If Jinmen Kid’s words had been spoken at any other time tonight, I might not have believed a single punctuation mark.
But at this very moment, I did.
Why?
The answer lies in the nature of a con artist.
A competent con artist is always a blend of intelligence, arrogance, and suspicion.
The "honey trap" I had set for Xiao Tianyu, from its inception to its progression, had been too smooth. Instead of feeling pleased and satisfied, it gave me a prickling unease, as if I were being watched from behind.
As the saying goes: a person who is abnormal must be hiding something, and an unusual event must have a demon behind it!
In this world, there has never been a perfect setup!
A setup that is too perfect is, in fact, the greatest hidden danger and flaw!
For the past few days, I had been repeatedly pondering why my "honey trap" for Xiao Tianyu had shown no flaws or abnormalities whatsoever.
Was it because my chosen entry point was too flawless? Or was it because Lan Hua Nu Mu Haitang’s mastery of handling men was too advanced?
Or perhaps Xiao Tianyu’s vigilance and defensive awareness were so low that he was completely defenseless?
Honestly, I had no idea which of these explanations was the correct answer.
Because I knew very well that the possibility of "three in three" was low and somewhat deviated from reality.
Therefore, Jinmen Kid’s words… had directly stunned (or perhaps intimidated) me!
To find out the answer next, I would have to pay.
This was a common tactic among the Jinmen people and all fortune-tellers and physiognomists: to praise first, then criticize.
They would first compliment you a few times, then suddenly change their approach to put you down, piquing your curiosity.
The logic behind this was essentially the same as giving a blow and then a sweet date.
Think about it: if someone just kept praising you, and after the praise you felt happy, they might just get five or ten yuan and that would be the end of it.
But if they went all out to insult you, and you were insulted down to your eighteenth generation ancestor, would you still pay them?
Neither a constant barrage of blows (insults) nor a constant stream of sweet dates (praise) would be effective. Only by alternating and coordinating them could the target be led by the nose without them even realizing it.
………………
Frankly, I was clear-headed at this moment.
Even though I was shocked by Jinmen Kid’s words, I hadn’t reached the point of being successfully brainwashed.
But as the old saying goes, the bystander sees clearly what the participant is blind to.
The problems that I, the participant, couldn’t figure out, perhaps an outsider could see through!
Moreover, those who dared to set up shop as Jinmen people and practice fortune-telling and physiognomy could indeed utter some genuine insights. So…
After careful consideration, especially after confirming the Jinmen identity by using the secret phrase, I pulled out six hundred yuan from my pocket.
“Buddy, can you help me break this?”
The moment he saw the money, a greedy glint flashed in Jinmen Kid’s eyes.
But immediately, he put on a serious expression and said, “No problem, no problem! Since you’re also a man of the jianghu, then we have a connection!”
“As the saying goes, when one side is in trouble, all sides support. If a Qianmen brother is in danger, we Jinmen people will certainly not stand by idly. How about this…”
“I’ll write you a note. You must only open it to read the method to break the situation after I leave, because this is a matter of revealing heavenly secrets!”
“So I need to get away from you and bear the heavenly punishment alone!”
“Buddy, you must destroy the note immediately after reading it, understand?”
Upon hearing this, my face immediately fell.
This wasn’t helping me break the situation at all. It was a case of trying your luck, and then running away after the attempt!
Damn it! Tonight has been an unlucky start! I ran into a half-baked Jinmen person. I shouldn’t have bothered with him in the first place.
What was even more infuriating was that I couldn’t expose him now!
Because exposing him would be like slapping my own face!
So, I stood there motionless until that Jinmen kid handed me the note and slipped away.
I opened the note and looked down.
“Not gambling is victory!”
When I read this sentence, I was first slightly stunned, then felt a mix of amusement and annoyance.
If you were to say that the Jinmen kid was talking nonsense, as a con artist, I deeply understood the meaning of “not gambling is victory.”
But if you were to say that he was all-knowing and all-calculating, he was actually nothing!
The guy had simply observed my facial features and demeanor, determined what I was going to do tonight, and then used that to deliver the unsolvable advice of “not gambling is victory.”
After all this, the fortune-telling was for naught!
If I didn’t have something to do tonight, I would have chased after that kid and let him know that con artists’ money wasn’t so easily scammed!
………………
After wasting some time, I walked back to the car.
Within a few minutes, I arrived at Tianci Building.
After wandering around the first-floor lobby for about an hour, and seeing that it was almost time for the 8 o’clock appointment with Xiao Tianyu, I had Luo Tuo and his companion stick close to me, while I instructed Cheng Minglang and the other two to carry out their respective duties, blending into the vast crowd in the lobby.
After briefly explaining my purpose to the bodyguard guarding the stairs to the second floor, he led me directly to the third floor where Xiao Tianyu was located.
Unlike the lower floors, the entrance to the third floor was heavily guarded, and I had to undergo a pat-down before being allowed in.
After a simple pat-down, I entered a very spacious hall with Luo Tuo and his companion. Everything in the hall immediately refreshed my senses!
Since I started my career, I had seen many underground casinos, but I had never seen anyone make an underground casino as beautiful as those in Macau!
In the spacious third-floor hall, all the gambling tables were standard Portuguese gambling tables matching Macau casino standards, exuding high-end elegance and luxury!
The female attendants inside were all wearing matching low-cut mini-skirts on their upper bodies, and black stockings with silver high heels on their lower halves, an outfit that was highly recognizable and eye-catching.
In addition, a separate space within the hall had been converted into a distinctive bar, with colorful cocktails displayed on the bar counter, giving off a feeling of drunken indulgence in a world of neon lights and wine.
Casinos like this, which combined beautiful women and fine wine, were the most effective at stimulating a gambler’s adrenaline. Win, and you get to enjoy the pleasures of beautiful women; lose, and you’re sent to work in the docks!
The third-floor casino hidden within Tianci Building was more decadent and luxurious than any casino I had visited before!
No wonder Xiao Tianci was able to grow his business and successfully go legitimate. This kind of vision and thinking, even if others had it, they might not dare to act on it!
The reason was simple.
To put it bluntly, the third floor of Tianci Building was a place for pure pleasure, a veritable "pool of wine and forest of meat."
Besides gambling, there was also prostitution, and perhaps even drug use!
A trifecta, if there were a surprise inspection… the consequences would be self-evident, wouldn’t they?
To do business like this, one needed not only courage but also connections and backing that reached the heavens!