Tokyo Bay, the throat of the central and eastern part of Honshu Island, Sakuranomiya.

Over the past 100 years, the shape and area of Tokyo Bay have changed dramatically due to rising sea levels and a large number of man-made modifications.

In 2136, the federal government approved the construction of an artificial island in the sea between the Miura Peninsula and the Ito area, and reclaimed land at the southern end of Minamiboso, which further extended the depth of Tokyo Bay; When the project was completed, a narrow land wonder was born.

Today, you can depart from a luxury hotel in Tokyo's Koto Ward and take a cruise along the heart of Tokyo Bay at night, enjoying the nighttime views on both sides of the river in the gentle sea breeze and the sunrise over the Pacific Ocean at dawn.

Of course, this is fun...... It's a lot of money.

…………

On autumn nights, the moon is like a mirror.

A luxury cruise ship called the "Clover" set sail from Tokyo Bay.

In addition to the security and service personnel, the ship is full of bigwigs from all over the world; Or rather...... The sons and daughters of the big guys.

From the son of the president of the Federal Oil Group in the Middle East, to the descendant of a well-known chaebol family in North America; From the eldest grandson of a South American agricultural tycoon, to a socialite in the counties of Western Europe.

Tonight's Clover can be said to have gathered the "elite class" of the three generations of the Federation, and it is not an exaggeration to say that this ship carries the "future of the Federation".

And among them, the highest status should be the son of Shinichiro Arai - Ryunosuke Arai.

The real Ryunosuke Arai is a few years older than Axiu, slightly chubby, and looks seven points similar to his father; Personality...... It's similar to the "Fake Dragon Nosuke" played by Ah Xiu, he just likes to play, as long as he faces people who interest him, he doesn't have much of a shelf, of course...... If someone really provokes him, he will also unceremoniously exercise the privilege in his hands and make the other party pay a very painful price.

At this moment, Ryunosuke is sitting in his exclusive cabin, accompanied by a bodyguard, waiting for his partner to arrive.

Because the organizers of the "highest game" have strictly stipulated that only three guests are allowed on board, and only one of them is allowed to be a partner in the game, the vast majority of people opt for a configuration of two bodyguards and a professional gambler.

Ryunosuke is an exception, he only brings one bodyguard with him, while the other two are Sakaki as a game partner, and Ashu who is both an advisor and a bodyguard.

Di Di –

At 6:40 p.m., more than an hour before the start of "The Highest Game", the electronic door of Ryunosuke's cabin rang twice.

The bodyguard in the house took three steps to the door and pressed the answer button on the communicator.

"It's me, Ah Xiu." Axiu's voice came from it, "I brought Sakaki-kun here." ”

Hearing this, the bodyguard glanced back at Ryunosuke, and when he saw that the latter nodded, he opened the door.

Outside the door, there is undoubtedly Ah Xiu and Sakaki.

Ah Xiu wore a black casual suit today, a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose, and his hair was combed neatly.

He was still the decent man who looked to be in his thirties, calm and reliable; But whether this feeling is real or part of his "performance" is probably something that only he can tell.

Sakaki looks much more flamboyant than Ah Xiu, at least a little more youthful spirit; He wears a black shirt, a dark denim jacket, and jeans. I don't know if it's intentional or not.,Tonight he put a lot of hairspray on his short hair.,Hairstyle is as neat as Urahan Yusuke.。

"Huh? Why are you here? As soon as he opened the door, Sakaki looked at the bodyguard brother in front of him and blurted out such a sentence.

The bodyguard apparently knew Sakaki as well, and he replied calmly, "Work." Then he turned sideways and let the two men in.

The electronic door quickly closed on its own, and Ryunosuke happily sat up from the sofa, walked up to Sakaki, and said, "Haha, Sakaki-kun, I can be regarded as seeing you in person." ”

Prior to tonight, although Sakaki had been living in one of Ryunosuke's mansions for two weeks, Ryunosuke himself had not come to see him during that time.

The reason is not that the person concerned doesn't want to see him, but that Ryunosuke is really not available.

