American variety show: The Godfather, the Peace Ambassador, what the heck?

Chapter 82 Skill Unlocking

"Does your club have Oreos?"

At the gambling table, Teddy stopped a waiter who was delivering alcohol, "If you have any, please bring me three boxes."

waiter:"???"

She'd seen plenty of gamblers who drank, smoked, and groped women while playing cards, but this was the first time she'd ever seen someone eat Oreos while playing cards. There were so many people with unusual fetishes these days.

The club doesn't seem to have Oreos, but that doesn't stop me from going out to the grocery store to buy some.
As soon as the waiter stepped out, he ran into Luca and John, who were coming towards him.

Luca reminded her, "Buy me a case of Oreos."

waiter:"."

Damn it!

Luca looked around and noticed that besides Teddy, One-Eyed Al was also there.

This guy is a gambler too.

"El, how much money did you win today?"

"We lost!!"

Al looked annoyed. "Your casinos are so annoying! I win one day and lose the next. I've been playing for a month and haven't won a single penny!"

Her words made many gamblers envious; at least you didn't lose, while we were all losing.

"Then it seems you need a newbie like me to play with you."

Lucar pulled up a chair and sat down. "How much money you can win from me depends on your luck today."

El's expression immediately brightened, and he took out his notebook to make a note for Luca, "Pigeon, I love your generosity!"

After speaking, she looked at John, who was silent beside her. He didn't say anything, but his presence was undeniable.

She knows.

John frequents the club and enjoys sitting next to the Silver Queen for a drink, sometimes for half the night. Many people are already familiar with his presence.

Then, Luca called over Teddy and Jimmy, and the five of them sat down at a table.

It's a pity Mike went to the hospital for treatment, otherwise we could have had another expert—except for that guy Bug, the conman doesn't deserve to be at the table.

"Wait, let me call another friend over."

Luca took out his phone and called Jordan, inviting him to play cards. The whole table was full of brothers and sisters.

Brothers and sisters? Jordan didn't believe it. They must all be demons and monsters trying to trick him into losing money!
“There’s still business to discuss,” Luca added.

Jordan contributed to the gasoline tax, though not much, but he still got a small share.

This time Jordan believed him and said he would come over immediately.

While Jordan was on the road, the group set out the rules: no limit on bets, a minimum total bet of 25000, or the cards could not be revealed.

Meanwhile, Luca first activated a minor skill.

[Criminal Reconstruction: Increases the probability of discovering clues during investigations by 15%]

[Skill added]

[Remaining Skill Fragments: 168]

While not as suitable for the poker table as "seeing the big picture from small details," it can at least improve one's observational skills.

After learning, Luca blinked and found that his observation and attention to certain details had improved, making it easier for him to notice small details that he would normally overlook.

For example, there's a small scar peeking out from under Al's eyepatch, and a faint white knife mark on the back of John's hand. Jimmy has more gray hair now, and Oreos... this guy's already started eating them!

[Teddy: C]

[Oreo: Delicious Oreos can temporarily distract others and interfere with their judgment; every time you eat an Oreo, others will find it difficult to fathom your true intentions and misjudge your true thoughts, reducing their judgment of you by 20% for 1 minute; the skill effect is doubled when you are playing cards at the card table.]

[Learning Requirements: Affinity level of Friends or higher; Requires 50 Skill Fragments]

Luca's lips twitched almost imperceptibly.

Teddy is Mike's nemesis. He has interfered with Mike's judgment more than once by eating Oreos, causing Mike to misjudge the hand type and size.

This skill is the nemesis of "Seeing the big picture from small details," or rather, they counter each other.

This is yet another skill for deceiving people.
Luca wondered if he would have to carry a bag of Oreos with him from now on.

Seemingly noticing Luca's gaze, Teddy picked up a new box and handed it over, "Old Pigeon, want some?"

"Yes, thank you. When I was a child, my favorite food was Oreo."

Luca opened the package and said with a sigh, "Those are memories of my lost youth and childhood. Every time I taste this, I think of my father. This is the snack he bought for me the most."

