pdf-ebookys Chapter 165 The Devil Never Abandons a Gambler
Chapter 165 The Devil Never Abandons a Gambler
Chapter 175 The Devil Never Abandons a Gambler
Money is what makes this world work.
Although the Plasma Group is an organization that brings together like-minded people based on shared ideals, what truly sustains its operation is the massive cash flow that circulates like blood between the group and its members.
The wealth gathered from the treasures excavated and converted from the ruins of the ancient kingdoms, the monthly donations from the outer followers of the Plasma Group, and the regular public fundraising organized by various elven liberation organizations—all these resources are entrusted to Vio and Rhodes, two of the Seven Sages, and then reinvested in the financial markets.
Of these two wise men, Vio is a high-performing investment expert, while Rhodes is a world-renowned economist; they specialize in short-term and long-term investing, respectively. When they reach a consensus on a particular financial decision, reality will inevitably unfold exactly as these two experts predicted.
These two financial masters, based on insider information obtained by the Plasma Group from various less-than-honorable sources, select suitable debt and assets for investment and acquisition, and then reinvest batches of funds in a way that maximizes returns.
Under this information asymmetry and near-cheating financial manipulation, Plasma Group's investment in each round can achieve a stable net return of almost 50%, while the risk is almost zero—a ratio that is enough to make any financial investor question their existence. If any of them could accomplish such a large-scale investment in their lifetime, they would be able to achieve financial freedom ahead of time, retire gloriously, and lie on their laurels to boast to their descendants for the rest of their lives.
Such incredible miracles are nothing more than routine occurrences within the Plasma Cluster.
If it weren't for the fact that the Plasma Group needs to spend a lot of money every year to expand its military, develop scientific research, and win over followers, and that the sociological law of diminishing marginal returns is still stubbornly in effect, the Plasma Group would have already ruled the world with this tried-and-tested economic means.
However, this once powerful and unstoppable financial bond has now become a noose around the neck of the plasma group.
.
"The Plasma Group's funding chain has broken down—no, to be precise, more than half of it has evaporated out of thin air. This change has caused a chain reaction in the financial market. Companies that had sold us high-quality assets have caught wind of this and have begun to demand the return of their assets from the cult at bargain prices. Companies that were originally afraid to default on their loans due to the power of the Plasma Group have also become shameless and have put forward many harsh repayment demands."
"The total investment of the cult is too large, and it is impossible to hide our current predicament. Moreover, these companies that are making things difficult for us have had some conflicts of interest with the cult in the past. Now, their kicking us when we are down is mostly driven by personal grudges, and they cannot be easily dealt with."
Smura, reporting the situation to N, said with a bitter expression—
"If the crisis in the funding chain cannot be resolved in time, the cult's assets will shrink to the point where it cannot maintain its current size. And if we consider the chaos caused by a sudden weakening, it is not impossible for it to collapse directly. After all, there have been too many forces in history that have been swallowed up by the times because they lost their order."
"How did the cult's cash flow evaporate?" N calmly countered.
The green-haired youth was surprised to find that he had no emotional change whatsoever, as if he were just casually asking about a topic that interested him, and that the survival of the Plasma Group was none of his concern.
It was clearly the organization that had nurtured me for over twenty years.
Before him, Smura remained silent for a long time, then squeezed out two words from between her teeth, which were thinning with age—
"Bilberry".
.
The story begins on the day Cranberry joined the group.
The price this notorious evil-type Elite Four member paid to join Team Plasma wasn't excessive; at least his demands seemed reasonable compared to his status and value.
He made no pact with the cult, nor did he ask for any position within the organization. All he wanted was a large sum of money—or rather, a large sum of gambling money.
The reason this gambler, who had always portrayed himself as a reformed prodigal son, chose to betray the alliance seems to be because he could no longer tolerate the rules and regulations within the system.
Like a megalodon thirsting for blood, he lurked in the dried-up riverbed, his claws growing impatient, always dreaming of diving into the deeper, darker ocean.
In Unova, only the lawless Team Plasma is qualified to give him everything he wants.
"Since we still cannot confirm whether Blueberry is sincerely pledging allegiance, even after the museum incident and the complete break between Blueberry and the Pokémon League, the Order still insists on providing Blueberry with only the bare minimum of additional funding—just one-tenth of the funds they requested, which is 50 million yuan."
Smura explained this to N, glancing repeatedly at the electronic chart indicating the yacht's direction of travel, seemingly quite concerned about the ship's operation.
The Yuan is the standard currency unit used by the Pokémon League worldwide; it is not a large-denomination currency.
Two hundred dollars can buy a Poké Ball, and the same price can buy a bottle of Delicious Water that can cure Pokémon—the detective's commission for private cases outside the police force is fifty thousand dollars, which is said to be a standard price that is neither cheap nor elite.
Ms. Douzi is currently covering N's expenses.
However, even the smallest monetary unit becomes an enormous sum of money when the quantity reaches a certain level.
If 50 million yuan is only one-tenth, then the full amount demanded by the other party is...
For some reason, the image of Douzi's gleaming eyes popped into his mind, and the green-haired youth sighed: "Although I don't have much of a concept of worldly wealth, this should be a lot of money, right?"
