Yesterday, Zhou Xuan gave him the impression of being either a second-generation official or a second-generation rich kid from Beijing, and not just any ordinary one, but an extraordinary one—a wealthy young man who could spend money like water without batting an eye. He certainly didn't see Zhou Xuan as a cunning or exceptionally intelligent person. But now, Zhou Xuan's casual actions and words made him think. This Zhou Xuan didn't seem like a sucker to be taken advantage of; rather, he seemed like a fisherman. However, he couldn't quite understand why such a smart person would recklessly squander money.
"He threw away seven or eight million in one go"—this is not something an ordinary rich person could do!
However, the bet has already been placed, and the outcome will only be known after the competition ends. Whether it's as he currently expects or another mistake, we'll have to wait and see.
Zhou Xuan glanced at the two boxers in the arena, but his superpower was probing inside the control room. The amount betting on Ah Xing was still increasing, reaching more than four million. The amount betting on Lu Dapao was more than one million two hundred thousand. One million of those bets came from Zhou Xuan.
In the control room, a middle-aged man with a walkie-talkie pointed at the screen and asked, "Check who put in this one million? Point the camera at him and show him the footage!"
Zhou Xuan was taken aback. "There are actually cameras in the control room that can watch any part of the entire hall. It seems that this casino has really gone all out!"
On the large display screen in front of the middle-aged man, the operator quickly pulled up the data and images, introducing, "Mr. Chen, the bet of one million is from the fourth seat at table three, a VIP seat. His information shows he is Manager Gao Mingyuan from Hall One of the Ruili Jade Wholesale Plaza..."
After a brief pause, he pulled up Gao Mingyuan's detailed information: "Gao Mingyuan, 36 years old, a local, manager of Huihuang Jade Co., Ltd., a contract manager with an annual salary of one million. He is a regular customer here. His largest bet is seven thousand, his smallest bet is five hundred, and his highest bet is one thousand. He has never bet more than ten thousand. Today's bet of one million is his first time!"
Mr. Chen frowned. "Gao Mingyuan's information is fine." But he would never make such a big bet, and he doesn't have the ability to do so.
As he pondered this, General Manager Chen's gaze fell upon the young man sitting next to Gao Mingyuan—Zhou Xuan—and he instructed the controller, "Investigate this person with Gao Mingyuan. Keep a close eye on him!"
Because Zhou Xuan is new, they wouldn't be able to find out anything about him if they didn't investigate Gao Mingyuan. President Chen said to investigate and be careful to prevent Zhou Xuan from making any other moves, since Zhou Xuan's bet of one million yuan has taken a huge bite out of their food!
"This is a big casino, or you could say a big company. The whole company only made three million, while Zhou Xuan alone made one million. You have to pay attention to this guy."
Of course, Mr. Chen was only estimating that Gao Mingyuan's bet of one million yuan couldn't possibly be his own. Now that he's only with Zhou Xuan, ninety percent of that one million yuan must have been bets placed by Zhou Xuan. He just didn't know if Zhou Xuan knew the details or if he just stumbled upon it randomly. "If he didn't know the details, most people wouldn't dare to place such a large bet." If someone dares to place such a large bet and bet randomly, then that person must be extremely wealthy, probably a super-rich second-generation heir who would dare to play like this.
However, the truly wealthy are few and far between, and casinos generally know their limits. The most unwelcome people in casinos are professional gamers; they don't welcome such individuals. What they like most are the super-rich and their children. Casinos keep detailed records of these people, and if someone does come to a casino, they will go to great lengths to win them over and ensure they have a great time!
Volume 1, Chapter 598: Going Against the Grain
However, the casino staff couldn't find any information about this person after searching for a long time. Then they reported in a low voice: "Mr. Chen, there is no information about him in the database. He should not be the child of a wealthy person. There is no information about him in the world gambling industry database either. He is not a highly skilled person that the casino does not welcome. If we want to investigate... we can only go through Gao Mingyuan or the public security agency!"
Mr. Chen pondered for a moment, then instructed, "Keep a close eye on him, take a look, and see if he really placed his bet based on luck or if there's something else going on. You must find out the truth for me."
After finishing his sentence, President Chen pondered for a moment. This young man seemed unremarkable. Besides, given Gao Mingyuan's status, what kind of extraordinary friends could he possibly invite? At most, he could only be some rich second-generation heir, judging from Zhou Xuan's age. It was likely that the million-dollar bet was just a gamble.