After all, Ryunosuke's father is one of the "Ten Cabinet Assistants" of the Federation, and when his son comes to participate in this inexplicable gathering of the rich/powerful second generation, it is inevitable that there will be rumors and rumors, and Shinichiro Arai has an attitude that more is better than less; But Ryunosuke's enthusiasm is very high, and he looks like he has to come, so Shinichiro Arai took out his politician's skills and used the method of "trading" to assign a few "serious things" to his son - that is, the kind of cumbersome official business that has no technical content, but can be used as a future political achievement, as a prerequisite for Ryunosuke to participate in this "nonsense".

Therefore, as early as a month ago, Ryunosuke began to run around for these official duties, so the job of finding a "partner" was also handed over to Axiu to handle. It wasn't until this morning that Ryunosuke had just finished his business and flew back to Sakura's Mansion on a private flight.

"Hello, Mr. Arai." Sakaki was quite polite to this real Ryunosuke, similar to the attitude he had before he found out Axiu's identity.

"I've heard of the name of the 'Winner and Loser' for a long time, and I've watched the video of you killing the ghost servants in my villa, it's really worthy of your reputation." Ryunosuke looked excited, and this was inevitable...... Although he was a keen gambler, this was the first time he had come into contact with a master who really mingled with that dark world.

"It's okay, it's just a few small characters to clean up." Sakaki said, turning his head slightly, and the afterglow skimmed to his side and back, "It's still Mr. Arai, you have great powers, and you can even get a ...... from Hanazuka."

The "Hanazuka" he refers to is Ryunosuke's bodyguard.

This person's name is Hanazuka Bury Me, he is 1.95 meters tall and weighs 150 kilograms; Although he has a very exaggerated weight, he does not look fat on the outside, not even bloated, and his whole body exudes a burly and strong feeling.

Hanazuka has a face like a ghost worshiped in the temple, and this face alone can scare children to cry, or scare children who have already cried.

At the age of sixteen, Hanazuka became a cadre of the well-known organization "Yuanyu Group" in Kagetsu Town with a pair of fists; Since then, he has never been defeated.

Because he is in charge of the martial arts faction in the group, whether it is a heads-up or a group fight, he fights with his bare hands...... Over time, more and more people who did not know Hanazuka's name and were defeated by him increased, and they gave him the title of "Noise Master" (note, the Japanese pronunciation of "Noise" is "dry fight").

The so-called "two legends" of Kagetsu Town, one is the "winner and loser", and the other is the "noisy division".

"Oh~ You said Hanazuka-kun, you seem to know each other, right, hehe." Two seconds later, Ryunosuke replied with a smile, "He was also found for me by Axiu." As he spoke, he walked up to Hanazuka, clenched his fist, and half-jokingly knocked his backhand twice on Hanazuka's chest, "Look...... Super reliable, right? It's a humanoid Gundam hahaha. ”

"Not really." Sakaki echoed, and immediately whispered to Ah Xiu beside him, "Your ability to find someone is a bit beyond my expectations." ”

"Hanazuka-kun is much easier to find than you." Ah Xiu shrugged his shoulders and said, "I took Mr. Arai's business card directly to the headquarters of the Yuanyu Group to ask for someone, and I quickly invited him out." ”

"Hmm......" Sakaki groaned, "Anyway, since Hanazuka is here, there is no problem with safety...... However, as for the 'game', I have to say hello in advance......" He paused, looked at Ryunosuke and said, "Mr. Arai, I hope you can understand that when it comes to gambling, I can only say that I do my best, there is no 100% winning game in this world, and even near the end, there may be an accident that can reverse the outcome of the game." ”

"Well~ I'm also a veteran, I know all of this, and I won't make it difficult for others." Ryunosuke replied in a relaxed tone, "I gamble...... Originally, it was not to win money, but to pursue the thrill in the process; What's the point of gambling if there is no risk of failure? He said this, his tone changed slightly, "But...... It's always a bad feeling to lose, I can accept losing, but if I don't have enough fun, I lose or lose ugly...... I can't accept that. ”

"Understood." Sakaki nodded, "It's best to win, and if you can't win, you have to lose calmly." ”

"Yes, yes, yes! That's what it means. Ryunosuke also nodded yes.

