Zhou Lin

Tokyo Bay, the throat of Sakuranofu Honshu Island in the central and eastern part of the island.

In the past century, with the continuous rise of sea levels and a large amount of man-made transformation, the shape and area of ​​Tokyo Bay have undergone great changes.

In 2136, the federal government approved the Sakuranofu local government to build an artificial island in the sea between the Miura Peninsula and the Ito region, and to reclaim land at the southern end of Minamiboso City. This project further lengthened the depth of Tokyo Bay; when the project was completed Afterwards, a long and narrow land wonder was born.

Today, people can depart from luxury hotels in Tokyo's Koto District in the evening, take a cruise ship and sail along the hinterland of Tokyo Bay, enjoy the stunning night views on both sides of the strait in the gentle sea breeze, and catch the sunrise on the Pacific Ocean at dawn. out.

Of course, this fun... comes at a price.

…………

On an autumn night, the moon is as bright as a mirror.

A luxury cruise ship named "Four Leaf Clover" set sail from Tokyo Bay.

Except for the security and service personnel, this ship can be said to be filled with big shots from all over the world; or rather... the descendants of big shots.

From the son of the president of the Federal Petroleum Group in the Middle East to the descendant of a well-known North American chaebol family; from the eldest grandson of a South American agricultural tycoon to the celebrities in Western European counties.

Tonight's Clover can be said to have gathered the "elite class" of three generations of young, young and middle-aged people from the Federation. It is not an exaggeration to say that this ship carries the "future of the Federation".

Among them, the one with the highest status should be Arai Ryunosuke, the son of Shinichiro Arai.

The real Ryunosuke Arai is a few years older than Hide, slightly fatter, and looks 70% similar to his father; in terms of personality... he is similar to the "fake Ryuunosuke" played by Hide, he is He likes to play, and as long as he is facing people who interest him, he doesn't have much airs. Of course...if someone really makes him angry, he will exercise his privileges unceremoniously and make the other person pay a lot of money. A terrible price.

At this moment, Ryunosuke is sitting in his exclusive cabin, accompanied by a bodyguard, waiting for the arrival of his partner.

Because the organizers of the "Supreme Game" have strictly stipulated that each guest is only allowed to bring three accompanying persons on board, and only one of them is allowed to be a partner in the game, so most people choose two bodyguards plus The configuration of a professional gambler.

Ryuunosuke was an exception. He only brought one bodyguard, and the other two were Sakaki as a game partner, and Hide, who served as both advisor and bodyguard.

Didi——

At 6:40 pm, more than an hour before the start of "The Supreme Game", the electronic door of Ryunosuke's cabin rang twice.

The bodyguard in the room walked to the door in three steps and pressed the answer button on the communicator.

"It's me, Axiu." Axiu's voice came from him, "I brought Sakaki-kun."

When the bodyguard heard this, he looked back at Ryuzosuke, and when he saw the latter nodded, he opened the door.

Outside the door, there was no doubt Axiu and Sakaki.

A Xiu wore a black casual suit today, a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of her nose, and her hair was neatly combed.

He is still the decent man who looks to be around thirty years old, calm and reliable; but whether this feeling is real or part of his "performance", I am afraid only he can tell.

Sakaki looked much more flamboyant than Axiu, at least a little more energetic than a young man; he was wearing a black shirt, a dark denim jacket, and jeans. I don't know if it was intentional or not, but tonight he put a lot of hairspray on his short hair and styled it like Yusuke Urameshi.

"Eh? Why are you here?" As soon as he opened the door, Sakaki blurted out this sentence when he looked at the bodyguard brother in front of him.

The bodyguard obviously knew Sakaki, and he replied calmly: "Work." Then he turned sideways and let the two people in.

The electronic door quickly closed on its own. Ryunosuke happily sat up from the sofa, walked up to Sakaki and said, "Haha, Sakaki-kun, I can see you in person."

Before tonight, although Sakaki had lived in one of Ryunosuke's mansions for two weeks, Ryunosuke himself had not come to see him during this period.

The reason was not that the person involved didn't want to see him, but that Ryunosuke really didn't have time.

