Chapter 242: Luck Is but a Probability

Christine stared at Calvin for a moment before she confirmed that he was more than serious about this so-called Patron of Luck and Fortune.

As a member of a noble family, Christine knew about the matters of the other shore.

It would be a lie to say that she wasn't interested, but her family was more than willing to keep her out of the supernatural path.

"The other shore is a rabbit hole. There is no going back once you've landed on that path. I'd rather let you suffer in the martial path than let you understand the secrets of the supernatural and peek at what lies beyond mortality."

These were the words of the Patriarch of the Allana family when Christine confronted him about the mysterious deaths of the commoners in one of their village territories.

The look on her father's face back then seemed to be the same as the look on Calvin's face at this moment.

"Is the other shore, really that dangerous? Just what kind of a concept is it? Just what kind of battles are being fought on the other shore?"

Christine asked.

Calvin replied, "How are wars won? How does a country win their wars?"

"Because of the strength of its people?" Christine promptly replied.

Calvin shook his head. "Your answer is partially correct..."

"But victory and defeat are all decided behind the scenes..."

"Just how going into war or entering a peace treaty is secretly decided by the figures lurking behind the scenes in the first place."

"That is the other shore."

"People may disdain, or stay away from us. But they cannot deny our contributions to the peace that this world has been enjoying since the First Cataclysm," Calvin explained.

"Am I... Am I allowed to be a part of the other shore?" Christine hesitantly asked.

Calvin replied, "The decision is ultimately up to you. But don't worry, I am asking for your help, not because I want you to be a part of the other shore. But because I want you to be my accomplice on the surface."

"But how?" Christine was baffled. She was currently going undercover and was even pretending to be a man to keep herself away from the trouble, so how was she going to help Calvin using her identity as a member of the Allana family?

"You should be holding the Allana Family Medallion with you, right? That should be the case since every member of a noble family is tasked to always carry with them their medallions in case of any accidents." Calvin smiled.

"Y-Y-Yes..." Christine replied.

She was about to take out her medallion when Calvin stopped her and said, "Take it out only when it's absolutely needed. You know how a cornered rat will eventually fight back against a tiger, right?"

"If we leave them that impression, then they might be more than willing to withdraw. But to be honest, I have no intentions of letting them go..."

"Them?" Christine asked with furrowed eyebrows. "Who's them?"

"You'll understand soon enough. For now, we've got to get the hell out of this room and find that Fatty." Calvin ruffled Christine's hair before changing the topic smoothly. "How's your condition, are you still feeling unwell?"

"W-W-What are you doing all of a sudden?"

Christine slapped his hand away and sent a glare.

"I'm doing fine... I should be able to move now."

"Do you have an open mind?" Calvin decided to ignore her death glare and asked.

"An open mind?" Christine was confused for a moment before she replied, "Yeah, I am pretty liberal in my views."

"I see..." Calvin nodded, "I'm just asking since I don't want you to kick up a fuss when we're out there."

Christine suddenly felt nervous. "Will something bad happen out there?"

"Something bad?" Calvin mysteriously smiled. "That depends on the reaction of the other party."

Christine's lips repeatedly twitched.

Seeing the vague look on Calvin's face, she couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding that something bad would definitely occur.

But since they were already here, it was far too late for them to go back.

"So, what's the plan?" Christine asked.

"I'll tell you more about it once it starts..."

"I can't just go and tell you everything when I am not even certain if everything would go according to my expectations," Calvin replied.

"All right..."

The two conversed for a moment as Christine prepared her so-called disguise.

Then, the two walked out of the room with Calvin's arm wrapped around the waist of the furiously blushing and embarrassed Christine.

She was never a woman that was easily flustered. But for some reason, Calvin just made her feel panicky in a way that she couldn't quite grasp herself.

In a few minutes, the two had reached the front desk and approached the female attendant who had helped them at the entrance earlier.

It seemed that it was now her time to look after the front desk.

A smile was plastered on her face as she placed her hair behind her ears and exposed her nape. Then, she casually raised her wrist and revealed it to her guests.

Indeed, this sure was a picturesque scene that every man would definitely enjoy.

Apart from Calvin and Christine...

The former had enjoyed the company of a lot of women in his previous life, while the latter was not even a man in the first place.

