"Hmm? Just this much?"

Ji Jue raised his eyebrows in disappointment, then smiled: "It's okay, do you want me to lend you some? But, I think this boat looks nice, how much is it?"

Ling Zhou said nothing, his crimson eyes staring intently at Ji Jue:

"Mr. Ji, don't push things too far..."

"Too bad, I love pushing things too far, doing them thoroughly, leaving no way for others to survive."

Ji Jue's smile remained unchanged, glancing around: "Is there no one here who can offer a price?"

Chen Xingzhou waved his hand, and immediately someone stood up behind him.

He pulled out pen and paper, pressed the calculator a few times, then wrote the result on the pawn form, handed it to Chen Xingzhou, who took out the Dragon Head Stick to stamp and seal it.

Finally, it was presented to Ling Zhou.

"Including the boat and goods, with full fuel, we won't count depreciation, we'll price it as a brand new factory product—two hundred and forty million, Xiao Ling, don't blame me for not taking care of you."

Chen Xingzhou's gaze was full of warmth and affection, which left Ling Zhou speechless.

It felt like being crushed under a great weight, making even breathing an immense effort.

The ink-stained finger hovered in the air, long without courage to press down, until all strength was lost, dropping, leaving a mark of this final struggle.

The gambling continued.

"Deal the cards."

Ji Jue said.

This time, the croupier dared not move anymore, sitting paralyzed on the ground.

Chen Xingzhou waved, signaling for his subordinates to drag him out, then personally rolled up his sleeves, standing in the croupier's place, after opening a new deck of cards, shuffled skillfully.

"Haven't done a hand like this for a long time since starting in the casino."

His movements were light and practiced as he dealt the hole cards, sincerely nostalgic: "Suddenly, it feels like returning to youth, I must thank you for giving me this chance to relive the past."

No one responded.

Deal cards, reveal the cards, place bets, raise stakes, reveal hands.

"Ji Jue, full house; Ling Zhou, two pairs."

Chen Xingzhou swung the lever, easily sweeping a pile of chips, without Ji Jue's prompting, continued dealing cards.

"Ji Jue, three of a kind; Ling Zhou, still two pairs."

Chen Xingzhou sighed: "Just missed by a bit on luck."

Lever swung again, chips allocated.

"Ji Jue flush, Ling Zhou, folded."

Lever, chips.

"Ji Jue two pairs, Ling Zhou two pairs." Chen Xingzhou shook his head: "Slightly short on points."

Casually, he took away the last bit of weight in front of Ling Zhou.

In the dead silence, Ling Zhou, drenched in sweat, seemed to lose all strength, collapsed in the chair.

Ji Jue smiled: "Continue."

"Continue your damn business!!!"

Ling Zhou couldn't help but roar, like a beast cornered, ready to devour: "The people, money, goods, boat, they're all yours! What more do you want!!!"

"Don't say it like that, Mr. Ling."

Ji Jue shook his head, lifted his hand, pressing the revolver beside him, suddenly smiling:

"You still have your life, don't you?"

Just like that, he lifted his hand, knocked a few times, and immediately five mercury bullets fell from the chamber, leaving only one. Then swiftly, spun the chamber, loaded.

Finally, as if hammering, he struck it on the table.

Bam!

Just a muffled sound, but like a soul-shaking boom, making everyone's eyebrows twitch momentarily.

In Ji Jue's hand, the gun slowly pushed to the table's center,

"Don't be afraid."

Ji Jue admired his look, gently comforted: "Minimum bet is ten million, pull the trigger once, with luck, you can play at least five times."

Ling Zhou's expression twisted, seeming ready to roar.

But under the cold gazes of everyone, ultimately, he couldn't move.

Only Ji Jue's smile suddenly vanished.

No expression remained.

He said, "Deal the cards."

So, Chen Xingzhou dealt the cards.

Hole cards, three community cards, no raising, finally, reveal hands.

"Ji Jue, full house; Ling Zhou, two pairs—"

With skillful hands, Chen Xingzhou arranged the hands from both sides, then raised another hand, gesturing towards Ling Zhou: "Please, Mr. Ling."