After all, Ryunosuke's father is one of the Federation's "Ten Cabinet Assistants". If his son comes to attend such an inexplicable gathering of the second generation of rich and powerful people, it is inevitable that rumors will leak out. Shinichiro Arai naturally believes that it is better to do less than to do more. attitude; but Ryunosuke was very enthusiastic and seemed to have to come, so Shinichiro Arai used his politician's skills and arranged several "business matters" for his son through "dealing". "Child" - it is the kind of cumbersome official work that has little technical content but can be used as future political achievements. This is a prerequisite for Ryunosuke to participate in this "nonsense".

Therefore, as early as a month ago, Ryunosuke started running for these official duties, so he also left the job of finding a "partner" to Axiu. Until this morning, Ryunosuke had just finished his work and took a private flight back to Sakura Mansion.

"Hello, Mr. Arai." Sakaki was quite polite to this real Ryunosuke, similar to the attitude he had before he discovered Axiu's identity.

"I've heard of the name 'Victory Master' for a long time. I've watched the video of you killing the ghost attendants in my villa. It's really well-deserved." Ryunosuke looked very excited, which was inevitable... Although he was keen on Gambling, but this is the first time I have come into contact with a real master who lives in that dark world.

"It's okay, I just dealt with a few minor characters." Sakaki said, tilting his head slightly and looking to his side and behind him, "Mr. Arai, you are so powerful that you can even invite Hanazuka... …”

The "Flower Tomb" he refers to is Ryunosuke's bodyguard.

This person's name is Huazhong Burianwo. He is 1.95 meters tall and weighs 150 kilograms. Although he has a very exaggerated weight, his appearance does not look obese or even bloated. It's full of burly and strong feeling.

Huazhong has a face that looks like a ghost enshrined in a temple. Just this face can scare a child into crying, or scare a child who is already crying to stop crying.

At the age of sixteen, Hanazuka became a cadre of the famous organization "Gaki Yugumi" in Hanazuki Town with his fists; since then, he has never failed.

Because he is specifically responsible for the martial arts affairs in the group, whether he is singled out or facing a group fight, he always fights with his bare hands... As time goes by, more and more people who do not know Huazhong's name and have been defeated by him... The more he did, the more they gave him the title - "Hustle Master" (note, the pronunciation of "Hustle" in Japanese is "fight").

The so-called "two legends" of Kagetsu Town, one is the "Winner and Loser Master", and the other is the "Noisy Master".

"Oh~ You mean Hanazuka-kun, you seem to know each other, right? Haha." Two seconds later, Ryuzosuke smiled and replied, "He was also found for me by Axiu." As he said that, he While walking up to Hanazhong, he clenched his fist and lightly tapped Hanazhong's chest twice with his backhand, half-jokingly, "Look...it's super reliable, right? It's like a humanoid Gundam, hahaha."

"That's right." Sakaki agreed, and immediately whispered to A Xiu beside him, "Your ability to find people is a bit beyond my expectation."

"Hanazhong-kun is much easier to find than you." Axiu shrugged, "I took Mr. Arai's business card and went directly to the head of the Yuan Yu Group's headquarters to ask for someone, and he was quickly invited out."

"Well..." Sakaki groaned, "Anyway, since Hanazhong is here, there is no problem with safety... However, regarding the 'game', I have to say hello in advance..." He paused After a pause, he looked at Ryunosuke and said, "Mr. Arai, I hope you can understand that when it comes to gambling, I can only say do your best. There is no gambling in this world that is 100% sure to win before it starts, even if it is close. At the end, there may be surprises that can reverse the outcome.”

"Well~ I am also a veteran. I understand all these and will not force others to make things difficult." Ryuzosuke continued in a very relaxed tone, "I gamble... originally not to win money, but to pursue the joy in the process. A sense of excitement; if there is no risk of failure, what's the point of gambling?" When he said this, his tone changed slightly, "But... the feeling of losing is not good after all. I can accept losing, but if I haven't fully enjoyed myself, I will lose. Losing, or losing ugly... I can't accept this."

"Understood." Sakaki nodded, "It's best if you can win. Even if you can't win, you have to lose calmly."

