That being said, it's undeniable that many people win several rounds in a row, but they just don't bet that much. She doesn't want to see Gao Mingyuan, and the person behind Gao Mingyuan is probably just lucky. As for the secrets of the competition, only the people in the control room know, but the control room is closely monitored by President Chen and the security team, and not a single piece of information will be leaked. If anyone is colluding with outsiders, Li Ni knows the capabilities and connections of the people in the company; they're ruthless killers. The gamblers outside, winning money is only possible through luck, not because they know anything.
Gao Mingyuan didn't have time at this moment, because the interval between each game was very short, so he couldn't stay here for long. With some reluctance, he slapped the pretty Li Ni's buttocks and then went out.
After Li Ni closed the large iron gate used for robbery prevention, her expression instantly turned from smiling to cold. She said with a gloomy face, "Pah! Look at your dog-like appearance!"
Zhou Xuan smiled faintly. Gao Mingyuan's actions and Li Ni's expression were naturally etched in his mind. When Gao Mingyuan returned excitedly and sat down, he handed two receipts to Zhou Xuan.
Zhou Xuan used his special ability to scan the bill, barely glancing at it, before handing the ten million yuan note to Gao Mingyuan and saying with a smile, "Manager Gao, consider this ten million a small bonus. Take it; don't think it's too little."
Gao Mingyuan had expected this, but he still couldn't help but grin from ear to ear. Zhou Xuan's actions, on the other hand, made General Manager Chen and his team, who were monitoring in the control room, extremely envious. This Zhou Xuan was not only exciting in his high-stakes gambling, but also in his generous rewards. He gave away 60 million in the last round, and 10 million in this round. Although this round's wins were more outrageous and disproportionate to his profits from the two matches, it was still over 10 million. No one would complain that such a reward was too little.
They work hard all year round, no matter how hard they work or how much risk they take, but their earnings are still far less than what Gao Mingyuan makes in just a few hours. Comparison is truly infuriating.
The host has begun announcing the start of the fourth round: "Now we're moving on to the fourth round. After the exciting match between Yan Xuesong and Black Bear, we're about to have an even more thrilling game today: Lu Dapao, with eight wins out of eight, versus the African Lion. The betting time remains twenty-five minutes. Please place your bets quickly. Do you want to bet on Lu Dapao, who is poised for a perfect nine-win streak, or on the African Lion, whom you'll soon be facing up close? Please consider your options."
Then the host waved his hand, and the control panel raised the cage. It was still a cage within a cage, with the smaller cages separated by iron bars. On one side was Lu Dapao, and on the other side was a male lion lying on the ground looking listless. Most people in the casino had seen this on TV, but it was really rare to see one like this. It was similar to the ones in the zoo. It seemed that this lion was just a domesticated and docile domestic lion, without any wildness. At this moment, it didn't even want to stand up and just wanted to sleep.
This scene made the audience feel that this match would be no different from the last one, and that the human would win again. Lu Dapao was much stronger than Yan Xuesong, right?
Zhou Xuan kept a close eye on President Chen's direction. At that moment, President Chen was quietly asking his younger brother, "Is everything ready for this?"
"Everything is prepared. I've already spoken to Lu Dapao beforehand, though he doesn't know it himself. I've given him a reward of 100,000 yuan in advance, and told him that this is a tamed lion. As long as he cooperates, the lion won't pose a danger to him, and he will ultimately win. I've also arranged for someone to administer a strong anesthetic to the lion, which will remain effective for five minutes after the start of the match. In other words, Lu Dapao will have five minutes to survive after the match begins, after which he will become the lion's food."
Mr. Chen's second brother chuckled and said, "This lion isn't tamed; it's the leader of a pride, hunted in Africa. It's incredibly ferocious, and its ferocity will erupt the moment it can move."
Zhou Xuan was shocked. This second brother of President Chen was truly ruthless, preparing to send a living life into the lion's mouth.
The second brother continued, "Brother, this lion is truly ferocious. Since it arrived, I've deliberately starved it for three days. As soon as it's put in its cage, Lu Dapao will surely die. Such a bloody scene will only make the gamblers bet even more fiercely, and we'll make even more money."
President Chen sighed and said nothing, but in his heart he was thinking that no matter how hard they worked or how much money they earned, the rewards they received would not be as good as the tips Zhou Xuan gave to Gao Mingyuan. Moreover, they were now using bloodshed and brutality to attract gamblers, which was really not worth it. His second brother was young and did not think about the consequences or the long term. He only cared about the present. He was a typical person who was all brawn and no brain. If it weren't for him supporting him, his second brother would only suffer greater losses in the future under the big boss's orders.
