272: Chapter 261 Underground Casino 272: Chapter 261 Underground Casino The next day, Song Yun got up early to exercise, planning to buy some food to take back to the three girls, but at that moment, he spotted a familiar face.
Wu Xin, whom he had rescued before, had just stepped out of a taxi and entered a shop.
This shop looked shabby and run-down, with two or three tattooed thugs at the door.
It wasn’t hard to imagine that inside was either a gambling den or some illicit establishment providing “special” services.
Song Yun stood on the street corner with a cigarette, his doubts prompting him to make plans to go in and investigate further.
Wu Xin had been incredibly unlucky lately.
She had grown up without parents in an orphanage and was later adopted by a family.
Her life was initially happy and peaceful until her adoptive mother died, and her adoptive father, in his grief, developed a gambling addiction.
Within a year, he had squandered all of the family’s money.
She was forced to enter the workforce early, taking odd jobs to help support the family, but her adoptive father only became more addicted to gambling, constantly causing a ruckus at home if he didn’t gamble even for a single day.
After graduating, Wu Xin started her own restaurant, and slowly she was making a profit of tens of thousands a month.
That would have been more than enough for just her and her adoptive father, but he had promised to quit gambling and never play cards again.
However, he would sneak off to the gambling den with money from her wallet.
Today, she had received a call from someone telling her her adoptive father had borrowed fifty thousand yuan and hadn’t paid it back.
If she didn’t fill the gap, her adoptive father would be killed.
Naturally, Wu Xin knew who was behind the call.
It was the same people who gambled with her father.
But she couldn’t casually disregard her father’s life, which led to the scene Song Yun had just witnessed.
Entering the dimly lit shop, a young man with rainbow-colored hair at the counter looked up and asked, “What can I get for you, beauty?”
“The Lucky Cat,” Wu Xin said, frowning.
This code phrase was provided to her by the person who had called earlier.
He had told her that saying this phrase would grant her entrance.
Honestly, a woman like her utterly loathed coming to such a place—it was filthy and chaotic, and everyone there seemed to have ill intentions toward her.
She wouldn’t have come if her adoptive father weren’t in their hands.
“Heh heh, alright, beauty, come with me to check out the goods,” the young man said.
He stood up and led Wu Xin through the backyard, looked around, then knocked on a security door a few times.
When the door was pulled open from the inside, Wu Xin was presented with an expansive space.
“Good luck, beauty,” the young man said with a smile, then headed back to his counter.
“I need to see your boss,” Wu Xin said with a furrowed brow.
“I’m here to pay a debt.”
“Don’t tell me you’re Old Man Wu’s daughter?
Damn, I never thought the Old Man’s boasts about how pretty his daughter was were actually true,” the doorman said, licking his lips and chuckling.
“I want to see your boss,” Wu Xin repeated, her eyes showing distaste.
If possible, she wanted to throw the money on the ground right then and leave immediately.
“Okay, okay, such a pretty girl but with such a fiery temper,” the doorman snickered.
Having said that, the doorman led the way, walking down the corridor bathed in bright red light.
The hallway was carpeted with a dark red rug, and every step he took seemed to push clouds of dust out of the fibers, dancing under the lights.
Voices of gamblers could be heard coming from the compartments lining the way, and Wu Xin saw someone open one of the compartments—it was as if they had collected all the smog in the country and trapped it inside, the smoke creating a stifling atmosphere.
Such a setting made Wu Xin feel nauseous, and yet every day countless people excitedly crammed themselves in, as if they believed they could dig up a gold mine.
She continued through the passageway into a large hall, where rows and rows of tables were set up, surrounded by men and women.
Some played mahjong, some played poker, and a couple of tables were dedicated to dice enthusiasts placing wild bets.
“The outside crowd bets small-time.
The real high rollers come inside to play,” the doorman explained to Wu Xin.
“You want to try your luck for a couple of rounds?”
“No need, I’m leaving as soon as I pay off the debt,” Wu Xin replied with a cold shake of her head.
As if you could leave after paying off the debt—our boss loves this kind of resistance; the more you hate it, the more excited he gets.
This pretty skin of yours will be thoroughly enjoyed by him, the doorman thought to himself, scratching his head.
He led Wu Xin along the wall, making a turn, before stopping outside a room marked “Authorized Personnel Only.”
“Knock knock knock”
After knocking twice and receiving an answer from inside, the doorman dared to push the door open.
Once inside, he bowed to the middle-aged man sitting in an office chair and said, “Boss, Old Man Wu’s daughter is here to pay the debt.”
“Fine, stand guard outside and make sure no cops get in.
Times have changed—law enforcement is cracking down hard on us.
We can’t afford to get caught, or it’ll be a bad look for all of us,” the man waved him away.
“Yes, boss, I’ll just leave then,” the doorman said graciously, closing the door behind him as he left.
Wu Xin stood at the door, taking stock of the middle-aged man before her.
He was in his forties, with a pale complexion and dark, sunken eyes, resembling a chronic drug user.
A zigzag scar on his face looked like a centipede, adding a repulsive touch.
He was dressed in a black suit and tie, with a thick cigar in his mouth, squinting and drawing on it contentedly.
“So you’re Old Man Wu’s daughter?” the middle-aged man extinguished his cigar in the ashtray, smiling.
“I’ve brought the fifty thousand yuan my adoptive father owes you.
Where is he?” Wu Xin asked urgently.
If she could, she’d toss the money right then and walk out of this sealed room, which felt incredibly weird with just the two of them.
“Don’t rush, beauty.
At least have a drink of water before you leave—it’s rude to refuse me hospitality,” the man stood up, took a teapot, and poured her a cup of tea.
Wu Xin didn’t take it.
She refused to drink anything here.
Ever since she had been drugged and nearly met with disaster, Wu Xin became extra cautious.
She was certain the tea contained something, or else the man wouldn’t be offering it so eagerly.