Chapter 180: Money Game (17)

After He Yu joined the game, Patriarch Shu's luck really did seem to change.

His chips, which had dropped below one hundred million, quickly climbed back above that mark, and his fortune appeared to turn around completely. Patriarch Shu immediately became excited.

In contrast, the pile of chips beside Patriarch Nan gradually shrank.

Patriarch Nan's expression darkened somewhat, but he had no intention of leaving the table. After all, these chips had all been won anyway. Some ups and downs were perfectly normal.

Patriarch Shu had been losing miserably just a while ago, and now he was winning again.

Little Stone subtly glanced at He Yu's fingers before continuing to shuffle the cards with practiced ease.

There were ten players around the table in a semicircle.

He Yu sat in Seat Four.

Shff...

The cards were shuffled and slid toward the ten players one by one.

Third round.

Seat One won fifty million.

Everyone else lost.

Seat Seven followed to the very end and lost thirty million alone.

Fourth round.

Seat Six won eighty million.

Everyone else lost.

Seat One followed until the end and lost forty million.

Fifth round.

Seat Five won ninety million.

Everyone else lost.

Seat Four stayed until the final showdown and lost thirty million.

Sixth round.

Seat Nine won sixty million.

Everyone else lost.

Seat Five followed to the end and lost twenty million.

...

By the eighth round, nearly everyone seemed to have excellent hands.

The chips on the table climbed all the way to one hundred and thirty million.

The rules He Yu had introduced in this world placed no upper limit on betting.

With so many players and so many chips, by the eighth round many people already possessed tens of millions in chips beside them, making it easy to push the pot to one hundred and thirty million.

The final winner was the wealthy tycoon from Gold City.

"Hahaha! Thank you, thank you."

He laughed as he sat up straight.

The relaxed posture he'd maintained while casually sipping wine had completely disappeared.

His full attention was now on the game.

His hand had been the strongest.

He'd also played it perfectly.

One round earned him one hundred and thirty million.

Everyone looked at him with envy and jealousy.

It was an indescribable feeling.

One none of them had ever experienced elsewhere.

Many of the tycoons present felt exactly the same.

Winning filled them with exhilaration.

Their nerves tightened.

Their cerebral cortex surged with excitement.

Losing made it feel as though their hearts stopped beating.

A suffocating sensation swept over them.

Within this emotional cycle of heaven and hell...

They experienced a thrill unlike anything before.

Everyone present was enormously wealthy.

They were accustomed to being flattered.

Servants waited on them.

Anything they desired could be obtained effortlessly.

Over time, their emotions had become increasingly restrained.

Making money still brought pleasure—

but they'd experienced that pleasure countless times already.

Gambling...

The sensation of reaching heaven one instant and falling into hell the next...

...was something entirely new.

Something intoxicating.

Many were already becoming addicted.

"Again!"

"Hahaha! You're all doomed this time! My cards are incredible!"

"Bah! I don't believe a word you're saying! Your hand is definitely garbage. You're bluffing again."

"Old Nan, what's with that sneaky expression? Got a strong hand and trying to trick us into putting in more chips?"

...

Shouts.

Excited laughter.

Mockery.

The luxurious private room echoed with noise.

These untouchable tycoons, who normally stood high above everyone else...

...had completely shed their masks.

Patriarch Shu's face was full of calculation.

Patriarch Nan looked vicious.

The Gold City tycoon was cold and ruthless.

The Qian City magnate...

...

Within this environment...

Everyone tore away their disguises.

The card table became their battlefield.

They fought personally.

They immersed themselves completely.

They forgot everything else.

Watching from the sidelines, Heng Duan was both excited and anxious.

Like the other spectators, he desperately wished he were sitting at that table—

to experience the exhilarating feeling of casually wagering hundreds of millions with a flick of the wrist.

Only one person was different.

The Patriarch of the Bray family.

He was a complete miser.

He viewed the game from an entirely different perspective than everyone else.

Heng Duan wanted to rebuild his fortune.

The other tycoons wanted wealth and excitement.

