Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work - Chapter 266

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Even If I Fall Into a Ghost Story, I Still Have to Go to Work Episode 266

I gathered basic information to sweep up over 1000 coins at the Body Casino.

Now that all preparations are complete, it’s time to make the attempt.

“…Phew.”

Amid the low-quality jazz music echoing through the underground casino.

The visitor to the Body Casino steadies their breathing and takes a step forward.

[It’s begun.]

That’s right.

“Hello, Dealer!”

First, I sit at a table in the dealer room.

However, the table I chose wasn’t the dealer with Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae’s head, but a different dealer with an unfamiliar face.

I can feel Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae’s gaze from afar, but I mustn’t be conscious of it.

“Good day, Visitor. Would you like to start betting?”

The visitor looks at the unfamiliar dealer and smiles obsequiously.

“Yes. Let’s bet. Will the game be the card game I was first introduced to? The one where you guess what card it is.”

“Of course. We’ll proceed with the ‘Clairvoyance Game.'”

The dealer speaks kindly to the visitor seated at the table, then shuffles the playing cards with a flourish and presents them.

“Oh, I’ll go with this one.”

And the person seated selects one card from among them.

A simple game of guessing what shape or number it is.

“I’ll bet 3 coins on hearts.”

“Yes. Confirmed.”

But the visitor’s attempt failed.

The card was the Seven of Spades.

3 coins were lost.

“That’s a shame. One more game!”

“Yes. Bet confirmed.”

The game continues to repeat like this.

The visitor bets minimum amounts, winning moderately and losing moderately.

Then… occasionally.

“This time I’ll bet 30 coins. I have a good feeling.”

They bet big.

And.

“Your bet has failed.”

“Argh!”

They lose big.

But one out of three or four times, they succeed in their bet and win money.

“Good!”

The amount of coins is cleverly controlled this way.

The visitor’s win rate and betting amounts fluctuate up and down, chaotically moving between peaks and valleys without any pattern for quite a while.

Over a hundred coins pile up abundantly on the table, but the visitor’s ‘war chest’ has somehow been cut in half from the initial start.

Then…

At some point after more than an hour has passed.

[Now’s the time.]

“Would you like to bet?”

“Hmmmm…”

The visitor, as if deeply absorbed, reaches out their hand…

And pushes all the coins on the table forward.

Clatter clatter clatter…

Thunk.

The coins glint under the old light bulb’s glow.

The dealer from the ghost story, who kindly caught even the rolling coins, asks with gleaming eyes.

“Are you betting a total of 113 coins?”

[Oh ho.]

“Yes, let’s give it a shot.”

“Then please choose a card.”

The visitor reaches out as usual and points to one of the cards lined up on the table.

“This one.”

“Confirmed.”

The dealer picks up the card the visitor chose.

The visitor’s eyes gleam strangely as they watch, then quickly hide their intensity.

And.

“…I’ll bet on the number 7.”

“…!”

There was no change in the dealer’s expression, but their movements mysteriously slowed down.

“Confirmed.”

The dealer flips the card…

“Seven of Spades.”

Jackpot.

“…Your bet was successful.”

“…!!”

“I’ll pay out your winnings.”

An enormous amount of coins emerges from under the table and goes to the winner.

“904 coins.”

Under the table, the visitor briefly clenches and unclenches their fist.

In one shot, they earned close to 999 coins.

[Oh, congratulations. Friend, it’s a success!]

Right.

And naturally, this wasn’t a coincidence.

‘I knew what I was choosing.’

Seven of Spades.

I already knew what number and picture was printed on the front of that card.

Of course, it’s not like I developed clairvoyance abilities. We didn’t use any tricks and played under the conditions provided by this casino.

However.

‘There’s a loophole in those conditions.’

That was…

Thanks to a certain element that could be utilized as soon as we entered this casino.

Namely, the outdated facilities!

‘It’s severely worn out.’

The walls, light bulbs, slot machines, and even the tables in the dealer rooms were already worn and deteriorated. It looked so poorly maintained that you could mistake it for an abandoned casino.

While that did add to the eerie atmosphere as a ghost story, it also created a crucial ‘condition’ that differed from ordinary casinos.

