So Pure, So Flirtatious

Chapter 1154: The King of Gamblers

“It will be either tonight or tomorrow night. It is all up to you.” Alice said, “The casino is ready. We have already contacted the King of Gamblers from Korea!”

Yang Ming nodded after listening. Who is this King of Gamblers from Korea? Why does he have to gamble with me? It is true that I did something amazing at the Nancheng Casino in Macau, but only a few people know about that fact. It can be said that I am just a no one in the gambling world.

However, here was the problem. The other party was a King of Gamblers! The King of Gamblers from Korea! Although Yang Ming didn’t meet such a person before and didn’t experience it himself, didn’t he hear about it before?

In some movies about gambling, those Kings of Gamblers were powerful existences. Why would they challenge a newcomer who was not famous? Wasn’t it bad for their reputation once the news was spread?

As a matter of fact, Yang Ming didn’t think he had any fame to have a King of Gamblers challenging him. Moreover, Yang Ming was not from the gambling world. Even if the King of Gamblers defeated him, then what?

The reason why the King of Gamblers was called the King of Gamblers was definitely because of his strength. How could he care about such a reputation? Also, there was not much fame to it, right?

Would the King of Gamblers go around and claim that he defeated Yang Ming? First, never mind that anyone would believe him; even if someone believed him, would they know who Yang Ming was? Could it be that the King of Gamblers brought along the Nancheng Casino video as he went out? Then, he’ll play it to others and say, “I defeated the person in the video!”

It would be odd if the others didn’t see him for being a neuropath or strange. The authenticity of the video would certainly raise a skeptical att.i.tude with many people, thinking that the gambling G.o.d was making a movie. With that, the King of Gamblers would lose his face!

Therefore, after returning, Yang Ming began to consider Alice’s true intentions. Since there was this incident with Zhou Tianxiang, Yang Ming temporarily left this aside first. He remembered it when he saw Alice this time.

“The Korean King of Gamblers wants to gamble with me?” asked Yang Ming.

“After watching your video, he agreed,” said Alice.

Yang Ming nodded his head. This seemed reasonable. However, would the Korean King of Gamblers watch the video that Alice gave him so patiently? Of course, Yang Ming could not find out about it…

“Tonight then, the sooner it ends, the better.” Yang Ming said, “You arrange it.”

“Okay.” Alice saw Yang Ming agree, and she was happy. After watching Yang Ming’s indifferent att.i.tude before, she thought that this matter wouldn’t work.

“Why are you still sitting here?” Yang Ming didn’t have time to chat with her. With this time, it would be better to go back to the room and flirt with w.a.n.g Xiaoyan. Yang Ming did not have the mood to chat with this little girl here.

“…” Alice was p.i.s.sed as she glared at him. She was a celebrity in the upper-cla.s.s society of Europe. She would get tons of attention and welcomed wherever she went. How come Yang Ming was unwilling to let her stay even for a minute?

However, since Yang Ming had already asked her to leave, then Alice would not invite a snub here. What’s more, she had to go back to arrange the evening game.

Alice stood up and glared at Yang Ming as she said to the Old Buffon couple, “Uncle Buffon, Aunt Buffon, then I will leave first!”

“Why don’t you sit for a while?” Mrs. Old Buffon asked with a smile.

“Nope. Some people here don’t welcome me!” Alice said with annoyance.

“Hehe…” Mrs. Old Buffon laughed but said nothing.

Alice was amazed! When she came to look for Yang Ming just now, she didn’t expect Old Buffon to go call Yang Ming personally. This made Alice very surprised!

Old Buffon was a big shot. His position in Europe was much higher than Alice. He could just find someone to call Yang Ming, but Old Buffon insisted on calling him personally.

Now, Alice thought after she said she was not welcome here, Mrs. Old Buffon could say a few words to keep her here. However, she didn’t expect Mrs. Old Buffon just to smile. This made Alice even more amazed deep down in her heart. What is the relations.h.i.+p between Yang Ming and the Buffon Family?

It seems Yang Ming is not as simple as an ordinary guest; he should be a very important guest! But how can the Old Buffon Family make use of Yang Ming? This was what Alice couldn’t understand.

Old Buffon didn’t do much to hold her back but said, “Come visit us when you are free.”

Alice was very depressed as she left the Old Buffon Family’s villa. If it weren’t for the matter in the evening where she needed help from Yang Ming, she really wanted to have a falling out with Yang Ming on the spot.

After getting in the car and driving out of the area of Old Buffon’s manor, Alice picked up the phone and dialed a number. “h.e.l.lo? Brother? It’s me… Little Ai…”

“En… Yang Ming has promised. Tonight… Yes, in my territory… Okay, then you arrange it…” Alice asked, “Is there anything wrong?”

“Do not worry. It has been arranged. Nothing wrong will happen.” A hoa.r.s.e voice came over the phone.

“That’s good…” Alice nodded and said.