Only the Patriarch of the Bray family looked at everything—

and everyone—

with the expression:

Are you trying to trick me out of my money?

Ordinarily, [N O V E L I G H T] people called that being a miser.

Or paranoid.

But at this moment...

...that perspective allowed him to notice something everyone else had overlooked.

The game had started with wins and losses worth tens of millions.

Without anyone realizing it...

Each round had climbed to one hundred million.

And obviously...

None of the players thought anything was wrong.

Everyone had wins and losses.

One round might cost tens of millions...

...but another might earn over a hundred million.

The one who had continuously increased the number of chips on the table...

...was He Yu.

The casino owner.

By the Patriarch of the Bray family's extraordinarily sensitive sense for money...

He was certain of one thing.

He Yu had already lost—

six hundred million.

That was six hundred million!

An absolutely staggering amount of wealth.

Those six hundred million had been poured into the games...

Circulating from hand to hand...

Transforming pots worth tens of millions...

...into pots worth hundreds of millions.

Except for Patriarch Shu...

Everyone had exchanged a tremendous number of chips.

Yet at the same time...

Everyone still had enormous piles beside them.

The winners naturally didn't care.

Even the losers didn't seem bothered.

After all...

One winning hand could immediately earn over one hundred million.

The chips themselves weren't the only thing frightening the Patriarch of the Bray family.

There was something even more terrifying.

Everyone...

...was excited.

Completely absorbed.

Entirely consumed by the game.

At times they possessed several hundred million in chips.

Moments later they were reduced to only a few tens of millions.

Yet...

Not a single person wanted to leave.

They all seemed convinced that fluctuations were perfectly normal...

...and that eventually they themselves would win.

Each of them had already experienced winning over one hundred million in a single hand.

They had also experienced gaining several hundred million...

...and losing several hundred million...

...within an astonishingly short time.

The Patriarch of the Bray family's breathing quickened.

Something was terribly wrong.

He turned toward the other spectators.

—The players had gone mad.

What about the people watching?

There were more and more spectators.

Gradually...

Almost every wealthy person on the fourth floor gathered around this room.

It couldn't be helped.

This table was simply too exciting.

Every single round involved over one hundred million.

No one in the other rooms could stay seated any longer.

Looking at them...

He met pair after pair of equally excited eyes.

One Silver City tycoon even asked,

"Can I join? It looks unbelievably exciting."

He was as wealthy as the Gold City magnate.

He had enough status to ask directly.

Though it sounded like a question...

...he clearly intended to take a seat.

The Patriarch of the Bray family fell silent.

He Yu looked over with a smile and shook his head.

"There are already ten players. If we add more, the experience won't be as enjoyable."

The Silver City tycoon's face instantly darkened.

He stared at He Yu coldly.

Before he could lose his temper, He Yu smiled brightly and continued,

"Would Mr. Kuer be willing to wait a little longer?

When someone's funds can no longer hold out...

When someone goes bankrupt...

A seat will naturally open."

His voice was gentle.

His words, however...

...were unbelievably provocative.

Wait until someone went bankrupt?

The Silver City tycoon instantly lost all anger.

Instead, excitement filled his face.

His lips curled upward.

"Then I'll wait and see whether someone goes bankrupt.

And if nobody does?

If nobody wants to leave?"

He Yu's smile remained warm.

"Then I'll give my own seat to Mr. Kuer."

"Excellent!"

The surrounding tycoons became even more excited.

Like wolves, they stared at the players.

They couldn't wait for someone to collapse.

Couldn't wait for someone to go bankrupt.

Couldn't wait to replace them.

Naturally, the players felt the pressure.

Their hearts tightened.

Anxiety and tension rose—

but so did an even greater thrill.

Their eyes turned bloodshot as they stared at their cards.

If someone had to leave...

...it definitely wouldn't be them.

They would force someone else off the table.

They would win every last coin that person possessed.

The Patriarch of the Bray family remained speechless.

—These people had all gone insane.

—The one who went bankrupt could very well be themselves!!

At that instant...

