Becoming the Richest Man Alive

Chapter 267

“I’m impressed by your ability indeed. Tell me. How many gambling resorts have you messed with using your trick?” Casper questioned.

“Three. Most of them are small ones like this. I would first win their money to the point they became anxious. Then, I only had to flash this grenade in front of everyone, and they would all fall to the ground no matter how many of them came for me.”

Eugene lit up another stick of cigarette and continued, “Normally, I would have to switch to a different city after finishing my deed. Otherwise, I would be targeted by the local mafia. I could never have imagined encountering someone like you. Now, tell me how you saw through my trick.”

Casper raised a finger and explained, “First of all, I have touched countless of such grenades before. I can tell with just a look if a grenade has been tampered with. Furthermore, when I snatched it from you, I realized the weight was not right.”

Eugene narrowed his eyes. “Well, I did empty the grenade of its explosives. However, I filled it up with sand afterward. How much different could the weight be?”

Casper shook his head and said, “As a veteran, I can detect even a difference of one gram. That is why I was so certain that the grenade was not filled with explosives.”

Raising a second finger, he added, “Secondly, while I must say that I nearly fell for your great acting and doubted my hand, your long speech about those gamblers gave you away. It was apparent that you understood gamblers very well, and who would understand them the best? Naturally, you must also be a gambler. Your words just now were not merely targeting them but also yourself. Without the disguise of your trickeries, you are just a complete gambling addict! You are actually the one who always wants to win. Therefore, you will not reject any opportunity to gamble. It’s only when I thought about this did I dare to pull the trigger.”

Eugene sucked deeply on his cigarette. “What you said is correct. I lost one of my legs and three fingers to my disciple. For that, I must win it back. That is unless I die on this gambling table.”

Casper turned to look at Timothy and asked, “Do you know how many underground gambling resorts there are in Horington?”

Timothy immediately nodded his head. He now fully grasped how ruthless Casper could be even though he looked young. Timothy’s legs had turned to jelly when the latter placed a bet on the grenade just now.

“Write them down and pass them to me. Indicate the gang in charge after the name of each underground gambling resort.”

Timothy found a pen and a piece of paper. In about two minutes, he wrote down more than ten locations.

Casper took over the piece of paper to have a look before instructing Timothy, “If you know anyone operating a gambling resort, advise him to stop doing that. Otherwise, when I turn up at his place, things will turn ugly.”

Timothy noticed the coldness in Casper’s eyes and trembled. He repeatedly uttered, “Yes, yes. Sure thing.”

Eugene challenged, “What a big appetite. Are you trying to take over all the underground gambling resorts in Horington?”

Casper stuffed the piece of paper into his pocket and proclaimed, “My dream is bigger than you can imagine! I want not only all the money from these gambling resorts but also the powers of those mafias in charge of those places.”

Eugene chuckled. “Madman.”

“Are you scared, King of Cheats?”

“Scared? Me? I’m just worried that you aren’t greedy enough. How could one be successful without being sufficiently greedy?”

Amidst the exchange and laughter, the two of them revealed their wild, ambitious hearts. Stallion, who was standing aside, could not help but shiver.

Casper was very satisfied. Getting a King of Cheats as his follower was an unexpected additional gain for him that day.

“Pack up and leave. If this place is rented, just return it. If it’s bought, sell it,” Casper instructed Timothy before returning the two hundred thousand he obtained from the gambling resort. He then gave the latter an additional three hundred thousand in cash.

“Thank you very much, Boss! Thank you!” Timothy was ecstatic. He found Casper very generous and way more liberal than Dragon and Tiger Gang in the past.

Casper was about to leave when he saw a person squatting at the entrance. Eugene cast a glance and remarked, “That’s just a useless wimp. He was probably scared out of his wits when you placed a bet on the grenade. People like him who are addicted to gambling yet have no guts are absolute failures.”

Stallion quickly called for someone to chase that man away. However, Casper unintentionally saw the latter’s face and abruptly ordered the men of Firewolf Chamber of Commerce to stop. “Wait.”

He walked up to the front of the gambler and thought that he looked very familiar, as though he had seen him somewhere before.

