bet
Tao Chu didn't know if those who left were taken to the casino Li Yue had mentioned, but to her, the casino seemed like the kitchen where shrimp and crabs were taken after they were caught.
“I’m penniless and have no capital to bet on,” Tao Chu said.
Li Yue stared at her profile, regretting that he had misjudged her and almost wasted such a resource.
"Go have some fun, it's on me." Li Yue patted the back of her chair.
Tao Chu went to see Shen Yingchang, who put down the tissue and readily agreed: "Since President Li has said so, it's hard to refuse such a kind offer."
When Wen Yunsheng saw them leaving with Li Yue, he got up and followed them.
Tao Chu had been to casinos, where the bright lights and dazzling gold made people forget about time and immerse themselves in a frenzy of extravagance.
She had assumed this floating casino would be the same, but Li Yue explained as he led the way that those casinos were just the lowest level and most ordinary, only there to make money off tourists. There were casinos like that here too, but they weren't the ones they were going to.
He swiped his card and led them into a private elevator that went directly to the top floor. He glanced at Wen Yunsheng, who was following behind, and simply smiled and nodded without refusing.
The transparent elevator lobby offers a view of the beautiful sunset, with the boundless sea and sky ablaze with crimson clouds.
Stepping out of the elevator, doors opened one after another, with burly bodyguards standing on both sides. They walked to the innermost room, where there was a great deal of noise.
Tao Chu stood at the door and saw a large round table that could seat dozens of people, with a graceful girl standing in the hollowed-out center.
Her dress was made of very little fabric, yet she giggled and twirled around to show it off.
The people surrounding her, some sitting and some standing, were all flushed with excitement, shouting from time to time, and holding playing cards in their hands.
Li Yue turned to look at Tao Chu: "Come on, this way please."
He led Tao Chu and the others into a suite next door, where a high-definition screen covering an entire wall was broadcasting live the scene from the casino they had just seen.
Tao Chu sat down and looked at the remote control on the coffee table in front of him. There were three buttons on it: “×2”, “×5” and “×10”.
Li Yue squeezed next to Tao Chu and explained to her, "Use this to increase the stake, 2 times, 5 times, and 10 times."
Tao Chu stared at the girl in the center of the screen and asked, "Is this a gamble or an auction?"
“No, you’re the one who sets the price.” Li Yue picked up the remote control and demonstrated for her, “The top left corner shows her current price, 500,000. Whoever pays this price can sit at the table and play a card game or other games. Whoever wins gets to keep her.”
After saying that, he pressed "×2", and the number in the upper left corner changed to 1 million. The girl's eyes lit up, and she smiled even more brightly, looking up and blowing a kiss towards the camera.
Surprisingly, none of the gamblers around them joined the game; instead, they became even noisier, clamoring for the cards to be revealed quickly.
"How much of the gambling money will the girl get?" Tao Chu asked.
Li Yue fiddled with the remote control in his hand, raising an eyebrow: "It all belongs to her."
Tao Chu didn't believe it, so Li Yue added, "If she's lucky enough to get it."
Tao Chu's expression immediately changed as he silently watched the people on the screen, their eyes bloodshot with gambling.
This is not a simple gambling game where you can win big with a small investment.
The girl is both the prize and the gambler. First, she gambles on the price set by the house, then she gambles on whether the participants will be scared off by the rising price, causing the betting funds to decrease sharply, and finally she risks her life to gamble for tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars.
The ship's owner is also gambling, betting on how attractive the quality of the "goods" is, and betting on whether the gamblers' hidden desires are lust, anger, or even more insane evil thoughts. This determines whether the house will not take a penny or will take all the bets.
Gamblers who spend money like water gain access to a lawless zone, where they can buy things that are not available on the ship, releasing their usually suppressed desires. Once they have no scruples, they are prone to overdoing it—which is exactly what the bookmakers want.
Tao Chu watched as the girl picked up the box full of chips and left with a tall, thin man with gray hair. The gamblers surrounding them showed no regret or lingering; they just loudly urged the girl to hurry up and get more chips.