This time, after considering it for a moment, President Chen went out of his office and instructed his subordinates to send out data similar to the previous one, maintaining a basic balance between the two sides, using fake data to continue to lure gamblers.
The odds were different in this round. Lu Dapao's side was 1 to 2, while Xiong Shi's side was 1 to 1. These odds made gamblers chase Lu Dapao even more. Normally, Lu Dapao's odds should be 1 to 4, or even more, but how could Xiong Shi's odds be 1 to 1?
It shouldn't be lower than the black bear's, right? It should be higher than the black bear's, because the lion's bloodlust and cruelty are far greater than the black bear's. But now it's only one to one, so doesn't that mean the lion is destined to lose?
Looking at the betting data on the big screen, it consistently showed that the Lion was slightly ahead. This was a deception to lure them into betting on the Lion. And what kind of Lion was that? It was a sick lion, lying there motionless, seemingly unable to even open its eyes. No wonder it lost. Meanwhile, Lu Dapao stood tall and proud on the other side, full of fighting spirit.
This scene put Lu Dapao at ease. It seemed that President Chen's brother hadn't lied to him. This lion was a domesticated lion, without any wildness. It lay there motionless. He would pretend to hit it a few times, making it look fierce but actually weak. As long as the lion lay still, it would be considered defeated.
Zhou Xuan sighed. This Lu Dapao didn't even realize he was about to die, and President Chen was too cruel. Not only did he gamble and cheat people out of money, but he also took lives. This was unacceptable.
As for the betting, the number of people betting on Lu Dapao (a type of Chinese chess) has increased sharply because so many people lost money in the previous round that they are now betting their life savings on Lu Dapao. In less than 20 minutes, the number of people betting on Lu Dapao reached 420 million, while the number of people betting on Shizi (another type of Chinese chess) was only around 40 million, which is disproportionate. However, the screen shows that the numbers on both sides are around 200 million each, so the numbers are smaller and the two sides are balanced.
Seeing that time was running out, Gao Mingyuan stared anxiously at Zhou Xuan, wondering what he was going to do. But Zhou Xuan was clearly still considering, so Gao Mingyuan didn't dare to disturb him too much and could only wait.
Actually, at this moment, not only Gao Mingyuan was anxious, but also President Chen and others were just as anxious, wondering what bet Zhou Xuan would place and on which side. According to President Chen, it would be best if Zhou Xuan didn't place any bets, so as not to make him anxious, and just to pretend that he didn't want to make money from him.
But Zhou Xuan obviously wouldn't do as he wished. After thinking for a moment, he took out the 160 million yuan bill and said to Gao Mingyuan, "Manager Gao, downstairs..." Just as he was about to speak, he noticed Yang Tiancheng staring at the window in the VIP room upstairs. An idea immediately struck him, and he said, "Manager Gao, come with me to the betting window. I'd like to see what the betting window looks like."
Gao Mingyuan was stunned. If Zhou Xuan went in person, wouldn't that make it difficult for him to show off in front of Li Ni? He was somewhat reluctant, but Zhou Xuan had already stood up, so he had no choice but to follow. He figured Zhou Xuan could just bet on his own; if he won, he would probably still get a tip.
Just now, Gao Mingyuan was still regretting his decision. Zhou Xuan had told him to invest in Yan Xuesong, but he was reluctant to spend the money and didn't want to invest in Yan Xuesong; he wanted to invest in Black Bear instead. So he didn't make any money. If he had followed Zhou Xuan's advice and invested five million in Yan Xuesong, he would have earned an extra twenty million by now. Adding the sixteen million reward from Zhou Xuan, it was very likely that he would have earned more than fifty million.
Even just thinking about that number made Gao Mingyuan's heart pound wildly. He was filled with regret. Knowing that Zhou Xuan was lucky, why didn't he bet with him and take advantage of him?
I have to follow suit this time, no matter what. Zhou Xuan already gave him a 16 million reward, so I'll just bet a fraction of that. If I lose, I'll just consider it as him shortchanging me by 6 million. I still have 10 million left, so I'm not worried. I shouldn't think about anything else. If I had bet according to my own ideas, I would have lost three times today. I'll just use the money from those three losses to bet on this one.
When Zhou Xuan accompanied Gao Mingyuan to the window, he deliberately showed his face in Yang Tiancheng's direction. Since most customers placed their bets by phone and found it troublesome to go to the window, there was no one blocking the aisle. Yang Tiancheng could clearly see Zhou Xuan and Gao Mingyuan from the window's position.
Zhou Xuan showed his face to Yang Tiancheng for the second time. Yang Tiancheng noticed him, and after a moment of stunned silence, he quickly took a closer look and confirmed that it was indeed Zhou Xuan, the same Zhou Xuan he had met at Gao Mingyuan's jade gambling factory. With Gao Mingyuan with him, there was no doubt that it was him.