"Mr. Arai, you can rest assured of this." Ah Xiu took over the conversation sensitively at this time, "No matter what Sakaki-kun says, he is also the strongest gambler I screened from the entire Sakura Mansion, and it is impossible to lose your face." ”

"Hmm...... That's good. Ryunosuke said, returning to his seat, "Okay, let's not talk about that, the game won't start in more than an hour, let's have a drink first." ”

…………

After three rounds of drinking, Ryunosuke was a little drunk and wanted to take a break.

Sakaki and Ashu left Hanazuka to guard the room, and the two of them went to the side of the ship.

Under the moonlight, in the sea breeze, Ah Xiu lit a cigarette for Sakaki, and then lit one for himself.

The two of them looked at the ornate lights on the embankment in the distance, and were silent for a moment.

Then, it was Sakaki who spoke first.

"Have you been here before?" Sakaki asked.

"Uh-" Ah Xiu spat out his cigarette, "I've been here, what's wrong?" ”

"Do you remember how you felt when you first saw this view?" Sakakimichi.

Ah Xiu thought for a moment and responded, "I don't remember." ”

This is true, he rarely remembers emotional things, on the contrary, he always tries to forget those memories.

"Really...... That's nice. Sakaki said, puffing on his cigarette.

Ah Xiu knew that he still had something to say, so he didn't pick up the stubble, just waited silently.

After a while, Sakaki spoke again, and said, "Once upon a time there was a boy...... His family is very poor, his father works very hard, almost all year round, and his mother has to work part-time to support the family in addition to taking care of the family; For this family, it is important to find a day when all three of them are free to go to the zoo...... It's all extravagant hopes. ”

When he said this, he would stop from time to time to smoke a cigarette, as if he was reminiscing, as if he was feeling.

However, on the boy's fourteenth birthday, a miracle happened...... His parents happened to come down on the same day, and they felt that this was a rare opportunity to celebrate, so they bought three tickets for a cruise in Tokyo Bay to see the night view.

That day, the boy saw this scene for the first time, and he thought...... This is the most beautiful place in the world, and the happiness of laughing with his parents at that moment is the happiest moment in his life. ”

At this point, Sakaki frowned again and took a deep puff of his cigarette: "What does he think...... That's half right. Two seconds later, he continued, "It turns out that his parents didn't happen to be available that day, but the day before, they happened to be laid off together."

"They couldn't bear the burden of life anymore, and they didn't want the boy to follow them to the streets, so they ...... They sold all the valuable things in the family, plus the little savings they had, to buy the three ferry tickets, so that their son could have a happy birthday like those ordinary children, and the three of them left the best memories together.

When they got home that night, when the boy had gone to sleep, the couple turned on the gas switch and turned off the fire.

"Because of poverty, they are still using the old gas source; Carbon monoxide quickly took their lives, but the boy ...... Miraculously survived. ”

Sakaki's narrative ended here, even if it was over, he didn't talk about the rest of the matter, but Ah Xiu roughly guessed it.

"Why are you telling me this?" After a while, Ah Xiu said.

"I don't know." Sakaki had finished his entire cigarette and threw it into the sea, "Perhaps...... I've drunk too much, too. He paused, "Or maybe it's because I think you're a man who can keep his mouth shut." ”

Ah Xiu didn't say anything more, but he knew that there was another "maybe" that Sakaki hadn't spoken.

Maybe...... Over the years, Sakaki couldn't find anyone to talk to about anything.

In the world of gamblers, the law of the jungle is the strongest, and to confide in one's heart means to reveal flaws; The men who live in this world can only become "legends" by carrying everything on their backs, burying all their emotions in their hearts, and moving forward alone.

Whew——

Just then, the cabin door behind them opened.

Hanazuka's figure, which was larger than the hatch, squeezed out first. This old man had drunk the most alcohol just now, but judging by his indifferent expression and swarthy face, the alcohol seemed to be filtered by him in his throat, and it did not affect him in any way.

"Hmm—it's much more comfortable to lie down for a while." Ryunosuke followed behind Hanazuka and walked out stretching, and when he saw Sakaki and Axiu, he said, "Two, it's almost time, how about we go to the banquet hall first?" ”