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墨書 Inktalez
A person addicted to gambling cannot distinguish between day and night; as long as they have money, they feel compelled to gamble, hoping to recoup their losses and regain everything they have lost. Little do they know that such actions only lead them deeper into despair. It is often said that gambling leads to broken families and financial ruin, yet no one has ever heard of someone winning back their fortune through gambling.
Jiang He and Old Shao deduced that the identity-less Li Erdan likely had not left Dragon City but was instead hiding. Gambling is illegal, so Li Erdan could only be gambling in underground casinos. These places are usually quite hidden, often requiring a recommendation from someone familiar to gain entry.
If Li Erdan were hiding in such places, it would be understandable. However, the problem lies in the fact that Zhai Qiang has already proven that the person who committed the murder and disposed of the body was not Li Erdan. So why would Li Erdan be running away?
This remains a mystery.
Wang Da, in his thirties and still single, rented a place on Construction Road and lived alone.
Jiang He had reviewed Wang Da's file and remembered his home address clearly.
At three-thirty in the morning, the group arrived at Wang Da's doorstep.
The sound of knocking echoed as the phone rang late into the night. After about twenty minutes, Wang Da's tired voice finally came through: "Who is it? Why are you calling me at this hour?"
"Open up; we need to ask you something," Old Shao replied.
After about ten minutes of hesitation, the door finally opened, revealing Wang Da's weary figure. He was dressed in pajamas, with a gold necklace around his neck. Rubbing his eyes, he focused on the group blocking his doorway and asked, "What's going on? Did you catch Li Erdan?"
Old Shao shook his head. "Not yet, but if we want to catch Li Erdan, I need your help."
Wang Da nodded and waved them inside.
Unlike Li Erdan's filthy and dilapidated rental unit, Wang Da's place was clean and tidy. The living room was spotless, with a television sitting on the cabinet, creating a warm atmosphere. As Jiang He prepared to change his shoes, he noticed a detail: there was a pair of women's slippers on the shoe rack.
Wang Da glanced at everyone and said, "No need to change shoes; I'll just clean up a bit."
With that, they stepped into the living room.
"I wonder why you all came to find me," Wang Da said.
Old Shao settled onto the sofa and asked, "You know about Li Erdan's gambling, right?"
Wang Da rubbed his eyes while sitting on a stool and replied, "I know."
"When did he start gambling?" Old Shao pressed further.
Wang Da thought for a moment, still keeping his eyes closed. "He probably started about five years ago, not long after he arrived. Once, I went to play Mahjong and invited him along. He won quite a bit that night, and after that, he often asked me to join him. I only played occasionally for fun; I never thought of it as a serious pursuit."
"But Li Erdan, perhaps because he had too little entertainment, started going out every night after work to play Mahjong, Fight the Landlord, and Zha Jinhua," Wang Da yawned. "He has a lot of energy; he would play cards all night and then still join us for Fight the Landlord, winning our money."
Finally opening his bloodshot eyes, Wang Da continued, "He didn't know how to play at first, but his skills improved over time. He would win ten or twenty bucks from us each time. But that was nothing compared to what he won at night with others; they would easily win around a hundred bucks in one night. With a monthly salary of three thousand, he was either winning or losing several times his paycheck every night."
"But later on, he became a bit reckless," Wang Da recalled. "He told us once that he lost over a thousand in one night and insisted he had to win it back that evening. Eventually, he was just playing for the sake of playing. By the end, he couldn't control himself anymore."
"You seem to know quite a bit about this," Jiang He interjected unexpectedly.
Wang Da chuckled lightly. "Well, I've worked with Li Erdan for five years; I know what he's like. He's both lewd and reckless when it comes to gambling. He has borrowed money from all of us; I lent him a few thousand but couldn't lend him any more."
"Do you know where he often gambles?" Old Shao asked again.
Wang Da nodded. "I do; he took me there once. But isn't Li Erdan already on the run? Could he be at the casino?"
"Not likely," Shao the Elder replied.
Wang Da said, "I do know where it is, but I can't guarantee that Li Erdan is at that casino. Plus, there's surveillance there; if you go in wearing police uniforms, it'll definitely raise suspicion and people will scatter. I suggest you bring more people along; it's chaotic inside the casino and could be dangerous with many enforcers around."
Shao the Elder responded, "You don't need to worry about that; just tell us where it is."
Wang Da nodded and then provided everyone with the detailed address.
Wang Da had previously accompanied Li Erdan to that place. It was an abandoned parking lot in Dragon City, located underground. The space was large enough and relatively concealed; it was nearly impossible to find it without a familiar guide.
