Reirfu calmly wiped away the filth with a towel.
He didn't plan to return to the church so soon, preparing to observe for a while and find inspiration for a tabloid story.
At this moment, he suddenly paused, pulling out a gray feather pen and paper from his in my arms.
The gray feather pen floated automatically, beginning to write rapidly.
"The Gambler has already learned the characteristics and owners of the other coins...."
Reirfu fell silent, looking at the written content.
Perhaps, this wasn't an unexpected variable outside of fate, but rather encountering a fellow practitioner who manipulates fate.
"But in Nine District, the only person who can peer deeper into fate than me is my teacher...."
"Who could it be?"
"Someone from another district?"
Reirfu took out his crystal ball for divination again, but the result was still pitch black.
"Is it aimed at me?"
"What should I do? I'm not good at direct combat....."
In his distress, Reirfu looked towards the dark corner.
There, a pair of crimson eyes stared intently at him, full of longing yet timid.
"A Ghoul?"
Reirfu's eyeballs suddenly wriggled, like a camera lens, turning a few times counter-clockwise.
"A... cowardly and unlucky Ghoul."
The Ghoul watched the man warily from the shadows.
It had originally intended to ambush him, but an instinctual perception of danger stopped it.
Though timid, it had lived longer than other brainless Ghouls.
Reirfu was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly nodded and spoke to the Ghoul:
"Hmm... how about this? I'll help you change your luck, and you help me accelerate the flow of fate, and by the way... find that true 'variable,' how about it?"
The Ghoul let out a threatening growl.
Reirfu smiled, his shadow slowly lengthening, and in the depths of the darkness, luminous spheres, like stars and pupils, slowly revolved within it.
The Ghoul stared intently, but its mind strangely sank into it, and then... it shrieked in agony!
Lisa, pushing Manba forward, suddenly looked up, as if she heard a scream.
Her heart pounded, and she gritted her teeth, continuing forward.
After some time, she looked at the red-light alley she had wanted to escape countless times, lost in thought.
She had boasted big words back then, but after all the twists and turns, she was back to square one.
"Oh? So you've come back after all."
A seductive man holding a smoking pipe walked out from a side door, blocking her path.
"Heh, and you even picked up a dark-skinned kid? Can you afford to raise him?"
Lisa lowered her head, not daring to speak.
The seductive man used his pipe to lift her chin:
"Tsk tsk tsk, what a disheveled face.
"Tell me, should I send you to the Black Alley brothel? The hungry ghosts there won't be gentle; they'll just swarm like a bunch of pigs."
Lisa's body trembled continuously, as if she was extremely afraid.
The seductive man smiled contentedly and released Lisa's chin:
"Many customers told me they miss you. If you don't want to be sent away, then go back and clean up, and work obediently. I'll take ninety percent of your alcohol money this month as punishment for offending me earlier. Do you understand?"
Lisa lowered her brows and nodded:
"Yes, Mother."
The seductive man nodded with satisfaction, twisting his waist as he slowly walked away.
Behind him, two burly men walked out from inside the door, dragging a disheveled woman, following closely.
The disheveled woman kept pleading:
"Mother, please! Don't send me away!"
The seductive man was unmoved, pointing to an alleyway:
"You haven't met your performance targets for two consecutive months, so hurry up and send her to the Black Alley brothel."
The disheveled woman struggled but was slapped unconscious by a burly man and carried away like cargo.
Lisa's knuckles turned white as she pushed Manba into her private room, which she was rewarded with for her excellent performance.
After settling Manba, Lisa changed into her most glamorous outfit and stood in front of the mirror.
In the mirror, her body trembled uncontrollably, and her eyes were unfocused and struggling.
"Don't be afraid....."
"They're not good people; they deserve to die...."
"Didn't you once wish they would all die?"
"I... I'm just trying to survive!"
Suddenly, Lisa froze, her eyes gradually focusing.
She picked up two coins and casually tossed them onto the table.
"Ding-a-ling-ling--"
Both landed heads up.
She steadily picked up her lipstick and slowly applied it to her lips.
She smiled, a seductive and eerie smile.
......
At dusk, in the dim Black Alley, ambiguous red lights illuminated the area.
The smell of alcohol permeated the air, and smoke billowed, marking the beginning of the joyous hours in the red-light district.
People indulged their desires and hormones, using the smoke to escape reality.
Lisa stood in the center of the stage, laughing freely, her seductive dance moves inciting endless revelry.
She took a lit cigarette and inhaled deeply.
As she exhaled smoke, she casually tossed it onto the ground.
The cigarette butt rolled on the ground, kicked around by people's feet, and landed in a puddle of alcohol.
"Whoosh--"
A small flame rose, startling a passing bartender.
The bartender consequently bumped into someone, spilling expensive liquor onto a cigarette lighter.
"Boom--!"
Flames erupted, and screaming people lunged at those around them.
But those immersed in intoxication reacted sluggishly.
By the time screams began to echo, it was already too late.
Chaos and fire spread throughout the entire bar in mere moments!
Lisa stood on the stage, looking down, and suddenly smiled.
In her heart... there was an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.