Chapter 53 – Death Circus #4
Tae-hyuk looked calm, but he was inwardly sighing with relief. He made SY Capital suffer through the casino, which was their main source of revenue. He intended to break Tiwai in the same manner.
However, infamous criminals, Choi Sung-yeol and Kim Joon-young, were behind Tiwai. The scale itself was different. He couldn’t solve this case alone. He needed to work inside and outside the Death Circus at the same time. He needed reliable allies. They needed to have courage and the ability to deceive others.
Tae-hyuk confirmed that the identical screen on the Demon Revealing Mirror was still open. His ally had sent him a message.
‘Well… I think that Moonlight Flower is better…’
At first, he thought about getting Big Mama to help. She would perfectly fulfill the role, but Tae-hyuk still couldn’t trust her. She was a woman who could betray him at any time, so he chose Moonlight Flower instead.
There was a little bit of insecurity, but once Tae-hyuk compiled all the information he knew, at least she wouldn’t betray him. The biggest problem was that it was impossible to communicate with people from inside the Death Circus.
It was for the sake of confidentiality. If a phone could be used inside, then anyone would ask for help. In order to maintain the Death Circus, it was absolutely necessary to stop that from happening. In the end, a space was built that didn’t even allow radio waves through.
However, Tae-hyuk had the crime skills. With the Spying skill, he could see the state of an object from a remote place. He used passwords to enable simple communication.
‘The A8, K9, and T4 panels are broken, meaning that there are two wolves remaining.’
Tae-hyuk started a simple stretch to relax.
Moonlight Flower bought a ticket to the Death Circus through Big Mama. She appeared as a guest and told Tae-hyuk the entire situation. If he had something to say to Moonlight Flower, then he would do a pre-determined action on camera.
All of Tae-hyuk’s actions were recorded on camera. He took advantage of this. This was only possible for Tae-hyuk who had the crime skills.
If Tae-hyuk raised a finger, then Moonlight Flower would tell him the cards of the both of them. It would be a strange situation if he lost.
For this, he invested his remaining affinity points and bought a trait for the Spying skill. The palm-sized screen that was projected into the air was the new ability of the Spying skill.
‘It is easy since I can see the contents without looking at the Demon Revealing Mirror.’
It was unfortunate that he spent all of his 13 points in a day, but the utilization was endless. The Demon Revealing Mirror looked like a strange mirror on the surface. In order to use his crime skills, he had to manipulate it directly. This was no problem if it was a usual situation, but in a situation where even one small act could arouse suspicion, it served as a big penalty.
In the match against Kim Shin-hyeong, if he had any doubts about the Demon Revealing Mirror, then Tae-hyuk wouldn’t have been able to win.
The game that Tae-hyuk was playing now was Bluff Poker. Placing the mirror on the table was like declaring that he could see the card on his forehead.
That’s why he had invested three affinity points into the screen. If he concentrated his mind, then he could project a simplified image into the air. Now he didn’t need to look into the mirror.
‘I won’t be treated as a pervert holding a mirror.’
Tae-hyuk laughed and started provoking his opponent in Bluff Poker.
“Tae-soo. Do you want to raise your bet even though you are holding a 9? Um. I think my card is a 4. Is that right?”
His opponent trembled, as Tae-hyuk knew his exact card. Park Tae-soo clenched his teeth. It was the first time that his poker face broke.
“This bastard…”
Without realizing it, Bluff Poker had reached the mid-game. The card that Tae-hyuk placed on his forehead was exactly a 4.
Tae-soo didn’t know how his could find out his card. Was it because he counted the remaining cards? That seemed like the most likely option. However, that didn’t explain the consecutive 10s. What trick…?
Moreover, were his words before just a bluff? Or did he really have the number 9? The two 10 cards were already gone. Having a 9 meant unconditionally winning, but it would be impossible to turn the situation around if it was a lie. In the end, Tae-soo gave up this game.
“Aigoo. Thank you for the 10 million won.”
Tae-soo wanted to pull away Cheol-su’s laughing expression. However, this was one of the few places where violence was banned in the Death Circus. Tae-soo wanted to quickly check his hand for a second.
A 2 or a 3… It would be easy for Cheol-su’s 4 to beat it. The opponent was bluffing. He sensed it using his insight.
“Kuaaaaak!”
Tae-soo screamed as he saw the number 9 card.
Then Tae-hyuk said again.
“I wasn’t lying earlier. If you feel doubt, then you will self-destruct. Why don’t you believe your opponent for once?”
Bluff Poker was a game to deceive the opponent. With bold bets, they could make the other person die even with a strong hand. However, Tae-hyuk didn’t bluff once and still achieved a complete victory over Tae-soo.
Tae-soo had accumulated pride in his skills as a card shark over his long life. In the end, Tae-soo completely collapsed. He still had 20 million left, but he gave up the match.
Tae-hyuk looked at the older brother, Dae-soo.
