Dragon Raja 5; Chapter 292: For Your Majesty (107)

Dragon Raja 5

“Time?” Lu Mingfei was stunned.

“Most things in this world can be priced, but there are very few exceptions, and time is one of them. No matter whether a person is rich or poor, they all have roughly the same amount of time. The rich live a life of extravagance, and the poor live a life of hardship, but it’s still only a few decades. If you could find a technology to seal time in glass bottles and sell it to the rich, and the supply was extremely limited, they would spend all their savings to buy it.” Bunin sighed softly. “And my Christina is a child who lacks time.”

“ALS?” Lu Mingfei said.

“She really trusts you, telling you such a secret.” Bunin smiled bitterly. “Her illness is far more serious than she thought. I bribed her doctor and didn’t tell her the truth.”

“So Christina boarded that train because she was about to die,” Lu Mingfei sighed softly. “And Vishniak committed suicide because he didn’t have the money to buy more time.”

“In the face of death, the rich and the poor, the noble and the lowly, will all be taken away, and even kings will be judged naked,” Bunin said softly. “That is probably one of the most ultimate forms of justice in the world.”

“You say that, but when it comes to your own daughter who is about to die, you are still unwilling to accept it.”

“How can I accept this?” Bunin suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot like a spider web, looking like a trapped beast. “Who in this world doesn’t have someone you’d fight to the death for? Anyone who dares to hurt my daughter, even Death himself! I’ll stuff him into the incinerator!”

He suddenly realized that this statement might not be entirely true. He paused for a moment, then used alcohol to cover up his momentary loss of composure. “Aren’t those who live only for themselves pathetic?”

Seeing Lu Mingfei remain silent, he revealed his businessman’s true colors again, “Mr. Lu, please rest assured, this is definitely not a commission without reward!”

Lu Mingfei smiled and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll take this job. In Miss Christina’s eyes, I’m just a little brother she picked up on the street. Isn’t it only natural for a little brother to do things for his boss?”

He got up and walked out, leaving Bunin looking astonished.

As he gripped the doorknob, Bunin caught up again. “Mr. Lu, are you serious?”

Lu Mingfei turned around and looked directly into Bunin’s eyes. “When I was little, I felt like the kind of good-for-nothing who would be left on the side of the road and no one would pick me up. I wanted to hang out with the big boss in my class, but I was afraid that the big boss would look down on me. So if a big boss picked me up, I had to treat him well, otherwise, if my boss is gone, I would be a piece of trash on the side of the road again.”

Bunin was stunned. Lu Mingfei’s words sounded like utter nonsense, but his eyes were so serious that no one could doubt them.

After hesitating for a while, Bunin took out a small leather wallet from his pocket. It looked no different from an ordinary coin purse, but when he handed it to Lu Mingfei, he looked as solemn as if it were his inheritance.

“Use these as leverage when needed!”

The small bag contained dozens of gold coins, each about the size of a thumbnail. They were quite heavy, with the portrait of an ancient emperor on one side and characters that Lu Mingfei couldn’t understand on the other. They looked quite old.

“How much is this thing worth?” Lu Mingfei asked, weighing one of the coins in his hand; it weighed about an ounce.

“The gold coins minted by Ptolemy date back to the fourth century BC. Archaeologists believe that none of these coins have ever survived. At auctions in City 023, the prices fluctuate, sometimes reaching 30 million per coin, and sometimes around 22 million.”

Lu Mingfei was stunned for a moment, then quickly counted the money. There were 35 coins in total, and according to Bunin, this small bag of ancient coins was worth more than one billion US dollars.

“You saved your daughter and then hid it away?” Lu Mingfei asked, somewhat puzzled. “Is this money you’re keeping for your retirement?”

“How could I be stingy with my daughter?” Bunin sighed. “I dare not take it out. You’re new here, you wouldn’t have these coins. They’d know I want to buy them when they see you take them out. So I can only use them in critical situations. I should have enough money in my card, but the competition will be especially fierce this year.”

Lu Mingfei put the gold coin in his mouth and bit down hard, leaving a shallow tooth mark. It did indeed look like pure gold.

“$30 million per piece? Are you sure? Even if it’s an antique, can it be worth that much?” Lu Mingfei was a little skeptical.

“Here, we don’t value the coin itself,” Bunin said softly. “It’s a kind of equivalent.”

***

When Lu Mingfei returned to the outer hall with the huge sum of 370 million US dollars and the small bag of coins, the gambling game had already reached its climax.

The Russians eventually succumbed to the allure of the liquor, drinking heavily and betting big, with wins and losses escalating from hundreds of thousands to millions per game.

Those who had lost all their chips sat on the sofa next to them, drinking silently. The winners continued their battle at the gambling table. Intoxicated men and women held hands and ran into the dance hall next door. Some people were smoking cigars or cigarettes with gloomy expressions.

With Zero’s support, Christina turned the tables, her chips piled high in front of her. She shouted and yelled as she battled Ochinez one-on-one. Ochinez had to call the waiter to exchange for even more chips.

This was the true meaning of warming up; it’s not as simple as playing a couple of rounds of cards and flirting. The loser can leave early, while the winner will enter the auction hall with more chips and the murderous aura of victory.

The elegant card game turned into a fierce dice game, with Christina’s bare, ivory-like arms shaking the dice cup so loudly that she was practically stomping her foot on the gambling table. Chu Zihang was also standing by the table watching intently, which was quite contrary to his usual nature.

Lu Mingfei was about to pull Chu Zihang back from the gambling table when Zero grabbed him from behind. Everyone in the room was immersed in a certain atmosphere, but Zero seemed normal, even more indifferent and aloof than usual.

“LSD got into the ventilation system,” Zero said in a low voice.

Lu Mingfei was startled.

LSD, scientifically known as lysergic acid diethylamide, is a potent hallucinogen. The CIA uses it to interrogate criminals, and artists use it to find inspiration. It is an absolutely prohibited drug.

He had heard that some large casinos would blow high-purity oxygen into the casino to keep gamblers gambling day and night, but using LSD to liven up the gambling atmosphere was practically tantamount to mass suicide.

“But it’s a very small amount, just exciting,” Zero added. “Given Chu Zihang’s physique, it won’t have a significant impact.”