On this giant ocean liner, people can be cargo, as well as other things prohibited on land, and of course, cargo used for gambling.
Tao Chu glanced at Shen Yingchang, whose lips were pressed into a thin line, indicating that he had also guessed other possibilities.
The gamblers gathered around the table are most likely not the buyers themselves.
Buyers should all be like Tao Chu and his group now, hiding behind the screen, bidding and waiting for the goods to be delivered to them.
But what was Li Yue's purpose in bringing her here?
Why give her the opportunity to peek behind their gambling game?
Just as I was thinking, the screen suddenly switched, like when a phone camera was suddenly switched to the front camera, showing Tao Chu sitting in the middle of the sofa.
Li Yue's face was partially visible. He waved and laughed, saying, "I don't count," before disappearing from the camera's view.
Tao Chu paused for a moment, then saw the number 1 million appear in the upper left corner of the screen and was startled.
As she was about to get up, Shen Yingchang reacted and pulled her toward him, trying to get her away from the camera.
But as she moved, the camera also moved to the left—she remained in the center of the screen.
Shen Yingchang put his arm around her, covered her face with his hands, and pulled her into his embrace.
Wen Yunsheng was sitting on the far right, closest to the door. He got up and opened the door, and saw a row of bodyguards blocking the doorway.
He simply closed and locked the door, intending to turn around and beat Li Yue, but saw that Li Yue's hand holding the remote control had already pressed "×5".
The number jumped to 5 million, and Tao Chu on the screen buried her head in Shen Yingchang's arms.
Wen Yun felt a surge of anger and quickly took off his suit jacket, walked briskly to the screen, and raised his jacket to block the camera directly above him.
He couldn't stand Tao Chu and the price tag appearing together.
The screen went black for only a moment, then immediately split into nine split screens, each displaying a camera from a different angle: above, front left, rear left, front right, rear right...
In the center of each scene is Tao Chu.
Wen Yunsheng looked down at these split screens and felt a chill run down his spine.
He couldn't block all the cameras by himself, nor could he block the large screen that took up half the wall, and he didn't know where the people bidding at the table were or who they were.
The person he so desperately wanted to protect was treated like a commodity by Li Yue, bought and sold, and left to be slaughtered at will.
Wen Yunsheng turned around and threw his suit jacket at Li Yue's head. Li Yue had just pulled it off when he received a solid punch.
Li Yue did not retaliate. He raised his arm to block Wen Yunsheng's fist and bent down to grab the remote control that had fallen to the ground.
Tao Chu, who was looking down, saw Li Yue's actions. She kicked the remote control away and stepped on his hand.
Li Yue screamed and pulled his hand away, but Wen Yunsheng beat him again, causing him to cower on the sofa, howling. The bodyguards burst through the door and dragged Wen Yunsheng away.
Shen Yingchang pulled Tao Chu up, and the two pressed themselves against the wall, trying to find an opportunity to escape in the chaos, but two bodyguards rushed straight towards Tao Chu.
With his face bruised and swollen, Li Yue crawled on the ground, found the remote control, pressed "×10," and roared at Tao Chu, "I'll kill her!"
Wen Yunsheng kicked the coffee table in front of Li Yue, startling him: "It's just 50 million, come on, I'll play a game with you!"
Shen Yingchang stepped between the bodyguard and Tao Chu, and looked at Wen Yunsheng: "Count me in—Mr. Wen, you're paying, no objection, right?"
Wen Yunsheng looked at the white hem of Tao Chu's skirt peeking out from behind him and hummed in agreement.
Li Yue laughed in anger: "You bastards, you want to run up a bill with me? Who do you think you are?"
"So the rules of the gambling on the ship can be changed at will, and it's all up to you, Li Yue? Isn't it just a matter of paying money to get a table?" Tao Chu asked.
The people behind these cameras are, frankly speaking, gamblers with higher social status. If the house can flip the table at will, what's the point of the game?
