Lin Qi liked casinos, but it wasn't because he liked to gamble. Ever since he lost five dollars in his first gamble and felt his heart ache for a long time, he realized that he wasn't fated to gamble.
He wasn't a gambling addict, and he couldn't indulge in it. What fascinated him was the variety of life in casinos.
He once met a gambling master, a real master, who had a high winning rate. He didn't cheat, but he relied on some kind of mysterious strength.
After Lynch became friends with him, he told Lynch that he didn't have much experience. His way of winning money was to observe.
He observed the subtle changes in everyone's expression, and quickly analyzed an efficient and reliable observation pattern through several observations. Then he brought the following game into this pattern. He could easily avoid all the chances of losing money, and greatly increase his chances of winning money.
Everyone had a subconscious change when they got a good or bad card. Some physiological changes were uncontrollable, such as the contraction and dilation of pupils, or the sudden change of breathing habits.
In addition to these, there were also some small movements, such as the small movements of the hands, the small movements of the eyes, and the sudden change of sitting posture.
In fact, the first instinct of people who got a good card was to hide their true state, but this state of wanting to hide often betrayed them.
Lynch's observation skills also improved at that time. After he won a gambler's money by observing the changes in his expression, he began to like it here.
Everyone had different ways of expressing happiness, anger, sadness, and joy. This was a very interesting game. You had to find the pattern, then verify your guess, and finally take away the money in other people's pockets.
Winning or losing money was no longer important. It was just an insignificant addition.
Helen was pulled by Lynch, and she reacted. She followed Lynch to exchange for a twenty-yuan chip — only one chip.
On this luxurious cruise ship, cash and chips had the same value. In places where cash could be used as payment, chips had the same value and power.
It was worth noting that generally speaking, the chips on the cruise ship had to be exchanged before disembarking. Even if some passengers planned to participate in the cruise next year, it was not recommended to keep these chips.
Next year, the cruise ship would use a new bargaining chip to prevent some people from plotting against them.
Over the years, technology had become more and more advanced, and all kinds of things that people had never encountered before had happened frequently.
There were people who forged checks, forged notes, forged chips … There were all kinds of people. What was even more infuriating was that people couldn't find out about it at the beginning, which would always cause people to suffer losses.
Many casinos would change a batch of chips with new anti-counterfeit labels every once in a while to prevent people from making profits by forging chips. However, there were still some people who could keep up with the speed of the casinos changing chips.
Fortunately, the casino on the cruise ship didn't need to worry about this. The chips used every time they went out to sea were different from the last time.
At this moment, the chip in Lynch's hand was a brand new chip. The green lace and the 20 in the middle represented its value.
"Is one enough?"
Helen looked at the only bargaining chip in Lynch's hand and expressed her distrust.
Compared to the girl's lack of confidence, Lynch was much more confident. "It's enough!"
Helen looked at Lin Qi with some admiration. During this period of contact, Helen was attracted by Lin Qi's self-confidence that couldn't be ignored. What was more attractive was that he seemed to always be right and would never make a mistake. Every time he made a decision, it seemed that he didn't have to think too much, but he was always stuck at the most correct node.
A man who would never make a mistake. This was the image of Lynch in Helen's heart. At this moment, when Lynch said that a 20 yuan chip was enough, it must be enough. She firmly believed in this.
She even believed that as long as Lynch was willing, he could use a 20 yuan chip to win this cruise ship, as long as the other party gave him such an opportunity.
But soon, she found that she actually didn't know Lynch as well as she thought. He always brought some incomprehensible freshness to people, and she didn't know whether it was a surprise or not.
"You … seem to have lost."
Standing by the gambling table, she watched Lynch put his only bargaining chip in the betting area, and then watched the dealer take the chip away. There were no accidents or reversals.
Lynch nodded casually, "Yes, I lost."
He admitted it directly and didn't find any excuses for himself. He admitted it without hesitation.
"I thought …" Helen didn't know how to express her inner feelings, "I thought that when you said 'one chip is enough', you meant that you can always win money with one chip!"
