Haidu: Top of the Tower

Chapter 4 Take Me There
The sunlight penetrated into the curtains, cutting a yellowish wound in the darkness.

Milady lay on her side on the bed, looking at the bedside table.The skylight fell on the protective cover of the small pot of beauty fern, staining the gray stains on the glass; the yellow and curly leaves were even more pitiful when they saw the light, as if they were showing a slow death that was scorched.

There had been no wind in the room since Itami's death.The filthy and thick air was sticky and pressed against the face; several days had passed, and Milady seemed to be able to smell the thick and sour smell of purple-red seaweed on her fingers.

The naive thought of "the patriarch has discovered a new herb" only stayed in her mind for a morning.

After she returned to an unfamiliar port in Haidu with the ship, she found a chance to disembark in the early morning.With the purple-red seaweed in her pocket, she walked from one hospital to another, asked every doctor and nurse she had seen, and even went to the Plant Museum.

At the end of the day, she tosses the seaweed in the trash.

On the third morning, she still habitually opened the cover, trying to pour some filtered water on it.Mother said to water it when it was still cool so it wouldn't get sunburned during the day; but she didn't have time to water it in the morning because she had to rush to--

The mass of hard and heavy air that choked the trachea suddenly exploded from Milady's throat, turning into a cry like a wolf.The kettle fell to the ground, splashing tears.

Mom doesn't have to rush anywhere anymore.

From now on, she no longer has a mother.

And all because of a cloud of wet sand.

There are no words in the world to describe the insults and slights: telling you it's medicine, tricking you into swallowing wet sand, coaxing you into risking your life, and not even a doctor coming to see you when you do collapse.

Immediately after Itami, Beauty Fern also died.

The storm in her mind became more intense, as if she was being pulled in countless directions, her thoughts were all numb, only half of her thoughts were clear.

... There are no words to describe, she will use blood to describe.

When the doorbell rang suddenly that afternoon, Milady jumped up from the bed, and she was very agile, even putting on her coat and boots—she suddenly realized that she had been Waiting for this moment.

The person who came was a clerk from the Gaota Clan Affairs Office.

The Clan Affairs Office is generally in charge of family members' careers, living arrangements, and miscellaneous affairs. It can be said that it is the most flexible group of people in the clan; on the bag.

coming.

"My condolences," he said when he walked in the door, "Hey, a good person, why did he suddenly get sick and pass away?"

The image of the pair of crystalline lungs, Milady has not told anyone in the clan.

"I also said that I should give you a few more days to rest. But you see, crystal pollution is such a thing. If no one cleans it up for a day, it will grow one more piece. Oh, don't blame me," the clerk said. Pushing the paper packet towards Milady, he said, "But we all have our own responsibilities, don't we? Come on, this is a month's worth. If it's not enough, you can tell me."

With a calmness that she didn't expect, Milady took the paper package.

After opening it, she was not surprised to see a pack of purple-red powder—an anti-crystallization drug, for one person.

She had wondered before, why the patriarch only distributed the anti-crystallization drug to the clan members, but did not further produce and sell it on a large scale; the answer she got later was that because the Gaota family could not get involved in industries outside the regulations, That means they cannot commercialize anti-crystallization drugs.

Now that I think about it, if the patriarch is very clear that the so-called "anti-crystal drug" is actually worthless, wouldn't it be more reasonable?

Milady looked at the paper package being pushed on the table, her body stiffened.When the clerk said a few more words indifferently and finally left, she suddenly stood up and said, "I want to work in the factory."

He turned his head so quickly that he forgot that he was still walking, and almost lost his footing.

"The occasion?" He looked at Milady, wondering whether he should say what to say next, and asked vaguely, "What occasion?"

Seeing his reaction, the last trace of hesitation that the "place" might have nothing to do with the patriarch disappeared from Milady's heart.

"Huai Tuo said." She reported the name of her cousin on the boat, lowered her head and said, "I heard from him that the treatment in the venue is much better."

The clerk's expression relaxed slightly. "Oh, so it's him," he cleared his throat, and said, "I'm just saying, why did you suddenly... But, I've only heard of it, and I don't know the details."

