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Guo Zhuanghuai entered the Casino in the afternoon. As he stepped inside, Guo Zhiqian, sitting by the window in the café across from the Casino, noticed him and couldn't help but stand up. Jia Guangren asked Guo Zhiqian what he was looking at, to which Guo Zhiqian simply replied that he thought he saw an old acquaintance.
In reality, it was not so simple; Guo Zhuanghuai was not just an old acquaintance of Guo Zhiqian—he was Guo Zhiqian's father.
The father-son relationship between Guo Zhuanghuai and Guo Zhiqian will be elaborated on later, but for now, let's focus on the story of Guo Zhuanghuai entering the Casino to gamble. Perhaps you can glean something from his gambling addiction.
Without further ado, Guo Zhuanghuai walked into the Casino with three hundred dollars he had just withdrawn from the cashier and boldly tossed all his money to the young Cashier at the Counter, saying, "Change it all into chips!"
The Cashier placed the exchanged chips on the Counter.
Guo Zhuanghuai picked up the chips and wondered aloud, "Is this all there is?"
The Cashier explained, "Sir, we deducted the money you owed us from your last visit to the Casino!"
Guo Zhuanghuai nodded, "Oh! I remember now! That's fine! This is a tip for you!"
He lifted one hand with the chips while tossing a few coins to the Cashier with the other before striding into the smoky and chaotic hall of the Casino, full of excitement.
Guo Zhuanghuai was a regular here; he greeted familiar faces from time to time until he was drawn to a Gambling Table surrounded by a crowd.
This was a high-stakes game where the Dealer shook the dice, and guests could bet on high or low. After watching two rounds where both times high won, Guo Zhuanghuai squeezed into the crowd.
The Dealer shook the dice and placed the Betting Cup on the table. Many people rushed to bet high, while Guo Zhuanghuai took out some chips to place his bet. The Dealer revealed the dice, and indeed it was high. The crowd fell silent while Guo Zhuanghuai happily collected everyone’s chips around him.
"Let's go again! Let's go again!"
A successful start made Guo Zhuanghuai's gambling urge even stronger. He won several rounds in a row, but soon his luck began to wane. The Dealer started taking his chips away batch by batch, and he grew increasingly anxious.
He rubbed his head with one hand, bit his lip with his teeth, and his face turned red. Now, he was left with only a few chips.
"Bet Big!"
Guo Zhuanghuai went all in, pushing all his chips into the betting pool.
The dealer placed the dice into the Betting Cup and began to shake it. Guo Zhuanghuai anxiously watched the Betting Cup sway in front of him. In the noisy casino, the sound of the dice clattering inside the Betting Cup was particularly loud. With a thud, the Betting Cup was slammed down on the table. The crowd around the table cheered, shouting "Big" or "Small." Guo Zhuanghuai's eyes were fixed on the Betting Cup, beads of sweat already covering his face.
The dealer lifted the Betting Cup, revealing a "Small" result. Guo Zhuanghuai, disappointed, pounded his fist on the table; once again, his chips were taken by the dealer.
A nearby gambler noticed that Guo Zhuanghuai had run out of money and wanted to take his spot to try his luck. In a rush, he spoke a bit too loudly: "Do you have any money left? If not, step back!"
Frustrated and angry, Guo Zhuanghuai had nowhere to vent his feelings. He grabbed the gambler by the collar: "Let me tell you something, I have plenty of money! This is my spot. When I come back, you better be standing here; otherwise, I'll take you down!"
The gambler was intimidated by Guo Zhuanghuai and nodded repeatedly: "I understand! I understand!"
Guo Zhuanghuai tossed the gambler aside and headed straight for the counter. The dealer signaled for a Thug nearby to follow.
Guo Zhuanghuai reached out at the counter: "Give me some more chips! I need to win back my losses!"
The young cashier replied calmly, "Sir, you are a valued customer here; you should know our rules!"
"Cut the nonsense! Give me twenty dollars' worth of chips, now!"
The frightened cashier looked helplessly at the manager behind him. The casino manager stepped forward from backstage and said firmly, "Mr. Guo, you can only borrow ten dollars' worth of chips!"
Desperate to recover his losses, Guo Zhuanghuai didn't want to argue: "Ten dollars is fine; just hurry up!"
The casino manager gestured to the cashier, who took out two stacks of chips and handed them to Guo Zhuanghuai. He took them and turned straight back toward the gambling table.
All of this was being watched from a distance by the Thug in the casino.