Because Zhou Xuan's bet of one million was extremely clever. If it had been any larger, it would have affected President Chen's judgment. His arrangement for the first game was a normal result. He was just creating a show of force on the surface to make the players doubt themselves. They didn't actually take any action, but the odds they offered were subtly guiding the gamblers to side with Ah Xing. This was mainly because these people were cunning and never trusted others. Distrust is the biggest trap, and President Chen had a firm grasp on their thinking.
When the host announced loudly, "The competition is about to begin," the noise and shouting in the hall immediately stopped. The outcome of this round would be decided during the competition.
Once the host begins speaking, the betting is finalized, the venue stops accepting bets, and the competition is officially declared to have begun.
After Zhou Xuan made the announcement, he neither mentioned the rules nor the conditions. In a typical boxing match, there are corresponding rules, such as not being allowed to kick vital points, and some prohibited hand and leg movements. Compared to freestyle kickboxing, boxing matches have a much larger number of rules.
Lu Dapao assumed a lunge stance, his fists poised one in front of the other, while A Xing was more flamboyant, bouncing around the field a few times, kicking and punching as he warmed up, looking fierce. Then he clenched his hands and legs, making a "crackling" sound, and finally twisted his neck a few times, making a popping sound like popping beans.
These actions immediately reminded Zhou Xuan of the movements of martial arts masters in movies. If he didn't have superpowers and already know the results of President Chen's arrangements, how would he know who would win and who would lose between these two people?
As soon as the competition was about to begin, the audience became excited again and shouted loudly. Zhou Xuan could tell that the vast majority of the voices were encouraging Ah Xing, obviously because they had placed their bets on Ah Xing.
Ah Xing's punches and kicks became faster and faster, looking fierce and heavy, while Lu Dapao remained in the same posture. Ah Xing seized an opportunity and quickly rushed forward to throw a punch. Just as this heavy punch was about to hit Lu Dapao's face, the crowd roared excitedly, waiting for the scene of Lu Dapao being beaten up.
However, Lu Dapao suddenly made his move at this moment. He tilted his head slightly, letting Ah Xing's fist graz his ear. Almost at the same time, Lu Dapao delivered a heavy punch to Ah Xing's face. Ah Xing didn't even have time to cry out before he fell backward.
The audience was stunned. No one expected that Ah Xing, who was in such a favorable position, would be knocked down with just one punch. After falling to the ground, his face was covered in blood, and his nose was broken. He was motionless. His injury was extremely serious.
The audience paused for a moment, then erupted in shouts and curses: "Coward, damn it, get up and try again...!"
"Damn it, get up..."
Upon seeing this, the audience knew they had guessed wrong and Ah Xing couldn't win. Fortunately, this was the first round of betting, and the stakes were relatively small. However, they were still losing money, which naturally made them unhappy.
Meanwhile, Gao Mingyuan in the VIP section jumped up with joy. Zhou Xuan had asked him to bet one million. The casino's rule was that he would get a commission regardless of whether the player won or lost. It didn't mean that the casino only gave commissions if the player lost. So, in his heart, he was still willing for Zhou Xuan to win money. If he won money, they would both be happy, and he would bet even more in the future, and his commission would be even higher.
At this moment, Zhou Xuan's supernatural ability was still detecting the control room. The female clerk was tallying all the bets. On the computer, Zhou Xuan clearly saw that a total of 4.71 million had been bet on Ah Xing, while only 1.28 million had been bet on Lu Dapao. After deducting the payouts to those who bet on Lu Dapao, the bookmaker still made a profit of 3.43 million. Overall, it was still profitable.
Meanwhile, General Manager Chen and the security guards were all staring intently at Gao Mingyuan and Zhou Xuan on the screen, watching their expressions and movements.
Zhou Xuan smiled inwardly. Even if there were real people watching him on the spot, let alone on a surveillance camera, they wouldn't be able to tell that he was acting strangely.
On the screen, Gao Mingyuan excitedly went to the side gambling table window and exchanged a check issued by the casino itself for a total of one million. It was a telephone bet, and the principal was settled afterward. Since the bet principal had not been paid in advance, he had only received the winnings.
Gao Mingyuan returned to his seat with the check, chuckling as he handed it to Zhou Xuan. He said, "Brother, take this million-dollar promissory note. It's a receipt from the casino itself. You can exchange it for cash at the window when you leave, or transfer it instantly. This is the black market; you save on taxes, it's pure profit. Hehe, that's pretty good! It's a pity I'm not allowed to gamble, otherwise I would have placed a bet with you and made at least a couple of bucks." To be honest, Gao Mingyuan didn't really think highly of Lu Dapao. After Zhou Xuan explained it to him, he felt it made sense, but he still didn't dare place a bet. Anyway, it was the first game; he wanted to see how things went first.