"Yes, yes! That's what I mean." Ryuzosuke nodded in agreement.

"Mr. Arai, you can rest assured on this." Axiu took over the words tactfully at this time, "No matter what you say, Sakaki-kun is the strongest gambler I have screened out in the entire Sakura Mansion, and there is no way he will be broken. Your face."

"Well... that's good." Ryunosuke said, returning to his seat, "Okay, let's not talk about that. The game won't start for more than an hour. Let's have a drink first."

…………

After three rounds of drinking, Ryunosuke was a little tipsy and wanted to take a nap.

Sakaki and Axiu left Hanazhong to guard the room, and they came to the side of the ship.

Under the moonlight and in the sea breeze, Axiu lit a cigarette for Sakaki, and then lit one for herself.

The two of them looked at the gorgeous lights carefully decorated on the embankment in the distance and were silent for a moment.

Then, it was Sakaki who spoke first.

"Have you been here before?" Sakaki asked.

"Fu—" Axiu blew out smoke, "I've been here before, what's the matter?"

"Do you still remember how you felt when you first saw this scenery?" Sakaki asked.

Axiu thought for a while and responded: "I don't remember."

This is the truth. He rarely remembers emotional things. On the contrary, he always tries his best to forget those memories.

"Really...it's really good." Sakaki said, taking a puff of his cigarette.

Axiu knew that he still had something to say, so he didn't say anything and just waited silently.

After a while, Sakaki spoke again and spoke eloquently, "There once was a boy... His family was very poor. His father worked very hard, almost all year round, and his mother also had to work part-time in addition to taking care of the family. To subsidize the family; for this family, finding a day when all three of them are free to go to the zoo... is a luxury."

When he said this, he would stop and take a puff of cigarette from time to time, as if he was reminiscing or reflecting.

"However, on the boy's fourteenth birthday, a miracle happened... His parents happened to fly in the same sky. They thought this was a rare opportunity and should celebrate it, so they bought three tickets to take a cruise in Tokyo Bay. Sightseeing boat tickets, come here together to see the night view.

"That day, the boy saw the scenery in front of him for the first time. He felt...this was the most beautiful place in the world, and the happiness of laughing with his parents at that moment was the happiest moment in his life."

At this point, Sakaki frowned again and took a deep breath of cigarette: "His idea... is half right." Two seconds later, he continued, "It turns out that his parents were not free that day, but were in front of him. One day, we happened to be laid off together.

"They could no longer bear the burden of life and did not want the boy to live on the streets with them and suffer, so... they sold all the valuable things at home, plus the little savings they had, to buy the three boat tickets. The purpose is to allow his son to have a happy birthday like ordinary children, and for the three of them to make the best memories together.

“When they got home that night, after the boy went to sleep, the couple turned on the gas switch and put out the fire.

"Because of poverty, they were still using old gas sources; carbon monoxide quickly claimed their lives, but the boy... miraculously survived."

This was the end of Sakaki's narration. He didn't talk about the rest of the story, but Axiu roughly guessed it.

"Why are you telling me this?" A Xiu thought after a while.

"I don't know." Sakaki had finished smoking the entire cigarette and threw it into the sea. "Maybe... I drank too much." He paused, "Or maybe, it's because I think you are a capable person." A tight-lipped person.”

Axiu didn't say anything more, but he knew that there was another "maybe" that Sakaki didn't say.

Maybe... Over the years, Sakaki couldn't find anyone to talk to about anything.

The gambler's world is a world of strong predators and intrigues, and speaking out means exposing flaws; men who live in this world can only become "legends" by shouldering everything, burying all their emotions in their hearts, and moving forward alone.

scold--

Just then, the cabin door behind them opened.

Huazhong's figure, which was larger than the hatch, squeezed out first. This man had just drunk the most wine, but looking at his cold expression and dark complexion, it seemed that the alcohol had been filtered by him in his throat without having any impact on him.

"Well - it feels much better to lie down for a while." Ryunosuke followed Hanazuka and stretched out. After seeing Sakaki and Axiu, he said, "You two, it's almost time. Let's How about we go to the banquet hall first to check it out?"