantiper. Someone actually brought a younger brother into Mantiper, and even bought a ‘Per’ to play with him for his brother?

The young noble master sitting next to the noble customer looked a few years younger than her. Those things that Xiao Ai had feared would happen were simply impossible to happen. Xiao Ai breathed a long sigh of relief when she realized this. If that was the case, then that would be great.

It’s just, why did she feel that this young master was a little familiar?

Xiao Ai blinked, but she didn’t continue to stare at the other party rudely. Instead, she lowered her head and obediently responded, “Okay, Master.”

Yan Yunqing waved his hand, “Don’t call me Master, call me Brother like my brother.”

“Yes, Brother.” Xiao Ai was very obedient. Meeting such a friendly customer was simply more unreal than what she had imagined before. She lowered her head, walked to the side of the young master, and bent down, using the voice she used to coax those younger siblings, and whispered, “Hello, you can call me Ella. I will accompany you from now on.”

Yan Yunqing gave Roco a look. Roco, who had been suppressing his excited mood for a long time, immediately pulled Xiao Ai to sit down beside him. Relying on his appearance as a child, Roco directly approached Xiao Ai’s ear and whispered, “Xiao Ai!”

Xiao Ai was shocked. This wasn’t her name on the register. Those who called her Xiao Ai were those children who entered Mantiper with her, and the partners who also belonged to the children’s group outside.

She suddenly raised her eyes, stared at the young boy in front of her, looked at him fixedly for two seconds, then moved her gaze away, and quickly glanced around, making sure that there were no Hooded People guarding nearby. Only then did she lower her voice and ask with suspicion, “Roco? Is that you?”

Roco had undergone a major change. His originally messy hair had become neat and obedient, and his ragged, dirty, and old clothes had also been replaced with expensive fabrics that only young noble masters could afford. He was sitting there with no difference from a real young noble master. Even if his appearance hadn’t changed, Xiao Ai wouldn’t dare to recognize him.

It was just that Roco called out Xiao Ai’s name first, which was how she confirmed Roco’s identity. But she still couldn’t believe it.

Roco’s parents… Xiao Ai also knew about them. His parents were both mercenaries, but they weren’t a couple, just a casual fling. Not long after Roco was born, his parents abandoned him, and Jeff picked him up.

Xiao Ai’s gaze involuntarily drifted to Yan Yunqing, who was sitting on the other side.

No matter what, Roco couldn’t possibly be the younger brother of such a noble customer!

Could she have mistaken him for someone else?

Just as Xiao Ai began to doubt, Roco simply and neatly admitted, “It’s me. Can you take my brother and me to a place where we can rest? I want to chat with you.”

This was what Yan Yunqing taught Roco to say. There were too many strange things in this hall. Yan Yunqing was really worried about talking about their plan here. Although he was always paying attention to whether there was anyone eavesdropping nearby, he was still worried about eavesdropping behind the wall.

Xiao Ai quickly observed Roco’s expression, confirmed that Roco was the Roco she knew, and gently nodded, “Customer, if you need a quiet space to rest, Mantiper also provides rooms.”

She lowered her head slightly, her cheeks flushed. Anyone who saw her would definitely think that Yan Yunqing must have said something to her.

“It’s just that it takes a certain amount of gold coins to enter.”

If Xiao Ai hadn’t blinked at him the moment she lowered her head, Yan Yunqing would have suspected that Xiao Ai was thinking of a way to take money from his pocket like that Fox-Eared boy.

He was very straightforward, “Sure, it’s just a little money.”

Seeing this, Xiao Ai didn’t have too many concerns. She directly operated the bracelet on her wrist. Yan Yunqing didn’t understand how she did it. After a while, Xiao Ai nodded, “Please follow me.”

As she spoke, Xiao Ai got up and led Yan Yunqing and Roco to a screen behind which two Hooded People were guarding. Seeing the combination of Xiao Ai, Yan Yunqing, and Roco, they didn’t have any surprised emotions, and guarded there without looking sideways.

Xiao Ai raised her wrist and scanned the device in front of the door. She said to Yan Yunqing, “Customer, please show your bracelet here. Next, I will take you to the lounge you booked.”

Yan Yunqing learned from Xiao Ai’s appearance, raised his hand and placed it on the device. Roco did the same. After all three of them had scanned, the device made a ‘beep’ sound, and the door guarded by the two Hooded People slowly opened, revealing a magic compartment inside.

Which was an elevator in another world.

Yan Yunqing walked into it, and the Hooded People didn’t react at all, still standing there straight.

The elevator door slowly closed, and the space fell into silence. Xiao Ai unconsciously glanced at Yan Yunqing, thinking about what Roco was bringing this person in to find her for?

Could it be that this was the method that Nika thought of to rescue Nana?

Xiao Ai pursed her lips, retracted her gaze, and continued to stare silently at the tips of her shoes.

Yan Yunqing could feel that he was slowly descending. It wasn’t long before the elevator door opened, revealing one room door after another, with numbers marked on them. It looked a bit like a hotel model.

Xiao Ai led them to a door and motioned for Yan Yunqing to use the bracelet to open the door. Yan Yunqing did as he was told, and the door was opened, revealing an interior that was no different from a hotel.

