“Whoa! Another 777!”

  “This has to be a cheat code!”

  “I hereby decre him the Slot Machine Sage!”

  As August hit another jackpot, the entire Game Corner erupted in cheers.

  No one had expected that switching machines wouldn’t break his winning streak.

  To put it bluntly, everyone pying here had lost a lot of money to the casino at some point.

  So watching the casino lose money instead? That was somehow even more satisfying than winning themselves.

  By now, all the customers had transformed into gleeful spectators, eager to see just how much August could win.

  Meanwhile, the Game Corner staff stood at the sidelines, their faces twisted with misery.

  At this point, they had tried everything—having August switch machines again, stationing Psychic-type Pokémon and technicians nearby to monitor him, even dismantling a slot machine right in front of him for inspection mid-spin.

  But no matter what they did, every single test pointed to an utterly absurd conclusion.

  August wasn’t cheating.

  Since there was no foul py, they had no legitimate reason to stop him. The only way to shut him down would be to break their own promise about fair payouts—ruining the Game Corner’s long-standing reputation.

  If this pce were just a regur casino, they might have taken that gamble.

  But the problem was, their real backers were Team Rocket.

  Without direct orders from above, no one dared to make that call.

  “Boss, are we really just going to let this happen? He’s been winning all morning!” Someone in the surveilnce room finally lost patience.

  At this rate, not only would the Game Corner fail to turn a profit this quarter—they might not even have enough money left to pay their own employees.

  And with Team Rocket desperate for funds, if they couldn’t hand over their usual cut this month, they were doomed.

  The suited man was just as frustrated. “And what do you expect me to do? March out there and threaten him with a Pokémon? There are dozens of witnesses! How many times do I have to tell you people—use your heads!”

  The subordinate fell silent but couldn’t help but think—

  Well, boss, if you’re so smart, why are you just standing here watching too?

  That said, there was one silver lining:

  The Game Corner’s token supply was almost completely drained.

  Even if August wanted to keep winning, there wouldn’t be much left for him to take.

  August casually pressed the buttons. Once again, the reels stopped at 777.

  But this time, no tokens spilled out.

  “Out of coins?”

  This wasn’t the first time he’d run into this issue.

  He stood up, ready to switch to another machine.

  However, as he looked around, he realized—

  this was the st working slot machine.

  Every other machine he had cleaned out was now marked with a ‘Replenishing Tokens’ sign.

  Clearly, someone had gotten tired of losing.

  August called over an attendant. “What kind of casino runs out of coins and doesn’t restock?”

  The staff member forced a stiff smile but said nothing.

  Seeing his expression, August knew there was no point in pushing further.

  Still, gncing at the mountain of tokens neatly packed into crates—organized meticulously by Blue—he figured it was enough.

  A loss of this scale would definitely make Team Rocket feel the sting. It was enough bait.

  The trap was set—now he just had to wait for Team Rocket to bite.

  With that thought, August didn’t argue any further. He casually grabbed a handful of tokens and tossed them to the attendant who had been assisting him since he arrived.

  Then he turned to Blue and waved.

  “Let’s go cash out.”

  At his words, the audience—who had started getting a little bored—suddenly perked up.

  Finally! The moment of truth!

  And so, the excited crowd eagerly followed August and Blue to the prize exchange counter.

  August and Blue arrived at the counter, pushing a cart stacked with crates of tokens.

  One by one, August pced the heavy containers onto the counter.

  The sheer weight of them caused the wooden surface to creak under the strain.

  “Cash out,” August said simply.

  The cashier’s eyes widened as she stared at the mountain of tokens.

  “U-Understood!”

  Her hands trembled as she handed him a redemption catalog.

  August skimmed through the long list of prizes, then started making selections.

  "Poké Balls—100 tokens each? Give me 200 Ultra Balls."

  "Antidotes? Too basic. Full Restores from Silph Co.—150 tokens per bottle? 100 bottles."

  "Charcoal, boosts Fire-type moves—1,000 tokens each. Give me five! …Only two left? Fine, I’ll take both."

  "No Mystic Water in stock? Then why even put it in the catalog?!"

  "Wait, wait—imported Mach Bikes from Hoenn are limited to one per person? Are you kidding me? Look at me and my girlfriend. How are we supposed to share one bike? If Hoenn trainers see us, they’ll think we can’t even afford a second one!"

  Mid-rant, he turned to Blue, keeping up their cover. "Babe, is there anything you want?"

  "....."

  The crowd was stunned by the sheer extravagance.

  Most of them had redeemed prizes before, but it was always a careful decision-making process—choosing their rewards wisely, comparing the value of each item, making sure they got the best deal.

  But this guy?

  He was picking prizes like he was doing wholesale shopping!

  Even the Game Corner staff was scrambling to haul out the requested rewards from storage.

  In the end, August was even allowed to enter the warehouse himself to pick out items directly.

  Watching all of this unfold from the surveilnce monitors, the security chief felt like he was about to cough up blood.

  This is all Team Rocket’s property!

  For a brief moment, he was tempted to just let Arbok loose and take a bite out of August.

  But for the sake of the casino’s reputation, he forced himself to hold back.

  Patience. patience. we’ve held out this long. a little more won’t kill me.

  However—

  That didn’t mean he was going to let August walk away scot-free.

  Enjoy this moment while it sts. you’re safe inside the casino, sure—but the second you step outside, you’ll learn the hard way that Team Rocket’s money doesn’t come easy.

  His eyes gleamed with malice as he gripped a Poké Ball tightly.

  Leaning toward one of his subordinates, he whispered instructions.

  Then, with a cold smirk, he turned his attention back to the surveilnce screen, watching August closely.

  Cedon City was a major Team Rocket stronghold.

  If they let this guy leave unscathed, they might as well stop calling themselves Team Rocket.