With a heavy sigh, I shook my head and replied, "To be honest, I don't know what to do anymore!"
"There are fifty minutes left until the agreed time to hand over the person. If I choose to run now, I don't think I can escape Macau, no matter how fast I run."
"If I go to the appointment directly, I have no idea if I'll live or die!"
Upon hearing this, Camel thought for a moment and suddenly said, "Boss, I do have a channel to gather information, but the price might be..."
Before Camel could finish, I immediately raised my hand and interrupted him, "Money is not a problem! We've reached this point. What's the use of having more money if I can't spend it because I'm dead!"
"Alright, I understand!" Camel nodded and said, "I'll call and ask for you now."
I remained silent, signaling Camel with my eyes that he could proceed.
Since my life was on the line, I had to go all out and make one last desperate fight!
After a while, Camel immediately got back to me after hanging up the phone.
He told me that after asking his friend with special intelligence channels, Yu Shuang was indeed still in Macau, but that was before today.
Yesterday morning, the day after I confronted Shi Jianguo downstairs at the Shunhe Hotel, she had already secretly left Macau on the boat of the snakehead Ah Gui.
Because it was early morning and the news had not spread completely, Yu Shuang left Macau smoothly.
After yesterday passed and the incident fully fermented today, due to various pressures and her own guilty conscience, the snakehead Ah Gui did not sell this information as intelligence.
Camel said that if his friend hadn't happened to know a subordinate of Ah Gui who was specifically responsible for smuggling, and then spent a large sum of money to pry open his mouth, they might not have been able to get this information.
After hearing this news, I felt both angry and anxious, as well as regretful.
What was going on in Yu Shuang's mind?
Earlier, I thought she wasn't showing herself in Macau because she was worried I would act rashly and endanger her life.
Now, it seemed I was completely wrong!
It was likely that she had already foreseen everything that might happen, including certain emergencies, before she sent Shi Jianguo to find me.
The reason she wasn't showing herself wasn't to guard against me, but against... Mr. He!
It now seemed that if I didn't have the courage to completely fall out with Mr. He, I would most likely become the scapegoat!
Honestly, I never expected that coming to Macau would end like this.
If I had known, I might as well have stayed hidden in Tongwei County, playing it safe.
As soon as the phrase "playing it safe" came to mind, a flash of inspiration suddenly struck the depths of my mind.
Wait a minute!
Since Yu Shuang came for the half of the Gambling King Token on me, and she was usually someone who wouldn't give up until she achieved her goal, why did she leave in such a hurry this time without even showing her face?
If we talk about danger, the confrontation with Ying Baolin on the gambling boat in Wenzhou was also very dangerous, but Yu Shuang didn't run away, did she? She even called her own elder brother for help!
Why this time, did she lose the courage to face the danger directly?
Was it merely out of fear or apprehension?
After all, Yu Shuang was different from me.
It was true that I was a nobody with no background, but she came from a proper aristocratic family.
Her father, Yu Tianyuan, was a prominent figure in the gambling world, and her mother, Song Meilan, was the pioneer of deception. Both had countless disciples, and their reputations were well-known.
Even though they had retired from the world, a starving camel is still bigger than a horse.
Given her family background, even if Yu Shuang was in the wrong, it wouldn't be so easy for Mr. He to control her.
Even I, an outsider, could figure out these principles. How could she not understand them herself?
Something was wrong! Completely wrong!
Yu Shuang's behavior felt a bit too deliberate in her escape!
Just as I was deeply engrossed in thought at the most critical moment, my phone suddenly rang.
When I picked it up, I saw it was a Macau number.
It was clearly the beautiful woman calling.
As soon as I answered, I heard the beautiful woman on the other end of the line ask directly, "Chen Xiang, have you found the person?"
"Not yet!" I replied in a deep voice.
"Then I'll ask you one last time, do you want... me to help you?"
Upon hearing this, I was stunned for a moment and asked, "What do you want?"
"Heh heh~" After a strange chuckle, the beautiful woman replied meaningfully, "You know what I want!"
"Show me what I want, and I'll find the person for you immediately!"
As she said the last sentence, there was a strong tone of unquestionable certainty in the beautiful woman's voice.
It seemed she was confident in finding Yu Shuang.
Although Mr. He was her strongest and most powerful backer, no matter what, finding someone who had disappeared into thin air would still take time for her subordinates to go out and gather information after a simple conversation, wouldn't it?
But why was she so confident?
Unless...
As I thought of this, it was as if a veil had been lifted, and I immediately understood something.
After a moment of deliberation, I said to the beautiful woman on the phone, "Please tell Mr. He that I'm coming to see him now."
"Still at the Grand Lisboa Casino, and then... I'll hand over the person to him in person!"
Before the beautiful woman could reply, I hung up the phone.
The reason I specifically asked to see Mr. He was that I was unsure who the beautiful woman was colluding with to seize the Gambling King Token.
To put it bluntly, I didn't trust her!
With the Gambling King Tournament about to begin, the Gambling King Token had not been retrieved.
I had mentioned more than once before that using the Gambling King Token for a trade with Mr. He this year could secure a 10% equity dividend from the Grand Lisboa Casino for ten years!
This was an unimaginably huge return, accumulating more in my bank account than winning the lottery multiple times in a row!
As the saying goes, people die for wealth, just as birds die for food!
Such a massive and generous return, even Mr. He's trusted confidants, might not be able to resist having ulterior motives.
Therefore, from the moment I, a nobody, caused a scene with explosives and my identity was investigated, some of Mr. He's close confidants had already started plotting against me.
And what I needed to do now was to expose the accomplice behind the beautiful woman, along with Yu Shuang!
Then, in front of Mr. He, I would exchange it for my own survival!
Since they didn't treat me like a human being and disregarded my life or death, then I would open my eyes wide and see clearly... who lives and who dies!!?