After leaving the baccarat table, she had exchanged all her Blue Chips and won a total of 423 White Chips.
They were worth 42,300 seashells.
And her original stake had been only 100 seashells. She'd multiplied it more than four hundredfold—a truly outrageous profit.
She took her chips to the exchange counter, intending to trade them for seashells.
The attendant on duty reminded her, "Miss, you also have a VIP card. There's an Auction in the VIP area at midnight tonight, and you can bid with chips. Are you sure you want to exchange all of yours now?"
"If you're not in a hurry to leave the ship, you could take a look around the VIP area first. Don't worry—your chips will all be exchanged for you when you disembark."
Ling Chu suddenly remembered that she'd also won a VIP card. She'd been gambling on the first and second floors the whole time and hadn't yet looked around the VIP area. The card was worth 10,000 seashells; it would be a waste not to go.
So she took the elevator to the VIP area on the fourth floor. When the doors opened, an attendant in a perfectly tailored tailcoat was waiting nearby.
"Miss, may I see your VIP card, please?"
Ling Chu took out the card and handed it to him. After verifying it, the attendant bowed slightly, his smile impeccably professional.
"Please allow me to show you around and let you experience the VIP services we've prepared for you."
Ling Chu followed him down a quiet corridor lined with thicker carpeting and walls wrapped in silk. The fragrance in the air had grown more refined, with notes of cedar and delicate white tea.
When the doors to the VIP area opened, it was like stepping into another world. The space was expansive yet arranged to offer privacy. Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, the boundless black sea only made the interior feel warmer and more opulent.
A few guests sat scattered across sofas as wide as beds, speaking in hushed voices or enjoying the services on their own.
The attendant quietly introduced the amenities as if reciting a treasured list: "On the left is the Spa Center, where we offer deep-sea seaweed mud wraps and pearl-powder oil massages. On the right are the cigar lounge and wine cellar, which hold the last shipment of Bourbon Whiskey to arrive before we went ashore. Straight ahead is the buffet, open twenty-four hours a day. Just let us know if you need anything."
Ling Chu headed straight for the buffet. It had been morning when she'd boarded the gambling ship, and now it was already dark. She hadn't eaten all day. At the gambling table, she'd been too focused on winning to notice, but now she was starving.
The long buffet table was covered with immaculate white linen, and the silver serving domes gleamed. She glanced over the dazzling array of dishes and raised her eyebrows.
A towering Lobster Tower carved from ice, its claws plump and its flesh translucent; Sturgeon Caviar with large, distinct pearls, served with thick yogurt; ham sliced so thin it was almost translucent, its marbling like marble; perfectly roasted Beef Ribeye; Herb Roasted Lamb Chops; Confit Duck Leg...
The fruit and vegetable section offered fresh, juicy strawberries and raspberries, along with avocados and tender asparagus that required extremely strict storage conditions. At sea, these were more valuable than gold.
The dessert section held all kinds of French petit fours, macarons dusted with edible gold, Caramel Pudding, Cream Soufflé, and a fountain cascading with rich, flowing chocolate.
The dishes were every bit as luxurious as those at an upscale banquet. It was hard to imagine this was part of a survival game at sea.
After all these days at sea, Ling Chu had had her fill of seafood. She skipped the Lobster Tower and piled her plate high with lamb chops, steak, and petit fours.
Ling Chu carried her full tray to a comfortable armchair, sat down, and dug in.
Almost immediately, an attendant appeared without a sound and poured her a glass of perfectly chilled champagne.
As the attendant leaned over to pour, he lowered his voice to ensure only she could hear. "Esteemed Miss, if you're feeling lonely, we have very 'considerate' male companions from all over the world. They're skilled at massage, conversation, and all kinds of... entertainment. They can make the rest of your journey even more enjoyable. All it would take is a small addition to your current bill..."
From his long-winded euphemisms, Ling Chu distilled one guess: Was he trying to sell her male escorts?
No thanks. She had no money.
Rejecting male beauty starts with me.
She replied coolly, "No, thank you."
The attendant showed no unnecessary reaction and immediately bowed respectfully. "As you wish." Then he quietly withdrew.
After resting for a while, Ling Chu went to the Spa Center. She lay facedown in a private treatment room overlooking the sea while a skilled masseuse used warm, oil-scented hands to ease the tension in her muscles and nerves. The fresh scent of seaweed mud and soothing fragrance of the oil made her nearly drowsy.
Just as her mind began to relax, sinking into the luxurious calm, someone gently knocked on the treatment room door.
Another attendant, dressed in a different uniform and wearing a more serious expression, stood in the doorway. He didn't step inside, but bowed respectfully once again. "Miss, I sincerely apologize for disturbing your rest." His voice was steadier than the previous attendant's, carrying an unmistakably formal tone.
"Our Captain hopes you might do him the honor of joining him for a drink in his private Captain's Cabin."
The masseuse's hands came to a stop.
Ling Chu slowly opened her eyes. The Captain was inviting her?
Her instincts told her this was no simple invitation. Had winning so many chips caught his attention?
But she'd only won about 400 chips. Surely that wasn't enough to make her stand out among all the guests.
She hesitated for a moment, then got dressed and stood up. "Show me the way."
If she refused, she was sure he would find another way to make her go. She might as well see what the Captain was up to.
The attendant led Ling Chu up another flight of stairs to the top floor.
They walked down a more secluded corridor and stopped in front of a heavy double door made of solid wood. The attendant knocked softly. After a low "Come in" sounded from within, he opened the door for Ling Chu.
The scene inside was entirely different from the extravagant splendor outside.
It was a dignified, stately room that served as both an office and a reception area. The walls were paneled in mahogany and hung with old nautical charts, an astrolabe, and carefully framed specimens of oddly shaped deep-sea fish. A huge mahogany desk stood at one end of the room, its surface neatly arranged with a logbook, a brass telescope, and a briarwood pipe that gave off a faint smell of tobacco.
On the other side of the room was a comfortable sitting area, with two high-backed leather sofas facing each other across a matching coffee table. Its most striking feature was an entire wall of enormous curved windows, beyond which lay only the endless dark sea.
Ling Chu's first thought was that the decor was really nice. Once she had enough money and materials to upgrade her ship, she'd decorate it just like this.
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