13 Mink Street

"Um?"

Upon hearing this answer, Neo leaned back and glanced to both sides behind him with the corner of his eyes.

He had the feeling that Karen was standing behind him, watching him place bets and gambling, and then a crow flew over to tease him.

Fortunately, Karen was not seen.

call……

Neo suddenly frowned, why did he have such a guilty feeling? Who was he, Karen, and why could he control his gambling?

"Minister, what should we do?" Leon was a little worried. He had unconditional trust in Karen. After all, he was the next batch of "believers" personally selected by Alfred.

"What should I do?" Neo lit a cigarette, "I asked you to investigate, just investigate. Aren't we here just to investigate? Or are we here to gamble?"

Leon: Didn’t you call me to gamble and relax?

"How's it going? Do you think it's interesting?" Neo asked, "I just placed a hundred points of coupons. If I win the last one, I can make tens of thousands."

"But, I didn't win."

"Hey, the probability of winning is low." Neo didn't take it seriously and stood up, "Let's go backstage and meet my old friend."

Neo and Leon stood up and left their seats. Many people around them cast sympathetic glances, thinking that they had lost their underwear.

In fact, this amount of money is really nothing to Neo now, and it is far from enough to make him miss the warm breeze on the rooftop.

There were people from the gaming company standing in the backstage to block the situation. There were also two people wearing divine robes inside. The main color of their divine robes was dark red, with a grimace mask on it. Rumor has it that nowadays, in literary and artistic works, it is related to circus. The active clown image in the group evolved from here.

He is the form of a god - Ganarad.

The Cult of Ganarad is a medium-sized religious cult, but it is very well-known because the mythological narratives of each religion refer to their god Ganarad in another way - the god of gambling.

Similar to the Goddess Mills who is worshiped by many prostitutes, the statue of the god worshiped by many casinos and the evolved image prototype is Ganarad.

He was active in the last era. He was once a member of the Eternal camp, and later switched to the Light camp. Finally, when Order separated from the Light camp, he was one of the first gods to follow the God of Order.

It can be said that in the last era, he was the most active and accurate god in taking sides. No matter how the situation changes, he will always have the status of "victor".

After entering this era, for a long time, the Religion of Kosmos and the Religion of Light existed side by side. The Religion of Kosmos developed rapidly thanks to the influence of the God of Order dominating the divine world at the end of the last era. Although the Religion of Light developed The God of Light was "lost" early on, but the foundation remains.

The tragedy of Ganaradism happened during that period. Originally, the religion left by Ganarad had the strength of a large church and could even touch the orthodox religion, but the church obviously did not have the support of their gods.

They first broke with the Order and took refuge in the Cult of Light, and then broke with the Light...

The Illuminati Cult declared the Ganarad Cult a cult and launched a religious war against them. The Ganarad Cult wanted to defect back to seek the asylum of the Cult of Order, but encountered the indifference of the Order.

In the end, the sect was almost wiped out under the attack of the Illuminati Cult, and its status was comparable to that of a street rat.

A thousand years ago, the light died, and order won the competition with light. The Cult of Kosmos successfully established a church circle system based on the "Ordinances of Order".

Then, for some unknown reason, the Cult of Kosmos not only failed to investigate the betrayal of the Ganarad Cult, but also canceled the cult's status as a cult.

It has only been a thousand years, and the remnants of the past have developed into a medium-sized divine religion again.

This fully illustrates the strong vitality of gambling dogs.

"I'm looking for Miye, Miye Shanat."

The two priests inside immediately pushed aside the staff outside and motioned for them to enter.

Under the leadership of the priest, Neo and the two formally walked into the backstage. In fact, they entered the "office area" of another building from the "entertainment area" through an underground passage.

After walking into a very spacious office, Leon heard a surprise cheer:

"Oh, my dear old friend Neo, it's been so long!"

A middle-aged man opened his arms and took the initiative to hug Minister Neo.

The middle-aged man looked like a lawyer. He was not wearing a divine robe and was dressed strictly and cleanly.

Yes, clean.

This word is rarely used to describe a person's appearance, but this is indeed the first impression Miye gives Leon. He has an innate affinity that makes you subconsciously want to trust him.