Watching the crowd descend into madness...

He felt icy coldness spread from his feet to the top of his head.

His entire body trembled.

A chill crawled down his spine.

Goosebumps covered his skin.

Too terrifying.

He absolutely must never touch gambling.

—

Before midnight...

He Yu deliberately lost another one billion worth of chips.

Each round now regularly involved one hundred million.

That was a billion!

Little Stone felt his hands trembling.

Had he not desperately controlled himself...

The other tycoons would certainly have noticed something unusual.

He forced himself to regulate his breathing.

He stopped paying attention to whether He Yu was winning or losing.

He simply focused on dealing the cards.

The audience exploded.

【Bullet Screen: "AHHHHH THIS IS SO DAMN EXCITING!!"】

【Bullet Screen: "Damn! Even my heart's racing! I actually want to replace He Yu at the table!"】

【Bullet Screen: "One billion! That's one billion! That amount alone could barely make it onto the wealth rankings!"】

【Bullet Screen: "He Yu is unbelievably calm. He loses one billion and doesn't even blink. He's steady from beginning to end. If it were me, I'd already be terrified to death."】

Terrified?

What exactly did He Yu have to fear?

He'd lost one billion in chips—

not one billion in actual money.

What was there to worry about?

Besides...

Everything was progressing exactly according to plan.

These people were now completely addicted to the Game of Money.

They had fully accepted one hundred million changing hands in a single round.

He Yu casually tugged at the collar of his sweater.

His delicate collarbone flashed briefly into view.

His Adam's apple moved.

He looked extraordinarily captivating.

Yet no one present noticed.

Every gaze remained fixed upon the cards.

Every thought was imprisoned by the gambling table.

After midnight...

Instead of becoming sleepy...

Everyone grew even more excited.

"Damn it! Your hand was actually better than mine! Just a tiny bit!"

"Haha! My luck is incredible."

"My friend, you're almost out of chips. Are you leaving your seat?"

"No. Exchange another ten million...

No.

Make it fifty million!"

"Are you still calling? You're out of chips."

"Why wouldn't I? This hand is guaranteed to win! Exchange another hundred million in chips for me. Come on! Keep playing against me! Hahaha!"

...

Everyone had completely lost their minds.

Ten dealers stood nearby exchanging chips.

Some people won enormous fortunes.

Others lost unimaginable sums.

The biggest winner already had two billion in chips stacked beside him.

The biggest loser had originally been He Yu.

Later...

His luck appeared to improve.

At three in the morning...

The atmosphere reached its climax.

Three a.m.

Patriarch Shu...

...went bankrupt.

Boom.

The entire fourth floor erupted.

Someone had actually gone bankrupt!

Patriarch Shu sat there blankly.

He couldn't understand.

How had he gone bankrupt?

How had he lost the entire Shu family fortune?

For a moment...

He was utterly bewildered.

Utterly lost.

It felt as though he'd forgotten who he even was.

Fragments replayed in his mind.

At first, he'd gambled with Heng Duan and the others.

He'd lost over one hundred million.

Those had been the chips He Yu had given him.

Feeling anxious, he'd dragged He Yu into the game.

There were ten players.

When He Yu first joined...

His luck turned around.

He won quite a bit.

Then...

He lost everything.

Just a little more!

Only a tiny bit more!

At that point...

Winning and losing two hundred million had already become perfectly normal.

So he'd exchanged another hundred million in chips.

—Those chips had originally been won from He Yu.

Patriarch Shu had believed he would certainly win.

Even if he lost...

It was still He Yu's money.

Money he'd won.

It didn't matter.

Besides...

He'd been the very first person to encounter gambling.

He had even practiced gambling techniques.

So he returned to the table with another hundred million.

And lost every last chip...

...in a single hand.

Patriarch Nan!

The two of them had battled until the very end.

Neither would yield.

His own hand had been excellent.

Yet Patriarch Nan had unbelievably drawn the best possible cards.

Patriarch Shu's eyes split with fury.

He'd lost one hundred million in a single round?