Tao Chu bet that Li Yue wouldn't dare to say anything in this room full of cameras. Sure enough, Li Yue glared at Tao Chu, wishing he could devour her alive, but he could only grit his teeth and admit it.
"Okay, bring the cards." Li Yue took off his coat and rolled up his sleeves.
The bodyguards released Wen Yunsheng and stood beside Li Yue.
"Buy chips first." Li Yue looked at Wen Yunsheng.
Wen Yunsheng glanced at him: "Azimu is enough. With so many cameras, I won't renege on my promise—what about you?"
Li Yue slammed a bunch of keys on the table. Shen Yingchang glanced at them and thought they were enough for at most a house and two cars. He sneered, "Not quite enough, is it?"
"Why are you spouting so much nonsense, you who's just trying to get on credit? I have a yacht too, add it to the list!" Li Yue waved his hand impatiently, "Deal the cards, deal the cards."
"Should we play point games or Texas Hold'em?" Shen Yingchang asked.
Before Li Yue could speak, Wen Yunsheng said, "There are only three people, and they've already bet all their chips. In Texas Hold'em, there's no such thing as big or small blinds. Nobody will fold. It's all about luck. They can easily flip the game."
After saying that, he looked at Li Yue: "Do you dare to go all out?"
Li Yue narrowed his eyes: "What's there to be afraid of?"
Tao Chu looked at the dealer who was starting to shuffle and cut the cards and said, "I'll do it."
This sentence made Li Yue's expression change: "The rules in the casino are that only the dealer can shuffle and deal the cards."
Tao Chu looked up at the camera directly in front of him: "I was brought here and made into a betting pool for no reason. You, as the dealer, have already stepped onto the field, so why can't I deal the cards? With so many people and so many machines watching, are you afraid that I'll cheat, or are you afraid that someone can't cheat?"
Cheating is a major taboo in casinos, and it's easy for the dealer to cause controversy by doing it himself. Li Yue's impulsive act only made him more vulnerable to being controlled by others.
For a time, these cameras became a constraint for Li Yue, after all, he represented the dealer and the "Sea Chaser".
Seeing that he didn't speak, Tao Chu got up and walked to the dealer's side. He took the cards, shuffled and cut them several times, and then dealt and flipped the cards one by one.
The first three cards on the table are:
4, Q, Q
It's possible to play a full house or a flush. Tao Chu glanced at their expressions, but none of them showed any emotion.
She continued flipping through the cards—the fourth one was a King, adding the possibility of a flush of hearts. Only Li Yue relaxed his brow and smiled.
Tao Chu picked up the last card and gently turned it over.
4!
The probability of getting a flush is 0, while the probability of getting a full house increases significantly!
Li Yue was almost bursting into laughter, but managed to hold it in before asking, "Who will light up first?"
Shen Yingchang sighed: "I'll go first."
One King and one Five.
Two pairs failed to achieve a flush.
Li Yue held up his two cards high and slammed them onto the coffee table: "Full house!"
K, K—Li Yue has the remaining two suits of K in his hand, which is the largest gourd that can appear on the field!
Tao Chu originally thought he had a Q or a 4, which would allow him to make a full house, but who knew he started with a pair of Ks, no wonder he was laughing like that.
In that case, there's basically no chance of beating him...
Seeing her pale face, Li Yue became even more smug.
He reached out to pull her into his arms: "How come your hands are so good at dealing cards? Why not make them into a sculpture and put it at the entrance of our casino to attract wealth, hahaha!"
"Wait," Wen Yunsheng called out to stop Li Yue, "and there are my cards too."
"What tricks can you possibly have? You can't even put together a decent hand..." Before Li Yue could finish speaking, he saw the two cards that Li Yue had gently tossed onto the table.
Q, Q
Four.
Tao Chu's eyes suddenly lit up!
Wen Yunsheng grabbed the keychain from the coffee table and tossed it to Tao Chu: "Take it, my queen!"
The jingling key flew past Li Yue's eyes and was caught in Tao Chu's hand.
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