Bet on a game

Having left Ye Yuqiao's house, Chen Hao first arrived at an ATM and, after more than ten minutes, withdrew all fifty thousand yuan his grandfather had saved on the bank card. At the ATM, he trembled as he counted the thick stack of banknotes; though it was just the start of autumn and the most oppressively hot time of the year in Y City, he was shivering with cold. He guessed it must be due to drinking the medicine brewed with Nether Palace ancient acacia powder.

After counting the money, Chen Hao stuffed the notes into his pocket and clutched the outer side of the pocket tightly to prevent the large sum of money, which he had never handled before, from being stolen.

Passing by a convenience store, feeling unbearably cold, Chen Hao bought a pack of cigarettes and a can of beer. Upon leaving the store and lighting up a cigarette, he closed his eyes and savored a few puffs while his left hand constantly felt for his pocket. After a round of smoking, Chen Hao tossed away the nearly finished cigarette butt and murmured to himself, "Smoking is harmful to health; it's best to smoke as little as possible when it's not necessary!"

After finishing his smoke, Chen Hao strode towards an underground casino in Y City. Since he had promised Xie Xiaofeng earlier that he would pay off the six hundred thousand yuan he owed the Xie family tonight, he withdrew all the savings from his grandfather's bank card, ready to gamble in the underground casino. Of course, he wasn't entirely relying on luck and fate to gamble; he planned to cheat and win the games by using the x-ray function of Nether Vision.

"Having drunk a whole cup of water with tree powder, I should be able to use the Nether Vision skill, right?" Chen Hao questioned himself. Not being too certain, his heart was somewhat uneasy.

Five minutes later, Chen Hao arrived at the largest and most famous underground casino in Y City. Standing in front of the casino entrance, he tore open the can of beer he'd been holding for a long time and finished it in one gulp. Bolstered by the beer for courage, he swaggered into the casino, reminding himself in his heart, "Drinking is also bad for health, best to drink as little as possible when it's not necessary."

The casino was packed and crowded. Chen Hao first took a tour around the whole casino, inspecting the entertainment facilities that could be exploited through the x-ray eye on his left arm, and all the while made sure not to forget pressing his left hand tightly against his pants pocket. After making the rounds, Chen Hao finally chose to sit in front of the "Guess the Total" gambling table with the most spectators.

The so-called Guess the Total is a simple game. The croupier shakes three dice and people guess the total sum of the dice; guess correctly and you win double the prize money.

After taking his seat, the female croupier looked Chen Hao up and down and said in a disdainful tone, "Handsome guy, the lowest bet in our game is a thousand yuan. You might want to think it over before playing?"

The female croupier said this after guessing that Chen Hao didn't have much money based on his dressing.

Chen Hao snorted angrily, slammed the table, and barked at the female croupier, "Are you looking down on me or what?"

Having said so, he pulled out the thick stack of fifty thousand yuan from his pocket and slammed it on the table, declaring loudly, "A measly thousand yuan a round, you're really underestimating me, I always play ten thousand a round!"

Seeing the fifty thousand yuan slammed on the table by Chen Hao, the female croupier's expression suddenly turned warm, and she said with a smile, "Handsome guy, please take a seat, please!"

After taking his seat again, the female croupier began to shake the dice. Chen Hao closed his eyes, focusing intently on the Nether Eye Power above his left eye. Soon, in a state akin to an out-of-body experience, he saw a purple glow. Compared to this morning, the purple glow he saw was now bigger and more dazzling.

It seems that drinking that tree powder water really did boost my Spiritual Power, Chen Hao silently rejoiced.

"Handsome guy, handsome guy!" Suddenly, a voice reached Chen Hao's ear, snapping him back to reality. Opening his eyes, he saw the female croupier looking at him with an urging gaze.

"Handsome guy, it's your turn to place a bet, everyone is waiting for you!" the female croupier said.

Chen Hao looked around, only to see everyone watching him with a hostile gaze.

Now what to do, not having mastered the Nether Vision function? Chen Hao was despondent. He regretted bragging in front of that disdainful female croupier. He couldn't just place a thousand and let her mock him, could he?

With no choice left, he casually tossed a stack of ten thousand yuan notes onto the betting area marked "15."

The croupier uncovered the shaker, showing "2, 1, 6," the sum being 9. Among the surrounding crowd, naturally there were cheers and sighs. Chen Hao sadly hung his head, biting his lip to hold back the tears; his heart was bleeding, that was a whole ten thousand yuan!

Before Chen Hao could recover from the pain, the croupier immediately started shaking the dice again. Hearing the frantic clattering of dice in the shaker, Chen Hao's heart raced, and he instantly went into a meditative state. Just like the previous round, he didn't get to try transferring the power of his left eye to his left eye before the female croupier woke him up.

"Handsome guy, ten thousand yuan is just pocket change to you, there's no need to think so hard, right?" the female croupier taunted with a smile.

Chen Hao first gave a silly smile, then feigned indifference and waved his hand, explaining, "It's not about the money for me, it's just that I was mesmerized by your beauty, if there's anyone to blame, it's that you're too pretty!"

Enduring the heartache, Chen Hao once again threw ten thousand yuan into the column marked "12." However, this round revealed three fives, adding up to a total of 15. Seeing this, Chen Hao sighed in disappointment and slapped his thigh hard.

Noticing the scornful laugh from the female croupier, Chen Hao immediately masked the disappointment on his face and turned to the middle-aged man beside him, who was also sighing, and said with a smile, "It's just a few thousand yuan, what's there to fuss about?"

