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Chapter 44: No Rush, Let’s Play Along
🕑 Added 2025-01-27 14:36:59 +0000 UTCChapter 44: No Rush, Let’s Play Along
As Asahi and Green approached the slot machines, the same attendant from earlier rushed over, a wide smile on his face.
“So, you’ve decided to try our slot machines? You won’t regret it! They’re the most exciting games we offer.”
“This month alone, we’ve had two grand prize winners. One of them even exchanged their winnings for a rare Porygon! We have plenty of other rare prizes available, so don’t miss out!”
However, just as the attendant finished speaking, a middle-aged man seated nearby abruptly stood up, shouting angrily:
“These machines are rigged! All take, no payout! The grand prizes are a scam!”
“I’ve wasted 50,000 yen and lost it all!”
“Damn it, give me my money back!”
The commotion drew everyone’s attention. Players paused their games to watch the outburst.
Asahi and Green also turned to look at the once-spirited attendant, now frozen with embarrassment.
The attendant clearly hadn’t anticipated such a scene.
Before he could respond, the irate man grabbed a nearby chair, ready to smash it into a slot machine.
But before the chair could make contact, a shadow streaked across the room.
Ssshh—
An Arbok coiled itself around the man, its fangs glinting menacingly as it hissed, its predatory eyes fixed on him.
“Gulp...”
The man, previously full of bluster, froze in terror, his body rigid.
“We understand your frustration, sir, but please refrain from damaging Rainbow Game Corner property.” A man in a black suit emerged, his tone calm but laced with a veiled threat.
“Arbok, release the gentleman.”
At his command, the Arbok reluctantly uncoiled itself, freeing the man.
The middle-aged man, drenched in cold sweat, didn’t dare utter another word. He bolted out of the game corner as fast as he could.
Watching the scene unfold, Asahi narrowed his eyes.
An Arbok, combined with such tactics—it had to be Team Rocket.
He had suspected this place was a Team Rocket front, but to have their members blatantly acting as security? It seemed they weren’t afraid of the League tracing things back to them.
Or perhaps... they felt untouchable?
While Asahi was deep in thought, the attendant hastily tried to smooth things over.
“That was just an isolated incident. Sometimes we have unruly customers, and removing them ensures a better experience for everyone. Please don’t let it affect your enjoyment.”
After exchanging a glance with Green, Asahi decided to test the waters. Feigning skepticism, he said, “I understand ejecting troublemakers, but your security team’s familiarity with using Pokémon against people is... unsettling. How can we be sure you won’t threaten us if we win a jackpot?”
“Exactly!” Green chimed in. “Who’s to say you won’t try to intimidate us if we win big?”
Their words reached the ears of other patrons, sparking murmurs of doubt.
“Now that you mention it, they might have a point...”
Some players began hesitating, even standing up to leave.
The attendant, sweating profusely, shot a desperate look at the man in the black suit.
The suited man, far more experienced, spoke calmly: “There’s no need to worry. I can assure you that as long as patrons follow the rules, we will never act against them.”
“Rainbow Game Corner has been a fixture in Celadon City for years, with countless prizes claimed by our customers. Our reputation speaks for itself.”
“To prove our sincerity, I guarantee that all winnings will be fully honored, no matter how large.”
To reinforce his point, he recalled the Arbok into its Poké Ball.
His composed response reassured the hesitant patrons, who resumed their games.
The storm Asahi had tried to stir dissipated.
Watching this, Asahi felt a twinge of disappointment.
He had intentionally provoked the staff, hoping to bait them into revealing their true colors. If they had reacted impulsively, he could’ve easily exposed their connection to Team Rocket.
Unfortunately, they hadn’t taken the bait.
Still, they had already shown their hand by using an Arbok.
No rush, Asahi thought. Let’s play along for now.
---
After the incident, Asahi and Green finally sat down in front of a slot machine.
The attendant, having realized how troublesome Asahi could be, wisely chose not to linger.
Unbothered, Asahi opened his token box and glanced at Green. “Why don’t you give it a try first?”
Asahi had just caused a scene, so he was certain Team Rocket would retaliate by rigging the games against him even more.
Judging by Green’s performance at the claw machine earlier, her luck seemed to be far better than his. So why not let her give it a shot first?
“Sure thing!” Green said, excitement in her voice.
Having grown up entirely in the Mysterious Mask Corps' base, Green had little exposure to such entertainment. While their mission today was serious, the experience so far had been unexpectedly fun.
After briefly studying the slot machine’s simple gameplay, Green inserted three tokens and pulled the lever.
The reels spun on the screen and then stopped.
Pikachu, Cherry, 7.
The machine let out a dull buzz, and nothing else happened.
Unfazed, Green kept feeding in tokens...
After ten rounds, 30 tokens were gone. She only hit a minor prize once, recovering 8 tokens—a dismal return rate.
Clearly, Green’s luck at the slot machine didn’t carry over from her claw machine success.
She quickly lost interest in the slots.
“Meh, this is boring. Your turn!” Green said, stepping aside for Asahi.
“You don’t want to keep going? Losing it all doesn’t matter,” Asahi teased.
After all, his real goal was to get closer to the front desk to investigate the entrance to Team Rocket’s base. Winning or losing was irrelevant.
“No thanks.” Green shook her head. Losing didn’t bother her, but consistently losing was a buzzkill. She’d already had plenty of fun winning plushies earlier and didn’t want to ruin her mood.
“Alright then...” Asahi relented, not wanting to push her.
But continuously feeding coins into a machine was tedious.
Fortunately, Rainbow Game Corner had anticipated this.
Asahi called over a staff member and had his remaining 4,000 tokens converted into credits stored directly on the machine.
He began casually pulling the lever and pressing the buttons.
Then, to his astonishment...
7, 7, 7.
The three sevens aligned on the screen.
Ding ding ding!
A cheerful melody played as tokens began spilling out of the slot machine.
