Chapter 146

Chapter 146 – Phantom’s Counterattack #1

The preparation for the stage didn’t take long . He used something that was already prepared so he just needed to fix it a little bit .

“It is nice to be here after a while . ”

Tae-hyuk smiled with satisfaction as he looked at the stage devices he worked hard on for three days . It was always fun to appreciate the final product after working hard . There was a small casino in the space that had been empty until a week ago .

This speed was possible because he had the Machina . Tae-hyuk looked at the huge mechanical arm in the corner . It was the same as the one given to Kim Soo-bin after the Doll Play incident . It was just three times larger and it was possible to manipulate it remotely . He added more features with Forgery, allowing it to work at a tremendous speed .

“But who would have expected to play the mafia game here?”

This was the place where the Death Circus had occurred . Choi Sung-yeol, who had originally managed this place, was currently in prison . The various attractions designed to kill the participants were demolished, but the place remained intact inside the building .

“No one wants to buy it because many people died here . ”

In the end, it was a property that would be demolished and then rebuilt . However, it was a building in a secluded spot that was far from the city centre . The land couldn’t even be sold even if it was demolished .

Once he investigated, he heard that it was going over to the court auction soon . There were just signs prohibiting entrance and no guards . This was the best stage for the mafia game .

“Shall I open the casino?”

Tae-hyuk changed into the dealer’s clothes and put on the Phantom mask .

It was time to meet the guests . At almost the same time, six people entered through the door . They used animal masks to hide their faces but it was easy to guess who they were .

The bosses of the Red Mafia, Yakuza, and the Triads, as well as their lieutenants . The fact that they were here meant that their guards were outside the building . Tae-hyuk decided to use Spying to confirm it .

‘Hyu~ there are 33 people altogether . The armed forces are fearsome . Are they trying to fight a war here? And where the hell did they all come from?’

Yamaguchi Takeshi, who also attended, asked,

“Are you Phantom?”

“You must be Takeshi . ”

“Haha . You really do have a lot of courage . ”

As he conversed with Yamaguchi Takeshi, he could feel Caterina’s gaze behind her cat mask . Tae-hyuk turned towards her and smiled . It was almost like they were long-lost lovers . Caterina’s body started to tremble .

Tae-hyuk have to forcibly restrain himself from laughing .

‘People are against Phantom so I have to use everything I can . ’

Tae-hyuk looked at the people gathered and said,

“It seems like everyone has listened to the conditions . ”

The conditions for participating in the mafia game were easy . Each team would have two people, the boss and their aide . They couldn’t bring any weapons that could be used to attack the other teams . Chips purchased with cash would be used to play the games .

Finally, the team that gained the most money would be given Phantom . The winner could decide whether Phantom lived or died, or if they wanted an alliance .

Li Zheng, who was wearing a leopard mask, asked .

“But what happens if I do win? There is no guarantee that you will keep the promise . ”

“Don’t worry about that . The people over there are recording this . I am sending it to you in real time so you don’t have to worry about the promise being broken . ”

Phantom beckoned and a handful of cameramen wearing Phantom masks waved as they stepped through the door . It was fantastic timing, as if they had been waiting outside . It was actually Shin Se-ho and his people .

Li Zheng nodded and said,

“Certainly, it is due to your popularity with the public that you have gotten this far . If the promise is broken, then we can release the video . Then you will no longer have your Phantoms . ”

“Yes . I am putting the phantom mask as a symbol . ”

“I understand . I’ll believe you . ”

Takeshi turned to the other bosses and said,

“Before we play the games, let’s start with a simple self introduction . Isn’t it too childish to refer to each other by the masks?”

Li Zheng nodded and said .

“Li Zheng . This is Jin . ”

Jin was a huge, muscular man . It seemed like he would be able to win in a fight with a bear .

“Yamaguchi Takeshi, head of the Yamaguchi clan . ”

“I am Mister Park . ”

Finally, the group’s gaze turned to Caterina . As the only woman in the room, they knew that she was the boss .

“Caterina . And this is Semon . ”

Li Zheng murmured in a slightly higher pitched voice .

“It is true that Russia is ruled by a queen . ”

Takeshi showed interest in Semon .

“Semon, the merchant of death? If we weren’t meeting in this place then I would have a proposal for you . ”

“We can talk about a deal next time . ”

Once Tae-hyuk tapped his fingers, several dealers came out with glasses of champagne . However, Caterina was the only one to accept it .

Takeshi muttered with a smile .

“There are dealers . This is temporary, but everything needed for a casino is here . Where did you find a place like this? It seems like you have avoided police surveillance . ”

Tae-hyuk just smiled instead of answering .

‘Where did it come from? This is yours . ’

After all, the Yakuza were the ones behind the Death Circus . Yet Yamaguchi Takeshi was the one who asked him this question . It was indeed ironic .

Tae-hyuk’s aides pulled out some bags . They contained the chips that would be used here today .

“The limit is up to one billion won . How much do you want to purchase?”

As the aides in charge of the exchange asked, the lieutenants opened their bags immediately . The money inside was exactly one billion won .

Takeshi muttered,

“You are smart . If you did set a limit then I would’ve definitely won . ”

He had tremendous assets and the chairmen of big companies under him . Casino games were a huge advantage for the rich . For reference, the money they were spending now would become Tae-hyuk’s pocket money .