After Alice left, Yang Ming returned to the villa to discuss with w.a.n.g Xiaoyan about taking over the Charles Family’s a.s.sa.s.sin group. However, the discussion on the matter did not bring many key results. In a short while, both of them deviated from the topic.

……

Li Qiang eliminated the armed forces in Country X in a flash. It allowed General Kars to have full control of the politics of Country X. However, this kind of war country was already used to being in a war. It would not have any effect on the international stage.

Even Yang Ming did not receive any official news. He only found out about this matter from Li Qiang’s report.

General Kars personally called Yang Ming. His tone on the phone was obsequious, and he had already adapted to his ident.i.ty as Yang Ming’s underling. For the change in Kars, Yang Ming was very surprised. Yang Ming didn’t expect him to adapt so fast.

In fact, if General Kars could not adapt to current circ.u.mstances, he would not be able to move from a low-level mercenary to the position of a temporary president of a small country.

He now saw the key to the situation. As long as he followed Yang Ming’s pace, he would have a good time.

“Mr. Kars!” General Kars… It should be Prime Minister Kars. His secretary knocked on the door and walked in.

The secretary was still the former secretary who followed Kars in fighting all the wars and always giving Kars advice, so Kars did not hide certain things from her. Only she dared to say something blunt to Kars.

“What is the matter?” Kars raised his head.

“Our finances have no money…” The secretary said with some trouble.

“Did not we disband the army? We don’t have military spending. How can we have no money?” Kars asked.

“Yes, you have cut down the military expenses…” The secretary nodded. “But after the war, there are many things to do in Country X. Many places need to be rebuilt. This is a big sum of money…”

Kars nodded. Indeed, he was also studying the map of Country X over the past few days. Many places were waiting to be developed. In the past, except for the capital of X, various armed forces occupied other border cities, so there was no need to build at all. However, it was different now. These armed forces were wiped out by Li Qiang. Kars also took back the cities that were previously occupied by the various armed forces. Therefore, reconstruction was a serious problem.

“Can you suspend the construction?” General Kars sighed and asked, “When the tax revenue of the capital is collected, then can we resume the construction again?”

“Some we can… some we can’t… The armed forces are gone. We must establish an administrative office in the local area to effectively maintain the social order of the city. Otherwise, the residents there may have riots and even large-scale immigration.

General Kars nodded. Indeed, these were all things that could not be delayed. A region couldn’t have no manager. Those armed forces used to rule over the area, but now…

“How much does it cost?” asked General Kars.

“At least five billion dollars…” The secretary was also helpless. After all, the project was huge.

“So much…” General Kars was helpless. “Do you have any good ideas? Tell me about it.”

Kars still knew this secretary very well. Under normal circ.u.mstances, she would only talk to Kars after she made a decision. So now, she should have a plan, but this plan was more difficult.

“Mr. Kars, look… Can we apply for a loan from Mr. Yang?” suggested the secretary.

“Is this… I am afraid it is a little difficult?” General Kars shook his head after listening. “Every year, we have to hand over to Li Qiang a military payment. Now, we have not submitted the military payment, but we have to borrow money from them. Is that really ok?”

“I think it should work!” The secretary nodded and a.n.a.lyzed, “Although we are the governors of Country X, Mr. Yang is the actual owner behind the country…”

“This is also true!” Kars listened to his secretary’s a.n.a.lysis and felt that it was indeed true, so he no longer hesitated. He picked up the phone and dialed Li Qiang’s number.

Of course, Kars would not call Yang Ming directly to discuss these trivial matters because he also knew that Yang Ming was very busy every day. Yang Ming left Li Qiang here to let Li Qiang take full responsibility for everything here.

“Captain Li, h.e.l.lo, this is Kars!” Kars said concisely. In front of Li Qiang, he didn’t need too many pleasantries. The tone of words strictly remained professional on the same level.

Kars also understood that he and Li Qiang were both Yang Ming’s underlings; one was in charge of government affairs while the other managed military affairs.

“h.e.l.lo, Prime Minister Kars, is there anything wrong?” asked Li Qiang.

“This is the case. Now my finances here are very tight. Can you see if you can lend some money from your side to me? I need to use it for urban construction,” said Kars.

“Are your finances very tight?” Li Qiang said in surprise, “After the removal of the armed forces, shouldn’t there be many mines left in the territory? The sum of the rents for these mines should be quite high, right?”

“The owners of these mines all have contracts with the former armed forces. If I collect the rent forcibly, I am afraid these people will unite…” Kars smiled bitterly. Kars didn’t dare to retrieve the mines. He previously thought the Huang Family was a weakling. He wanted to bully them, but he didn’t expect to step into a landmine. The Huang Family was actually related to Yang Ming!

Therefore, Kars was now afraid to act arbitrarily. Moreover, it could seem fine with one or two mines. If all the mine owners united, it was not a small force.

General Kars was now seeking stability. He was afraid of causing ma.s.sive rebellion and riots.

“If that’s the case…” Li Qiang nodded and said, “I will ask Brother Yang and give you a reply later.”