Namely… the things used for games were also worn out.

For example.

‘Playing cards.’

Originally, the backs of playing cards are all identical in appearance – mass-produced items that can’t be distinguished from each other.

But when the passage of time leaves its mark, things change.

‘Distinguishing features appear.’

Tiny stains, scratches, creases.

The ‘wear’ that shows ever so slightly when reflected in light creates elements that allow each card to be distinguished.

So I decided.

-For the first game, we’ll pick cards with backs that have the most visible ‘traces’ to the eye.

This time it was the Seven of Spades.

I probably confirmed that the two-pronged scratch on the back glinted very slightly in the light.

Then after confirming the front information – Seven of Spades – I wait.

And then…

-Once enough time passes to avoid suspicion, find that card again and bet on it.

Hit the jackpot.

Of course, the scratch marks are very minute, and since they’re extremely difficult to distinguish with the naked eye, it would be hard for ordinary people.

But surprisingly, there was a perfect candidate among our group.

“Hahaha, another hit!”

Agent Choi.

Someone with the observational skills and memory to distinguish human bodies just by blood vessels and bone structure.

Since he already has the habit of memorizing things, he’s perfect.

-Ah~ normally a virtuous government official shouldn’t gamble… but there’s no choice. Okay. Just leave it to me.

And really, as if it were nothing, maintaining his composure and acting nonchalantly, he sat at the table and gambled until now.

And so.

“Ah~ that felt good.”

Success.

[Oh, there are actually cases of people using similar methods in real casinos to earn large sums.]

[Of course, in that case, it seems they read printing errors in the card back patterns!]

Right. In real casinos, they probably use new cards every day to prevent such things.

But in this ghost story where ‘worn out’ is a characteristic, this method works too.

“Current coins held… 924.”

“…Okay.”

Things proceeded smoothly like that.

I sat next to Agent Choi who was playing, looking in as if I was ‘excitedly watching the pot grow bigger.’

‘Just one more round carefully like this.’

To earn money without standing out, I had created the most natural scenario possible and led things this far.

“Since I’m on a roll, I’ll continue like this…”

“Visitor.”

…

I turned my stiff neck.

“You’re using an interesting method?”

Deputy Lee Seong-hae’s face had approached the table and was looking down at us.

Staring intently.

Grinning.

“It’s a method I used when I was a visitor.”

“…!”

“Memorizing scratches on card backs to figure out numbers and suits, right?”

The dealer ran their strange hand – with different people’s ring and middle fingers attached – over the card backs.

My blood ran cold.

“And once a trick is discovered, you can never profit from it again.”

Damn.

[Come to think of it, I remember the unfortunate aftermath of that story too.]

[That professional gambler was sued and had all 16 billion won collected without missing a penny. Oh, the cunning of casinos!]

“…I’m not sure what you’re talking about. Do you have proof?”

“That’s right, Grape! This casino is really scary. Win a little money and they accuse you of cheating. How can anyone play games when they’re this scared? My back is getting all sweaty, really.”

“…”

“No proof, right?”

The dealer removed their hand from the card backs.

“You’re right about that.”

But I couldn’t feel relieved at all. Because…

“Then shall we continue the game?”

The dealer with Deputy Lee Seong-hae’s head pushed aside the dealer who had been at our table and took that position themselves.

As the host.

“You’re not going to run away, are you? That would be suspicious.”

“…”

“Very good. Then from now on, I’ll take over as dealer and continue helping with your play.”

And they pulled out a new deck of playing cards from their pocket.

Worn, but a completely different set from before.

“Now then…”

The smiling face said.

“Please place your bets.”

We’re screwed.

“I’ll do it.”

“Oh.”

“Grape.”

“It’s public funds. They say luck usually converges to average, so since you’ve had fun winning a lot, it would be better if you stop here and I take over.”

I said while looking into Deputy Lee Seong-hae’s remaining eye.

“That should be fine, right?”

“Of course!”

And I whispered to Agent Choi.

“This time I’d like to experience the fun of betting myself. Just a moment.”

“…”

“I have a feeling I’m going to win somehow.”

Agent Choi had a sunken expression, but eventually withdrew his hands.

