Chapter 147

Chapter 147 – Phantom's Counterattack #2

Blackjack used a poker hand and went through a 1:1 match between the dealer and the player. It was one of the few casino games that was potentially beneficial to the players. 

Six players sat at different tables and were fighting the dealer in front of them. However, the atmosphere in the casino was grave.

Yamaguchi opened two cards that the dealer gave him.

“An Ace of Hearts and Queen of Spades. Blackjack."

The bosses sitting at the other tables gawked at him. If there was a blackjack, then the player would unconditionally win against the dealer, and they would receive 1.5 times the jackpot. It was never a pleasant situation when they were competing against each other. In addition to Yamaguchi, Mister Park was also gaining a lot of money.

Li Zheng clicked his tongue and said,

"…Didn't he already win a few games?"

Caterina spoke from her table in the rear.

"He completely holds the momentum. I think this will end in the Yakuza's victory."

“Lady Luck is a capricious person. Even if she is laughing now, you never know when she will betray you. It isn't over until it is over."

He said this, but the momentum was completely on Yamaguchi and Mister Park's side. Li Zheng forgot about his own hand for a while as he watched the two people play.

The dealer's open card was a 9. It was a good hand with a high possibility of going completely without bursting. The card Mister Park received was a 5. He boldly split it and received one more card. Furthermore, he bet an additional 10 million won worth of chips.

The newly received cards were a 6 and a 9.

“Well, he should take one more."

But Mister Park stood firm. It was hard to win unless the dealer got a bust.

"The dealer's second card is a 6. If this happens, there will be one more card… Oh my god. The next card is a 10? T-Then isn't the dealer busted… Mister Park won with 11 and 14? I don't know about 14, but he should've absolutely taken another card when it was at 11 points!"

It was so strange that he suspected there was a deal with the dealer. The dealer’s winning percentage of 50% was deliberately decreased to 20%… No, it was decreased to 10%.

In the meantime, Mister Park made extreme bets that raised his dividend. And victory.

"……"

It was ridiculous. Li Zheng swallowed back his groan. There were too many things he didn't understand.

Meanwhile, the number of chops between the two people had reversed.

“The house has 1.53 billion won and I have 1.1 billion won. And the Japanese 1.2 billion won…"

Caterina's chips were almost intact. However, her chips had swelled a little bit. She didn't lose any chips due to her stable betting. Her meticulousness could be seen here as well.

Li Zheng gained 200 million won. He had started with 900 million so that was quite good. He made bold bets and had a clear understanding of when to stop to increase his odds.

"…But haven't they doubled their chips in an hour? No matter how I look at it, that is impossible without buying off the dealer."

Caterina licked his lips and said,

“Phantom is the one who prepared the things here. Do you understand what I mean?"

“Um…"

The Yakuza might have held hands with Phantom to put together a scam. All of the people here were playing the mafia game to obtain Phantom. If someone was already working with Phantom, then there was no reason to come here.

Of course, the Yakuza weren't winning every game. However, when they won, their profits were huge. They won so much that it was enough to be called a gambling god. Meanwhile, the Yakuza had made another bet and picked up 90 million won worth of chips. It was huge sum for such a short period of time.

“But the two people are playing together."

The Yakuza were gaining a huge amount of money due to both Mister Park and Yamaguchi. In most cases, if the subordinate was unsure of victory then they would forfeit. This meant…

“There must be a secret plan to win."

Li Zheng squinted as he watched the Yakuza playing.

There had to be some trick. If he could find it, then he could reverse the situation.

@

Caterina spoke carefully to her subordinate so that the other teams couldn't hear.

"Semon. What do you think?”

“The time limit for playing this game is 100 minutes, which is already more than half over. If both of you continue making money at the same rate, they won't be able to surpass you."

“Hrmm. that's a good thing. So what do you think is their secret to such great odds?"

“I’m sorry. Unless the Yakuza are incredibly lucky, I can only think that they joined hands with Phantom."

“Phantom didn't ally with the Yakuza. If that were so, then there would be no point in playing this game."

“It might be a trap for the Yakuza to kill us."

“…Hrmm."

Caterina gave a subtle groan. The possibility wasn't 0%. But even so, she couldn't believe it.

“Phantom had many chances to kill us if he wanted. Not long ago, on our date…"

"He might have changed his mind since then."

“Either way, I can't believe that Phantom has joined hands with the Yakuza. Isn't there a chance that they have psychic powers?"

“Haha, perhaps."

Semon agreed with the ridiculous comment.

By the way, it was the right answer. Mister Park gave a sign to the dealer using his fingers, which meant to let him win. He had used the Hallucinogenic Incense to make a puppet out of the dealer and then used the dealer as a card shark.

After that, he flipped over his palm. It was a sign to stop giving him cards. Using the dealer as a card shark easily led to the Yakuza's victory.

Yamaguchi Takeshi asked in a small voice.

"Mister Park. How much do you have in chips now?"

“730 million."

“I have 820 million, so if we combine both of our stacks, that is a total of 1.55 billion."

Mister Park laughed.

“As it happens, it is the same as the Red Lady."

“Huhuhu, we both have exactly 1.55 billion won worth of chips. There are five minutes left so we can't relax."

