Chapter 26 Nine Thorns (Part II) Chinese are good at gambling, which is world-famous. When two people have different opinions and disputes, they often come to a "bet", and it is precisely because of this gambling that everyone has said that in this world, where there are Chinese, there will be casinos.

As an international metropolis, Shanghai certainly has a lot of casinos.

In the big casino with gangs behind it, the staff covers the windows with heavy curtains, so that no sunlight can penetrate at all, and the inside is lit up 24 hours a day, and the walls are covered with all kinds of decorations, but you don't want to find anything that can report the time to you. The waiters, who held all kinds of drinks and food in their hands, with a well-behaved smile, stood quietly in all corners of the hall, or shuttled back and forth between the gamblers like butterflies, bringing a burst of fragrant wind.

To put it simply, in this kind of high-end casino, as long as you have money, you can go out of your house, enjoy all kinds of alcohol, food, beautiful women, and live a life like a god king.

And some gang members known as "clairvoyants" and "know-it-alls" squinted their eyes there, looking at every rich kid who had gambled with red eyes and sweaty brains, but just spent a lot of money, delusionally trying to get back the gambling book. When the money on them is spent, these gang members who are responsible for lending usury will have a place to play. As long as the money is sent to those rich children who have no brains and gamble all over the world, there are really few people who can stop the precipice.

Of course, not everyone can get into this kind of high-end casino, and it takes a lot of money to get into such a place. And those who set up a table on the side of the street and covered it with a red cloth can start a small gamble with a few casual drinks and a few spectators. In such a street gambling stall, there is no limit on betting, as small as a copper plate, as large as a few silver yuan, and even the gold ring that his wife married over is also bet on it, how much money is willing to invest, that is to listen to the respect, whether to win or lose, that is the destiny of each peace plus to see if the dealer's deception and gambling skills are clever enough.

This is a gambling stall set up on the edge of the dock, although the work on the dock is very busy, although everyone is often forced to spoil like a top, but after all, there is also a space for leisure. Probably only at this time, dock workers, overseers, and ruffians who often wander around the dock and don't know what they are thinking about will become intimate, which shows that the Chinese gambling culture is also a good tool to promote social stability and prosperity and strengthen class communication!

In this group of gamblers huddled together, all eyes as big as ping pong balls, the most striking thing is that a man who stands there like a javelin, with a hint of meaninglessness at the corner of his mouth, which can definitely be described as a smile and never a word, just silently playing cards, silently paying or receiving money.

In fact, anyone would have thought that this guy should go to a high-end casino, instead of accompanying them to the steamy dock workers who smell of sweat and smell of sweat, and go here to gamble on a few copper plates with the salty and wet sea breeze.

No matter how some people pretend, they are also poor people who don't have a few big sons in their pockets, and even if some people don't speak, everyone knows that they are born in a rich family, and they still don't worry about food and clothing.

He wore a gray trench coat made of exquisite materials and exquisite handwork, which did not look like a stall color, and was ironed flat. Look at his feet, he is wearing a pair of high-waisted leather boots, which are a pair of fresh toys carefully made by skilled craftsmen out of calf waist leather in the style of American Navy officers' leather boots, and their owners have rubbed them with the finest shoe polish.

On his head, a round-brimmed top hat was buttoned diagonally, and the deliberately lowered brim covered half of his face, and also made his eyes hidden in the darkness of the brim. Even so, he was accustomed to squinting his eyes, and only occasionally showed a sharp light when he turned over the cards in his hand, but soon, under the cover of the brim of his hat, disappeared without a trace.

It is because of this top hat that is buttoned diagonally that this man who does not say a word and looks so serious that he seems to be attending a high-end banquet has a wild and untamed attitude like a cowboy in the American West. But it was because of this wildness and untaminess that he stood like a javelin on the gambling table crowded with coolies on the docks, but miraculously produced an indescribable strange harmony.

The man squeezed into the table and placed a stack of silver dollars directly in the corner of the table, but strangely enough, he never used the stack of silver dollars, whether he won or lost.