For the first time Milady expressed genuine disappointment.

She stood still and didn't answer, the clerk was a little embarrassed, as if trying to relieve the atmosphere, or to get away early, said: "Speaking of which, it's not too bad for a girl like you to work in such a place." it is good……"

Milady's heart moved, she tilted her head, and asked exactly what people think a 17-year-old girl should look like, "Oh?"

"Well, after all, it's a place where money comes and goes, and all kinds of education go." Like many people, the clerk was very willing to express his opinion, especially when the opposite was a young girl. "People who go to gamble, what kind of people are there? Those who gamble, those who get drunk, those who don't take the right path and want to get cheap..."

When he said this, he seemed to realize that Milady's other choice was far worse than the casino. "Of course, if Huaituo takes care of you, it's not impossible..."

Milady could hardly bear the excitement and anxiety in her heart.She needs to know where this casino is and what its name is; but how can she find out?

"By the way, have you been there?" She asked chatty as the clerk approached the door.

"Oh, no, no."

The look that flashed across the other party's face made Milady feel that he probably really didn't know the details.

Probably thinking that there was little hope for Milady to successfully get rid of the pollution, the clerk still left the anti-crystallization medicine and told her to report to the polluted area first no matter what.

Milady sent him out the door kindly and gratefully, but she didn't even say a word of promise that she would go—even if she had been playing all day, she couldn't say it.

After the gate was closed, Milady picked up the paper bag, weighed it a few times, and smiled.

The next second, she suddenly slammed it hard against the other wall; the purple-red ointment splattered and splashed, and the flecks were like a big flower that was about to rot.

Allowing it to slowly flow from the wall to the floor, Milady stood there thinking for a while, then turned and entered the room.

On the day of seeing off, she forgot to tell Hailan: she doesn't believe in fate.

Itami's crystallized lung was not fate, it was the inevitable result of man-made arrangements; the patriarch's choice was not fate, it was his deception after weighing the pros and cons; it was not fate that even the doctor didn't show up that day.

And now she wants to use these hands—these young, white, soft hands, which have never seen weather and jewels—to transfer one of the patriarchs of the Haidu family to the colossus that has gathered power, manpower and financial resources. , and pull down from the high position.

This is not fate.

Milady closed her eyes, and the patriarch's well-maintained short round face with clean eyes came to mind.

In the past few days, she had never felt such a strong hatred.

She wanted to see that face distorted by pain and fear, wanted him to feel the taste of loss, wanted him to beg for mercy but realized that it was too late... She suddenly understood why there was always a curse in the story: when you hate When it's too thick and you can't start, you will earnestly hope that there will be a power above reality that can cleanly restore the fairness and order in the world.

Now, she doesn't need fantasy spells.She knows what to do.

In order to keep everything he got from the Judgment Clan, the patriarch made her mother swallow the sand to die; then strip the patriarch again by herself, and let him fall into the mud... There is something better than this punishment?
She searched out all the money left in the house, installed the shadow mechanism, and took another Itami long coat.She used to think that this kind of long coat was old-fashioned, but she knew that she looked too young, and she didn't know what would happen to her tonight. Maybe she needed to use clothes to add a few years to herself, so as to press the ground.

She had an idea in her mind of how to find out where the casino was, though she didn't know how likely it was to succeed.

When Milady boarded a mechanical car, the sunlight had lost its sharpness and heat, and turned into a layer of dim yellow veil, which was about to sweep across the earth and slide down the horizon.

It turns out that the "place" is a casino.

Looking at the people and cars passing by in a hurry on the street, Milady thought almost contentedly.

To open a casino in Haidu, you must obtain the permission of the commander; in fact, almost all casinos with operating licenses are the property of the trial family.It's just that if someone recruits a few gambling agencies privately and gathers a few underground card games, they can't help it. The internal business management department usually turns a blind eye to it.

However, the "Sea Wave Concerto" family is different.