“Okay, thanks for the trouble, Captain Li.” Kars listened to Li Qiang’s tone and knew that this matter was most likely resolved. He was suddenly relieved.

After Li Qiang hung up on Kars’ phone call, he called Yang Ming’s phone.

“Brother Yang, this is Li Qiang!” Li Qiang said, “Kars called me just now and informed me about this situation. Is it convenient on your side to listen to me?”

“En, you talk.” Yang Ming only had w.a.n.g Xiaoyan at his side, so it was very convenient to talk.

“Country X needs large-scale reconstruction after the war, but Kars lacks funds and wants to borrow money from us.” Li Qiang said, “I suggested that he take back all the mines of Country X, and then carry out a unified investment distribution, but he does not dare to do it…”

“En, there is no problem with the funds.” Yang Ming said, “As to how much money, let him make a plan for me. I will look into it and deposit the money to him. As for the mines, you bring your men and retrieve all of the mines, then we will conduct unified public bidding. They obtain the mines through bidding.”

“Okay, Mr. Yang,” said Li Qiang.

“Right, I heard that Li Zhichun’s family also has an iron mine in the north. You inquire about it, and then capture the people inside.” Yang Ming suddenly remembered the matter of the Li Family in Singapore, so he commanded Li Qiang.

“I understand. Rest a.s.sured, Mr. Yang.” Li Qiang noted Yang Ming’s words.

When Kars learned that Yang Ming agreed to lend money, he was pleased. It seemed that Yang Ming really wanted to support him. Then, he should perform well and manage Country X well.

As for what Li Qiang said, all the mines were being retrieved for unified bidding; Kars did not have any opinions. It would be better if Li Qiang were willing to handle it. This would be convenient for management. Otherwise, these people were also Kars’ eyesore which gave him a headache.

The happiest thing for Kars was that in those more remote cities, Li Qiang also agreed to send troops to maintain local law and order temporarily. At the very least, before the establishment of the administrative office, military management was first implemented.

……

For Yang Ming, the Country X matter was just a small episode. It was just a small place. He would just let Kars and Li Qiang handle it. If they managed to make some achievements, Yang Ming would naturally be very happy.

At six o’clock in the evening, Alice’s car promptly arrived at the door of Old Buffon’s manor. Yang Ming didn’t go with w.a.n.g Xiaoyan, but he went out alone.

“Just you alone?” When she saw Yang Ming coming out alone, Alice was a bit baffled. Why did Yang Ming not come with w.a.n.g Xiaoyan?

“It’s just me. Does the gambling still need to involve others?” Yang Ming shrugged and said.

“Your girlfriend… Are you not bringing her? When a normal person gambles, isn’t there a woman sitting in his arms?” Alice seemed to ask without giving up.

“You are talking about Yanyan? She is tired, so she is resting right now.” Yang Ming smiled and said, “Don’t we have you?”

“Me? Hmph, wait until you win the gamble, then we will talk about that.” When Alice saw Yang Ming say this, she did not say anything further. She opened the door and let Yang Ming get into the car.

The driver was a middle-aged woman, probably Alice’s full-time driver. Yang Ming did not ask much. He sat side by side with Alice at the back seat of the car.

Yang Ming didn’t know about Alice’s car. It was a rare brand, or it might be custom made. There was no brand at all, but Yang Ming did not care about it.

“The person competing with you today is called Park Zhenan, the King of Gamblers of South Korea. He is very famous in Macau and Las Vegas.” After Yang Ming got in the car, Alice began to introduce Park Zhenan’s information. “At last year’s Macau Asian Gambling Contest, Park Zhenan won second place in the Asian Gambling Champions.h.i.+p, second only to Thailand’s King of Gamblers, Tong. At the Las Vegas World Gambling Champions.h.i.+ps three years ago, he also achieved fifteenth place.”

“Are you trying to shatter my confidence by saying this to me?” Yang Ming was a little amused, listening to these meaningless numbers.

“I’m just reminding you out of kindness. Don’t underestimate the enemy.” Alice said, “But if you don’t want to listen, then treat it as if I didn’t say it.”

“Well, then, you continue.” Yang Ming said, “But I hope to hear some more valuable information, such as what this guy is good at…”

“Park Zhenan is good at Five-card stud and Black Jack. Of course, he is not bad in other things like sic bo.” Alice said, “In tonight’s gambling, it is up to you to decide.”

“Oh, unfortunately, these two are exactly what I am good at.” Yang Ming smiled and said, “Of course, I am also dominating in sic bo.”

“…” Alice was speechless. No matter how she looked at it, Yang Ming’s casual att.i.tude did not seem like a gambling master. She really did not know if the person in the video in Macau was him.

Looking at Yang Ming’s outfit, Alice also sighed for a while. What are these clothes? Jerseys? How is this an outfit you wear on an important occasion?

But thinking about what her brother said before, Alice felt it did not matter. She would just let him be. Wear what you like, since…