Nan Yue, with the maid, and two female bodyguards, entered the ninth casino.
She had thought it would be some dark smoky place, but upon entering found that it was more like a social scene for high society.
The people inside were dressed in custom tailored suits and gowns, looking as if they had come for a ball rather than to gamble.
This put Nan Yue much more at ease, as she was familiar with such settings.
Today she wore a moonlight dress, paired with high heels encrusted with 108 Swarovski crystals.
Her hair was piled high, revealing her slender neck, making the cat's eye gem lying on her collarbone particularly eye-catching.
Her every step seemed to give off radiance, attracting attention.
And so, the moment she set foot in the ninth casino, all eyes turned to look at her.
Xu Yiyang was the first to notice her arrival.
The gazes of everyone in the casino made him feel honored,
but at the same time he loathed those unabashed covetous looks directed at Nan Yue.
Xu Yiyang's gaze towards Nan Yue grew increasingly ardent, flashing with highly aggressive desire.
He muttered under his breath: "Nan Yue, you are mine!"
Just as Nan Yue wanted to look for where Xu Yiyang was, to discuss the terms of their wager, she saw him approach on his own.
"Nan Yue, you came," Xu Yiyang said as he arrived at Nan Yue's side. "Let's go sit at the bar."
"Okay," Nan Yue replied.
The ninth casino was the largest of all the casinos, able to hold a thousand people at once.
It had all kinds of gambling, a bar, a small music hall, reception rooms, lounges, and more.
With gold as the main decorative tone, it fully embodied the decadent splendor.
As Nan Yue walked through it, she could occasionally spot people she had seen before at Nan Chengxi's dinner parties.
The two arrived at the bar and sat down separately.
"Bartender, two shots of tequila," Xu Yiyang said.
Two minutes later, the drinks were brought over.
Xu Yiyang slid one glass in front of Nan Yue, smiling as he said, "Let's drink as we chat."
"I don't drink," Nan Yue said. "Let's talk about the bet - what are the rules?"
Xu Yiyang's smile became a little stiff. He picked up a shot of tequila and downed it in one gulp, saying, "I've prepared 100 million in chips - 50 million for each of us. We'll gamble with that money and see who has won the most by midnight - that person wins."
Xu Yiyang was a regular at the casino and had decent skills, so he was confident this bet was in the bag!
Nan Yue expressed her agreement, and asked, "If we both lose it all, do we just see who has more money left?"
Xu Yiyang nodded. "Yes, if the amount won or lost is the same, it's a draw and the bet is void. Though the chances of that happening are slim."
Xu Yiyang called over an assistant to bring Nan Yue the Gucci bag containing his chips.
Nan Yue accepted it, saying "Thank you, I'll pay you back for this 50 million later."
Xu Yiyang immediately responded, "No need to pay it back."
Nan Yue neither agreed nor disagreed, and got up to leave, but her hand was grabbed by Xu Yiyang!
He gazed at her ardently and said, "You're so beautiful."
Nan Yue swiftly pulled her hand back, and gave his hand a sharp twist in passing!
Xu Yiyang yelped in pain, "Nan Yue, you..."
"Xu Yiyang, have some self-respect," Nan Yue spat out before leaving the bar with her bodyguards.
Qin Zhao got off the train at the fifth carriage, then took the sightseeing vehicle. On the car, she finished counting the chips in her hand.
The 160,000 she had won at the first casino, plus the 270,000 from Li Kun's group of three, totaled 430,000.
Already meeting the threshold to enter the ninth casino.
When they passed the sixth carriage, Qin Zhao had the driver stop.
She got out and observed the entrance for a while, but didn't see Zhao Zhongyi.
She then checked each of the seventh and eighth carriages, but he wasn't there either.
So Zhao Zhongyi must be in the ninth carriage!
Having confirmed this, Qin Zhao headed straight for her destination.
When she arrived at the entrance to the ninth casino, she was nearly blinded by the golden light inside, and had to half shield her eyes with her hand.
This upstart's aesthetic made Qin Zhao unable to help frowning.
She thought to herself, if she ever met the casino owner, she would definitely advise him to use less gold plating - it wasn't good for the eyes.
Upon entering the casino, she suddenly heard a bellow: "Thief! Don't run!"
A man and woman, one after the other, burst out from the crowd!
Qin Zhao moved to the side, wanting to get out of their way to let them chase freely, but found that the young girl who had been called a thief was running straight for her!
The girl quickly ducked behind Qin Zhao, pleading urgently: "Sister, save me! I didn't steal anything, he's falsely accusing me!"
The brawny man rushed up to Qin Zhao and shouted, "Move aside! This is none of your business!"
The commotion had attracted too much attention for anyone to ignore it.
The three had become the center of everyone's gaze.
Qin Zhao had no intention of meddling in other's affairs, but being yelled at for no reason instantly irritated her!
She fearlessly met the brawny man's glare and retorted, "What if I don't move?"
The man didn't bother with words, just swung his huge fist at Qin Zhao!
Anticipating the bloody scene about to unfold,
some in the crowd screamed, while others shut their eyes!
Most watched with schadenfreude, eyes glued to the scene.
But what happened next was beyond everyone's expectations!
The man's fist stopped half a centimeter from Qin Zhao's face, unable to move forward at all!
And Qin Zhao's seemingly delicate hand had grabbed hold of the man's arm.
For a moment, the scene was deathly silent.
The brawny man couldn't believe he was being restrained by a woman. He exerted all his strength trying to smash his fist into Qin Zhao's face.
But his face turned bright red, to no avail.
Then came a crisp cracking sound!
The sound of the bone breaking wasn't loud, but it seemed to pierce his eardrums. He stared wide-eyed in disbelief!
"You, you..."
"Enough with the you you you," Qin Zhao said evenly. "I'll count to three then let go of your arm. If you still want to get violent after that, next time won't be as simple as a broken arm."
Fear flashed through the man's eyes.
"3, 2, 1," Qin Zhao counted down before releasing him. Then she asked, "What exactly did this young girl behind me steal from you?"
Enduring the pain, the man responded, "A chip worth 500,000."
Qin Zhao's hand flashed swiftly over the man's pockets before flipping over, revealing a bright yellow chip in her palm. "Was it this one?"
The man nodded reflexively.
Qin Zhao stuffed the chip into his uninjured hand and said, "Hurry to the hospital. Set that arm now and it'll heal in three months. Leave it too long and it'll be permanent damage."
Perhaps intimidated by Qin Zhao's freakish strength, the man didn't say anything more and simply left on his own.
Qin Zhao deliberately ignored the girl behind her and walked away. In a casino full of mixed company, who knew if this seemingly unremarkable girl was some tycoon's daughter - Qin Zhao had no desire to provoke irrelevant people.
But she had barely taken a few steps when she heard an exclamation behind her, followed by the sound of tearing fabric at her waist - her lower half was suddenly exposed to the air!
Seeing this, the crowd of onlookers gasped in unison!
Qin Zhao looked down to find that her lace long-sleeved little black dress was now only half intact!
