Sun Miao, stunned by my powerful argument, was rendered speechless.
Seeing Sun Miao remain silent, I lit the red Nanjing cigarette he had placed on the table and said in a deep voice, "Gambling addiction is more terrible than drug addiction because gambling addiction has no bottom line."
"You can gamble with one or two yuan, you can gamble on cockfighting and dogfighting, you can gamble on fruit machines and fishing machines!"
"If you can't quit your gambling addiction, then for a long time to come, your daily routine will be shuttling back and forth between home and the arcade, all for a few pieces of silver."
"The more you run, the more you gamble, win or lose."
"Until you lose everything, your life... will be ruined!"
"Once you're addicted to gambling, it's very, very difficult to quit completely."
"Now, there's an effective and scientific way to quit gambling in front of you. Are you sure you don't want to try it?"
"I can guarantee that if you follow my method, not only will you gradually quit gambling, but you'll also gain unexpected rewards!"
As soon as I said this, I could clearly feel that Sun Miao's gaze towards me was no longer hostile, but filled with curiosity... and even a hint of excitement!
Seeing this, after taking another puff of my cigarette, I continued, "Trust me!"
"As long as you strictly follow the methods I've laid out, not only will you not sink deeper, but you'll also be able to win back all the money you've lost!"
"Half a month, just give me half a month, and I can help you turn losses into profits!"
To be honest, if I really wanted Sun Miao to break even, one day would have been enough.
But the consequences of doing so... were severe!
Firstly, if he broke even in a day, he might not even be able to leave the arcade.
Secondly, this kind of roller-coaster experience would directly stimulate Sun Miao's gambler's mentality.
After all, water overflows when it's full, and when it overflows, it's depleted.
If Sun Miao regained everything he had lost in just one day, it would only cause him to sink deeper into the sea of gambling, unable to extricate himself.
Sun Miao, who had been addicted to slot machines for over a year, already possessed the mentality of a gambler.
This kind of roller-coaster experience would not only fail to help him escape the gambling sea but would drag him even deeper!
The reason I said half a month was to make him strictly adhere to the methods I had devised during these fourteen days.
Every day, he would gradually recover his capital, and he had to stop precisely on time, and stop when the count was reached.
Of course, this method only applied to gambling machines.
Those who have fallen victim to gambling machines before must have had such an experience.
That is, a machine that was easy to play yesterday suddenly starts to "eat money" without limit today!
Do you know why?
In fact, it all comes down to the old saying: nine out of ten bets are rigged!
It's no exaggeration to say that as soon as any gambling machine pays out a little too much, the owner will find someone to adjust the machine after closing shop that day.
No matter what style or model of gambling machine, the outcome can be manipulated by humans.
An owner of an arcade once told me that gambling machines can generally be adjusted. The customer's wins and losses are entirely in his hands!
The cheapest gambling machine costs only a few hundred yuan, while the most expensive is just over ten thousand yuan.
As long as the win/loss probability is adjusted appropriately, and the occupancy rate and return rate are high, it's not difficult to earn thousands, or even tens of thousands, per day!
A business that can break even in a day can no longer be described by the six words "low cost, high return"...
...
Without waiting for Sun Miao's reply, I got up and said, "If you want to quit gambling, remember to contact me by this time tomorrow."
"After you've quit gambling, we can continue to discuss the matter of the 'Yao Jiang'."
"If you can't even quit gambling, then I can only apologize."
"No matter how eloquent you are, at least in my team, we absolutely do not need a gambler!"
After speaking, I turned and walked to the counter to pay, then called Qin Lei and we left the Sha County snack bar together.
Not long after we walked out the door, Qin Lei apologized to me, "I'm sorry, Brother Xiang! Sun Miao is just like that."
"Ever since he got involved in online dating and was tricked by his downline, he seems to have lost interest in everything. He just wanders around the arcade aimlessly all day."
"At first, he could control himself when playing slot machines, but after losing more and more, he changed."
"If I had known you didn't accept gamblers, I wouldn't have brought you to find him."
Looking at Qin Lei, who looked apologetic, I remained silent, just smiling and shaking my head.
Although Qin Lei had strong principles, he was ultimately a bit too rigid and didn't think fast enough.
He not only couldn't see through such obvious problems but also couldn't figure them out.
If I really disliked Sun Miao, why would I bother helping him quit gambling?
After all, Sun Miao wasn't my friend.
But then again, Qin Lei's personality seemed quite good.
Whatever I said, he would do it, and that was enough.
Right now, if I could win Sun Miao over, then only the 'Huo Jiang' would be missing from reorganizing the revenge plan.
The crucial 'Huo Jiang' was not only an indispensable part of my team of con artists but also prepared for the scheme against Wang Yangming and his son.
Of course, this was also a contingency plan I had laid out in advance to guard against Yu Shuang.
From my understanding of Yu Shuang, this profit-driven and vengeful woman, since she had gone to such lengths to recruit me, she definitely wouldn't let me stay out of it and reap the benefits.
So this time, I had to plan ahead and seize the initiative!
After planning the initial strategy, I took Qin Lei by taxi to a chess and card room in the city, preparing to continue making some small money...
Around eight o'clock in the evening, as soon as I walked out of the chess and card room, I received a call from Sun Miao.
About seventeen or eighteen minutes later.
The moment I hung up the phone, I felt that my path to revenge seemed to have become clearer.
However, what I didn't expect was that trouble would arrive again in less than three days.
Three days later in the afternoon.
Just as Qin Lei and I were preparing to go to the chess and card room again, Sun Miao's call came through.
I originally thought that Sun Miao's call this time would be like the previous two days, where he would report today's performance, roughly describe the pattern of the slot machine's payout today, and then ask for my strategy for tomorrow.
But what I didn't expect was that as soon as the call was connected, I heard a voice say, "I am the owner of 'Happy World'. Your friend was caught cheating on the slot machine by my people!"
"If you want to save his hands... bring money!!!"