All three were deep in thought, speaking very little. Zhou Xuan's expression was worried, Zhuang Zhixian's was sinister, while Ma Shu seemed lost in thought, pondering something. Apart from Ma Shu, neither Zhuang Zhixian nor Zhou Xuan knew what was going on.
Zhou Xuan also became more careful about the safety and thoughts in his mind, at least he would not let Ma Shu take anything important out of his mind again. With his ability, if he was careful, Ma Shu would not be able to access his thoughts.
The longer time passed, the more uneasy and uncertain Zhou Xuan felt. Zhuang Zhixian's expression was the opposite of Zhou Xuan's, but he also seemed a little restless. From this, Zhou Xuan knew that something big that he couldn't have imagined was going to happen!
But given Zhuang Zhixian's methods, what kind of things will he actually do?
They all seemed like ants on the edge of a frying pan, but in the end, it was Zhuang Zhixian who couldn't resist.
"Zhou Xuan, now I can tell you, listen carefully." Zhuang Zhixian stared at Zhou Xuan, speaking in a sinister tone, "I'm going to have a bet with someone later. I can tell you clearly, the total amount of this bet is one billion US dollars. My personal investment is two hundred million US dollars worth of Zhuang Group stock and one billion Hong Kong dollars in cash. If I lose this bet, hehe, you know what my fate will be. But I'm not a good person, I don't need to explain that, right? If I lose, your Miss Fu and Wei Haihong will both have to pay with their lives, understand?"
Zhou Xuan narrowed his eyes. Could it be that Zhuang Zhixian wanted him to gamble on his behalf? A billion US dollars was indeed far more than the amount they had just lost. If they won, the billion Hong Kong dollars they had just lost would be nothing. But if he was really confident of winning by going all in like this?
Before Zhou Xuan could speak, Zhuang Zhixian said coldly, "Zhou, I also want you to understand that you are bringing over all of these ten billion US dollars for me. You have no choice; you can only win, you cannot lose. If you lose, you will lose the lives of your family and friends!"
Zhou Xuan paused for a moment before asking, "How can you be so sure I'll win? If it's just about gambling, why didn't you ask Ma Shu to take the plunge? Actually, he's more suitable than me for gambling."
"Don't give me that bullshit!" Zhuang Zhixian snapped, his voice blazing. "If he were more confident, he wouldn't have lost to you. One word: are you going to bet or not? Be quick, there are still ten minutes before that call. If you don't bet, we'll all die together. At least I'll have a few people buried with me!"
Upon hearing Zhuang Zhixian's vicious words, Zhou Xuan immediately sensed his ruthlessness. On the matter of Fu Ying, he had no room for negotiation and answered without hesitation, "I bet!"
Zhuang Zhixian said sinisterly, "I don't care what abilities you have, or what methods you use, you just have to win this game, you absolutely have to win!"
Zhuang Zhixian had clearly staked everything on this gamble. If he lost, he would have no chance of recovery and would face certain death. Zhou Xuan was in the same boat; if he lost, Fu Ying and Wei Haihong would likely only have an hour and ten minutes left. Moreover, Zhou Xuan was almost certain that with Zhuang Zhixian's cunning and ruthless methods, even if he won the billion-dollar bet... "Oh, really? They'll release Fu Ying and Wei Haihong? They'll let him go? It's quite certain that after Zhuang Zhixian succeeds, he'll definitely want to kill him. They won't let him go so easily!"
It could be said that this was a choice between life and death. Zhou Xuan was racing against time. He wanted to win the bet as soon as possible and get to that time as quickly as possible, but he also knew in his heart that perhaps when that time came, it would be his death day. At that time, how would Zhuang Zhixian deal with him? Knowing that he had such special abilities, if he really wanted to take action, wasn't he afraid that Zhou Xuan would easily erase him and Ma Shu from this world?
But Zhou Xuan dared not!
Zhuang Zhixian is different from him. Zhuang Zhixian has grasped his seven weaknesses and held his soft spot, which are Fu Ying and Wei Haihong. Especially Fu Ying, Zhou Xuan will never tolerate Fu Ying being harmed in the slightest!
