It is well known that our country prohibits casinos and any competitions related to gambling skills.
Therefore, the Thousand Skills Competition held on the cruise ship today will sail into international waters immediately after the gong sounds, to ensure that the competition can proceed smoothly and fluently until the end.
Doesn't that sound quite fair, just, and proper?
But anyone with a little geographical knowledge knows what international waters are.
To put it bluntly, international waters are a lawless zone!
And without signal, if anything happens, it's a situation where crying to heaven yields no answer and calling to earth brings no response.
I recall Uncle Tuo once earnestly and solemnly warned me that after entering the path of the thousand skills and walking the blue road, any place where my feet cannot touch the ground, if I can avoid it, I should not go easily.
Because not touching the ground means there is no normal path to tread.
Once something goes wrong, there's no way to reason things out!
In a lawless zone, whoever has more people behind them, whoever has a louder voice, whoever has a bigger fist, is the absolute ruler of that area!
And what I am about to do now is to openly confront the king of this cruise ship, Ying Baolin, on this ship where my feet cannot touch the ground!
So today, I must muster all my spirits to face everything that is about to happen!
...
The moment I boarded the cruise ship, I realized that Yun Luo had registered using my real name.
The title of "XX Casino/Gambling Ship Technical Director" was merely a suffix after my name, for the convenience of the staff's records.
It seems that this time, Yun Jin has left me no room for retreat, pushing me directly into the fire!
The incident that occurred on the day of the maiden voyage ceremony of the Yu Shuang gambling ship a while ago was witnessed by many.
At that time, I was acting as the manager of the Tiandu Casino, mediating between Yu Shuang and Yun Luo on the Yun Shuang gambling ship on behalf of Ying Baolin.
Now, in the blink of an eye, I find myself on the opposite side of Ying Baolin, and I have to engage in direct competition with the helpers he sent.
Outsiders who don't know the reason will surely imagine me as someone who betrays trust for profit, a turncoat who sides with whoever offers the most.
I don't even need to think to know that regardless of whether I complete the task, my impression in Ying Baolin's mind will be completely ruined!
But at this moment, I am already on a path where the arrow is nocked and the string is drawn, and there is no turning back.
So, no matter what others think, I must quickly devise a plan to extricate myself...
After thoroughly exploring the cruise ship from top to bottom, I have formulated a preliminary plan for how to slip away afterward.
Although the plan is not yet fully formed, it's better than being completely passive before.
After confirming the feasibility of the plan in my mind multiple times, I set off for the competition registration area to participate in the subsequent draw.
As soon as I entered the reception hall on the first floor of the cruise ship, I saw that the place was teeming with people.
It's no exaggeration to say that there were people almost everywhere!
From elderly gentlemen with gray hair to teenagers with acne on their faces.
It's hard to imagine that the Thousand Skills Competition, initiated by Ying Baolin, could attract so many people to register, and from all age groups!
However, it's not entirely surprising.
In a sense, the Thousand Skills Competition held on the cruise ship today is similar in format to the popular talent show "XX Good Voice" in Zhejiang province in later years.
To become a household name, one must first gain fame through regional competitions.
The top ten finishers in the Thousand Skills Competition will receive entry tickets to the Thousand King Competition to be held in Haojiang next March, which is its most attractive aspect.
Anyone who has some skill wouldn't want to give it a shot?
After withdrawing my gaze from the crowd, I, along with Cheng Minglang and Han Jinlun, found a few empty seats in the hall and sat down.
As soon as I sat down, I noticed Han Jinlun nudging me with his hand.
Turning my head, I saw Han Jinlun pointing to a corner on the right side of the hall and saying, "Look who that is?"
Hearing this, I instinctively looked up.
Following the direction Han Jinlun was pointing, I saw the busty woman who had appeared on the Yun Shuang gambling ship half a month ago, sitting upright in her seat.
Although there were many people at the scene, slightly obstructing my view, and I could only see a very blurry profile...
Her exaggerated figure and striking golden curly hair immediately made me recognize her identity.
No wonder Han Jinlun always said that when it came to picking up girls, he only looked at their bodies and not their faces.
And that beautiful faces are worthless in front of a sexy body!
Now, I finally understood the true meaning of these words.
It's difficult to recognize a woman in a sea of people based on her face alone.
But a woman like the busty one, whose figure is exceptionally good, has indeed reached the point where she can be recognized at a glance without needing to see her face.
No wonder Han Jinlun could recognize the busty woman with just one glance; there's only one word for it: amazing!
However, the busty woman's presence here is not a good thing.
Because this likely means that the small group of cheaters she belongs to has also registered for the competition.
The thought of the young woman in that small group and her finger-flicking divine skill gives me a headache.
A formidable opponent!
Just as I was lost in thought due to the busty woman's appearance, a commotion suddenly arose at the entrance of the hall.
Hearing the noise, I instinctively turned my head to look...
I saw Ying Baolin, surrounded by a group of people, slowly walking towards the temporary main stage set up in the hall.
With a powerful stride and an imposing demeanor.
Following Ying Baolin on both sides were Jiang Xiaowan and Luo Qiyun.
Following them were several other individuals from the Twelve Dark Lanterns, all familiar faces.
The expert rumored to have been invited by Ying Baolin to compete was not among them.
Clearly, Ying Baolin had done a good job of keeping the identity of this expert a secret.
This suggests that I would likely have to wait until the competition begins to find out who this expert is...
After Ying Baolin appeared on stage, he did not engage in lengthy pleasantries and immediately began to announce the rules of the Thousand Skills Competition.
"This Thousand Skills Competition has a total of 12,673 contestants, registered either individually or on behalf of casinos."
"The competition will adopt the format of the Haojiang Thousand King Competition, divided into three rounds: preliminary, main, and final."
"Except for the preliminary round, which is an elimination format, both the main round and the final are based on points."
"Therefore, before the final round begins, what everyone needs to do is to win as many matches as possible to accumulate points."
"The top ten contestants in the final round will not only receive direct qualification for the main round of the Thousand King Competition but also additional rewards!"