Guo Zhuanghuai's spot was indeed untouchable, but his luck remained as bad as ever. Soon, he lost all his chips worth ten silver dollars. When the dealer swept away Guo Zhuanghuai's chips, he slammed his hands on the gambling table in frustration.
Suddenly, Guo Zhuanghuai looked up, his gaze sharp as he stared at the dealer. "You must be cheating! I refuse to accept this; I want to keep gambling!"
A thug glanced at the cashier behind the chip exchange counter and received a nod from the cashier. The thug understood and walked over to stand behind Guo Zhuanghuai.
The thug patted Guo Zhuanghuai on the shoulder. "Mr. Guo, why don't you come back to gamble when you have more money?"
Guo Zhuanghuai pushed him away and walked directly to the cashier.
He slammed his hand on the counter and shouted, "Li, I'm one of your regulars! How can your people try to kick me out?"
The casino cashier was an old hand at this. He replied slowly, "Mr. Guo, I know that. But every business has its rules; even if you're a regular, you have to follow them!"
With several thugs ready behind him, Guo Zhuanghuai's arrogance diminished somewhat. In a fit of anger, he declared, "I will definitely come back and win!" He then swaggered out of the casino, only to swing the door shut behind him with a heavy thud.
By this time, it was already deep into the night outside the casino. The café across the street had closed early due to the incident involving Cheng Yuwan.
Guo Ziqian said goodbye to Jia Guangren and then took a rickshaw with Cheng Yuyao to send Cheng Yuwan home. The rickshaw stopped in front of the building where Cheng Yuyao and Cheng Yuwan rented an apartment. Guo Ziqian and Cheng Yuyao hurriedly helped Cheng Yuwan inside, rushing up the stairs and down the hallway until they reached the door, where they knocked loudly.
The door was opened by Cheng Shuhua. Seeing them, she quickly took Cheng Yuwan from their arms. Guo Ziqian followed Cheng Yuyao wanting to enter but was stopped by Cheng Shuhua.
"Who is he?" It was clear that Cheng Shuhua was asking Cheng Yuyao.
Cheng Yuyao hesitated before replying, "He's a customer from the café."
"Since he's a customer, why did you bring him home?"
Guo Ziqian wanted to explain, but Cheng Yuyao interrupted, "Mr. Guo, my mother is like this; please don't take it personally! Besides, it's just us three women here; it might be inconvenient for you to come in now!"
Guo Ziqian was very gentlemanly. "Oh. Since that's the case, I'll head back first."
"Mm!"
Guo Ziqian turned around and walked a few steps down the corridor, but Cheng Yuyao called out to him.
"Mr. Guo!"
Guo Ziqian turned back. "Is there anything else?"
"Thank you!"
Cheng Yuyao smiled sweetly at Guo Ziqian, who also brightened up. "It's all I should do."
Cheng Yuyao closed the door, and Guo Ziqian remained standing in place, wearing a satisfied smile.
Cheng Shuhua placed Cheng Yuwan on the bed, and Cheng Yuwan began to tremble all over.
Cheng Shuhua said urgently, "Quick, get the medicine from my drawer!"
"Oh!"
Cheng Yuyao entered Cheng Shuhua's bedroom and hurriedly took out a vial of medicine and a syringe from the drawer of the bedside table, then handed them to Cheng Shuhua. Cheng Shuhua drew a certain amount of medicine into the syringe and injected it into Cheng Yuwan's body, which gradually calmed down.
"Alright, it's okay now." While organizing the syringe and medicine, Cheng Shuhua asked, "Yuyao, that man who brought you here today seems familiar."
Cheng Yuyao was taken aback, knowing she couldn't hide anything in front of her mother, so she revealed the truth: "He saved you during our operation yesterday."
Cheng Shuhua pressed further, "Is he an enemy or a friend?"
"It is still unclear for now." At this point, a hint of unease and worry flickered in Cheng Yuyao's eyes.
Cheng Shuhua was tidying up the clutter on the table when Cheng Yuyao suddenly asked, "Mom, now that we are back in Shanghai, why won't you let us meet our father?"
Cheng Shuhua paused her actions and sighed, "It's too dangerous!"
"We're not kids anymore; we can protect ourselves!"
As soon as Cheng Yuyao finished speaking, Cheng Shuhua firmly denied her, "That’s not possible! As long as there are people still researching the 'Biological Experiment,' you will be in danger if you go back." Cheng Shuhua looked at her sister, Cheng Yuwan, who had just calmed down from her unconscious state. "Your sister is the only one who has been injected with the 'Biological Experiment' serum and survived for seven years. Once your identities are exposed, those researching the 'Biological Experiment' will definitely try to capture her again. They might even use you to coerce your father into restarting the 'Biological Experiment' project."