In the midst of the uproar, the dealer dealt the cards again, and the man picked up the rough hand-made cards in front of him, and before he could see what the cards were, a light crisp gunshot suddenly rang out behind him.

"Bang!"

The top hat that the man was clasped diagonally on his head was like being grabbed by an invisible hand and thrown upwards fiercely, and under the stunned gaze of everyone, it rolled continuously in the air, with a smell of something being burned, and flew four or five meters away.

He didn't have to look back to tell from the gunfire that about twenty meters behind him, a gunman appeared, a sharpshooter who knocked off the top hat on his head with one shot, but did not scratch his scalp! A sharpshooter who can kill him with a shot in the back, but in order to stand out in the world of Shanghai, where the strong are respected, he has to go head-to-head with him, and has enough confidence and strength!

The gamblers who were still gathered just now, after a moment of consternation, did not know who made a shout, and everyone suddenly dispersed. Even if they don't have vision and haven't experienced any strong wind and rain, they can clearly know that a guy with a rifle in his hand and a revolver stuck obliquely in his waist in a strange way will definitely not come here to do any kind of friendly communication with them, right?!

In a panic, a rush, a noise, he still stood there quietly, with his unchanged movements, slowly opened the cards in his hand. His hands were cast of iron, and there was not a trace of trembling at all, as if it had not been a bullet that had struck the hat on his head, but a lover's kiss.

The cards in his hand were finally opened, but he faced the empty table, looked at the gentle sea outside the dock, and let out a soft sigh in his heart: "What a pity." ”

He didn't look back, he had already passed the age when he knew there was an enemy behind him, and he quickly turned his head in a panic, and he didn't pounce behind some cover, and then look for an opportunity to fight back. He clearly knew that since the other party did not kill him with the first shot, he would never shoot him in the back. His head is very valuable, but if you can kill him head-on, it will definitely be as simple as a huge bonus!

All the irrelevant people found suitable cover at this time, and they cautiously showed their heads, nervously and excitedly watching the scene in front of them that was about to break out. It was in the stunned gaze of everyone, in this terrible situation, that he slowly put the cards in his hand into his pocket. Then he walked to the top hat with one more bullet hole.

Just as he bent down and was about to reach out to pick up the top hat, there was another crisp gunshot behind him, and the top hat that fell to the ground was once again hit by the bullet and flew three or four meters away. Looking at the top hat that was rolling on the ground with two more bullet holes, he still had that unchanged smile on his face and slowly walked towards his top hat.

"Hey," listening to the sound of the gunman behind him pulling the bolt again, he finally spoke, did he never like to talk, it turned out that his voice was too cold and with an indescribable slipperyness, I believe that any normal person hearing his voice will have a kind of chill on his body, and he can't help but think of the snake letter that the poisonous snake keeps swallowing in his mouth.

It's because his voice is too different, it's too easy for others to be wary of him, and he doesn't want to deliberately disguise, so it's not necessary, he never talks much, and when he speaks, it's even more simple and clear, "I like this hat very much." ”

In full view of the crowd, he bent down for the third time, and this time the sharpshooter behind him did not shoot again. He also patted the dust on his hat casually, looked at the two bullet holes that pierced the hat on it, and finally buckled the top hat diagonally to his head.

"You like this hat so much, I will keep this hat so that you can wear it to report to the Yama Palace!"

The gunman behind him also spoke.

He smiled, and this time he really did. He didn't look back for a long time because he didn't know what kind of enemy he was behind him. If they are veteran gunners over the age of thirty-five, perhaps their physical reaction speed has begun to inevitably slow down as they get older, but they can live to this age, and the actual combat experience they have is enough to make up for everything! Letting a gunman who rolled on the beach in Shanghai and lived to be thirty-five years old stand behind him was tantamount to putting his own life in the hands of death.

An old gunslinger like that, when facing a great enemy like him, can't speak at all, because the lesson of blood has given them enough reason to understand that silence is the truth of gold!

