As we stepped deeper into the o, the noise enveloped us. The chime of slot maes, the cttering of poker chips, and the low hum of versation filled the air. The st of freshly brewed coffee and something sweet was in the air, probably from the café at the er of the main hall. The energy in the room was electric—people hunched over slot maes with hopeful expressions, groups of friends crowding around bckjack tables, and a few solitary gamblers who looked like they hadn’t left the p days.

  I shot a g Jean, who looked entirely fortable, her casual demeanor hiding any hint that we were up to something that might get us in trouble.

  "So, what’s the pn?" I asked, keeping my voice low as we weaved through the maze of tables and maes.

  Jean smirked, gng over her shoulder at me. "The pn is to not get caught. But more importantly, it’s to win."

  "They got mutaors around, you do know that, right? The moment you use your power, the arms will go off," I said as I took a look around. The guards here also looked burly and I'm pretty sure they got guns.

  "Yeah, I kinda robbed most of the os around the area, so, they took new measures. Every mae in here has one of those detectors. And even the cards and chips, not to mention these workers or dealers... So, I'll be caught if I use my power to py," Jean said as if it wasn't a big deal. She spoke through telepathy. "Let's talk through telepathy from now on."

  I gave her a slight nod. So, using ability is alright, but the moment one uses it to py, it's game over. There must be some kind of AI monit everything, huh?!

  "So...?" I raised my brow.

  "That's where you e in," she replied with a sly smirk.

  "Ah! Since I'm a e... You guys must have tested something on me when you rescued me, didn't you? Hank must have taken my DNA and found my genes are different than other mutants... They 't deteew undiscehat's all I could think of. So, am I right?" I raised my eyebrows. I'm pretty sure they are hiding more than that, I'll find out eventually.

  "Wow! Nice job, detective... Yup, new genes. Although detectors doesn't work, some high quality suppressht work on you."

  "You wao rob them blind, huh?! So, it was a mission after all!"

  "Yup, a super secret mission, just for the two of us," Jean said as she sed the area. "So, here's the pn. We are gonna start with something casual, like slot maes, then move to the table games. Don't always go for the win, they'll get suspicious. Lose some, win some, then try to act like you are a newbie. After winning a couple of big rounds, they will start to get suspicious. So, in the , put 90% of what you won on the line and lose, that's when the main game will begin."

  "Let me guess... Losing that big round will help us diffuse their suspis of us robbing them," I added and Jean nodded. "Then, with the remaining 10% I'll win twice the amount I lost and act like- YAY! I got lucky! The out of here with the money."

  "Exactly!" Jean smirked.

  "I gotta say, I'm starting to like you more and more every sed, Jean. This is so bad, but also so good," I ented.

  Jean's grin widened. "Of course. Plus, what kind of mentor would I be if I didn't give you life lessons, right?"

  "Right..." I replied.

  Jeahe way to the cashier, her demeanor cool and fident. She approached the ter, slid a stack of bills forward, and with a casual smile said, "A thousand in chips, please." The cashier, a tired-looking woman in her forties, didn’t even blink. She quickly ted the money, handed Jean a stack htly colored chips, and nodded us along. She scooped them up, then turned bae, her eyes glinting with excitement. "Alright," she said telepathically, "Let’s get to work."

  "Alright, first stop—slot maes," Jean said, keeping her voice low, though her words echoed in my mind. "Nobody pays too much attention to someone winning here because anyone barely wins here. Just look around these addicts, wasting their money on their luck."

  I sed the rows of slot maes, each fshing and jingling in a bid to lure in pyers. The pyers were pulling levers or pressing buttons with varying degrees of excitement. Some were mindlessly feeding the maes, others hoping for that one jackpot to ge their lives.

  We walked to ay mae he edge of the row, and I took the seat while she stood nearby, pretending to be just another onlooker. I ied a couple of chips, pulled the lever, and the reels began to spin.

  "Remember," Jean’s voice came into my head again, "win some, lose some. Make it believable."

  I gave her a slight nod, pulling the lever again as the images on the reels blurred. The mae came to a stop with a disappointing ctter—two cherries and a lemon. No win. Perfect.

  Over the few minutes, I alternated between winning small payouts and losing just enough to stay uhe radar. As I kept pying, I felt the thrill of the game, though it wasn’t quite as intense knowing that everything was under trol. The fun part was trolling the meism of the mae with my telekiic poretending that it ure luck that was bringing me luck. And as Jean said earlier, these mutaors don't work on me.