But trusting a person who runs a casino...the consequences are quite dire.

Neo hugged the other person warmly, and then they each took their seats.

It's just that Neo took Mie's original seat, and Mie sat on the visitor's sofa.

Miye said with a smile: "I really didn't expect that you would be able to sit in this position."

"you, too."

As he spoke, Neo looked at Leon and introduced him: "I caught this kid illegally inducing people to gamble in Sangpu City. Later, I saw that he had a good attitude towards pleading guilty. The purpose of punishment is to educate. As a matter of principle, I will let him go."

Leon knew that this "good confession" must be expensive.

"What's tempting people to gamble? I just want to attract some believers for the mission. This is a mission arranged by the above. I have to carry out it. Besides, all activities of my Ganarad sect on the territory of order will be strictly controlled. Reported in order.

For example, this time, the order has been reported, so that we can come here regularly to absorb part of the gambling greed. Our activities are actually beneficial to the normal operation of society.

After all, what Order wants to see is a normally developing society, right? "

Leon said: "No, what Order wants to see is a human society that develops freely without interference from the divine religion."

Miye asked back: "Then do you know that human beings' collective greed can easily breed strange demons and even evil gods?"

"This...I know."

"So, the reason why Order allows us and small church activities like Mills Church is also to clean things up. At least, we are much easier to control than those newly born things, and we know the rules better.

Neo, if you don't want to introduce this young man, he was only about his age when we first met. "

Neo replied, "If I had his family status, you wouldn't be able to know me."

"Oh, I see."

"I'm not here to see you, Miye. I want to see the dice shaker. I know that there is such a master in the team you came over this time."

"Our dice player just went to see a minister of your regional management office this morning. He has just rested now. I can arrange time for you tomorrow. You see..."

"Of course, we are old friends."

"Neo, thank you for your accommodation..."

"I just received a report that there are violations outside the order allowed here. I immediately ordered the whip of order to come and investigate. I must clear your old friend's name."

"Please wait a moment. I believe the dice player will be very happy to see you. I will go and inform you of the arrangements."

"okay."

Miye stood up, opened the door to the back room of the office and walked in.

Neo also stood up, opened the small wine cabinet in the office, moved away the cheap drinks outside, took the most expensive one, rummaged through Miye's desk drawer, and took out a bar inlaid with a formation breath gem. He clipped his pen to his breast pocket, took out an open pack of church-issued cigarettes, pulled out a pack, and threw the rest directly towards Leon.

"Hold it for me."

"good."

After a sip of wine and a puff of cigarette, Neo burped happily and said with a smile:

"No matter how many great principles they say, their church assets are built on the blood and tears of believers, so just take whatever you like without any psychological pressure."

"I understand, but there's nothing I want."

"People must have desires in life." Neo reminded.

"Mr. Alfred will show me the way."

"Heh." Neo took another sip of wine angrily, "Then you won't be disappointed."

After a while, Miye came back. He opened the door and made a "please" gesture to Neo: "The dice shaker is waiting to meet you."

Neo walked in with a cigarette in his mouth and a wine bottle in his hand. Leon hesitated for a moment and followed suit.

The room inside is a bit dim, with a dark red color. There is a very low gaming table in the center. There is a curtain under the gaming table, which is like a heating place. In winter, many ordinary families in Wein are heated like this.

A woman in her late forties sat there with her legs under the gaming table, half of her face covered with black gauze, her oval face showed her youthful beauty, and her two earrings were dice.

"Hello, Mr. Minister, please forgive me. I am physically disabled and cannot get up to greet you."

"It's okay, it's okay, just sit down."

Neo looked back and saw Miye immediately exiting behind him and closing the door at the same time. The moment the door was closed, the isolation barrier was activated to ensure that the conversation inside would not be eavesdropped by the outside.

"Mr. Minister, please take a seat."

"Okay, okay." Neo did not sit down, but pointed to Leon, "Sit down."

"Me? Okay."

Leon sat down, also opened the curtain, and stretched his legs under the gaming table.

As soon as he sat down, Leon noticed a pair of extremely dexterous feet climbing up his knees, going up his thighs, and finally touched that position.