After a long pause, Zhou Xuan finally asked in a low voice, "Who are you betting with?"
Zhuang Zhixian chuckled and said, "Of course, we're betting against experts. In this world, only experts can really gamble this high. The two people I've found are Hank, the gambling god of Las Vegas, and Sato Kamitsu, the Japanese king of gamblers. Hehe, we're treating them like fat pigs to be slaughtered, but in their hearts, aren't they also treating us like fish about to take the bait? Let's see who has the better skills!"
Zhou Xuan didn't recognize Hank and Sato Kamitsu, whom Zhuang Zhixian mentioned. Actually, it was better that way; whether they were experts or novices, he could only treat them all the same, and for now, he could only win.
However, Ma Shu, who was standing to the side, was really surprised. He knew that Zhuang Zhixian had prepared such a gambling game, but he didn't know who he had invited to play it. Zhuang Zhixian had even kept it from him. Although he understood that the person he invited must be extraordinary, he did not expect that the person would be so famous!
Ma Shu had never met Hank, but he had heard of him. He had gambled at casinos in Las Vegas before, but at that time, he only dared to win a very small amount. It was around that time that he heard about Hank. In all the casinos in Las Vegas, Hank was on the blacklist of those who were refused entry!
Anyone who gambles in Las Vegas knows Hank, the legend of the gambling world. They know he has never lost, and no one has ever caught or seen through his tricks.
In Las Vegas, if someone is caught cheating, they're finished. They'll either be beaten to death or crippled. But no casino owner wants to get rid of Hank; they just restrict his access to casinos. The reason is that no one can catch him cheating. If you can't catch someone cheating, no matter how they win, it's a legitimate win.
Another Japanese gambling master, Sato Kamitsu, was someone Ma Shu had personally witnessed and even played against. However, the game was not a true gamble, but Ma Shu was extremely surprised that he could not understand Sato Kamitsu's thoughts after facing him.
People who can't understand each other's thoughts usually either have strong thinking abilities or, like him, have special abilities, such as Zhou Xuan. Of course, Zhou Xuan was someone he met later.
Ma Shu had also observed Sato's matches against others. Judging from the footage, Sato didn't seem to be someone with any special abilities, just very skilled. However, if Sato's skills didn't quite reach Ma Shu's level, it was highly likely that Sato possessed exceptionally strong mental abilities—the kind of highly intelligent person, a so-called "mathematician"!
In fact, all gambling skills can be boiled down to mathematics. If a person has strong mathematical knowledge and a good memory, they will be just as good at gambling.
However, Ma Shu wasn't a math whiz, and his score wasn't high either, so he couldn't figure it out. He just felt that Sato didn't seem like someone with special abilities, but he wasn't 100% sure.
Later, when he encountered Zhou Xuan, Ma Shuke truly admitted defeat. He might still have a chance against someone like Sato, but if it were Zhou Xuan, he wouldn't even have a chance and would definitely lose. Zhou Xuan's abilities were terrifying. Fortunately, Zhuang Zhixian was cunning enough. It's true that you can't offend anyone. No matter how strong Zhou Xuan is, he can't beat Zhuang Zhixian!
Just then, there was a soft knock on the door, and a man came in and whispered to Zhuang Zhixian, "Boss, they've arrived!"
At this moment, Zhou Xuan also clearly felt the yacht slow down, and a few minutes later, the yacht came to a complete stop.
Zhuang Zhi stood up excitedly and first asked Zhou Xuan in a low voice, "Are you ready?"
Zhou Xuan replied heavily, "Whether I prepare or not, it's all the same. Do I have a choice?"
Zhuang Zhixian chuckled and said, "Good to know, of course you had no choice!"
