Xiao Cheng got up early in the morning, then came to stand behind the counter of the convenience store.

He moved aside a few floorboards and took out the cloth bag from underneath, then placed it on the counter and opened it to count.

After deducting what he’d lost yesterday, there were still fifteen “Dao” in total.

And the ticket price for an “Earth-level” game would very likely be between two to five pieces. For three people, it might just barely be enough.

If there were any other choice, Xiao Cheng knew he wouldn’t be gambling his entire fortune on an “Earth-level” game where he could lose his life.

But in order to preserve his memories and survive in the “Land of the End,” and ultimately resist those middle-aged men, this was now the only path he could take.

After thinking it over carefully, Xiao Cheng revealed a bitter smile.

This place was full of capable and extraordinary people everywhere. Perhaps the formidable ones were already thinking of ways to collect thirty-six hundred “Dao” to escape, yet he was still racking his brains just to preserve his memories for the next cycle.

“Xiao Cheng.” Tiantian slowly walked out from the inner room, followed by a sleepy-eyed Zheng Yingxiong. “So early—are you preparing to set out?”

“Yes…” Xiao Cheng nodded. “Sister Tiantian, yesterday Man-Monkey said that Earth-Monkey’s game would make people ‘linger and forget to return.’ I really don’t know how to interpret that phrase. I thought about it all night and could only conclude that Earth-Monkey’s game requires a very long time.”

“Mm.” Tiantian nodded. “That’s possible.”

“So I’m planning to go early to see what the situation is like there. It’s possible that many people need to participate together, and if there aren’t enough people, we’d have to wait a long time.”

After thinking for a moment, Tiantian said, “So you’re taking all the ‘Dao’ with you? Won’t you encounter danger?”

“I have no choice,” Xiao Cheng said. “It’s already the sixth day. You should know that the further we go, the higher everyone’s probability of death becomes. After all, the people who’ve survived here aren’t pushovers. When the black lines descended yesterday, bells were ringing one after another, indicating that ‘Echoers’ are everywhere now…”

After hearing this, Tiantian nodded. Indeed, many people would “Echo” under such extreme circumstances. Even if they didn’t awaken under the influence of those black lines, they would still gain abilities due to various subsequent derivative events. She herself was an example.

Following the map that Man-Monkey had given them yesterday, it took them about half an hour to walk there, but the place looked very empty with no signs of “Zodiac” activity, which made them think for a while that Earth-Monkey hadn’t started work yet.

Fortunately, Man-Monkey’s map was marked in great detail, even with a line written in the corner stating that “Earth-Monkey” wouldn’t stand at the entrance to the game venue—they needed to walk to a building with a special entrance sign and could push the door to enter.

Following the map, they searched for about seven or eight more minutes before finding that strange game venue in a small alley. The slogan at the entrance was particularly eye-catching, especially “Harmony and Peace, Prosperity Through Entry and Exit.”

With some trepidation, Xiao Cheng reached out to push the door and found it was indeed unlocked. The “Zodiac” should already be at work, but the smell inside was very strange.

After walking inside a few steps and passing through a long corridor, they arrived at a spacious venue.

With the help of a bit of light coming into the room, a short, fat Earth-Monkey appeared before the three of them. He was currently holding a cigarette in his mouth while mopping the floor with a mop in his hand.

The sound was somewhat sticky.

“Yo, damn.” Earth-Monkey held his cigarette in his mouth and lazily scratched his fat belly. “Welcome to my humble establishment. People coming so early today?”

Xiao Cheng felt that this so-called “Earth-Monkey” looked far too much like a human.

Monkeys’ appearances were already quite similar to humans to begin with, and with his short, fat stature and slovenly dress, the more he looked, the less he seemed like a monkey and the more like an old man.

His fat belly had already burst out of his shirt, exposing a few wisps of brownish-black monkey fur.

Compared to other Earth-level Zodiacs, this Earth-level’s clothes appeared even more dirty and disheveled. His suit and shirt were full of wrinkles and stains, looking like they hadn’t been washed in who knows how long.

At this moment, this Earth-Monkey was holding a bright red mop in his hand, wiping the sticky blood stains on the ground.

It looked like quite a few people had died here last night.

“Please wait a moment, everyone. The shop still needs some cleaning up.” Earth-Monkey said politely, then took the cigarette from his mouth and flicked it toward an instant noodle bowl on the counter.

With a sizzling sound, the cigarette jumped into the instant noodle bowl and committed suicide.

“Sigh… I’ve clearly practiced it quite well, so why did I still smash the head?” he muttered to himself in a low voice. “Could it be that each person’s skull has a different hardness?”

Earth-Monkey wiped the floor a few more times. His mop was already bright red, and his current movements didn’t seem to be cleaning up the blood at all, but rather spreading it more evenly throughout the entire room to ensure the floor color was uniform.

After about a few minutes, Earth-Monkey put away the mop, walked to the side, and turned on the lights.

After a crisp “click,” a huge underground casino revealed itself before the three of them.

The completeness of the equipment and the variety of types were jaw-dropping.

After being stunned for a long time, Xiao Cheng asked somewhat absently, “Which, which one is the ‘Earth-Monkey game’?”

“Hey, all of them.” Earth-Monkey lit another cigarette, then reached up to pick at some eye crust. “Early entry, early profit; late arrivals get nothing. Two ‘Dao’ per person—come in and play whatever you want. Whatever you earn is yours.”

“Play whatever we want…?” Xiao Cheng thought he’d misheard.

They say that monkey-type games represent “intelligence,” but could this casino where you could play whatever you wanted really be related to intelligence?

In ordinary people’s minds, wasn’t “gambling” a game of “luck”?

At this moment, Tiantian gently reached out to pat Xiao Cheng, pulling back his train of thought, then pointed toward the opposite wall.

Xiao Cheng glanced over and saw written there in bold letters—”Entry ticket: two Dao.”

“Exit redemption: ten Dao.”

“In other words…” After thinking for a moment, Xiao Cheng asked, “Once we’ve paid the ‘entry ticket,’ if we want to leave, we can only give you ten ‘Dao’?”

“Right, ten ‘Dao’ per person.” Earth-Monkey nodded lazily, then glanced at Zheng Yingxiong and said, “Our establishment is very fair, honest to young and old alike, so a child’s entry ticket is also two ‘Dao,’ and redemption is ten ‘Dao.'”

“What a fine ‘honest to young and old alike’…” Xiao Cheng clutched the cloth bag in his hand, his expression showing difficulty.

He had fifteen “Dao” in his hand. Once he paid the six “Dao” for entry tickets, only nine would remain. Not to mention getting three people out—he couldn’t even pay for one person to leave.

With no turning back once the arrow is shot, could they really win in this casino?

“I have a question…” Tiantian said timidly.

“Please.” Earth-Monkey raised his hand.

“How do we earn ‘Dao’? There are only the three of us in this entire venue. Whose ‘Dao’ are we supposed to earn?”