How could that be?

The waiting tycoons asked whether he wanted to leave.

They were full of ridicule.

He remained seated.

He refused to leave.

He had already lost three hundred million.

How could he possibly walk away?

Besides...

Losses of that size had become normal.

If he stayed...

He could still recover.

If he left...

Then he'd truly lost.

So he exchanged another fifty million in chips.

He Yu also "repaid" him—

settling the payment for the forging materials entirely in chips.

Patriarch Shu once again possessed a considerable amount of money.

He thought—

I'll recover my three hundred million, then I'll leave.

This time...

He actually made an incredible comeback.

By one in the morning...

He'd won seven hundred million.

Patriarch Nan had already exhausted all his chips.

Seeing Patriarch Shu win seven hundred million made his eyes turn red.

He immediately exchanged another hundred million in chips and returned.

Patriarch Shu didn't leave either.

He wanted to reach one billion before quitting.

With one billion...

The Shu family would become the Number One family in City A.

Unfortunately...

He began losing continuously.

Not every hand—

there were wins mixed in—

but the losses far outweighed the victories.

Before long...

The seven hundred million disappeared.

By then...

He had completely gone mad.

—I have to recover.

I have to recover!

Exchange chips.

Lose them all.

Exchange more.

Lose again.

When every bit of the Shu family's available cash had been exhausted...

The Shu family's heir contacted him.

"What happened?

Should we leave early?"

Even He Yu advised him to stop.

Leave?

No.

Absolutely not.

The moment he walked away...

He would become a laughingstock.

The Shu family would lose its position as the third great family.

The Bray family and the Nan family could crush them effortlessly.

So...

He began mortgaging assets to the casino.

Once that first step was taken...

There was no turning back.

By three in the morning...

He had even mortgaged the hotel where He Yu was staying.

Only the Shu family mansion remained.

That was his final hope.

His final life-saving straw.

He Yu refused.

Shaking his head, concern filled his eyes.

"Our casino has rules.

A person's final residence cannot be mortgaged."

He sighed.

Adjusting his glasses gently, he spoke with sincere sympathy.

"Patriarch Shu...

The Shu family mansion is extremely valuable.

Keep that one property.

Perhaps one day it can become the foundation of your comeback.

Your luck simply wasn't with you tonight.

You should have stopped long ago."

Although He Yu had gradually recovered the billion in chips he'd intentionally lost...

He had only earned several tens of millions overall.

At a table like this...

It was practically equivalent to winning nothing.

Patriarch Shu stood frozen.

Only then did he finally seem to understand what had happened.

Every hair on his body stood upright.

His blood froze.

Cold spread through every inch of him.

"No...

I can't leave like this...

I have to—"

He refused to go.

But the Silver City tycoon, who had been waiting impatiently, simply ordered his bodyguards to drag him away.

Patriarch Shu was poor now.

Poor people had no status.

No one respected them.

He struggled.

He screamed.

He was dragged away anyway.

The Silver City tycoon eagerly took his seat.

Patriarch Shu's bankruptcy also jolted another tycoon awake.

The wealthy man who had entered alongside Patriarch Shu and Patriarch Nan had likewise exhausted all his cash.

He had even mortgaged one of his properties moments earlier.

He slapped himself across the face and forced himself to stand.

"I'll stop too.

My luck isn't good tonight.

I'll come back tomorrow when it's better."

With great difficulty...

He left his chair.

With equal difficulty...

He walked to the spectator area.

Heng Duan had been waiting impatiently for exactly this opportunity.

The moment the seat became vacant...

He rushed over and occupied it.

Several slower tycoons immediately glared at him darkly.

Heng Duan simply lifted his chin and pretended not to notice.

—I have to rebuild my fortune.

I absolutely cannot miss this chance.

With Heng Duan seated...

The others had no choice but to continue watching.

The game resumed.

The Patriarch of the Bray family looked toward the wealthy man who had just stepped away.

This man had once possessed greater wealth than the Bray family.

Now...

They were almost equals.

