As soon as Zhuang Zhixian sat down, he said with a smile, "Mr. Hank, Mr. Sato, now that you're here, let's do things the proper way. Everyone's time is precious, so let's check the money first."
After Zhuang Zhixian finished speaking, he snapped his fingers, and his men immediately brought out more than a dozen boxes. Upon opening the boxes, one contained Zhuang's stock certificates. The other boxes were filled with Hong Kong dollar cash.
Both Hank and Sato had experts who could verify the information. People from both sides came forward and randomly pulled out items from the middle of the box to verify. The money was easy to verify, but what they really wanted were Zhuang Zhixian's Zhuang family stocks. After careful verification, the two men nodded to Hank and Sato respectively without saying a word, but everyone understood what they meant.
Zhuang Zhixian did not fabricate anything in this regard; everyone knows that. There's a saying: "You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub."
Then Hank and Sato's men laid out the money boxes in a row in the hall. Zhuang Zhixian beckoned, and two of his men stepped forward to check the money.
The three people had a total of one billion US dollars, which, when piled up, looked like a warehouse. That's the advantage of being at sea; dragging so many boxes would be inconvenient anywhere on land. On the vast ocean, this amount of money is nothing; a yacht is less important than a leaf. In the open sea, even if you filled your ship with explosives and detonated it, no one would know, and it wouldn't have any impact.
The subordinate who was verifying the documents nodded to Zhuang Zhixian, confirming that everything he brought was genuine and there were no fakes.
About thirty meters away from the yacht, Hank and Sato's boats were moored. They were smaller than Zhuang Zhixian's yacht and were small boats that could seat twenty or thirty people.
Zhou Xuan sat silently the whole time. Hank and Sato didn't know who would represent Zhuang Zhixian, or perhaps all three of them. No one knew. Because no one stipulated that only the individual could participate; it didn't matter who you hired, as long as you had the ability to bring in those mysterious experts. The more famous and capable the person, the more reassured the client. Stronger confidence meant a higher stake; otherwise, who would casually raise hundreds of millions of dollars to gamble?
However, Hank and Sato Kamitsu were also secretly watching Zhou Xuan; this person was far too unfamiliar to them. Strangers are the most dangerous because you don't know what kind of person they are in a gambling game. You need to spend more time getting to know them, and if you don't have enough time, you might fall. By the time you understand, it's already too late.
However, Sato wasn't particularly concerned about Zhou Xuan, because he had met Ma Shu before and, although he didn't understand Ma Shu's abilities, he was quite wary of him. In his heart, he considered him a formidable rival. Only Zhuang Zhixian himself didn't matter to them; that guy was just a playboy and a completely untrustworthy scoundrel.
In fact, aren't petty people the most terrifying people in this world?
Take Zhou Xuan for example. He's encountered countless people and events, and experienced countless dangers, yet nothing has ever made him feel so humiliated. This situation is more distressing than ever before; he's never been this afraid, not even of death. And the reason? It's all because of that despicable Zhuang Zhixian!
Hank gave a forced smile, then spread his hands and said, "Zhuang. Everyone's here for this bet. Now that our cash from all three sides has been verified, and your stock has been verified as well, shall we begin the bet?"
Zhuang Zhixian chuckled and said, "Of course, of course, let's not waste time on idle chatter. Let's begin. My representative is Mr. Zhou Xuan. I wonder what kind of gambling equipment Hank and Mr. Sato plan to use?"
Hank and Sato both speak Chinese, and Hank's Chinese was quite fluent and of a good standard. You wouldn't even know he's a foreigner just by listening to his voice.
Sato was a bit less skilled, his tone still somewhat harsh: "Let's choose the betting scheme. I think Mr. Zhuang can act as the agent, and Mr. Zhou can decide what kind of game to play!"
Sato wasn't being generous; rather, he was highly skilled and daring. Since he was on Zhuang Zhixian's yacht, he wasn't worried at all about what kind of gambling equipment or games they might use.