This young man, who rendered Yang Tiancheng's domineering aura ineffective and yet still managed to defeat him, left a deep impression on Yang Tiancheng. He had intended to find an opportunity to invite him out for a chat, but he never expected to see him again in this place.
Yang Tiancheng had always had a strange feeling about Zhou Xuan's abilities. The young man's calm and composed demeanor was hard to describe.
Yang Tiancheng thought for a moment, then quickly picked up another pair of binoculars and carefully watched Zhou Xuan and Gao Mingyuan's movements.
Zhou Xuan handed the ticket to Gao Mingyuan and asked him to place a bet on Lion at the window. The total bet was 165 million. When placing the bet, he deliberately showed the ticket in Yang Tiancheng's direction and also flashed the betting slip in Yang Tiancheng's direction a few times.
Fortunately, Yang Tiancheng had a telescope, which allowed him to see clearly. The high-powered, high-precision telescope, combined with the short distance, allowed him to see even the small numbers and names on the tickets, as well as the number of bets placed and which side they were on.
When Yang Tiancheng discovered that he had bet on Lion, he was stunned. He had lost all three bets today and was annoyed. In the fourth bet, which was the one he was betting on now, he bet 20 million on Lu Dapao. Because he didn't have any favorites, he didn't dare to bet too much. But when he saw Zhou Xuan's betting slip, he couldn't help but ponder, "Could it be that I made a mistake again?"
He couldn't help but think of Zhou Xuan, this mysterious young man, who seemed to have a keen eye for jade. Even in the jade gambling, his predictions were accurate. He wondered if he should bet against him. He might lose this round, so he should try to win back some money. He had already lost 50 million in the previous three rounds, and with another 20 million, the number would increase to 70 million. In the past few days, he had lost nearly 200 million, which made him very anxious and angry. The only money he made was buying Zhou Xuan's jade, which earned him 19 million, slightly making up for the losses. However, it didn't help much, as he had already lost too much.
Thinking of this, Yang Tiancheng's heart skipped a beat. Based on his feelings for Zhou Xuan, and seeing that Zhou Xuan had bet over 160 million, and then seeing that Gao Mingyuan himself had also bet six million, he became even more suspicious. He knew Gao Mingyuan well; he was timid and cautious, especially when it came to betting money. To bet six million at once meant he had probably put all his assets into it, plus the tips Zhou Xuan had given him. To bet everything meant he wouldn't have placed such a bet without absolute certainty.
Yang Tiancheng was mistaken. Gao Mingyuan didn't know the details or secrets; he just wanted to try his luck with Zhou Xuan. What Yang Tiancheng didn't know was that the six million wasn't all of Gao Mingyuan's assets, but only six million out of his total of twenty-three million. After investing this six million, he still had a huge amount of seventeen million left. Even if he lost, it wouldn't hurt him much.
Without a second thought, Yang Tiancheng immediately picked up the phone and placed a bet of 100 million on the Lion brand.
It was truly a case of good fortune never coming singly, and blessings never arriving in pairs. While President Chen was still fretting over the 172 million bet placed by Zhou Xuan and Gao Mingyuan, the data clerk reported to him in a panic that another 100 million bet had been placed on Lion.
Mr. Chen and the others were taken aback and quickly began to check. When they discovered that it was Yang Tiancheng from the VIP room, they frowned again. They knew this man well; he was a well-known underworld figure in Europe. They couldn't afford to offend him, or at least not provoke him. Moreover, this Yang Tiancheng had just lost 50 million to the casino in the first three rounds, and more than 60 million last night, for a total loss of over 100 million. In this round, he had just bet 20 million on Lu Dapao. Why would he turn around and bet 100 million on Xiongshi?
Could it be that he felt it was inappropriate and quickly made a change? That's possible, but the number of lions cast was too large, and without confidence, he probably wouldn't dare to cast like that.
After a moment's hesitation, General Manager Chen hurriedly instructed his subordinates, "Send a few men to keep an eye on Yang Tiancheng."
They dared not act rashly against Yang Tiancheng, but it was necessary to keep an eye on his actions. If they could find evidence that he had fabricated evidence, that would be a good solution. Even if he had powerful connections, once they had evidence against him, they could deal with him as they saw fit.
Zhou Xuan refused Li Ni's invitation to wait in the VIP room to process the bill, because she wanted to deliberately show the receipt to Yang Tiancheng.
Of course, Gao Mingyuan was overjoyed by Zhou Xuan's refusal. It seemed Zhou Xuan wasn't interested in women, and as long as Zhou Xuan didn't have any contact with Li Ni, he would still hold considerable influence in her eyes.
Volume 1, Chapter 603: Lion Fighting, First Budding Talent