Chapter 10 of 10

Chapter 10

15 min read3,828 words

Chapter 9: Prelude to the Final Confrontation

Two police cars were parked below the New Century Hotel, and a few people in uniforms were talking with walkie-talkies.

Xu Jianfeng and Su Jing sat in a taxi, both looking grim.

"Driver, take us to Babylon."

Su Jing touched the few hundred-thousand-yuan chips in his pocket, calculating, and felt a complex mix of emotions.

"When we went out earlier... we only brought a third of the chips. Now, we can't touch anything in the hotel..."

For safety, the two newly rich men had not carried all their chips, leaving the majority of the seven to eight million they had won over the past few days in their hotel room.

Xu Jianfeng was even more cautious. He still had over two million yuan in his bank account, but he estimated that he couldn't withdraw any of it, as any movement would cause trouble. Now, the only safe card he had was one registered under someone else's identity.

"Your card can still be used. They only know me, and if they report it, they'll only mention my name. I tore up the records at the Bi Hai card room when I left, so they won't trace it back to Bi Hai for a while. Your card should still be fine."

The two combined the chips they had and the money in their cards, totaling around 2.5 million yuan. It was too late to regret not cashing out half the chips earlier. After working hard for three or four days, they were back to square one, and even their initial capital was starting to dwindle. Both were in low spirits.

Compared to Xu Jianfeng, who was worried about how to get more money before the police caught up, Su Jing's emotions were even more intense. It was already 4 a.m., and there were only twenty hours left until the deadline. Including Xu Jianfeng's share, he had to turn 2.5 million yuan into 20 million in the next twenty hours.

Theoretically, it wasn't difficult, and a game of Dragon Tiger could be over in three minutes. But plans often don't keep up with changes. The good situation had been ruined by a group of robbers, making him feel nervous. If the world's central hub was truly omnipotent and could influence the development of this dimension to create obstacles for his fate, who knew what else might be waiting for him.

The more he was pushed into this situation, the more Su Jing felt his blood boil. This unshakable confidence in facing challenges was a habit he had cultivated over the past twenty years, believing that the deceased was protecting him from the afterlife, and that he had extraordinary abilities because he carried the fate of two people. So, he, alone, had to achieve what two people could do together!

It was this belief that constantly pushed him into the corner of fate, and he broke through the encirclement time and time again by tapping into his own strength—

"Babylon... Old Xu, let's go to the VIP room tonight and play a few hands."

"..." Xu Jianfeng looked at him, thought for a moment, and said, "I get it. You mean the VIP room is safer and out of the police's sight. And to win big in the casino, we need to be in the VIP room to avoid suspicion, right?"

"......I just want to experience the feeling of being a high-roller and a gambling god." Su Jing turned his head and replied, "Where did your mind go?"

"Want to experience the feeling of being a gambling god? We should go to a spa first, then buy you a new suit." Xu Jianfeng laughed.

"Sounds good to me."

At 2 p.m., Su Jing and Xu Jianfeng, both looking refreshed, walked into the lobby of Babylon. Su Jing's casual suit from the previous days, which was now covered in dirt from the fight, was thrown into the trash.

"Let's earn the VIP room entry first."

In the casino's surveillance room, the computer speaker buzzed, and the duty officer put aside the bag of chips and enlarged the automatically captured surveillance photo.

"Isn't this... the two people the system flagged for abnormal chip flow the other night?"

Another duty officer put on his glasses, looked at it, and nodded.

"Yes, these two. I remember the long-haired one. Go get Mr. Chen."

At 5 p.m.

The chips in front of Su Jing had piled up into a small mountain. At the Baccarat table, he and Xu Jianfeng each occupied a seat.

The dealer maintained a commercial smile.

At 6 p.m., Su Jing looked at the card shuffler.

The next card, a four.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, bad luck." Su Jing pushed out a 500,000-yuan chip. "It's the smallest, zero..."

At this moment, a man in his thirties wearing a striped shirt squeezed in and took the seat to Su Jing's right.

"Let's get acquainted, sir." The striped shirt threw a 100-yuan chip. "My name is Chen, Chen Changqing. 'Chang' as in 'longevity,' and 'Qing' as in 'green mountains.'"

Su Jing, without turning his head, placed a golden million-yuan chip.

"Su as in 'awakening,' and Jing as in 'thorn.'"

