--K of Hearts
"Looks like Lady Luck isn't on your side today," the dealer sighed, his voice tinged with a hint of amusement.
An extreme chill suddenly assaulted Wang Jianheng's entire body. He bent over, coughed violently, his limbs muscles rapidly atrophied, a sharp pain shot through his chest, and his vision blurred.
Most ordinary gamblers end up with nothing, let alone those who participate in such Supernatural gambling games.
"Please..." Wang Jianheng knelt on the ground, "Let me go..."
At this moment, he didn't care about losing his dignity. After all, dignity was not as important as life. Now that he knew about the existence of the mystical side in this world, as long as he lived, his future held infinite possibilities. If he died, he would have nothing left.
However, the other party completely ignored his pleas for mercy. The croupier's figure began to distort, and his clothes slid off his body like peeling skin, revealing his bluish-gray rotting skin and jagged ribs, making him look like a dead man.
"The final round." His voice was now completely inhuman, a mixture of countless gamblers' dying cries, "I'm betting all your wealth... and the rest of your life."
Wang Jianheng's tears dripped onto the carpet. He realized that no matter how much he gambled, he couldn't win. He thought of his mansion, his sports car, the money in his bank account... Was it all going to disappear?
"Can... can I refuse...?" Knowing the answer was certain, he didn't want to give up any opportunity; what if a miracle happened?
Unfortunately, there was no miracle.
The croupier's smile stretched to his ears, "Too late. From the moment you stepped in here, you already agreed."
"No!" Wang Jianheng struggled to his feet and stumbled towards the exit.
The revolving door was so close, but suddenly it started spinning in the opposite direction, and no matter how hard he pushed, he couldn't get out. Slow footsteps came from behind him; the dealer was approaching, his shadow stretching across the wall, turning into countless waving arms.
"Let's see..." His voice echoed directly in Wang Jianheng's mind, "What do you have left to gamble on?"
Wang Jianheng turned around, and he seemed to see the true form of the Gambling Ghost: a mummified corpse holding a dice cup, standing quietly behind the dealer. The dealer who had just gambled with him seemed to be nothing more than a puppet.
"Please..." The billionaire huddled in the corner, like a helpless child, "I can give you money, lots of money..."
The dealer leaned down, his stench of decay washing over Wang Jianheng's face, repeatedly saying, "Let's keep gambling..."
It was only then that Wang Jianheng realized with horror that the dealer had no rationality at all; he was like a robot with a fixed set of behaviors and words, and could neither say nor do anything else.
Wang Jianheng was utterly devastated, but he still refused to give up; he wanted to live...
The morning light pierced through the clouds and spilled into the puddles in a secluded alley.
Several women who got up early to buy groceries were the first to spot the old man huddled in the corner.
"Oh dear, what's wrong with this old man?" Aunt Zhang, wearing a floral shirt, covered her nose and took two steps back. "He smells terrible, could he be a homeless man?"
The old man trembled violently, his withered fingers gripping his bespoke suit tightly—the suit was now dirty and wrinkled, stained with mud and vomit, but its expensive quality was still evident. He kept muttering something, his voice hoarse like sandpaper scraping.
"... I'm not gambling anymore... I want to live..."
"Is this old man crazy?" A breakfast vendor nearby peeked out. "But he's wearing designer clothes! My son works at a boutique there; one jacket from that brand is worth half a year's salary for me!"
More and more people gathered around, some taking pictures, others pointing and commenting.
The old man suddenly looked up, his cloudy eyes bloodshot, his face etched with deep wrinkles. He stared at the crowd and then let out a piercing scream:
"I've lost my life, I've lost everything, who will help me..."
The crowd recoiled in fright. Dark red fragments, like dried blood, were embedded in the old man's fingernails. He frantically scratched his arms, leaving bloody marks, as if trying to dig something out of his skin.
"This guy looks a bit like..." A young white-collar worker passing by suddenly widened his eyes, "Wang Jianheng? That Mr. Wang from Hengsheng Group? I just saw him in a financial magazine last week!"
"What a joke!" someone nearby scoffed. "Wang Jianheng is only in his early fifties, this old man is at least seventy!"