In the suffocation, Ling Zhou's face lost all color, leaving only a pale, unfocused gaze.

He raised his head, intending to speak, but couldn't utter a word.

Not just him, everyone present fell into dead silence.

Holding their breath.

At this moment, right around the poker table, beyond that empty plastic chair, appeared a shape that seemed as if it were a hallucination.

Amidst the wilderness of blood and death, on the invisible giant horn, incomplete wolf carcasses swayed with the wind.

The solemn White Deer lowered its gaze, looking down.

Bear witness henceforth!

Ling Zhou's fingers spasmed, involuntarily reaching out to grip the gun, its trembling barrel lifting, aimed at his head, yet hesitating... with no strength to pull the trigger.

Chen Xingzhou shouted angrily: "Fire!"

"Fire!"

Behind Chen Xingzhou, all the witnesses stood up simultaneously, expressions fervent, faces flushed, eyes blood-red: "Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire!"

"—Fire!!!"

Crack!

A sharp sound rang out from Ling Zhou's roar.

An empty gun.

"Continue."

Ji Jue said, "Deal the cards."

And so, they continued.

"Ji Jue, straight flush. Ling Zhou, high card."

This time, without Chen Xingzhou needing to speak, all the bystanders who had risen shouted again in unison, commanding: "Fire!"

The trembling hand once more raised itself.

Click!

"Continue," Ji Jue said.

"Ji Jue, flush. Ling Zhou, two pairs."

"Fire!!!"

The witnesses roared, their voices like thunder, reverberating through this savage wilderness!

"Fire! Fire!! Fire!!!"

Until the final loud bang erupted...

Bang!

The handgun suddenly slipped from Ling Zhou's hand.

A bullet hole, oozing blood, appeared on his forehead. It was clearly just an ordinary Mercury Bullet, but the blessing bestowed by the White Deer seemed of no effect whatsoever.

Thick brain matter slowly slid out.

"Help, help..."

Ling Zhou involuntarily slipped from the chair, his hands and feet spasming weakly, clutching at Chen Xingzhou's pant leg, muttering incoherently: "I... Sixth Master... was wrong... I will definitely..."

"Brother Ling!!!"

The subordinates could no longer bear it, rushing forward to attempt a rescue, but Chen Xingzhou looked back with an expressionless face.

Soon after, they all froze in place.

A chilling killing intent descended from the sky, coming from the distant sea, pricking their backs like needles!

No one dared to move forward again until all of Ling Zhou's last drop of blood and life had drained away.

Silence fell, rising from the death.

Ji Jue slowly stood up and began to survey the surroundings.

"It seems we've reached an agreement today?"

No one responded.

Only the crimson blood spread, reflecting his indifferent face.

"Where's the wine?" Ji Jue asked.

Amidst the trembling and stupefaction, a trembling servant in the furthest corner held a champagne bottle but didn't react, so the blonde swiftly stepped forward, snatching the ice bucket and glasses from his hands.

This fool, without any knowledge of tasting wine, filled the glasses to the brim, not leaving any space.

With mincing steps, he carried the glasses in both hands and presented them to Ji Jue.

Ji Jue tilted his head back, drinking half the champagne in the glass, and with a flick of his wrist, he poured the remainder over the corpse on the ground.

The wine of Desert Market, exhausted from blood.

With this, all things settled.

"Now—"

Ji Jue glanced at Ling Zhou's subordinates, telling them, "You can get off my ship now."

In that instant, crisp applause sounded.

Chen Xingzhou, bewildered, turned his head in confusion. His hand had just lifted, but who was so inconsiderate?

Behind him, everyone stood frozen, unresponsive, each with a flushed face of shock.

Only the crisp applause echoed from the very front, from that empty seat of honor.

Full of admiration and acclaim.

Immediately thereafter, Chen Xingzhou began clapping without hesitation.

Immediately, applause erupted from countless others, like thunder and torrential rain, echoing through the boundless night.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.