Chapter 162: An Ultimate Gambler

The spiral staircase wound downward, stretching on for so long that it seemed to have no end in sight. Although the exterior of the *Roaring* looked tightly sealed without a single gap, there was not the slightest oppressive sense of stale air inside. As one walked softly down the iron steps, dense networks of corridors could be seen branching across the vast hull.

As it turned out, the entire interior had been completely restructured. In the event of an attack, simply opening the outer hatches revealed a fully functioning warship, while closing the doors transformed it into a formidable fortress. It was indeed an exceptional weapon, capable of both advancing to attack and retreating to defend, and brilliantly designed. Gazing at these sophisticated internal structures of the vessel, Chen Cao muttered to himself.

Hua Fo reminded him cautiously from the side, "Hey, pal, don't forget why we're here. We're here to rob and steal, not to go on a sightseeing tour!"

The immense interior of the ship was completely devoid of mercenary guards. As Chen Cao and Hua Fo descended the winding stairs, Hua Fo suddenly stopped, pointed toward the top of the stairwell, and said to Chen Cao, "Look, what is that?"

Chen Cao looked in the direction Hua Fo was pointing and spotted a glowing light not far away that was blinking at the two of them. He immediately realized it was a surveillance camera.

"Damn it, we're exposed!" Hua Fo said with a hint of dejection. He had almost forgotten that such a thing as electronic surveillance even existed in this world. Now, for him and Chen Cao to be inside the ship was no different from walking right into a trap; no matter how skilled they were, there was no way out. According to the white mercenary's words, there were at least eighty combat-ready men here. Two against eighty—they were dead for sure.

Without a moment's hesitation, Chen Cao leaped up and smashed the surveillance camera to pieces with the butt of his pistol. Then he turned to Hua Fo and said, "Sometimes you shouldn't rely too blindly on the power of technology, understand?" With that, he looked around and continued, "It looks like we are currently about midway through the ship, right around the main hall operations area. The control level should be on this side as well. Let's go, let's go mess up their power system and then play it by ear!" Having said that, he took the lead and walked toward the dense cluster of passageways on the eastern side.

"Fine, since we're already here, we have to make it out alive. I'm putting my old life on the line!" Running a losing venture was never Hua Fo's style. Muttering to himself, he clutched his pistol and followed closely behind Chen Cao. As they headed east, neat rows of corridors came into view, leading to rooms arranged like a honeycomb. The closer they got, the more they could faintly hear a chaotic uproar.

Hua Fo rubbed his fingers together and chuckled evilly, "Looks like they're gambling!"

Chen Cao shot Hua Fo a fierce glare and continued walking toward the source of the loudest noise. As they approached, the lights suddenly blazed brightly. It turned out that the center of this honeycomb-like labyrinth opened up into a remarkably vast hall. A group of mercenaries had piled their weapons off to the side and were thoroughly engrossed in a game around stainless steel tables. Nearby, women of various ethnicities completely naked were serving plates of fruit and delicacies. Some mercenaries were chugging liquor, their eyes glazed, directly shoving the serving women to the floor. A chaotic clatter immediately erupted, mingling with the strong stench of alcohol and the odor of unmentionable bodily fluids. The gamblers seemed completely unfazed by this behavior. Another mercenary, seeing this, shoved a white woman down right next to the previous one, and the two began competing in cruelty, immediately drawing roaring cheers.

The women lying on the ground wore completely expressionless faces; they had clearly been subjected to this abuse for so long that they had grown numb, forced to endure the ravages of these men reeking of sweat and alcohol.

Naturally, Chen Cao and Hua Fo had no leisure to deal with such matters. They exchanged a glance and walked straight inside. Dressed just like ordinary sailors, and with everyone here completely lost in hedonism and intoxication, no one paid any attention to the two "strangers."

Compared to such shameless displays, what truly captivated them was the gambling. The table was currently set for Stud, piled high with paper currency, gemstones, gold watches, and all sorts of valuables—clearly the stakes of these mercenaries. One blue-haired, yellow-skinned mercenary had clearly lost his mind to the game; he pressed down hard on his cards, glaring with bloodshot eyes at a black mercenary opposite him, and shouted, "I'm all in!"

"Ha, Rodney, do you even have anything left to lose? What a joke!" the black mercenary laughed heartily, flashing his white teeth.

The blue-haired sailor Rodney’s eyes had turned completely bloodshot. Hearing the black mercenary's taunt, he hesitated for a moment, then swallowed a mouthful of whiskey straight from the glass. The potent liquor burned fiercely in his chest. His chest heaved violently once, but instead of speaking, he gently rolled back his sleeve to reveal a glittering gold watch. At the sight of this watch, Hua Fo, mingling in the crowd, felt his eyes light up. This was an antique timepiece; anyone who knew their valuables could tell it was a pure gold mechanical watch that had kept running continuously for 170 years. Both its craftsmanship and materials were top-tier, worth well over a million US dollars by modern standards. There were fewer than three such watches in the entire world, and naturally, he knew a pirate like Rodney could never have obtained it legally.

Rodney had clearly been dealt a very strong hand. He gently pressed the watch onto the tabletop over the face-down cards and said to the black sailor, "Elma, this watch should cover your entire net worth from today's winnings, plus that Gabonese woman I got my hands on yesterday. How about it?"

Hearing mention of the gentle Gabonese woman, the black sailor Elma's eyes lit up, his mind instantly flooded with lewd fantasies of rolling around on a ship with her. He cupped his cards to peek at them and smiled, "Deal!"

Rodney refilled his glass with whiskey, his eyes burning red as he calmly added, "However, your stakes seem a little light. How about we add one of your hands to the pot?" With that, he drew a sharp dagger from his waist and slammed it onto the table with a loud *clack*.

Upon hearing that sound, an absolute silence fell over the scene. Everyone breathed heavily. Anyone aboard the *Roaring* knew full well that losing an arm meant being cast aside by the White-Bearded Captain. The gamble had reached its climax, and everyone quietly awaited Elma's response and the moment the cards would be turned over.

Elma, whose luck had been running quite good that evening, no longer looked quite so dark-faced; instead, he had turned somewhat pale, as if a firestorm of extreme excitement had suddenly been doused by a bucket of freezing rain. After pondering for a moment, he resolutely shoved his cards away, scooped up his remaining winnings from the table, stood up, and said, "Rodney, you're out of your mind! Who has time to waste here with you? I'm going to go enjoy myself!"

Lost in the crowd, Chen Cao watched Rodney's expression and knew matters wouldn't be settled so easily. When a man who had lost everything suddenly found a chance to turn the tables, how could he possibly let it slip away so easily? Indeed, Chen Cao also saw Rodney pull a .38-caliber revolver with a rotating cylinder from his waist, place it on the table, and say coldly, "Blackie Elma, you don't have to play if you don't want to, but you must leave your stakes behind, or don't even think about walking out of here!"

Elma clearly knew Rodney's personality. He turned to glare at him, then at the gun clutched in his hand. Gritting his teeth, he dropped the cash and small gems he was holding back onto the table, glared at Rodney, and snapped, "You just wait! I'm going to tell Steward Jeffrey and make you regret ever crossing me, you scoundrel!"

Rodney left the revolver resting on the table, spreading his hands with an indifferent shrug. "Go ahead and tell that shorty all you want; I'll be right here waiting." With the demeanor of a victor, he swept his gaze across the crowd, rolled up his sleeves, and shouted, "Who's next?!"