The Patriarch of the Bray family asked,

"How do you feel?"

The tycoon glared at him.

"Obviously I'm unhappy.

I lost far too much tonight.

Just wait.

Tomorrow.

The day after.

Whenever my luck changes...

I'll win it all back."

The Patriarch of the Bray family's pupils shook violently.

"You still plan to gamble?"

The man answered as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Why wouldn't I?

I've already lost this much.

If I don't keep gambling...

Then I've simply lost it for nothing.

No.

I can't lose that much money."

The Patriarch of the Bray family asked,

"Didn't you just see Patriarch Shu go bankrupt?"

"So what?

That was him.

Not me."

The tycoon didn't care in the slightest.

Instead, he looked enviously toward another player.

"I'm so jealous of that guy.

Hasn't he already won over four billion?

His luck is unbelievable."

The Patriarch of the Bray family said nothing.

He inhaled sharply.

Then he stood up...

Staggering toward the exit like someone fleeing for his life.

—Too terrifying.

—This place was too terrifying.

He didn't want to gamble.

He didn't even want to remain here.

How could he guarantee he would never lose his money?

There was only one answer.

Never come to a casino.

Never gamble even a single coin.

The Patriarch of the Bray family left with a deathly pale face.

He Yu watched his departing figure.

The corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

Very soon...

The three young masters of the Bray family, who were gambling downstairs on the second floor, received a message.

【The Patriarch of the Bray family has already left. He probably won't return again. You can safely enjoy the casino from now on. There aren't any seats available tonight, but you're welcome to come upstairs and watch how everyone plays.】

The three brothers immediately beamed with delight.

They happily followed the attendants upstairs to the fourth floor.

—

At six in the morning...

Another tycoon went bankrupt.

At eight...

He Yu finally stood.

His voice was slightly hoarse.

"We've played through the entire night.

If anyone wishes to continue, you're welcome to reserve another private room.

I still have casino business to attend to.

I hope everyone understands."

As the casino owner—

and, in many people's eyes, someone of extraordinary background—

once He Yu declared the session over...

Most people stopped as well.

Even those who wanted more.

Even those desperate to recover their losses.

They could always reserve another room.

The casino wasn't going anywhere.

There would always be another chance.

Besides...

They were all major tycoons.

They had businesses waiting for them.

They had already spent an entire night here.

Soon...

People began settling the results of the night's gambling with the dealers.

Once everything was calculated...

Some rejoiced.

Others' faces instantly darkened.

Patriarch Shu and one other wealthy man had gone bankrupt.

Together...

They lost seven billion.

The tycoon already sitting in the spectator area had lost over one billion.

The Gold City magnate had believed he'd made money.

After all...

He still had a considerable pile of chips.

Yet after the dealers counted everything...

Those chips were worth far less than what he'd exchanged.

He had lost five hundred million in one night.

Even a super-rich man cared about losing five hundred million.

His face immediately turned black.

Mr. Kuer, who had joined later, also lost seven hundred million.

At one point he'd actually been ahead by over a billion.

Then his luck collapsed completely.

He Yu had suggested stopping.

He hadn't objected.

His luck truly had become terrible.

Patriarch Nan had also suffered badly.

The Nan family possessed total assets of three billion.

He alone had lost one billion.

And then...

...

Altogether...

More than ten billion had changed hands.

So...

Who had won?

Several tycoons each earned over one hundred million.

He Yu earned a little over nine hundred million.

It was by no means a small amount.

Yet...

Hardly anyone paid attention to him.

Instead...

Everyone stared at two other people.

One was a Qian City tycoon with assets worth several tens of billions—

ranked above Cheng Zhao on the wealth leaderboard.

He won three billion.

The other...

...was Heng Duan.

He won five and a half billion.

Heng Duan's entire body trembled.

Everyone else's eyes turned red as they looked at him.

Why wasn't their luck that good?!

Now rich once more...

Heng Duan had regained his status.

He clasped his hands together and smiled like a laughing Buddha.

"Pure luck.

Just pure luck.

I only joined after midnight...

