Chapter 75: The Mad Gamble (Part One)

The boss from Jinan gave up!

With He Tian, the portly boss from Qingdao, and the boss from Weihai all playing blind, determined to see it through to the end, the cards in the Jinan boss’s hand simply couldn’t convince him to stay in the game. Especially with the bosses from Rizhao and Yantai, who had already looked at their cards and were now playing with intimidating confidence. The boss from Jinan made the wisest choice: he folded and decided to sit back and enjoy the spectacle.

Next, it was the turn of the portly boss from Qingdao. He Tian had already raised the blind bet to ten million. Playing blind, the minimum to call was ten million.

“Ten million blind! I’ll call…” The portly boss’s large hand wandered over the young woman beside him. Looking at He Tian’s smile, he felt a surge of disgust. In his opinion, He Tian was bluffing again, just like last time, trying to win it all with bravado. How could he let He Tian get away with it again?

“Still playing blind, are you? You’re all so confident… Well, I’ll raise to twenty million!” The boss from Rizhao smiled slightly, lifted his glass for a sip, and pushed forward a stack of chips worth a full twenty million.

Brother Yun, standing off to the side, narrowed his eyes. With three players still betting blind and tossing out chips like madmen, yet the Rizhao boss was still following suit—either his hand was exceptionally strong, or he was bluffing as well. Yun, however, didn’t really believe the second possibility. After He Tian had already pulled off a big bluff earlier, trying to win again with the same trick would be far too difficult. That left only the first possibility: the Rizhao boss must have a very good hand.

Yun felt a surge of excitement. He realized he was witnessing a high-stakes showdown. The pot would easily surpass a hundred million, maybe even reach several hundred million or more. Having watched countless battles in the VIP rooms, Yun knew all too well that when two specific circumstances arose, the pot would skyrocket: first, when tempers flared and pride was on the line; second, when both sides held strong hands. In Yun’s eyes, both conditions were now in play.

This was a grand spectacle. Yun couldn’t help but feel exhilarated. The casino’s commission alone from this round would be substantial.

“Fifty million!” The boss from Yantai, smiling, pushed forward a stack of chips worth fifty million. “As I said, my hand is excellent,” he added with a grin.

Everyone turned to look at the smiling Yantai boss. Fifty million! On just the second round, he had already pushed the pot up by another thirty million. Everyone was pondering whether the Yantai boss really held such a good hand.

With no change of expression, the boss from Weihai picked up his cards. Seeing that neither the Rizhao nor the Yantai boss—both of whom had looked at their cards—showed any sign of fear or intention to fold, he couldn’t bring himself to keep playing blind. This was no laughing matter. With tens of millions at stake, he needed to proceed with caution.

All eyes were on the Weihai boss as he finally checked his cards. No one knew what he saw, but his expression didn’t change before or after. Yet, from the way he calmly placed his cards face-down and pushed forward fifty million in chips, it was clear his hand was nothing to scoff at.

He Tian still wore his easy smile. “No need to bet so much when you’re playing blind—twenty-five million, I’ll call.” He Tian pushed forward a stack of chips worth twenty-five million, still continuing to play blind.

The boss from Jinan squinted his eyes, feeling a measure of admiration for this young man. Even with the stakes soaring so high, He Tian still dared to play blind. Such nerve is not something just anyone possesses.

Now it was the portly Qingdao boss’s turn again. He, too, hadn’t looked at his cards.

Would he choose to look now, or keep playing blind?

“Haha! Since Mr. He has such nerve, how could I shrink away? Twenty-five million, I’ll call!” the portly boss roared with laughter, his large hand pushing forward a stack of twenty-five million in chips.

Brother Yun’s eyes widened. The real show was finally beginning; this would be a battle of dragons and tigers.

Cao Xiaobin was already frozen in shock. He’d gambled countless times, but never had a single round’s stakes exceeded ten million. In fact, except for tonight, none of his prior games had ever gone beyond a single million. But now… the pot was already well over a hundred million, approaching two hundred million. The sheer scale of it left Cao Xiaobin trembling all over, equal parts terrified and exhilarated.