“In cases like this, the older brother normally gets revenge for messing with his younger brother. What will you do?”
“Kuock!”
Dae-soo’s face distorted.
Both people had started the game with 180 million. But at 10 times the stake, 150 million was lost in just 20 minutes. There was only 20,000 left. The next fee payment time was approaching, and the 20,000 was their last resort. In addition, if they ran out of money then they would have to bet with their blood. It was suicide if he didn’t know the method the opponent used to read the cards.
Dae-soo suppressed his anger and said.
“Don’t think that this is over. This stage is just starting. I would find out what trick you’re using and beat you with my own hands.”
“Well, you spoke long words but are you surrendering? I have suffered a lot. Anyway, I am quite busy.”
Tae-hyuk pointed to his badge that had increased to 340 and left the Bluff Poker stadium.
What? Suffered a lot? The gambling brothers howled out Lee Cheol-su’s name.
@
“W-What did you do?”
An Eun-jeong asked in a careful tone. The Death Circus was a place where people risked their lives to gain 10 million won. Yet Cheol-su had gained 160 million in just 20 minutes. She couldn’t believe it despite seeing it with her own eyes. It felt like a dream.
“Ah, perhaps…”
An Eun-jeong pinched herself just in case. In fact, it didn’t make sense. A death game couldn’t be happening in South Korea.
“Ahat!”
But unfortunately, it was a reality.
Tae-hyuk pointed to Eun-jeong’s badge and raised a finger to his lips before speaking in a small voice.
“I have to keep it a secret.
“Ah… The badges are fitted with microphones. Yes, I understand.”
Eun-jeong sighed with regret. The masked people listening to their conversation through the monitor responded in the same manner.
Tae-hyuk nodded with a thankful face.
“Then now what? We already have 360 million… Just a little bit more and the both of us can escape together…”
Eun-jeong spoke in a stammering tone. She wanted to get out of here quickly. But Cheol-su shot that down.
“We can’t get out of this place just yet. From now on…”
Tae-hyuk paused and pulled out a notebook from his pocket. He kept his back to the camera so they couldn’t see what he wrote.
An Eun-jeong’s face turned pale as she saw what he wrote.
It was different for the guests wearing the masks.
@
“What, what? What just happened?”
“He doesn’t intend to leave just yet?”
“What the hell is his reason?”
“Oh, why isn’t he saying? Bring that Kim Joon-young bastard here right now!”
“Eh? The woman’s face is turning white! I think she read something great!”
“Oh, I want to know as well!”
“Please let me hear it!”
The guests were frustrated. They had been like gods watching everything that happened in the Death Circus, yet these gods were being fooled by the man called Lee Cheol-su. Unlike the other excited people, the lion mask withdrew for his own analysis.
“Maybe he knows the system perfectly. In addition, he has tremendous skills. Who the hell is he? Hrmm. He is called Lee Cheol-su?”
The lion mask decided to use his power to find out the identity of Lee Cheol-su. He pulled out a phone from his pocket. Right now, dozens of people were being mobilized in order to find out information on Cheol-su.
He would just relax and wait. Political power was useful for incidents like this.
The lion mask smiled with satisfaction and leaned back in his chair.
@
An Eun-jeong raised her hands to her mouth as she read the content listed in the notebook.
It was so surprising that Cheol-su had conveyed it in writing. There were exactly two sentences written.
–The other people.
–Save all of them.
Many people still remained in the Death Circus, yet Cheol-su was saying that he would save all of them. Just two people alone needed needed 400 million to go free. In the first place, all of the money that entered the Death Circus was one billion.
The reduction of 10 million won an hour was no joke. It was a situation where Cheol-su had already obtain half of the money present. All of the money in the Death Circus was being used to extend their own lives, and they could barely think about escaping. Although everyone in the Death Circus basically started with 50 million won, the eight hour fee alone was 80 million won. It was a situation where money was being consumed just by resting.
This place was designed like that from the beginning. In the end, only one or two people would be able to get out alive. For the most part, they were the wolves that Kim Joon-young hired.
Cheol-su had come here to help her, yet he wanted to save the remaining people? It was an impossible task.
An Eun-jeong felt dizzy at the thought. Tae-hyuk looked at Eun-jeong with a relaxed face and declared.
“I’m sorry, but Noona can’t return home yet. The night has just begun.”
200 million won was enough to get Eun-jeong out of here.If it was just that much money, then he would have chosen an attraction that he was familiar with, one that he knew how to beat.
However, he couldn’t finish it with just escaping. He had to smash the Death Circus and Tiwai International in order to save Seo Ha-ran and An Eun-jeong. As a bonus, he would catch the two criminals, Kim Joon-young and Choi Sung-yeol, who were on the blacklist.
There were still two wolves hiding in this place. Maybe one of them was the criminal that made the perfume that confused the senses. There was still a huge amount of work to do here.
He felt sorry towards An Eun-jeong but he needed a little more time.
Until the closing of the Death Circus – 260 minutes.
