Chapter 62: Cleaning House
After a moment's thought, Tenchi decided to start with the cup game. It seemed the simplest.
He walked over to the table and slapped a stack of bills down. "I'll bet ten thousand ryo."
The dealer's eyes lit up. "Yes, boss!" Because the odds of winning this game were so low, not many people played. To see someone bet such a large amount right away was like finding a gold mine. He immediately started planning how to take all of Tenchi's money.
Tenchi saw the greedy look on the dealer's face and smirked internally. *'Heh. A high-level hunter often appears as the prey. You think I'm a fat sheep? We'll see who's shearing who.'*
"Watch closely, boss!" the dealer said. He spread out a pile of white game pieces and picked up a silver cover, getting ready to slam it down.
As the dealer moved to cover the pieces, Tenchi activated his Sharingan. With the enhanced dynamic vision of the three tomoe, the dealer's hand seemed to move in slow motion. Before the cover even landed, Tenchi had already counted the pieces within its range.
*'Twenty-five pieces. Easy. Now, let's see if you try to cheat.'* He stared intently at the dealer's hands.
*CLACK!* The dealer slammed the cover down, perfectly enclosing twenty-five pieces. He then swiftly pushed the remaining, uncovered pieces to the side.
"Alright, boss," the dealer said with a slick smile. "There are seventy-five pieces total. If you can guess how many are under this cover, you double your money." He was completely confident. Even if this newcomer got lucky once, he'd get it all back and more on the next round. It was this kind of ruthless operation that kept most people away from his table. He was there to take money, not to provide fair games.
The only two other players at the table placed their own bets.
"I bet two thousand on twenty!"
"You're wrong, it has to be more than twenty. I bet five thousand on thirty!"
The dealer barely glanced at their seven thousand ryo. His focus was on Tenchi. "And you, boss? What's your guess?"
"Me? Let me think..." Tenchi said, putting on a show of being a confused beginner.
The dealer's internal contempt grew. *'A total novice. Coming to a casino like this? I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget.'* Outwardly, he kept his smile. "Have you decided, boss? I'm about to open it."
"Yeah, hurry up! We want to see if we win!" the other two players urged.
"Alright, I've decided," Tenchi said, as if making up his mind. "I'll put all ten thousand on twenty-five. Let's do this."
"All bets are final! No changes! Opening now!" the dealer chanted. He lifted the cover and began counting the pieces aloud. "One! Two! Three!..."
The two other players leaned forward, their faces tense with anticipation. Tenchi, however, just squinted, his Sharingan still active, watching the dealer's hands like a hawk to prevent any sleight of hand.
"...Eighteen! Nineteen! Twenty!"
One of the players groaned and slammed his fist on the table. "Dammit! Over twenty! There goes my two thousand!"
The other player's face also fell. With only five pieces left to count, his five thousand ryo was as good as gone. "This is the worst luck!"
"...Twenty-three! Twenty-four! Twenty-five! A total of twenty-five pieces!" the dealer announced, unable to hide his shock. *'This beginner fat sheep got lucky on the first try?! Hmph. I'll make you give it all back next round.'*
He collected the seven thousand ryo from the other two players and then, with a strained smile, counted out ten thousand ryo for Tenchi. "Congratulations, boss. You won. Here are your winnings."
He quickly tried to lure them back in. "A win on the first try means a win on the second! It's all possible in gambling! Will the three of you play again?"
The other two players hesitated. The odds were terrible, and they had already lost tens of thousands here.
Seeing they were reluctant, the dealer focused entirely on Tenchi. "Boss, you have to keep playing when you're on a hot streak, right?" He desperately hoped Tenchi would continue.
"Of course I'm continuing!" Tenchi said, putting on the perfect act of a greedy winner. "I came here to win big! I'm not leaving until I've won a few million!" He puffed out his chest, looking overconfident.
The dealer was relieved. *'Perfect. I was afraid you'd take your money and run. Since you're staying, don't blame me for what happens next.'* He smiled coldly, spread out the pieces again, and started a new round.
Tenchi bet all twenty thousand.
Over the next several rounds, the dealer's confidence turned to pure panic. Tenchi guessed the correct number every single time. The dealer tried to subtly palm a piece or use a distraction, but every time he moved to cheat, he found Tenchi's unnervingly sharp eyes already locked onto his hands, a knowing smirk on his face. He never got a chance.
The pile of money in front of Tenchi had grown to a massive two million ryo. A crowd had gathered around the table, watching the unbelievable winning streak. People started placing their own bets, following Tenchi's choices. The dealer was drenched in a cold sweat. He had already lost several million of the casino's money. If this continued, the boss would skin him alive. He was too scared to even start the next round.
"Hurry up and start! What are you waiting for?"
"Yeah, you're never this slow when you're taking our money!"
"If we follow this boss, we can win back everything we lost!"
"That's right! Hurry up!"
The crowd around the table was getting loud, urging the dealer on while praising Tenchi's incredible luck.
The commotion finally drew the attention of the casino's owner. "Why is there such a big crowd around one table?" a large, well-dressed man grumbled.
"Boss," one of his lackeys whispered. "It seems there's a new guy. He's already won several million from us. The dealer is completely overwhelmed."
"Several million?! Go get Fei Liu! I'll see what's going on myself," the boss ordered. He then gestured to his other thugs, and they all marched toward the cup game table.
"Make way! The boss is here!" his men shouted, roughly pushing through the crowd. The moment the onlookers saw who it was, they fell silent and quickly moved aside. This man controlled the town's underworld. Besides the mayor, he was the most powerful person around. Nobody dared to cross him.
Whispers spread through the crowd.
"That young man is finished. He offended *him*."
"Yeah, he'll be lucky to walk out of here today."
"We better stay away, or we'll get in trouble too."
Tenchi watched as the people who had been happily following his lead just moments ago now scurried away from him, afraid of being associated with him. He sighed inwardly.
*'This is human nature for you. It's the same everywhere. They'll stick close to you when you're leading them to money, but the moment there's trouble, they'll abandon you without a second thought.'*