Chapter 119: The Right-Eye Detective

Unable to view his level?

Chen Qi pondered; this man required caution.

[The messenger tells you that the man calls himself "Right Eye" and is a detective by trade. His right eye allows him to perceive many details invisible to ordinary people. He is a traveler from another district who missed his flight on the textile train. His current goal is to catch the textile train in District 8.]

District 2 of the New Capital is extremely far from District 8. Coming all this way just for the textile train? Chen Qi stroked his chin and continued reading.

[Because the daylight was fading, they had originally planned to rest at this mountain peak. However, this Right Eye detective proposed a game, and since many were bored, they began to play. Unfortunately, everyone lost to him.]

[The messenger says that the corpse burner just moments ago lost something valuable to this Right Eye detective! The messenger warns you that his game appears simple but is actually quite difficult; that is precisely why so many people are taken in.]

[The Right Eye detective says that he did not bring any money for his journey to the textile train. He needs to raise funds before he arrives; he doesn't want to go with an empty purse, so he intends to harvest some money from these people.]

A simple game, huh... Chen Qi rested his chin on his hand. If it were the kind of game a magician played, he could certainly join in. Theoretically, as long as he knew the appearance of an object, he could use the Morning Star to locate it. This ability could be put to use in many games of chance. In a game of cards, for instance, he could lock onto the key cards in his opponents' hands... If he were to play mahjong or poker with the fisherman, Chen Shi, or Lin Yuxing right now, he would surely win.

[You look at the Right Eye detective’s game with curiosity.]

[A young merchant lady says to the Right Eye detective: "Sir in the hat, if you lose, you must sign a deed of indenture. You will belong to me, work for me for the rest of your life, follow my orders, and receive no payment!"]

Isn't this gambling with one's life? Losing means becoming a slave... If one ignores the nature of the game, this is clearly an unequal exchange. Chen Qi was shocked; these people were playing for high stakes, actually gambling with their freedom.

Suddenly, a text box popped up.

[The Right Eye detective hesitates for a moment, looks at the merchant lady, and smiles. He accepts: "Then if you lose, I don't want anything too grand—I just want all your food."]

[The Right Eye detective brings out a common scale, picks up three stones from the ground, asks the merchant lady to weigh them, and asks her which one is the heaviest.]

A game of guessing weights? Guessing which stone is the heaviest is indeed a game that is simple yet challenging. Chen Qi thought about it; for him, this played perfectly to the strengths of the Morning Star’s exploration, as keywords could easily solve the problem. He could play against this self-proclaimed "Right Eye detective."

Still, even with a random guess, there is a one-in-three chance. For this man to dare bet himself, he is quite bold. Or perhaps he doesn't care if he sells himself to the merchant lady? This merchant is dressed luxuriously, wears no hood, and possesses a charm stat as high as 25.

[The merchant lady picks up the three small stones one by one, hesitates for a moment, and chooses a small diamond-shaped stone.]

["What a pity, just a hair's breadth off; you guessed wrong..." The Right Eye detective frowns and measures the weight of the three stones with the scale.]

["Honestly, I can't even manage to lose once before nightfall. You lot are no good!" The Right Eye detective shakes his head, happily stuffs all of the merchant's food into his leather bag, and mocks her ruthlessly: "Merchant lady, now that your food is gone, your journey has come to an end. With your weak frame, you'd best head back early."]

[The seemingly delicate merchant lady punches a stone pillar, leaving a dent!]

Chen Qi glances at her strength stat: 35. One cannot easily judge the strength of people in this world by their appearance.

[The crowd looks on with sour expressions, jeering, but they have all lost quite a bit to this Right Eye detective!]

This guy is quite the provocateur... Chen Qi looks at the game text. A highlighted line appears.

[The Right Eye detective looks at you, his green eyes fixed on you from under his hat brim: "Traveler of Light and Blade, do you wish to play this simple game? To pass the boring time before the day dies? Life always needs a little spice, doesn't it?"]

[Do you want to play this game?]

Chen Qi leaned back. If it really is just guessing weights, this game is a freebie for him. Even without the Morning Star's exploration, the precise control provided by the Blood Blade Meal Fruit allows him to sense the weight of the stones, provided they aren't too similar. However, he wondered if the Right Eye detective might pull some trick. Chen Qi thought for a moment and chose "Yes."

[You look at the simple game again and nod: You can bet one Daylight Coin against him; if you lose, you give him one Daylight Coin, and if you win, he becomes your slave.]

[Gambling with freedom... The Right Eye detective puts away his playful expression and glances around: "I'm afraid not, sir. My powers of observation tell me that you are not like these weaklings; your observation is much sharper. There is a small chance I might lose to you. Only a slight chance, but even if it's just a little bit, I won't make such a risky bet." The Right Eye detective indicates that his luck today is quite good.]