With his vivid and moving words, coupled with the trust boost from the criminals he had won over, Luca's words left the assassins and gangsters deeply moved.

It turns out the peace ambassador had such a past.
John, on the other hand, didn't seem to care much. He was an orphan, adopted by an assassin organization from a young age. What were snacks to him?
Teddy also shared his experience: "When I was little, what I envied most was that other kids had Oreos to eat, but I didn't. So when I grew up and started earning money, the first thing I did was buy a box of Oreos."

Luca laughed, "Don't say that while you're eating an Oreo."

I don't believe it! You're misleading me!
The group chatted briefly before revealing their cards and placing bets.

None of the people at this table were short of money. After several rounds of betting, the stakes on the table had exceeded 50,000.

In the end, El won.

A pure hand is good; you get a full house, skill is irrelevant.

But in the next few rounds, El couldn't keep up. Teddy, a skilled player, relied on his technique to win over 100,000 in a few games, but then quietly lost the money back in the next few games, just trying to keep himself from losing any more.

With one expert and four noobs, Teddy is completely undefeated.

After playing for an hour, the player who spoke the least—John—won the most, but in the next round he gave Luca a lot of points, which made John so angry that he blurted out a Cantonese phrase:
"You damn bastard, you've got a whole house shovel!"

Luca is confused. John, what exactly have you learned from Master Ye?

I understand Cantonese!

Just then, Jordan arrived.

"Dear old pigeon! Your good friend is here to win your money!" Jordan immediately gave him a hug, which was very affectionate, and he almost kissed him.

Then, upon seeing Al, Jordan became much more gentlemanly, extending his hand and saying, "Hello, my name is..."

A black mamba emerged from Al's sleeve.
"I'm not touching this poison." Jordan withdrew his hand and chuckled, "Your snake is cute."

"Her name is Beatrice."

"Good name!"

Luca, who was eating an Oreo, almost choked. Jordan, you better not let the Yellow-Clad Warrior hear what you just said.

With an extra SR card, the six people continued playing cards.

Not long after, in the evening, the blond-haired boy brought Matilda, who had just finished school, to the casino.

"Luca!" Matilda happily rushed to Luca's side.

Luca waved to Brian, "Come sit down and play cards with us."

Brian had a bad feeling that the little money he had worked so hard to win by racing was enough to cover how many rounds of losses.

Two more SSRs appeared on the table, making things even more lively. "Luca, don't fold, call," Matilda instructed Luca, standing next to him.

Luca glanced at his cards and the three face-up cards, all of them single cards of various colors, neither a straight nor a pair.

"Can I follow that?" Luca is a complete novice at cards.

Matilda whispered in his ear, "Uncle Jimmy and that Uncle Oreo are just trying to scare you. They don't have strong hands. They're just bluffing to make you fold before the turn even starts. I think you'll get good hands later."

Luca: "."

No, how come you seem to know more about this than I do every day? Did you do your homework at the casino?

Luca decides to believe in lucky Matilda.

Sure enough, the fourth and fifth cards revealed allowed Luca to complete a straight.

Luca won this game.

"That's great!" Luca rewarded Matilda with an Oreo. "Haha, you really are my lucky star. Winning at cards is so easy with you by my side."

Matilda smirked. "Hmph! You only realize how good I am now? Well then, listen to me, and I'll teach you how to fight."

Everyone else at the table stared at Luca with silent eyes, especially Jimmy, who was already preparing to slip away. He knew exactly how good Matilda was at cards, and how incredibly lucky she was, often getting good cards that were impossible to beat no matter how she played.

Jimmy has lost count of how many times he's lost to Mathilda: five dresses, seven pairs of shoes, a game console, three Transformers DVDs, and two bicycles.
In short, Jimmy plans to just join in the fun and never go toe-to-toe with Matilda unless she folds early.

The next hour was a nightmare for everyone else present. Even Oreo, with his superb card skills, couldn't gain much advantage against Matilda, who had incredible luck.

Lose more and win less.

Teddy was shocked. He had been invincible in New York and had become the boss of a Russian casino with his unbeatable card skills, but today he had been taken advantage of by a little kid.

