Chapter 828: Xiang Sheng Casino
The two of them soon arrived at the casino by elevator.
The cruise ship casino was located on the main central deck. Its overall aesthetic was a luxurious, bright gold, retro style. Honestly, though, perhaps because this style eventually became so popular and widely imitated by many high-end bathhouses, an unknowing passerby might not even realize it was a casino at first glance, mistaking it for one of the other entertainment clubs on the ship.
The lighting at the casino entrance was particularly striking. With crystal chandeliers hanging low and the ceiling and floor adorned with luxurious decorative patterns and crystal pillars, the area became a golden spectacle under the lights. The shimmering patterns all around made it impossible for passersby to look away.
As a result, many passersby would accidentally wander inside.
It wasn't until they walked into the main hall and saw the neatly arranged baccarat tables, roulette wheels, slot machines, and other gambling equipment that they would suddenly realize they had accidentally stumbled into a casino.
Furthermore, the foot traffic here was immense. It was packed with people, and almost every tourist on the ship would come by to take a look.
Some were driven by curiosity, some were just degenerate gamblers, and others simply figured that since they were already there, they might as well give it a try.
It could be said that this design was quite effective.
However, Dong Huai was not in the mood to admire the decor. Bao Wenqi, being quite familiar with the Xiangsheng Cruise Ship—a property of his own family—showed no signs of being a novice at a casino. He led Dong Huai directly to the exchange counter and swapped for two chip cases, one for each of them.
The casino's chip cases were understated, black, leather-textured boxes. They felt slightly heavy to carry but not overly burdensome. Yet, one shouldn't underestimate these cases; based on the exchange standards of the luxury casino on the cruise ship, each case held 2 million HKD worth of chips. Since Bao Wenqi had exchanged one for himself and one for Dong Huai, that totaled 4 million HKD.
For them, such an expenditure was merely a preliminary test of the waters—just to see how their luck was holding up today.
For Dong Huai and Bao Wenqi, this amount of cash flow was just the beginning of the revelry.
"Shall we head straight upstairs, or play down here for a while?" Bao Wenqi asked.
The casino here was vast, featuring both high-stakes sessions and the recreational sessions currently in the main hall. With such large amounts of chips, only those in the high-stakes sessions were worthy of playing at the same table as them.
Otherwise, with such huge stakes, few people downstairs would dare to gamble against them.
However, Dong Huai uncharacteristically refused: "No, there are a lot of people in the casino today. Don't you think that's interesting?"
As mentioned before, most of the people who were able to get on this ship were quite wealthy, though some were just here to test the waters and didn't intend to stay long.
Therefore, there were still plenty of gamblers in the casino's first-floor hall who could play a few rounds with them.
Dong Huai was quite interested, and his malicious instincts flared up; he wanted to mess with the novices.
It would be best to pick out a few guys who could be easily lured into addiction, had a little bit of money, but lacked any real power.
Dong Huai loved nothing more than watching others lose everything and have their families destroyed because of it.
If he could make someone go bankrupt in public, then have them kneel on the ground, wailing and hugging his thighs to beg for repayment, that would be even better.
"Hahaha, you rascal!" Bao Wenqi, true to being a kindred spirit, immediately understood his idea as soon as he heard Dong Huai say this.
And he became equally eager to give it a try.
After all, the casino was backed by his Bao Family! With just a subtle hint or two, wouldn't the outcome of the gambling matches be entirely under their control?
Don't believe for a second that casinos have any bottom line of fairness or justice. Now, with the development of high technology, many things have long been integrated into the casino's equipment. Whether one wins or loses is actually just a result manipulated from within.
This situation was most obvious in the lower-level casino. After all, the foot traffic was high, there were many newbies, and it was easy to manipulate people. Most gamblers simply didn't have the discernment to tell, while truly knowledgeable and capable gamblers would naturally go to the upper levels to gamble instead of staying downstairs.
This situation was less common on the upper levels; they wouldn't use too much 'black technology' there.
After all, the upper levels involved high-stakes games, so a certain level of fairness had to be maintained. Otherwise, it would easily ruin the casino's reputation and cost them those truly capable and addicted gamblers. Furthermore, most of these people had some background; once they found out that even the upper levels were rigged, they would naturally associate such dishonesty with the family behind the casino, triggering a crisis of family reputation.
As for the small fries downstairs, nobody cared about them.
Bao Wenqi and Dong Huai had done similar things before.
"That really is a good idea. Remember that small business owner we found last time? I heard that ever since he started gambling, he even abandoned his wife and children—tsk tsk, he's living such a miserable life now that he doesn't even have the qualifications to get on the ship. A while ago, he even forced his own daughter to come to us."
Bao Wenqi scoffed, unable to stop himself from sharing their previous 'achievements.'
"Ah, I know. He was the one who snitched, which got me grounded by my mom for a long time, and I couldn't go out to have fun."
Dong Huai couldn't help but pout at the memory of that incident, looking very annoyed.
"It's fine, didn't you manage to get out this time? Come on, let's go look for our next target!"
The two of them immediately agreed and entered the lower-level hall to silently start their search.
...
"Huh? Brother Xiao?" Xin Yiran looked in a certain direction, tilting her head in confusion.
However, that figure was quite far away from them. The person didn't hear Xin Yiran's words and had already walked straight into the exquisitely decorated shop entrance.
"What's wrong?" someone behind her asked, puzzled. "I thought I heard you calling for Brother Xiao."
"I think I saw Brother Xiao go into the club across the way," Xin Yiran couldn't help but explain to those beside her.
If Xiao He were here, he would realize that the people gathered here were none other than the guests from Travelogue of Mountains and Rivers who had just parted ways not long ago.
And he probably wouldn't have expected that even though he had tried to make himself less conspicuous in the crowd, this kind of 'bug' seemed to appear every time he encountered his fans—like right now, when his back was inadvertently recognized by his fan girl.
"Huh? Was Brother Xiao here just now?" Liang Cheng asked, surprised.
The people here were basically all young people: Xin Yiran, Wu Chuyi, Liang Cheng, and two young actors who had come as guest stars this time.
Originally, they had heard that there was a Feng Shui master on the ship who served the Bao Family and was rumored to be exceptionally effective. This time, the master had specifically opened a Feng Shui shop on the ship, so they wanted to join in the excitement and ask for a good-luck charm.
But good grief, by the time their group had decided to go check out the Feng Shui shop first and then go eat, they discovered that there was a line, and the place was packed!
Moreover, the queue wasn't for the chance to meet the master inside and have him read their fortunes, but merely for the right to enter the Feng Shui shop to buy things.
As for seeing the master in person? That was basically impossible. According to the shop assistant, the spots were long since fully booked, and they probably wouldn't even catch a glimpse of him until they got off the ship.
The only comforting thing was that the line to enter the shop was quite relaxed. Many big shots were just queuing to see the master, not to buy things in the shop, so the line moved very quickly. Their group each got a number, and after asking the assistant, they found it would only be about half an hour or so.
But in that half-hour, if everyone went straight upstairs for a big meal, it likely wouldn't be enough time. And since this queue was time-sensitive—if they missed their turn, they would have to queue again—the older guests lost interest and simply went upstairs to eat. However, the younger ones, who still had some energy and curiosity, discussed it and decided to stay and wait for their numbers to be called.
As it turned out, just as they finished discussing, Xin Yiran turned her head and saw Xiao He passing by on the other side.
This eagle-eyed ability to easily spot her idol was truly outrageous.