Chapter 33   - Ill-Fated Relationship from a Past Life #4

Tae-hyuk was holding a piece of paper in his hand with information on SY Capital written on it.

"It is five million won per sheet...”

Tae-hyuk had asked Big Mama to find out information on SY Capital. Exactly one day later, he knew everything about them.

First of all, their outward appearance was of a prosperous company that was officially registered as a business. It was a place where blue-chip companies listened to advice about taxes. However, that was just its outward appearance.

Behind them was an organization of gangsters who did all types of dirty work. Illegal debt collection. Gambling. Drug sales. There were also rumours of long-term smuggling.

Tae-hyuk bit his lip.

There was a politician behind them so the police were unable to do anything. Tae-hyuk saw the name of the politician and laughed.

"It is literally an ill-fated relationship from a past life.”

With his skills alone, he wouldn’t be able to fight SY Capital. Therefore, he came up with an idea.

"If I can’t fight with my skills that I have right now, then I need to learn new skills.”

Tae-hyuk knew most of the mechanisms to learn skills. If the opponent had a crime skill, then he would learn it. Then, it had to be perfectly used against the original owner.

The title [God of Crime] gave him this ability. Until now, he had taken advantage of it after acquiring the skills. This time, however, he would be able to predict what type of skills he would get in advance.

Tae-hyuk’s gaze was fixed at one point on the report. It was about an illegal casino secretly operated by SY Capital.

‘One billion won a day. Isn’t that quite big?’

There were five dishonest gamblers in charge of it. The main events were Go-Stop, Go, Seven Card Stud Poker, Texas Hold’em...

‘The events mainly consists of playing cards.’

This casino was different from the other casinos that were more focused on oriental games, making it a well known casino for those visiting from Russia or North America. Thus, foreigners chose events where they knew the rules.

‘There are kids who play internationally.’

The minimum bet amount was one million, and ff people kept raising that amount by several times, then tens of millions of won would appear on the table.

Tae-hyuk was a perfectly normal high school student who had never tried playing cards.

Gambling was something that he had done with his roommates in prison. The bets were special foods that came with that day’s diet.

Tae-hyuk grinded his teeth together as he remembered that time.

"Those damn cheating scum...”

It was normal for a full house and a straight flush to come out often. Tae-hyuk only got two pairs, and was deceived every day. Later, he learned that they were the nation’s top dishonest gamblers who used their skills to get things like chocolate and drinks. Those days had been full of suffering. But now he had the crime skills!

Tae-hyuk muttered quietly.

"Then this time, will I get the Gambling skill?”

The goal was set. Now it was time for the preparations.

&

Tae-hyuk sipped a lukewarm hot chocolate as he waited for someone in a cafe. It was late in the afternoon, so there were few people inside.

The door opened and middle-aged man in a trench coat entered. Tae-hyuk got up and waved his hand.

"Hello. Detective Park Jung-bae?”

Park Jung-bae was a man with an impressive beard.

"Uh, are you Seo Tae-hyuk?”

Park Jung-bae sat in front of Tae-hyuk and ordered a glass of cold water.

"I can’t afford a cup of coffee that costs 5,000 won.”

He said while wiping his face with a wet towel.

"Did you hear the story from Big Mama?”

“Ah, Mama? I heard it! So, what can I do to help?”

"I am thinking of eating up the gambling place operated by SY Capital, and I want Detective-nim to watch from the sidelines.”

"Hahaha! Eat up SY? You don’t seem to be a dishonest gambler.”

"Just wait and see.”

Park Jung-bae’s eyes flashed. Every time he laughed, a strong smell flowed out from his mouth.

"You know that I have a line with SY Capital?”

"Of course."

Park Jung-bae was a corrupt police officer, and took care of several problems for criminal organizations in exchange for money.

He was the complete opposite of Kang-suk. If Tae-hyuk wanted to team up with the police, then he would work with Kang-suk. However, Kang-suk had been working overtime lately due to a recent case.

In the end, he was forced to find another police officer through Big Mama.

‘Besides, I don’t want Kang-suk hyung to commit a crime. It is better off like this.’

Kang-suk had to be Ha-ran and Tae-min’s protector until the end.

Park Jung-bae drank the cold water and said.

"So how much money can you give me?"

"That..."

Park Jung-bae chuckled with a satisfied face at Tae-hyuk’s answer.

"Kuahaha! Yes. You are a person being nurtured. That should be enough!”

"The operation is in three days at the SY casino.”

&

It was the day of the fight.

After finishing all of their preparations, Seo Tae-hyuk and Park Jung-bae headed out to the casino operated by SY Capital.

’Oh, isn’t this a hotel?’

Park Jung-bae brought Tae-hyuk to the upper lounge suite of a hotel.

This was the destination.

The following scene was the first image he thought of when he heard that it was an illegal casino. There were fluorescent lights, boxes filled with money, and even bottles rolling around on the ground. Opening the door caused cigarette smoke to billow out, revealing many men with scars across their faces.

