Shen Zhizhao had been waiting in the basement level for a long time, yet there was still no sign of Shen Xun.
He began to suspect that the other might have run into some trouble. Although Shen Xun was capable enough to handle a few gunmen on his own, the ship was full of all sorts of people, and running into some unexpected situation wasn't out of the question.
At the moment, it was just him, Iris, and Wisteria left standing there, exchanging awkward glances.
The three of them formed a loose triangle where they stood.
Wisteria leaned against the wall, fiddling with the small knife in her hand.
Watching Shen Zhizhao's face grow darker and darker, she inexplicably felt that the eldest son of the Shen family at this moment resembled a lonely empty-nester.
His younger siblings had all abandoned him to do who knows what.
Iris tugged at Wisteria's sleeve. "Let's go explore somewhere else."
With that, the close friends linked arms and gradually drifted away, leaving Shen Zhizhao standing alone on the spot.
Now, Shen Zhizhao was utterly reduced to a lonely old man.
He had to start wondering what exactly those three missing people were doing.
Maybe they were seriously focused on completing the mission?
At that thought, Shen Zhizhao felt a little comforted.
...
At that very moment, however, the trio had grim expressions, huddled around a card table, their gazes fixed intently on the cards as if they were in some crucial championship final.
Lost again, and again, and again.
Shen Yi watched the dealer slide the chips away from her and felt like pounding the floor in frustration.
"Why?"
The girl let out a small, pitiful wail.
When it came to gambling, Shen Ruxu lost nine times out of ten.
He was already used to this kind of situation. Chuckling, he tilted his head and leaned against Shen Yi, resting his chin on her shoulder, speaking in that glib tone of someone who had no skin in the game: "What terrible luck, little sister~"
Shen Yi smacked him on the forehead. "One more round."
Shen Xun sat on the other side. His area of expertise—cold analysis—was limited to data and theoretical knowledge.
In a situation that relied purely on luck, it was utterly useless.
The three of them lined up, leaning seriously over the edge of the card table, staring intently.
The dealer dealt the cards, they received them, placed bets, folded, called, and revealed.
They watched helplessly as the chips were swept away again.
In the end, Shen Yi and Shen Xun lost every last cent in their accounts.
Shen Yi stared at the last two chips, then raised her head to look at the casino manager standing at the end of the table.
A middle-aged man in a black vest, wearing a smile as he looked at them.
"You now owe about three million. Do you want to keep gambling?"
"If not, please settle the debt."
"This way, please."
Shen Yi had no money.
Shen Xun had none either.
The young man pursed his lips slightly, watching the casino manager's calm expression, which carried a hint of ill intent.
He was calculating the odds of killing the man and leaving without being caught.
"Can't pay up?" The manager, clearly unaware of any threat, smiled and said, "Too bad. Then you won't be leaving today."
Shen Yi suddenly snapped back to reality, realizing they had gone too far.
She tried to shift the blame. "Hold on, I..."
Shen Yi reached out and shoved Shen Ruxu toward the manager. "You can detain my brother instead. Oh, look—this is my dearest brother. I'm mortgaging my brother to you."
Shen Ruxu stumbled forward from the push, turning back to shoot her a smile that wasn't quite a smile.
"So ruthless, little sister."
Shen Yi ignored his complaint entirely.
She was not going to be detained for gambling debts.
If her family found out, she would be dead meat!!
Old Master Shen, that old-school traditionalist, had always believed in the rod-and-stick method of discipline.
Shen Yi figured that if her brother couldn't pay back this money, and it got back to their grandfather, all three of them would get a beating.
"If you think one isn't enough—" Shen Yi then grabbed Shen Xun by the arm, yanked him up from his chair, and pushed him toward the manager too. "No problem, I've got a second brother. Are two enough? High quality, low price—they can both work off the debt."
The manager's mouth twitched. "You three are siblings?"
Shen Yi nodded vigorously. "Yes."
"And where are your parents?" the manager asked slowly, his hands clasped in front of him. "Have them come to bail you out. You owe the casino money. Think about what you can offer as compensation, or wait for your guardian to arrive."