Hank shared the same idea as Sato, both of whom were renowned experts in the gambling world. True masters of gambling typically possess profound knowledge and expertise in every type of game. In countless betting scenarios, it's impossible for them to be fully prepared, have fake equipment, and be able to handle any situation with ease and freedom. That's what makes a true master.
Hank politely extended his hand and said to Zhou Xuan, "Mr. Zhou, please!"
Zhou Xuan glanced at Zhuang Zhixian, whose expression was indifferent. How could he know what Zhou Xuan's specialty was? Anyway, Zhou Xuan was well aware of the stakes involved, and he didn't need Zhou Xuan to remind him of the consequences of messing things up. Once the hour was up, he would act according to the situation. Zhou Xuan knew very well that Zhuang Zhixian would call before the bet ended. Even if the bet ended, regardless of winning or losing, Zhou Xuan knew that Zhuang Zhixian would never kindly comply with the negotiated terms. The current move was to stall for time and find a way to deal with Zhuang Zhixian!
"Let's play random cards!" Zhou Xuan thought that playing other games would easily expose his weaknesses, like poker. If he wanted to get the cards he needed, he would have to convert and devour some cards, which would definitely reduce the total number of cards. If they played random cards, Hank and Sato, if they were skilled enough, would probably be able to tell the difference. It would be best if everyone bet on a draw every round, so as to buy time and make Zhuang Zhixian more patient. If he lost, Zhuang Zhixian would definitely explode. If he won, that wouldn't be good either, as Zhuang Zhixian would immediately abandon him and kill him. And then Zhuang Zhixian would have his weakness exposed and be helpless.
Hank chuckled and shrugged, "When in Rome, do as the host says. Zhou Xuan picked the loose pieces, so let's play the small pot instead. What about Mr. Sato?"
Sato Kamitsu nodded, indicating that he would follow Zhou Xuan's decision.
Zhuang Zhixian waved his hand, and his subordinates brought out a micro-gambling cup and three micro-gambling pellets, placing them in front of Hank and Sateng for them to inspect the gambling equipment.
Hank and Sato wouldn't let their subordinates do this verification themselves; they both looked at the skewer, took the weight in their hands, and checked its weight.
Sato nodded to Hank, then lightly flicked the micro-bowl with his finger. The bowl made a crisp, ringing sound. The micro-bowl was also made of fine materials, containing some special ingredients. It was designed to prevent X-ray vision.
They were all gambling experts, so they naturally understood that with today's high-tech gambling tools, any kind of gambling tool, including those made of contact lenses, could be transformed into see-through devices using certain materials.
However, each type of see-through gambling device requires corresponding tools to obtain the desired information. For example, see-through stock cups made of special materials require see-through lenses, which can be made into contact lenses to be worn and not easily detected. However, experts can detect the authenticity of the device.
Exceptional players don't engage in obviously risky betting games. Take micro-betting, for example. Currently, there are remote-controlled micro-betting and mercury micro-betting. Mercury micro-betting is an old-school game where players control the numbers by hand-rolling, but few people play it this way anymore, almost none. Remote-controlled micro-betting is too widely known and has low costs. Too many people use it, so it can't be hidden.
More advanced experts would place a heating electronic device inside the microcell. This device cannot be remotely controlled, but it can detect the number of microcell points using a thermal imaging detector. However, thermal imaging detectors are not something that just anyone can possess; such tools are only issued to the military. Moreover, the terminal of the thermal imaging detector cannot be made into a small, concealed device like glasses or contact lenses. It must be hidden in another location and transmit the detected information through communication. With so many steps involved, it is easy to expose flaws.
People of Hank and Sato's caliber would naturally disdain such low-level tactics. The moment they saw this betting scheme, they knew it was a genuine gambling game, without any deception.
