r18novel Page 120
Page 120
Gu Ran smiled and said, "I think calling her 'senior sister' is more intimate."
Susie understood what he meant, because he called Chu Zihang "senior brother," but he called Lancelot "senior senior brother."
"So...you're not close to Nuonuo?"
Gu Ran thought to herself, "Nuonuo isn't close to anyone, not even Caesar."
I'm only a little closer to you.
Because Susie is actually a very gentle and tolerant girl.
Of course, she will still swear when she's anxious, and she can be quite fierce.
After a moment of silence, he said to Susie, "I just feel that Senior Nuonuo is too guarded, and I can't get close to her."
Susie understood what Gu Ran meant, because Nuonuo would tell her many things and treat her as an emotional dumping ground.
"Nono, actually... she's just a pitiful girl," Susie said softly.
Gu Ran didn't continue the conversation, not wanting to talk about Nuonuo anymore.
He knew that Nuonuo's background was quite ordinary, which could be seen from the way the system treated her blood sample.
Only blood samples from individuals with unusual bloodlines or backgrounds are eligible for repeated collection by the system.
People of ordinary bloodlines will not have the opportunity to be repeatedly collected by the system.
The two walked silently to the park, sat on a bench, and waited for their informant to arrive.
A moment later, a dark-skinned man walked over.
He was 1.75 meters tall, looked like a local Siamese, and was about 25 years old. He was wearing a black T-shirt and black pants, and flip-flops.
He spoke in Mandarin: "You're the ones who want intelligence?"
Gu Ran smiled and took out two hundred US dollars from his pocket and gave it to him: "Your Mandarin is good. What's your name?"
"Just call me Ah Cai." The man smiled. "There are a lot of Chinese tourists coming to Siam now, and you can't do business without knowing a few words of Mandarin."
Gu Ran smiled and looked at Su Qian.
Susie said directly to Ah Cai, "You lead the way for us and give us intelligence. Each piece of intelligence is worth one hundred US dollars. Valuable intelligence will be paid more."
"No, no, no!" Ah Cai laughed and refused Susie. "You should be the ones asking questions, and I'll decide the value of your questions."
Susie frowned and asked, "If you set arbitrary prices and give out false information, how can we tell if it's true or false?"
"It's a matter of trust," Ah Cai said, shrugging. "It depends on whether you trust me or not."
"Of course we believe you. You're of mixed Chinese and Thai descent, and your grandfather was a soldier, but your father was a bit less so; he died in the Golden Triangle a few years ago because of a double-cross. As for you in Chiang Mai, you're involved with various street gangs, and you don't have any other flaws except for your gambling addiction. But you do have one good point: you're filial. Your grandmother's family is in..."
Gu Ran slowly and deliberately recited several home addresses and the names of several of A Cai's relatives.
With each name and address he uttered, Ah Cai's face grew increasingly gloomy under the orange light.
His expression was like that of a puppy whose tail had been grabbed—both fierce and somewhat fearful.
"You investigated me so thoroughly, why don't you just investigate the Zhang family directly?" Ah Cai asked with a dark face.
Because the Zhang family is of mixed race, the Zhang family in Southeast Asia is very careful and knows how to avoid their personal information appearing online.
That's why Norma found very little information about the Zhang family.
"Alright, I know the Zhang family has a casino in Chiang Mai. Take us in." Gu Ran didn't want to waste any more words with him and directly tossed Ah Cai five hundred US dollars.
He continued, "This five hundred dollars is a referral fee for introducing us to the casino. Then, on the way, you tell us some information about the Zhang family, and I will give you another five hundred dollars afterward."
Chapter 147 Gamblers Don't Deserve Sympathy
"One word: are you in or not?" Gu Ran didn't give Ah Cai much time to think. "If you're not in, we'll find another guide. There should be plenty of guides in this city. It'll just take a little more time."
Ah Cai took the money from Gu Ran's hand and said, "Believe me, no one in Chiang Mai knows more about the Zhang family than I do. I will tell you everything you want to know."
“We know, because your name is Zhang Acai!” Gu Ran stood up and said, “Let’s go, we’re going into the casino tonight.”
On the way, Zhang Acai began to tell Gu Ran and Su Xi about the Zhang family.
After the Zhang family branch was driven out of China, there were mainly four households. One of these four households took root in Chiang Mai.
After decades of development, the Zhang family has become very powerful in Chiang Mai's underworld, with close ties to the Golden Triangle, and has been involved in many shady activities.
Currently, their most profitable business is the casino.
The Zhang family owns more than fifty underground casinos of varying sizes in northern Thailand, each of which is quite large.
Some casinos are even located near military camps.
It must be said that their relationship in Siam is deeply entrenched and has a more profound impact than imagined.
Zhang Acai's surname is Zhang, and he is related to the Zhang family, but the relationship is not significant.
His grandfather was a servant who came with the Zhang family back then; he was an ordinary person from the periphery.