In reality, however, it looked just like any other casino.

Tae-hyuk clicked his tongue.

‘Isn’t this a place where I should be wearing a suit?’

People in uniform were busy wandering around the corridor.

Tae-hyuk was wearing the leather jacket and skinny jeans that he purchased not long ago. He gave off the feeling of a bad youth.

"Here it is.”

There was a large door guarded by two men in sunglasses.

Park Jung-bae coughed as he stood in front of the door.

The guards deeply bowed.

“Detective-nim, you came!”

“Shit, Don’t call me detective here. Call me Hyung-nim.”

"Yes, Hyung-nim!"

They knew Park Jung-bae, so they opened the door without any fuss.

They passed through the door to the illegal casino.

There were dozens of tables with dealers handing out cards. At first glance, there seemed to be over 50 people spending enormous amounts of money. There were piles of money in front of the people, the total amount that circulated throughout the building amounting to over one billion won.

It was gambling at a colossal scale. Nobody cared about the appearance of new people, as they were too busy concentrating on their own hands.

Tae-hyuk clicked his tongue.

How much of that money was used on bribes?

‘A recipient of those bribes is right beside me.’

Park Jung-bae was one of the police officers who received bribes from SY.

Tae-hyuk saw a familiar face among the dealers.

’During the day, he does illegal collection. At night, he is a dealer in a casino. He jumps well between jobs.’

It was the person who intimidated Ha-ran.

Han Sang-won saw Park Jung-bae and came running over.

"Uh, Detective Park! I told you not to come here. It is like decreasing the price of baby formula! I said I would contact you through our phones.”

The people nearby murmured the moment they heard the word ‘detective.’

Han Sang-won exclaimed to them.

"Haha, don’t worry. He is someone watching behind us.”

Han Sang-won’s words implied that the detective was a dog that he had raised himself. The people started to play the game again like they understood.

“Ah. Chief Han. You don’t need to go to so much effort. Today I just came to play for a while.”

“Haha! Detective is too big for this. It is like going to one of the 100 won Go-Stop places in the neighbourhood.”

Park Jung-bae tapped the head of Tae-hyuk who was next to him.

"No, today he will be playing. I came to watch.”

“Hrmm? No, you...”

Han Sang-won noticed the presence of an uninvited guest and looked at Tae-hyuk.

“Chief Han Sang-won. You are busy day and night.”

“Ah! You! Haha! I don’t know why you came here. Did you want to win a jackpot to pay off your debt?”

Tae-hyuk laughed and replied.

"I hope to give you that much.”

Han Sang-won laughed at his words. Then he whispered in Tae-hyuk’s ears.

"No. This isn’t a playground for kids. If you want to find a place for one million~two million won then I will introduce you to some places. Well, you might end up stripped of your organs in the long term... When that happens, feel free to come to SY Capital. Didn’t I give you my business card?”

Tae-hyuk quietly opened the box of vitamin drinks that he brought with him. It was filled with 50,000 won bills.

Han Sang-won laughed as he saw it.

“This! You came with some money? Yes. Then please, feel free to jump in.”

Han Sang-won guided Tae-hyuk and Park Jung-bae to a table.

The dealer and a few guests were playing poker.

“Hey. Let him play. He is surprisingly rich.”

“I understand, Hyung-nim!”

Tae-hyuk sat at the table and the dealer started to play the hand.

He took out a set of cards and shuffled them. At that moment, Tae-hyuk noticed that the dealer took something out.

’From the very beginning?’

The intent of his actions was clear.

It was to let Tae-hyuk win recklessly in the beginning. At first, even if a person got a good hand, they wouldn’t raise such high stakes. That would only happen after winning a few times. After they upped the ante, the dealer would manipulate the draw to suck away all of their money. The evidence of this was that most of the tables were lamenting more than cheering with victory.

The odds were overwhelmingly high for the dealer’s side. Many of them were professional scammers prepared by SY Capital.

Tae-hyuk realized that this was an illegal casino and was prepared to deal with the cheating dealers.

He received a notification of a new crime skill.

Brr!

‘Good!’

[Crime Skill: Gambling has been learnt.]

-You will become a dishonest gambler.

Tae-hyuk was at a loss as he saw the words on the Demon Revealing Mirror.

‘W-What? This description...’

The contents were simple and easy to understand.

The dealer said.

"Guest-nim. Do you know Seven Card Stud Poker?”

Seven Card Stud Poker was a type of card game played with seven cards.

First, he would receive three cards and would reveal one card. Every time he received an additional card, he would have to make a bet.

Basically, except for the first two cards and the last hidden one, all the cards would be revealed.

Due to this, it was a game filled with various bluffs and psychological warfare.

"Of course. I bought the book yesterday and studied hard.”

“... Haha, yes.”

The dealer and other guests laughed.

Well, he did have the face of a beginner.

But after a while, he became the king of this casino.