"Mr. Su, would you like to try our VIP room?"

"What do we play?"

"Whatever you choose."

"Who are you...?"

"Manager of Babylon, Chen Changqing."

"After dinner." Su Jing gathered two golden chips. "I'll be there."

"Then I'll be waiting for Mr. Su and Mr. Xu." Chen Changqing put the two 100-yuan chips in his pocket and stood up, leaving. "Seventh floor, Moonlight Hall."

"Trouble's coming..." Xu Jianfeng took out a cigarette and lit it. "Should we really go?"

"If they've issued a challenge, not going now would mean backing down." Su Jing played with the chips between his fingers. "He made it clear that if we don't go, they'll have security escort us out."

"Ha ha..." Xu Jianfeng laughed. "I thought Babylon was something special, but it seems their rules are no different."

"They're not fools. We've been winning so much..." Su Jing asked for a card and stacked the chips into a small cylinder. "Running a casino is all about money. They won't let us bankrupt them. Chen Changqing is calling us to the VIP room to see if he can take us down. If he can, we'll lose everything we've won. If he can't, he'll let us win a bit and then kick us out. Either way, we won't be welcome back at Babylon."

"Really that harsh?"

"Exactly. And we'll be under close surveillance at any major casino in the world from now on."

Su Jing counted all the chips and put them in his pocket.

"7.1 million. Enough. Let's find a restaurant."

As they walked out of the casino, they saw Chen Changqing waiting by the exit.

"Mr. Chen, is there something you need?"

"Actually, I'd like to treat you both to a meal. Please don't misunderstand; this is my personal invitation, not the casino's. I'm just very interested in you two."

Su Jing and Xu Jianfeng exchanged a glance and nodded.

"Thank you."

Chen Changqing took them to a street-side restaurant on the second floor of Babylon. Su Jing ordered a simple black pepper beef and fried noodles, and a cup of coffee.

"Where are you from, Mr. Su?" Chen Changqing smiled as he cut his steak. "I don't think you two have known each other for long."

"I? I'm from the south." Su Jing raised his eyebrows. "I've known Old Xu for a long time."

"Close friends." Xu Jianfeng nodded.

"Hmm..." Chen Changqing realized they weren't giving him any useful information and focused on his meal.

"Mr. Chen, is there a pharmacy here? I've been feeling unwell lately, and I've run out of my medication..." Su Jing finished his beef in a few bites and wiped his mouth with a napkin.

"Third floor, there's one on the third floor." Chen Changqing took a plastic card from his pocket. "This is my internal reimbursement card. Use it to buy your medication, and it will be charged to my account."

"Thank you." Su Jing didn't say much, nodded, and left with the card.

For a moment, only Chen Changqing and Xu Jianfeng were left in the restaurant, silent. Chen Changqing was thinking about how to phrase his next words when Xu Jianfeng spoke up.

"Mr. Chen, I'm actually confused about something. We've won so much here, why don't you just have security kick us out?"

"Our casino is a business. Kicking people out is a last resort. We usually don't want to make enemies with skilled players like you. If someone like Mr. Su were to challenge us, while he might not bring us down, it would certainly cause us a lot of trouble. Most of the time, we just invite you to play with us and settle things behind closed doors." Chen Changqing smiled. "And personally, I find it a great pleasure to play with skilled players like you two."

Xu Jianfeng nodded thoughtfully.

At 8:30 p.m.

Babylon Hotel, 7th floor.

Outside the Moonlight Hall.

"Count them again."

"Is it necessary?"

"Yes."

"7.1053 million. Seven golden, one blue, five white, three gray. Sixteen chips in total. Counted clearly?"

"Tsk... This is my life's savings. I feel... uneasy if I don't double-check."

"Don't worry, aren't you Crazy Xu? How can a crazy person be nervous or afraid?"

"Um... I've never held so much money in my hands. They're just plastic chips, but they feel heavy..."

"Relax, treat today as your last day. It will help you stay calm."

"What do you mean 'last day'! Don't jinx me!! You're making me even more nervous..."

"Alright, go to the bathroom and pee. We have at least three hours of intense play ahead. Eat some chocolate, sweets will make you feel better."

"Why have you been talking non-stop since just now! You're more nervous than I am!"

"Nonsense, I'm not nervous at all. I'm eating chocolate because... I like it!!"

The two bickered as they pushed open the door to the Moonlight Hall.

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