"His marksmanship is good, and he shoots quite quickly, and he can already rank in the top 20 of the people I have seen, and in the whole of Shanghai, he is already a first-class master in terms of marksmanship. And the mid-range rifle in his hand, listening to the speed at which he pulls the bolt and the sound of the spring, should have modified the firearm, so he can shoot faster. ”

He lowered his head, no one dared to believe that in such a short period of time, he had used his eyes to find a bullet that had hit the hard stone wall, bounced back, and lay quietly twenty-two meters away from his left. His eyes, hidden under the brim of his hat, narrowed slightly and dangerously again, "Silver slug? ”

Bullets loaded with silver can hit farther and shoot straighter. In other words, the rifle used by the gunman behind him already has the great lethality of a formal rifle at the same time, and the stable surname of the 38-type rifle. Of course, looking at Shanghai Beach, there are only a handful of gunners who can afford to use a special bullet like a silver bullet.

He laughed again, the reason was simple, in the near future, he had not heard of a gunman who used silver bullets, and even if there had been before, this kind of gunman who likes to be unconventional and is the easiest target for others has long been overwhelmed by the chaos of Shanghai Beach!

He walked backwards to the table, he just didn't look back, he just didn't give the other party a chance to shoot. He stretched out his hand and pointed to the stack of silver dollars that he had put on the gambling table since he joined the game, and said seriously: "That's mine." ”

The gunman behind him was silent, allowing him to retrieve the stack of silver dollars with slow movements. He grabbed the silver yuan in his hand and played with it at will, and more than a dozen silver yuan collided with each other, making a pleasant sound like a jingle like a wind chime. He suddenly asked, "How much is my head worth?" ”

"Fifteen hundred pieces of ocean!"

The gunman behind him said: "But even if it's only a piece of five cents, I want to meet you!" ”

He raised his eyebrows lightly and said, "Oh? ”

"Everyone in Shanghai knows that there is a legend that the knife thrown by the knifeman Zhang Cheng can be faster than a bullet, I don't believe that the game thrown by a person can be faster than the gun shot out of the chamber!"

Zhang Cheng didn't speak again, he continued to shake the stack of silver yuan in his hand, and the gunman behind him also closed his mouth, first untied the holster on his waist with his left hand, and then raised the rifle with both hands, aiming at Zhang Cheng, who was still standing with his back to him.

To be honest, in the face of the legendary throwing knife nicknamed "Throwing Knife Hand", a character who can be faster than a bullet, if you want to fight him to the death, it must be a lie if you are not nervous. You must know that there is no fluke in Shanghai Tang, where there is a mixture of fish and dragons, and there is no fluke in becoming famous in Shanghai!

For a while, on the entire dock, there was only a crisp sound of a dozen silver rounds constantly colliding.

I don't know how long he stood quietly, Zhang Cheng suddenly turned around slowly, looking at his hands that were not carrying any weapons, the gunman was still holding the rifle in his hand, and asked, "Where is your knife?" ”

"In hand!"

Zhang Cheng's right hand flipped over, and a dazzling light pierced the gunman's eyes in an instant. No matter what kind of training the gunner has experienced, in the face of this absolutely unexpected situation, he still blinked slightly, even his head, involuntarily slightly off, when his cheek left the butt of the gun, left the straight line formed by the eyes, the crosshair, and the target, and even the rhythm of being a good gunner was broken by this accident, the gunman's heart had instantly sunk to the bottom.

Master duel, victory and defeat, life and death, the fight is for this moment, not to mention that he is facing a man who is known as throwing a knife that can be faster than a bullet!

Almost at the same time, Zhang Cheng's right hand suddenly raised, and a silver round with a carefully polished back, smoother and brighter than a mirror, that reflected sunlight better, whistled in the air, spun and stabbed at the gunman. As a well-trained gunner, he was able to adjust to his condition in the shortest possible time, and he could see at a glance the true details of the silver round that flew in front of him in the blink of an eye.

It's a deadly throwing knife!

Not only is one side polished smoother and brighter than a mirror, maximizing the reflection of sunlight, but its edges are sharpened. Silver bullets can be farther and straighter than regular bullets, and in the same way, a round dart made of silver can also be thrown faster and farther!

"Bang!"

