The sound of rain gently pattered outside the rented room's window, rhythmically in the silent night, occasionally a whiff of wind would slip through the cracks of the window, stirring the eardrums, composing a soothing and light folk song.
The gloomy weather of the day, like many worries knotted in the chest, Lin Chuan liked it better now, with a little rain.
Listening to the voices in his mind, Lin Chuan revealed a smile.
A new profession, a new life, had arrived.
It was less to call it a life experience, and more a pass that allowed Lin Chuan to walk from reality into the Virtual World.
This Virtual World was just like opening a blind box—there was an unknown expectation waiting for Lin Chuan.
"Experience a new life immediately!"
The next instant, Lin Chuan's vision began to intertwine reality with the Virtual Reality.
He could hear the rain outside the window, feel the chill of the night wind penetrating the room, and he could also experience the fresh sensory impact brought by another Virtual World.
"I hope this time it's a beautiful life experience."
Lin Chuan silently prayed in his heart.
[Each experience is your beautiful memory.]
[This system will save this memory for you in the form of a novel.]
[In this experience, your profession is...]
[Swindler!]
Lin Chuan's eyes bulged.
Swindler?
Alright, alright, so this is how you play, system?
Last time, Thief.
This time, Swindler.
You're too cruel!
[Congratulations, host. You have obtained a skill—Cheating Techniques.]
[Using 'Virtual Reality' technology, we are creating a new world for you.]
With the drop of the sweet electronic sound, a new world gradually appeared before Lin Chuan's eyes.
In the Virtual New World, Lin Chuan had clear sensory perceptions of sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste, and moreover, had a high degree of freedom to control his own behavior.
He could do whatever he wanted.
Inside the new world.
In a huge and luxurious hall, exquisite sculptures, dazzling crystal chandeliers, and glittering gold decorations—the hall's neon lights flashed non-stop, weaving into a colorful tapestry.
Dreamlike and hazy.
Amidst the crowded throng, Lin Chuan was there, the scent of perfume and tobacco flooding his nostrils, his ears filled with a cacophony of sounds.
Some laughed loudly, some cheered, and others wailed in despair.
"This must be a casino," Lin Chuan muttered to himself.
Where a Swindler appeared, a casino was the likely place.
This life experience was truly cruel!
Lin Chuan quickly made his way through the crowd, and a beautiful waitress in a white shirt and a tight-fitting black skirt, with a graceful figure, immediately greeted him.
"Sir, how may I assist you?"
"I'd like to play a couple of hands."
Lin Chuan had acquired the system's gifted Cheating Techniques; his mind was filled with information about dice, cards, mahjong, and more.
"Very well, sir, please follow me," the pretty waitress beckoned Lin Chuan up to the second floor.
On the second floor, there were spacious lounges, noisy and bustling with loud voices and foul language amid the din.
"To hell with it, I'm flowering on the gang!"
"Damn it, All-in!"
"You wretched little cheat, your grandpa's got four Ks!"
"..."
Lin Chuan strolled leisurely, casually entering one of the lounges.
Inside the lounge, a group of gamblers with stern faces surrounded a gambling table, their eyes bloodshot from concentration, gazing intently at the table, full of expectation and tension.
In front of the gambling table stood a sexy woman.
She shook the Dice Cup in both hands; the dice spun and tumbled inside it, making a crisp colliding sound.
In the casino, this woman was known as Dice Girl.
Lin Chuan's ears twitched; he could clearly hear the sound inside the Dice Cup, and every collision was subtly different.
If it were another time, Lin Chuan, the casino newbie, surely wouldn't have been able to distinguish it.
But now, he was a master of Cheating Techniques, no longer a newcomer.
Clack!
The Dice Cup landed on the table, and the dice settled with a clear sound to the ear.
The gamblers hastily placed their bets.
Lin Chuan lit a cigarette and casually tossed a chip onto the table.
Bet small.
"No more bets!"
Dice Girl leaned over with a charming smile and slowly lifted the dice cup at an extremely slow speed to reveal the result.
"Big, big, big, big, big!"
Lin Chuan inadvertently caught a glimpse of the scenery when Dice Girl leaned over, and it indeed was big but was the product of technology.
The dice cup was opened.
122, small.
Lin Chuan had bet correctly.
Lin Chuan smiled, "listening" dice skills weren't so difficult after all.
Each face of the dice had different degrees of indentations, which led to each side making different sounds upon collision and when hitting the ground.
Inside the dice cup, each collision the dice made emitted a subtle difference in sound.
The sound of landing was even more distinct and audible.
"I've really done it, I've become an expert in 'listening' dice!"
The next round began.
Dice Girl continued to shake the dice cup, the amplitude of her shaking was large, and the two mounds of technology on her chest also began to shake, drawing the gamblers' gleaming eyes to unanimously look up and down.
The casino was filled with a unique kind of excitement.
Lin Chuan continued to place bets.
If Chen Xiaodao could turn twenty dollars into twenty-five million, then earning two hundred and fifty thousand shouldn't be a problem for me, right?
Lin Chuan thought to himself.
However, he remained cautious and didn't place loud bets.
There's always someone better than you are, heaven beyond the heavens.
In the casino, surely there are more than one swindler.
And with advanced technology nowadays, who knows what might be waiting to trap a swindler.
Lin Chuan decided to keep it low and practice his hand, getting familiar with 'listening' dice.
In the following few rounds of betting, Lin Chuan's bets were very accurate.
But each time he bet small amounts of chips and even intentionally bet wrong occasionally.
In a casino, a person who always wins is certainly suspicious.
In the dice room, Lin Chuan made a small profit.
Change venues.
Lin Chuan left the dice room and entered the poker room.
There are many ways to play poker.
Lin Chuan sat at an 'All-in' round table.
All-in, also known as a Flush.
The ultimate showdowns of 'God of Gamblers,' 'Knight of Gamblers,' 'Saint of Gamblers,' they all play All-in.
At the start of the game, the croupier would hand out two cards, and the player with better cards would decide the betting amount, while others choose to "call," "raise," and so on, to not "call" is to lose.
Until five cards are dealt, players reveal their bottom cards, and the player with the higher hand wins.
Lin Chuan began to play All-in.
Lin Chuan looked at this angle and quietly hummed a tune to himself.
"Dum-dum-dum-dum..."
The exclusive BGM of the God of Gamblers!
This scene was too novel for Lin Chuan, he had only seen it in films.
But now, it was a real experience.
The croupier was a handsome young man who looked at everyone, "Which gentleman would like to shuffle the cards?"
Lin Chuan raised his hand, took the deck of cards, but only casually cut the deck a couple of times.
In the gaps, he glanced at the corners of several cards, with no further development.
The first hand, Lin Chuan felt his cards and did not call.
The second and third were the same.
However, each time Lin Chuan shuffled the cards, even though it seemed casual, he caught a glimpse of several cards.
By the fourth hand, Lin Chuan began to call.
He had the Two of Hearts face down, with the Three of Clubs, Four of Clubs, Five of Diamonds on the table, and the final card, the Ace of Spades.
Though a small straight, it already swept the board.
It turned out that Lin Chuan hadn't cheated by stealing, hiding, or swapping cards; he created extremely subtle creases on the cards with each shuffle and memorized them, and after three rounds, he reshuffled the deck to arrange the cards into the sequence he wanted.
The fifth hand, he won big all the same.
Suddenly, a special alarm sounded in the poker room and the gamblers immediately panicked.
"The police are here."
"Run!"
"Damn it, I just won some money!"
Lin Chuan's heart skipped a beat. Was he going to be caught so soon?