Chapter 58: Gambling Genius Silver Hair (3)

Argon stared at the now-frozen roulette wheel with his mouth hanging open.

His expression was full of regret.

If he’d just followed that silver-haired girl around, he could’ve easily made tens of millions of gold.

‘Dammit! I should’ve started betting earlier…!’

From Argon’s point of view, it felt unfair.

After all, Silverhair had been losing money at first.

Even when the tide turned later, he still wasn’t convinced.

Who would’ve guessed that little girl would turn out to be a gambling prodigy?

He did eventually join in on Silverhair’s picks, but it was near the end—he only got a small taste of the fun.

And when the climactic 30x all-in happened, he was too stunned to even consider placing a bet.

“Silverhair… that was incredible.”

Despite his regrets, Argon offered his thanks.

Before Silverhair showed up, he’d been in the middle of draining the clan’s treasury.

If things had continued like that, he might’ve had to sell his beloved Rune Slayer-exclusive weapon…

Thanks to following her, even if late, he’d at least broken even.

He had a bit of a temper due to blood pressure issues,

but he wasn’t the type to whine,

“You could’ve told me sooner!”

“Hehe… Well, our Silverhair really is something, isn’t she?”

Raidel smiled proudly, as if it were her own accomplishment.

[“Wait, was that really sound and vibration lol is that even possible?”]

[“She’s like a walking human audio sensor lolol”]

[“That wasn’t gambling, that was straight-up money duplication lol”]

[“But the way the devs insta-shut it down was legendary too lolol”]

The group stepped out of the underground casino in a rather heartwarming mood.

And then it happened.

Just as they emerged from the underground entrance—

RUMBLE—!

Loud footsteps thundered toward them like a stampede of enraged bison.

“There! That’s her! That’s Silverhair!”

A mob of over ten streamers.

One of them pointed at Yoo Seo-yeon and shouted.

“Silverhair!! There you are!”

“Pick! Give us some picks!”

“Let us touch some gold too!”

“My clanmates are starving out here!”

The protagonist of the 1.5 billion gold duplication incident.

A crowd had come looking for Silverhair.

It was ten people now, but more were rushing in, flooding toward the casino entrance.

Pretty much everyone online had been drawn here, like iron filings to a magnet.

‘If we just follow Silverhair, we can duplicate gold!’

No one wanted to miss this golden opportunity!

They had dropped everything—hunting, crafting—just to sprint here.

“Uh, w-wait! Everyone, please calm down—!”

Raidel frantically waved her arms, trying to hold them back.

But the streamers, already blinded by gold fever, weren’t listening.

[“LMAO these guys look like gold-hungry beggars lol”]

[“Silverhair just changed class to a Pickster lol”]

[“The desperation to get a cut is hilarious lol”]

[“She really is a living market index lol”]

Some of the most desperate streamers didn’t even try talking to Yoo Seo-yeon.

They just sprinted straight into the casino.

“Grab a spot!”

“Everyone in the clan, follow me!”

Three or four of them bumped shoulders as they squeezed through the narrow entrance.

What awaited them inside was—

A dark, cold space.

And in the center, a giant roulette wheel completely still.

“…Huh?”

“…It’s… it’s stopped?”

“Why isn’t it responding?”

One streamer who rushed in first pointed blankly at the roulette.

Another, who followed behind, shouted in disbelief.

“Why’s it stopped?! Who shut it down?!”

The roulette didn’t budge.

It sat there like a lump of cold scrap metal.

The emergency shutdown notice had only appeared for those who were inside earlier.

The streamers who had rushed over after hearing about the gold duplication had no idea.

They never expected the casino would be closed.

Only now did the others outside begin to realize what was happening.

“Jeras, is it really shut down?”

“…Says it’s under maintenance? The devs shut it down.”

“…Yup, they pulled the shutter.”

Maintenance.

Streamers in the chat picked up the info.

And one by one, they collapsed into helpless squats.

To be honest, they knew.

1.5 billion gold just got duplicated—it would’ve been weird if the devs didn’t shut it down.

But still, there was always hope.

They were hoping to scavenge even a few crumbs.

In the middle of this chaotic mess,

Yoo Seo-yeon remained expressionless as she watched the scene unfold.

Then she quietly opened her inventory.

A hefty pouch of gold coins.

Reflecting the sunlight, it gleamed blindingly.

Anyone could see it was an absurd amount of money.

But then—why had she taken it out here?