"this……"

Leon wanted to stand up, but saw Neo sitting down on the side and said to the woman: "You are so strict about keeping secrets, even Miye doesn't know."

"After all, it involves such a serious matter, he has no right to know." The woman answered Neo while looking at Leon meaningfully.

Leon only felt like a bird that was originally standing on the tree and was blown to the sky by a gust of wind.

"Let's get down to business." Neo lit up his cigarette again, "He won't last long."

Leon: "..."

"Okay." The woman took out a stack of playing cards, "You should know what price I have to pay for a gamble with you."

"Hasn't the Ganarad Cult always been bearing this price?" Neo sneered, "Now, it's just the most normal payment."

"hehe."

The woman drew three Aces, spread them out first, and then flipped them over.

Then he found three kings, placed them in front of Neo, and flipped them over.

"Actually, some elders in our church feel that in order to seduce the light and wage war against large churches like us, and help the order reduce the pressure and win the epochal confrontation, we have paid a sufficient price and made great contributions to the order. We It deserves more preferential treatment, but order has not given it.”

Neo took a sip of wine and replied: "Survival requires paying a price. Those old people may have forgotten that the right to survive is not innate."

"Three cards, wouldn't it be a bit much?" the woman asked.

"That's not enough for me."

"Okay." The woman took out three dark red diamonds and placed them on the three cards in front of her. "I originally thought this scene would be more rigorous and solemn, but I didn't expect it to be so rough. It's really a bit... Sorry for my three lucky diamonds.”

"Do you want me to invite you to the Whip of Order headquarters building to perform this ceremony?"

"That's no need."

The woman put her finger on the first card in front of her. Her nails fell off automatically and blood flowed out. Then, blood overflowed from her eyes, ears, mouth and nose, and finally gathered above the card and the one below. A diamond echoes.

This was a terrifying scene, so terrifying that Leon suddenly cooled down.

"well."

The woman sighed and took her foot back, while Leon breathed a sigh of relief.

"How about you do it instead?" the woman said to Neo.

"I don't mind. After all, I know you have this hobby."

"That's right, let me make you feel better."

"When I feel better, I will kill you."

"Well, it seems that you really love your wife very much. You know, such sincere feelings are hard to see among gamblers. No, almost none. On the contrary, it's the kind of people who sell their wives to raise money for gambling. a lot of."

"Just focus."

"In order to help you, I specially applied for a top-grade holy weapon. Don't worry, there will be no problem this time. It's just that my feet are free and I'm really not used to it, which will affect my state and performance."

"If there is a next time, I will bring you a guy with bugs on his body, which will definitely make you happy."

"I am looking forward."

The diamond begins to melt.

Neo placed one of his fingers on a card in front of him.

"You choose one," the woman said.

"order."

A ball of fire of order condensed at Neo's fingertips, and finally attached to the playing cards.

The woman's eyes widened immediately, as if she knew something serious was going on, and her expression immediately became serious. She said, "It seems that your bloodthirsty demon bloodline is much higher than expected."

Because the order of opening cards is from low to high.

"Can the cards be opened?"

"Can."

Neo turned over the card in his hand, and the front of the card turned black. With a "buzz" sound, it levitated directly and flew into the air between the two of them.

The woman flipped open her current card. The two cards met in the air, and finally fell slowly. The black card was facing up, but with a dark red seal.

"hiss……"

The woman took a deep breath and turned extremely pale. Obviously, the first seal had put her under great pressure.

"I was fortunate enough to experience the treatment that my great god used to heal Order."

It is recorded in the mythological narrative of "Symmetra" that after a battle between gods, Ganarad healed the god of order.

This is a very illogical description. There were too many gods in the light camp who were good at healing and restoring life. Why did the God of Order choose the God of Gambling to heal himself?

Theological history researchers in later church circles came to the conclusion that the God of Order should have asked Ganarad to seal something to himself.

Because Ganarad himself is a collection of gambling delusions, it can be preserved in the murals. His image and deeds show that he is a gentle god, combining elegance and calmness.

He only wears that clown mask when fighting, not normally.

Moreover, the sealing system that Ganarad is good at is very subtle. He should only be good at sealing "character" or "personality".