“If the third game picked requires a dealer…"

“Our victory.”

"Haha. You did a really good job."

“The one who controls the dealer will become the king of the casino. The other teams have also prepared a winning strategy, but it seems like ours is the best."

"Wait a minute. Please refrain from talking. The Red Lady is coming."

"Hmph!"

"Excuse me. I'm sorry but can I talk to you for a minute?"

Caterina and Semon, who were likely to lose the number one spot, came up to the Yakuza. The smiles disappeared from the Yakuza member's faces.

Yamaguchi asked,

“What is it?"

“I’m sorry but can we change seats? It feels like you might have something with the dealer."

“Huhu, that isn't the case. But I will ease your suspicions. I'll change seats."

“Yes, thank you.”

The time remaining was five minutes. If she didn't earn the same amount of chips as the Yakuza then the rankings would reverse.

Caterina bit her lip and shifted her gaze to Semon. One of Semon's eyes started trembling.

"Phew…"

Caterina sighed with relief. Fortunately, Semon sent her the signal that she wanted. It meant he had succeeded in counting all the cards on the table that the Yakuza had been playing at. In order to prepare for this situation, she had ordered Semon to watch the Yakuza's table. Semon, who had terribly good eyesight, was able to see all the card patterns on the table.

“Since the cards have been counted, I can unconditionally make money. I need to at least tie with the Yakuza so that were start from the same point in the next game…"

She had the ability to remember everything she saw and Semon was a genius at strategy. She was confident that she could win any game if the conditions were the same.

The time remaining was five minutes. The last hand of Blackjack began.

@

Caterina sighed with relief.

“Hu… There was no support. Still, I narrowed the gap in the game against the dealer…."

She has won an additional 30 million won. It was the same with the Yakuza. In the end, the Red Mafia and Yakuza were tied at exactly 1.58 billion won.

In the meantime, Phantom appeared and summarized the situation.

“I will do an intermediate check. The Red Mafia and the Yakuza both have 1.58 billion won, while the Triads have 1.14 billion won."

The chips acquired by the three groups totaled to 1.3 billion won. It was a tremendous return since they started at three billion.

Li Zheng clicked his tongue.

"Everybody is great. I am good at the games but… I never thought I would be the lowest."

Caterina said with a smile.

"There is still the final game. Everybody has their own area of expertise, so why don't you choose one?"

"Do you mean me?"

“I don’t care.”

Yamaguchi's eyes flashed.

"Haha. What are the young people talking about without me?"

"It is about who should pick the last game. I think it should be the one with the lowest amount of money."

Currently, the Triads had the lowest amount of money. There was a high probability that they would pick a game that relied on abilities rather than luck. Caterina was confident about winning in a head-to-head competition. 

Li Zheng would choose the last game. Yamaguchi thought it wasn't a bad proposal.

“I will listen to what it is first."

If it involved the dealer then he would absolutely win. He would listen to the game and accept if it was appropriate. If the game didn't need a dealer then he would use an excuse to play another game.

Li Zheng said,

“Then how about Bluff Poker?”

It was a game where they placed a card on their forehead that only the opponent could see. The success or failure of their bluffs played a huge role on who would win. As it happened, Tae-hyuk played this game at the Death Circus.

Yamaguchi nodded. In order to play Bluff Poker, a dealer was required to split the cards. He could ask the dealer to secretly tell him what his card was.

“It is fine with me. Little Lady?"

“I would also like to play Bluff Poker."

Due to being at the bottom, Li Zheng added one condition.

“The lieutenants might look at the cards and secretly tell you. Therefore, this time I would like to fight with just the three of us. How about it?"

“Hrmm… Then send out the lieutenants?"

“Exactly.”

“It doesn't matter to me."

“I am fine with that."

"Huhu… Then let's get started right away."

Caterina’s winning strategy. Yamaguchi’s winning strategy. Bluff Poker was a game where all these winning strategies could be played. There was no reason to resist.

However, Li Zheng had a counterattack that could destroy all of this.

Mister Park, Jin, and Semon left once Li Zheng gave a signal. The three remaining were the bosses.

In addition, there were the cameramen and dealers.

“Then let's start the final round of the mafia game."

"Yes."

At that moment, Li Zheng spoke some strange words.

"Hu, huhu… The game will end with my victory."

It sounded like a prophecy.

@

Phantom watched the mafia game through the TV. It was the place where the spectators had watched the Death Circus.

Phantom drank coke from a champagne glass and muttered,

"Coke is cheaper than a bottle of wine that costs hundreds of thousands of won.  By the way, everyone is very confident. Just looking at their expressions, everyone thinks that they will win."

Phantom licked his lips.

“I'm sure they found their own winning strategy. But did you know? I made it like that on purpose."

He knew about Caterina's remarkable memory and included number games. He knew that Mister Park had the incense. So he set up a casino where the dealers could be taken advantage of.

And…

“For Li Zheng, I placed a few game conditions."

On the TV screen, Jin knocked out Mister Park and Semon with a weapon.

“Obviously, I told them not to bring any weapons inside, but sniper threats from outside are acceptable.

Phantom deliberately created loopholes for victory. His purpose was to bring them here. All of this without knowing that it was a trap prepared by Phantom.

Li Zheng implemented his plan.