Calvin's poker face remained as he casually placed his arm on the front desk and leaned over to ask...

"Is the Paradise Room available for use?"

The female attendant's face froze when she heard the words, 'Paradise Room'.

The House of a Thousand Thrusts had tiered rooms catered to every people from all walks of life.

Man, Heaven, and Paradise.

The common people's knowledge regarding the rooms in the House of a Thousand Thrusts was only limited to the two rooms...

Heaven and Man.

The Paradise Room existed but it only catered to VIP clients with special requests or fetishes.

This tier had always been hidden from the eyes of the public since their high-profile clients would never want the world to know their hobbies.

[To provide exclusive pleasures to exclusive guests, away from the minds and the sight of the public.]

This was the raison d'etre of the Paradise Room.

Aside from the staff members of every House of a Thousand Thrusts branch, no one knew its secrets and those that dared to divulge the existence of this Paradise would often end up dead before the issue could fully expand.

This was why even Christine had no idea what Calvin was talking about. But judging from the look of shock on the female attendant's face, it seemed that he wasn't bullshitting.

Calvin really knew his way in the House of a Thousand Thrusts.

But...

Just how?

Christine looked suspiciously at Calvin. A frown of displeasure spread on her face.

The female attendant finally managed to recover her wits as the smile on her face deepened.

Delight twinkled within her eyes. High-profile clients always gave her good bonuses, so it was in her best interest to satisfy them. Even if she had to serve them herself.

But a conflicted look appeared on her face at this moment.

It was because the Paradise Room was currently occupied!

Every branch of the House of a Thousand Thrusts only had a single Paradise Room.

The rules of etiquette in this establishment said that one couldn't possibly kick out another guest for the benefit of others...

But this was the Paradise Room!

A room dedicated to exclusive high-profile, and VIP clients.

The female attendant knew that she had to tread carefully, or she might end up dead by sunset.

Calvin saw through the female attendant's thoughts.

His hand that was wrapped around Christine's waist reached for the chest pocket on her right side.

"Ah!"

A muffled scream came out of Christine's mouth, but it was instantly silenced by Calvin's left hand.

Tears welled up in Christine's eyes as she glared at Calvin.

This rascal...

Did he just take advantage of me?!

A languid and undisturbed look remained on Calvin's face.

But Christine was unwilling to put down the issue as she stretched her left hand over to Calvin's waist and pinched.

"Ah!" Calvin almost screamed from the sudden pain.

He glared at Christine but the latter merely stuck her tongue out and looked at him mockingly.

This girl...

Veins bulged on Calvin's forehead as his expression immediately went cold.

Taking out the medallion that he took from Christine's chest pocket, he briefly flashed it to the attendant and smiled.

"You know the rules, and so do I..."

"Do you understand?" Calvin chuckled.

His eyes couldn't help but land on the wristband around the female attendant's right hand.

The wristband seemed to be made of wood and it had red beads in between the wood.

Looking at the wristband with his Predator Senses, Calvin's pupils constricted and he found himself out of breath.

That sinister and pungent aura of rotting flesh...

It could only come from 'Her'!

The shock on the female attendant's face was exacerbated when she saw the medallion.

She had a lot of experience in this field, and her years of experience told her in that brief moment when she saw that medallion—that the medallion definitely came from a noble family!

In other words, this person standing in front of her had a higher status than the person that was currently using the Paradise Room.

In short, she could legally kick that person out of the Paradise Room.

But...

Worry appeared on the female attendant's face.

"Tell them that I am willing to share the room with them, so we can have fun together," Calvin reassured.

The worry on the female attendant's face hadn't escaped his notice.

"Thank you, esteemed guest." The female attendant briefly bowed.

Then, she turned around and was about to leave when Calvin asked.

"What is that bracelet on your wrist? It looks beautiful."

The female attendant blushed. "It's a totem of the Patron of Luck and Fortune. Ever since I started wearing this, I found myself increasingly luckier every day..."

"I see..." Calvin smiled. "Perhaps that wristband gave us this opportunity to meet."

"Oh, my Goddess!" The female attendant was moved.

Another wave of sharp pain assaulted Calvin's waist.

Christine glared at him when she saw him flirting with the female attendant.

But now that she thought about it...