The theological historians believe that the God of Order's crazy slaughter of gods in the last period was probably because he was... crazy.

A pair of white gloves levitated, floating on both sides of the woman's body. This was the ultimate holy weapon: the devil's hand.

Under the blessing of the holy weapon, the woman returned to normal. She put her hand on the second card, and blood gushed out again, and asked: "Is it okay to play the second card?"

"you sure?"

"Sure."

"Okay." Neo also placed his hand on the second card.

"Second card, what's your card?"

"Bloodthirsty monster."

A red halo overflowed from Neo's fingertips and covered the cards, causing them to fly up.

The woman also took advantage of the situation and popped out the cards on her side. The moment the two cards collided, the woman spat out a large mouthful of blood and fell into a state of depression again. The gloves on both sides of her body were doing various cuts quickly. The act of shuffling the cards.

Behind Neo, a figure wearing an evening dress appeared, with a blurry head.

At this time, layers of dark red seals were covering the figure, and the latter was resisting.

Finally, after a period of stalemate, the figure was sealed.

The white gloves stopped moving, white lines were pulled out on the gloves, and they had become old and scrawled.

The woman looked at her hands in horror and then at the gloves. Her lips murmured. Obviously, she didn't dare to play the third card. She didn't know if she could hold on.

"I'm...a little scared, afraid of knowing what your last card is..."

Neo, on the other hand, did not consider the other party at all and said bluntly: "Can't you afford to lose?"

"Really, I probably can't afford to lose."

"As long as you don't die."

"I may really die, Neo. In our previous contacts, you never told me that the personality you need to seal is so terrifying!"

"My fault?"

"I always thought that the last card was the order, but your first card is, your card is too big, I think..."

"I am a person who likes to lose completely when I lose. Even if I go to the rooftop to enjoy the breeze, I will not be timid and end the game halfway. Likewise, I don't like people who are betting against me to leave early."

"My conditions are too low, Neo. The conditions I put forward to you before are not proportional to what I am about to pay!"

"The bet has been verified, and it's too late to regret it now. Well, I can take a step back, and after you and I finish betting, I will allow your people to collect more gambling resentments in York City than what was reported. , the Whip of Order will help you cover it here.

Absorbing more of them can make this city cleaner, haha. "

"Very insincere, Neo."

"My patience is limited."

"I hope to get a promise from you..." The woman took out a letter and placed it on the gambling table, "I have a pair of daughters, they are also Ganarad believers and are being cultivated. I hope that if I die , you can go through the order process and bring the two of them from Ganaradism without you raising them. I just hope that they can leave that place. I don’t want my two daughters to become dice shakers like me. .”

"Okay, I agree, but the premise is that you must successfully win me."

"I will."

The woman opened her hands, and the gloves fell back automatically. She put on the gloves on her hands, and there was a hint of determination in the woman's eyes.

As she placed her hand on the last card, the woman asked, "Actually, you didn't intend for me to survive today, did you, Neo?"

Hearing this, Leon looked at Minister Neo in shock.

Neo smiled and said nothing.

"I have a premonition, a premonition from the dice rollr. Once the next trump card is revealed, I will definitely be silenced, because it must be a secret that you cannot let others know."

The woman said, and looked at Leon again specifically.

Leon's eyes were firm.

"It's too much drama and it's boring. You didn't tell Miye, didn't you just hope that when it's over, I won't kill other people."

"I just take chances before going to the gambling table...the mentality of a gambler."

"Open the cards." Neo urged.

"Then... let's open the cards. The hole card of your third card is..."

"bright."

A ball of bright fire appeared and concentrated on the hole card.

Leon: "!!!"

With a "clang", Leon's knees hit the gaming table violently, then he quickly landed on the ground with his hands and crawled back, looking at the bright fire condensed from Minister Neo's fingertips in disbelief.

"Impossible...impossible...impossible..."

Minister Neo, how could he be a remnant of the light!

"Hehehehe..." the woman laughed, "You are so cruel, young man, your life is over today."

The woman flipped the cards over and the two cards merged.

The woman's hands moved quickly, almost creating an afterimage, and behind Neo, a figure wearing a robe of light appeared, with dark red borders appearing again and again and being offset again and again.