Hank chuckled and said, "The betting tools are real, but let me make a suggestion: three neutrinos are a bit too easy, how about six?"
Zhuang Zhixian was taken aback. Of course, he had played these games before and knew about them. Usually, all players relied on their ears to play dice. Those who were more skilled could hear some of the sounds. Of course, it was best to have only one dice. The more dice there were, the worse it sounded, because the sound of the collisions would confuse the hearing.
Most skilled gamblers prefer two loose pieces, while three pieces are more difficult. A truly skilled player can predict with 60-70% accuracy, but Zhuang Zhixian hasn't seen anyone play with six loose pieces. Zhou Xuan, is he even capable?
To be honest, Zhuang Zhixian was truly unsure. Zhou Xuan was indeed very powerful, but even now, Zhuang Zhixian didn't understand exactly what made Zhou Xuan so powerful, or what Zhou Xuan was capable of. He still didn't understand. Ma Shu's assessment of him was just that—an assessment. They couldn't be sure whether it was supernatural ability, magic, or simply that his movements were fast enough to exceed what the naked eye could see! (To be continued)
Volume 1, Chapter 308: Six O'Clock or Five O'Clock?
Men Gao smiled faintly. To him, the difference between six pills and one or sixty was simply a matter of how much more or less he had. He was just calculating it carefully. www.keN
"Six is fine, I don't care as long as you're willing!"
When Zhou Xuan said that, Zuo Xi naturally wouldn't back down. Even if Zhou Xuan didn't agree, he would still agree. His attention was actually on Hank. Of the three players, including himself, the one he was most wary of was Hank. Hank's reputation was far ahead of his own. A person's reputation is not something that comes easily!
This place is no different from a proper straw yard; it's just a formal He'ankou.
Zhou Xuan, on the other hand, said to Sato and Hank in a very straightforward manner: "Please give me a thumbs up, Jing!"
Hank and Sato looked at each other, then at Zuo Zhixian and Ma Shu. They were a little surprised that Zhou Xuan was Zhuang Zhixian's spokesperson. He didn't even use Ma Shu but used Zhou Xuan. If he wanted to back down, he wouldn't be simple. At least he was more capable than Ma Shu.
But Zhou Xuan's demeanor and actions didn't seem like those of a master of martial arts. He hadn't even mentioned the rules of "grabbing the arm and scattering the body" yet he had already impressed them. Was he a real master who was actually a wolf in sheep's clothing, or just a pretty face with nothing but empty words?
Hank paused slightly, then said to Han, "Mr. Zhuang, Mr. Zuo Xi, you determined the rules for the navel method yourself, so how do you determine the navel injection method for the armpit?"
That's for sure. Zhou Xuan and Ma Tu knew that Ran Ji had made a fool of himself and didn't even have time to explain. They had a total of over 300 million US dollars in bets, and they only threw out ten or eight hundred dollars in each round. Even if they did, this round wouldn't end.
Hank's eyes narrowed as he said these words. Although Zhou Xuan was his agent, he was only playing a trick on him. Ultimately, the final decision rested with Zhuang Zhixian.
Zhuang Zhixian chuckled and said, "Playing this big game to this level, the initial bet is naturally irrelevant. How about this, the starting bet for each round is five million US dollars, and the increments will also be five million dollars or more. Do Hank and Mr. Zob agree?"
"Okay, whatever you say, six scattered pieces. Let's go by the number and size of the navel. Anything below 18 is considered small, including 18, and anything above 19 is considered large!" Hank nodded, then looked at Sato, and with a raised hand, said, "I have no objection. Let's guess Mr. Hank's thumb marrow!"
Hank didn't stand on ceremony. Under everyone's watchful eyes, Gengzhuang picked up the marrow bowl and the scattered ingredients and placed them on the bottom of the bowl. Then he covered the bowl with the lid. He deliberately made these movements very strange, so that everyone present could see clearly that he hadn't actually done anything out of the ordinary.