Chapter 4

"How is this possible?! Shouldn't it have been a seven of clubs?"

Dane stared at my cards with bulging eyes, his face etched with disbelief as beads of cold sweat formed on his forehead.

He slammed his palm on the table, glaring at me with eyes that seemed ready to pop out of their sockets.

"You! You cheated!"

I shrugged my shoulders.

"Your people shuffled the cards, your people cut the deck, and your people dealt the cards. I never even touched them from start to finish. How could I have cheated?"

Even if I had, so what?

A true Card Sharp can make a card change into another even after it's been dealt and flipped over.

My mastery over playing cards is far beyond what Dane's old man, Draven, could ever hope to achieve. Otherwise, I wouldn't have so easily seen through his techniques seven years ago.

"Besides, what's this about a seven of clubs? Are you implying that you're the one who cheated?"

Dane was at a loss for words. His henchmen drew in sharp breaths, whispering among themselves.

"What's going on? Isn't Dane supposed to be the Phantom of Card Sharp? How could he lose to some greenhorn?"

"What are we gonna do now? Is Dane really going to have to get on his knees for that woman and lick this kid's shoes clean?"

Melody let out an excited shriek, leaping up and clinging to me. "Eames, you're amazing! You actually won!"

I smiled, embracing her while raising an eyebrow at Dane.

"Time for you to pay up on our bet."

"Not only do you have to get on your knees and apologize to Melody, but you also need to lick my shoes clean."

Dane's face turned beet red with anger, his whole body trembling as he glared at me viciously.

"This round doesn't count!"

"Let's go again! If I lose to you once more, I'll not only fulfill the previous bet, but I'll also give you everything I own!"

I had expected Dane to go back on his word, but I didn't think he'd dare to keep gambling with me.

Melody anxiously tried to stop me, whispering in my ear:

"It's enough that we won, let's just forget about him fulfilling the bet and get out of here."

I patted her hand, pulling her behind me as I looked at Dane.

"Talk is cheap. What if you back out again?"

Dane grinned maliciously, waving his hand and taking a revolver from one of his lackeys.

"This time, neither of us will have a chance to back out. We're playing Russian roulette."

In an instant, everyone present drew in a sharp breath. Russian roulette was a game of life and death – it was deadly!

The rules of Russian Roulette are very simple.

Place one bullet in one of the six chambers of a revolver, then point it at your own temple.

Whoever fires the bullet loses.

This also means that the person who fires the bullet will die.

Dane removed the cylinder and took out the extra bullets, leaving only one.

"If I lose, my people will transfer all my assets to your name. Whether it's kneeling or licking shoes, you can do whatever you want with my corpse."

"But if you lose, not only will I have you chopped up and fed to the dogs, I'll also send that woman to be a whore, let her be ridden by thousands of men. How about that?"

I knew he was blinded by anger.

He had never lost before, but today he suffered a major defeat in front of me, a so-called greenhorn. He wanted to use this game to regain face.

Melody was already crying anxiously. She was almost on her knees, clutching tightly to my waist.

"Don't gamble, Eames! Someone will die! Don't gamble with him. We don't want anything anymore. Let's go quickly!"

But I just picked Melody up and sat down in my seat with a smile.

"No problem. I'll play to the end."

Everything was set, and the atmosphere was tense. Unless you're mortal enemies, you'd rarely see a game of Russian roulette in a casino, maybe once every few years.

Everyone's eyes were glued to Dane and me. The entire casino was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Dane was also a bit nervous, but he still picked up the gun, put it to his temple, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

!

It was an empty chamber.

Dane breathed a sigh of relief, grinning from ear to ear.

His cronies started cheering, one after another.

Although there were still five shots left, the next one could very well be loaded.

All eyes turned to me. Melody's lips turned white with fear, her whole body shaking uncontrollably.

I smiled as I picked up the gun, put it to my temple, and fired once.

It was another empty chamber.

Dane gritted his teeth in anger as he looked at me, about to take the gun from my hand, but I placed my hand on the trigger again.

Under everyone's shocked gaze, I once again put the gun to my temple and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

!!!

I fired three more times in quick succession, and all three were empty chambers.

This meant there was only one shot left, and that last shot must be loaded.

Dane was done for.

Melody was stunned with fear. She first cried and pounded on me a few times, then buried herself in my embrace.

"You scared me to death! You really almost scared me to death!"

Dane collapsed onto the stool, shaking like a leaf. He stared at me wide-eyed, his gaze filled with fear and disbelief.

"How... how dare you..."

How dare I fire four shots in a row?

Of course, it's because I was certain none of those four chambers held a bullet.

I've been gambling since I was three, spent over twenty years in casinos, and built my own empire from scratch, establishing my own gang and business.

All gambling games are child's play to me.

Russian roulette? Please. I could make any chamber I wanted have the bullet.

But I wasn't about to tell Dane any of this.

I wrapped one arm around Melody's waist and used the other to point the gun at Dane's head, my lips curling into a smirk.

"You lost."

Dane was so terrified he nearly fainted. His legs gave out and he fell to his knees, begging me:

"Spare me, I'll give you anything you want, just spare my life..."

I let out a derisive laugh and lit a cigarette.

Just for daring to make my girlfriend kneel and use her as an ashtray today, I couldn't possibly let him off the hook.

Without hesitation, I pulled the trigger.