Chapter 279: Chapter 280

Harold was upset. Had he tampered with the table earlier, they wouldn’t be in such an awkward situation.

“Master.”

The door to the restroom was pushed open, and the fourth gambler at the table walked it. He was Michael Larcher, Harold’s apprentice.

“Michael, you’re here. Did they give you a hard time when you came?” asked Harold with concern.

Michael nodded. “Yes, but Eugene Yackley had a sudden urge to smoke. Since we’re not gambling at the moment, he asked me to buy a carton of cigarettes for him.”

“That smoker is hard to beat!” Harold sneered, “Michael, the camera and human eyes are not much help to us now. We can only count on each other on the gambling table!”

Michael nodded again. “I understand, Master, but Eugene’s gambling skills are extraordinary.

Regardless of how many cards I try to play for you, I—”

Harold made a hand gesture, interrupting his apprentice, saying, “No, we need to change our strategy.

From now on, both of us can make a declaration. If you win, that means I win, too. Eugene may be good, but he can only stop one of us. If we know each other’s cards and play a different approach, he won’t be able to take both of us down!”

“That’s an excellent strategy, Master. How much do you plan to win from him tonight?”

Touching the tip of his chin, Harold said, “Actually… now that I think about it carefully, something’s amiss with Casper Simpson as well. Sometimes, Eugene and Casper seem like they’re working together. Well, the assets under his name and his black credit card show he’s worth at least tens of millions. Regardless of what his motive is, let’s just make him owe a hundred million. As for Eugene and Terrence, I won’t let them walk out of Horington Casino tonight!”

After a round of discussion, the few people walked out of the restroom and headed back to the gambling table.

“Where are the cigarettes?”

Eugene asked for his cigarettes right away. Michael rolled his eyes at the former and tossed a pack of cigarettes in front of him.

Narrowing his eyes, Eugene lit up a stick of cigarette and took a long drag. “Shall we begin? Let’s end the night early.”

“That’s right. Let’s wrap this up early.” A sneer escaped from Harold as he spoke.

The cards were shuffled, and the four players drew their respective cards.

Casper drew three consecutive cards that were in his favor, and his heart skipped a beat upon seeing them. Has Eugene already made his move?

He had a King, a Queen, and a Jack in his hand. In Jetroina rummy, one who drew such cards had a high chance of winning as he just needed a Joker to complete two sequences.

Casper hurriedly placed his cards face down on the table and drew his next card. When he saw his fourth card, he almost gasped in surprise.

It’s a Joker!

Fortunately, Casper knew well to hide his joy in his heart. Despite drawing such good cards, he did not show any emotions on his face.

The only thing on his mind was how to make full use of his cards.

After pondering for a long while, he decided not to aim for the skies.

If it was someone else, they would’ve assumed their victory with the cards in their hand. However, Casper was a rookie who learned how to play rummy less than an hour ago, and his opponents were world-class elites. Most importantly, this wasn’t an ordinary gamble—it was a gamble that could go up to tens of millions.

Harold and Michael could communicate with each other through their secret codes, but Casper did not have any prior discussion with Eugene. At that moment, there was nothing he could do but hope that Eugene would be able read his cards faster than the other two and help him secure a victory.

Casper discarded a few cards that were irrelevant to his sequence. He knew getting a pure sequence was rather ambitious, and his mind was getting all jumbled up. He dared not hesitate, for fear that Harold would be able to tell which cards he had on hand.

As he smoke his cigarette, Eugene swept his gaze across the cards Casper had just discarded. He then took a look at the cards Casper had placed face-down, and his eyes immediately lit up. It dawned on him that Casper must have gotten good cards.

Eugene then glanced at the two players beside him, immediately realizing which cards they had in their hands. Evidently, Harold’s cards were not ideal this round, and Eugene doubted the older man could even form an impure sequence.

There was a rule in rummy—to make a valid declaration—a player must have at least two sequences, and one of them must be a pure sequence.

If one could not form a pure sequence, it would be meaningless regardless of how many high-value cards or wild cards they had in hand.

Harold seemed to have noticed Casper had good cards as well. He began attempting to figure out what cards the latter might have, but his plan was foiled by Eugene.

He’s targeting me again! Can’t he just give me a break?

Harold was beyond exasperated as he could not form a sequence this round. Even so, he had to help his apprentice win. After a soundless discussion with Michael, Harold decided to have Michael win this round.

Michael instantly straightened his back, waiting for Harold to give him the cards he needed to win. At that point, it was Eugene’s turn at the moment, and naturally, he wouldn’t give up the cards that could help other players win. However, Harold’s turn was coming up, and the last thing Eugene wanted was to let Harold discard a useful card for Michael to win.

After pondering for a long while, Eugene eventually discarded a card that Casper needed to win.

“Declaration!” Casper displayed his cards and took the card that was just discarded.

That was the last card he needed to win.

“A pure sequence and an impure sequence! A perfect win!”

Casper was beyond delighted. He managed to form one pure sequence and one impure sequence that comprised of a couple of wild cards.

Harold’s face darkened as he looked at Casper. “You two are working together?”

Upon hearing that, Casper felt his heart skip a beat, and he quickly came to a realization. Is that why Eugene hesitated to discard that card? It seems he predicted that our working together would be exposed if I took his card.

Even though Harold’s skills could not hold a candle to Eugene’s, he still had a clear mind. It was natural for Eugene to keep him from forming a sequence, but there was no reason for Eugene to help Casper secure such a perfect win. In fact, he would lose a bunch of money.

Is Eugene that kind? No way. If I were him, I would be thinking of how to save my own ass and make sure I win all the money for myself… Unless he’s partnering with Casper to win all of my money. This is the only possible explanation!

Harold came to a sudden realization, and that was why he asked such a question.

Eugene remained silent. He merely let out a puff of smoke that dispersed as it reached Harold and Casper.

“I don’t know what you mean,” uttered Casper indifferently. “All I know is that I’ve won.”

Harold let out a laugh as he threw his cards into the pile. “You’ve pissed me off, kid. As for who’s the final winner tonight… I guess we’ll find out.”

At that point, both sides had dropped their courteous front, knowing that the real battle had just begun.

In the next round, Casper’s luck was great. He won eight million from Eugene, four million from Harold, and four million from Michael.

Eugene had fifteen million in chips, and Harold still had unlimited chips. Meanwhile, Michael had six million, and Casper had thirty-one million.

“I guess we should up the bet this round,” Eugene said all of a sudden.

Harold let out a scoff. “Are you dreaming? You don’t possibly think you can win all of my money, do you? I can stop this game right now if I want to.”

“Even if you stop the game now, I’ve won enough to pay off Terrence’s debt and still walk away with ten million,” said Eugene.

Harold lowered his voice, saying, “Do you think you lot can walk out of here unscathed? I’m merely putting on a show for our customers right now. The moment you step out of Horington Casino with the money, I’ll have all of you sunken at sea.”

“You’ve sure got the guts to be able to threaten me face-to-face.” Casper’s gaze sharpened as well.

Leaning back on the chair, Harold threw his hands up. “Look around you. You’re in my territory, and these are all my people. With a single snap of my finger and a simple reason, I can have you two captured. The reputation of my casino won’t be affected at all!”

Casper did not say much but only ran his finger across his waist. “Mr. Murphy, I’m afraid you’re still unaware I’ve snuck in a lighter.”

As soon as he said that, he let Harold catch a glimpse of the gun that was secured to his waist. The latter was so shocked that he almost jumped out of his seat. Harold scanned his surroundings and whispered, “How is this possible? How do you have a gun?”