Volume 1, Chapter 307: Six Dice
Diao Xuan didn't need to prepare anything further. Zhuang Zhixian didn't care. With Fu Ying and Wei Hailian in control, Zhou Xuan wouldn't dare to slack off. He had made it clear to Zhou Xuan that in this gamble, he could only win, not lose. If he lost, he might make that phone call again, but this time it would be a death sentence. Zhou Xuan would be helpless; aside from killing Zhuang Zhixian, he wasn't confident he could rescue Fu Ying and Wei Hailian.
Zhuang Zhixian instructed his men to welcome the guests onto the yacht. He then glanced intently at Zhou Xuan, who remained expressionless. He nodded, picked up his phone, and made another call to his men. At this moment, Zhou Xuan used all his ice energy to thoroughly search the yacht, confirming that Fu Ying and Wei Haihong were indeed not on board. This meant that he could only obediently follow Zhuang Zhixian's orders for the time being, and everything had to be done as the situation allowed.
Zhou Xuan also detected that Zhuang Zhixian's men were armed, so he probably wasn't planning to have a fair fight with them.
Zhuang Zhixian certainly thought so, but his main goal was to win through skill in the game, rather than resorting to guns as a last resort. Using guns to forcibly resolve the situation was only a last resort. If it came to that, even if he won a billion dollars, there would be endless troubles afterward. People in the gambling world abide by the rules: accept the consequences of their bets. If they lose to their opponent, they will accept it willingly. But if the opponent uses other means, then the relentless pursuit will be relentless.
Zhuang Zhixian wasn't unaware of this. Although he couldn't afford to lose either, he still hoped that Zhou Xuan would win the bet using his special ability. However, he also needed to prepare for other actions just in case. In any case, he couldn't afford to lose, and he couldn't afford to lose no matter what. It was only when Zhou Xuan lost the bet that he would finally take that step.
In the middle of the yacht's living room, there was a large round table, where Zhuang Zhixian's men had already arranged for his guests to sit down.
Two people sat around the large round table. One was a blond, blue-eyed foreigner who looked to be about fifty years old, or perhaps older, or maybe younger. Foreigners' appearances often differed from their actual ages; of course, this was just Zhou Xuan's opinion, at least in his view. The foreigner stared intently at the person who entered.
When Zhou Xuan first met him, he felt that this person's eyes were like the ocean. Boundless and endless, with no end in sight.
The other person was clearly of East Asian descent, with distinct yellow features, and looked to be around thirty-five or thirty-six years old, a fact Zhou Xuan was somewhat certain of. It was easier to estimate the age of someone with an East Asian face like his own.
The moment this person's eyes met Zhou Xuan's, Zhou Xuan couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine!
This person's gaze was completely different from that foreigner's. The foreigner's gaze had a somewhat unfathomable quality, but this person's gaze was filled with a deathly aura!
Zhou Xuan sensed it clearly; it was an aura of death. It seemed all he saw was death. He immediately felt that these two were no ordinary people. However, just observing them wouldn't reveal their abilities, but they had come here to challenge Zhuang Zhixian. It was like knowingly walking into a tiger's den—how could they not have anticipated that Zhuang Zhixian was no ordinary individual?
It seemed there was going to be a good show today, but Zhou Xuan was also anxious about his own affairs. He didn't know Fu Ying's whereabouts, and there was less than an hour until the next phone call. Although Zhou Xuan secretly hoped that Zhuang Zhixian would lose miserably, he was more worried about the safety of Fu Ying and Wei Haihong. His ice-based magic was useless; even if he wiped out Zhuang Zhixian, what difference would it make? He still wouldn't be able to find Fu Ying and Wei Haihong.
There were five seats around the large round table: one for Hank, the foreigner, and one for Sato Kamitsu, the Japanese. Then there were Zhuang Zhixian, Zhou Xuan, and Ma Shu.
Hank and Zoten each brought seven or eight men, and to guard against any accidents, their men were also armed. Zhou Xuan immediately detected them with ice energy in the hall. It seems that if one side loses, the final outcome is still unpredictable. Who knows if they will have the same thoughts as Zhuang Xian? Maybe they will resort to desperate measures in the end. It seems that in today's bet, no matter which side wins or loses, a big show may be staged in the end.