199: Leibbeara

The Casino staff were clearly alarmed by the earth-shattering scene. A middle-aged man wearing a sharp suit, whose shining bald head reflected the light, hurried over with a grave expression. As he walked, he pulled out his phone and reported rapidly in a low voice:

"...Yes, the surveillance and System have been checked repeatedly. There is no sign of cheating. It was a flawless operation that was utterly impeccable, and the timing was terrifyingly precise. It wasn't just the slot machines; reports from other tables—poker, baccarat, roulette...—show that the few people with them all won huge amounts without any suspicion of fraud..."

"Although our prize pool theoretically has no upper limit, if this continues, the probability of them winning a large number of top-tier rare items is extremely high..."

The other end of the line seemed silent for a moment before instructions were relayed. The bald man nodded repeatedly: "...Understood. Alright, I'll go arrange it now."

Hanging up the phone, he took a deep breath, carefully adjusted his expression, and forced out a professional, slightly stiff smile. He walked toward Lin Luo, Erina, and Kobayashi Rindō, who had also gathered nearby, all surrounded by mountains of chips and a crowd.

The bald man's gaze paused briefly on the composed Lin Luo, then settled mostly on Erina, who had just performed the miracle, and finally swept over Kobayashi Rindō, who was curiously examining the mountain of chips. His tone was as warm and respectful as possible:

"Distinguished guests, congratulations on your astonishing victory. According to the rules of our Gourmet Casino, you have automatically qualified for entry into the VIP Area. Might I ask... if the few of you would be interested in moving to experience a more Advanced and thrilling form of gambling?"

None of the people present immediately responded to the Bald Steward's invitation; instead, they unanimously turned their eyes toward Lin Luo, clearly awaiting his decision.

Lin Luo smiled, his expression relaxed: "It's the same no matter where we play. Since there's a VIP Area, let's go see it and find out just how 'Advanced' their games are."

The Bald Steward saw this clearly. His eyelid twitched almost imperceptibly, and he mused internally: *This guy... is the real core of this group? Even a local tyrant like Machi has to defer to him?*

But he quickly suppressed these thoughts, plastering an even more solicitous smile on his face: "Excellent, excellent! Then, distinguished guests, please follow me!"

The group followed him, leaving the noisy main hall and passing through a quiet corridor lined with thick carpets. The Bald Steward stopped before a heavy set of double doors and respectfully pushed them open.

The scene behind the doors was completely different from the noisy and "conventional" Casino on the first floor.

The space was still vast, but the atmosphere was far more solemn, even carrying a hint of bloody fervor. The number of gamblers might have been fewer, but the "content" of the stakes was shocking.

"Ugh... Waaah!" Not far away, a gambler suddenly clutched his throat, his face instantly turning purple. Large mouthfuls of black blood gushed from his mouth. He looked desperately toward the direction he had just placed his bet, and painfully croaked: "The poison of the rare ingredient... I bet too heavily... Am I going to die?" As soon as he finished speaking, he collapsed rigidly onto the ground, twitched twice, and fell silent.

Lin Luo swept his Divine Sense over it and confirmed: "It's a mixed neurotoxin, instant death."

Machi frowned deeply, looking at the Bald Steward, his voice laced with coldness: "Didn't you say the Gourmet Casino only gambled with ingredients? What is this? Open murder?"

The Bald Steward's face paled slightly, but he quickly regained his composure, even exhibiting a twisted sense of "righteousness" unique to this place. He explained in a low voice: "Group Leader Machi, in the vast culinary spectrum of the natural world... isn't humanity itself also a kind of 'ingredient'? Here, all 'resources' that can be used for gambling, including life, can be considered part of the 'stakes'."

"You—!" A sharp glint flashed in Machi's eyes, his hand instantly gripping the knife hilt at his waist, and a surge of Evil Qi spread out.

Lin Luo raised his hand and gently pressed down on Machi's forearm, stopping his impending outburst. Lin Luo calmly glanced at the corpse being quickly dragged away on the ground, and then looked at the surrounding gamblers who were accustomed to the death of their companions, or even more excited by it. His tone was chillingly flat: "What he said... makes sense, actually. The strong prey on the weak. Life itself is a chip, which fits the 'rules' here very well."

His gaze swept across the entire VIP Hall.

The games here were bizarre and varied: some gamblers were locked in iron cages, fighting Vicious Beasts to the death, where the outcome meant life or demise; others faced a row of mushrooms or shellfish that looked nearly identical, having to select the only non-poisonous, edible one—a wrong choice meant instant, gut-wrenching poison; still others were more direct, with the gambling table holding not chips, but tubes of oddly colored liquid that the gambler had to drink on the spot, betting on whether it was a strengthening elixir or a fatal poison... "Allow me to personally host you all!" A voice, raspy like sandpaper, suddenly cut in, carrying an unsettling excitement. "Let us gamble on... something much more 'delicious'! Heh heh heh..."

An exceptionally tall and robust figure, nearly reaching the ceiling, parted the crowd and walked over.

Dressed in a tight, scarlet chef's uniform and wearing a spotless, snow-white toque, his extraordinarily massive body was like a moving mountain of flesh, bringing a heavy sense of oppression.