Unexpectedly, Zhou Xuan actually won!
General Manager Chen and his security guards kept a close eye on Gao Mingyuan and Zhou Xuan. When they saw Gao Mingyuan hand the receipt to Zhou Xuan, they were certain that Zhou Xuan had placed the million-dollar bet. They figured Gao Mingyuan didn't have the guts to do it, so they just kept a closer eye on Zhou Xuan.
"You guys, use the cameras from the front, back, and three sides to monitor this guy. Xiao Zhang, you take two brothers and sneak over to that seat to monitor him closely. Everyone should pay attention to whether he uses any communication devices before placing bets, and check if he has any hidden communicators on his person!"
After saying that, he added, "You must not act rashly without my orders!"
At the casino, Ah Xing had already been carried off the stage, and Lu Dapao had also left the arena. The host then began, "The first round of the blitzkrieg computer interview lacked some excitement. Now, the second round of betting is the main event. Lu Dapao, with seven wins and seven losses, faces Petrov, the Eastern Russian Killer King. Petrov has killed seven people in the arena, all with a single, deadly punch. His punches are ferocious. In this round, will Lu Dapao continue his winning streak, or will Petrov's powerful punches slaughter his prey? Please stay tuned. The betting time has now begun." Lu Dapao pays 1 to 3, while Petrov pays 3 to 1. The difference in strength is significant. If you want to fill your pockets with money and witness the thrilling scene of bloodshed, then bet to your heart's content!
Zhou Xuan sat in his seat, peering at General Manager Chen, who was instructing the staff who were sending out the betting amounts: "Last time it was fake data, this time we'll use real numbers, display all the betting amounts as real bets."
On the casino's big screen, Lu Jiapao's bets were 4.71 million, rising slowly, while Petrov's bets were 76.62 million, almost 20 times that of Lu Jiapao. Zhou Xuan was also shocked by this number!
"In the last round, I thought the house had won three or four million. If they arranged five to ten rounds in a day, even if it was just five rounds, the profit would be twenty or thirty million." But the betting amount in the second round was as high as seventy million, and the number was still rising rapidly. It would probably be easy to exceed one hundred million. This was just one gambling game, yet it could sweep up nearly one hundred million in cash. It seems that he really underestimated the power of this casino!
This time the data was real, but Zhou Xuan heard whispers and speculations in the crowd. Most people thought the data was fake, designed to trick everyone into betting on the side with the smaller bets, just like in the last round. It was actually a trap set by the bookmaker. This time, so few people bet on Lu Dapao. Although Lu Dapao had seven wins out of seven, his opponents were not strong. None of them were in the same level as him, let alone someone like Petrov. Petrov was over two meters tall, while Lu Dapao was about 1.9 meters tall. The tall Lu Dapao looked like a dwarf next to Petrov. Petrov was also more than twice as fat as Lu Dapao. It was likely that if the two of them fought, Lu Dapao would be half-dead by Petrov's punch.
Judging from appearances, Lu Dapao is no match for Petrov, but this kind of betting is actually a psychological gamble against the bookmaker. Everyone knows that it is cheating most of the time, but with so many people betting, there must be someone betting on both sides. There are only two people on each side, either our side or the enemy side, and there will definitely be people betting on both sides. The bookmaker will only choose the one who loses more and the one who wins less, which is in his own interest.
Last time, the numbers were fake, making everyone think that the game would be faked and the weaker team would win. But in fact, the stronger team still won, and the game wasn't faked. So what about this time, in this second round?
The betting numbers on this screen are definitely fake. They're making Petrov's bets surge while making Lu Dapao's bets plummet, even though Petrov's bets are clearly higher. The bookmaker's intention is obviously for Lu Dapao to lose.
The gamblers all bet heavily on Petrov, believing that fewer people were betting on him and that the numbers were manipulated. They thought the two were significantly different, just like the previous round. Even a fool could see that Petrov was going to win. With such a huge disparity in strength, the bookmaker still dared to let them place large bets, which meant Petrov would truly win. The odds also showed this: betting on Petrov was only 3 to 1, meaning a bet of 3 would only pay out 1, while betting on Lu Dapao was 1 to 3, meaning a bet of 1 would pay out 3. Did the bookmaker really think he could win so easily?