Logan's gaze lingered on the chandelier's grand structure above, an intricate web of crystal lights and smaller, sparkling bulbs forming a vast, luminous net across the ceiling.
For a Ninja like him, the ceiling was as much a part of his environment as the floor, and he mentally noted the ventilation shafts and cameras scattered throughout. Ahead, Olivia turned back, a hint of irritation in her eyes. Logan ignored it, thinking about her composed demeanor and realizing that her reputation as an untouchable campus legend wasn't just talk.
Meanwhile, an unfamiliar man in a suit separated from the crowd at the gambling table and walked over with an unknown smile. The man in a suit stopped in front of Olivia, who was standing coldly.
Logan seemed to sense something, so he lowered his head, but looked directly past the other party and towards the entrance where he came from.
"Hello there, young lady. Are you students?" The man, looking about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, spoke smoothly, his tone friendly and gentlemanly as he stood before Olivia.
"Bang!"
Before she could respond, the ornate mahogany doors at the main entrance were slammed open.
The sudden noise silenced the crowd briefly as the two intricately carved doors swung ajar, and nearly half of the casino's patrons instinctively turned to look!
A rowdy group strode in, creating a scene.
"You guys came here to have fun, right?" The suited man barely paid them any attention, returning his focus to Olivia as if unfazed. Undeterred by her silence, he continued, trying to make conversation.
"No."
Olivia answered coldly, brushing a strand of hair from her forehead. Her mature aura mixed with the remnants of youthful innocence, like a delicate, intoxicating fragrance, piquing the man's interest. He grinned warmly, attempting to bridge their slight age gap.
The four high schoolers were now near the center of the hall, at a fair distance from the main doors. Logan glanced at the noisy newcomers, which consist about twenty people, with a trace of hope, his fingers twitching, 'Could it be business coming straight to me?'
But soon, Logan saw a casino manager hurried over, plastering on a smile as he intercepted the group and smoothly defused the situation.
'If they were associates of the casino, they wouldn't be held up by the manager.'
The people who raised their heads due to the rough noise just lost interest after just one glance. After all, this was the upscale Era Entertainment Center. No one would dare cause trouble here. The noise resumed, the dealer's clear voice rang out, and the automatic dice machine whirred back into motion.
Logan sighed, slightly disappointed his evening's task hadn't been miraculously cut short after all, especially after the stress of being unexpectedly caught by his classmates.
The suited man, still undeterred, continued his conversation with Olivia, chuckling as he tried to sound modest. "Sometimes I see students here for fun. If you're not, then I must've just assumed wrong. Haha! It is pretty noisy here. My friends just dragged me along for a quick game; I put down a small bet and won a couple of thousands."
The group of rowdy men, now calmed, followed the manager through the crowd, likely heading to a private room to conduct their business. Logan finally refocused on the well-dressed young man attempting to chat up Olivia, now observing him with little interest. He stifled a yawn, visibly bored.
The young man in a suit was probably mentally prepared to be answered with such a cold reception. At this time, he continued to talk with a smile without any embarrassment, "I've been dragged here by some rich friends quite a few times now, so I've picked up a few tricks along the way..."
"Um…"
The female class monitor and Diane were feeling uneasy in this unfamiliar environment. So when there was a young man who looked kind and not much older talking to them, they felt slightly relieved. Gradually, they let their guard down.
Olivia, however, maintained her cold, distant demeanor, her gaze continually scanning the crowd for any sign of their schoolmates. She hardly glanced at the suited young man, who kept subtly hinting at his wealth and clearly aimed to prolong their chat. Finally, Olivia broke in with a calm yet firm tone, "Excuse me, we're a bit busy. We won't take more of your time."
'So ruthless…' Logan, who was listening, rubbed his face and stretched his head to see a poker game on a table.
The light tone contained a more unquestionable rejection than the other words. The young man in the suit probably didn't expect that the other party would be so disrespectful, so was stunned for a moment.
Fortunately, his rich experience allowed him to recover immediately. When Olivia was about to turn around and leave, he called out directly: "Young lady, are you looking for someone? I see you've been scanning the room since you walked in..."
Before Olivia said anything, the female class monitor immediately responded and nodded eagerly, "Yes, we're looking for a few classmates who came here."
Olivia turned back, ready to tell the female class monitor to keep quiet. If she wanted to find someone, she could just ask the staff for assistance rather than strangers. But before she could speak, the female class monitor, apparently quite taken with the young man's seemingly harmless demeanor, was already spilling details.
"Looking for people? That's easy! I actually know the manager here well, so I can ask him to help you find them." The young man in a suit said happily, "My name's Liam. Nice to meet you all! May I ask your names?"
The female class monitor and Diane obliged with their names, while Olivia hesitated. She didn't see the man as inherently malicious, but she had her doubts.
This was the 21st century, after all, so helping people in a crowded casino, purely out of goodwill, seemed more like something out of a romance novel.
She finally gave her name curtly, and Liam responded with some poetic compliments, then looked at Logan, standing in the back, with an expectant grin.
"And this… brother?"
The class monitor gave Logan a sharp, authoritative look, tapping him firmly on the shoulder to pull him out of his apparent daze.
"Oh, yes, hello there." Logan responded warmly, though he didn't extend a hand, leaving Liam's own hand in the air, slightly awkward. With a sudden glint in his eye, Logan then asked, "You said you have a good relationship with the manager here?"
Liam encouraged by the girls' attention, managed a smile and nodded, "Of course. He and I are..."
"Then it looks like your good friend might be in a bit of trouble." Logan said in a relaxed tone, gesturing casually behind Liam.
Liam's face was full of confusion. He glanced over his shoulder with barely concealed irritation. Amid the noisy casino, he couldn't see anything unusual and turned back with a forced smile, "Heh…not your best joke, I'd say."
Logan shrugged, "Alright then, just pretend I didn't say anything."
Just as Liam was about to respond, a sudden gust of pressure-filled air surged behind him, and by the time he registered it, it was already too late.