Cheating the Cheat

“As I thought…”

“I’m basically a full-on caveman, aren’t I?”

Sui Ming howled up at the sky, looking just like one of those desperate Chengdu men forced to sleep on the streets. Who the hell knew what fate had in store for him?

Except there were no Zhonghua cigarettes here for him to puff on—only the crisp, unpolluted air of a pre-industrial world rushing into his lungs.

“Screw it… better think about how to make money, or I’ll starve to death in this dump.”

Before he knew it, Sui Ming and Bai Ling had wandered near a brightly lit building draped in celebratory banners.

Soft red lights spilled out from within, accompanied by an intoxicating atmosphere that pulled people in.

Above the building’s gate hung a simple sign with bold characters: CASINO.

No fancy ornaments—just that one obvious word.

Driven by curiosity, Sui Ming slowly pushed open the casino doors.

He wanted to see how a casino in this world differed from the ones back on Earth.

As his right foot crossed the threshold, a strange silence immediately swept over the room.

In his mind, casinos were supposed to be loud, bustling, filled with music, flashing lights, and the sound of people gambling away their fortunes.

But this place… this felt like he’d walked into a mafia den.

Everyone’s eyes turned toward the white-haired boy standing at the entrance.

Under their watchful stares, Sui Ming approached a gambling table.

The dealer, dressed in a crisp white shirt, shot him a scornful glance—almost like he was laughing at Sui Ming’s ignorance—and then announced, “Place your bets.”

Sui Ming took a 100-Fal bill from his pocket and placed it on the board—specifically on the number 21.

Once everyone had placed their bets, the dealer pulled a small lever, and a metallic ball dropped down onto the spinning wheel.

“Hey, first time here?” asked a brown-haired man beside him.

“Oh? Got any tips for me, sir?” Sui Ming grinned.

“Nope,” the man shrugged. “This game’s all up to fate. There’s no trick to it.”

“It’s all just luck.”

Sui Ming smiled faintly. “Well then, let’s leave it to fate, shall we?”

The greenish metal ball spun rapidly around the roulette wheel like a hunting hawk, indifferent to the hopeful eyes of the crowd.

Would it bring fortune or ruin? Only that little sphere knew.

Many seasoned gamblers, long addicted to this endless road of risk, closed their eyes and prayed for a miracle.

Finally, the ball began to slow—drawing all eyes toward it.

It landed on number 21.

The only spot with a single chip on it.

“Lucky you, kid!” The brown-haired man clapped Sui Ming on the shoulder in praise.

“Nah, just a fluke,” Sui Ming replied modestly.

He didn’t even look at the eightfold return of his bet. His eyes were already scanning the stacks of chips piled high on other sections of the table.

Honestly, he hadn’t expected to win.

His goal with the first bet had simply been to test the mechanics—to see if this game worked like the roulette tables from his past life.

But after seeing the gleeful expression on the dealer’s face… he had a pretty good idea of what was going on.

“Hey, old man, wanna make some real money?”

“Hm?”

The older man looked at Sui Ming with surprise, then frowned. “Isn’t this game random?”

“Are you in or not? If not, I’ll go it alone.”

Seeing the determined look in Sui Ming’s eyes, the man chuckled and pushed over the rest of his fifty chips.

“Well, isn’t this a gamble in itself?”

The surrounding gamblers snickered as they watched the old man hand over all his chips to a kid.

“Don’t come crying when you’re buried in debt!” someone jeered.

But Sui Ming ignored the mockery, his eyes locked on the roulette table.

Round two began.

Players placed their bets, some even kissing their chips as if that would bless them with luck. Gross.

Sui Ming stood quietly, watching the wheel with hawk-like intensity.

Only four spots remained unoccupied—every other position on the wheel was stacked high with chips like tiny mountains.

At the final second, Sui Ming silently placed all the chips on one of the empty spots and moved to stand directly beside the dealer.

The dealer glanced at the mountain of chips stacked across the board and smiled smugly.

He didn’t notice the small pile quietly positioned behind Sui Ming.

The ball dropped.

As it spun, gamblers across the room were flooded with dopamine, their hearts pounding in sync with its rotation.

Sui Ming alone remained calm, his gaze emotionless.

Then, just a moment before the ball could land, the dealer finally noticed the hidden stack of chips.

“You little brat, trying to pull a fast one? Not bad… but not good enough.”

With a subtle twitch of his finger, a faint blue light flickered.

In a barely noticeable motion, the ball’s spin slowed slightly.

Of course, Sui Ming caught it. Whether the dealer was using magnets or some other magical power, Sui Ming had already accounted for it.

A nearly invisible thread had been looped around the edge of the roulette wheel, leading precisely to the spot where Sui Ming had placed his chips.

Because nearly the entire board was full, the only plausible spot the dealer could guide the ball to was next to Sui Ming’s chips—one of the only other empty spaces.

The dealer’s Blessing was called [Magnetic Attraction], allowing him to manipulate magnetic fields within a small range—not unlike a low-grade superpower.

That was also why the ball was made of metal—to give him full control.

He had already scammed countless gamblers this way.

Until he ran into someone even more shameless: Sui Ming.

Just as the ball was about to pass Sui Ming’s pile, it suddenly jerked slightly… then bounced backward.

It landed squarely on top of Sui Ming’s mountain of chips.

Gasps echoed around the room.

The dealer’s eyes widened in disbelief. What just happened?

Thanks to the chips the old man had contributed—and Sui Ming’s own—the total was 150 chips.

Each chip was worth 100 Fal.

That meant Sui Ming had just won about 120,000 Fal in one round.

In any casino, that kind of win would be considered unacceptable.