The patterns in the slot machine are getting faster and faster, and the orange heart is jumping higher and higher.

"It's not a big deal," she comforted herself, "it's just a dollar, and I picked it up, and even if I win the lottery, it's the price of a meal." It doesn't matter if you eat more or less, after all, we're wild cats who can live by hunting alone!"

That's what she said, there's nothing wrong with it, but she just can't hold back the feeling of getting more and more nervous.

Between losing and winning, of course she will choose to win, she wants to win, but the chances of winning are uncertain, unknowable, and uncontrollable. The moment the chips were out of her hands, her soul had already left her, and she jumped into the high-speed spinning wheel of fate, and accepted the judgment with thousands of greedy souls.

Unpredictability, that's the beauty of the game of "gambling". Whether it is a king with power in the world or a businessman on the rich side, in front of the invisible hand of "fate", they are all as small as ants. This great power always makes them fully aware of their own insignificance and powerlessness, and they are afraid of it, and they rejoice in it, and rush to be the first to embrace it.

Because they want to win.

The fear of "failure" and the desire for "victory" are like a hungry tiger chasing after a hungry tiger and gold at hand, one behind and the other in front, and at the same time driving gamblers to run for their lives until they win gold or die in the tiger's mouth. For money, for honor, for fame, or just for the feeling of "winning", whatever the reason, the moment the thought "I want to win" pops into their minds, they are already prisoners.

Orange has become, like the gamblers who, a second ago, she couldn't understand at all, have lost their freedom and become a prisoner of "victory". She opened her eyes wide, didn't say a word, didn't even dare to take a breath of air, and her heart was as empty as a fugitive. She was to observe, as Sir Sciacolos had said, "to observe". She had to see the flow of the patterns, each one clearly, lest the one she missed would become a black sheep that would lead to destruction. Although, even after seeing everything clearly, she was powerless to change anything.

Taking 10,000 steps back, there is no need for Orange to be so serious. She didn't pick up the money, she didn't pull the lever, and even if she won, she didn't know what to do with the money, but she just wanted to win, not to lose, and this primitive and pure desire had suppressed her sanity and turned her into a complete gambler - gamblers don't need reason, sane people don't gamble at all.

Soon, the scrolling of the first row of patterns slowed down, and the orange heart became heavy with it—and when it finally stopped, she saw a cartoon portrait of a girl with a sad face, and her red hair like a flame.

When the dust settles, the first pattern is a red aster.

This means that the best she can get is a free spin again. Of course, the more likely thing is that she won't get anything.

"Hey......"

Orange hung her head, no longer looking at the machine, and unconsciously sighed at the lost dollar.

"Sure enough," she said, a little dejectedly, "we don't have such good luck!"

"Be patient, little girl. Sir Sciakros turned back and said unhurriedly, "Nothing happens overnight. ”

Compared with her, this white cat is much calmer, like an old bird, not alarmed, unmoved. Orange looked at Sir Shakoros's dangling tail and thought to himself, "Is this the difference between age and experience?"

She still has a lot to learn, and today is her first lesson.

The second row of rollers stopped rotating, and the one in the middle was, like the first, a red aster. At this time, Orange had a premonition in her heart, and the heart that had just been put down was lifted by her again.

Sure enough, when the third row also stopped, the text flashing in the center of the screen confirmed her hunch.

It read "Free combos, keep up the good work!", and behind the text was a whole row of red asters.

"See, as I said," said Sir Chakoros, "don't always try to do it once, sometimes you need a second chance. ”

With that, his cat's paw had already pressed on the lever.

The second time he pulled down the lever, this time, Orange felt that the pattern in the screen was scrolling much faster than the first time, as if it was all over at once. She didn't know if it was the first time it had slowed down, or if it was really fast this time, but this time she didn't see the patterns until the wheel slowed down.

The three rows of rollers stopped one by one, and a line of golden text popped up in front of them exactly the same as the last time:

"Free combos, keep up the good work!"

At the back of the text are three blue asters.

"Hmm......," said Sir Sciakros, snorting, and then turning his head and smiling:

"Looks like it's nice to have a third chance?"

So, again, he pulled down the lever.

