Chapter 43 Following Good Fortune

  The waiters and customers in the restaurant rushed out, discussing the explosion that had just occurred in terror. In the distance, the sirens of fire trucks and ambulances could be heard. The two of them managed to squeeze through the crowd, climbed up a short flight of stairs, entered the corridor, and arrived at Guo's room.

  Jin Qiang first turned on the radio in front of the fireplace, while Guo Guoyong took off his blood-stained clothes and described to Jin Qiang everything that had just happened.

  After listening to Guo Guoyong's description of those two people, Jin Qiang immediately picked up the phone beside Guo Guoyong's bed.

  "...Tell the police station." He said finally, "Tell them that a person from New Zealand was knocked down by a bomb but not injured. We'll take care of this matter, so they can rest assured."

  In half an hour, I will explain to them and they can explain to the press that this is a vendetta between two tobacco monopolies, both of the attackers are dead.

  They didn't have to mention the third Balkan who was on the run, but they had to catch him at all costs. He must have escaped inland, so immediately set up roadblocks everywhere and conduct surprise checks. Got it? Well, good luck then."

  Jin Qiang turned to Guo Guoyong and listened as he recounted all the details.

  "Consider yourself lucky, brother," Jin Qiang said as soon as Guo Guoyong finished speaking. "It's clear that the bomb was meant for you, they must have made some mistake, they originally wanted to throw the bomb over and hide behind the tree, but the whole thing happened in a different way. Don't worry, we'll find out the truth."

  He paused for a moment. "But this incident shows that things are very serious. These guys seem to be seriously dealing with you."

  Jin Qiang assumed a duelist's stance. "But how do these damned Balkans plan to escape pursuit? What's the difference between those red and blue boxes, anyway? We must find that red box fragment as soon as possible."

  Jin Qiang bit his fingernail, as the leader of the action group he was very excited, and as a Eurasian hybrid, his blue eyes sparkled.

  It seems that this case is far from as simple as it was originally thought, in any case, he has personally become embroiled in the incident, at the same time as Guo Guoyong and Liefen are competing on the gambling table, he certainly cannot just be standing by to fetch clothes for Guo Guoyong.

  Jin Qiang jumped up. "Now drink some wine, eat a lunch, and rest for a while," he said to Guo Guoyong. "Before the police arrive at the scene, I must quickly investigate this case."

  Jin Qiang turned off the radio and gave Guo Guoyong a meaningful wave goodbye, then closed the door and the room fell silent once again.

  Kuo Kuo-yung sat by the window for a while, savoring the joy of being alive.

  Kuo Kuo-yung began sipping on the ice-cubed pure whiskey, savoring the foie gras and chilled lobster platter that the waiter had just brought him, when the phone rang.

  "I am Miss Linda." The voice was low and urgent.

  "Are you okay?"

  "Alright."

  "I'm very happy, take care of yourself."

  She hung up the phone.

  Guo Guoyong shook his head and then picked up a knife, selecting the thickest hot bun.

  He suddenly thought: they reimbursed two people, but I got an extra female assistant. The battle has just begun, and the good show is yet to come.

  He put the knife into the cup with boiling water, savoring the delicious lobster, and suddenly thought that he should give the waiter double the tip to thank him for bringing this delicious meal.

  Kwok decided to take a good rest in preparation for the gambling session that might go on till late at night, and he had booked a masseur to come and give him a massage at three o'clock.

  After the leftover Chinese food was taken away, he sat by the window, leisurely admiring the scenery of Qinghai Beach.

  Suddenly, a knock at the door was heard. He looked at his watch and it was already three o'clock. A robust masseur walked in.

  He silently began to massage Guo Guoyong, from his feet to his neck, relaxing the tense muscles in his body and calming the nerves that were still trembling in his mind.

  The bruises on Guo Guoyong's left shoulder gradually faded away, and the cramps in his ribs also stopped. After the massage therapist left, Guo Guoyong quickly fell asleep.

  In the late afternoon, he woke up from a nap and felt refreshed and invigorated.

  Kuo Kuo-yung took a cold shower and then went to the Ching-cheng Mining Spring Club.

  Since the night before last, his luck at the casino hasn't been so good, now he needs to make some adjustments, he must regain that half wisdom and half intuition attention, and can't get excited, be optimistic and confident, he knows these are all key factors for winning cards, for any gambler.

  Kwok Ko-yung was always a skilled gambler, enjoying the crisp slapping sound of shuffling cards, delighted to watch, fond of those dramatic numbers that kept quietly appearing around the green table.

  He likes the serious and solemn atmosphere of the card room and casino, likes the chairs with beautiful armrests, likes the champagne or whiskey glasses placed on the elbow, and likes those meticulous and courteous waiters.

  He can't help but be fascinated by the spinning roulette wheel, he likes to be an actor and also likes to be a spectator, sitting in his own chair to speculate on others' cards and finally say out that generally only means fifty percent chance of winning - follow or fold.