The sound of sirens grew louder as the crowd parted. Two policemen entered the alley, followed by a pale-faced middle-aged man— Wang Jianheng's driver, Lao Chen.
"It's him!" Old Chen pointed at the old man on the ground, his voice trembling, "Last night, after Boss Wang went into that casino... he ended up like this..."
Old Chen's temples throbbed as he recalled the terrifying experience of the previous night. After Wang Jianheng entered the casino, he intended to wait, but the temperature inside the car seemed to suddenly drop, sending chills down his spine.
Recalling the Ghost Wall he had encountered before, he shuddered in fright.
"Sorry, Mr. Wang, I have to go now..." Old Chen started the car and slammed on the gas.
No matter how he drove, he would always end up back at the casino entrance within ten minutes. The navigation system malfunctioned, his cell phone had no signal, and even the fuel gauge stopped working. The most terrifying thing was that every time he passed the casino, he could vaguely see Wang Jianheng sitting at a gambling table through the glass revolving door—and Wang Jianheng's hair was turning white at a visible rate.
"Let me out!" Old Chen frantically pounded on the steering wheel. On his fourth trip back to the casino, the dealer stood in front of the revolving door, a strange smile on his pale face, beckoning to him.
In a fit of despair, Old Chen locked the car doors and buried his head in the steering wheel.
He lived in fear all night, until the sun rose and the casino vanished without a trace, leaving only an empty street corner and the rising sun.
After discovering that the Ghost Wall had disappeared, he immediately went to the police station for refuge.
"Where is the casino you're talking about?" The policeman looked around. "There has never been a license to operate a casino in this area."
Old Chen was sweating profusely with anxiety. "It's right around the corner of this building! I clearly saw it last night..."
The police interrupted him, "We just checked, it's just a wall, and no shops have opened there in the past twenty years." He crouched down, trying to ask the elderly man who appeared to be Wang Jianheng: "Sir, can you tell us what happened?"
The old man suddenly grabbed the policeman's wrist with astonishing strength. He grinned, revealing his broken teeth, and a gurgling laugh escaped his throat.
"I have one last chance..."
The policeman frowned and struggled free, only to find that the old man was holding something in his hand—a blood-stained die, made of a material that resembled bone but was not bone, and instead of dots, six faces of people contorted in pain were engraved on its six sides!
Seeing the old man's delirious state, the police couldn't get any information out of him and simply called an ambulance.
When the ambulance arrived, the old man was already unconscious. The police searched his pockets and found an ID card—the photo did indeed show Wang Jianheng's refined face, and the date of birth indicated that he was only fifty-two years old.
After the ambulance took Wang Jianheng away, the police looked at the surrounding crowd and asked, "So, has anyone here seen that Lucky Casino?"
The onlookers looked at each other in disbelief. How could a casino be openly operating on the streets of mainland China these days?
Old Chen seemed to have suffered a severe shock, speaking incoherently, and Wang Jianheng also fell into a coma. Given the condition of the two parties involved, the police could only slow down the investigation.
Wang Jianheng was sent to the hospital's intensive care unit.
Upon hearing the good news, his family rushed to the hospital immediately. However, when they saw Wang Jianheng with their own eyes, they were almost terrified.
The electrocardiogram monitor emitted a regular "beep" sound. The old man on the hospital bed had skin as dry and shriveled as tree bark, with bluish-black blood vessels clearly visible under his pale skin. His breathing was weak, and his chest barely rose and fell, as if he might stop breathing at any moment.
The doctor removed his mask, his brow furrowed. "Mr. Wang's various indicators show... his physical functions are approaching those of a ninety-year-old."
"This is impossible!" Wang Jianheng's youngest son grabbed the doctor's white coat. "My dad was perfectly fine yesterday! How could he have aged so much overnight?!"
The doctor shook his head. "We've done a full-body checkup, and the rate of cell aging is abnormal. Currently... the cause is still unclear."
Outside the ward, Wang Jianheng's second wife was fiddling with her phone, trying to make a sad expression, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up slightly. Her fingers swiped quickly across the screen, searching for topics related to "property distribution".
"I'm finally going to make it!" She thought to herself with secret joy. As Wang Jianheng's second wife, she had to be careful that old man didn't leave his assets to his first wife and children!