Who would've thought I'd win this much?

Hahaha."

Everyone fell silent.

—He was absolutely showing off!!

Even the Gold City magnate couldn't stand him anymore.

Snorting coldly, he said,

"We're continuing tonight.

Let's see whether your luck's still this good."

Heng Duan wished for nothing more.

His assets still couldn't compare with the Gold City magnate's, so he smiled respectfully.

"Of course we'll continue.

Same place tonight.

See you then."

He had found the fastest way to rebuild his fortune.

How could he possibly stop?

Five and a half billion was a tremendous sum...

Yet still less than his former wealth.

He wanted to climb back into the Top Ten of the wealth rankings.

His thoughts drifted toward the Casino Stories hanging in the corridor.

Two words had been written there.

"Gambling God."

He wanted to become the Gambling God.

He wanted to use gambling to reclaim everything he had lost.

The Gold City magnate snorted and strode away.

He Yu personally escorted every guest out.

Most of the tycoons asked,

"Do we still need invitations to enter the fourth floor tonight?"

He Yu shook his head with a gentle smile.

"No.

All of you are VV guests.

You're welcome on the fourth floor at any time."

As Patriarch Nan prepared to leave, he frowned deeply.

"I lost one billion last night.

One-third of the Nan family's fortune..."

He Yu sighed.

"Your luck was excellent at the beginning.

It simply turned against you later."

He paused before leaning closer and lowering his voice.

"Gambling is something that depends greatly on luck.

Sometimes your luck is good early on but bad later.

If you stop while you're ahead...

You'll leave with profits.

Sometimes your luck is terrible at first, but if you endure, you might stage an incredible comeback.

That's what a casino is.

Anything is possible."

Patriarch Nan's eyes flickered.

Then they filled with regret.

At the beginning...

He truly had won a tremendous amount.

It was simply his own greed.

He hadn't stopped in time.

Next time...

If he won...

He would leave immediately.

If he lost...

He would cut his losses quickly.

After lamenting Patriarch Shu's terrible luck together with He Yu...

Patriarch Nan finally strode away.

Judging by the direction...

He was clearly going to mock the ruined Patriarch Shu.

Before Heng Duan left, he also sought out He Yu.

He tightly gripped He Yu's hand.

"He Shao...

You have to save me a seat tonight.

I want to start early."

He Yu smiled and nodded.

"Of course."

The moment Heng Duan left...

His expression instantly turned cold.

He slowly withdrew a handkerchief and meticulously wiped his fingers.

One by one.

Every movement elegant.

Every motion refined.

Yet...

His eyes remained utterly emotionless.

Little Stone lowered his voice.

"Why didn't you win more?"

The corners of He Yu's lips curved slightly.

His glasses rested upon the bridge of his nose, unable to conceal those utterly indifferent eyes.

His voice remained calm.

"Do you know what gradual progress means?

The Game of Money...

Even harvesting requires strategy."

Little Stone blinked in confusion.

—

After seeing all the tycoons off...

The news promotions He Yu had purchased flooded all of Money Planet once again.

This time...

The entire planet exploded.

Headline after headline set people's hearts on fire.

"Casino Opening Night Sees Over Ten Billion Wagered!"

"Shocking! One Tycoon Earns 5.5 Billion in a Single Night!"

"Countless Lucky Winners on the First Floor Earn Over 100,000! Winners on the Second Floor Break One Million! Third Floor Winners Take Home Nearly One Hundred Million!"

"Breaking News! Two Wealthy Tycoons Go Bankrupt!"

"One Tycoon's servant entered the casino with only one thousand chips while their master went upstairs for high-stakes gambling. By morning, the master had gone bankrupt, while the servant won five hundred thousand, bought their freedom, and walked away from their former master..."

"The Truth Behind the Tycoon Who Won 5.5 Billion Overnight! It Turns Out to Be Heng Duan, Who Had Already Gone Bankrupt! Heng Duan had become a homeless pauper, but an invitation written before his bankruptcy completely changed his fate. Holding that invitation..."

...