That man was over forty years old. Time had worn out his face, but on closer look, one could tell that he was undoubtedly a very handsome man when he was much younger. Moreover, a trace of a studious vibe remained on him despite all this time. It was unclear how he ended up in his current state.

“Do you know him, Boss?” Stallion asked.

Casper shook his head. “I don’t, but I feel like he looks very familiar.” He waved to Timothy and asked, “Do you know this guy?” Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

Meanwhile, Stallion lost his temper and straight-up punched the man. “What’s your name? Hurry up and tell us!”

His tactic worked. Immediately, the man stuttered in pain, “M-My name is Terrence Clauder. Don’t beat me up. I will return the money!”

Casper shoved Stallion aside. “Don’t just beat people up wherever you go. Do you think you can beat anyone with your small size?”

Timothy took a look at Terrence and thought for a while before replying, “This guy came to this gambling resort a few times. He has lost around a few hundred thousand. He used his ID card, among other things, as a deposit.”

He then went to retrieve Terrence’s ID card. Casper studied the photo on the card and saw that Terrence was not this skinny and sloppy previously. Anyone who saw him would have found him a dashing young man.

“He lost hundred over thousand? Did you guys lend him money?” Eugene’s cigarette was burned out again, so someone by his side simply passed him a box of cigarettes.

“He borrowed ten thousand with an interest rate of three percent. He claimed that he was a professor, and his daughter was a university lecturer. After he deposited his ID card, we lent him money. Every time he came, he would lose. Sometimes, he would bring money here, while other times he would borrow more money.”

Casper frowned as he stared at the photo on the ID card. Suddenly, he thought of a possibility.

“You said your daughter is a university lecturer. Is her name… Giselle?”

Terrence became flustered. Seeing that, Casper was pretty confident that he had guessed correctly and felt awkward to be meeting Giselle’s father, or his future father-in-law, in such a manner and setting. It suddenly dawned on him why someone had been asking Giselle for money, and it was none other than her father being in a lot of debt.

“Well, let’s talk outside.” Casper pulled Terrence along and got out of the gambling resort.

Muddleheaded, Terrence could not stop mumbling, “I will return the money soon. Please don’t beat me up!”

Eugene started complaining again, “Don’t ever believe such words. These are the most empty and baseless words. Clearing debts is never something that can be done by just saying without doing anything concrete. It’s a miracle that he has not been beaten to death at this stage.”

Casper thought to himself, He is going to be my father-in-law. Why can’t you show him some mercy in your words?

They got out of the confusing alley. Casper helped Terrence get into the car before asking Stallion to bring Eugene back to the headquarters of Firewolf Chamber of Commerce.

“Eugene will play a very important role in the next part of my plan. Once you get back, please take good care of him. Got it?” Casper commanded Stallion before going back to Terrence.

“Mr. Clauder, I’m… a friend of Giselle. Let me bring you home.”

Casper decided to put on his best behavior in front of Giselle’s father nonetheless. He presumed that Terrence’s debt would amount to no more than a few million. In that case, he should be able to resolve it on his own, just like how he did for Wayne.

No wonder I felt that Giselle was hiding something from me at times. It turns out it’s regarding her father’s gambling addiction. She must be afraid to drag me into this… How silly of her.

Terrence seemed like he had lost his mind from gambling and kept mumbling about how he would clear his debt and win. Seeing that, Casper could not help but worry that Terrence would never be able to quit his bad gambling habits, as Eugene had said.

“Mr. Clauder, I really am Giselle’s friend. I am rich, so you don’t have to worry about all your debts. I will clear them for you.”

Casper’s words made Terrence regain some of his senses. Hesitating with doubt, he looked at Casper and asked, “You can help me clear my debts?”

Casper nodded. “No problem. I can still afford a few million.”

Terrence’s eyes dimmed. “But… I owe several dozen million…”

Casper frowned. He could not believe that Terrence had more than ten million worth of debt. That would be pretty troublesome indeed.

“How did you land yourself a debt of several dozen million? Did those people allow you to continue gambling even when you were in debt?” Casper asked.

Terrence nodded his head. Sensing something was amiss, Casper pressed on. “How much did you bet usually?”

“It depends. It could be a hundred thousand, ten thousand, or one thousand. It all accumulated to become several dozen million.”