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墨書 Inktalez
The office was empty, and Chen Rui naturally wouldn't wait around foolishly. Although he put on a relaxed front, he truly couldn't be sure of the other party's actions. His demeanor was merely to reassure Ye Han; he would bear the burden of worry himself.
Chen Rui opened the map on his phone, clearly seeing the locations of each team member. Upon noticing Liu Xin's position, his brows furrowed slightly; Liu Xin was not in the same area as the other three.
"This guy..." Chen Rui muttered with a chuckle as he stepped out of the office.
He first changed his clothes; after all, wearing a shirt emblazoned with the FBI logo was hardly appropriate for a night at the casino.
Once dressed, Chen Rui hailed a cab and headed straight for New York, New York.
New York, New York is a casino hotel themed around New York City, with the entire structure resembling a miniature version of the city itself.
Despite being mentally prepared, he was still taken aback by the sight. Several hotel buildings replicated famous New York landmarks like the Empire State Building and Chrysler Building. In front of the hotel stood a replica of the Statue of Liberty.
There was even a scaled-down version of the Brooklyn Bridge and other iconic structures from New York, all crafted to one-third scale, creating a model Manhattan.
Most amusingly, there was a roller coaster that circled around the hotel, designed to look like a yellow New York taxi, weaving in and out of the hotel premises.
Chen Rui tossed a hundred-dollar bill to the driver, got out without a word, and made his way directly into the casino area of the hotel.
Unfortunately, with so many gaming areas in this hotel, Chen Rui had to rely on his phone's GPS to slowly search for Liu Xin's location.
Finally, he spotted Liu Xin at a Texas Hold'em table. As Chen Rui approached, he noticed that Liu Xin had piled up quite a few chips in front of him, including some high-denomination ones.
In no time, Liu Xin tossed five pink chips onto the table. Each chip bore a dollar sign followed by four digits.
Each chip was worth one dollar, and Liu Xin had just bet five thousand without showing much reaction on his face.
As the scene unfolded, three of the eight players immediately chose to fold upon seeing the cards. Two others, after careful consideration, also decided to throw in their hands, leaving only two players who opted to call.
The Dealer confirmed the actions and revealed another card: a Hearts 1. With this new addition, four community cards were now visible on the table: Hearts 1, Diamond Jack, Diamond Ace, and Hearts 9.
The rules of Texas Hold'em seemed simple enough; each player held two hole cards while five community cards lay face up on the table. The Dealer would reveal these community cards in three stages: first three at once, followed by two single reveals.
Ultimately, players would select five cards from their two hole cards and the five community cards for a total of seven cards. The player with the highest hand would win. Flushes, three of a kind, four of a kind, full houses—these were all strong hands. Before each community card was revealed, players had to place bets; those who felt hopeless would fold and lose their chips on the table, while those with hope would raise their bets.
Now only one final round of betting remained. The two players before Liu Xin had chosen to check, and it was now Liu Xin's turn.
Liu Xin glanced at the community cards and pulled out a dark golden chip from her stack. It bore the familiar "[expression]" symbol followed by four digits—not 1 this time, but 5.
This dark golden chip matched the previous round's bet!
One more player chose to fold, while another Asian middle-aged man calmly tossed in a dark golden chip as well.
The Dealer flipped over the last community card: a Spade 8.
With that, the chances of a straight were looking very promising.
Liu Xin revealed her hole cards: a Hearts Queen and a Diamond Queen.
The other player showed his hole cards next: a Hearts Jack and a Hearts Queen.
The remaining players spontaneously applauded, appreciating both Liu Xin's boldness and the other player's composure.
"It's a bit of a pity; it was almost a straight flush," Liu Xin said politely as he took the chips handed to him by the Dealer.
"Almost is still quite far away. But you, if it's not an 8 or a King, isn't that just a high card?" the man teased in somewhat clumsy English.
Chen Rui patted Liu Xin on the shoulder. Liu Xin quickly turned his head and, upon seeing Chen Rui, did not react further and continued to prepare for the next round.
This reaction left Chen Rui both amused and bewildered. Was this really how it was going to be? "Aren't you going to explain anything?" Chen Rui asked with a smile.
"Explain what? You saw it all; what’s there to explain?" Liu Xin said as he grabbed the arrangement handed to him by the Dealer, glancing at it briefly before quickly covering it up.
"I see you're quite skilled. An old driver on a new road?" Chen Rui joked.
"Why don't you help me strategize? Isn't your mind supposed to be sharp?" Liu Xin replied.
"What's up? I think you're playing quite well," Chen Rui asked. "Could it be that you—"
Liu Xin smiled but didn't say anything, further solidifying Chen Rui's thoughts.
This guy wasn't counting cards at all; he was relying entirely on psychological tactics. Winning like this with just psychological warfare and luck was quite impressive.
This also highlighted the biggest difference between real-life gambling and online gambling. In online games, one can often rely on calculations to win, but in real-life games, it's different. I can use psychological tactics to confuse your initial thoughts, but those who play at such high stakes usually won't make those rookie mistakes again; at the very least, they would have preventive measures in place. For Liu Xin to achieve this level of play is indeed commendable.
"I'm observing him; when would I have time to count cards? So, help me out," Liu Xin said as he lightly tapped his fingers on the table twice, directing his attention toward the Asian middle-aged man who had just followed them until the end.
Chen Rui suddenly snapped awake. "He's the one!"
"Yes, that's the mission target. His daughter will be kidnapped, which is why we received this order," Liu Xin nodded. "What do you think I'm doing here?"
"Are you really covering your heart and saying you have no other thoughts?" Chen Rui asked with a smile.