Guan Deng took out his computer and accessed the internal network to find the layout of the underground parking lot. There were two rolling shutter doors, one at the front and one at the back. Both doors had been sealed, only opening at five in the morning and midnight. This was a customary schedule, as most gamblers would arrive during these times.
Both doors were equipped with cameras, and if anything seemed amiss, they would immediately open the other door to let people escape.
In addition to these two large rolling doors, there were also two other entrances. Originally meant for an elevator shaft, both elevators had been removed after the building was demolished, leaving two large vertical holes. To accommodate walk-in customers, the casino had converted this area into stairs, allowing several people to descend without the hassle of opening the large rolling doors.
Last time, Li Erdan had brought Wang Da through this entrance into the casino.
The entrance was essentially a metal plate laid flat on the ground; if someone knocked three times on this plate, someone inside would naturally open the door to welcome those coming to gamble.
Wang Da added, "But please make sure I’m not seen leaving. This could ruin someone's livelihood. The people who can run a casino are far more skilled than I am; if a few of them decide to beat me up, I won’t be able to handle it."
"Don't worry," Old Shao assured Wang Da. "No one will know it's you."
"As long as you’re introduced by Li Erdan," Wang Da said. "Everyone there is familiar with each other; if you don’t have a name to drop, they probably won’t let you in."
Old Shao understood this principle well; those involved in such activities needed to be cautious. However, he noticed that Wang Da seemed quite familiar with the place, indicating he had visited often with Li Erdan. Unfortunately, while Wang Da had managed to avoid getting stuck in a quagmire, Li Erdan was deeply entrenched and unable to escape.
"Yuan Jun, contact the police immediately and request additional personnel," Elder Shao instructed. "Besides Li Erdan, we might need to sweep this entire casino."
Yuan Jun nodded and went to contact Captain Liu.
Jiang He turned to Wang Da and said, "I need to borrow your restroom."
Wang Da replied, "Oh, go ahead."
Just as he finished, Wang Da said, "Oh, wait a moment. There are some personal things inside; let me tidy up a bit. Just bear with me."
With that, Wang Da slipped into the bathroom.
A few minutes later, Wang Da opened the bathroom door, carrying a black garbage bag filled with some items. As he walked toward the bedroom, he said to Jiang He, "Alright, you can go now."
Jiang He nodded and stepped into the bathroom.
Upon entering, Jiang He faced the sink and mirror. A metal rack was mounted on the wall above the sink, holding some toiletries. Looking closer, he noticed a toothbrush and toothpaste in a rinsing cup; the toothbrush was still gently swaying, indicating that Wang Da had just moved it.
As he turned on the faucet to wash his hands, Jiang He glanced at the nearby trash can, which had a brand new garbage bag inside—completely empty. He touched his face with his hand to wake himself up a bit. It was twenty o'clock, and Jiang He hadn’t closed his eyes even once.
Looking at his reflection in the mirror, he saw heavy dark circles under his eyes, messy hair, and rough skin. At thirty years old, he looked quite aged. He sighed and splashed some water on his face. Remembering to flush the toilet, he lingered for a moment before stepping out of the bathroom.
Wang Da was standing at the bedroom door, watching toward the bathroom.
"I think I’ll sit this one out," Wang Da said to Jiang He. "Honestly, I didn’t want to get involved in this anyway. Plus, I've worked with Li Erdan for quite a while now; if he's really in there, I wouldn’t know what to do."
Old Shao nodded and replied to Wang Da, "Then it's settled."
As Jiang He walked past the bedroom door, he glanced inside and saw two pillows on the bed.
"What’s the situation?" Old Shao asked as Yuan Jun hung up his phone.
"It’s all arranged," Yuan Jun replied. "We’ll head in first; they’ll arrive shortly after. We’ll ambush them at all four entrances—one by one; we’ll take them all out."
"Just don’t know if the casino owner is inside," Old Shao pondered for a moment before saying, "But let’s not worry about that right now; we need to leave immediately."
Wang Da escorted everyone to the door when suddenly Jiang He asked, "Do you have a girlfriend?"
Wang Da was taken aback and said, "With my job and this salary, which girl would be interested in me? I do want to find a partner, but I need to be able to find one first."
Jiang He nodded and followed the others as they left.
The journey was silent as Yuan Jun drove everyone straight to the parking lot.
Before them appeared a metal door laid on the ground.
The group exchanged glances, and Shao the Elder said, "Guan Deng, you stay up here to keep watch. The four of us will go down."
Guan Deng nodded.
"Be careful down there," Shao the Elder warned.
Jiang He's hand had already knocked on the metal door.
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