  After a few more rounds, I hit a det win—five sevens across the middle row. The mae let out a triumphant jingle, and a small crowd gathered around, gng at the amount dispyed on the s. I made sure to react like any luewbie would, pumping my fist and grinning at Jean.

  "Nice!" I said out loud, making sure my excitement was just enough to seem real but not over the top.

  Jean gave me a nod, subtly cheg the room for ag too closely. So far, so good.

  "Alright, that’s enough for the slots," she said telepathically. "Now let’s head to the bckjack tables. Time to step up the game."

  I got up from the slot mae, cashing out my chips and pocketing them as casually as I could. Jeahe way, and I followed until we reached one where the stakes were moderate but not high enough to attrauch attention. A few pyers were already seated, their faces focused, trying to guess the dealer’s move.

  Jeaured for me to take a seat while she stood nearby. I sat down, exged a few chips for a stack of betting tokens, and waited for the game to begin.

  The dealer, a middle-aged guy with a mustache, dealt out the first hand, and I pyed cautiously at first, winning a couple of hands but also losing a few. Just like Jean had instructed. My stack of chips fluctuated—enough to keep the game iing but not so much to raise any red fgs.

  After about fifteen minutes, I hit my first big win. A bckjack right off the deal. The dealer gave me a nod as I scooped up my winnings, and I could feel the eyes of the other pyers on me. I acted like a newbie who didn’t expect to win, giving an awkward ugh and shrugging my shoulders.

  "Guess I’m on a roll," I muttered, stag my chips ly in front of me.

  Jean’s voice slid into my thoughts again. "Perfeow lose a big one."

  I g my stack, pig up a sizable portion of my winnings and pg them oable for the hand. The cards were dealt, and I pyed it poorly on purpose, hitting when I should have stayed. The dealer won the hand, wiping out a good k of my chips.

  "Damn," I said, shaking my head. "I knew I should’ve stayed."

  The other pyers gave sympathetiods, not suspeg a thing. I could see the dealer g me with a look of mild amusement, clearly thinking I was just another amateur gambler who got too greedy.

  Jean, meanwhile, was casually leaning against the nearby wall, arms crossed and looking pletely at ease. But I knew better. She was focused, watg every move, sing the room for any signs that we were being watched too closely.

  The few hands went smoothly. I won a couple more, but nothing too big. Then, it was time for the final move.

  "Alright," Jean’s voice was calm but firm in my head. "This is it. Put 90% of your remaining chips oable and lose. After that, one mame with a big win and we are out of here."

  I met her gaze, giving a slight nod before turning back to the table. My heart was rag as I pulled my stack of chips inter pile. Here goes. I pyed the hand as badly as possible without making it obvious. Sure enough, I lost, and the dealer raked in the chips.

  I let out a frustrated sigh, slumping in my chair a little, pying the part of the disappointed gambler.

  "Well, there goes that," I muttered, tossing the few remaining chips I had left into the ter of the table.

  The hand began, and I stayed focused. This was the crucial moment. If I won now, I’d walk out of here with double what I came in with.

  The cards were dealt, and I pyed it carefully this time, just like any gambler trying to recoup their losses would. The other pyers were watg, eyes flig between my cards and the dealer’s, curious to see if I’d make a eback.

  I did.

  Bckjack again.

  I let out a whoop of surprise, grinning like an idiot. "No way! I ’t believe it!"

  The dealer smiled politely, pushing my winnings toward me. The other pyers gave me gratutory nods, and I could feel the tension ease around the table. I was just another lucky gambler who hit a streak.

  "Alright, that’s enough for me," I said, getting up from the table and gathering my chips. "Better quit while I’m ahead."

  I could feel Jean’s approval through our telepathiion as we made our way toward the cash-out ter. I handed over the chips, and the clerk ted them out, handing me a stack of bills. I pocketed the cash, gng at Jean.

  "Time to go," she said, a satisfied smirk on her face.

  We walked out of the o, the cool winter air hitting us as soon as we stepped outside. I took a deep breath, the adrenaliill pumping through my veins. Jean walked beside me, her pace steady and calm, as if we hadn’t just pulled off a perfect heist.

  "So, how do you feel?" she asked, gng at me.

  I grinned. "Like I just robbed a o. We made freaking 80 grand!"

  She chuckled. "Teically, you did. But hey, it was food cause."

  I raised an eyebrow. "And what cause is that exactly?"

  She gave me a sideways look, her eyes glinting with mischief. "Getting you some pocket money. And, well, teag you a valuable life skill."

  I couldn’t help but ugh. "You’re something else, Jean."

  "Gd you’re catg on," she said, her smile widening. "Now, let’s get out of here before they figure out what just happened."

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