Book 6 Chapter 18.3 - Leaving
Persephone walked up to the mirror, and then carefully cleaned up her appearance. However, there was nothing she could do about her sunken eye sockets. She opened the door, the blinding light that shining from the corridor making her narrow her eyes, and only then did they gradually adapt. Relying on her somewhat blurry memory, Persephone found the door that led to the front, pushed it open, and then walked into the tavern.
The tavern was full of billowing smoke.
Several dozen men and women were huddled together, shouting and making noise as loud as they could. The ground was full of empty bottles of alcohol, while the smell of poor quality cigarettes already formed a layer of smoke that was hard to eliminate in the air, thick to the point where one almost couldn’t open their eyes. The tavern’s music was powerful, but no one came to file any noise complaints. After all, a small half of the town’s people were currently crammed into this little building.
The tables and chairs were already moved over to the walls, only a single table and a few chairs placed at the center of the tavern. A beautiful woman was currently sitting on the chair, in her hands a few poker cards, her large intelligent eyes not looking at the cards, but rather at the man seated on the other side. The bar suddenly became quiet, everyone conscientiously closing their mouths. The male’s eyes moved back and forth between his own cards and the woman’s face, but didn’t look at the expressions of the people around him. In Leeds, one’s gambling character was an important criterion for a person. He finally set his resolution, and then with a loud roar, slammed his cards back on the table, saying, “I just refuse to believe that this hand can’t even remove a single piece of clothing off your body!”
The woman revealed a bright and pure smile, carrying a bit of a young lady’s immatureness. However, when she placed the cards back on the table, the man on the other side immediately knew that this smile was only a false appearance. Her cards were just a bit better than his, and that flash of panic that appeared in her eyes was something she purposely displayed for him to see. As a result, the woman collected the stake with a smile, a well maintained submachine gun, throwing it accurately into the large bag behind her without even turning her head.
The male who lost unwillingly left his position, and then another male immediately filled his shoes. The cards were shuffled again, and then a new round of gambling thus began. The game was quite simple, the men used either weapons or food as their bet, while the woman betted the clothes on her body, removing one article with each lost round.
The woman’s clothes were extremely simple, composing of a headscarf, a laced white shirt, dark pants, and leather boots. Even if the wristwatch, earrings, and necklace were counted, she still didn’t have that much on her. Meanwhile, that soft shirt was sticking close to her body, from the flowing curves, there shouldn’t be too many unnecessary accessories. Right now, she already removed a pair of boots, revealing the two feet that were wrapped in black stockings. However, she acted as if those boots were still properly worn, crossing her legs, swaying them back and forth rhythmically, the rocking motion making one’s mind move along with those legs.
Headscarf, earrings, wristwatch, and a pair of stockings, just four things. The earrings and stockings all counted as one item, just like the boots. This was to say, if she lost four more times, it would be time to remove either her shirt or her pants, which was when the true show would begin.
The men and women were all looking forward to this brilliant display, only, there was a small difference between the two. The men were awaiting this scene and feeling excited, while the women were awaiting this scene but feeling bitterness.
When she saw the woman on the gambling desk, Persephone immediately became clear-headed.
Eileen! Why was she here? And it seemed like she had already been gambling for quite some time!
Persephone was on guard, but she didn’t rush to move her gun; this meant that Eileen still hadn’t showed her any hostility. This was also the reason why Persephone didn’t sense her arrival.
“Older sis." A voice cried out. Persephone turned around, seeing a lone figure sitting in the corner, precisely O’Brien. From the faint but fierce aura, she could tell that the big boy of the past had already completely become a man.
Persephone walked over to O’Brien’s side, lifted him up with a single motion, and then reached out her hands to rummage through his body, finding two pistols whose exteriors were so exquisite they looked like works of art. She was quite satisfied with these two guns, and as such said, “These aren’t bad! They’re mine now!”
O’Brien laughed bitterly, truly feeling a bit helpless towards this domineering and always somewhat unexpected older sister. Only when Persephone sat down across from him did he look Persephone in the eyes, seriously saying, “Older sis, you should come back! We need you!”
When she sensed how serious O’Brien was, Persephone put away her smile, saying without hesitation, “No way! If I go back, the family and the chairman will enter all-out war. The current situation is already the best result.”
O’Brien’s upper body leaned forward, looking at Persephone without any intention of moving aside. “Then what is the purpose of publicly announcing your appearance here? You think the chairman can’t find you?”