Third update,

...

"Young Master Rui, we have found the person..."

Clearly, Li Rui's intuition had become reality. Soon enough, the man with the zombie-like face returned, reported the situation with his head bowed, his face showing almost no trace of emotion.

Though Li Rui was equally stoic, the glimmer in his eyes let both him and Liu Shiyun know that Young Master Rui was angry.

"The person is in my hands!"

Qin Fang waited a while, and once the call connected again, Li Rui had only this to say.

"I will take the person with me!"

Qin Fang could imagine Li Rui's rage.

Climbing to his level of power and status, he could not possibly tolerate a provocation like Qin Fang's.

If it were Tang Cheng in Qin Fang's place, there might have been room for negotiation. But Qin Fang was not Tang Cheng. Even if Qin Fang had some money, compared to the Li Family, it was not on the same level at all.

In terms of status, the Li Family was a family of officials and nobility, whereas Qin Fang was merely grassroots who had clawed his way up from the bottom.

But even knowing Li Rui was extremely angry, Qin Fang could not back down.

Since the person had been found, he had to take them away. It was not possible to leave them in someone else's hands, not Chen Weilian's, and not Li Rui's!

"Give me a reason!"

Actually, hearing such a firm response from Qin Fang, Li Rui's first reaction was anger, an uncontrollable fury. However, he quickly realized that he was beginning to like this kid, Qin Fang, a bit.

He had been a soldier and was now a big shot in the underworld, accustomed to the martial world; he admired not those businessmen who battled in the corporate seas but those iron-clad men.

Though young and about the same age as his brother Li Feng, with a very ordinary background—a rural kid from the countryside—here was a young man who, despite clearly being weak and outnumbered, still dared to demand a person from him. It required not just courage but also sheer audacity.

Such a person was either a brainless idiot or a hero with outstanding courage and insight.

Was Qin Fang the type who was missing a few screws?

Clearly not!

Qin Fang had not known Li Rui beforehand and had never been in contact with him, but he still managed to force Li Hui to call Li Rui. That was skill, that was ability.

Young and not yet full-fledged, but already so assertive, if in a few more years he grew up, he might indeed become as formidable as Li Rui, potentially even a peer rivalling both Li Rui and Tang Cheng.

"Because I can win the entire Bihai Pavilion at any time! Is this reason enough?"

Qin Fang could hear that Li Rui's words already held a hint of softening, but he was clear about one thing: Qin Fang and Li Rui were destined to be adversaries. Fawning or pleading were useless. The only way to speak on equal terms was to be strong! Stronger! Keep being stubborn!

"Win over Bihai Pavilion? Do you know how much it's worth? You think you can, with your pathetic gambling skills?"

Upon hearing such a reason, Li Rui couldn't help but sneer, beginning to underestimate Qin Fang a little. The bit of goodwill that had just emerged instantly vanished without a trace. He even felt as if he were conversing with a child whose mind hadn't yet matured, and that greatly diminished his interest.

"Ah, I thought that Li Rui, who could rule half of Ninghai, was such an impressive figure. It turns out..."

However, before he could finish his sentence, a sigh came through the phone from Qin Fang, with every word's disdain and sarcasm piercing sharply into Li Rui's innermost self, wounding his pride.

"I know you don't believe me! I'll say just one thing: Do you have the guts to let your people allow me to place a bet?"

Li Rui had not even replied before Qin Fang's next words arrived, their certainty and sarcasm making Li Rui quite uncomfortable. He couldn't remember how long it had been since someone had dared to challenge his authority on his own turf.

"Li Hui, open the betting, let him make this bet!"

After a moment of silence, Li Rui agreed.

He was not compromising to Qin Fang, but rather testing whether such a young man was worthy of being his adversary.

People get lonely, particularly those at the top.

In Ninghai, and even in Jiangnan Province, there were few peers Li Rui would regard as equals. Tang Cheng was one; they had been rivals for a long time, a pity that Tang mixed in the underworld while Tang Cheng was in the military, making their chances of clashing very slim.

Beyond Tang Cheng, Li Rui had thought he had no other adversaries, but he didn't expect to discover today that he had underestimated many people, like Chen Weilian and like Qin Fang.

He had seen Chen Weilian's capabilities in business, but he didn't expect him to be equally outstanding in other areas, managing to outmanoeuvre Li Rui without his realizing.

As for Qin Fang... while not yet at that level, his growth was extremely rapid.

"Place your bet!"