  In short, he thinks victory or defeat is all in a flash of thought. All decisions are made by oneself and one should not blame others for failure.

  People always have good and bad luck. What's important is that people must keep a clear head, win without being arrogant, lose without being discouraged. Can't take advantage of the situation to attack recklessly, can't misjudge the situation when things don't go well.

  He regards luck as a woman, who should be gently wooed, and never coerced or grasped with violence.

  But he also frankly admits that he has not yet tasted the bitterness of cards and women, and when such a thing really happens one day, he knows that he will also admit his mistakes like others.

  On that June evening, when Guo Guoyong took a shortcut to the club hall, he suddenly felt a sense of confidence and a strong desire to participate in a big gamble.

  He exchanged ten thousand dollars for one hundred chips and sat down beside the croupier at table number one.

  Kwok Kwok-yung took the record card from the accountant and carefully studied the situation of each disk operation since the opening at 3 pm. Every time he sat down at the table, he would first look at the records, although he knew that each rotation of the wheel, each ball falling into the numbered slot, had nothing to do with the previous operation.

  On the roulette wheel, the sequence of rotation, each slot with a letter and the mechanical details of the cylinder are all well-designed. After years of operation, it has almost reached perfection, and any human effort cannot affect the fall of the ivory ball.

  However, experienced gamblers usually conduct in-depth research on each past roulette spin to summarize the characteristics of the wheel's rotation. For example, by paying attention to and thinking about the running results of the previous number, the possibility of winning is relatively high.

  In fact, Guo Guoyong does not stick to conventions, he just thinks that the more effort and wisdom invested in gambling, the greater the possibility of winning.

  After studying the record card of No. 1 roulette table, he found that the third group of numbers, namely 25-36, were unlucky. So he decided to put the highest bet on each number in the first and second groups, 1-12 and 13-24, with a bet of $1,000 for each group.

  He played seven times and won six times.

  In the seventh round, a 30 appeared, so he lost. His net income at this time was $5,000.

  On the eighth spin, he rested once and didn't bet. This time it just happened to be 0 that won, and his calculation was quite accurate. Then he continued to play, but lost twice, causing him to lose four thousand dollars. However, his luck kept getting better afterwards.

  When he finally stood up from the table, he had made a profit of one million dollars.

  Kwok Ko-yung started with a high-stakes bet, making everyone look at him in a new light. One of them even followed his lead and placed the same bet, sitting across from Bond with an especially friendly and excited expression, as if he was going to split the winnings with Kwok.

  Kuo Kuo-yung could tell he was an American, and the man, having successfully emulated his tactics to gain an advantage, couldn't help but look radiant with joy, even smiling at him a couple of times and nodding in acknowledgement.

  When Guo Guoyong stood up, he also pulled the chair and stood up, facing the table with a pleasant shout: "I've benefited from you quite a bit, I'd like to invite you for a drink to show my gratitude, would you like to come?"

  Guo Guoyong felt that this person might be a CIA agent. As they walked towards the bar together, he knew his judgment was correct. Guo Guoyong threw a chip to the cashier and another to the waiter as a small tip.

  "My name is Felix Wright," said the American. "Nice to meet you."

  "My name is Guo Guoyong."

  "Oh, great," Wright said, "let me think for a moment how we can celebrate."

  Kwok Kwok-yung insisted on asking Rutter to have a drink of Rock whisky, then he took a close look at the bartender.

  "A martini," he said. "One, poured into a deep champagne goblet."

  "Yes, sir."

  "Wait a minute, I want to change it up. Mix three parts gin, one part vodka, and half part Cointreau together, chill it, shake well, then add a big slice of lemon peel. Got it?"

  "Of course, sir." The bartender seemed to appreciate this way of eating.

  "Ah, this is the real deal, it's gotta be potent," said Wright.

  Kuo Kuo-yung burst out laughing. "When I concentrate on thinking about a problem," he explained, "I drink at most one glass before dinner, but this one glass must be icy, strong and flavorful, and it has to be a cocktail. The way that cocktail was mixed is my patented technique, and once I think of an interesting name for it, I'll go apply for the patent."

  He spoke as he watched the bartender pour the well-made cocktail into a glass, carefully admiring the pale yellow liquid in the deep cup, slightly foamy from the bartender's stirring earlier. He reached out and picked up the glass, taking a big sip.

  "Very good," he said to the bartender. "But if your vodka is made from wheat instead of potatoes, this drink would be even better."

  The bartender smiled in surprise.

  Lait was still very interested in Guo's wine. "You're quite clever," he said with great pleasure.

  As they approached the corner of the house with their cups, Wright said in a low voice: "You've tasted it at lunch today, haven't you? Better call it - Molotov cocktail."

  They sat down, and Guo Guoyong laughed heartily with a knowing smile.