It was like his savings account . Even if he paid the dealers and cameramen a 10 million won share, he still had 2 . 9 billion won left . It was like winning Lottery 1 at least 10 times . A person could live their whole lives on that money .

He had earned it purely through using Phantom as a symbol .

‘There was a time when I wanted to catch a pickpocket for the bounty . This is a new experience . ’

Three teams bought one billion won each for a total of three billion won . It was literally a huge sum .

‘Can I get Ha-ran noona good marriage gifts with this much money?’

It was enough money for one person’s whole life, but he didn’t intend to end it here .

‘I have no intention of leaving it like this . I will also get my hands on the gold . ’

The lieutenants started to collect the chips . From now on, they had to earn more money than the other teams . The first one to make a suggestion was Mister Park .

“Surely there aren’t things like slot machines or roulette here?”

“Of course . ”

“Hrmm… Isn’t it still early?”

There were two ways to increase the chips here . Play the prepared casino games to make money, or play against other people . Of course, the latter option was more efficient .

If they won, they would increase their money while the participants would have their money reduced .

The Yakuza were confident in psychological warfare so they made the suggestion first . Caterina said with a smile,

“First of all, I would like to try my luck on roulette . ”

Mister Park was the one who made the suggest but the reply came from Takeshi .

“There is no need . The games to be played from now on don’t involve luck . ”

“Hrmm, no way . ”

“It is just building up numbers . ”

“That card game?”

“You know about it . ”

It was a simple type of gambling that could be enjoyed . Cards from 1-10 would be placed in a row and the dealer would place another card in the designated spot . The player would have to pick up the same card . The interesting thing was if there was a draw .

At that time, the ante would be doubled and they would bet again .

“Isn’t it literally a game of luck?”

Takeshi replied,

“So I would like to add some unusual rules . This time, cards from 1-100 will be used . And when placing the card, the front will only be shown for one second . How about it? Doesn’t it seem interesting?”

It was a memory showdown . It tested the opponent’s abilities .

“What do you think, Young Lady?”

Caterina pondered for a moment before answering .

“Yes . What about those from China?”

“I’ll do it . ”

Thus, the first round of the mafia game started .

@

The reason why Yamaguchi suggested the number stacking game was simple .

He was a master of Karuta, a unique game in Japan . Karuta involved 100 Japanese cards spread out on the floor . When a moderator recited a poem, they had to find the card containing the latter part of the poem faster than their competitor . The game’s winning strategy was to see all the cards on the floor and memorize everything in a short amount of time . It was simple but required a lot of memory because the cards were mixed several times .

Yamaguchi had a tremendous memory capacity that was close to a photographic memory .

One second? He could remember at least 90% of the cards .

The game was fast paced .

“Up . ”

“Up . ”

“Up . ”

Interestingly enough, the draws kept occurring . Li Zheng was the first to be eliminated .

“Damn . Are these people monsters? My limit is memorizing around 50 cards . ”

Remember 50 cards in one second was great . Li Zheng knew this so he confidently accepted the game, but Yamaguchi and Caterina were monsters . The two of them kept the 1:1 wins until the 90th card .

“This will be a draw . ”

After counting the remaining cards, this was the result .

“I was lucky . ”

The two people continued to compete . Then an amazing thing happened . Caterina’s winning streak began . The funny thing about this game was that the first player could make money, but the second player would lose the most money .

Yamaguchi’s hands trembled .

“D-Did you memorize all 100 in one second?”

Caterina said with a smile .

“Let’s see? I was just lucky . ”

Yamaguchi had a huge memory capacity that was close to a photographic memory . However, Caterina had the ability to instantly remember everything she saw . In other words, her abilities were superior .

“…I think I lost this one . ”

“Thank you for your efforts . ”

Caterina’s money surpassed 1 . 5 billion in an instant . Li Zheng had 900 million and Yamaguchi had 600 million .

It was time for the second game . Caterina made a suggestion .

“I got a lot of money from stacking numbers so I’ve run out of steam . Grandpa can choose the next game . ”

“……”

The expression disappeared from Yamaguchi’s face as he heard those words from a girl young enough to be his granddaughter . But he wasn’t the type to be agitated by something like this . Rather, his head turned quicker in a situation like this .

“How about Blackjack?”

“Okay . ”

“That sounds good . ”

It was a confrontation with the dealer, so there wouldn’t be any big changes in the rankings . It was still early in the game so the 2nd place Li Zheng didn’t feel any sense of crisis . Yamaguchi was planning to use his winning method in the third game .

He quietly sent a signal to Mister Park . Mister Park pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and started to light it . The dealer walked up to him and said,

“I guess your boss has no rule about smoking in his presence . However, don’t go too far . Let’s just stick to one cigarette . ”

“Ah, yes . I’ll do so . ”

“Yep . ”

Mister Park smiled widely .

This tobacco contained a special incense that blurred a person’s judgment . It was something that was almost completed . It boasted a performance that couldn’t be compared to what the Death Circus used .

People without immunity would easily be brainwashed . This was the result of years of research .

“Hu… It is good . ”

Mister Park smirked .

He would make the dealers go on their side . Now all of the games against the dealers would end with their victory . How much did it cost to join here? However, he doubted they had prepared enough to win .