Chapter 56 The Dealer

Ryan pulled up his map and meandered through campus, arriving at the bustling casino.

The flashing lights and loud noises peppered Ryan as he walked in the magnificent golden doors that seemed to slam behind him, forcing him to enter deeper into the jaws of a lion.

As he entered the playing floor, a hologram hovered in front of him, "1 Campus Credits = 1 Chip."

Roulette, baccarat, blackjack, so many games he could choose from. However, Ryan had already set his sights on a target.

"Student or staff," the security guard drilled, glancing up at Ryan between the slits of her eyelids.

"Student," Ryan said, showing his campus bracelet.

The muscles of the guard's biceps rippled as she took out a device that looked like a mix between a label scanner and a laser gun. She pointed it at his wristband and asked, "Alright, how many campus credits would you like to convert into chips?"

no(????(e)lbi????.n(et

"All of them," Ryan said, confident that, at the very least, he could win 300 credits using at least a small portion of the 5000 campus credits in his account.

Ryan gathered his chips, stuffing them into his spatial pouch, activated [Pleasant Face], and walked over to the closest poker table.

"An enhancer joins us," a rail-thin blonde lady wearing dark sunglasses gave a sarcastic grin. Her short hair and long bangs gave her a bug-like quality.

Another player, seated to her left, said, "Wait, isn't he the one from the Torres sister war?" Her eyes momentarily leaving her cards to scan Ryan's face.

The other three people at the table glanced at Ryan, their eyes reflecting their shock.

"It is him. Man, we've got ourselves a celebrity at the table."

Winking, Ryan said, "Don't be too happy to see me." You may lose all your money to me tonight.

Dealing the next hand, the dealer said, "Am I dealing you in? If so, put in your ante."

Placing the one-chip ante, Ryan got his cards. Ace of clubs and a 3 of spades.

Tapping the table, Ryan passed as he waited for someone else to make a move.

"Bet of 5," the dealer said, collecting the chips from blondie.

Everyone folded until it was passed to Ryan. He looked at blondie. He had his pleasant face ability active, so he should be able to glean an advantage. If she wanted him to fold, he would appear to be on the verge of folding and vice versa.

"Call," Ryan said, staring intently to see her reaction.

Seeing her lip twitch imperceptivity, Ryan smiled, knowing he had her.

The flop came. Ace of hearts, queen of spades, and ten of clubs. Checking again, Ryan waited to see if the girl would dig herself into an even deeper hole.

"Bet of 15," blondie called out.

Waiting a moment, Ryan made sure his reading was correct by watching the girl's lips and said, "I call."

Coughing, the girl looked at Ryan and pursed her lips.

pAn,Da n<0,>v,e1 Flipping the card, the dealer revealed the turn, another queen. Apparently, the girl really liked that card, and she watched Ryan's facial expressions closely.

Passing for the third time, Ryan waited, and sure enough, "Bet of 50," the dealer shouted.

This time Ryan paid and pushed energy into the pleasant face ability to enhance the reaction, making it seem to blondie that Ryan was the one bluffing.

The dealer revealed the river, and the Ace of spades appeared, giving Ryan a full house.

Blondie peered again at Ryan. Her eyes betrayed her glee that she believed Ryan's bluff.

"I bet 200," Ryan said, hoping she would think it was a pathetic attempt to bluff.

'Sometimes the fish just stuffs itself on your rod,' Remembering Aliza's iconic line for a second time, he watched as not only did blondie call, she raised.

"A bet of 500," blondie pushed her chips forward. Her chin jutted up in the air, revealing her confidence.

"I'm all in," Ryan said, pushing the remainder of his 5000 chips into the middle.

Narrowing her eyes, the blonde bit her lip and then screamed, "Fuck it, I call," as she tossed down king high.

===

Walking gingerly out of the casino, a total of 10,000 credits richer after 2 hours of play, Ryan felt a presence behind him. He cast a glance in the nearby window and caught the reflection of the dealer who was at his first poker table.

'Looks like my ability worked on him too.'

Ryan had guessed something like this might happen, the vague wording of the ability giving endless possibilities of what could happen.

'She must have thought I looked like an easy target.'

Disappearing into an ally, Ryan hid behind a garbage bin, wanting to conceal his presence from the dealer.

"Hey, kid! You forgot your jacket!" The dealer called out, looking around for the disappearing Ryan.

"Kid!" After calling out and looking for Ryan for several minutes, the dealer shrugged his shoulders, not willing to expend the energy to chase after a punk who must have left the area.

After the dealer turned around and began walking toward the casino, Ryan decided to follow him. He lowered his stance and hugged the walls, trying to keep to the shadows. Something about the dealer's mannerisms made him wary.

After following him for several minutes, Ryan saw the dealer enter a backroom in the casino. Catching the door before it closed, Ryan quietly entered through the narrow space, shutting the door silently behind him.

Deciding to be on the safe side, Ryan activated his pleasant face ability again. 'Maybe it will get me out of trouble if someone recognizes me.'

The back of the casino was completely different from the opulent front of the casino. A shabby environment and shabby people surround the tables. They looked greedy and hungry, their shoulders hunched with dirty hair and dirty fingernails crusted with dirt.

"What do you mean I lost?!" yelled a weathered man, screaming and kicking as the guards drag them out of the back doors and threw him into the alley.

Ryan walked slowly around the room, trying not to gather anyone's attention. He decided to slide up next to the overflowing giant dumpsters in the side of the room. Trash bags, rotten food, and lots of cigarettes were piled in the corner. The stench was almost unbearable. Definitely, no one was looking in this area.

"You all know I got game!" Shrieked a voice near Ryan.

He looked over at what appeared to be the blackjack table. An adorable petite girl with long light pink hair was standing on her chair, waving her hands in the air.

"It's my time, suckers! Watch and learn, losers!"

A loud shriek propelled the girl forward as she gathered up all the chips from the table. "In your face, losers!"

The players barely batted an eye, apparently already used to this girl and her antics.

Ryan smiled appreciatively. She was really, really cute.

"So the plan is a go for tomorrow night,'' a gravelly voice caught Ryan's attention.

Ryan took a step back and peered through the trash

Two men stood talking quietly, their backs turned to Ryan. They had no idea he was listening.

Ryan recognized one of the guys. It was the dealer he had followed here.

The gravelly voice continued, "We have the crew ready. We bought the codes to get into their server room where they're hosting the BCN in all the human empire. By the end of the night, BCN will be down across the human empire."