Being Cheated

Zhang took out a mobile phone from his pocket. "Didn't you ask me to find you a phone? I've found one for you. You better make your call right now. We have to return the phone at dinner time. It can make international calls but you'll have to pay for it yourself since the call rate is very expensive."

Yang Yi took the phone and called Danny. Yang Yi softly said when the call connected, "Captain, it's me."

"Oh, Little Egg. So, how are things in there? Were you able to protect your ass? Hahaha."

Yang Yi was silently cursing Danny for his bad taste in jokes. He weakly said, "Lucky for me, I'm totally fine."

"Well, why are you calling me then? You should call your girlfriend instead. She has asked about you a few times now. You're truly heartless for not contacting her at all after such a long time."

Yang Yi let out a breath as he said, "Captain, can we be serious for a moment? I called you for a reason."

"Say it then, what's the matter?"

"Please help me transfer a hundred thousand dollars to an account. Also, do you have someone reliable in America who can send me a phone? It'll be much easier for me to contact people if I have a phone."

"Sure. Can you tell me who you are transferring money to? How is it possible for you to use so much money in prison?"

"The money is to bribe one of the guards. It will be more convenient for me to do things in the future. I'll wait for the phone from you. Hopefully, you can arrange this quickly. Oh yeah, don't forget to send over a sim card as well."

After Yang Yi passed back the phone, Zhang Yong asked, "You're only going to make one call?"

"Is this phone secured?"

Zhang Yong just answered dismissively, "This phone is only used by inmates. Who do you think will monitor the call? Just make the call if it's not particularly sensitive."

After hesitating for a while, Yang Yi finally called Kate. The call quickly connected and Kate's voice could be clearly heard on the line, "Hello, who is this?"

"It's me. How are you doing?"

"I guessed the call was from you. So, how are you doing?" Kate's voice was full of concern.

Yang Yi let out a breath as he said, "I'm doing quite well. I'm able to eat my fill and sleep soundly. How about you?"

"I'm… doing fine."

Kate didn't exactly have it easy. As she was still being hunted by the Destroyers, there was no way she could take a step out from the building she was staying in. Beyond the fact that she could watch television and make phone calls any time she pleased, her circumstances were no different than being in prison. As a matter of fact, her scope of activities was smaller than Yang Yi's in comparison. At least Yang Yi was allowed to go outside during free activity period.

Yang Yi was thinking what he should say next when he heard Kate say, "Do you get bullied in prison? I heard the inmates in prison are all very dangerous."

Yang Yi just laughed as he answered, "Things have been well. They should count their blessings if I don't go around messing with them. No one dares to provoke me nowadays. How about you? What have you been doing lately?"

"There's nothing much I can do here. I just train on my own or I come up with things to do. I am doing well."

Yang Yi let out another breath as he said, "Make sure you stay safe."

"I will. You stay safe as well."

Yang Yi no longer knew what he should say next. Kate said, "I managed to liquidate both of my inheritances from my parents. I have some wealth now. Erm… when will you be coming back?"

"I'll definitely return. There's no need for you to rush, okay?"

"I won't do anything stupid. There's nothing much I can do alone anyway. So, I will definitely wait for you to come back. I will continue to pay the Captain for protection if you still haven't come back within a year. They have agreed to my request."

"That's great. I'm very happy with your decision. I'll have a phone of my own in the future. I will contact you again then. So, I think I will end it here for now. Goodbye."

After Yang Yi ended the call, Zhang Yong asked out of curiosity, "Your girlfriend?"

"She's not."

"The expression on your face already betrayed you. Moreover, it's definitely a female given your tone."

"Must she be my girlfriend because she's a female? Like I said, she is just a friend. Wait, strictly speaking, she's not really my friend. Erm… I'm also not sure how to actually describe our relationship."

Zhang Yong didn't seem like he believed Yang Yi. He just took back the phone from Yang Yi and said, "What was that all about? Do you have something to do when you get out of here?"

"Yes, there's this hitmen organization called the Destroyers who are trying to assassinate me. The girl I was speaking to just now is also their target. We're currently in a deadlock. This whole affair won't end until one side is dead. Although I can hide, for the time being, there's no way I can hide forever. So, I will have to resolve this troublesome affair before I can work on my own quest."

"Which hitmen organization is it again?"

"The Destroyers."

"I've never heard of them before. They shouldn't be too prominent if I've never heard of them before. Or is it one of the new organizations?"

"I'm not sure."

Zhang Yong just spread his hands as he said, "Confrontation with hitmen organizations are the most troublesome because those hitmen won't have their identities written all over their face. Since you have no idea where their hideout is, you might be the one being struck with a fatal blow when you're out looking for them. It's truly a troublesome affair."

"What advice can you give me?"

"What advice can I give you? In this world, when have hitmen ever stopped concealing themselves? That's why it's so troublesome. You'll have to keep your guard up day and night against hitmen who might appear at any time. After some time, you will become suspicious of everyone and suspect them all of being hitmen. You'll just end up driving yourself crazy."

"Then, how should we handle the situation?"

Zhang Yong looked at Yang Yi as he answered, "The only solution is for you to become a killer of hitmen. You'll have to conceal yourself deeper than them and be more vicious than them when you act. After you have the ability to get rid of them, eliminate them before they manage to kill you instead. Beyond that, what other option do you have?" Zhang Yong then patted Yang Yi on the shoulder before he continued, "Originally I planned to teach you later but it seems like I need to start teaching you how to become a qualified hitman. Although the training approach is different than martial arts, your martial arts foundation can assist you in your hitman training."

Yang Yi responded in excitement, "Great, can you start teaching me now?"

Zhang Yong shook his head and said, "Before I teach you, you need to inform me of something. I still feel that something is amiss with the method of playing cards you have taught me. I'm not saying your method isn't useful. I think I have reached my limit regarding card playing skill yet it is still no way near the level of your superb card playing skill. Since I don't think you have been bragging about your skill, have you been withholding something from what you have taught me?"

Yang Yi started scratching his face and hesitated for quite a while before he softly said, "About that… Brother Yong, please promise me not to get angry when you hear what I'm about to tell you."

"You should first tell me what this is about."

Yang Yi shrugged rather unnaturally before he mumbled, "I have an eidetic memory."

"Huh?"

"I am trying to say I have an eidetic memory. I never forget what I have seen before."

"Fuck! What are you trying to tell me?"

"I'm trying to say it's very important for you to pay attention to the other players' expression when you're playing cards. However, if you have a good memory, things will be easier if the cards in use have some markings on them. If there aren't any, you just have to remember what cards have been dealt, which card is in whose hand and then calculate what's the probabilities of the cards that might come next."

Zhang Yong was transfixed for a moment before he abruptly said, "Fuck! You were cheating from the very beginning."