Watching the once thick stack of notes thin out significantly within minutes, Chen Hao stood up from the table, deliberately muttering loudly, "This game is boring, let's play something else."

The female croupier chuckled and mocked, "Handsome guy, you're not scared just because you lost twenty thousand yuan, are you? That amount is nothing, not even enough to buy me a handbag."

"Who's scared? I just think it's not fun, that's all!"

"Then endure one more round, handsome guy, and bet all the thirty thousand yuan you have left in one go. Let me see your determination," the female croupier smiled encouragingly.

Watching the expectant looks of the people around him, Chen Hao, who was somewhat concerned with his own face, felt embarrassed to refuse.

"Come on, take a seat and play another round!" the female croupier continued inviting.

"Young man, come on!"

"Sit down and play another round!"

...

Under the encouragement of the people around him, Chen Hao eventually sat back down in the chair he had just left. But as soon as he sat down, he regretted it. His heart was racing, now what should he do, he wondered. A round meant losing thirty thousand yuan, it was simply robbery.

"Diddle-diddle-dah!" the female croupier mercilessly shook the dice again.

Although Chen Hao managed to keep a poker face, as if it were of no consequence, his heart was pounding wildly. This was the hard-earned money his grandfather had toiled away for, and he was blowing it all in a matter of minutes. Recalling his grandfather's weary toil day after day and watching the dice cup move lightly in the hands of the croupier, Chen Hao's eyes moistened.

With a "thud," the female croupier pressed the dice cup onto the table, a sound that felt to Chen Hao like a death sentence.

"Handsome, place your bet!" the female croupier smiled at Chen Hao, who knew that as per the casino's rules, if a gambler lost more than fifty thousand yuan, she would get an eighteen percent commission. In her eyes, the money of this pretentious, face-saving, foolish young man was just too easy to earn, and he deserved whatever came to him!

Chen Hao forced a smile, his hands slowly reaching for the thirty thousand yuan in front of him. His whole body trembled as he grasped the money. Looking up, he saw every unfamiliar face around him watching with mocking eyes, as if anticipating his humiliation.

He lifted the heavy thirty thousand yuan, his eyes hesitating among the sixteen golden numbers on the gambling table from "3 to 18." As he gazed, Chen Hao suddenly felt a soreness in his left eye, and the things he saw with both eyes seemed to be different. Closing his right eye, he discovered that the world his left eye saw was covered in a purple hue.

Could this be the Nether Vision? Chen Hao felt a small surge of excitement. He turned his gaze to the dice cup and, after looking for two seconds, the dice cup vanished and he saw the upward face of the three dice all showing 1.

"Handsome, make your choice quickly!" the female croupier urged at this point.

Chen Hao blinked. Although his heart was thrilling beyond words at this point, he still had to appear calm. He sighed, darkening his face as he flicked the cold sweat from his forehead and, feigning a low and helpless tone, said, "This last hand I might as well throw randomly!"

After saying this, he tossed the thirty thousand yuan on the "3" column.

Given the odds, it's less likely for a 3 or an 18 to appear, so seeing Chen Hao bet on 3, the surrounding people couldn't help but exclaim, even the experienced female croupier looked surprised, casting a questioning glance at Chen Hao.

Chen Hao shook his hand, smiling at the croupier, "Thirty thousand yuan, pocket change! It's just for fun, no need to take it so seriously! Come on, reveal the result, I still need to take a helicopter to City H for supper!"

The croupier uncovered the dice cup, and there were indeed three 1s. At this sight, the people around gasped in astonishment.

By the rules, since the probability of "3" appearing is smaller, the corresponding payout is bigger, reaching six times the bet, so Chen Hao won back one hundred and eighty thousand yuan in this round.

Staring at the mountain of money before him, Chen Hao was stunned, and it took a long while before he came to his senses. As the casino staff was about to help him pack the money into a bag, Chen Hao hurriedly stopped them, "Ah, looks like my supper will be delayed a few minutes. Don't pick up the money for me, I'm betting all one hundred and eighty thousand on the next round. It's all about having fun when you're out playing, money isn't that important!"

In the next round, using Nether Vision, Chen Hao guessed correctly again, and the money in front of him doubled from one hundred eighty thousand to three hundred sixty thousand.

"Oh my, what a turnaround, won a little money again," Chen Hao sighed, shaking his shoulders. After a pause, he continued, "But it's all about having fun when you're out, so I'm betting all three hundred sixty thousand again."

Hearing Chen Hao bet all three hundred sixty thousand, the croupier grew nervous, her complexion turning ashen. Her voice trembling, she explained to Chen Hao, "Sir, I'm sorry, but according to our casino's rules, the maximum amount for each bet is limited to three hundred thousand."

"I can't bet the thirty thousand?" Chen Hao pretended to be furious, then murmured a complaint, "Just for this bit of money your casino can't take the bet!"

After saying that, he tossed ten thousand yuan in front of the croupier and smiled, "Then I'm betting three hundred thousand next round, and this ten thousand is your tip. I was just planning on having a simple congee supper, if it weren't for you insisting on keeping me here, how would I have ended up with extra money enough for a few deep-fried dough sticks? Eating too much would make me fat, you better not do this next time!"

At this moment, everyone in the casino crowded around. Under everyone's gaze, the croupier started shaking the dice.

When the croupier stopped, all eyes turned to Chen Hao. Chen Hao closed his right eye for a moment, then boastfully said with a laugh, "Really, don't let me guess this one right again, it would be so embarrassing! My three hundred thousand is all on 5, such a small number, it definitely won't hit again."

The croupier closed her eyes and slowly lifted the dice cup...