"Yes, but considering the other party's status as a superstar, even if we really paid 500 million yuan, it wouldn't be outrageous. At the time, we thought that just being able to keep track of a superstar's movements and shake the alliance's authority through his betrayal was already worth the money. But in the end, that guy's reliability was still questionable."
The old man said with emotion.
"Even if Lanju has a bad reputation, she is still a trainer who once held the title of Elite Four. I find it hard to believe that her actions this time do not have a deeper purpose. Therefore, we seven sages have unanimously decided to change the lump-sum payment to a monthly installment for that Elite Four member, and the down payment for this amount is fifty million."
It seems that not only I, who can listen to the thoughts of Pokémon, but any Team Plasma member with basic judgment is wary of Cranberry.
It seems being an undercover agent is really not easy.
However, Smura's narrative then took an unexpected and abrupt turn—
"But despite this, we ultimately paid him the full amount he asked for."
"Five hundred million yuan, not a penny less, was handed over to the gambler in cash—at the transaction site, ten money counting machines worked together for a whole day, and the neatly stacked banknotes almost filled the room."
"What method did Yueju use to change the mind of the cult that didn't trust him?"
N did not continue to consider the relationship between the exorbitant labor costs of blueberries and the cash flow caused by the evaporation of plasma clusters; instead, he simply raised questions according to his own desires.
"These three ninjas should know more about the situation back then, right?"
Smura pointed to the Dark Iron Triangle, which was still busy working beside the navigation equipment.
They witnessed the first gamble after the Dark Elite Four member dived into the dark depths of the sea, the first game after the shrewd gambler with shark-like teeth let loose, and the first battle after a gambler broke his vow.
.
"Then let's guess with a coin."
At that time, King Yueju, while picking his ear in a completely unladylike manner, said this to the ninjas who were acting as the Seven Sages.
"As you can see, I am not good at bargaining. Since we have a difference of opinion, let's resolve the dispute in the simplest way possible."
Yueju took out a black wallet from the pocket of her dark blue dress, opened the inner compartment, and took out a silver coin.
"With the recent popularity of mobile payments, physical currency like this has become increasingly rare. Some young people even can't understand what change is. This is a great loss to the gambling industry, because these coins that clink and jingle in your pocket are actually the most perfect gambling tool in the world."
The Dark Master held up a coin and slowly waved it in front of the ninjas.
One side, then the other side.
Enough to see any detail clearly.
There are no hidden mechanisms on the thin layer of iron-nickel alloy.
“Go contact your leaders and tell them my terms of surrender—a gamble.”
"Using the 50 million yuan I should have received as a wager, I will toss this coin ten times. If all the tosses result in heads, please multiply the wager tenfold and pay me the original 500 million yuan directly. Otherwise, if even one coin results in a different outcome, that is, heads, I will not take a single penny."
The terms of the wager were quickly conveyed to Quixote's table. The Seven Sages held an emergency meeting and, after an hour of debate, agreed to the wager.
Ten consecutive tosses landing face up, a probability of 2 to the power of 10, or 1024—betting on a mere tenfold return with such a probability is hardly wise.
however--
“They were all… without exception, heads up. After each toss, we checked both sides of the coin, and there were no problems with the center of gravity or the pattern.”
The yacht's course was now mostly straight, and at Smura's prompting, a ninja who had some free time began to describe the gambling game he had personally experienced.
The ninja, who had the air of a leader, lowered his head as he recalled the scene, his slight trembling revealing his current anxiety.
"The gambling scene was broadcast live and recorded, and was also transmitted to us, the high-ranking members of the Plasma Group. Moreover, the recording was repeatedly reviewed countless times afterward. If we only discuss the images on it, we really can't see any trace of cheating."
Smura added from the side, glancing suspiciously at the Dark Iron Triangle, clearly still wondering if they had fallen for some trick by Yueju.
The ninja closed his eyes in remorse, his memory seemingly sinking into that dark and boundless gamble—
In the dimly lit room, Lingju used her long, slender fingers to pick up a coin, flicked it upwards with her thumb, and the rapidly spinning coin seemed to be a constantly flashing ball in the air until it fell to the floor and bounced several times before revealing the exact pattern—a beautiful and vibrant flower.
again and again.
“From the second time onwards, we tried to change the airflow in the room by having the Pokémon flap its wings—even with the best technique, Blueberry couldn’t control the coin’s spin in that wind. For the last three throws, we even got Blueberry’s permission to have the three of us throw the coin in her place—but the result was still the same.”
The three ninjas threw out their last three colored balls.
Yes, it was the Dark Triangle, who were utterly loyal to Group Plasma, who personally tossed the coin that cost the Order 500 million yen.
There was absolutely no possibility of collusion or cheating during this period.
"Is the sect in crisis because it lost 500 million yuan, thus creating a financial deficit?"
N asked naturally.
Smura gave a wry smile: "Your Majesty, you may not be familiar with the overall size of the Order—whether it's fifty million or five hundred million, it poses no threat to Plasma Group's massive cash flow. Just as a person doesn't fall into a coma from a sneeze, the huge sum spent on bribing Blueberry is merely a drop in the ocean of the Order's daily expenses. What truly dealt a devastating blow to the cash flow was something else entirely."
The old man pointed to a spot on the electronic nautical chart.
"That King of Linguine took the 500 million yuan and opened a casino."