Jacob studied the blonde woman standing before him, a sense of wariness settling in his chest.
If this woman had truly obtained his identity information from the other event organizers, then considering the wealth those organizers possessed, she certainly wouldn't be struggling financially.
Yet she had been emphasizing her lack of funds ever since they met. Was she deliberately trying to get close to him?
Jacob's thoughts turned suspicious. He turned to face the woman directly, his brows drawing together slightly. "How exactly do you want to cooperate?"
"Just as we discussed earlier—a fifty-fifty split. All the Gimmighoul coins go to you, and I'll only take the money," the blonde woman replied, meeting Jacob's gaze.
"No," Jacob said, shaking his head as he looked at her. "How many chips and Gimmighoul coins do you actually have?"
"I only have one Gimmighoul coin. No chips at all."
"Then we can only do a nine-to-one split," Jacob stated flatly. "My chips plus Gimmighoul coins total eleven. That's an eleven-to-one ratio. You getting one-tenth is already quite generous."
"That's impossible," the blonde woman said, her expression shifting slightly. While she had suspected a fifty-fifty split might not be feasible, she absolutely couldn't accept a nine-to-one arrangement.
"If you're not satisfied with my terms, you're welcome to cooperate with someone else," Jacob's voice turned cold.
"Aren't you afraid I'll expose your Dawn Society identity?"
"Do whatever you want. If I were afraid of you, I wouldn't be Dante."
After speaking, Jacob prepared to turn and leave.
"Wait!" The blonde woman suddenly called out, stopping Jacob in his tracks. "I can agree to your terms, but I have one condition. I need at least ten million. Regardless of your final win or loss, even if you don't win ten million, you must make up that amount for me."
Jacob frowned. The blonde woman's behavior really did seem like she was desperately short on funds. "Are you really that strapped for cash?"
"None of your business."
"Fine. I'll agree to that for now."
"Pleasure working with you. You can call me Helen." It was obviously a false name.
After reaching their agreement, the two began scanning the casino hall for suitable targets.
"That man is competing on behalf of someone else," Helen explained in a low voice. "He's a cheating master hired by those wealthy people. Don't gamble with him—his skills are exceptional. And he has accomplices scattered throughout the casino hall. See that woman with the large chest? She's his partner."
"They work together as a team, accumulating wealth for the rich people backing them."
"That's actually allowed?" Jacob asked, surprised.
"Of course. Many wealthy people don't have superior gambling skills themselves, so they'll collect several Gimmighoul coins and distribute them among multiple gambling experts, inviting them to participate," Helen explained. "Have you ever seen a rich person who's a complete fool? They have money, but they're definitely not stupid."
"They diversify their investments to minimize risks as much as possible. Even if one person gets caught, as long as one gambling master wins big, they won't lose overall."
"Oh, that person over there actually looks promising." Helen, who had been scanning the room beside him, suddenly perked up. She seemed to have spotted suitable prey. "See that guy? That's Jacob, China's genius Pokémon Doctor and the Champion of this year's High School Cup."
"He discovered Z-Moves and Mega Evolution. He's incredibly wealthy and probably carrying many valuable items. Plus, he's only eighteen years old, so his gambling skills are definitely not refined, and he lacks real experience. He's practically a walking treasure chest."
What?
Hearing Helen's earnest introduction beside him, Jacob was completely bewildered, his gaze locked onto the fake "Jacob."
Who is this person?
If he's Jacob, then who am I?
This is absurd—I've become a Substitute.
Who the hell is impersonating me? And what does she mean by "walking treasure chest"?
Jacob sized up the "fake Jacob" with several careful glances, observing him thoroughly for a long moment. He genuinely couldn't recognize who this impostor was, though both the height and build were remarkably similar to his own.
Since this person was impersonating him—just as he was impersonating Dante—they must have some grudge against him. But who could it be?
Could it possibly be Dante himself?
"Forget it. Let's find another target," Jacob said, shaking his head and signaling Helen to change their focus.
"Are you really not going to consider this guy?" Helen asked, her face showing clear reluctance. She obviously didn't want to pass up such a promising mark.
"Not interested."
"Alright then, let's go pick other targets." Helen's tone was filled with regret.
While searching for suitable targets, the two also relied on Jacob's excellent "gambling skills" to continuously profit from scattered players who only held one or two Gimmighoul coins.
"Six, five, four—big. I win."
Jacob lifted the dice cup, revealing the three dice beneath. A smile crossed his face as he collected all of his opponent's bets.
With this win, their Gimmighoul coin count reached fifteen, and they had accumulated even more chips.
"Let's go find the next target." Just as Jacob stood up, he suddenly heard a commotion breaking out in the hall.
"I didn't cheat! I swear I didn't cheat!"
At that moment, a disturbance suddenly erupted in the casino hall. Black-suited staff members quickly surrounded a thin man wearing a tiger-face mask.
"Whether you cheated or not isn't for you to decide."
"As long as your opponent has caught evidence of you cheating, then you're in violation of the rules."
Cheating was an unavoidable topic in any casino.
When someone was discovered cheating, a man in a suit wearing a smiling mask immediately stepped forward from the organizers' side. "Everyone knows the consequences of violating the rules. All your Gimmighoul coins and chips will belong to your opponent. Hand them over voluntarily, and you'll suffer less."
After hearing these words, the man with the tiger-face mask lowered his head and fell silent. But then his hand reached for his waist, directly releasing his Pokémon—he clearly had no intention of going down without a fight. "Go, Empoleon! Use Aqua Jet!"
An Empoleon with Quasi-Heavenly King-level strength?
And he dares to cause trouble? Is he insane?
"Since that's the case, don't blame me," the smiling masked man's voice rang out, completely devoid of emotion. "Ceruledge, use Bitter Blade."
As the smiling masked man's command echoed, a shadowy figure flashed forward. A streak of purple fire cut through the air, and with a single swift strike, the Ceruledge repelled the Empoleon before it.
What incredible power!
This was a Ceruledge with Elite level strength.
"Boom!"
Ceruledge appeared before Empoleon in the blink of an eye, swinging its twin blades. The continuous barrage of attacks directly struck down the Empoleon.
"If you want to die, you can continue fighting."
"Take out the chips and Gimmighoul coins and hand them over to his opponent. Take him away."
"Apologies for the disturbance. Gambling may continue."
"Hey, stop staring! I found a target," Helen said excitedly when she noticed Jacob was still lost in thought.
"Who?" Jacob asked with a frown.
"See that woman over there?" Helen pointed toward a woman in the card game area. "Her name is Elise. Her grandfather is the former Champion of China, and her family is extremely wealthy. Although she doesn't have many Gimmighoul coins on her, she brought a substantial amount of chips."
"Many people are already eyeing her. As long as we pull this off successfully, we can make a lot of money."
While Helen was focused on Elise's money, Jacob's attention was drawn to Elise herself.
Just from the name alone, he could tell that Elise and Eleanor were clearly sisters.[T/N: Their chinese names Chi Hanxiao and Chi Hanqing]
It was just that he had never heard Eleanor mention having a younger or older sister before.
"Let's go take a look," Jacob said.