However, since he had the surname 'Zhang', people in the local community would give him some face.
As for the guide, it's because of the rules of Zhang's casino that you must be introduced by someone you know.
It's not that they're afraid of the sheriff; they can open casinos near military camps, so what are they afraid of?
They simply believe that acquaintances are easier to fool.
Many gamblers who end up bankrupt will then rely on introducing acquaintances to their gambling partners to earn a referral fee, which gives them money to continue gambling.
In a sense, this method of recruiting people is similar to pyramid schemes, but the casino's method is simpler.
Pyramid schemes also require keeping people locked up in cages, isolated from the world, and having people use persuasive language to brainwash them about their values for several months, making them feel like family and spontaneously serve those above them.
Gamblers and drug addicts don't need brainwashing; they'll just go and do it on their own.
Gamblers are incredibly proactive.
In this way, the casino will naturally not lack customers.
As for the referral fee given to the gambler, the gambler will definitely continue to gamble and lose to the casino in the end.
So the casino essentially didn't spend a single penny; it was just letting the gamblers work for them for free!
"Do you know the whereabouts of the other Zhang family members?" Gu Ran asked the most crucial question.
Zhang Acai shook his head, indicating that he did not know: "How could someone like me, an outsider, know about so many important people?"
Gu Ran and Su Qian exchanged a glance and then didn't ask any further questions.
Southeast Asia was very underdeveloped at that time, and the internet was not yet widespread in many places, let alone networked surveillance.
They haven't even implemented a real-name registration system for phone numbers; tourists can easily buy several anonymous SIM cards to use.
Therefore, Norma cannot find a lot of information.
Gu Ran wasn't too anxious; he had been mentally prepared for the difficulties he would face before setting off.
……
The three of them then arrived at a sightseeing boat on the banks of the Mekong River.
The Mae Ping River is not a suburban river, but a river that flows through the city of Chiang Mai. The riverbanks are lined with bustling streets, and the Zhang family's casino is located in the commercial district.
You can imagine how arrogant they were.
This sightseeing boat is very large, with three decks, and is the Zhang family's largest casino in the area.
There were guards at the boarding point.
A burly Siamese man saw Zhang Acai approaching with his men and laughed, "Acai, here to gamble again? Aren't you afraid your grandma will chase you down with her cane?"
The burly man was speaking Chinese.
Ah Cai just chuckled and led Gu Ran and Su Qian inside.
He led the two men into the casino, obtained two specially made metal rings, and handed them to them: "Each ring is fifty US dollars. You can use the rings to enter from now on without having to pay any more money."
This paid system is also a way to screen customers; the Zhang family from Southeast Asia certainly has a knack for marketing.
Susie paid the money and took the ring.
"How much referral fee will you get for bringing someone here?" Gu Ran asked.
Zhang Acai said, "Fifty dollars per head."
Susie looked at the ring on her hand: "It's like the ring cost money, so the casino doesn't lose anything!"
"Casinos never lose out," Gu Ran chuckled. "How else would they make money off gamblers if they lost out?"
The three were on the first floor of the casino, surrounded by dozens of gambling tables of various sizes, including common games like baccarat, sic bo, and blackjack. A group of gamblers were roaring and placing bets wildly, occasionally barking loudly, making a lot of noise and creating a chaotic atmosphere.
"How can I meet the important figures in the Zhang family?" Gu Ran asked Zhang Acai.
“The Zhang family members come every day to oversee things on the second floor,” Zhang Acai said, pointing to the stairs not far away.
Gu Ran glanced around and saw that there were guards at the entrance to the second floor.
He then asked, "What are the conditions for going up to the second floor?"
“The minimum bet is $200,000. The casinos upstairs are all private, unlike the lobby on the first floor. The rooms on the second floor are all separate,” Zhang Acai said. “As long as you have that many chips, you can go up directly.”
Two hundred thousand US dollars, more than 1.4 million RMB, that's quite a big bet.
"What about the third floor?" Susie asked.
“I’ve never been to the third floor; it’s not open to the public,” Zhang Acai said honestly. “I don’t know what the third floor is for.”
Next, Zhang Acai led Gu Ran and Su Xi to the chip exchange area.
Zhang Acai exchanged five ten-dollar chips, ready to play a round.
"Is this little money enough for you to play with?" Gu Ran had just asked Su Xi to give Zhang Acai the money for the tour, and he now had more than a thousand US dollars on him.
But he only spent the fifty dollars the casino gave him for the directions.
"A little gambling is harmless, but excessive gambling is harmful to health." Zhang Acai sighed and said, "I promised my grandma that I wouldn't gamble more than fifty dollars a month."
Gu Ran had a higher opinion of Zhang Acai; he was indeed very filial, even managing to quit his gambling addiction.
"You don't need to move after you go back. I won't cause you any trouble," Gu Ran said.
"Those two...aren't they going to cause trouble for the Zhang family tonight?" Zhang Acai said with some distress.