The only difference might be that the rooms here were more luxurious, but they were still not as exquisite and luxurious as the hotel opened by the Augreir Family in Bato Vita that he had stayed in before.

Xiao Ai gently closed the door, breathed a sigh of relief, and was about to turn around and ask Roco what he wanted to say, when she was stopped by Yan Yunqing.

Yan Yunqing walked all over the room, throwing [Appraisal] everywhere, confirming that there were no listening devices in the entire room. He shook the bracelet in his hand at Xiao Ai and mouthed: Can this eavesdrop?

Xiao Ai understood, and gently shook her head: The customer’s bracelet only has the function of locating and scanning various channels.

Yan Yunqing confirmed that what he saw when he threw his [Appraisal] was the same as what Xiao Ai said, and only then did he completely relax.

“Okay, now you can talk.”

Roco jumped up and grabbed Xiao Ai’s hand, “Is Nana still okay? Why haven’t you come out all this time? We all thought something happened to you!”

“Because we were discovered for sneaking out to ask Jeff for help before, so we were all strictly guarded. Mantiper won’t let us go out for the time being.” Xiao Ai gently shook her head, answering Roco’s question, “The other children are basically fine, I don’t know Nana’s situation either. She hasn’t come out for a long time, and there’s Jenny…”

Xiao Ai’s expression was worried, “She was afraid because of Nana’s matter, and touched the rules. She was punished just now, and her injuries are very serious now. We don’t have enough medicine either…”

Xiao Ai thought of something, and also held Roco’s hand back, “Is Jeff’s situation still okay? What about the children outside? Did Nika let you in to say something to us?”

Roco looked at Yan Yunqing, and narrated to Xiao Ai how they met Yan Yunqing, how Yan Yunqing saved Nika and Jeff, and the agreement between Nika and Yan Yunqing.

His logic was clear, with no extra emotional descriptions, so Xiao Ai could understand what happened after listening. She glanced at Yan Yunqing in surprise, completely unable to imagine that so many things had happened outside in just a few days.

But she also confirmed that this black-haired, red-eyed man was the person Nika and Jeff had found to help them.

Xiao Ai never questioned the decisions made by Nika and Jeff, because they were the backbone of this group of children.

“I understand.” Xiao Ai nodded solemnly, “So you will help us rescue Nana and take us out of here. In exchange, we will teach you how to use skills at the gambling table to win the game, and cooperate with you when necessary, is that right?”

“That’s right.”

Xiao Ai was thoughtful, “There’s no problem with these. Since Nika and Jeff have chosen to believe you, you must be someone worthy of trust. There is no problem with teaching you skills, I can do it.”

“But… as for the matter of cooperation, I still need to tell the other children.”

As a ‘Per’ of Mantiper, if it was known that they were helping customers win the game in private, their end would be more terrible than death.

Jenny was only rejected by one guest, and she was beaten to the point of being covered in bruises. The consequences of participating in such a thing, if discovered, were self-evident – a fate worse than death.

Xiao Ai once knew a little secret from a ‘Maner’, but some rumors that were not quite true made her shudder.

If there was a chance to leave here and rescue Nana, if it was just Xiao Ai, she would definitely agree.

But Xiao Ai was only a ‘Per’ in the Beginners’ Venue, and Yan Yunqing’s goal was to become a ‘Golden Hand’, then he would inevitably have to enter a higher-level place to win the victory, which would involve other children.

Xiao Ai couldn’t agree to this request for the other children.

Yan Yunqing could understand, “Okay, no matter what choice you make, I will take you out, don’t worry about this.”

He didn’t hesitate to give Xiao Ai and the others a booster. After all, the reward for this mission was generous, and Yan Yunqing couldn’t possibly watch these children continue to be mired in the mire. Naturally, he would complete this series of missions.

Xiao Ai took a deep look at Yan Yunqing, pursed her lips, and clasped her hands tightly.

The person in front of her clearly knew how difficult it was to achieve his goal, but he still guaranteed that he would take them out of here…

Xiao Ai didn’t know what she was thinking now.

Yan Yunqing remembered the previous system mission prompt, the NPC who was attacked was probably Jenny in Xiao Ai’s mouth. He was a little worried that there was something wrong with this Jenny, so Yan Yunqing simply took out a few more small red bottles.

“You just said that you were short of medicine, right? These potions can heal some external injuries. Take them back and try the effect.”

Roco’s eyes lit up when he saw the familiar small red bottle, and he nodded repeatedly, “Yes, this is what healed Jeff and Nika. Didn’t you say that Jenny was injured, Xiao Ai? Brother’s potion is very useful!”

Hearing this, the look in Xiao Ai’s eyes as she looked at the small red bottle became much more eager. It could heal Nika and Jeff… then the effect of this potion must also be able to heal Jenny, and there must also be a lack of medicine on Nana’s side…

She didn’t hesitate at all, and directly accepted the small red bottles, and guaranteed to Yan Yunqing, “Don’t worry, I will carefully teach you those skills. As for the matter of cooperation, I will also try to persuade the other children!”

Yan Yunqing found that after Xiao Ai said these words, the game panel prompt popped up in front of him.

[Xiao Ai is teaching you the skills [Strategy Observation] [Strategic Planning Calculation] [Lie Application]…]

[Do you want to spend 176 skill points to learn?]

Yan Yunqing leaned back tactically, How much?!