He wore an exaggerated, almost fixed smile on his face, his lips pulled back to reveal neat yet chilling teeth. A pair of eye sockets, lacking pupils and containing only pale sclera, "looked" toward Lin Luo and his group. Although he had no actual sight, it felt as if he could see right through them.

Seeing who had arrived, the Bald Steward's face suddenly changed color, and he hurriedly bowed: "B-Boss!"

"Boss?" Lin Luo slightly raised an eyebrow, looking at the giant man who exuded a dangerous aura.

Machi's expression instantly turned serious as well. He said, "This is the BOSS behind the scenes who controls the Gourmet Casino and is one of the giants of the Underground Culinary World—Leib Beiyala."

Using his "eyes"—those sockets containing only pale sclera and no pupils—Leib Beiyala precisely "focused" on Erina. His fixed, exaggerated smile widened further: "How about we have a gamble? As for the stakes, if you win, you can obtain anything from me—any ingredient, any intelligence." His scarlet tongue slid over his lips again. "If you lose... it's simple. Leave behind your most precious Culinary Memories and let me have a good 'taste'."

His "intuition" was screaming that this girl before him was a massive Treasure Trove! Her culinary talent and taste memories, which contained inner splendor despite being insufficiently developed, must be an unparalleled delicacy!

His gaze swept over Kobayashi Rindō next to her, who had red hair, golden eyes, and a wild aura—she wasn't bad either. Full of the rough flavor of adventure and struggle, she was a rare appetizer.

However, when his "gaze" finally landed on Lin Luo... *Buzz—*

An indescribable shock, almost on the level of the Soul, instantly swept over Leib Beiyala's entire body, causing his massive frame to stiffen imperceptibly. A layer of fine goosebumps even rose on the surface of his skin.

The feeling was like a hungry glutton accidentally catching the scent of a legendary Feast of the Gods; ecstasy and extreme craving instantly overwhelmed his reason.

This guy... deep within his Culinary Memories, there must be an unimaginable "Super Delicacy" hidden, one that transcends conventional understanding!

Just this "premonition" caused his saliva to secrete wildly, almost uncontrollably dripping from the corners of his mouth.

His massive head trembled slightly, and the interface at the back of his skull seemed to heat up faintly from excitement.

"Eek—!" Erina and Kobayashi Rindō were creeped out by his undisguised, greedy "gaze," which was like examining ingredients. They simultaneously shivered, goosebumps rising on their arms, and instinctively moved closer to each other.

"The BOSS himself extended an invitation..." Lin Luo pulled his lips into an arc of amusement, turning his gaze toward Machi, his tone so relaxed it was as if he were merely deciding where to eat dinner. "Let's play, then. Everyone can have some fun."

Machi frowned tightly, immediately giving Lin Luo an extremely disapproving, even warning, look, hoping Lin Luo would immediately retract this dangerous decision. Erina also quickly grabbed Lin Luo's sleeve, her purple eyes filled with worry: "Don't gamble, Lin Luo... This guy feels too strange, it's very uncomfortable."

Kobayashi Rindō was even more blunt, lowering her voice urgently: "Are you crazy? This is his turf! It's too easy for him to pull tricks! You won't even know how you died!"

Machi took a deep breath and added in a deep voice: "As far as I know, no one has ever truly 'won' anything from Leib Beiyala's gambles. Those who lost... all lost their most precious Culinary Memories, and many even became mentally listless and could no longer engage in cooking-related work."

Lin Luo, however, acted as if he hadn't heard the warnings. He rubbed his chin, showing a somewhat eager expression: "Erina managed to run into that Heaven-Defying good luck just now, and Rindō, you've been winning all along. I want to try my own luck too." He lightly patted Erina's hand, then gave Machi and Kobayashi Rindō a "don't worry" look. Then, without giving them a chance to object, he turned his gaze to the silently waiting, unchangingly smiling Leib Beiyala:

"Where do we gamble?"

"Good! Straightforward! Follow me!" Leib Beiyala let out a hoarse laugh, turned around, and took heavy steps.

The group followed him through a side door into another, more secluded room. The decor here was gruesome—the walls and ceiling displayed gyri and sulci resembling real cerebral cortex, extremely realistic in texture and color.

Several oddly shaped machines were placed around the room. People were lying on the machines, their heads covered by transparent glass domes, their expressions varying: some showed a state of extreme intoxication, looking as if they were tasting an ultimate delicacy, muttering, "Delicious... so delicious..."; others were filled with terror, struggling in vain, screaming, "No! Give me back my memories!"

This was precisely the apparatus Leib Beiyala used to "taste" the Culinary Memories of others.

Witnessing this, Erina and Kobayashi Rindō's faces grew paler. For a chef, the greedy plundering of others' Culinary Memories completely deviated from the original intent and dignity of cooking; it was an extremely wicked and ominous path.

There were also many "staff members" in the room. They wore clean white chef uniforms and tall hats, yet clutched sharp cleavers in their hands, standing expressionlessly in various spots. They were both chefs and the ruthless enforcers of this underground kingdom.