Chapter 53: Sincerity is Overrated

Dice games and slot machines filled the enormous hall, while security guards carried champagne bottles between the tables.

Countless bunny girls served drinks to the guests, their skimpy black bikini outfit drawing plenty of attention.

Lydia almost choked on her breath when several bunny girls casually peeled off their bikinis and gestured toward her provocatively.

"Yikes! Nope, nope, nope. Let’s keep it PG-rated. This Spiritual Domain is sure something else. I’m a Guide and I think I seriously need a guide for wandering in this place."

Thick tobacco smoke hung in the air, mixing with the smell of alcohol and drugs. The farther Lydia explored, the shadier the surroundings became. Several secluded red rooms stood along the walls.

They didn’t even bother to make it invisible!

She could see several men and women with blurred faces were enjoying themselves.

"Gasp! Okay, I’d prefer to not watch it further for my sanity reasons." Lydia gasped when a naked woman whipped several Sentinels that worshipped her.

"First a brothel, now a casino. Senior Zach, what kind of life are you living?"

Every face was blurred, as though someone had deliberately erased their features.

No matter how beautiful their bodies or how elaborate their clothing appeared, Lydia couldn’t make out a single person’s face clearly.

A calm jazz song filled the area, its gentle melody almost ridiculous against the debauchery surrounding her.

Guests continued to gamble and drink as if nothing in the world mattered beyond their pleasure.

Lydia had no time to worry about the strange residents.

"I have to find Senior before his—or MY—condition gets any worse. Honestly, I should sue him for emotional damages after making me watch a live orgy."

With that in mind, Lydia rushed toward the stairs leading to the second floor. Unfortunately, several guards blocked her path.

"Access. Give us your entry access. Do you have the golden card?" A prostitute raised her chain whips at Lydia. The sheep Guide only wore patches of fluffy wools between her legs.

Why did she even bother to wear any, at this point?

Before Lydia could respond, a muscular man reached for the sheep woman and kissed her passionately. At the same time, he swung his barbed bat toward Lydia and grinned.

"Only VVIP guests may enter. Show us your card, lady."

Lydia’s eyes narrowed.

Great. She had entered a casino full of blurry-faced strangers, and now she needed a special card just to go upstairs. Why couldn’t Senior Zach’s Spiritual Domain be a normal place? A forest? A garden? Heck, she’d even take a library at this point.

Unfortunately, complaining about the interior design wouldn’t get her any closer to finding him.

Lydia knew better than to challenge both of them. She was here to save her senior, not get herself kicked out of his own Spiritual Domain.

A bunny girl with dark hair and slender body approached Lydia and gave her a silver card.

"You have to rake 1,000,000 Tokens of Trust to upgrade this and reach the Gate of Sincerity."

Her face paled.

How did she end up having to gamble at a casino, of all places? There was no point arguing with a world that might not even follow ordinary logic.

And so, Lydia spent the next several minutes playing blackjack, pachinko, roulette, poker, and baccarat. She moved from one game to another, trying to rake enough Token of Trust.

"I will never be able to beat the game unless I do this. Was this a form of Senior Zach’s perception of this world?"

Several men were leering at Lydia with disgustingly leering look. Sure, they were creepy. But all the adult women seemed to be more unsettling.

All of them wore the same wide, red smile. Their blurred faces made it even creepier, like someone had given them all the same mask.

"This place sure give me the ick. Adult world sure is no joke. What a terrifying Spiritual Domain."

She tried to ignore their stares and focusing herself on a slot machine. But, the more she played, the more suspicious she became.

Something was wrong with these games. The games were rigged.

The odds were stacked against the players, and the casino seemed designed to take everything they owned.

"Let’s give them a taste of their medicine."

If the casino wanted to play dirty, she could do that, too.

After all, she wasn’t some innocent fool who would obediently follow the rules just because someone had written them down.

She had survived one miserable life already. If Lydia needed to cheat to reach Zachary, then she would do without hesitation.

"Since this is a Spiritual Domain, can I use my Guide abilities here?"

Channeling her mental power, Lydia decided to rig the games herself. She focused on the largest slot machine in the middle of the casino.

Its reels spun rapidly, flashing cherries, bells, and lucky sevens. Lydia watched the symbols carefully.

Then she interfered and guide the slot machine instead. The holographic display rattled, its lights flashed, and the reels came to a stop.

777.

Jackpot.

Just as the slot machine was about to dispense her winnings, Lydia slammed her mental power into it.

BOOM!

The machine burst apart in a shower of sparks. Instead of coins, a massive notification appeared before her eyes.

[Congratulations! You have obtained 100,000,000 Tokens of Trust!]

Lydia blinked.

"...Oops. Did I go a little overboard?"

Lydia stared at the hundred million Tokens of Trust, then proudly puffed out her chest.

One hundred million! Hehehe! Who cares if I cheated? The tokens are real! And sure, they’re called Tokens of Trust, and the gate is called the Gate of Sincerity, but so what? My heart is sincere, even if my methods aren’t! As long as I can save Senior Zach, a little cheating is practically a virtue!"

The casino erupted in cheers as the slot machine exploded. Guests crowded around Lydia, raising their glasses to celebrate her ridiculous jackpot.

"You either go big or go home here. No in-betweens. The upper world of riches sure is a maze of lies and deceptions. You got to rig and cheat your way to get to the top."

Honestly, what a ridiculous place.