The Gaota family does not have a license to operate a casino.The patriarch violated the will of the trial family and quietly developed an underground industry, and such a special and sensitive gambling industry... This is definitely a big taboo.

Another Sea Wave Concerto family committed the same taboo a few years ago...the Quicksand family, right?Yes, they participated in the manufacture of mechanisms, developed several manipulation techniques, borrowed the brand name of Chang'an Company, and issued a batch of various mechanisms in Haidu.

Fortunately, they are not stupid, they did not create any force mechanism.

The Judgment Family has monopolized the operation of all military agencies in Haidu. Everyone knows that this is an untouchable piece of land. Rumors say that this is because their military agencies have been restricted, and they will not do anything to the Judgment Family. ——When the Liusha family's underground property was exposed, the patriarch's family suffered disaster. Not to mention all their power and wealth, the underground property was also confiscated.

In the "Prosperity Reappearance Trial Competition" that year, the person who won the position of the head of the Quicksand family was indeed replaced by the eldest son of another family.

However, she also faced an unprecedented problem: just because the patriarch has nothing to do with casinos on the surface, it is even more difficult to find out which casino is his underground industry.

The more people who know the inside story, the more they understand that the matter is of great importance and they must be kept secret.

When she mentions the word "place", Huai Tuo and the others will become wary, because this is not something she should know; they won't be like the clerks, who can fool them with a feint.

Milady couldn't help but clenched her hands into fists and then loosened them. After repeated several times, she relieved the hot itching when the blood hit her palms.

The place where she got off was Haidu Central Park.

"Park" is something that has only emerged in recent years. The whole park is a large structure, which can change the ground shape according to the theme of the festival.Milady also forgot how it arose; Haidu seems to be full of attraction for all new things, ranging from technological changes to new fashions, they will always be the first to germinate in Haidu.

The people who are most enthusiastic about embracing new things are undoubtedly the well-received young people from the big families in Haidu.This evening, Milady saw some of her cousins ​​in Central Park as expected, chatting and laughing with people from other families.

The sky soaked in the setting sun, as if anti-crystallization medicine has been applied, is glowing with streaks of purple red.Under the dim and soft glow, several three-to-four-meter-high giant structures in the park silently cast long shadows.

Recently, there is a popular competition game among young people from various families. At this time, it was late at night, and the lights in the park were turned on. The boys and girls were tired from playing, and they gathered in small groups by the tables and chairs in the park. Picnic and chat.When Milady approached a group of them, they noticed her and raised their heads.

Milady's attention was always fixed on one of the red-haired girls.

She was right, the other party was indeed here.

The red-haired girl was leaning against a tall boy, with her arms softly around him; she was only slightly startled when she saw Milady, and her head was still resting on the boy's shoulder.

Everyone in the big families in Haidu knows that she and Wei Lian from Changge's family are a couple like glue.

"Terry," Milady approached the group of boys and girls straight away, and smiled at the red-haired girl. "What a coincidence to see you here. Can I sit down? I'm just tired from walking."

It took what seemed like two seconds for Teri to realize she was talking to herself.After all, to her, Milady was just a distant relative in the family who didn't get along very much; Milady would bet that if no one mentioned it, Teri couldn't think of herself once a year.If she had any impression of herself, it should be that her own brother Huai Tuo and Milady did not get along.

"Ah? Oh, okay." Teri said to someone with a bit of embarrassment and bewilderment, "This is a member of our family... Well, you are younger than me, right?"

Milady had already sat down before she hesitated to address her.

When she wanted to do something, she didn't have the habit of waiting for people to nod their heads.My mother said with a smile, I don't know where she came from.

"What are you doing?" Milady met everyone's gazes, with an open mind, as if she belonged to this circle by nature. "Just chatting?"

Her manner was so natural that young people from other families thought she was from a family of similar status.The cousins ​​in the clan are obviously embarrassed to say anything in front of outsiders—after all, the so-called high rank and low rank are just concepts that have not been put into words, and Haidu has always been proud of human equality and freedom— —In a few minutes Milady had entered into their conversation.

"That's it?" She glanced at the mechanism under the night light with the end of her eyes, "It's really meaningless for you to play, and it's no good if you win."