And I paused for a moment…

…

[Oh, that’s not difficult at all. Friend.]

“Visitor?”

“Ah.”

I raised my head.

“Would it be possible to go to the table that the original dealer used? I feel like I’ve already used up all my luck here.”

“Of course that’s fine!”

The dealer with Deputy Lee Seong-hae’s head cheerfully guided me to his table. I gathered all my coins and hurriedly moved to Lee Seong-hae’s table, where I heard the question again.

“So how much would you like to bet?”

I placed the coins I had brought onto the table…

All 924 of them.

“…!!”

“Are you sure you want to bet 924 coins?”

“…Yes.”

“Confirmed. Then…”

Deputy Lee Seong-hae spread the cards on the table again. I reached out my hand to choose the card I would…

“Wait.”

My hand was caught.

“Visitor, you can’t touch the card you’ve chosen, right?”

“…”

“You were just trying to leave fingerprints on the back to remember the card, weren’t you?”

“No. And there’s a misunderstanding.”

“Oh?”

“I’ve bet my entire fortune, so if I don’t win this round, there won’t be a next game. But what good would it do to remember this round’s cards? I would have already lost.”

…

“Oh.”

The dealer relaxed his grip.

“You’re right about that. Then I’ll proceed.”

“Yes.”

I chose the card I had originally intended to pick.

Drip.

Cold sweat fell onto the table.

“Now.”

…

“Which suit or which number would you like to bet on?”

I barely managed to raise my eyes.

“…Hearts.”

This is it.

“Since I won with hearts when I first bet, I want to try betting on that again.”

“…”

The dealer who had been looking at the card suddenly turned his head.

I checked the people and objects around the table, but there was no one giving signals after reading this dealer’s cards, nor any suddenly appearing mirrors.

Manager Lee Ja-heon was leaning diagonally against the back wall nearby, but that was all.

No dealer was stopping him.

This meant he hadn’t done anything ‘suspiciously questionable.’

“…”

“Dealer?”

The dealer flipped the card…

“Congratulations.”

Four of hearts.

“I’ll pay out your winnings of 2,772 coins.”

An enormous amount of coins began pouring onto the table.

“…!!”

I did it.

‘I succeeded.’

I clenched and unclenched my fist under the table.

Cold sweat had pooled, making it damp.

“Jackpot, hahaha!! Wow, it’s raining coins, isn’t it?”

Agent Choi was patting my back dramatically like a gambler who had hit it big, but his eyes were sunken.

He probably couldn’t figure out how I had managed to get this right.

‘Right.’

That was understandable. Because…

I hadn’t used a trick—I had outright cheated.

‘Phew.’

The reason I suddenly moved to this table.

-Brown, could you ask Lizard Manager to… stand leaning against the wall behind Dolphin Deputy’s table?

Right.

It was because this table had the wall that Manager Lee Ja-heon would naturally lean against behind it.

And the reason I needed Manager Lee Ja-heon was simple.

‘Because he looks like he has a lizard head to my eyes!’

And the eyes on a human-sized lizard head were larger than those of humans, with thicker lenses too.

In other words.

‘The cards the dealer is holding are reflected.’

I didn’t even need to read detailed things like numbers.

Just the color and a very faint silhouette were enough for success.

‘…And I succeeded.’

I had succeeded in betting by looking at the front of the card reflected in Manager Lee Ja-heon’s eyes.

[That was excellent quick thinking, Noru!]

Thank you.

…And the best part is.

‘No one knows what method I used.’

Because Manager Lee Ja-heon appears to have human features to other people.

This had been true in all the ghost stories I’d experienced so far, so if we consider Manager Lee Ja-heon as having ‘a human head’…

‘There’s no way cards would be reflected in his eyes.’

In the end, this became a signal that only I could recognize.

Perhaps even without him knowing.

[Oh, that was quite thrilling!]

[Of course, a radio host can’t be involved in casino fraud, but this much could be seen as a pleasant supernatural ability.]

[If a man who guessed what music was recorded by looking at the grooves of a record could be treated as having supernatural powers, wouldn’t what my friend did be similar? Haha!]

I don’t know.

