Argon, with his mouth agape, stared at the frozen roulette wheel.
His face was filled with despair.
If he had just followed that silver-haired girl around, he could have easily earned millions of gold.
‘Ah! I should’ve bet earlier…!’
Argon felt frustrated.
At first, Silver Hair kept losing money.
Even when the flow changed later on, he was still unsure.
Who would have thought that girl would have such an uncanny talent for gambling?
He joined Silver Hair’s picks a bit too late, and only managed to make a small profit in the end.
Moreover, during the final highlight 30x bet, he was so shocked that he didn’t even dare to place a bet.
“Silver… that was amazing.”
Despite his regret, Argon expressed his gratitude.
Before Silver Hair arrived, he had been wasting his clan’s funds.
If time had passed like that, he might have even had to sell his beloved Rune Slayer exclusive weapon.
Anyway, thanks to following Silver Hair, at least he managed to break even.
Although a bit hot-headed due to blood pressure issues, he wasn’t the type of person to stubbornly argue, saying, “If you knew, you should’ve told me!”
“Hehe… our Silver Hair is really something, huh?”
Rydel laughed, shrugging her shoulders as if it was her own accomplishment.
「But seriously, with the sound and vibrations ,😔😔😔😞 Is that even possible?」
「Are you a human hearing test or what 🙂🙂🙂🙂」
「It wasn’t gambling, it was just money duplication 😦😦😦😦」
「But the fact that the admins immediately banned him is legendary 🥲🥲🥲🥲」
The group emerged from the underground gambling den with a warm, somewhat cheerful atmosphere.
Just then.
As they exited the underground gambling den, a loud noise erupted.
The sound of thundering footsteps, like a herd of angry bison, echoed at the entrance of the gambling den.
“Over there! There’s Silver Hair!”
A group of streamers, easily more than ten people, shouted as one of them pointed towards Yoo Seoyeno.
“Silver Hair!! You’re here!”
“Pick! Give us a pick!”
“Let us touch some money too!”
“Our clan members are starving!!”
The protagonists of the 1.5 billion gold duplication incident.
A group of people came looking for Silver Hair.
There were ten of them now, but the rest were all running toward the gambling den as well.
Essentially, all the people who had logged in were gathering like iron filings attracted to a magnet.
‘As long as we follow Silver Hair, the money will be duplicated!’
How could they miss such a golden opportunity?
They abandoned whatever hunting or crafting they were doing and rushed over at the speed of light.
“W-wait a minute! Everyone, calm down…!”
Rydel, flustered, waved her arms trying to stop them, but the streamers were already lost in their greed for gold.
「 😞 😞 😞 😞 😞 What are they, a bunch of beggars or what 🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂」
「Silver Hair’s pickster class changed ☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️」
「Trying to score a big win is so funny 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣」
「😊😊😊😊 The human indicator is correct 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 」
In the midst of this, some streamers, the most impatient ones, didn’t even spare a second to talk to Yoo Seoyeno.
They immediately dashed into the underground gambling den.
“Get a spot!”
“All our clan members are coming too!”
Four or five people almost collided with each other as they squeezed through the narrow entrance.
And before their eyes unfolded.
A cold, dark interior.
And in the center, the enormous roulette wheel, completely still and unmoving.
“…Huh?”
“…It stopped…?”
“Why isn’t it reacting?”
One of the lead streamers, who had rushed in first, pointed at the wheel in a daze.
Another streamer, who had followed, shouted in despair.
“No, why did it stop?! Who lowered the shot?!”
The roulette wheel remained silent.
It was cold and motionless, like a massive hunk of scrap metal.
The emergency notice was only visible to those inside the gambling den.
The streamers who had rushed in after hearing the news of the money duplication didn’t expect the gambling den to be closed.
Only then did the other streamers outside realize the situation and shouted.
“Zeras! Did they really close it?”
“…They said it’s under maintenance? The admins blocked it?” “…They lowered the shot.”
Maintenance.
Streamers who had received the information through the chat sat down in despair.
In their heads, they had already known.
It would’ve been strange if they didn’t shut it down right away after 1.5 billion was duplicated.
Still, just in case.
For those who came hoping to pick up even some crumbs, the disappointment was inevitable.
In the midst of the chaos,Yoo Seoyeno continued to watch the scene without any particular expression.
Then, she quietly opened her inventory.
A plump pouch of gold coins.
It shimmered in the sunlight, as if it were sparkling with light.
Even at a glance, it was an enormous amount.
But suddenly, why did she take that out here?
Was it just to show off?
But if it wasn’t just a simple flex.
The streamers stared blankly at the coin pouch as if they were hypnotized.
Yoo Seoyeno slipped her small hand into the pouch.
And then.
Chrrrrrrrrr—!
A dazzling golden rain.
Instead of liquid, a metallic golden downpour ,rained down upon the streamers, who were steeped in despair.
“…?”
“Si-Silver Hair?”