[The Right Eye detective lowers his hat. He is willing to play the game with you. If you lose, you give him one Daylight Coin; if he loses, you may choose one item from his leather bag. At the same time, he is willing to provide you with some information about the textile train. He is a man who came specifically for this train and has gathered quite a bit of news, unlike the reckless fools who rushed here on a whim. This leather bag contains many fine things he has won along his journey, many of which are far more valuable than a Daylight Coin. You only need to weigh five stones in your hand within fifteen seconds and tell him which one is the heaviest.]

[The Right Eye detective holds out his hand and asks: "Traveler, shall we play this simple game?"]

Chen Qi thought it over. Lose one Daylight Coin, or win and pick an item. Worth a try. Yes!

[You accept the game.]

[The Right Eye detective smiles slightly and picks out five stones of similar size from a pile: "Traveler, I hope that after you lose, you'll still be up for another round. I am quite short on money, and the things on the textile train aren't cheap. You look rather wealthy."]

[He hands you the five stones.]

[You place the stones in your hand one by one. Relying on the sensory perception of the Blood Blade Meal Fruit, you manage to estimate the first stone at five grams.]

["Thirteen seconds left!" the Right Eye detective reminds you.]

Chen Qi exhales. According to the game text, relying on his body's weight perception, he should be able to tell which stone is the heaviest.

[You estimate the weight of the second stone; it is heavier than the first.]

[You close your eyes and continue to weigh the stones, feeling the subtle differences compared to the second one.]

[The crowd looks at you one after another; they can see you are no ordinary person, and the messenger has already begun to boast about you!]

If he keeps this up, he can easily finish the game with just his body's perception. Suddenly, however, a line of text pops up! Chen Qi looks at the screen.

[A violent gust of cold wind sweeps across the mountain peak, hitting your hands. This biting wind makes it difficult for you to measure the weight of the fourth stone.]

[The elderly corpse burner watches the wind; it was because of a sudden gust just like this that he lost his game! If it hadn't been for the wind, he wouldn't have failed to measure the weight of those stones.]

["Seven seconds left. This snowy wind is truly ill-timed, but sometimes, the world is just that unpleasant, Traveler of Light and Blade?" The Right Eye detective yawns, leaning against a stone pillar: "Traveler, though your weight perception is good and your observation is not bad, how will you cope with this cold wind?"]

[The crowd is also startled; the biting snowy wind forces them to huddle together, to say nothing of measuring stones of similar weight. This wind came at such an inconvenient time...]

Can this guy predict the wind, or is it just luck? This requires intense concentration, and this wind is undoubtedly interfering with his judgment of weight. Chen Qi opens the skill bar of the Morning Star. This Right Eye detective is quite lucky.

["Six seconds, my friend," the Right Eye detective says. Even for a genius of the Hammer Aspect, it is difficult to perceive the differences in these stones in such cold wind, let alone for a man of the Blade Aspect.]

Chen Qi exhales. There is just enough time! In the game, he already knows the weight of the first three stones. By using limited keywords to narrow down the range of weight and space, it isn't difficult to find the heaviest one.

[The Morning Star leaps from your hand and points to one of the stones.]

["Two seconds, friend, you must give your answer!"] The Right Eye detective feels the snowy wind blowing and is in very high spirits.

[You hesitate for a moment and state your answer.]

[...]

[Hearing your answer, the Right Eye detective is stunned.]

["Your weight perception is good..." The Right Eye detective's smile gradually fades, and his playful expression vanishes. However, he is not worried; he believes his luck should hold up today.]

[The crowd begins to jeer, demanding that the Right Eye detective use his scale to measure the stones!]

["Everyone, settle down. You don't know what it means to have strong luck. The Dice will favor me." The Right Eye detective picks up the scale and, after the wind dies down, carefully measures the weight of the stones. "Let's see whose luck holds."]

[Looking at the result... the Right Eye detective breaks into a cold sweat, his entire body stiffening for a moment.]

[Your answer is correct.]

[The Right Eye detective looks at the result: "Traveler, luck was not on my side. Your luck is good, too—at least today, it is better than mine."]

[The Right Eye detective tries his best to maintain his composure in front of the crowd.]

[The crowd cheers loudly; this arrogant fellow has finally lost! They have been tricked out of many good things by him!]

[You look at his sorrowful expression.]

["Ah... this misfortune will become the accumulation for my next stroke of luck." The Right Eye detective sighs at the sky, struggles for a moment, and picks up his leather bag.]

[He hesitates, not wanting to lose face for the people of New Capital District 2, and hands you the precious leather bag.]