The rifle in the gunman's hand rang out, and in what seemed impossible, he used his rifle to shatter the silver round that had flown in front of him with a single shot. The debris that flew everywhere slammed into his face, bringing a burst of burning pain. Almost at the same time, the gunman had quickly thrown away the rifle in his hand and pulled out the left-hand pistol at his waist. His left hand had not yet been raised, and the thumb of his left hand had already pressed the hammer of the revolver with a fluid motion.

This series of actions has fully demonstrated that he not only has strict shooting training, but also has the talent to be the best gunner. In the shortest possible time, he judged that Zhang Cheng would never give him the chance to pull the bolt and fire a second shot, so he immediately gave up the most skilled and powerful rifle in his hand and pulled out the revolver with a higher rate of fire in close combat. And the series of actions of him abandoning the gun and pulling out the gun are even more flawless, without a trace of cumbersomeness, so smooth that people feel numb when they see it.

This can no longer be achieved by relying solely on hard training, and it can be said that even those veteran gunners with rich combat experience cannot do better than him. What's even more terrifying is that he is still very young, so young that there is still plenty of room for development.

It's a pity that he doesn't have a chance!

Because, a real flying knife has pierced his throat in a dignified manner. The stack of silver yuan in Zhang Cheng's hand was a weapon that had already been prepared, but what about under his windbreaker?

When he lifted the trench coat, what was revealed were rows of knives that were closely arranged on the inner clips, six inches long, and bright red knife clothing, which shimmered in the sunlight, and looked like shark tooth throwing knives!

The gunman reached out and covered the knife that had been stabbed into his throat, but the knife had pierced the major artery in his neck, and the blood still couldn't stop flowing from between his fingers. His Adam's apple thrashed up and down, as if he wanted to say something, but the knife pierced his trachea even more, stuck directly in his trachea, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't say anything.

The gunman gritted his teeth and reached out to pull out the knife that had pierced his throat and was destined to end his young life, and the hot blood spurted out of the wound like a fountain, and the breath that had been stuck in his throat finally gushed out of his mouth. Then came the roar was the last sentence he left in this world: "I know why everyone says that your throwing knife is faster than bullets......!!! ”

He really understood that in this world, no matter how hard the throwing knife was thrown, it was impossible to fly faster than the bullet that was fired out of the chamber.

The only way to make a throwing knife faster than a bullet is to use all means to disrupt the intimate integration between a gunner and a weapon, and to disrupt the sense of rhythm and self-confidence that a gunner slowly has in the long-term training.

Zhang Cheng walked in front of the gunman, he was condescending, quietly looking at the young, painful, bloodstained and enlightened face, he let out a soft sigh in his heart, "It's a pity! ”

This young gunner has considerable talent, if he is not too young, too young to achieve success and hope to reach the sky one step at a time, if he can slowly accumulate his actual combat experience step by step, maybe within three years, he will become a real gun master who can threaten Zhang Cheng, and become a strong rising dark horse in Shanghai!

But...... Looking at the whole of Shanghai, who knows how many young people like this young gun, who have great talents, have received rigorous training, and whose hearts are higher than the sky and think that they can show their strength, fall into this bustling metropolis, and use their own blood to witness the eternal truth that there must be darkness behind the light?

Zhang Cheng took out the cards that had not had time to open in the gambling booth from his pocket, and showed them one by one in front of the young gunman who had not yet lost his breath.

"Supreme Treasure, kill through!"

Zhang Cheng put the good card on the young gunman's chest, reached out from the young man's pocket, found a few blood-stained banknotes, picked out one of the smallest denominations from it, and then put the rest of the bills back into the other party's pocket.

Zhang Cheng definitely has no habit of robbing dead people's money, but this small denomination banknote is the bonus he deserves for gambling. As a hopelessly fanatical, chased and killed all over the world, and still have to take time to get into the gambling booth to gamble a few small bets, touching a "supreme treasure" on the gambling table represents the absolute favor of the God of Wealth grandfather, no matter how much you win, this kind of happy money can never be abandoned.

At this time, lonely applause suddenly sounded in a corner of the dock.

(To be continued)