In August, the south of the Yangtze River, summer is scorching.
In Dragon city, inside the grand and thriving Royal Club, a group of people are gathered around a poker game. All eyes are focused on an unkempt man at the end of the table.
The man looks to be in his twenties, with stubble covering his face and hair that appears like it hasn't been cleaned in half a month. His eyes are vacant, gazing fixedly at the poker cards on the table without a hint of movement, like a piece of wood.
"Augus! Will you bloody show your card or not?! I've been waiting for more than 10 minutes already! What? Can't the elder son from Johnson family afford to take a minor hit of three million?"
Opposite the man, a bald bloke, bare from the waist up, teases with a tattoo of a dragon head on his chest, and his muscular body, making it clear he's not a good character.
Someone next to him jokes, “Heh, Dylan, have you forgotten? Augus has already been kicked out of Johnson family, a plucked phoenix is worse than a chicken.”
“Hahaha…..”
The crowd bursts into laughter, their mocking echoes filling the club.
Indeed, though the Johnson family is not entirely dominating in Dragon city, their existence is massive, and ordinary people don’t dare to offend them.
Augus used to be the eldest son of the Johnson family. Having the backing of the Johnson family allowed him to roam freely in Dragon city as a popular socialite.
Regrettably, this is in the past. Half a year ago, in the same club, Augus offended a big shot from the Porter Porter in River city it was the first time the playboy was suppressed, making him lose all face and pride. After the incident, instead of helping him, the Johnson family threw him out, leaving him to be the laughingstock of Dragon city.
Besides Augus, a little girl of about three years old stands with jade-like features. Her huge watery eyes sparkle like gems, her chubby cheeks and pink dress make her look like a little princess.
Currently, seeing all these people teasing her daddy, the little girl grips her dress tightly, pouting her mouth and waggish protests. “You... none of you have the right to laugh at my daddy!”
Her innocence softens the laughter, but it quickly grows louder again.
Looking at the scene, the princess-like girl’s eyes cloud with mist, her eyes turn red within moments making her look so pitifully cute that it tugs at the heartstrings.
"Brat, go play elsewhere!"
Next to her, an obese man said discontentedly, stretching out a hand towards the little girl's neck, wanting to lift her up like a small chicken.
But just as the fat man's hand was about to touch the little girl, another hand suddenly grabbed him.
This scared the wits out of the fat man. He shivered and turned his head to look, only to see Augus staring fixedly at him - those previously blank eyes were now incredibly sharp, his gaze piercing, so intense that one dared not meet it.
".. Augus?!" The fat man stammered, his heart pounding. Even though Augus had already been kicked out of the Johnson family, a camel still thins down to be larger than a horse, and Augus was not someone he could afford to provoke.
Augus's gaze gradually became indifferent again, and he didn't say a word.
The fat man breathed a sigh of relief internally, thinking to himself that Augus's brain still wasn't quite functional. Scratching his head, he muttered, "Augus, we've got him this time..."
Augus let out a chuckle, patting him on the shoulder. Before he could gather himself, he felt a tiny figure burrow into his arms.
Looking down, it was the little girl. With her mouth choked up, sobbing she said, "Daddy, can we... can we go home? Hic..."
Daddy? Augus was taken aback. Was this little girl... his daughter?!
It was only then that Augus started to recall his repressed memories. Just after his rebirth, the melding of two sets of memories had not been smooth.
In no time, Augus was letting out a bitter smile, saying to himself what a "wonderful" surprise he'd been given just after coming back!
Opposite to him, Dylan was pounding impatiently on the table, saying, "Augus, hurry up and show your cards! I have a four of a kind, K's. What's yours?"
This was a game of showdown poker, Dylan had four Kings, and Augus had three Aces, but the decider card had yet to be revealed.
This was a high stakes bet, with the pot amounting up to six million.
Augus stroked his daughter's little head, then turned to Dylan and smiled slightly, "You've lost."
"What?"
Dylan glanced at the fat man beside Augus, who shook his head slightly.
"Kid, all your crap talk is useless. Show me your bottom card! Or are you saying that you are about to lose, and thus, teasing me?" Dylan squinted, picking up a fruit knife and playing with it.
"Yeah, Augus, Dylan is the head of the Black Dragon Society, we can't afford to provoke!" The fat man said anxiously, he was sure that Augus's hole card could not be an Ace! Because he had been watching all along.
"No coffin, no tears." Augus shook his head, then turned over his last hole card, a Spade Ace stunningly appeared in everyone's view.
In a blink, everyone fell silent, staring dumbfoundedly at the Spade Ace on the table.
"How is this possible?!"
The fat man's eyes nearly bulged out, as he had been keeping an eye on Augus's hole card from the very beginning, knowing that it was not an Ace! But now, how could it possibly...
In reality, since Augus had come to, he had used this skill of swapping cards, effectively changing his hole card. It was almost impossible for ordinary people to notice this with the naked eye.
In his arms, the little princess, although not understanding poker, interpreted the reactions of everyone intelligently and concluded her father had won.
The little princess's eyes narrowed into crescent moons, she cheered, "Daddy won! Daddy is the best!" An unprecedented sense of pride enveloped her, this was her daddy!
"This...this..."
Dylan's mouth twitched, he was convinced that Augus would lose to him, that's why he had started this high-stakes game. Otherwise, with his stingy attitude, he would not have gambled so much! After all, three million is not a small sum.
Clap clap clap...
At this moment, everyone burst into applause. They honestly hadn't expected that Augus, who had seemed like a lost dog, could spring such a big surprise on them.
Augus stood up, holding his daughter, and rapped his fingers on the table with a smile, saying, "Just transfer the money to my bank card."
Then, patting the fat guy on the shoulder, he laughed, "You're truly a great friend!"
Ignoring everyone else, he strode away with his little girl in his arms, looking absolutely carefree.
So ended a high-stakes gamble. The crowd gradually dispersed from the scene, except for Dylan who sat in his chair, his face ashen and grim, looking as if he had eaten feces.
“Dylan… I… I honestly don’t know what’s happened. I’ve been watching this whole time...”
“Enough, you don’t need to explain!”
The fat man tried to say something, but Dylan cuts him off. His eyes narrowed into an icy stare, fixed unwaveringly on the fat man. "Very well, did you two collude to take my money? You better pray that you'll survive even a single minute after leaving the club!"
The fat man, tears streaming down his face and looking desperately scared, cried, “Please spare me, Dylan... I really don’t know…”