"Hey, you've got guts. Afraid you won't be able to spend the money? I'll grant your wish. One million a stick, one million a stick!"
When Niu Hong heard Zhuang Rui's bet, he was initially hesitant, since the stakes were quite high. He only had about 50 to 60 million yuan at his disposal, and if he was unlucky, he might not even be able to keep up with the losses for half an hour. However, after being pressured by Zhuang Rui, he immediately agreed. Most importantly, he absolutely did not believe that Zhuang Rui could beat him.
"Good, Young Master Niu is indeed straightforward..."
Zhuang Rui took out his checkbook, wrote a check for one million, waved the checkbook in his hand, and said with a smile, "This checkbook of mine has a limit of two hundred million. I'll tear off one check for every one I lose, and see if Young Master Niu has the ability to win them all."
As Zhuang Rui said this, he was also sweating bullets. His checkbook could only cash the one million he had just written. If someone really wanted to verify it, he would lose face big time.
Chapter 387 High-Stakes Gamble
Fortunately, the staff on the gambling ship only verified the check Zhuang Rui had written. The million was certainly payable, and as for the checkbook, it was still in Zhuang Rui's possession. They didn't suspect anything; although tearing off one check at a time was a bit of a hassle, it was his right.
"Mr. Zhuang, this is your bargaining chip..."
After verifying the check, the staff member holding the chip box took out a chip about the length of a palm but slightly narrower and handed it to Zhuang Rui. Zhuang Rui looked at it and saw that there were six zeros after the number one on the chip, which was exactly one million yuan.
"Brother Zheng, can I exchange this for one million at the gambling ship?"
Zhuang Rui smiled and asked Zheng Hua, "I can't see anything different about these chips, except that they are a bit larger than those worth 10,000 or 100,000."
"Of course, but a million chips is the largest amount in the casino; you won't see chips like that in the lower gaming halls."
Zheng Hua replied with a smile, expressing his admiration for Zhuang Rui's composure, despite knowing absolutely nothing about gambling. The high-stakes gamble was about to begin, yet Zhuang Rui remained completely unconcerned, continuing to chat and laugh.
Zheng Hua and Niu Hong have known each other for many years. He could tell from Niu Hong's expression that the guy was definitely nervous. Compared to Zhuang Rui's composure, he was lacking in composure. However, little did Zheng Hua know that this bet was absolutely a win-win situation for Zhuang Rui.
The game proposed by Zhuang Rui is not like playing poker, where you can fold, cheat, or run away. This dice game relies entirely on luck, and unless both sides guess correctly or incorrectly at the same time, every round will have a winner. If one side is unlucky, even hundreds of millions of dollars won't be enough to cover the losses, let alone 50 or 60 million.
Seeing that Niu Hong hadn't exchanged his chips yet, Zhuang Rui asked with a smile, "Young Master Niu, are you going to play big? Don't tell me you don't have the money?"
"Hmph, I have plenty of money, I'm just afraid you won't be able to take it all!"
Niu Hong also pulled out a checkbook and said, "This is a Swiss bank draft, which can be exchanged for five million euros, roughly sixty million Hong Kong dollars. Also, give me one million in chips, deducted from this checkbook in turn."
Niu Hong handed the Swiss bank draft to the casino staff, then walked to one end of a gambling table about three meters long and sat down, saying, "Shall we begin?"
Zhuang Rui smiled and said, "Of course we can begin."
"Gentlemen, to be fair, you can each designate the person who rolls the dice."
Ji Yi knew that many of the dealers in his casino possessed unique skills. Although they weren't good at reading dice, some of them could still roll three dice and control the numbers with remarkable accuracy.
Looking back at the dealers, Zhuang Rui pointed to a waiter who wasn't wearing a dealer's vest and said, "Well, could you please roll the dice for me? Young Master Niu, could you roll one too?"
Niu Hong regretted it a little. He should have told everyone to guess the dice they were rolling when Zhuang Rui proposed the conditions, because rolling dice is different from listening to dice. If you control your strength when rolling, you can get the number you want eight or nine times out of ten, which is much easier than listening to dice.
Several of the croupiers were acquainted with Niu Hong, but Zhuang Rui had designated a waiter, leaving Niu Hong with no way to use his skills. However, Niu Hong couldn't go back on his word at this point, so after scanning the room, he also called a waiter to his side.
"Mr. Niu, do you have any objections to the betting method proposed by Mr. Zhuang?"
Ji Yi stood in the middle of the gambling table, holding several pieces of paper in his hand, and asked Niu Hong a question.
Niu Hong had spoken too confidently earlier, so now he could only shake his head and say, "No."
