The "giant" did not lock the wooden door when he left. Mingqiao and Shixin discovered this when they first entered the basement.

So the two of them stuffed the plastic work badge into the crack of the door to use as a lever, and worked together to pry the door open a tiny crack. Relying on their short stature, they squeezed through and got out.

Just like when I came, the corridor outside the door was still pitch black, with only a flickering light coming from the corner not far away.

The only difference is that the originally narrow corridor is now a wide road for the two of them. When they came here, it only took them a few tens of seconds to walk this distance, but now it is estimated that it will take several minutes to reach the end.

They didn't dare to delay any longer and kept walking and running without stopping for a moment. However, before they reached the corner, everything around them changed subtly.

For example, when Mingqiao stretched out his hand, he touched the wall on the right, and when he stretched out his hand again, he also touched the wall on the left.

——Just as they were running hard without realizing it, their bodies had returned to their normal size, and the plastic work badge that had been dragged along was now lying quietly in Shi Xin's palm.

It really can't be blamed on the two for being slow in their senses. At this time, the only thought in their minds was to catch up with the "giant". All other changes were thrown behind their minds and ignored.

Mingqiao and Shixin looked at each other and saw some relief in each other's eyes.

It has been two or three hours since they turned into dwarfs, but they still can't get used to the huge size of everything around them. The impact of such a huge thing is unacceptable to anyone.

After returning to normal size, the two of them could move much more conveniently. The corridor connecting the corners could only be passed sideways, but this did not affect their ability to run faster.

At the end of the second corridor was a brighter light. They ran along the light and turned around to see a black iron door decorated with colorful neon lights.

The neon lights kept switching between white and yellow, making people's eyes sore. Above the iron gate, the four big characters "Silverstone Casino" painted in red were clearly visible, and a lot of paint flowed down the wall and the iron gate, leaving red marks.

It's like red blood, making people shudder.

The sounds of people shouting, glasses clinking, playing cards slamming on the table, and mahjong being pushed back and forth all mixed together and came out through the door. Even if you didn't see it with your own eyes, it wasn't difficult to imagine what a decadent and dissolute scene it was inside.

Mingqiao stood there feeling a little scared.

He grew up in a decent family. Both of his parents had no bad hobbies. Under their influence, Mingqiao himself had never done anything out of line. Even in junior high and high school, when his classmates went to Internet cafes and billiard halls every day, he never went there, let alone places like casinos.

He didn't want to go in from the bottom of his heart, as if as long as he took a step in here, he would be stained with a layer of dirt that could never be washed off.

"Teacher Ming." Shi Xin pushed his arm: "Let's go, don't stand there."

Mingqiao pursed his lips and finally pushed open the door reluctantly.

He still clearly remembered what he was doing here, he had to find a way to escape, because those who trusted him were still waiting for him in the playground. Not to mention that he was a teacher, even for his own sake, he couldn't find all kinds of excuses to choose to stay here.

Without the door to block the noise, the noise poured into their ears. The lights inside were bright and luxurious, with high-end crystal chandeliers hanging every few steps, and the smell of money was everywhere.

Mingqiao took two steps and turned to look at Shi Xin: "Aren't you afraid?"

"What's there to be afraid of?" Shi Xin tilted his head, not quite understanding Ming Qiao's thoughts: "It's not like I haven't seen it before."

Mingqiao squinted his eyes and looked at him: "Have you been here?"

"That's about the same." Shi Xin said vaguely, "When I was a freshman and sophomore, I always went out with my classmates and went to bars and other places a lot. It's about the same as here."

"I can't tell." Mingqiao said sinisterly.

"No, it's still different." Shi Xin quickly explained, like a student being caught and scolded by a teacher: "I go to the bar just to drink some drinks, listen to music, and watch them play. I haven't done anything else."

Mingqiao was amused when he heard his tone, but he still pretended not to be happy: "What else do you want to do?"

“No, no, no, that’s not what I meant.” Shi Xin waved his hands quickly: “…I remember that when I first started my internship, my senior took me to visit a small casino in secret. The scale of this place is definitely not comparable, but it’s still something I’ve seen, so I’m not that scared.”

Mingqiao looked at Shi Xin's sincere eyes and didn't want to tease him anymore. It was really boring to continue like this, so he decided to stop while he was ahead: "I didn't mean to say anything to you, don't be afraid."

Shi Xin's forehead was covered with sweat. "I have PTSD towards teachers and other people. I get nervous when they ask me questions."

"You're nervous because you feel guilty."

Shi Xin felt that he was being tricked again. He laughed awkwardly and said, "No, I don't feel guilty. There's nothing to feel guilty about."

Ming Qiao followed suit with a smile, indicating that the matter was over: "Alright, hurry up and find the giant. No, there's no need to call him the giant now. Just call him the tall guy. He's tall and should be very conspicuous in the crowd."

"good."

The casino was too messy for the two to separate, and they were also afraid of accidentally missing one, so they simply started from the poker area together and searched table by table.

