Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

What Wang Dianxue wanted at that moment was for Steward Qian to roll a full dice and swallow every chip on Yang Ce's table. Otherwise, paying out more than ten billion was simply a joke—he might as well have his life taken instead.

The secretary hurried over to Steward Qian and whispered a few words in his ear. Steward Qian was startled. Deliberately rolling a full dice would do real damage to the casino's reputation, which was why he had always simply rolled big and small at random—but Yang Ce seemed to guess right every single time. Still, since it was President Wang's instruction, Steward Qian put his misgivings aside, steadied himself, and resolved to roll a full dice.

Having finished speaking, the secretary was about to turn and leave when his gaze caught on Huang Yan, held in Yang Ce's arms. His eyes contracted sharply; he looked at Yang Ce again, nodded thoughtfully, and quickly withdrew to Wang Dianxue's side.

"Well? Did you tell Steward Qian?" Wang Dianxue asked impatiently.

"I told him. But I've discovered something very important," the secretary said in a low voice. "I know whose people this man represents."

"What? You know?" Wang Dianxue was startled and asked hastily, "Who are they?"

"If I'm not mistaken, they're from the Huawei Casino," the secretary said with great certainty.

"Why do you say that?" Wang Dianxue asked, puzzled. "That can't be. Yu Deyi is raiding the Huawei Casino right now—how could they have the leisure to come here and make trouble? They'd have their hands full already. Besides, with an expert like this, would the Huawei Casino still be in the state it's in? They'd have taken first place at the annual consultants' exchange tournament long ago."

"That I couldn't say. But, President Wang, do you know who the girl in that man's arms is?" The secretary pointed at Huang Yan in Yang Ce's embrace.

"How would I know who the girl is?" Wang Dianxue frowned. "Get to the point. Skip the useless talk."

"President Wang, it was seeing that girl that let me make the judgment," the secretary explained. "That girl is called Huang Yan. She's the daughter of the Huawei Casino's chairman."

"What?" Wang Dianxue was stunned. He stared wide-eyed at Huang Yan and said in astonishment, "One of the Huang family? Then who is that man?"

"Yes, one of the Huang family. But who the man is, I don't know. From the look of it, though, he should be the girl's man," the secretary said.

As the two of them spoke, the former consultant had already rolled a triple—three "ones." He covered it with the bowl and said to Yang Yanzhou in a flat tone, "All right. Bets down, hands off."

Yang Jiyan did not rush to place a bet. Instead, with a faint, ambiguous smile, he glanced at Steward Qian and said mildly, "Well, it seems I'm the only one left betting now."

Steward Qian did not know what Yang Ce meant, but he nodded anyway. "There's only you left betting now, sir."

"Oh, so that means if I don't bet, no one bets?" Yang Ce shrugged, and without waiting for Steward Qian to say anything more, went on, "Then I'll play a round with you."

Steward Qian had thought Yang Yongjin meant to keep playing, which would have made this triple roll a waste. Hearing that Yang Yanzhou would continue, he breathed a sigh of relief.

This time, however, Yang Cenbin did not stake everything. He simply picked two chips of the smallest denomination out of the pile and tossed one onto each side, big and small.

"Twenty thousand?" Steward Qian was taken aback and stared at Yang Ce in disbelief. "Sir, why have you only bet twenty thousand in chips?"

"Is that not allowed?" Yang Jiyan countered. "How much I'm willing to bet is my business. Can your casino force me otherwise?"

"That's not it—it just seems strange, that's all," Steward Qian said, somewhat embarrassed.

"Strange? What's so strange about it?" Yang Jiyan said indifferently. "You ought to be pleased. This round, whether it comes up big or small, you've won. At most you pay me fifteen thousand, and you still profit five thousand. Of course, if it comes up a triple, then both those twenty thousand are yours."

The smile on Steward Qian's face froze. How could that be? Could he have known in advance that this was the round I'd roll a triple? Could he have overheard what the secretary said to me?

No, that couldn't be either. After the secretary had finished speaking to him, he himself had rolled big and small at random several more times before rolling the triple. There was no reason Yang Ce should have known which round he intended to roll a triple.

Now there was only one possibility: Yang Ce was an expert—a true, genuine expert. Perhaps he could even hear the dice.

Steward Qian was astonished; so were Zhang Bin and Wang Mei; and even Huang Yan, who was not much fond of gambling, was astonished beyond measure. Yang Ce seemed almost to foresee the future. If he had staked everything this round as before, he would have lost it all.

Over there, Wang Dianxue was even more astonished. He had never expected Yang Ce simply would not take the bait. Now it could be said with absolute certainty: Yang Ce was a true expert. Trying to defeat him with these little tricks was simply impossible.

Looking at the mountain of chips on Yang Ce's table—fully seventy or eighty billion by now—Wang Dianxue truly wanted to weep but had no tears. This time he had lost big. If he really had to pay out, he feared every last bit of his fortune would have to be thrown in.

"Call Yu Deyi. Tell him to come back at once. Stop disgracing himself over there," Wang Dianxue said with a sigh, instructing his secretary in no pleasant tone.

"Yes." The secretary understood the situation as well—whether Yu Deyi won or lost at the Huawei Casino no longer meant a thing. Even if he won, so what? The Nancheng Casino was about to go bankrupt.

Yu Deyi looked at his own chips on the table, then at Zheng Shaopeng's pile, and the smile on his face grew ever thicker. Zheng Shaopeng had less than a million left; with just a bit more effort, victory would be his.

It seemed President Wang would certainly reward him handsomely this time. Yu Deyi was gloating when his phone suddenly rang.

"Excuse me, I need to take this." Yu Deyi had not wanted to be distracted by a call at such a moment, but when he saw the caller was President Wang's secretary, he really had no choice but to answer.

"Hello, Advisor Yu? President Wang wants you back immediately," the secretary said the moment the line connected.

"Come back?" Yu Deyi was stunned. "I'm about to beat Zheng Shaopeng right now."

"Yes, right now. Never mind all that—winning or losing doesn't matter anymore. Something's happened at the casino. You'd better get back here at once," the secretary instructed.

"But how can I leave before the game is over? I can't just concede, can I?" Yu Deyi was rather displeased. What on earth was going on? He was on the verge of winning, and now they told him to come back.

"Then concede." The secretary glanced at Wang Dianxue and said with a bitter smile.

"What? Concede? Whose idea is that—yours or President Wang's?" Yu Deyi was instantly furious. "Put President Wang on the phone."

"All right." Helplessly, the secretary handed the phone to Wang Dianxue. "President Wang, you'd better talk to him yourself."

"Yu Deyi, get back to the casino right now. If you have to concede, then concede—the casino is about to be won into bankruptcy!" Wang Dianxue had lost some of his reason by now, and he hung up as soon as he finished speaking.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? Damn it!" Yu Deyi cursed in his fury, but since it was Wang Dianxue who had spoken, he had no choice but to comply. He stood up, pushed his chips toward the middle of the table, and said, "I concede."

With that, he left the VIP room without a backward glance, leaving behind a thoroughly baffled Zheng Shaopeng and the Guixu Sect.