"Alright, gentlemen, please sign this agreement to avoid any disputes later..."
Ji Yi placed the agreement in front of Niu Hong and Zhuang Rui respectively. The gambling ship was very efficient; as soon as Zhuang Rui proposed the gambling rules, someone had already printed them out.
This is also a casino rule. If you are gambling according to the casino's usual rules, you don't need this. However, if a customer proposes a gambling method, this agreement, which specifies the gambling rules, is made for both parties to sign just in case.
Zhuang Rui carefully read through the agreement, and it matched what he had been told. He took a pen from a waiter, signed his name casually, and tossed the waiter a thousand-yuan chip as he handed the agreement over. These past few days at the hotel, Qin Xuanbing had always tipped the room cleaners, and Zhuang Rui had imitated her quite well.
"Would you two like to check the dice?"
At this moment, two black dice cups and three bone dice were placed in front of Zhuang Rui and Niu Hong. The two waiters who were about to roll the dice were a little nervous. Although they had seen a lot of high-stakes gambling, this was the first time they had participated in it themselves. They were so nervous that cold sweat was seeping from their foreheads.
"No."
Zhuang Rui had already checked inside the gambling hall; the dice cup couldn't block the spiritual energy he could see through.
"Alright, both of you, please get ready. The game is about to begin..."
After seeing Niu Hong shake his head, Ji Yi said to the two waiters, "You can roll the dice now. I'll stop when I say stop."
Although the two waiters occasionally gambled a little and had seen dice games many times, they were still quite flustered when it came to it themselves. Their hands trembled as they placed three dice into the dice cup, then placed it on the base, and picked it up with both hands, shaking it haphazardly.
Zhuang Rui couldn't help but chuckle. He had watched too many Hong Kong gambling movies and thought that dice rolling could be done in fancy ways like in the movies. He didn't expect that these two people were doing the same thing: vigorously shaking the dice cup up and down, making a crisp sound when the dice collided with the cup.
"stop!"
Ji Yi raised his hand, and the two waiters quickly slammed the dice cups on the table. After a few crisp sounds, the dice inside the cups came to a complete stop.
"Please guess whether it's big or small, and whether it's odd or even."
Ji Yi's words made Niu Hong's face turn ugly. The two of them rolled the dice together. The sound was too chaotic, and his previously practiced ability to listen to sounds was completely useless. Even if he was proficient in gambling, it was of no use in this situation. Like Zhuang Rui, he could only guess.
The gambling tables in front of the two of them had been modified, with four betting areas marked with the words "Double Small," "Double Big," "Single Small," and "Single Big" drawn on them respectively. This was done according to Zhuang Rui's rules and was just painted on by a special person using a specially made colored pen.
In the first round, Zhuang Rui absolutely could not afford to lose. After his eyes intentionally or unintentionally swept over the dice cup in front of Niu Hong, he had already seen the numbers on the dice: two, four, six, and twelve.
"Let's go big for the first round."
Zhuang Rui picked up the chips and placed them on the "double big" betting area. It wasn't that he didn't want to throw them in stylishly, but he was also a little nervous. What if he threw them into another betting area?
"Mr. Niu, please place your bet."
Ji Yi looked at Niu Hong.
"I'm betting on both big!"
Niu Hong gritted his teeth. Anyway, there was a one in four chance of betting correctly. It all depended on their luck.
"Alright, please open the pot."
As the two servants picked up the dice cups with trembling hands, Zhuang Rui smiled, while Niu Hong's face turned ashen as he glared fiercely at the dice in front of Zhuang Rui. He guessed two, five, six, ten... most of the time he was right, but he was wrong about odd or even.
"Mr. Zhuang, 246, 12 points, double over, hit; Mr. Niu, 256, 10... single over, miss. Mr. Zhuang wins the first round."
Ji Yi read out the dice numbers expressionlessly, then used the tool in his hand to transfer one million chips from Niu Hong's betting area, along with Zhuang Rui's own one million chips, to Zhuang Rui's front.
Zhuang Rui picked up the two chips, tapped them together in his hands, and looked at Niu Hong with a smile, saying, "Young Master Niu's luck doesn't seem to be very good."
"Hmph, give me another million in chips."
Niu Hong calmed down. The worst thing about gambling is being impatient. He realized that his mindset was a bit off and forced himself to calm down.
Because the Swiss bank draft that Niu Hong presented could not be broken, he had to sign his name on a form every time he took chips. After signing the form and receiving the chips, the second round was about to begin.
Seeing that Niu Hong had received the chips, Ji Yi shouted to the two waiters, "Prepare to roll the dice."
"Wait, the rules don't say that both people should roll the dice at the same time. I suggest rolling them one by one and then opening the cups at the same time. What do you think, Mr. Zhuang?"