This kid is born with a gambling physique!

Luca was very satisfied with his windfall, winning four or five hundred thousand. John and Al contributed the most, which made the one-eyed older sister very depressed. Matilda tried to coax her for a long time but couldn't.

In the end, Luca secretly slipped her a handful of chips, and El gave Luca a charmingly disdainful look, "Who cares about your charity? Your card skills are so bad, if Matilda hadn't played so well, would you have won?"

Luca: "."

After saying that, El took Matilda to bully the other noobs.

[Bond: Friends]

Luca smiled with satisfaction; it wasn't without other gains.

[Snake Kiss] has been unlocked.

The peace ambassador has a pet! First, raise a snake; it can be used for sacrifices and also to attack opponents!
Once John learns his pet skills...

When combined, it becomes an amazing skill!

[Skill Fragment -40]

[Skill added]

[Snake Kiss: You have a stronger affinity for snakes; snakes will not attack you unless provoked, and you can control venomous snakes to a limited extent; your immunity to snake venom +40%]

Outside the casino, Teddy Oreo walked out the door with his last 5000 dollars.

I thought I'd just give the peace ambassador face and break even, but I ended up losing money.

Oh well, it's only a loss of 20,000.

Just then, Jimmy walked over, took out 25,000 and handed it to Teddy, saying, "This is the money Mike and Bug owe you. Old Pigeon said he would give you an explanation."

"This..." Teddy was deeply moved. "Before that, I had already taken all your chips."

"The chips were prepared by Old Pigeon for his guests and friends, and the 25,000 is a debt owed by Mike and his group."

Teddy admired Old Pigeon and said with emotion, "I accept this. Please thank Old Pigeon for me. If Old Pigeon ever comes to my casino, I will definitely treat my friend well!"

[Bond: Friends]

[Oreo] Unlocked.

Upstairs in his office, Luca stared at Teddy's retreating figure downstairs, then picked up an Oreo and popped it into his mouth.

It tastes really good.

The profits from gasoline tax continue to soar in the new week.

Luca and Abram made a fortune; they had so much cash they could make dozens of quilts to cover themselves with, bringing them happiness and peace of mind.

Margio was also very satisfied; the election for second boss was now a sure thing!

Currently, among all the major family businesses, nothing makes money faster than this! Even drugs can't compare!

—Unless Jordan creates another miracle and harvests tens of millions of yuan in profits in three hours.

But such opportunities are rare, and Jordan heeded Luca's advice, toning down his behavior to avoid further trouble from the SEC and FBI.
This windfall also made Vigo, this ambitious fellow, look at Luca with new respect.

He also sensed a sense of crisis.

The younger brother continued to work with Luca, earning several times more money than he had.
After careful consideration, Vigo Tarasov invited Luca to visit his club hotel.

—Red Circle Hotel.

"This hotel is really nice."

At the gate, John noticed Luca's somewhat strange smile and felt that something was off.

Luca walked into the hall, surveying his surroundings, and vaguely saw a scene of John smashing through this place in the future.

The two walked across the dance floor, took the elevator up to a spacious and elegant reception room on the top floor.

Here, Luca met Abram and his brother Vigo.

[Character Card: Vigo Tarasov]

[Vigor: A]

[Source: The John Wick series]

[Skills: High-value bounties; Impossible missions]

[Bond: Follow]

When he saw the second skill, Luca narrowed his eyes slightly.

An impossible mission?

In the original storyline, Vigo gave John an impossible mission as a condition for John's retirement: wipe out all of Tarasov's enemies overnight.

John miraculously completed the task with the help of the Italian Mafia organization "Camorra" and retired honorably.

Seriously, what enemies could Russians possibly have in New York? Aren't their biggest rivals the five major families?

Luca felt a chill run down his spine, thinking to himself, "Does this old guy want John to wipe out the New York Mafia?"

That would be great fun.

The five major families were already embroiled in internal strife, and now a killing god has joined them.
New York will be absolutely ecstatic.

(End of this chapter)