Hong Kong variety show: From being bitten by a cockroach to becoming a legend

Chapter 140: Everything is under control

Chapter 140 Everything is Under Control

A dazzling array of stars, one hour before the Hong Kong and Macau God of Gamblers showdown.

"Star River" central control room.

This place is less like a monitoring center and more like a high-tech combat command center. In front of a giant curved monitoring wall composed of twenty high-definition screens, the entire ship's key areas are covered by various advanced sensors.

Chen Xiaodao sat in front of the control panel, his attention mainly focused on the four screens that displayed the gambling demon Chen Jincheng, the gambling king Jiang Zhen, the gambling fanatic Sun Yifeng, and the gambling maniac Nie Wanlong.

With an hour to go before the official start of the competition, these four gambling tycoons were not idle. They were each arranged to "warm up" or "adapt to the environment" in different luxurious small gambling rooms on the "Galaxy". This was the perfect opportunity for Chen Xiaodao to observe and analyze them.

Screen 1: Gambling Demon Chen Jincheng.

Chen Jincheng sat at a gambling table covered with green velvet cloth, playing the simplest game, blackjack.

"Something's not right—" he muttered to himself.

A technician nearby peeked out and asked, "Brother Dao, what's wrong? Chen Jincheng is just winning normally, isn't he?"

Chen Xiaodao sneered: "This guy has won nineteen times in a row, right? According to probability, the odds of such a winning streak are as low as one in a million! If you look closely, you'll see that he lets the dealer take the cards in every round, and what's left must be the hand he wants."

Unlike other card games, in Blackjack, players have the right to change the position of the cards dealt. If someone has an amazing memory and observational skills, they can memorize the entire hand order in the few seconds it takes for the dealer to shuffle and cut the cards, and then ask the dealer to deal their strongest hand before the cards are dealt.

Chen Xiaodao froze the image, pointed to the dealer's hand movements as he shuffled the cards on the screen, and slowly replayed it.

Chen Xiaodao's voice was deep, carrying the excitement of a hunter spotting his prey: "The dealer used the standard American shuffling method, six alternations. To the average person, it's dazzling, but Chen Jincheng's glasses—did you see the occasional glint of light on the lenses? That's not a reflection, it's the faint light emitted by a high-speed camera."

"This camera captures the card cutting scene and projects it into Chen Jincheng's pupils, slowing down the speed to help him remember the card order."

The technician leaned closer to the screen and looked closely. Sure enough, he found that Chen Jincheng's eyeballs trembled rapidly with an almost imperceptible amplitude in the few seconds that the dealer shuffled the cards. And the edges of the brown glasses did indeed flash a very regular and faint blue light every tenth of a second.

"Holy crap—" the technician gasped, "This isn't gambling, this is high-tech cheating!"

Brother Dao, should we—"

Strictly speaking, it's actually a combination of high technology and super memory.

An ordinary person wearing these glasses might not be able to remember it.

"No," Chen Xiaodao interrupted him, "We don't need to alert him now. Let him maintain this confident attitude."

Chen Xiaodao turned his attention to the second screen.

Screen 2: Gambling King Jiang Zhen.

In the scene, Jiang Zhen was neither in the casino nor receiving any guests. He was alone in the living room of the VIP suite on the top floor, wearing a dark blue silk Tang suit, sitting cross-legged on a mahogany daybed, with a set of purple clay teaware in front of him. The water had just boiled, and white steam rose up in wisps, like mist.

His movements were extremely slow—washing the cup, warming the pot, pouring water, and serving the soup—each step was like a ritual he had practiced a thousand times. But Chen Xiaodao stared intently at his right hand.

"He's practicing," Chen Xiaodao suddenly said.

The technician was taken aback: "Practice? Making tea counts as practice?"

"You don't understand." Chen Xiaodao activated the infrared thermal imaging mode, and the screen immediately displayed a temperature distribution map of Jiang Zhen's palm—his fingertips were slightly red, but his palm was unusually cold, and there was a faint ring of accelerated blood flow around his wrist. "This is venous blood control," a secret technique used by old-school gamblers to control hand tremors. He's getting old, and his fingers are prone to stiffness, but you see how steady the water flow is when he pours tea—it's like a ruler has been applied—that means he's in excellent condition today."

He paused, then lowered his voice: "And—he didn't even drink that cup of tea."

The camera zooms in; the tea is crystal clear, and the rim of the cup is spotless, without even a trace of lipstick. Jiang Zhen simply pours the tea out, then back into the fairness cup, and then into the wastewater container, repeating the process as if simulating some kind of rhythm.

The technician felt a chill run down his spine: "This old man—he's more precise than a computer."

"No," Chen Xiaodao shook his head: "He's human, so he has his limits. Every three minutes of practice, he closes his eyes for three seconds—that's his brain forcibly clearing the memory load, which means his concentration can only maintain high-intensity operation for a short time. If you drag him into a protracted battle, he will definitely collapse."

Screen 3: Gambling addict Sun Yifeng.

A black ebony dice cup was placed in front of Sun Yifeng.

He didn't rush to shake it, but first placed his palm on the table and closed his eyes for a long time.

The technician was completely baffled by Sun Yifeng's antics: "What's this guy doing? Constipated?"

"Did you know that besides being nicknamed 'Gambling Maniac,' Sun Yifeng also has the nickname 'Screwing Demon'?"

"He doesn't need to look or touch; he can judge the number just by the sound of the dice hitting the cup, the frequency of the rebound, and even the vibration of the table."

really.

