Tang Fei hurried downstairs, fastening his belt as he came.
The guy hadn't changed at all. Even in broad daylight, he was upstairs fooling around with some delinquent girl.
"Why are you so into that type?" Jiang Nan asked, speechless.
"Hehe, force of habit, force of habit!" Tang Fei said sheepishly. "Brother Nan, did you need something?"
Jiang Nan drained the drink in his glass bottle and slapped a photograph onto the counter. "I'm looking for someone. See if you recognize him."
Tang Fei leaned over to look, frowned in thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Don't know him!"
A-Hao leaned in for a look too. "He looks a bit like Lin the Third," he said uncertainly.
They really had come to the right place. Jiang Nan looked up at A-Hao and asked, "His surname is Lin. This photo is a few years old. You know him?"
A-Hao studied the photograph again. "That should be Lin the Third. He used to come here a lot too. He loves gambling. I heard he beat his wife until she left a few years ago, leaving their daughter with him. Haven't seen him in the shop these past few days, though. He's probably gambling at Old Ghost's place again."
Jiang Nan turned to Tang Fei curiously. "Can't people gamble here too?"
Tang Fei scratched his head. "It's all small-time stuff here. Gambling addicts like him head to the big places for high stakes when they've got money. They only come here to play the arcade machines when they're broke."
"Where's Old Ghost's place?" Jiang Nan asked.
"I know it. Hang on, I'll give Old Ghost a call."
Tang Fei went behind the counter, found his phone, and scrolled to Old Ghost's number before dialing.
"Old Ghost, it's me. Yeah, yeah. I'm asking about someone. Is a guy called Lin the Third at your place right now? Okay, get someone to check. I'll wait. Yeah, he's there? Good, good. I'm coming over now. Nothing much, my big brother wants to see him."
After hanging up, Tang Fei grabbed his car keys and another bottle of drink from the fridge, then went out with Jiang Nan.
Gambling was legal in this world, and White Cloud City had dozens of casinos of all sizes. From Tang Fei's explanation, Jiang Nan learned that most of the city's casinos belonged to the Black Tiger Hall. Old Ghost was another of his cousin Pei Zheng's men.
The casino was bustling when they reached Old Ghost's place. The moment Jiang Nan stepped inside, the roar of voices in the lobby engulfed him. The first floor catered to ordinary customers, and the dizzying variety of games overwhelmed him. The gamblers around every table were feverishly excited, their eyes fixed on the dealers' flying fingers as they hoped luck would favor them next.
With no time to linger, Tang Fei led Jiang Nan straight up to the third floor, clearly knowing his way around, and found a man whose white shirt clashed with his thuggish air.
The man had somewhat dark skin, a buzz cut, and thick lips that turned outward. His eyebrows were his most striking feature: their outer ends slanted sharply upward, making anyone meeting him for the first time involuntarily think, Why does this guy look like a ghost?
"Old Ghost, this is Brother Nan. Say hello!" Tang Fei slung an arm around Old Ghost's neck.
This was Old Ghost's first time meeting Jiang Nan, and he had never heard his name before. But since the Black Tiger Hall boss's own cousin had spoken, this Brother Nan had to be someone important.
"Hello, Brother Nan!" Old Ghost put on what he thought was a friendly smile, though it actually made his ugly face even more frightening.
Jiang Nan acknowledged him and got straight to the point. "Is he still here?"
"He is!" Old Ghost pointed to a figure on a surveillance screen. "That's him!"
Jiang Nan looked over. Lin the Third on the screen-Lin Jiajia's father, Lin Bin-didn't look particularly tall, and he was dark-skinned and scrawny.
As the dealer revealed the cards, an ecstatic smile spread across Lin Bin's face. After sweeping a pile of chips toward himself, he threw an arm around a slightly plump woman beside him who looked to be in her early thirties and planted a hard kiss on her cheek.
"Bring them here," Jiang Nan said.
Old Ghost gave a few instructions over his radio, and the security staff on the first floor immediately went over to "invite" the pair up to the surveillance room on the third floor.
When Lin Bin and the woman arrived at the surveillance room, one look at Old Ghost's menacing face sent her shrinking behind Lin Bin, wearing an innocent, frightened expression.
Lin Bin thought they suspected him of cheating because he had just won some money. With a miserable expression, he hurried to explain, "Boss, I'm a regular. I haven't won much today, and I didn't cheat!"
One look at Lin Bin told Tang Fei exactly how to handle a coward like him. He demanded fiercely, "We know whether you cheated. We brought you here for something else! Tell me, where's your daughter, Lin Jiajia?"
A flicker of panic crossed Lin Bin's face before he concealed it. He said casually, "My daughter's not home. She's staying with her grandmother in the countryside for a few days. Um, may I ask what you want with her? Did that damned girl get into some kind of trouble?"
Jiang Nan keenly caught the flash of panic on Lin Bin's face. There was definitely something fishy about his story.
"A few days ago, your daughter scratched my car on her way home from school. She promised to compensate me this week, but I've waited several days and she hasn't shown up. Did you deliberately hide her after finding out?" Jiang Nan made up a story. He didn't own a damn car; he was just bluffing Lin Bin.
"What?! That damned girl never mentioned it. Um, sir, how much would we need to pay you?" Lin Bin was shocked that Lin Jiajia had caused such trouble. She had scratched someone's car and still let herself get caught. What a stupid girl.
Tang Fei cut in viciously, "My big brother drives the latest Anti-Gravity Car. It costs three million new, and the repairs alone will cost two hundred thousand. Can you afford that?"
Lin Bin was horrified. He gritted his teeth, silently cursing that money pit of a daughter.
"It's not about the money. She's still young, so I can let the damage to the car slide. But a child that young mustn't learn to break her word. A few days ago, she promised to give me an explanation, so she has to follow through. That's why..." Jiang Nan gave Lin Bin a disdainful look. "I want her to apologize to me in person."
Hearing that, Lin Bin breathed a silent sigh of relief. Important people really were generous. As long as he didn't have to pay!
"Well, boss, my daughter's gone to the countryside, and she can't get back right away. Do you think you could...?"
"Where in the countryside? Take us there right now! If you dare try to fool my big brother, I'll break your legs!" Tang Fei cut in fiercely.
Lin Bin recoiled a step in fright. "Boss, let's talk this over calmly. It's really a long way out there, and I wouldn't dream of troubling you to go all that way so late at night. How about this? Give me two days, and I'll bring my daughter here to apologize to you in person."
Jiang Nan stared coldly at Lin Bin, his voice icy. "I don't have that much patience. You have one day. If I don't see her tomorrow afternoon, no one in White Cloud City will be able to protect you. Don't even think about running. I know where you live."
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