What right did she have to ostracize his actions?

What right did she have to be jealou—no! I'm not jealous! I was just criticizing him for being such a rascal!

Christine internally debated against herself.

Meanwhile inside the Paradise Room of the House of a Thousand Thrusts Azucar Branch.

A young man who looked to be a mountain of meat could be seen hanging upside down like a kebab.

Bruises were all over his body as the men surrounding him wore sinister looks on their faces.

"Zach... You're smart. I know you are smart. Isn't that the reason why you chose to go to the training camp in order to escape from our hands?"

"Yes, the move you've made was a smart one. But it was foolish for you to think that we don't have eyes everywhere. In fact, our network might even be more powerful than the gover—"

"Enough..." A rough and hoarse voice reverberated throughout the room.

"That's enough Charles, if you keep on talking, then you might as well tell him all of our plans."

"M-M-Mister Shadis! My apologies..."

The man named Charles immediately retreated and cowered in fear.

He deeply bowed to the person that had just spoken his thoughts.

"Charles, it really baffles me how a man that's so talkative managed to live for so long in this line of work. You're impressive. Impressive just because you haven't died yet because of that stupid mouth of yours!" Shadis criticized.

Shadis sat on the couch with his legs crossed over the other. He was bald with a head shining so bright under the light that he could probably blind people with his head once he exposed himself to the sun.

"M-M-My apologies..." Charles's figure started to tremble in fear.

"Accepted." Shadis waved his hand and dismissed Charles with a single look. "How's the plan going? How many of those things have you sold to the general public under that ruse?"

Charles retreated to the side before he replied, "Reporting. Approximately twenty-thousand units have been sold to the general public."

"Twenty-thousand..." A sinister grin suffused on Shadis's lips. "Good, good... All of you have done a good job."

Shadis eyed the bracelets that Charles and the other men in the room had around their wrists.

He shook his head for a moment and thought. 'They are so efficient, but it's a pity that they are so stupid.'

'The Patron of Luck and Fortune? What a joke, if something like that actually exists. Why is everyone not openly worshipping it?'

'Nevermind... It's already too late to salvage the situation.'

Shadis cleared his thoughts before he turned to look at Fatty Zachary. "Give him a totem."

"G-G-Give him a totem?!" Charles was astonished. The totem of the Patron of Luck and Fortune gave everyone immense luck.

Why was Shadis trying to give this Fatty a totem?

Wouldn't that be a risky move, since Fatty might be able to escape from this room through sheer luck?

"It's not that easy..." Shadis said as if he had read through Charles's thoughts. "Luck is but a probability, not a certainty."

"M-M-Mister Shadis sure is wise!" Charles immediately praised.

Then, without saying any more words, he approached Fatty Zachary and attached a wooden and beaded bracelet around Fatty's wrist.

"W-What is this?! What have you placed on me?! Take it out!"

Fatty Zachary desperately yelled out as he forcefully twisted his hanging body in order to take the bracelet off his wrists.

"It's the totem of the Patron of Luck and Fortune? Don't you want to be lucky and fortunate enough to escape from this place?"

Shadis mocked.

"Fuck you!"

Fatty Zachary gargled a mouthful of spit from the depths of his throat and he spat in Shadis's direction.

The spit, despite the fact that Fatty Zachary wasn't infected with the common cold, looked disgusting and was filled with pus.

Puchi!

The mouthful of saliva landed on Shadis's face.

At that moment, time seemed to have frozen.

But Shadis calmly cleaned his face with a nearby towel.

Then, under the gazes of everyone including the Fatty...

He stood up and sent a punch, directly towards Fatty Zachary's head!

"DIE!"

Shadis let out a guttural roar. His eyes had gone bloodshot from the humiliation.

But before his attack could pulverize Fatty Zachary's head, a knock came from behind the doors of the Paradise Room.

Shadis's movements came to a sudden halt.

Everyone turned their attention to the door as the voice of the female attendant wafted over.

"Esteemed guests. There is something of utmost importance that I must discuss with you. Please open the door."

Fatty Zachary himself couldn't believe what just happened as he stared wide-eyed at the bracelet wrapped around his wrist.

Did this bracelet really just granted him the luck of a protagonist?

How else did he manage to escape certain death just now?