This time, the wheels seemed to be turning a little faster. It only took a few seconds - or maybe it had only taken a few seconds - to stop, and what appeared in front of Orange's eyes was a familiar scene, a familiar text:

"Free combos, keep up the good work!"

It's still three asters, but this time, they've changed from blue to green.

"Well," Sir Chakolos shook his head a little helplessly, "it is not impossible to do it again and again, again and again, again and again, and again and again, and again and ”

"But I can assure you that this is the fourth and last time. ”

As he spoke, he got up from his seat, climbed to the top of the back of the chair, and jumped onto Orange's shoulder.

"This time," he said, "it's up to you to smoke." ”

"Eh, me?" Orange said with a panicked gesture, "Why?"

"Just change your luck, don't think too much. ”

Sir Shakolos spoke, patting Orange on the back gently with his paws, and urged:

"Don't be stunned, take a seat!"

"Good...... Okay!"

Uneasy, reluctant, incomprehensible, so many words, in the end, it didn't stop Orange from stepping over the unconscious gambler's body and sitting in his original seat.

"Hoo ......"

She exhaled and placed her right hand on the rather bright, red lever.

Sure enough, the spectator and the actual operation are two completely different experiences. She was so nervous when she watched from the sidelines, but now that she was doing it herself, she calmed down.

Her hands weren't shaking, there wasn't any jumbled thoughts in her head, no, she wasn't even thinking. Sir Chakolos whispered in her ear, "It's okay, it's going to hit next time," and "No matter how many hits, it's the last time," and things like that, she didn't hear a word, she didn't even try to listen. She just sat there quietly and motionlessly, emptying her body and mind, emptying everything.

It was quiet, it slowed down, and the world around it was completely frozen. The glittering buildings, the noisy crowds, the fancy amusement facilities, even the slot machines in front of you and the white cat on your shoulder, all dissipated, like a phantom meeting reality, dissipated, and turned into a pure white of nothingness. Orange closed her eyes, and all she could hear was the sound of her own breathing and heartbeat.

Then, she couldn't hear even the slightest sound. She couldn't feel her body anymore, as if this weak will had merged into the vast and infinite universe, like water dropping into the sea, dissipating.

Orange opened his eyes.

And so the world around her began to spin again.

"Up!"

She yelled and pulled down the lever hard.

After a few seconds of turning, the first pattern was reflected in her eyes, and her heart, which had long since been calm, began to beat violently again.

That's one, bright red, shining brightly, with the number 7.

This is followed by a second pattern, the same as the first, still with the number 7.

180?200?Orange couldn't calculate her heart rate at this time, and if the heart in her chest was immediately replaced with an elephant's, it might die suddenly.

The feeling of orange at this time is like a dying moment, hovering between life and death. The blood flowed backwards, bursting through every vein in her, and eventually surging into her brain, boiling inside. Her scalp was swollen and aching from excessive blood, and perhaps in the next second, the cat-eared cerebellar would explode like a watermelon, and then spew out a hot brain like magma.

There was no enemy in front of her who would take her life, but she did feel the threat of death, and as a result, all her organs were in a state of readiness, and time became unbearably slow in that highly tense spirit.

Finally, in this slow and almost stagnant time and space, the third row of rollers gradually slowed down. When it finally stopped, Orange only felt that the whole world had become clear.

She turned her head to look at the people nearby, who were still cheering, sighing, and talking loudly, but she couldn't hear them. All that was left in her ears was a shrill ringing, and everything in front of her was in a trance, like a dream. In order to confirm that her experience was real, she pinched the back of her hand with her fingernails, and the ensuing sharp pain completely awakened her consciousness, which was slammed by the sudden fact.

It's true.

She glanced at the screen of the slot machine, and there were only three numbers on it:

7、7、7

It's all true.

When the coins flowed out like flowing water, she could no longer restrain herself, raised her arms, and shouted:

"Medium-"

"Well done, little girl. Sir Shakolos said, his eyes almost narrowed into two crescents, "Although this cat's paw has also helped a lot, but in the end, it is all your credit!"

"Well...... In this way, you will be able to play a big ticket smoothly......"