Was she showing off?

If not that, then…

Streamers stared at the pouch like they were under a spell.

Yoo Seo-yeon reached her small hand inside.

And then—

CHHHHRRRRRRRRRR—!

A shower of golden light.

Not liquid, but metal.

Golden coins rained down on the streamers wallowing in despair.

“…?”

“S-Silverhair?”

The streamers gazed blankly at the air above them.

Coins shimmered as they fell onto their heads, faces, and shoulders.

“M-Money!”

“How much is this?!”

“A-Angel!!”

“Bless you, Silverhair!!”

The bleak atmosphere instantly flipped.

And she didn’t toss out just a few coins either.

After throwing out one pouch, she pulled out another and scattered that too, without hesitation.

Even Argon, who had been watching with folded arms, lost his mind and hit the ground crawling—he had to grab at least one coin.

[“LMAOOOOO the way they flipped so fast”]

[“Nobody resists gold lol”]

[“How much is she throwing?! LOL”]

[“Now THAT’S a flex lolol”]

With each toss of her hand, a horde of streamers rushed in like pigeons after feed.

Amid the flood of thank-yous,

Yoo Seo-yeon cheerfully scattered 100 million gold on the spot.

‘This should be enough to quiet them down.’

Raidel watched and thought.

It looked like Yoo Seo-yeon was just giving in to the moment,

but it was actually a calculated move.

1.5 billion gold was an enormous sum—almost too much to digest.

People might start complaining later.

So she silenced them with gold.

That’s how bribes work, after all.

When someone gives you something with no strings attached,

it becomes hard to turn around and criticize them.

A basic law of human psychology that’s existed for millennia.

With this kind of gesture,

open complaints and reports to the devs would drop dramatically.

Managing public opinion with 100 million gold?

That was far from a waste.

“Also, if anyone’s not here right now, come see me later and I’ll give you 2 million gold. Please help pass the word.”

Yoo Seo-yeon added quietly.

2 million gold for the absent.

Sure, she and Raidel could each earn 1 million gold a day hunting,

but that was only possible thanks to the busted event skill “Dimensional Distortion.”

Most streamers didn’t even make half that.

2 million gold was not a small sum.

“Yes ma’am!” “Absolutely!” “We’ll make sure everyone knows.”

Even those who had picked up less gold would gladly become her messengers now.

She had just made the entire server of streamers her allies.

‘She’s surprisingly good at handling people…’

Just because someone’s introverted doesn’t mean they don’t understand others.

If anything, deep thinkers can be even more perceptive.

Raidel found herself quietly impressed by this unexpected side of Yoo Seo-yeon.

“Now then, let’s go buy the power cores.”

At the center of town.

The old elf was still seated on his mat, unmoved.

When Yoo Seo-yeon and Raidel approached, he smiled faintly.

“Ah, the sticky-fingered young lady returns. How many are you buying today?”

“Thirty. I’m buying them all.”

The old elf tilted his head at her words.

“All thirty? That’ll be 45 million gold, you know. There’s no way you already gathered—”

THUD!

Yoo Seo-yeon pulled out a massive gold pouch from her inventory.

Inside: exactly 45 million gold.

“Gasp…!”

The always-composed old elf’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Full payment, please.”

“…Very well.”

With a stunned look, the old elf began preparing all 30 ancient power cores.

“H-how on earth did you gather that much so fast…?”

Even as he counted the coins, he couldn’t believe it.

“Just… had a bit of luck.”

It was way more than just luck.

Raidel chuckled to herself.

---

Belheim.

The bustling capital of the Pixelwars streamer server.

A place filled with memories for countless players.

The hub of community, trade, and daily life built meticulously by the dev team.

Crowded markets.

Farmlands full of growing crops.

Steam rising from the cooking guild’s headquarters.

For those who’d played the server for over a month,

this was more than just a game town.

…And it was also where the Foundation of the Final Battle event’s defense system would be installed.

The city that would host the final large-scale event.

‘What’s going to change once the power cores are installed?’

Raidel absentmindedly twirled her hair as she wondered.

Right now, Belheim looked like a peaceful fantasy city straight out of a storybook.

There weren’t any obvious defense structures.

Would a giant hidden robot pop out?

She knew it sounded ridiculous—

But with Zeronix, who knew?

“Let’s head in.”

Well, they’d find out soon enough.

The location for installing the ancient power cores was right ahead.

The town’s clocktower loomed before them.