Just as the waiter was about to pick up the dice cup on the table, Niu Hong suddenly made a suggestion. He had no choice, since he couldn't tell the difference when two dice were rolled at the same time.
Zhuang Rui smiled slightly. He really didn't believe that this good-for-nothing surnamed Niu could tell the size and number of the dice. He nodded and said, "I don't care. Since Young Master Niu has said so, let's do it this way. Director Ji, you can arrange who rolls first."
Zheng Hua, who was standing to the side, wanted to speak, but seeing Zhuang Rui agree so readily, he shut his mouth, since he didn't want to really break ties with Niu Hong.
"Alright, Mr. Niu will shake the wheel first, and Mr. Zhuang will shake it next. After the shaking is over, you two will place your bets at the same time."
Under Ji Yi's supervision, Niu Hong's side's waiters started shaking the dice cups first, and then it was Zhuang Rui's turn.
"I'm still betting on both big!"
Zhuang Rui pushed a chip back to its previous position.
"I... bet on both small!"
After hesitating for a moment, Niu Hong also placed his chips.
"Zhuang Sheng 466, 16 points double big, won; Niu Shao 136 points double big, lost!"
The winning numbers made Niu Hong's eyes blaze with fury. As Ji Yi pushed the chips towards Zhuang Rui, he shouted, "Give me 10 million worth of chips!"
"Young Master Niu, it's just two million, why are you getting so worked up?"
Zhuang Rui said slowly and deliberately, feeling extremely pleased with himself. "You think you're so great? Uh, Niu Hong, let's see if you're still so arrogant?"
"It's still uncertain who will win or lose, let's begin."
After signing the contract and receiving the chips, Niu Hong calmed himself down and stared at the dice cup that was shaking up and down next to Zhuang Rui. If you looked at Niu Hong's ears, you would see that his left ear was twitching slightly. This is a sign of listening attentively, something that only specially trained people can do.
"I'm still betting on both big ones."
Zhuang Rui seemed to have his eye on the "double big" bet and pushed his chips back to the "double big" betting area.
"I'm betting big."
Niu Hong's so-called "sound-reading skill" is actually quite unreliable. He didn't hear anything out just now, so he can only rely on luck to bet now.
“Zhuang Sheng 142, 7 o’clock single small, Niu Shao 661, 10… single big.”
However, Niu Hong was clearly luckier this time, as he actually guessed correctly. Of course, this was just what the onlookers thought. As for Zhuang Rui, he was simply losing on purpose, because if he won every time, it would be hard to explain.
In the fourth round of the betting, Zhuang Rui also lost. This time, Niu Hong perked up, even feeling that the bet of one million per round was a bit small. He looked smug and even started to provoke Zhuang Rui again.
But then things took a dramatic turn. In twelve consecutive draws, except for two times when both players guessed correctly and the outcome was tied, Zhuang Rui won in the remaining nine draws. As a result, Niu Hong's ten million chips were reduced to one million.
"Give me another ten million in chips."
After losing his last million chips, Niu Hong irritably loosened his collar, picked up the water glass on the table, and took a big gulp. Only half an hour had passed. If things continued like this, he would have already lost eleven million. That Swiss bank draft worth sixty million Hong Kong dollars wouldn't even be enough for him to lose for three hours.
However, Niu Hong's luck improved in the following bets. He won four million in a row. But after a bet where neither of them won, Niu Hong's luck seemed to turn bad again. He lost eight bets in a row, losing all four million he had just won. Not only that, but he also lost six million of his ten million.
Even Zheng Hua was a little nervous watching such a bet, while Zhuang Rui remained much calmer. While the waiter was rolling the dice, he was talking quietly with Qin Xuanbing, and then placed his bets casually after the dice were rolled.
Strangely, Zhuang Rui's luck was always better than Niu Hong's. Although he often guessed wrong, he always managed to win back his losses after losing millions. Before he knew it, more than two hours had passed.
"Young Master Niu, your Swiss bank draft is only enough to withdraw five million in chips."
Just as Niu Hong had almost completely unbuttoned his shirt, revealing his chest hair, and was once again shouting for more chips, Director Ji reminded Niu Hong of something.
Chapter 388 Stunned
"What? Say that again..."
Niu Hong's eyes widened. Looking at Ji Yi, he felt like he hadn't lost much, so how come the original 60 million was reduced to only 5 million?
"Young Master Niu, you have withdrawn chips worth a total of HK$61 million. Based on the current exchange rate between Hong Kong dollars and euros, you are still entitled to withdraw chips worth an additional HK$5 million. There is absolutely no mistake..."