As soon as Chen Xiaodao finished speaking, Sun Yifeng opened his eyes, his right hand swiftly grabbed the dice, and with a flick of his wrist...

"Splash!"

The dice are placed in the cup and the lid is removed.

The whole process took less than a second.

He stood still for three seconds, then slowly lifted the lid of the bowl.

Three sixes.

leopard.

The technician stared in disbelief: "This...this is too bizarre!"

"It's not strange." Chen Xiaodao shook his head: "He just used the 'Three Vibrations to Set the Tone' technique—"

The first shake of the dice determines the position, the second shake of the table adjusts the frequency, and the third shake of the hand controls the force. Only by combining these three shakes can the final number be locked. But—he has a fatal blind spot: he only trusts his own ears.

The last screen shows the gambling maniac Nie Wanlong.

He sat alone in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of the luxurious suite prepared for him. Outside the window was the dark sea and the sparse starlight in the distant sky.

Facing the sea, motionless, like a frozen statue.

"What is he doing? Looking at the scenery?" the technician asked, puzzled.

Chen Xiaodao didn't answer immediately. He zoomed in on the image, focusing on Nie Wanlong's shoulders and arms. He then brought up micro-expression analysis and remote monitoring data of heart rate and respiration.

Data shows that Nie Wanlong's heart rate was lower than usual, his breathing was deep and slow, and his muscles were in a peculiar state of being both relaxed and poised for action.

"He's concentrating," Chen Xiaodao said slowly. "Or rather, he's gathering his strength." This is a fighting state he deliberately cultivates and releases. Like a boxer preparing for the ring, he needs to get his emotions in check. He's suppressing his usual flamboyance, drawing all his attention and aggression inward, concentrating them."

His movements were slow, but with each clench of his fist, the muscles in his arm would suddenly tense up, and the veins would become visible.

"He's sensing the power, confirming his control," Chen Xiaodao analyzed. "Nie Wanlong's gambling style is bold and aggressive, with an imposing presence. But that presence needs to be backed by confidence and precise control. His current quietness is so that when he goes on stage later, he can unleash an even more ferocious and precise momentum."

Weakness — This highly concentrated state requires sustained emotional investment. Once the momentum falters, or is suppressed by a stronger force, the psychological impact will be immense, potentially leading to subsequent misjudgments.

Chen Xiaodao leaned back in his chair, his gaze sweeping back and forth across the four main screens.

Chen Jincheng relies on high technology and super memory, making him as precise as an instrument, but he fears chaos and unknown variables.

Jiang Zhenyi is cunning and shrewd, with his physiological regulation reaching its peak, but his physical condition is a weakness that prevents him from sustaining his abilities, and he seems to be plotting an even bigger conspiracy.

Sun Yifeng is a technology fanatic with multidimensional perception, but he is obsessed with his self-constructed "perfect model" and lacks the ability to adapt to external interference.

Nie Wanlong – He possesses a fierce and aggressive temperament and is adept at psychological pressure, but his state requires warm-up and maintenance, and he is easily affected by external interference and counterattacks.

Four people, four completely different styles.

"Ah Guang, send the data on these four people to the boss~ I've completely figured them out!"

Half an hour before the Starship God of Gamblers battle.

VIPs have been arriving one after another. Song Zhaowen is wearing a perfectly tailored midnight blue suit, without a tie, and with his collar slightly open, looking as handsome as dawn!

Accompanied by Xiao Zhuoxiao and Tony, they entered the main hall of the casino ship through a private passage. The wealthy guests, celebrities, and business tycoons who had been waiting for a long time immediately swarmed around them like bees smelling honey.

"Mr. Song! Congratulations! The Star River's maiden voyage has already generated such a grand spectacle; its future is limitless!"

A Hong Kong real estate developer wearing gold-rimmed glasses and sporting a potbelly was the first to bow, his face beaming with smiles.

"Mr. Situ, you're too kind. It's all thanks to everyone's support," Song Zhaowen replied with a smile, shaking hands with him.

This Situ Guang started out selling fish balls on the street and is now a well-known real estate player in the city. He loves to speculate on land and acquire old buildings. There are rumors in the underworld that this guy has connections with the Water House and uses all sorts of methods to acquire old buildings. He is utterly ruthless and has the nickname "Robbery Guang".

"Brother Song, I heard your Wenji Foods is doing really well lately! After partnering with Huangtian Group, the valuation has soared to 800 million? Unbelievable, unbelievable!" Another shipping business owner squeezed in, his voice booming, "How about it, before the IPO, is there a chance for me to get a stake? The price is negotiable!"

"Boss Li is really well-informed." Song Zhaowen's smile remained unchanged: "Wenji's achievements are all thanks to everyone's support. As for the listing and financing, they are still in the planning stage. I will definitely inform Boss Li as soon as an opportunity arises."

"Mr. Song, I'm Smith from HSBC. We're very interested in underwriting Man Kee's IPO. Do you have time to discuss this further?" A blond, blue-eyed foreigner also approached, speaking broken Cantonese.

"Mr. Smith, thank you for your kind offer. Let's schedule another time after the competition."

For a time, congratulations, conversations, and expressions of interest in cooperation filled the air. Among these people were those genuinely interested in investing, those hoping to get a share of the profits, and those simply there to make their names known. But without exception, they all showed great interest and enthusiasm for Song Zhaowen, this "miracle boy" who had multiplied his assets dozens of times in a year.

In Hong Kong, money talks, and power makes you a hero.

Song Zhaowen possessed both qualities, naturally becoming the most dazzling center.