"I have no other thoughts at all," Liu Xin replied, placing his right hand over his left chest as Chen Rui suggested.
"Hey, look at that! The moment you lie, your heart starts racing," Chen Rui pointed at Liu Xin's chest and laughed.
"Of course, I'm not dead yet," Liu Xin retorted, not wanting to engage in banter with Chen Rui. He had already decided to fold during their earlier chat since he wasn't in the game.
"See? It's all your fault that I lost money!" Liu Xin made a face at Chen Rui before quickly sitting up straight, leaving Chen Rui momentarily stunned.
"Alright then, last round. Who dares to go all in?" the middle-aged man laughed as he looked around the table, but no one responded.
Going all in is one of the most daring phrases at a gambling table, meaning to reveal one's hand while having nothing in it—essentially betting all chips. In movies, this scene is often portrayed by a gambling master pushing forward mountains of chips worth thousands each.
Seeing that the target was about to leave, Liu Xin and Chen Rui knew they couldn't stay any longer. Even if Liu Xin had that intention, Chen Rui would never allow it.
"Okay then, I'll follow," Liu Xin said. His chips were far more than those of the middle-aged man, so he didn't need to go all in; he just needed to match the bet with his chips. Liu Xin counted out a pile of dark gold and pink chips and pushed them into the center of the table. The other gamblers looked on with interest at such a large bet.
Liu Xin's two hole cards were a Spade and a Spade 5. Chen Rui frowned slightly upon seeing the hand; it was most likely a flush or a straight. However, if it were a straight, it would be vulnerable to being beaten by an opponent's straight.
Since one side had already gone all in, they skipped the raising phase. The five community cards were revealed: Heart 1, Diamond Queen, Diamond Ace, Heart, and Diamond Jack. Liu Xin's hand could form a flush with Diamond Ace, Queen, Jack, and 5—quite a strong hand.
With this hand, it was impossible to form anything stronger than a flush. For the opponent to beat Liu Xin, they would need two Spades with one being higher than 5, which was highly unlikely.
Sure enough, the man revealed his hidden cards: an Ace and a King of Diamonds, a straight, but not enough to beat Liu Xin's hand. All the chips went into Liu Xin's pocket.
The middle-aged man shook his head with a smile, glanced at Liu Xin and Chen Rui, then stood up and left the table.
Seeing their target about to leave, Chen Rui immediately followed. Liu Xin quickly dumped the chips into his bag and hurried after them.
At the edge of the gambling area, the man suddenly turned around and looked at Chen Rui with a smile. "So bold? It seems you two have quite the background."
Chen Rui stopped in his tracks, not understanding his words at first, but when he saw the man's hand resting on his waist, he understood what was happening.
"Calm down, calm down. We're here to protect you," Chen Rui hurriedly pulled out his work ID from his pocket and showed it to him.
The middle-aged man looked puzzled but still didn't let his guard down. "Throw it over here. You're not allowed to come near me."
With no other choice, Chen Rui slid the ID across the ground and stood still in place.
"FBI? Why are you following me?"
Chen Rui couldn't help but smile awkwardly. "Are we really following you…?"
Liu Xin finally caught up, and Chen Rui shot him a glance. "You're so slow!"
"I went to exchange chips," Liu Xin replied with a grin. "Won quite a bit!"
"Is it useful?" Chen Rui said, feeling exasperated with him.
"Isn't it fun?" Liu Xin exclaimed excitedly.
A middle-aged man approached and handed Chen Rui his work ID back. "Aren't you supposed to be protecting my daughter? Why are you following me?"
"Mr. Chiba, please remain calm. A team has already been dispatched to your daughter's location. They are all professionals," Liu Xin said, trying to maintain a confident demeanor.
Chen Rui thought to himself: They were all the ones you abandoned.
"Is that so? That's good to hear," Chiba Kaede sighed deeply.
"Compared to that, aren't you the least bit worried about your daughter? She's still at the casino," Chen Rui expressed his dissatisfaction with such an irresponsible father.
"I'm drawing fire. If they want to kidnap my daughter, they'll definitely be keeping an eye on my movements. To be honest, I've already visited six casino hotels today, and I stay at each place for a while. Isn't this what attracted you all here? When I arrived here, she happened to be at the gambling table watching me," Chiba Kaede inadvertently sold Liu Xin out.
Chen Rui shot a glare at Liu Xin and said to Chiba Kaede, "You should be by your daughter's side at a time like this."
"Maybe you're right."
Just then, Chen Rui's phone rang, and he excused himself to take the call.
At that moment, Chiba Kaede's phone also rang.
"Hello! What's going on?"
"Boss, we saw a woman with her face covered enter the target's house from their balcony," came an urgent voice from the other end, accompanied by the sound of someone kicking a door.
"Have you not entered the scene yet?" Chen Rui asked, "What are you waiting for?"
"No, boss, we came over without any equipment, and now we can't get in!"
"Then don't force the door open. It seems like they are just kidnapping; you don't want to risk a hostage situation..."
Chiba Kaede saw it was his daughter's call and hurriedly answered, immediately hearing her cries.
"What happened? What's wrong?" Chiba Kaede tried to steady himself as he urgently asked.
"Dad, someone is banging on the front door. They seem really aggressive, it looks like—"
"Don't panic. That door won't be opened anytime soon. Just hide for now; I'll be there with the FBI in no time."
"Okay, but please hurry..." Chiba Kaede hung up decisively. Talking at this moment would only hinder efficiency; the most important thing was to get home quickly.
"Let's go to your house."
"Hurry, something's happened."
Chen Rui and Chiba Kaede said simultaneously.
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