The streamers stared blankly at the air for a moment.
Above their heads, onto their faces and shoulders, sparkling gold coins were falling.
“It’s… it’s money!”
“How much gold is this?!”
“A-a-angel!”
“Bless you! Silver Hair, you’ll be blessed!”
The gloomy atmosphere flipped in an instant.
She wasn’t sprinkling a few measly coins either.
After emptying one whole pouch, she took out another and scattered it generously.
Even Argon, who had been leisurely watching with arms crossed, suddenly dropped to the ground, scrambling to grab even a single coin.
「😁 😁 😁 😁 😁 The flip is crazy」
「No one can resist gold, fr」
「How much is she even throwing out, lololol」
「Now this is a real flex, lol」
With every wave of her hand, streamers swarmed over.
It looked almost like she was feeding pigeons.
Receiving floods of thanks,Yoo Seoyeno calmly scattered a full 100 million gold right then and there.
‘With this… I should be able to silence their complaints.’
Rydel thought to herself as she watched.
At a glance, it looked like Yoo Seoyeno was simply caught up in the moment and acting on impulse,But thinking a little deeper, it was a calculated move.
1.5 billion was a massive sum—far too big to handle.
It was a feast too large to digest.
Eventually, complaints could start spreading among the streamers.
So, in short, she was using money to silence the complaints.
There’s a reason why bribes are called bribes.
When a person receives kindness with no strings attached,it becomes difficult to openly voice criticism.
A rule of human psychology that’s persisted for thousands of years, ever since the concept of private property was born.
With this level of goodwill shown,at the very least, the number of people openly expressing dissatisfaction or reporting unfairness to the admins would drop significantly.
The public opinion management effect of spending 100 million gold.
At this level, it wasn’t a loss-making investment at all.
“And for those who aren’t here right now, if they come to me later, I’ll give them 2 million gold. Please spread the word.”
Yoo Seoyeno said quietly.
Giving 2 million gold even to those who weren’t present.
Although both Yoo Seoyeno and Rydel made about 1 million gold a day from hunting,that income was only possible thanks to the busted skill Dimensional Distortion they got from the event.
Most streamers made less than half of that.
Two million gold was by no means a small amount.
“Got it!”
“Of course!”
“I’ll definitely let them know!”
Even though 2 million gold was less than what they’d just picked up,the streamers who had been gathering coins would gladly become Yoo Seoyeno’s loyal messengers without a word of complaint.
In the end, she had effectively brought every streamer on the server to her side.
‘She’s surprisingly good at handling people…’
Just because someone’s introverted doesn’t mean they don’t understand human nature.
In fact, it might be that thinking deeply helps them understand it even better.
Rydel gave a small, silent nod of admiration at Yoo Seoyeno’s unexpected finesse.
“Well then, let’s go buy the power cores now.”
In the middle of the village.
The old elf was still there, sitting on his mat like always.
As Yoo Seoyeno and Rydel approached, the elf smiled slightly.
“The sticky-fingered young lady’s back again. How many are you buying this time?”
“All 30 of them.”
Yoo Seoyeno answered from beside him.
The old elf tilted his head in confusion.
“All 30? That alone would cost 45 million gold, you know. It should be impossible to gather that kind of money so qui—”
Thunk!
Yoo Seoyeno took out a massive coin pouch from her inventory.
A pouch containing exactly 45 million gold.
“Wh-WHAT…!”
The always-composed old elf’s eyes grew wide in shock.
“I’ll pay in full.”
“…R-Right away.”
Still stunned, the old elf hurriedly gathered the 30 ancient power cores.
“Goodness… how in the world did you earn that much money so quickly…”
The coin pouch handed over in exchange for the power cores.
Even as he checked the coins inside, the old elf sounded like he still couldn’t believe it.
“I just… got a little lucky, that’s all.”
It was more than just luck.
Rydel gave a small smile.
***
Belheim.
The bustling capital city of the Pixel Wars streamer server,and a place filled with memories for countless players.
It was the heart of community, trade, and daily life content, meticulously built by the game admins.
A lively marketplace,a farming district where crops were grown,and even a steaming-chef’s guild building.
For those who had been enjoying the server for over a month,this city meant more than just another location in a game.
And it was also the site where the defensive system for the upcoming “Foundation of the Final Battle” event would be installed.
In effect, they were advertising that a major event to defend this city would soon take place.
‘I wonder how it’ll change once we insert the power cores?’
Rydel absentmindedly ran her fingers through her hair as she thought.
Right now, Belheim looked like a peaceful city lifted straight out of a fantasy world.
There weren’t any noticeable defensive facilities.
Maybe a giant robot hidden somewhere would appear?
Even she thought the idea was ridiculous,but with Zeronix, you could never really be sure.
He might just pull something like that.
“Come on, let’s go in.”
Well, they’d find out soon enough.
The place to install the ancient power cores—was right in front of them: the town’s clock tower.