“I have to say, brother, you’re an expert. At least in poker, I’ve been in the gambling world for so many years and haven’t seen anyone stronger than you…”
As he spoke, Boss Zheng pointed at the TV and clicked his tongue in admiration.
“Look at these two hands, Centipede’s score is zero. How beautifully played. I just can’t figure out what technique you used?”
I remained calm, my face as still as a placid lake.
If my technique was so easy to spot,
Perhaps my hand would have been long gone.
Seeing that Boss Zheng couldn’t figure it out, Old Hei felt relieved.
He immediately said:
“He didn’t cheat, of course you can’t see it…”
Boss Zheng ignored Old Hei and continued with a smile:
“Actually, you should really thank me today…”
“Why?”
Old Hei asked.
“Because I could have caught that kid Li Dabiao a long time ago. But I didn’t. I waited until you almost won everything from him before I made a move. How about that? The gift I gave you isn’t small, right?”
If I said that Boss Zheng’s words
Didn’t affect me at all, that would be a lie.
Now looking back, from the first day I won against Centipede,
I was already on his radar.
And the fact that Old Hei and I teamed up to swindle Li Dabiao, he had seen through it long ago.
But he didn’t expose it.
He was always waiting.
Waiting for the most appropriate moment.
I knew even more.
Boss Zheng was setting up a game.
And I, was slowly walking into it.
But in my heart, there was not a trace of panic.
In the world of swindlers, gambling and deceit,
Setting up and breaking games,
Cheating and countering cheats,
Exist side by side at all times.
Since I chose this path, I knew.
These were all things I would inevitably experience.
In the end, it’s all about who has the better skill.
“Now that I’ve given you a gift, shouldn’t you give me one in return?”
I knew. This smiling tiger was about to get to the point.
“What kind of return gift do you want?”
I asked indifferently.
Boss Zheng put away the poker cards.
Looking at me with a smile, he said:
“It’s simple. In three days, I have two friends from Fengtian coming to Harbin North. They’ve arranged a round with someone else. I want you to play. No matter how you do it, just make sure my two friends win money…”
In three days?
Friends from Fengtian?
I was startled.
Before I came here, Old Qian had already approached me.
Talking about the round in three days.
Asking me to cooperate with He Huan.
To swindle the people from Fengtian.
I never imagined.
That the two groups would clash like this.
“Who’s the other party?”
I asked knowingly without showing any emotion.
“Old Qian, he’ll bring The Swindler to the round!”
Boss Zheng was honest, not hiding anything.
“This Old Qian has been coveting my little gambling den for a long time. He knows that these two friends from Fengtian are my people. So on the surface, it seems like he’s gambling with these two friends. In reality, he’s targeting me…”
I lit a cigarette and smoked silently.
In this situation,
If I don’t agree to Boss Zheng, he won’t let us go.
And I can’t refuse Old Qian either.
But once I get into this round,
No matter what I do, I’ll offend one side.
If I don’t do well enough, I might even offend both.
Now it seems, this is a dead end.
Breaking it,
Is difficult!
Seeing that I didn’t speak,
Old Hei guessed that I didn’t want to take on this round.
He then cheerfully said to Boss Zheng:
“Uncle Zheng, I’ve already said, my friend is not The Swindler. You should find someone else for this kind of thing…”
Boss Zheng laughed.
But his laugh had a sinister edge.
Looking at Old Hei, he slowly said:
“Old Hei, you’re not young anymore, stop messing around outside. When you have time, go home and spend more time with your parents. By the way, how’s your mother’s health? Is she doing well?”
I frowned.
This was a threat!
A blatant threat!
How could Old Hei not hear the undertone in those words?
He suddenly stood up,
Glaring at Boss Zheng, he asked angrily:
“Old Chef Zheng, what the hell do you mean?”
Old Hei’s anger surged.
In the world above,
No matter how big the grudge,
It’s taboo to involve family.
