Emerging from Chunfeng Tower, the Song brothers drove directly to Lijian Company to handle the loan procedures with Jing Yongli.
Song Jianmin stayed at the company to officially start his job.
Song Jianhao drove alone to Xinqiao to find Wu Wangchun. He dared not go to the Hancheng Casino anymore; his reputation for cheating had spread far and wide, and no casino welcomed him.
"Little Song, when did you get back? Have things been sorted out?"
Wu Wangchun was surprised to see Song Jianhao. News of his cheating had spread throughout the underworld. He assumed Song Jianhao was still being held and hadn't been released, as he couldn't possibly come up with two million yuan in cash.
"I got back last night. Everything has been settled."
Song Jianhao felt a bit embarrassed. Cheating was not a glorious act, and being detained was even more humiliating.
"So you paid two million?"
"I paid it. Gangzi is crooked; he didn't even lose that much money."
Wu Wangchun chuckled, "There's nothing you can do about that when you were caught red-handed. He could claim that if you hadn't cheated, he would have won two or three million."
"That's exactly what he said. He also claimed I was cheating all along and won more than two million."
"Then how much did you actually win?"
Wu Wangchun had always had a good relationship with Song Jianhao and was genuinely concerned about his affairs.
"Heaven and earth as my witness, I only won thirty thousand."
"Then where did you get two million to give him?"
"Yang Jian lent me 1.5 million. Otherwise, they would have beaten me to a pulp."
"That makes sense. Little Yang is truly righteous. His current success isn't purely due to luck. By the way, Little Song, you must have come to see me about something today, right?"
Song Jianhao no longer cared about his pride. "Mr. Wu, after this incident, I don't plan to try my luck in Hancheng anymore. I want to earn a living here. Otherwise, I won't be able to repay Yang Jian's money."
"No problem. Do you still have some money? I'll give you some emperor shares. If your luck holds, you can earn back the two million quickly."
Wu Wangchun was confident because his casino was not only the largest in the entire Xinhe District but also attracted big gamblers from Hancheng and Hongzhou. The casino's cash reserves exceeded ten million, surpassing the establishment of Yang Jian and Li Jin, and its influence was even greater.
"Yang Jian left me ten thousand yuan. How many shares do you think I can get?"
"I'll give you half a percent. Once your funds are sufficient, I'll give you more."
Taking ten thousand yuan for half a percent of such a large operation was risky; a single bad session could wipe it out. Wu Wangchun was also trying to help him.
And so, Song Jianhao temporarily found a foothold in Wu Wangchun's casino, going in and out with Wu Zhi every day.
Perhaps because the casino had grown so large, Wu Wangchun felt a sense of unease. Yang Jian's experience kept him on edge. He usually spent most of his time away from the casino, with Wu Zhi primarily managing the operations on-site.
To evade crackdowns, Wu Wangchun set up the casino on the riverbank of the Da Xin River, a location at the border of Xinhe District and Hongzhou City, falling under a no-man's-land jurisdiction.
This riverbank was vast, and the casino was situated in the middle of a huge sand pit, about six hundred meters from the river dike. The shrubs on the riverbank were over a meter tall, making the casino invisible even from the dike.
However, with so many gamblers, it was difficult to identify undercover officers even if they infiltrated the crowd. The only measure they could take was to have gamblers walk into the casino, while all cars were parked in the woods within the dike.
"Mr. Wu, what brings you here today?"
After nearly a month at the casino, it was the first time Song Jianhao had seen Wu Wangchun visit. He quickly greeted him.
"Little Song, how's it going? How much have you earned this month?"
The emperor company here was led by Wu Zhi, and Wu Wangchun was not involved, so he didn't manage their accounts.
"I received thirty thousand this month. Thank you, Mr. Wu. You saved me."
"We're brothers, no need for pleasantries. Yang Jian is back. Have you repaid your thirty thousand to him?"
"I've returned ten thousand. I want to keep some money to get more shares. You'll have to speak to Wu Zhi about this."
Wu Wangchun frowned. "Little Song, I'm not trying to lecture you, but when you have money, you should repay Little Yang promptly. In this day and age, someone lending you over a million is a huge favor. Yang Jian is righteous; you can't let him develop any negative feelings towards you. If you need his help again someday, it might not be as easy."
Song Jianhao felt ashamed. "Mr. Wu is right. I'll go and repay him the remaining twenty thousand tomorrow."
Wu Wangchun patted his shoulder and intended to go inside to take a look.
Suddenly, a shout came from the walkie-talkie of an on-site security guard nearby: "Cops are here! Run!"
Wu Wangchun turned pale with shock and bolted towards the middle of the river. His intention was to escape by jumping into the water.
But he had clearly miscalculated. This police operation was specifically targeting him. Two plainclothes officers immediately rushed out from the crowd of gamblers and tackled him.
"Don't move! Resist and you'll be shot."
The tackled Wu Wangchun struggled fiercely to break free from the plainclothes officers' grasp. His robust physique made it difficult for the two officers to control him, so they drew their pistols and pressed them against his head.
At the same time, the entire casino erupted in chaos. Over two hundred people scattered and fled. The five dealers at the gambling tables, along with the two young men managing the money, were apprehended by plainclothes officers on the spot, all of whom were in possession of large sums of cash.
The dealer for the Emperor Company was also apprehended. Only Wu Zhi reacted the fastest. With his walkie-talkie, upon hearing the warning from the outer perimeter informants, he was the first to break out and sprinted away, jumping into the fast-flowing Da Xin River.
A few gamblers followed him, choosing to escape by jumping into the water.
Others, in their panic, lost their judgment and only focused on escaping the casino, fleeing in all directions along the riverbank without observing their surroundings.
They soon fell into despair as they realized that a large number of armed police officers had appeared around them, all heavily armed, numbering at least eight hundred to a thousand.
Additionally, there were a significant number of armed special police, estimated to be three to four hundred. Over a thousand officers had blocked all escape routes for the more than two hundred people. The only way out was to jump into the river.
However, the Da Xin River had just receded from its flood season, and the current was still strong. The river was six to seven hundred meters wide, and those with poor swimming skills lacked the courage to jump in.
In the end, only about twenty people managed to escape by jumping into the river. The rest were apprehended.
Song Jianhao, of course, did not escape. He suffered from severe asthma and, even if he could swim, he knew he wouldn't be able to reach the other side and might even lose his life. He could only obediently surrender without resistance.
The cash seized by the police at the scene filled five canvas bags and amounted to over ten million.
Additionally, two imitation handguns and ten rounds of ammunition were found on two on-site security personnel. Five sets of gambling tools, including cups and saucers, were confiscated, two of which were TV cups used for cheating.
In the only commercial vehicle at the scene, the police also found ten cleavers, two steel forks, ten pickaxe handles, and twenty remote-controlled dice.
Looking at all this, Wu Wangchun knew he was finished. His remaining life would be spent in prison.