Novel Full Chapter 149 - Hit Me!
Eastern Allure Hotel.
On the rooftop of the 50-floor skyscraper, adjacent to Eastern Allure Casino, several men in black waited for the black powered-lift aircraft to land on the big helipad in front of them.
Thud!
The black powered-lift aircraft landed with a heavy thud before its two large propellers slowly stopped rotating.
Shortly after, the back ramp opened with a drop before a group of men in black armor began moving out large cargo crates.
"Careful with the precious merchandise! Even if I work you all like pigs for thirty years, none of you will be able to pay off," A tatted man in black armor barked before threatening, "If you damage the goods, you will pay for it with your lives!"
"Yes, boss!"
The black-armored men knew exactly what they were dealing with. But after receiving the boss's reminder, they felt tremendous pressure, causing some of them to break into cold sweats.
"Mr. Fritz! We've been expecting your arrival! It's an honor to finally make your acquaintance! I am Stefano Metti, the one who leads the Metti Gang." One of the men in black suits stepped forward to greet.
Fritz Abestel was one of the leading Hunters of the Abestel family and the one in charge of transporting the goods. Not only was he a Lv.27 Hunter, but also a Master at the Late-stage Initial Realm.
After Stefano Metti introduced himself to Fritz Abestel, the man nodded, "Well met, Mr. Stefano. The Abestel family places a lot of importance on tonight's auction."
"I trust you know what to do and will do everything in your power to make sure the auction goes smoothly, yes? Mr. Stefano?"
"Of course, Mr. Fritz. It is my Metti Gang's honor to be able to work under your family and assist where we can," Stefano Metti said while offering a handshake.
However, Fritz Abestel simply glanced at the offered handshake with a flicker of disdain before walking off coldly.
"Arrange my accommodations, Mr. Stefano." The person said shortly after.
Stefano Metti's expression crumpled slightly at Fritz Abestel's naked disdain to shake his hand—the hand of someone who had yet to become a Master at the Initiate Realm in martial arts.
Nevertheless, Stefano Metti still put on a subservient smile and replied, "Of course, Mr. Fritz. I will arrange it quickly."
It was only a short exchange, but Fritz Abestel made known—the relationship between them very clearly.
He was the master, and they were the underlings—not equals.
Fritz Abestel felt no need to shake hands with someone who was far beneath his status.
"Boss, what about us?" asked the men in black accompanying Stefano Metti shortly after.
After Stefano Metti glanced back at them, he instructed while gesturing to the black-armored men, "Assist these gentlemen in transporting the cargo to the storeroom in the basement."
"If they have any instructions regarding the auction's preparation, you all must heed their orders, understood? Nothing must go wrong."
"Yes, boss!" The men in black nodded solemnly.
The Metti Gang maybe have successfully latched onto the Abestel family's tail, but they were just pawns, ready to be tossed aside anytime.
If they want to graduate from pawns on trial into true subordinates, they must prove their worthiness, whether by usefulness or resourcefulness.
"Allow us to assist you, brothers."
"Heh."
The black-armored men snickered in response.
Just as the men in black suits placed their hands on the cargo, the cargo suddenly shook violently with furious howls.
Plop!
The men in black were startled, falling on their rears before they looked back at the sealed cargos in shock.
"W-What the heck is inside?"
"You'll find out during the auction."
The black-armored men laughed with grinning looks at the pathetic appearances of the Metti Gang's men in black.
They were so easily scared.
...
Eastern Allure Casino
After Albion received the "assents" of his fellow players, he nodded and said, "Welp! Don't mind if I make myself comfortable then, fellas!"
The seat was pulled back further before Albion leaned back and rested his legs on the table arrogantly. He placed the food bag on his stomach and pulled another meat skewer before he continued eating.
"You can deal the cards now, pretty lady with the sunnies on," Albion urged the smart-dressed female dealer after everyone placed a bet of $200 while he placed a $1000 bet upfront.
The Blackjack table he had chosen happened to be a high-stake table with a minimum bet of $200 and a maximum of $50,000.
"…"
The four male players were speechless.
"Oi, oi. I must say, little brother. Are you here to play or to make trouble? Don't you know where this is?" whispered the male player left of Albion.
"Is this not the Eastern Allure Casino? I am naturally here to play," Albion spoke nonchalantly like a matter of fact.
"Since this place is so overwhelmingly popular, it must have an excellent reputation when it comes to the conduct of its staff and operations. There shouldn't be anything shady behind the scenes here, right?"
Since it was a gang's business, it would not make sense if it is not conducted legitimately.
Nevertheless, the person was even more speechless after listening to Albion's words.
Since the young man wanted to court death, he will just play a couple games before finding an excuse to leave, lest he gets implicated.
"Hey, aren't you going to fall if you sit like that?"
"But am I falling?"
Anya Seymour was also struck speechless by Albion's response.
She shook her head, and no longer bothered him, choosing to stand behind him with her sister, Eleanor Seymour, and watch how he loses.
At the same time, the female dealer whispered into a hidden mic for security guards to mark Albion as a potential troublemaker.
However, they will simply observe and not make a move—at least not yet. Albion had not done anything that warrants getting kicked out. Yet.
In a short moment, all five players were dealt two cards each, faced up, while the dealer had one card faced down.
The four men all took a glance at their cards before their expression turned solemn, making the atmosphere at the table heavy suddenly.
"So serious?"
Albion muttered quietly while chewing on his meat, not in a hurry to check his cards as he was observing the female dealer wearing sunglasses.
"Looks like you are in trouble right off the bat. Why is your luck so bad?" Anya immediately beamed with a gloating look after taking a glance at Albion's jack and six, which totals 16 points.
The other four players had cards totaling 20, 18, 19, and 19.
"As the rules dictate, you cannot stand on 16 points. You have to hit. If you get anything higher than a 5, you will lose. Considering the odds, I'd say that you are going to lose for sure!" Anya spouted.
In a game of Blackjack, where players are competing against the dealer and not against each other, one must get a score of 21 points, or at least higher than the dealer, in order to win.
With the odds against him, Anya believed Albion had a high chance of losing his $1000 in the first game.
"Hey, hey, don't go sentencing me off to death like that. Have some faith, woman. After all, I believe in the hearts of the card," Albion grinned.
"Hit me!"