Many people looked at them with unfriendly eyes, and Mingqiao knew it very well.

Most people don't look particularly ferocious, but you can tell something is wrong from their eyes. How many people who hang around in casinos can stay out of trouble? If you stay there for too long, you'll inevitably become extremely vicious.

The two of them were like rabbits in a den of wolves among this group of people. It would be strange if they were not being stared at.

Mingqiao Ninja felt his hair tingling as he met those gazes one by one, and after a circle of them, he got goose bumps all over his body.

Shi Xin noticed that something was wrong with Ming Qiao and guessed that he must hate such occasions, so he simply took a step forward and stood in front of Ming Qiao. If someone was staring at them, Shi Xin could stare back. With an attitude of "You don't have the ability to come up and kill me", he walked through the entire poker area.

"Not here." Shi Xin said.

Ming Qiao hadn't recovered from his shock yet, and he blinked twice: "Then let's go to the mahjong area?"

"Yeah." Shi Xin was afraid that Ming Qiao couldn't adjust, so he thought of finding something to say to cheer him up. He walked diagonally in front of Ming Qiao and turned his head slightly: "Teacher Ming, do you think that the tall guy came to gamble because his mother was in the hospital?"

"I don't know, but I think that if you are out of money, even borrowing or taking out a loan is better than gambling." Mingqiao followed him and answered his questions. Slowly, his steps became more steady, his heartbeat slowed down, and his emotions stabilized.

"'It' helped the tall guy pay off his gambling debts, but it didn't give him extra money to use for his mother's medical treatment. If the tall guy had borrowed money for medical treatment as you said, the money 'it' helped him pay off would have been used for medical treatment." Shi Xin sighed, "So people's choices are really important."

Ming Qiao also said at this time: "Yes, the choice of people is really important. You see, if we choose to look for someone in the Mahjong area from the beginning, we can find him quickly."

When Shi Xin was still marveling at the fact that he could say such sensible words, he followed Ming Qiao's gaze and saw who else but the tall guy.

The tall man sat on one side of the card table with his back to the two of them. He was still wearing the dark T-shirt, but a lot of sweat had seeped out of the back of his head, which was shining with a vulgar light under the ceiling light.

"Go ahead." Mingqiao said.

The mahjong area is different from the poker area. There are chairs specially set up here for people to watch. In addition to the people who are playing, many others sit here, watching with interest while eating melon seeds. There are many elderly people among these people, but most of them are middle-aged men and women who are about the same age as the tall man. Compared with the poker area, these people's eyes are much softer, at least not as hostile.

Mingqiao chose a seat that was a little far away but where he could still see the tall guy playing cards. Shi Xin stood next to Mingqiao with his arms folded.

A lot of cards have been exposed on the table, and there are only about ten piles of cards neatly stacked. The tall man is very skilled in picking up and playing cards, but his skill reveals anxiety that cannot be hidden. It seems that he is going to lose this game of cards in all likelihood.

Sure enough, just when the tall guy was struggling over whether to play the chicken he had just touched or to break the eight that was already in the cards, the remaining three people all showed smiles of success.

No matter which card he played, he had reached a dead end.

Mingqiao didn't quite understand, but he could feel the tense atmosphere.

Shi Xin glanced at the cards, then at Ming Qiao: "No matter how he plays, he will lose. There's no need to delay."

The tall guy on the other end gritted his teeth and made up his mind to hit the chicken he just touched, but it happened to be a good opportunity for the opponent to hit the cannon, Hu Shisan Yao, eighty-eight points.

His face turned extremely pale, and he began to tremble uncontrollably. Facing the ridicule of the other three, the tall man covered his face in pain.

"In fact, he should know that it is impossible for others to let him win. If he keeps thinking 'I must at least get my capital back', he will only lose more and more." Shi Xin said regretfully.

Seeing that the tall guy couldn't come up with the money, those guys were about to take action. In desperation, Mingqiao pulled Shi Xin over, pushed the tall guy away, and pressed Shi Xin down on the seat.

"Let him come and fight." Mingqiao pointed at Shi Xin.

Shi Xin hadn't reacted yet. He stared at Ming Qiao with wide eyes as he pointed at him, and stammered, "Me? Me for him?"

"Yes." Mingqiao looked at him and said, "You represent him. If you win, you give the money to the tall guy to pay for his medical treatment. If you lose, I will pay it back for you."

Originally the expressions of the three people at the table were full of reluctance, but seeing that Shi Xin was just a young boy, they exchanged glances and happily sat back in their seats.

The man who had just won against the tall guy stared at Shi Xin and Ming Qiao, and suddenly smiled with an ambiguous meaning: "This time it's your turn to be the banker."

"Okay." Shi Xin held the two dice in his hand and threw them forward calmly: "Two for the banker?"

"right."

--------------------

The author has something to say:

I am indeed afraid that this article will be seen by the younger uu, so I have to remind them.

Gambling can cost lives, so don’t touch it. Irregular online loans can cost you half your life, so don’t touch them either.

(●°u°●)