Chapter 12 The Small Room In The Arcade

• I chatted with Tigre for a while, during which I brought up Wallace, Linus' younger brother, twice. However, Tigre skillfully dodged the topic each time.
• After leaving the office, it wasn't yet time for my shift, so I didn't see the harm in idling about.
• As for the rental, Tigre told me he would help me find a place once I made it through the night.
• During the day, the spa wasn't crowded. I was bored out of my mind, and after much thought, I left the spa and hailed a taxi to the Sea Arcade.
• I didn't get a chance to play the night before because of Fiery Lionel. Just the thought of it filled me with anticipation, so I decided to play a few rounds.
• Upon arriving at the Sea Arcade, I immediately spotted Gavin leisurely leaning against a chair, puffing out clouds of smoke, the moment I reached the front desk.
• Seeing me arrive, Gavin smiled and tossed me a Dunhill cigarette.
• “Bro, you're here early today!”
• I took the cigarette, lit it up, and took a drag. Looking at Gavin, I said, “I start work at one in the afternoon, and since I have some free time, I thought I'd drop by for a round.”
• “Go ahead and pick out a machine!”
• After Gavin cheerfully finished, he immediately pulled out a basket of game tokens from the front desk for me. I glanced at it and gauged there were about seventy to eighty.
• It was clear that Gavin was a man of his word. When he said he would buy me a round, he meant it.
• I murmured a word of thanks, casually selecting a machine to settle down at. The arcade wasn't too crowded that morning, so I started playing Mortal Kombat. The sounds from the machine quickly drew me in, and I soon found myself completely immersed in the game.
• I hadn't played for long before a barrage of curses caught my attention.
• I followed the direction of the sound and noticed a small room inside the arcade.
• Two hatchet men, one on either side, escorted a badly battered chubby man out of the room.
• The trio approached the front desk, where one of the hatchet men asked, “Mr. Warren, this son of a b*tch's tab is already at five hundred, how should we deal with him?”
• Gavin emerged from behind the front desk with a swagger, hands still tucked in his pockets. He looked at the stocky man and asked with a furrowed brow, “Hey old chub, I've given you five hundred for the night. Say, how are we going to resolve this? If everyone started a tab like you, this arcade wouldn't be far from bankruptcy.”
• “Mr. Warren... please, give me another chance. Let me make a call, and I'll have someone deliver the money!” the chubby man pleaded shakily.
• After pondering for a couple of seconds, Gavin feigned a troubled expression.
• “How about this? Leave something valuable as collateral here, then go get the money and come back to reclaim it!” he suggested.
• Upon hearing what Gavin had to say, the chubby guy hesitated for a moment. Reluctantly, he pulled out a flip phone from his pocket. Regardless of anything else, it was worth a couple of thousand.
• Gavin swiftly grabbed the phone, glanced at it, and then chuckled, saying, “Okay, you can go now. If you're not back by five in the evening, this phone is mine!”
• The stout man felt as if he'd been pardoned. He wiped his nosebleed, assured Gavin he would bring the money, and then left with a downtrodden look.
• I curled my lips at the sight of him, feeling no sympathy for the chubby guy. I knew what that little room was for; it was filled with slot machines.
• Only game tokens were used for the arcade games, but those slot machines only accepted real money.
• Slot machines, also known as gambling machines, were the quickest way to lose money in an arcade because the vendors had tampered with the machines from the start, allowing you to win initially. However, they would ensure that all winnings were eventually returned to them.
• Though the machines were rigged, the gamblers weren't worthy of sympathy either. After all, gambling was a losing game most of the time, they had it coming.
• I had vowed to never dabble in gambling and drugs.
• I had just started another round of Mortal Kombat, but before I even had the chance to play, Gavin strolled over and friendly patted my shoulder.
• “Hey bro, want to play a round in the room?”
• I chuckled, shaking my head as I said, “Forget it, I'm really broke!”
• Gavin eyed me with profound intensity. “I'll give you ten to start with. I believe you can win. If you lose, it's on me!”
• I looked at Gavin with a puzzled expression, not understanding what on earth he was up to.
• Gavin reached into his pocket and handed me ten coins, saying, “Go knock yourself out. I'll give you more if it's not enough.”
• After some hesitation, I agreed. After all, Gavin had given me such generous hospitality that I couldn't just snub him.
• I got up and entered the small room. Honestly, there were no windows inside, and a foul smell hit me as soon as I stepped in, nearly causing me to throw up my breakfast.
• Inside the room were eight slot machines, one was broken, leaving seven in working order. I sat in front of the second machine, and after a few seconds of thought, I made a bold decision.
• Since Gavin invited me to play, I decided to go all in.
• I scrutinized the buttons on the slot machine, not inserting any coins. Instead, I followed the method I had memorized before, pressing the buttons to adjust the machine's cheating program.
• Once all the symbols on the machine flashed simultaneously, a knowing smile crossed my face. From that moment on, I knew I could empty all the money inside the slot machine whenever I wished.
• After all, everyone knew gambling was a scam, thus, the same applied to gambling machines as well. The vendors had the power to adjust the odds of the slot machines at any given time.
• The guy who just lost his phone as collateral, probably thought he was just having a streak of bad luck.
• I took a deep breath and inserted the ten coins Gavin had given me, going all in.