novelraw Chapter 1039 741: Reunion with the Doctor
Chapter 1039 741: Reunion with the Doctor
Q: How do you make someone voluntarily give up their hobby?
A: Turn their hobby into something they despise!
Q: What do most people despise?
A: Alarm clocks and work!
Li Zheng watched for a while and understood the casino boss's strategy: it was about stripping Hu Er of the sense of accomplishment he got from gambling, gradually making him lose interest in it.
"Sir," the casino boss said with a fawning smile, "This trick works on any gambler, with an eighty percent success rate, and based on his mentality, it won't take more than seven days to get him off gambling entirely."
At this point, Hu Er switched to another machine, with only minor differences in multiplier and some symbols and rules.
During the switch, he was delayed for five seconds while moving the chip box, and the burly man deducted another thousand from Hu Er's winnings.
Li Zheng looked at Hu Er's back; the arrogance from when he first heard he could gamble freely was gone, replaced only by an obsession with the prize pool and a resentment that drove him to keep gambling.
Li Zheng quietly asked the casino boss, "What are those unreasonable rules?"
Being able to come up with such an infuriating strategy, one must admit, takes talent.
Li Zheng figured the person who drafted the rules must have studied a lot of psychological material, with every announcement hitting the subject's psyche, leaving him with nowhere to vent his frustration.
This bottled-up frustration, over time, would form PTSD-like symptoms, causing the person to instinctively resist and rebel upon encountering similar situations, objects, or acts.
The casino boss laughed, "There aren't any specific rules; everything is improvised. We seize any opportunity to impose fines."
He pointed at the burly man, "Look at him."
Li Zheng looked over and saw Hu Er gambling twice more, sitting upright the entire time, not daring to move his legs, fully focused on the gambling machine.
Worried about getting fined again on the third try, he carefully got up, collected the chip box, and moved to the next machine.
At this moment, the burly man suddenly spoke again, "You stepped left foot first when leaving the gambling machine, fine of one thousand!"
Swoosh!
Upon hearing this, Hu Er's sharp claws instantly extended between his fleshy fingers, scratching several marks on the chip box.
The burly man said, "Damaging casino property, fine of another thousand!"
"Shameless, so shameless…" Li Zheng sighed, shaking his head. No matter what you do, there's a chance of getting fined. In the coming days, Hu Er would certainly live cautiously, unable to immerse himself in gambling.
If he couldn't feel the joy gambling brought him and genuinely developed a distaste for it, he could successfully quit the addiction.
Of course, merely imposing fines wouldn't be very effective.
Preemptively exhausting his emotions would at most make him weary of gambling, not strongly averse to it.
Only by alternating the approach, letting him occasionally win some prizes and then gradually deducting them all, allowing him to feel the despair of gaining and then losing it all, could the best result be achieved.
There's a saying that's quite fitting here: "Those who know you the best may not be yourself, but your enemies definitely know you well!"
"I'll leave him to you then, and I'll pick him up in seven days." Li Zheng said, taking out an empty near-purple Magic Crystal and giving it to the casino boss, "I don't know what losses these seven days might bring you, but consider this compensation."
"Thank you, sir!" The casino boss's eyes lit up at the sight of the intact, uncut Magic Crystal, and he quickly accepted it.
A near-purple Magic Crystal!
It's a tier above Red Crystal Coins, enough to cover this casino's earnings for nearly a year!
With such high returns, even stopping operations for seven days, or even half a year, would be worth it.
For those who often hunt in the Sin Domain, one or two near-purple Magic Crystals aren't that precious, and given time, they can obtain more there.
However, in today's Outer City, where most residents are neglectful, this level of Magic Crystal becomes increasingly precious.
Especially in a district as backward as 950, possessing a near-purple Magic Crystal allows for a very comfortable life without worries about food and drink.
"Let's go."
Li Zheng left the casino with his people, turning back to Kota, "You head back to the Botanical Garden and help Kang'er, then come back to pick them up in a few days."
The boss had spoken, and Kota didn't dare disobey, turning back immediately.
"Are you going to see the doctor?" Mirel, embracing one of Li Zheng's arms, saw his intentions.
"Yeah, to check on Kota's mother and the Soul Loss patients." Li Zheng nodded, leading them towards the small alley where the doctor's clinic was located.
Once again arriving at the familiar alley, Li Zheng looked at it, nearly unchanged in appearance, and felt a surge of inexplicable emotions.
"Remember when we first came here, knowing nothing about the Outer City, completely clueless rookies?" Li Zheng noticed the Thousand-Eyed Race's concealed miscellaneous items, with signs of life underneath, but this time he had learned his lesson and didn't draw out his eye to fish.
The Thousand-Eyed Race fellow must have recognized who Li Zheng was and didn't dare act rashly.
Mirel laughed, "Now you've become something remarkable; when you come here, anyone who sees you respectfully calls you 'sir,' giving off the demeanor of a big shot."
Li Zheng teased her, "No matter how big a shot I become, I'd still be willing to kneel behind you."
Mirel's cheeks flushed red, "There are others here, what are you talking about?"
Li Zheng laughed heartily, bringing them to the clinic's door.
It was the same as ever, with no change whatsoever.
Li Zheng nonchalantly slapped the face by the entrance, startling the asleep security system, which took over a minute to react and obediently open the door for him.
As soon as the clinic door opened, Li Zheng heard a furious shout from inside, "Who hit the security system so hard it set off the alarm? Who's going to pay if it's broken?"
"How much? I'll pay!" Li Zheng declared loudly, leading his group inside.
The doctor, still using the bionic body inside the clinic, paused upon seeing him, then the eyes retracted and switched to high-powered lenses to scan Li Zheng.
"Your body has become ten times stronger than it was two months ago. No wonder a punch could set off the alarm; it seems you've been working hard lately."
"It was alright, I did endure some hardship." Li Zheng nodded, asking, "When will you have your main body back?"
The doctor's eyes switched back to the Bionic Eye, "Looking for my main body? What's up?"
"Something good."
Li Zheng asked, "The bionic person retains only a certain period of your memories, forming a persona similar to your main body, but in reality, everything is controlled by a sophisticated computer, and there's no actual Spiritual Power within, is that right?"
"Correct." The doctor didn't deny it.
"So, two months ago during those two incidents, you didn't sense anything?" Li Zheng was referring to the two events that caused chaos across the street.
Doctor: "No, after the fact, Yakumo came over and mentioned it."
"When will you call your main body back? Let's meet." Li Zheng said, "I happen to have a method here to break through the Spiritual Power limit, your main body will definitely be interested."