As a mistress who rose to power through her pregnancy and youth, she has endured Wang Jianheng's increasingly pronounced "old man smell" over the years, all for money, isn't it?!
Money is her true love; everything else has to take a backseat, including the son she bore for that old man!
Soon, Wang Jianheng's first wife and eldest son also arrived at the hospital. The two glanced at Wang Jianheng and then looked away with disgust.
Clearly, the mother and son had absolutely no feelings for Wang Jianheng, who was lying in bed; they were only after his money.
Wang Jianheng's two wives were in a tense standoff in the hospital room, but this situation completely changed after a group of Wang Jianheng's uncles and cousins arrived at the hospital.
The two women exchanged a glance and quickly reached a consensus: whether to split the property between two people or among a group of people, even a fool would know which to choose. At this moment, they couldn't let emotions cloud their judgment; they'd consider other things after they had the money in hand.
Suddenly, the beeping of the electrocardiogram monitor became rapid.
The nurse exclaimed, "The patient is awake!"
On the hospital bed, Wang Jianheng suddenly opened his eyes, his cloudy eyeballs bloodshot, and he made a hoarse breathing sound. His fingers were tightly gripping something—a dark red die, as if carved from bone soaked in blood.
His second wife immediately rushed to the bedside, squeezing out a few tears. "Husband! You scared me to death!"
Wang Jianheng didn't look at her, but stared intently at the ceiling, his lips trembling as he remained silent, driving away all the people who came to visit him.
That afternoon, the Supernatural Investigation Bureau received the news and dispatched an investigator to conduct a detailed investigation of Wang Jianheng.
The investigator, a man in his early thirties wearing a black trench coat, stood before the hospital bed and asked Wang Jianheng in a gentle manner, "Mr. Wang, are you sure the casino you entered was called 'Lucky Casino'? Could you describe your entire experience in more detail?"
Wang Jianheng nodded, his voice trembling but clear, as he recounted his entire experience. Finally, he handed the investigator the dice he had been clutching. "This is something I brought back from that casino..."
The investigator took the dice, and the moment his fingertips touched them, a chill ran down his spine. The six faces of the dice weren't engraved with numbers, but with six distorted human faces, each screaming silently.
The investigator frowned. "Mr. Wang, you just said that you won by sheer luck at the last minute last night, which allowed you to escape the casino. How exactly did you manage to beat them in this unusual situation?"
Wang Jianheng shook his head. "I don't know either. I was completely stunned at the time. I won a game out of nowhere."
"Alright," the investigator said helplessly, "Mr. Wang, we will try our best to investigate this matter for you, but this kind of thing needs to be kept confidential. Do you understand?"
"Understood!" Wang Jianheng looked particularly honest and obedient until the investigator turned and left. As he looked at the investigator's back, a sinister smile crept onto his lips.
He's just an ordinary person, how could he possibly beat a ghost?
However, at least he survived.
The price he paid was that he became a slave to the casino...
"We've invited a guest for the casino..."
As the investigator walked out of the hospital, he remained oblivious to the fact that one of the dice he had put away had a human face on it... staring wide-eyed at him.
In the time that followed, investigators went to the scene of the crime to search for the Lucky Casino.
However, he gained nothing and didn't even see a glimpse of the casino.
That evening, the investigators returned to the hotel, placed the dice on the table, and prepared to take them back to Headquarters the next day for experts to study and analyze.
In fact, experts haven't figured it out yet, and they are still clueless about the extraordinary. Moreover, several researchers have been working day and night recently, and their mental state is not good. Some have even died suddenly, and others have died in traffic accidents.
The investigator went to the bathroom to wash up, and when he came out of the shower, he discovered that the dice had... moved!
The dice, which had been placed on the corner of the table, were now placed in the center of the room, as if deliberately arranged to await the start of the game.
The investigator's breath hitched, and he slowly approached.
Suddenly, the dice started rolling on their own and stopped on "four".
At the same time, his phone screen lit up, and a text message from an unknown number popped up:
"Welcome, esteemed guest."
Outside the window, neon lights flickered, and in the shadows of distant high-rises, a scarlet sign vaguely appeared.
"Lucky Casino".