And this smiling tiger, always talking about rules,
Now, he was using Old Hei’s parents to threaten us.
“Old Hei, how can you talk to Boss Zheng like that?”
Brother Zhao, who had been sitting in the corner,
Suddenly stood up.
Holding the gleaming machete, he slowly walked towards Old Hei.
Old Hei showed no fear.
Pointing at Brother Zhao, he shouted loudly:
“Zhao, I respect you and call you Brother Zhao. But don’t fucking play this game with me, I’m not afraid! Come on, fucking chop me…”
As he spoke,
Old Hei’s hand had already grabbed a chair.
As soon as Brother Zhao came over,
He would undoubtedly smash it without hesitation.
“Zhao Ping, what are you doing? Old Hei is our own brother, don’t do this killing stuff. Go back…”
Boss Zheng feigned anger.
Both I and Old Hei knew.
This was an act.
A play for me and Old Hei.
Zhao Ping then stood still.
But his gaze was fixed on Old Hei.
And Boss Zheng continued to say to Old Hei with a smile:
“Old Hei, you damn kid, why are you getting so worked up? I just told you to go home and spend time with your parents, what’s wrong with that? You need to change that temper of yours!”
With one sentence,
Old Hei was left speechless.
Indeed, there seemed to be nothing wrong with those words.
But in reality?
Boss Zheng knew better than anyone.
This smiling tiger, truly sinister.
Well, isn’t it just a game?
Fine!
This time I’ll play along with him.
“I’ll take on this round, let’s talk about the reward.”
“Reward?”
Boss Zheng laughed heartily.
Pointing at the bag where Old Hei kept his money…”Isn’t this the reward? Without my cooperation, could you have won so much?”
I slowly shook my head and said indifferently:
“A mountain is a mountain, water is water, let’s keep things separate!”
“Hahaha, fair enough. Then I’ll give you an extra fifty thousand, how about that?”
Fifty thousand?
Old Qian, fifty thousand.
And Boss Zheng, another fifty thousand!
These so-called people of the world from Harbin North.
Their vision is only so big.
Actually, the fifty thousand has another hidden meaning.
It shows that they don’t take me seriously enough.
In other words, they don’t take The Swindler seriously enough.
In their eyes,
The Swindler is nothing more than a tool for them to make money.
Once they’ve made money, throwing a couple of bones is enough to settle it.
But what they don’t know is,
The Swindler Sect, The Swindler with countless techniques.
One careless move, and you’ll be Counterfeit by The Swindler!
…
After leaving the chess and card room with Old Hei.
Outside, it was already pitch dark.
Standing by the roadside, I lit a cigarette and asked Old Hei:
“Do you hold grudges?”
“Sort of…”
Old Hei didn’t understand what I meant.
Scratching his head, he said naively,
“Do you still remember that guy named Yin Wu? The one Chen Xiaoxue took us to that game…”
“Remember, Old Qian’s brother. Served a few years in prison for Old Qian, just got out. That day we almost came to blows…”
“He insulted my parents, do you remember that?”
“I remember!”
Old Hei still didn’t understand what I was getting at.
I took a drag of my cigarette and said lightly:
“Then you should remember even more. Today, Boss Zheng and that Zhao Ping, Brother Zhao, they threatened us with your parents!”
Old Hei’s expression turned solemn.
He nodded vigorously.
“Old Qian also approached me for this game, asked me to help him deal with those two guys from Fengtian!”
“Ah?”
Old Hei was startled.
“What do we do? Both parties have approached you, whether you win or lose, there’s going to be trouble…”
I didn’t say anything.
Old Hei immediately added:
“How about we go into hiding for a few days, avoid this mess until it blows over…”
I sneered.
Some things can’t be avoided just by hiding.
Besides, hiding is not in my nature.
Since I’m in the game, then breaking the game is the way to go.
Old Hei and I were still talking.
Suddenly, a sedan drove towards us.
As it reached us,
The car slowly came to a stop.