Sazaki Gen shuffled the cards with one hand, while rubbing fingers on the other, he said softly:
"No matter how powerful a person is, they have weaknesses. Find the crack in the turtle shell, poke it lightly, and you can bring it down... Mr. Fu Jian, you are no longer invincible."
"Once a person has an Achilles’ heel, they become susceptible to joy, anger, sorrow, and a multitude of desires clouding the mind."
Fushimi Roku sneered.
He leaned back in the chair, staring into Sazaki Gen’s eyes, and said, "Do you think I really care how you win? Sure, I’m curious, but not to the extent of borrowing money to find out the truth."
Then, Fushimi Roku leaned forward, speaking sincerely, "I’m just repaying a favor."
"I found out that the settlement fee for those two scapegoats is 2.1 million yen. Deducting the 1.25 million I lost to you, there’s still 850,000 yen left..."
He picked up a briefcase and placed the money on the table, flipping it around, "I’ve changed my mind. I’ll use this 850,000 yen to gamble with you one last time—this time I won’t go easy. After the gamble, we’re even."
Sazaki Gen seemed indifferent. He laid the playing cards on the table and said with a smile, "Sounds like tough talk."
"Think what you like," Fushimi Roku said.
"Are you that confident you’ll win?" Sazaki Gen pressed.
"We’ll see, won’t we?" Fushimi Roku replied.
At that moment, only the two of them were in the room. The younger brother and Young Leader stood guard at the door, while Ishii Takamasa was busy with business. Everyone was used to Fushimi Roku playing the ghost card game.
Sazaki Gen was silent for a moment, seemingly realizing something, and his smile gradually faded; Fushimi Roku didn’t urge him, his eyes fixed on Sazaki Gen’s forehead where the criminal index and clearance reward were clearly written.
"Clearance Reward": Eliminate Sazaki Gen’s crime to obtain Lv7 Weakness Detection.
Sazaki Gen pulled a black envelope from his pocket and said, "But this time, I don’t want to gamble for money."
Before Fushimi Roku could question him, he continued, "I heard Mr. Fu Jian has been looking into information about the Aum Truth Sect, so I made some inquiries on your behalf, asking a professional in the field to check things out."
"A few months ago, they moved their headquarters to an island northwest of the Shingu Coast. It’s private property, and even the Japanese police can’t intrude. The coastline is fenced, and there are machine-gun towers. Not even a bird can fly in."
As he spoke, Sazaki Gen opened the envelope and took out a black card: "To get on the island, you need an ’Invitation Letter’ or an ’Admission Ticket’."
Fushimi Roku was intrigued. He examined the matte card, which had a string of gold-embossed English: "Admission Ticket"... The back was unseen, so its content unknown.
"This admission ticket is being traded on the black market for 6.2 million yen, it’s highly demanded. I leveraged connections to get one."
Sazaki Gen put the Black Card back in the envelope, placing it on the table: "During your travel time, the Aum Truth Sect sent out Invitation Letters, inviting elites and politicians from all walks of life to visit the island, claiming they’ve created a ’perfect society’ on the island, calling it a ’New World’..."
"After the visit, the elites and politicians kept silent about the island. A certain senator once went; upon returning, he only uttered two words..."
"Additionally, the Aum Truth Sect claims that in the island’s perfect New World, any unachievable ideal can be realized— even immortality."
"Currently, there’s no official statement, and the Aum Truth Sect hasn’t announced anything through media. The rumor of the ’New World’ is only circulating among the upper circle. Many are flocking to the mysterious island... Let’s just say, there’s no shortage of people disappointed in Japanese society."
"I don’t know what Mr. Fu Jian is looking for, nor do I care about his grudges with the Aum Truth Sect... I only know that having a purpose means having a weakness."
"If Mr. Fu Jian wishes to get on the island, he needs the admission ticket I have."
"I’m not concerned about the 850,000 yen; just as I said from the start, I need you to work for the Inakawa Association for five years."
"If you win, take it, we’re square;
if you lose, you stay and become my hound."
After Sazaki Gen finished, the room once again fell into silence.
Behind him, the wall was full of framed photos, each representing a victor’s medal, peacockuring the opponent; Fushimi Roku sat opposite him at the long table, with a bare wall behind him, seemingly ready to face defeat again.
Fushimi Roku chuckled as he closed the briefcase, stood up, and took the deck of cards on the table: "Still playing ghost cards?"
"Yes," Sazaki Gen said, "but this time, there are 52 cards, including two ghost cards. The ghost cards can’t be dumped as pairs. The first to play all their cards wins; the last with two ghost cards loses."
Fushimi Roku raised an eyebrow but didn’t object.
For fairness, Fushimi Roku stepped out to randomly pick a passerby to shuffle and deal the cards.
After reaching an agreement, they paid the passerby for their services, everything was set, and the passerby shuffled and dealt the hands one by one.
Each person received twenty-six cards, and a game of rock-paper-scissors decided who would go first.
Both struck simultaneously, both showing scissors. Sazaki Gen was slightly startled, glancing up at Fushimi Roku: "Did you catch on?"
"Just realized," Fushimi Roku licked his lips, feeling the thrill of gambling: "Again."
Sazaki Gen remained silent as Fushimi Roku announced the count and struck again. This time he chose scissors again, but Sazaki Gen had changed to paper.
"Looks like my luck is better," Fushimi Roku laughed and said.
He had figured it out, Sazaki Gen’s method of winning at rock-paper-scissors was simple; it didn’t require any profound technique or extraordinary reflexes, only the gambler’s knack for anticipating the opponent’s thought.
—During the first round of rock-paper-scissors, Sazaki Gen preemptively assumed in his mind that Fushimi Roku could see through him, switching to scissors at the last moment before the strike.
Even if Fushimi Roku was fast, he couldn’t change hand signs twice while striking.
The latter saw through this, and when swinging, noticing Sazaki Gen’s intention to change, preemptively assumed Sazaki Gen would switch hands, shifting from rock to scissors was the most natural move, hence the first round ended in a draw.
From then on, rock-paper-scissors became pure psychological warfare; Sazaki Gen could change or not, or switch randomly. He only needed to time it perfectly, displaying unexpected hand signs just as Fushimi Roku couldn’t change his move.
Meanwhile, Fushimi Roku could anticipate as well. To prevent Sazaki Gen from thinking too long, he immediately called out for the next round, using his quicker reflexes to see through Sazaki Gen’s changing mindset, winning with scissors.
"It’s just the first move."
Sazaki Gen said with indifferent nonchalance: "Letting you go first, what harm could it do?"