Although only I can confirm this, honestly looking at just the mechanism…

‘It’s undeniably cheating.’

But the only way to definitively make money at a casino was actually through cheating or tricks like what I did earlier, and since that had already been blocked by someone who used it before, there was no other choice.

I used it impromptu and in such a roundabout way, but just in case…

“…”

Did they notice?

I sat at the table as calmly as possible, sharing congratulations and laughing with Agent Choi, but the dealer remained silent.

I couldn’t even dare to look at them.

And…

After a moment.

“Congratulations. You’ve exceeded 999 coins.”

“…!!”

“Now you can enter the VIP area! Shall I guide you there now?”

“…Yes.”

It worked.

I clenched my fist and carefully stood up from the table.

“Only companions possessing 999 coins or more can enter the VIP room, and companions are limited to 2 people besides yourself.”

Six sets of footsteps walking through the casino’s common area, with a cheerful-voiced dealer explaining ahead of them.

And soon, the footsteps stopped.

VIP ACCESS

“Then, I’ll open it.”

The dealer grabbed the golden iron door and pulled it to the side…

The VIP room was opened.

“…!!”

Inside was surprisingly…

A maze.

[Oh, it hasn’t gotten shabby.]

It seemed like luxurious spaces for secret conversations stretched endlessly beyond hidden curtains. Connected spaces like mirrors facing each other.

It was there as if to reveal that this was qualitatively different from the old and worn Body Casino outside.

There was only one incongruous thing.

~■■ CITY ROYAL CASINO~

The subway advertisement board was attached to a frame on the wall instead of a picture. It felt strange.

Trying not to listen to the whispers coming from beyond the curtains, we came to the front of a door.

“Would you like to come inside? Please sit comfortably. You can enjoy gambling privately in a separated space.”

The group quietly entered. Baek Sa-heon tried to slip away at the very end, but was caught by Bronze Agent and entered as well.

But I felt an ominous premonition rising.

“This way.”

The dealer pulled back the curtain and entered.

The scenes that continued to appear were similar. Velvet sofas, tables, refreshments, and…

A silver pistol.

“Today’s prepared game is…”

Thud, thud.

The dealer walked over, picked up the pistol placed on the luxurious wooden table, and broke it open for loading.

“Russian roulette.”

Damn it.

“It’s so famous that you probably know it well, but to explain, you load only one bullet into a 6-chamber pistol, and two people take turns shooting!”

Click, click, click.

The dealer’s hand pulling the trigger was unhesitant.

While people reflexively tensed and flinched, the dealer smiled and showed the pistol that hadn’t fired yet.

“Whoever gives up first loses.”

Ha.

“But! If you’re scared to shoot, there’s another option.”

The dealer looked us over.

“You give up one body part.”

“…!”

“Then you can skip your turn and give the pistol to your opponent.”

“Wait a moment.”

I asked urgently.

“Who are we competing against?”

“Other visitors, of course?”

“…!”

“It’s a game where people play Russian roulette against each other and the winner takes all the coins that were bet. But right now in this VIP room…”

The dealer smiled slyly.

“There are no other visitors besides you?”

“…”

“If we wait, might other visitors come?”

“Well. I’m not certain.”

“When was the last time a customer visited the VIP room?”

“Hmm, that’s something I can’t tell you.”

“Have you… ever seen one directly?”

“No.”

“…”

What the hell.

“Wait a moment. Then the ‘special purpose’ body parts that were in the pawn shop…”

“Ah, you already know about that too.”

Lee Seong-hae’s mouth said with a sly smile.

“If a visitor pulls the trigger three times in a row, they can receive a body part as an injury!”

“…!”

“Wonderful, right? It’s a prize fitting for such a thrilling game.”

The picture where the subway advertisement board had been hanging came down, revealing a freight elevator that had been hidden inside.

No, it wasn’t an elevator… it was rails.

‘Body parts.’

I could see various limbs and organs from multiple people hanging in rows on the rails…

Among them would be Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae’s parts too.

“…”

To rescue Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae, we had no choice but to participate in this game and win body parts.

“Well, then….”

The dealer smiles as he looks at us.

“Who will be playing?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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