Cao Xiaomin held tightly to He Tian’s sleeve. The intensity of the gambling left her extremely tense. She had seen many big scenes in her life; in her current position, she’d dealt with many companies and conglomerates worth tens or even hundreds of billions, but that was business—completely different from gambling. She had never seen a single round where several hundred million was at stake. She didn’t know if she was more scared or excited, but she was definitely nervous. In her heart, she kept asking herself: Will He Tian win? Will He Tian win?

The boss from Rizhao looked grim—it was his turn to act. Should he keep playing, or fold? If he folded, the twenty-five million he’d already committed would be lost for good. Yet with the cards he held, folding would be a real waste.

“Fifty million!” In the end, the Rizhao boss chose to call with the minimum raise. When he pushed forward the fifty million, he had less than thirty million in chips left.

“Brother Yun, give me another hundred million in chips!” The Rizhao boss lifted his glass and downed the remaining wine in one gulp. He was going all in; he couldn’t let such a strong hand go to waste.

“Right away!” Yun snapped his fingers. He knew Rizhao’s boss well: a major private businessman with a net worth exceeding three billion. Yun had no worries about his ability to pay, and besides, he was confident that no one would dare borrow here and then renege.

Within ten seconds, a server laid out a stack of chips worth a hundred million in front of the Rizhao boss, a dazzling sight.

Cao Xiaobin was on the verge of fainting. Only now did he truly grasp the meaning of gambling. Compared to this, he realized his previous games were child’s play.

Cao Xiaomin grew even more nervous. Seeing the Rizhao boss so readily call for another hundred million made her breath quicken, as it did for all the other women present—none of them had ever seen gambling this frenzied. To them, any one of those chips could fund several months or even a year of wild living.

The Yantai boss lit an oversized cigar and took a deep drag. “Here’s eighty million! Brother Yun, bring me another two hundred million in chips!” Blowing a smoke ring, he laughed and said, “My hand is excellent, I’m not giving up! I want to win!”

“Right away!” Yun snapped his fingers again. The casino never lacked chips; the more you wanted, the happier they were. The bigger the game, the better.

Soon, two hundred million in chips was piled in front of the Yantai boss.

Now, the chips were all high-value, each representing ten million, so the stacks didn’t look as imposing as one might imagine.

The Weihai boss picked up his cards again for a careful look. The pot was already up to eighty million—should he call or not? A glance at his cards seemed to fill him with confidence.

“Brother Yun, bring me two hundred million in chips!” With only sixty million in front of him, the Weihai boss’s request was quickly fulfilled by Yun, who smiled as he complied. When the new chips arrived, the Weihai boss calmly tossed in ten chips, “A hundred million! To miss out on such an exciting game would be a lifelong regret!”

“Haha, well said! Missing out on a round like this would be a real shame. I’ll raise fifty million, playing blind!” He Tian laughed heartily and pushed forward fifty million in chips. After that, only a little over two million in chips remained before him.

“Brother Yun, bring me two hundred million as well!” He Tian said cheerily.

“No problem!” Yun snapped his fingers, and soon twenty high-value chips were laid out in front of He Tian.

At this point, Cao Xiaobin was completely numb. His gambler’s heart was being purified, over and over again, by the escalating stakes and tension. The stimulation this scene brought was overwhelming.

Suddenly, Cao Xiaobin felt a sense of revulsion. When money reaches a certain level, numbness gives way to disgust. Perhaps Cao Xiaobin was undergoing a transformation.

Meanwhile, Cao Xiaomin was even more nervous, though she dared not speak to He Tian for fear of distracting him.

Yun was extremely pleased. The total pot had already reached four hundred and forty-two million, and it looked poised to rise even higher. At the casino’s one percent commission, this was already a considerable sum.

The portly boss stared at He Tian; he was determined to match him step for step. If He Tian didn’t look at his cards, neither would he. With a wave of his large hand, he pushed out fifty million in chips.

“No need to match a hundred million if you’re playing blind—fifty million will do!” the portly boss said with a grin. “Brother Yun, bring me two hundred million in chips as well!”

Yun was only too happy to oblige. He knew this boss’s background even better—he was a real heavyweight, with business ties to Yun’s own employer. Officially, his wealth was over ten billion; unofficially, it surpassed thirty billion. He was a true financial titan, though usually low-profile. Now, perhaps spurred on by He Tian, he was showing a rare high-profile side.

Yun could not be happier with this turn of events. The higher the profile, the better.