"Then what are you talking about interesting?" A cousin in the clan asked quite unconvinced.

"Don't you even know how to play cards?" said Milady lazily.

Several people from other families suddenly laughed. "Just play cards? There's nothing new about that."

"There are so many novel ways to play, you may not have heard of them." Milady said provocatively. "I can come up with a simple game if I think about it now, but you must have never played it."

"What game?"

"I have no cards," said Milady, shrugging her shoulders. "I'll just tell you about it. We draw five red cards and two black cards from a deck of cards, lay them out in a row, and then you draw One card... I bet you can't get three red cards in a row."

This sentence is for smart people who think they understand probability.Facing a group of well-educated peers, the biggest advantage is that she doesn't have to speak too clearly.

A cousin thought about it, and sure enough, he let out a "ha".

"For example, when I play against you, the chance of me getting a red card for the first time is [-] to [-], right? The chance of getting a red card for the second time is [-] to [-]. The chance of getting a red card for the third time is [-] to [-]...how? Will it be lower?"

"Yes," someone nodded and said, "There are more red cards than black cards, and it is true that the probability of getting a red card is higher every time. But you bet that we won't get it?"

Milady replied: "I don't think you can get it in five rounds. I don't know about one round."

"The more times you play," a short and thin boy laughed, "the side with a higher probability will have a greater chance of winning! Why can't you even figure this out?"

As if this question was really laborious, Milady frowned and thought for a while, then shook her head: "No, I still think that if you play too many times, you won't get it... Unfortunately, there are no cards. Otherwise, I just got a special card. An interesting new mechanism that can be used to bet."

After the inevitable question of "what mechanism?" came up, she took out the shadow mechanism and added it just right; ,is there any method?"

Hearing this, this group of young people bit the hook almost happily, and even their cousins ​​of the same clan couldn't hold back.Everyone felt that Milady would lose the trick today; after a while, someone got a card from nowhere.

"I really want to play," Milady looked at the cards on the table, took a breath, and everyone burst into laughter.

She looked around, pretending to notice Teri's boyfriend Wei Lian for the first time.Tai Li was not very interested in anything other than her boyfriend, but Wei Lian was staring at the cards with great interest, as if she wanted to try it once and win the trick.He wasn't the only one at the table who was interested, but he was the only real target for Milady.

Without asking her a few words, Wei Lian pulled her arm out of her girlfriend's arm, shuffled the cards herself, and arranged them one by one.

Milady looked very nervous, stroking the shadow mechanism in her arms, and asked specifically: "It's three out of five games, right? If you don't win three times in a row, I don't need to give you a mechanism... But if you What if I lose? What will you give me? It must be of equal value."

Wei Lian was not the one who was short of money, and she didn't need Milady to say anything, so she bet a large sum of money amidst the booing of her friends.

This time, Teri also became a little nervous, and leaned over to look at her boyfriend's hand.Wei Lian drew out the first card, her face lit up immediately: it was a red card.

Second card, red card.

The third card is still a red card.

When Mi Lai cursed in a low voice, Teri cheered and clapped her hands a few times, and her boyfriend couldn't restrain the smile in his eyes.The skinny boy just now was rather regretful, and asked Milady: "Hey, without that mechanism, what else can you bet on? I'll play the next round."

She rubbed her palms, as if she was already too nervous, she gritted her teeth and said, "It's only been one round, there are four more times!"

For the next four times, Wei Lian's good luck ran out, to the surprise of everyone at the table.

He would always draw a black card when the second or third card was played; no matter how much the people around him prayed and knocked on the table, he still lost smoothly.He didn't believe in evil, and placed another bet. In the second game, he succeeded twice, but he still lost in the end.

Wei Lian was also generous, and pushed the purse to Milady, saying, "Unexpectedly, your luck is quite good."

She was far from over.

"Hey, maybe you'll have a better luck next time. I know another game where you draw red cards. There are nine cards in total, seven red cards and two black cards. Also, whoever draws three red cards in a row wins..."