Receiving Li Rui's order, Li Hui also let out a long sigh of relief.

Although he had taken the bet, he had no responsibility for the outcome, win or lose, so he didn't have to worry.

"No more bets!"

Accompanied by the croupier's supervisor's shout, the Russian Roulette wheel finally started spinning after coming to a complete standstill for over half an hour.

The gamblers, who had already lost interest in watching, gathered around once again, all looking forward to the final outcome.

A bet of three and a half million didn't matter to them if they lost; what they really hoped for was to win, to see someone walk away with a chunk of the casino's cash, even if it wasn't themselves. Just watching was thrilling enough.

The wheel turned slowly, gradually slowing down, and the metal ball kept rolling on it, its speed decreasing as the wheel came to a stop.

Everyone held their breath, waiting for the final result to arrive, including Li Hui and that croupier supervisor, their eyes wide open, afraid they would miss such an important moment.

By comparison, Qin Fang seemed relatively calm, even taking a sip from his glass of wine and sitting there steadily, as if he didn't care about the outcome at all.

The metal ball slowed down more and more; the final result was about to be revealed.

All eyes were focused on number 24 where Qin Fang had placed his bet.

To either side of 24 were numbers 5 and 16.

The metal ball finally came to a standstill on number 5.

"Haha... you lost!"

Li Hui burst out laughing. Although it had been very close to what Qin Fang had bet, he had bet on an odd number, and as the number was off, he would lose everything.

Seeing the ball stop on number 5, Li Hui finally let out a long sigh of relief. After all, he didn't have to lose a billion; even though it wasn't his money, he was still very happy.

"Idiot, look carefully..."

"Did this guy grow eyes on his ass?"

But it seemed Li Hui had celebrated too early; the people around him couldn't help but curse, and even the supervisor couldn't help but pull at Li Hui's clothes.

"What?"

Li Hui was quite indignant, ready to come down hard on the subordinate who was messing with him at his happiest moment, but as he focused on the roulette wheel, his gaze froze, because the little ball was no longer on number 5, but had moved to number 24.

That meant... Qin Fang had won!

"He won, he actually won..."

Now Li Hui was stunned; he had clearly seen the ball stop on number 5, how could it have suddenly ended up on 24?

"You cheated!"

Without a second thought, Li Hui pointed at Qin Fang and accused him.

"Idiot!"

Qin Fang merely rolled his eyes and then picked up the phone, continuing to speak to Li Rui on the other end, "I won this round, and the casino owes me a billion. Do you think we need to continue?"

At this point, Qin Fang had fully seized the initiative.

Li Rui on the other end of the phone was actually a bit frustrated too, Qin Fang had actually won, and the feedback from the casino indicated that Qin Fang hadn't cheated.

Russian Roulette is very difficult to cheat in, the only one who could is the croupier, the gambler had no chance.

Yet Qin Fang had indeed won. Either Qin Fang's luck was incredibly good, or his gambling skills had reached a pinnacle.

Even though Li Rui did not think Qin Fang's gambling skills could reach that level, it was nearly impossible for someone's luck to hit a one-in-thirty-six chance twice in a row.

"Do we need to continue?"

Such a simple question, yet it posed a dilemma for Li Rui.

Qin Fang had already proved his strength; if he bet another round, Qin Fang's one billion in betting money, multiplied by thirty-six, would amount to thirty-six billion, a figure exceeding the total value of Bihai Pavilion.

That would truly fulfill Qin Fang's words — I can win the entire Bihai Pavilion at any moment.

But could Li Rui, pressured by Qin Fang, bow his head?

Clearly not!

He was the king of Ninghai Underground; if he were forced to bow by a nobody, then he wouldn't be Li Rui.

"I can let go of this one billion, just hand over the person to me!"

Qin Fang was not the type to push his luck. He knew that while the billion was easy to win, taking it would indeed be too hot to handle.

Instead of breaking ties with Li Rui now, it was better to step back for a broader sky, to charge up, and prepare for another fight!

"Fine! You can take the person... but, you better not fall into my hands!"

After careful consideration, Li Rui didn't want to pursue the matter further. Since Qin Fang was backing down, there was no need to chase him down.

As for what would happen in the future, that was no longer a concern for either Qin Fang or Li Rui. However, one thing was certain: starting today, Qin Fang would not have it as easy as before, because Li Rui had now marked Qin Fang as a real competitor, on the same level as a contender from Tang Cheng!

(To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to support it by voting for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets on qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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