Chapter Fifty-Five: Old Leopard Chen Finally Had His Fill!

The air was thick with tension, and everyone held their breath.

With a crisp snap, the raw stone split open, revealing what lay inside. The crowd craned their necks to see, and within the stone, a flash of vibrant emerald green shimmered.

Old Leopard Chen’s eyes lit up instantly, while Red Sister’s expression darkened, clearly dissatisfied with the outcome.

The tense atmosphere was instantly replaced by a surge of excitement, as every gaze fixed upon the raw stone gleaming with emerald light.

Old Leopard Chen’s eyes burned with fervor. He could barely contain his elation; his hands trembled slightly.

“Damn it, that’s Imperial Green!” Gao Youde blurted out beside him, his voice quivering with barely restrained fury. “This can’t be real, it can’t be! Leopard Chen, you’ve rigged this!”

Gao Youde jabbed a furious finger at Leopard Chen, shouting at the top of his lungs.

Red Sister’s face grew even gloomier. She bit her lip hard, a trace of unwillingness flashing in her eyes. She glanced at me—what she was thinking in that moment, or whether she regretted missing the opportunity, I could not tell.

All I saw was her, who had remained still for so long, finally turning to ask a staff member for a glass of ice water. Her fingers gripped the glass so tightly that her knuckles went white.

“This piece is worth at least five million,” she commented, her words as cold as the water she drank.

Leopard Chen looked over at her and chuckled, “Little Red, you see now? This is the gamble of jade, but what we’re really gambling with is our fate.”

“Just now, if you’d followed this young man Wang Hu, this fortune would have been yours.”

Red Sister sneered, her voice low, “But there are some people in this world who simply can’t stand to see me profit.”

Her words were laced with coldness and veiled accusation.

Beside us, Gao Youde was so angry that the tiger tattoo on his chest seemed to tremble with his rage.

He shouted, “Don’t get cocky, Leopard Chen! You haven’t named your price yet. If your estimate is off, the more expensive this is, the more you lose!”

Leopard Chen shot Gao Youde a disdainful glance, the corner of his mouth curling into a mocking smile.

“Gao Youde, are you scared? Is that why you’re so eager to see my bid?” he drawled, his tone full of provocation.

Gao Youde was livid, his fists clenched, the tiger tattoo quivering even more visibly.

“Don’t be so smug! We’ll see who’s afraid of whom! I don’t believe you can guess the price right!”

Meanwhile, the staff by the side finished their calculations and announced the final price: five million.

It was about the same as Red Sister had estimated, which meant that if she had won the stone, she could have made a profit of fifteen million.

But that chance, I did not give her.

Instead, I gave it to Leopard Chen.

Naturally, Gao Youde was furious. I’d been working with him behind the scenes, and all the capital I held was his investment. Now that his money had been used to outbid him, he no doubt wanted to tear me limb from limb.

All eyes turned to Leopard Chen. No one knew what price he had written in the sealed box.

Moments later, the staff opened the box in front of us all and displayed the tag for everyone to see.

Five million. Not a penny more, not a penny less.

Everyone was stunned. Gao Youde began cursing, “Leopard Chen, you old fox, how could you be so accurate?” His face was livid, fists clenched as if he might erupt at any moment.

The others showed mixed reactions—some looked on with admiration, others with suspicion. Clearly, they found Leopard Chen’s precise valuation incredible.

Su Li sidled up to me, sneering, and whispered, “You really know how to play, but what now? We have to pay up too.”

My heart sank; she was right. Even though we’d helped Leopard Chen win this round, we had to pay the price.

Three times the correct price.

Leopard Chen’s stone had netted him fifteen million, to be split among the three of us.

But for me and Su Li, we actually needed to pay ten million.

Leopard Chen would walk away with twenty million!

Even adding in our original three hundred and fifty thousand, plus the three million from selling the top spot, we only had three hundred and thirty-five thousand.

We were still short by over six million.

Gao Youde was quick to notice.

He sneered at me and Su Li, mocking, “Now you’re short over six million. Even if this woman sold herself for six hundred at a time, she’d have to do it ten thousand times!”

“What good would that do?” Gao Youde laughed at us, then withdrew five million from his own funds and handed it to Leopard Chen.

I was now deep in debt—not only was all my capital Gao Youde’s, but now I owed money to Leopard Chen as well.

As I mulled this over, Gao Youde suddenly turned to Leopard Chen with a sly grin, “Leopard Chen, don’t get ahead of yourself. They’ve lost everything again. Since three million buys a spot at the top, I’ll buy their three spots!”

As soon as he spoke, the others looked puzzled.

Gao Youde looked at me. “What, you didn’t get it? Next round, if you lose everything again, you’ll be eligible for the top spot. I’ll buy your three top positions for ten million, but I have a condition—I get to see them before I decide whether to buy.”

His demand was audacious. Seeing them first meant he could judge their value and snatch any worth having.

I glanced at Lu Yier to see if this was allowed.

Lu Yier replied, “It’s your spot to sell. How you sell it is up to you. We don’t interfere—you’ll have to negotiate yourselves.”

“But,” he added, “you and Su Li have lost everything twice in a row. Lose everything once more, and you’ll be permanently barred from the game. So think carefully.”

At this, my face darkened slightly.

The rules were clear: Anyone who lost everything three times in a row, regardless of whether they could raise more money, would be forced to leave—to prevent those who hoped to profit without any real risk.

So now, Su Li and I could not afford to go bust again.

Even if Gao Youde bought our three top spots, it would only clear our debt to Leopard Chen. We’d still have no seed money.

As I pondered this, an old hand suddenly reached out and patted my shoulder from behind.

“Wang Hu, luck was with you this time. Your ten million—I’ll waive it. Take it as your starting funds for the next round.”