Clearly, begging was useless.
The three of them sat back down in their chairs, staring at each other.
The manager slapped the bill onto the table, showing the total amount they owed.
Shen Yi glanced at the number, then buried her face in her hands.
Damn it—
When Shen Zhizhao answered the phone, the casino manager on the other end said, "Your younger siblings are all here with us. Please come in person and bring sufficient funds."
"..."
Called into action at the last minute, Shen Zhizhao stood frozen in place, taking a full minute to process this.
The moment he pushed open the casino door,
he saw three figures sitting side by side.
They were slumped over the card table, all staring wide-eyed toward the entrance, like a pack of underdogs caught red-handed after trying to turn the tables at the casino.
Shen Yi was dejected, Shen Xun looked utterly lifeless, and Shen Ruxu was still grinning like an idiot.
One line summed up all three:
— Gambling fever.
Shen Zhizhao stood at the door, looking at these three debt-ridden younger siblings, and let out who knew how many sighs.
He suppressed the surge in his chest again and again, barely keeping it from turning into some undignified roar.
"Can someone tell me—" He walked up to the card table, his voice unnervingly calm after being pushed to its limit. "What the hell happened here?!"
From the calm tone of their eldest brother, Shen Yi could vaguely detect a hint of madness.
Shen Zhizhao truly couldn't understand how his younger siblings had all ended up detained in the casino, turned into gamblers themselves.
Was his family some kind of gathering ground for addicts?
Shen Sixing had been a gambling degenerate in his younger days, reportedly able to stay at the card table for three days and three nights straight without leaving.
Later, after getting a job, he became a broke office worker and could no longer gamble. But then along came Shen Ruxu, that reckless gambler.
Two of them were bad enough.
Now, even the two youngest had fallen into the trap.
Shen Zhizhao looked at the three of them sitting in a row like detainees, and felt a fleeting dizziness at the thought that "this family is completely doomed."
"Eldest Brother!?"
"Eldest Brother!"
"Eldest Brother."
The three shouts of "Eldest Brother" rang out one after another, and Shen Zhizhao had a sudden vision of three hungry baby birds, all chirping "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy" in a chorus.
Stacked on top of each other, each one more grating than the last.
...So noisy.
Shen Zhizhao had never been so irritated by the title "Brother."
He closed his eyes, then opened them again, his gaze shifting from Shen Yi's face to the other two.
"Eldest Brother," came Shen Xun's cold, distant voice, but his words carried no backbone whatsoever. "You need to teach him a lesson."
He pointed expressionlessly at the bald man across the table.
That bald guy had just won a bunch of their chips.
Shen Xun had made up his mind—once he got out, he was going to kill this man.
He had completely cracked from losing.
And Shen Xun was the type who absolutely could not take a loss, preparing to kill someone outside to justify his path and calm his inner demons.
Shen Yi tugged at the sleeve of his coat. "Eldest Brother, I’ve run out of money."
Shen Zhizhao looked down at her.
Shen Yi’s curly hair was a mess, and the sight of her made the lecture he’d prepared get stuck in his throat.
"I can give you an allowance, but don’t gamble anymore..."
The words he spoke softly carried a faint, helpless sadness.
"Eldest Brother," Shen Ruxu shamelessly leaned in, his eyes curved into a smile, and, mimicking her, tugged at Shen Zhizhao’s other sleeve. "I’ve run out of money too. I also need an allowance."
Shen Zhizhao’s expression instantly shifted from sunny to overcast, his tone icy. "Shen Ruxu, don’t make me slap you."
Shen Ruxu: “?”
Being treated so differently, he felt the disparity of the world at that very moment.
Shen Zhizhao was truly annoyed.
He didn’t like losing control of things, nor did he like others taking advantage—even if it wasn’t him who was being taken advantage of.
It was his younger siblings who had lost everything, playing miserably.
But still, Shen Zhizhao couldn’t stand the idea of letting the gambling den take advantage of them.
It gave him a sense of unease and displeasure.
And so, this time, it was Shen Zhizhao who sat down at the card table.
