Chapter 121: The Underground Casino

After Long Si finished speaking, he waited to see Mo Fei’s reaction.

Mo Fei opened his eyes thoughtfully and nodded slightly. “Oh.”

Oh?

That was it?

Long Si felt a wave of boredom wash over him. He grabbed his bag and pushed open the door to his own room.

Long Er and Mo Fei’s rooms faced each other, separated only by a thin, poorly soundproofed wall, so if Mo Fei made any noise, Long Er could immediately come to his aid.

Mo Fei lay on his bed, eyes fixed on the ceiling.

The chirping of insects filled his ears, the ceiling was not particularly clean, and dust gathered in the corners.

It was all so vivid, as if the dream had spilled into reality.

Mo Fei tried to clear his mind and closed his eyes, preparing to sleep.

But as soon as he shut them, Long Si’s words echoed endlessly in his ears, swirling from left to right and back again.

It was an all-encompassing surround sound.

Mo Fei sat straight up, his eyes darting toward the shoes by the bedside.

He had arranged them before going to bed—one shoe facing the bed, the other outward; one sole up, the other top up.

It was a mix of Long Si’s ghost-on-the-bed superstition and the winning cup arrangement, but something still felt off.

Barefoot, Mo Fei got out of bed and ran to knock on Long Er’s door.

Before he could even raise his hand to knock, the door swung open.

Long Er stood there in casual clothes, looking energetic and hardly like someone resting. “What do you want?”

Mo Fei smiled. “Come in, let’s talk.”

Long Er pursed his lips but stepped aside.

Mo Fei slipped inside in a flash.

The layout of the two rooms was almost identical, with few differences.

This room, however, had scattered parts on the desk, suggesting Long Er had just been cleaning firearms.

Mo Fei jumped onto the bed.

“What exactly do you want?” Long Er sat back at the desk, continuing to oil the parts.

“Have you ever killed someone?” Mo Fei asked earnestly, sitting cross-legged and looking at him seriously.

Long Er didn’t understand what eccentric notion Mo Fei was on about now and could only glare coldly.

Wasn’t it obvious? In their line of mercenary work, even logistics personnel had taken at least two lives; let alone someone like him.

Protecting Mo Fei was definitely the least lethal job he had ever taken.

Though it did test one’s mental endurance.

“People who have killed carry a certain deadly aura, which can ward off evil,” Mo Fei said, pounding his own palm. “That’s how door gods are painted, right?”

Long Er blinked and immediately understood. “You’re afraid of ghosts?”

“Long Si’s ghost stories scared you?” Long Er sighed helplessly. “You still have this problem?”

“I know there are no ghosts in this world,” Mo Fei mumbled. “But what if there are?”

There was already a system and a talking cat; if there were ghosts, it wouldn’t be surprising.

“If we were still back home, I’d go sleep at the police station for a night, but that’s not possible here.”

Mo Fei patted the pillow on Long Er’s bed and, with righteous confidence, claimed the room. “I’m sleeping here tonight; let’s just make do.”

Long Er continued oiling his handgun and shook his head. “You sleep. I’ll keep watch.”

“Good brother,” Mo Fei gave him a thumbs-up. “Dinner’s on me next time.”

With that, he lay down, feeling unusually secure.

Surely, when Qin Qiong guarded Li Shimin’s door, Li Shimin must have felt this reassured.

He slept soundly through the night.

The next day, the three shared a breakfast rich in Burmese flavors.

Long Er said he wanted to take Mo Fei to see the underground casinos of the Burmese region.

These underground casinos bore no resemblance to the dazzling extravagance of Las Vegas.

The official gambling cities gleamed with golden light, and no matter their true status, visitors appeared well-dressed and respectable.

Underground casinos were exactly the opposite: while not poorly lit, they certainly lacked brilliance; smoke hung thick and ventilation was poor. They bred cheaters and gambling addicts, and after a few visits, one might witness enforcers dragging cheaters away to be buried alive.

Behind an ordinary auto repair shop, Long Er confidently located the entrance to the underground casino.

Without a guide, Mo Fei would never have guessed it was hidden there.

The repair shop had a small warehouse, behind which was a secret door.

Two young men who looked like typical mechanics guarded the outside of the warehouse, but since it was an underground casino, they were likely just cover.

When they saw Long Er’s unfamiliar face, the two guards hesitated to open the door.

But after Long Er called over Jin Ya, and with a recommendation from an acquaintance, the hidden door finally opened.

As soon as the door swung open, a pungent stench hit Mo Fei’s nose, making him frown.

In addition to smoke, there was sweat and a foul odor, all mixed into an overwhelming assault on the senses.

“People actually come here to gamble? Don’t they choke to death?” Mo Fei covered his nose, clearly uncomfortable.

“The boss has his own style, and the little brothers have theirs,” Long Si said, wearing a mask and keeping his hands in his pockets. “Some people are addicted to gambling; once they’re at the table, they don’t even notice the smell.”

Long Er patted Mo Fei and pointed toward a direction. “That one—you’ve played that before.”

Mo Fei looked where he pointed. The area was packed with people, tightly surrounded.

Through the crowd, he glimpsed a glamorous woman with large, wavy hair standing at a gambling table, facing a man who had a gun pressed to his own head.

“Russian roulette,” Mo Fei said in surprise, looking at Long Er. “How do you know—”

“Don’t ask,” Long Si’s eyes curved into a smile. “We have our own sources.”

Although sometimes unreliable, most of the time they were trustworthy.

Mo Fei raised an eyebrow and nodded. “Alright then.”

At that moment, a gunshot rang out from the gambling table.

The three turned toward the sound to see the man who had been pointing the gun at himself lying on the ground, while those around him wore expressions of disgust.

Not because someone had died, but because brains and blood had splattered on them.

“Want to give it a try?” Long Er suggested. “I remember last time you loaded five bullets. Win one round here and you’d be a multimillionaire.”

Long Si chimed in, “Yeah, you act for money, right? Win here and you’ll never worry about food or clothes again.”

Mo Fei gave them a look as if they were insane. “Are you two nuts?”

“Why say such things out of the blue?”

He straightened his expression. “I became an actor because I have a world-renowned dream, not because this job pays fast.”

“Besides, if I really wanted to make money, why risk my life gambling? All the ways to make money are in the criminal code. After thorough research, finding a loophole shouldn’t be hard.”

As he spoke, he spat twice. “What am I thinking! I’m a person above such lowly thoughts. How could I even consider that!”

“Too disharmonious!”