Cheng Yuyao sat down in disappointment.
Cheng Shuhua turned and sat beside Cheng Yuyao, gently patting her shoulder. "Child, I must ensure your safety before I allow you to reunite with your father. It will happen eventually; it will just take some time."
"I understand," Cheng Yuyao replied helplessly.
At that moment, the phone rang at Cheng Shuhua's home. She walked over to answer it.
"Hello... I understand! ... I will handle it!"
After a brief conversation, Cheng Shuhua anxiously put down the receiver.
Cheng Yuyao asked, "Mom, what happened?"
"Two pharmacists from Dow Pharmaceuticals will have one leaving Shanghai tonight. Also, they have a transaction scheduled for tonight."
Cheng Yuyao stood up. "Mom, I'm going to assassinate the pharmacist."
Cheng Shuhua shook her head. "The pharmacist will definitely have skilled protection; I can't trust you to go! You should go to the docks to intercept their goods while I take care of the pharmacist!"
Cheng Yuyao still wanted to argue, but Cheng Shuhua added, "Enough, it's settled!"
At the entrance of the Shanghai Lijiang Hotel's private room stood a group of bodyguards in black. Inside the room was a round table surrounded by prominent gang leaders from Shanghai.
Accompanied by two bodyguards, Han Zhao entered the room, took off his trench coat, hung it on the coat rack by the door, and then sat down at the head of the round table, casually crossing his legs.
Boss Gu was a robust figure. Seeing Han Zhao arrive, he leaned forward with his arms resting on the table and confronted Han Zhao, saying, "Han Zhao, I don't understand what you mean today. Everyone here has a grudge against you. Are you throwing a banquet to eliminate us all?"
Boss Gu took the lead in confronting Han Zhao, and other leaders chimed in: "A month ago, you sent someone to burn down my smokehouse. What do you want from me today?"
"Your men killed my brother; are you planning to kill me too?" they continued.
Han Zhao remained calm, casually crossing his legs while asking a subordinate beside him to light a cigar: "I did invite you here for a banquet indeed!"
The round table fell silent as Han Zhao leisurely exhaled smoke. "The main purpose of this banquet is to turn enemies into friends. We've been fighting on Shanghai's streets for so many years; isn't it all for money? I have a big business opportunity here. Those who can cooperate with me will be my friends from now on; we will share both fortune and misfortune together. Anyone who refuses to cooperate won't leave this room alive!"
An older leader clearly did not take Han Zhao seriously: "You? What kind of good business could you possibly have? I've been on Shanghai's streets since I was a teenager and have been in this game for decades. What big business haven't I done? I don't need your deal; I can walk out of this room just fine. Let's see what you can do about it!"
This leader stood up and walked toward the door. At that moment, one of Han Zhao's men suddenly pointed a gun at the leader's head. Han Zhao signaled for his subordinate to shoot, and before the leader could reconsider, he was shot dead by Han Zhao's man, blood splattering onto Boss Gu and the other leaders.
Boss Gu took out a white handkerchief from his pocket and slowly wiped the blood off his face, saying nonchalantly, "Just a trick! However, I'm curious about what kind of big business you have to offer us."
Han Zhao put his legs down and adopted a serious demeanor: "I have access to large quantities of opium imported directly from England at prices thirty percent lower than market rates. However, my father doesn't allow me to sell it at our casino, so I thought of you."
Boss Gu asked, "So how do we cooperate?"
Han Zhao replied, "I'll handle the shipping; you just need to sell it within your jurisdiction."
"And how will we split the profits?"
“Sixty-Four Split, I take sixty percent!”
The big shots around the round table were in heated discussion, but only Boss Gu remained calm and collected.
One of the big shots raised an objection: “I feel there’s a problem with your division!”
Han Zhao exhaled a puff of smoke and stared down the one who objected: “You have no room to negotiate with me. It’s either cooperation or death!”
The other big shots debated among themselves, but after a moment of contemplation, Boss Gu suddenly said, “I agree to cooperate!”
Seeing Boss Gu express his stance, the other big shots quickly voiced their agreement.
Han Zhao had achieved his goal and cheerfully said, “In that case, let’s have the kitchen serve the dishes! Today, I’m treating!”
He then signaled to his subordinate at the door to have the kitchen bring out the food.
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