She really thought so. The confidence on Lynch's face and his relaxed tone gave the girl a great confidence, making her believe that Lynch could still create miracles.
But … it was just the first bet, and he lost. This was a little unacceptable!
Lynch didn't care. After greeting the other players at the gambling table, he stood up and walked to the back with the girl, "I said enough is enough. Every time I come to the casino, I only play 20 yuan, and it will never exceed 20 yuan."
"You don't really think that I can win a lot of money with just twenty dollars and one chance, do you?"
"If I could really do that, I wouldn't need to do anything now. Every year, casinos all over the world would send me a lot of money!"
His smile always made Helen feel that she was deceived by her own stupid thoughts. She didn't know how to answer. Instead, she felt that she was really stupid, and the question she asked was quite awkward.
He walked in front and said as he walked, "I'm talking about interesting things with you. I'm talking about the ring. Do you know boxing?"
The girl nodded, "I know, but I don't like to watch it."
Lynch continued walking. The two of them walked through more than half of the casino and entered the back half of the casino. People surrounded a cage, and the people inside were fighting with all their might.
Every physical attack was likely to spill more blood on the ground. The floor of the ring had been stained red with blood.
Two people who were not too young were confronting each other.
They were panting heavily, and one of them had a crack on his brow bone. Although there was a simple bandage and suture, blood kept flowing out.
Both of them had tried their best, and they looked very tired.
Everything here was not as technical as the ring and fighting on TV or in the movies. The two people who seemed to never know fatigue could dodge each other's attacks in all kinds of fancy ways, and they fought back and forth.
Here, there were no tricks, only punches to the flesh.
Lynch found a good seat, waved to the girl, and sat down.
The staff of the cruise ship sent him a betting sheet. He could place his bets or just watch the show.
Helen didn't dare to look at the two people fighting in the cage. She asked in a low voice, "Will anyone die?"
"Die?"
Lynch shook his head. "Of course not. This is not a novel or a movie. Not so many people will die here."
"Injuries are allowed, but deaths are not. The Federation will not allow accidents like deaths. If the cruise ship company doesn't want to get into trouble, it's better not to do that."
The laws of the Federation were strange. Sometimes, one could say that they were made by a group of lunatics. They were not serious or sacred at all.
For example, in the local laws of a certain area, there was a clear rule that people could not put more than three toy ducks in the bathtub. Otherwise, they would be arrested and prosecuted.
But sometimes, the laws of the Federation were very serious, and that was when it came to life.
Freedom, the love of freedom, and the respect for the subject of freedom — human beings and life — ran through the entire law. It was sanctified by something invisible to people. Human life was precious and sacred. No one could easily take away another person's life, including the law itself. (Later, capitalists made people believe that private property was sacred, and that it was equal to life in the eyes of the law.)
This was also the reason why, as society progressed, people began to abolish the death penalty on a large scale. Even the law and executioners did not have the right to take away another person's life.
The only one who could take away a person's life was God. God gave people life, so he could naturally take it away. But other than God, no one else could!
This included the iron cage fight on the cruise ship. If the cruise ship company did not want to get into trouble, it was best not to let such a thing happen.
Hearing that there would only be injuries and no deaths, the girl's expression eased a lot. However, she still did not dare to look at the two people fighting each other in the iron cage.
"I keep telling myself that if I don't work hard, one day I'll be standing in there."
Compared to the girl who did not dare to look, Lynch looked very serious.
"Only at times like this, in this place, will you understand the despair that poverty brings to people."
"These people did not jump into the cage to beat up a stranger because they liked it. Or they were beaten up by a stranger to please the people around them, people like us."
"They did it because they were poor, because they had no other choice. They had no choice but to make money in this way."
"Watching them suffer, bleed, struggle, and resist in there, all these motivate me. I will never stop!"
"Because if I stop, I will be surpassed, and I might be the next person trapped in the cage."
Lynch tilted his head and looked at the girl who was in a daze. "Actually, we are all the same. We are all running, and we can't stop. We all know this, so I cherish everything that I have now."