Thousand Tricks of the God of Gambling

Episode 17's

Working in the bathhouse, my job was pretty relaxed.

I distribute daily supplies to various bathrooms and guest rooms. With time left, I waited for a notification through the walkie-talkie about the area that needed to be added to the inventory. Today is no different. After distributing the supplies, I sat on the steps in the backyard of the bathhouse, smoking silently. When I smoked halfway through, the back door suddenly opened. Two men came out side by side. These two guys are so familiar to me. One of them was Andi, who wanted to humiliate me in public that morning. The others were his childhood friends and the black people I fought that night. Andi turned her back and didn't see me. However, the moment he saw me, the black man unintentionally paused for a moment before turning his gaze elsewhere. Both of those people are close to me. Although their voices were not very loud, I could still hear their conversation.

Black Man: Monkey, this is 55 million rupiahs. Just take it for now. I still owe you 30 million and will give it to you soon.

Hou Jun: Alright, Black. I need that money too. Otherwise, I wouldn't have asked you. You can give away the remaining 30 million within a month.

While listening, a cold smile slid through my heart. Andi always claimed that the black man was his childhood best friend and best brother. Andi cheated and took all of the black man's money, then borrowed it a large sum. Now, he says that he desperately needs the money and asks for a repayment. This person was so pretentious and cunning that he would betray his closest family. The two men exchanged some random words before Andi spoke again.

"By the way, Black, our underground gambling establishment will open in a few days. If you can't make money, you can invite your friends to play. No matter win or lose, for every person you invite, I will give you 650 grand. If your friends lose a lot, I'll talk to Mey and maybe give you a little more ..."

Black face looks difficult.

"You also know that my friends don't like gambling. If I take them and they lose money, I'll feel guilty to them ..."

"Their losses have nothing to do with you. You don't have to force them to gamble. Just take them first and see if they want to play or not ..."

Andi continues to influence him. Unexpectedly, even before the opening of the gambling establishment, Andi had taken on the role of recruiting guests. Characters like this can be found in various gambling establishments. They are commonly known as "recruitment agencies". This role is also in the Blue Master Association gambling house. Since the inception of Blue Master, there have been eight major positions. These recruitment agencies are part of those eight positions and are known as "seekers." As they spoke, Andi's walkie-talkie rang. Meyra called him to the office. He briefly told the black man and immediately rushed off. When she turned around, she looked at me and looked at me with anger before entering the door. The whole page now belongs to the black guy and me. After looking at each other, the black man stepped towards me. As for me, keep sitting on the stairs, not moving. When he reached me, the black man suddenly gave me a cigarette.

"Take one ..."

I accepted it, turned it on, and sucked deeply. The black man also lit his cigarette. We stood up and sat down, smoking silently, speechlessly. After a while, suddenly the black man spoke.

"Aren't you afraid of death?"

"Fear!"

"Then why did you dare to fight me that day?"

"Because I think you're more scared!"

The black man laughed, laughing cheerfully.

"What if I'm not afraid of you? What are you gonna do?"

"Then we'll see who lives longer!"

My tone of voice remained indifferent.

The black man laughed, though bitterly laughing.

"All right, I respect you. I, Black, haven't respected anyone in years. You, Six, are first ..."

After he finished speaking, he immediately changed his tone.

"Oh no, I lost that day, so I should call you Master Six!"

I did lose that day, but I too have been persecuted by that black man. However, the positive impression of him is always there. He actually accepted defeat and remained true to his principles without any intention of cheating on his friends. When we fought, he also defended a friend. The only drawback was that he was a little senile. But for me, that's a good thing too. While smoking my cigarette, I looked at the black man and asked gently:

"Have you ever wondered why you always lose money in Andi games?"

"It's just a matter of bad luck, bad luck. What else is it?"

"It's not luck; you were tricked by Andi. The deck of cards used in the game is a marked deck of cards. He knows everything..."

"That's impossible!"

Before I finished speaking, the black man firmly denied.

"Monkey and I have been together since childhood, our relationship is inseparable. He can't possibly fool me. You can't sow slander between us just because of what happened on that day!"

The black man's words were firm. I rarely smile, but right now, I want to laugh. In this world, there were indeed such foolish individuals who had been betrayed but still helped count the money of others.

"Don't believe me?"

"Hm!"

"Simple, go to that supermarket and buy some decks of cards..."

Seeing my firm demeanor, the black man was also somewhat dizzy. After thinking for a moment, he said to me:

"Alright, accompany me, and teach me how to recognize him."

"I'm at work!"

"I'll ask Andi to give you permission..."

The black man was very persistent. After thinking for a moment, I replied:

"It's okay, I'll ask for it myself..."

While saying so, I pulled out my phone and called Meyra. He's called me before, so I kept the number. When she answered, I told her that I wanted to take time off. I think his attitude will be cold or angry, like this morning. However, unexpectedly, Meyra's voice remained calm.

"In the future, if you have something to do, just go and do it. There is no need to ask for leave permission and it will not be considered as truancy. If someone asks you for your absence from the bath, just say that you've got my approval..."

I'm appalled. I didn't expect Meyra to give me this privilege. Does this mean he is not angry anymore? The supermarket where we played before was not far from the bathhouse. When we reached the entrance, without entering, we heard the voice of a grandfather from across the street.

"Hey, didn't you two fight that night? Why are you guys making up so fast? Bored; I want to see you fight again..."

The one speaking was the grandfather who was sitting in front of the courtyard and watching the commotion that night. Now, he sat in front of his courtyard, fanning himself with a folding fan in his left hand and holding a half-moon-shaped purple clay jar in his right hand. He seemed unconcerned about his tangled white hair being blown by the wind. Without exchanging words, the black man and I went straight into the small supermarket. It seems that the owner of the supermarket did not expect the arrival of the two of us. His sight showed clear signs of panic. Without wasting any words, the black man immediately said:

"Give me two decks of cards..."

The owner peeked at the door first. I guess he was looking at whether Andi was coming too. After no one entered, he quickly said:

"The cards are up; the next shipment is tomorrow. Come back later..."

"What are you thinking?"

Suddenly the black man shouted. The owner and I were surprised. He pointed to the shelf that was nearby.

"Isn't that a playing card? Or is that your mother's sanitary pad?"

On the shelf are two types of card sets, the Yaoji brand and the Three Aces, which we usually play. Actually, I suspect that both of them were abandoned by Andi. Merely, since we always played with Three Aces, I did not bother to check if there were any hidden tricks inside Yaoji.