The woman's appearance began to age rapidly, and her vitality was rapidly disappearing. The gloves of her hands were constantly decomposing in this set of rapid movements. Also decomposing were the woman's hands, and then the woman's elbows, arms...

She was like a sweater being unraveled rapidly.

Finally, when only one head of the woman was left, the bright shadow behind Neo was successfully coated with a layer of red wax.

"Snapped!"

The woman's head fell on the gambling table, and she said, "I won."

"I will agree to your original request and your daughters."

"Thanks."

Neo reminded: "You should be dead. I don't want to purify you. Miye will misunderstand."

"Okay, the suicide note and diary are under my cushion. I explained that I was lost and chose to commit suicide."

"Um."

The woman closed her eyes, a cloud of black smoke rose up, and she died completely.

She won, but she lost completely. She couldn't even regain consciousness.

Neo stood up and stretched first. Now, the problem of the reading exchange meeting could be temporarily solved, and he bought himself a long period of sobriety.

Unfortunately, I don't feel too happy.

So, what on earth was I expecting, haha.

Neo immediately shook his head and muttered to himself: "How can I feel that living is so tiring? I can't be so negative. It seems that I have to ask Karen to check on me again."

With that said, Neo turned to look at Leon, who was already huddled in the corner.

"Hello."

"Ahhhh!!!!!!!!!"

Leon screamed.

The one he respects most is Karen, and the second person he respects is Minister Neo. Now, he cannot accept the fact that Minister Neo is a remnant of the light. He feels that his world view is about to collapse.

Also, he felt that Minister Neo was going to kill him to silence him.

"Huhuhuhu..."

Breathing quickly, Leon plucked up the courage and stood up: "The remnants of the light, I want to fight with you..."

"Uh-huh!"

Neo appeared in front of Leon.

"ah!"

Leon yelled, and his back hit the wall in fright.

But soon, Leon regained his courage and looked directly at Neo: "The remnants of the light!"

Neo: "Bah."

Leon: "..."

Neo stretched out his hand, and Leon immediately condensed a spell, but when Neo's fingertips shook, the spell he had just condensed dissipated directly.

In front of the experienced hounds, Leon, a former civil servant, was simply a cute little quail.

"Pop!"

Neo lightly patted the dust on Leon's shoulder.

"Don't worry, I won't kill you to silence you, I'll scare you."

"me……"

"I didn't fail to invest your money. If I lost all your coupons, it would be possible for me to jump off the rooftop with you."

"But...I...you are bright..."

"Are you going to report me, if I don't kill you?"

"For sure, I will never surrender to the remnants of light, even in the face of the threat of death, so Minister Neo, no, Neo Apostate, you'd better kill me now."

"I won't kill you, but I want to ask you who you reported to."

"I'm going to report it to Minister Cullen!"

"Okay, go ahead. Oh, by the way, Mr. Alfred, whom you respect so much, is at the entrance of the casino now."

Neo said, reaching out and tapping the shell on the back of his ear:

"Hey, there is a barrier and the signal is not good."

"I can hear it. The newly improved magic communication equipment is very powerful."

"Take this child away."

"Okay, the young master has returned to the manor. I have just finalized the personnel arrangements and am preparing to go to the manor as well."

"okay."

…

Alfred tapped the shell on the back of his ear and moved his eyes towards the casino ahead.

Vic, who was sitting in the back row, asked doubtfully: "Mr. Alfred, are we waiting for someone?"

"Well, wait for someone like you. He will be out soon. Then we will hit the road together."

"I'm looking forward to it, Mr. Alfred, but can you tell us a little bit in advance where we are going? Just give it a little bit, really."

Alfred smiled and said: "A brand new future, a place that can completely change you, a performance that can reshape people."

"I am already looking forward to seeing the changes in me when my teacher comes back. I believe that I can find it where I am going, Mr. Alfred. I am eager to know the secret, and I am also eager to integrate into their circle, because I’ve watched them progress and improve.”

Alfred responded:

"Believe me, Vic, when your teacher sees you again! I swear, he will be proud of you, and will shed tears of joy for your progress and achievements."