She took the money, but instead of taking the shadow mechanism off the table, she tapped it and said, "Isn't it much easier? Do you want to try? If you win the next game, you can give the money and the mechanism Take it all away, and you will be ashamed."

Wei Lian glanced at her girlfriend beside her.Losing twice in a row is indeed a bit embarrassing; he thought about the ratio of seven to two for a while, and said a word: "OK!"

"The rules are a little different this time."

Milady showed the most kind smile, took out seven red and two black cards, a total of nine cards, laid them out in three rows and three cards, and demonstrated: "After all, your advantage is so great, and I can't be completely undemanding." , right? The three red cards you draw must be connected in a line to be considered a win. The line can be horizontal, vertical, or diagonal. Anyway, as long as they are connected in a line, you win, organ And the money is yours."

Wei Lian thought carefully and said, "It's still five rounds and three wins, right?"

Milady nodded, "Yes."

To avoid suspicion, she didn't touch the cards on the table again; when the game started, Wei Lian and his friends did all the shuffling, placing and opening of the cards.She watched the nine cards on the table come and go, tossing and falling, smiling when she should, and sighing when she should, but she seemed to be far away, only looking at this game with an inevitable outcome with cold eyes.

They were wrong, it wasn't poker at all.

It uses the most popular playing cards, but it is actually a probability trap, and it is the same if it is replaced with other props.When Itami taught her to calculate probability at home, he just took an old box of playing cards from a drawer as a demonstration.

In the five-draw-three game, the probability proposed by the cousin in the family is actually just the best possibility, and it is also the most obvious misunderstanding; if all the possibilities including drawing black cards are also counted , the real odds ratio of winning and losing is five to two—Milady five, Wei Lian two.

Several big bets in a row, for this group of young people, the amount is also a big deal; after a few rounds, Tai Li was even more nervous than her boyfriend, staring at the cards without blinking, occasionally giving back to Wei Wei. Lian came up with an idea which one to turn.

She may not know much about Milady, but Milady has made some effort to understand her and the young people of the same generation in the family.

For Tai Li, Wei Lian is the most important person.His achievements made her happier than Teri's own achievements.

It's a pity that Taili is destined to be unhappy today.

In the nine-draw-three game, Milady's advantage was even greater because of the concept of "connecting three red cards".

Because in the nine draws, there are only eight red card lines that Wei Lian can win: three horizontal and three vertical, plus two diagonal lines.

If two black cards are crowded in a corner next to each other, then there are four winning lines and four losing lines in this game; if there is a black card in the corner and a black card in the center, then there are only Two lines to win, six lines to lose; black cards falling elsewhere would leave three lines to win and five lines to lose.

Doing the math, there are 12 ways to arrange the cards, which can give Wei Lian a 22-[-] chance of winning; but there are [-] ways to arrange the cards, which can greatly increase the chances of winning for Milady.

When Wei Lian lost the "Nine Draw Three" game twice again, he couldn't help but turn blue because of the lost bets; Tai Li's brows were even more frowned, and when she glanced at Milady, There is fire in the eyes.

"I lost too much money," Wei Lian said as if surrendering, "It seems that I have bad luck today, and I am not suitable for playing cards."

Milady deliberately and slowly managed the money that belonged to him not long ago, and gave Teri a glance, feeling that it was enough.

"I have nothing else to do with me, just bet luck, and you should just pay the tuition." She knows what kind of winner is the most annoying - the kind who is complacent and tries to smear his victory on someone's face . "Although I have never been to a real casino, I think that even in a casino, I would not lose. But Wei Lian, you are different, you must never go to a casino, you can lose your pants .”

At first, Teri refrained from saying anything out of good upbringing.But Milady said one sentence after another, almost showing the success of a villain on her face, and her speech was full of disdain and ignorance of casinos; she finally couldn't help it, and snorted and said: " Do you think you can win money in the casino if you try your luck a few times?"

Milady's heart missed a beat.

She said flatly, "Yes."

"Okay," Teri said, "I'll take you to a casino and show me what you win, how about it?"

(End of this chapter)