In front of each person were not the common chips of silver and beautiful banknotes, but sheets of golden paper.

Shen Renjie doubted his own eyes, rubbing them and staring for a moment. He realized that the paper was actually hard paper brushed with gold powder, shining and glittering under the light, resembling pure gold at first glance.

There were also some numbers printed on the golden paper, some holding "five", some holding "three", and some holding "one".

Shen Renjie didn't understand their meaning.

The game at this table was betting on big or small and odd or even.

It was very simple.

If the total of the three dice was below 10, it was small, and if it was 11 abd above, it was big. If there was a triple, the banker would win everything.

Shen Renjie watched as the gambler across from him won three rounds in a row, holding three gold papers in his hand. But in the blink of an eye, he lost everything and became so enraged that he accused the house of cheating and even tried to grab someone.

Suddenly, two big men appeared out of nowhere and silenced him before dragging him away.

Everyone around them was fanatical, but Shen Renjie couldn't find anyone to ask.

After wandering around for a while, he finally found someone who seemed to be just there for the excitement, holding a "8" gold paper in his hand.

The man hesitated, as if considering whether or not to place a bet. His expression was calmer than the others.

Shen Renjie approached him and struck up a conversation, chatting casually before asking, "Brother, what are these gold papers for?"

The man was surprised and asked, "You don't have any gold papers? Then how did you get in here?"

Shen Renjie accompanied with a smile, "I followed our eldest brother in, and I don't have any money on me. I just came to see the excitement."

"Money? You don't need money to gamble."

"What are we gambling on?"

"Well, you see those people holding the gold paper with different numbers and different chips. Some people use their houses as collateral, some people don't have houses or money, so they bet with their wives and children. If they win, they can exchange the money for big cigarettes or even women. If they lose, their wives and children will naturally be taken away. Some even use their own lives as chips. Anyway, even if you have nothing, there is always something you can offer, your arms, legs, heart, liver, spleen, kidneys, they accept everything here."

In the past, although there were cases of using wives and children as collateral when losing all their wealth in gambling dens, it was not as direct as turning them into chips on gold paper like now.

Nowadays, advocating for new civilization and culture, such blatant behavior of using wives and children for trade would even give the police station a headache, even if there were important figures behind it.

Once exposed in the newspaper, it would probably cause public outrage, even the foreigners would not sit still.

No wonder this gambling den had to be so secretive.

"Brother, what about you? What does the number on your paper mean?"

The man showed a strange smile: "I have no money, no house, my wife and children have already lost, and now only my parents are left. Since I can't support them, I might as well let them contribute their last bit of effort as my parents for their son."

Shen Renjie was dumbfounded, feeling as though his body was covered in goosebumps and about to leave his body. He was on the verge of ascending to become a celestial being.

Carefully, he asked, "I'm afraid your parents are already old, and the gambling house will still accept them? What will they accept them for?"

The other person replied, "Even if they're old, their limbs can still move, they can still do some hard labor like carrying water and bricks. If that's not possible, they can go to the mine and pull the mining cart. Even if they can't move anymore, they can still be a human meat cushion."

Shen Renjie asked, "What's a human meat cushion?"

The other person said, "How come you don't know anything?"

Shen Renjie looked embarrassed and humble, "I'm from the countryside and rely on my brothers to broaden my horizons."

The man was finally satisfied and lazily said, "Every first and fifteenth day of the month, there is an exhibition here. I heard that the women who go on stage to be appraised must be completely naked, with their bodies exposed. These old men have rough skin and wrinkles, which makes them perfect props for these women, making them look smooth and satisfying the fetish of the wealthy. Tsk tsk, it's a pity I don't have the qualifications to participate. Oh, by the way, I heard that it's not just women, but also young children. But that's not my thing. Some people might like it though. Selling children is also for this purpose. The seller tortures them to death and then throws them away, and then buys another one. Ah, it's a shame that my two children at home are not good-looking, otherwise I could have used them to pay off my gambling debts a few more times."

He spoke as if it were a matter of fact, casually discussing what he had for dinner, which dish was better, and which one had gone bad and was thrown away. It was chilling and spine-tingling.

Shen Renjie knew he wasn't a good person. He often indulged in petty theft, laziness, and credit card abuse. But compared to this man, he felt like a saint. He even felt a prickling sensation on the soles of his feet and wanted to escape this place immediately, as if he had never set foot here before.

At this moment, Shen Renjie couldn't help but think of Ling Shu, the young man who always seemed spineless but was never afraid of anything.

Although Shen Renjie often complained about him, he would rather deal with ten Ling Shus than face the person in front of him.

As he thought about it, he realized he had lost track of Ling Shu.

Looking up and scanning the crowd, he saw a sea of people and gamblers, but no sign of Ling Shu.

...

"For Mr. Jiang, this situation in itself is already beneficial."

Yue Dingtang took the cigarette but didn't light it.

Jiang He raised an eyebrow. "I don't understand. What do you mean?"

Yue Dingtang replied, "If you didn't want to resolve this matter, you wouldn't have specifically sent Zhang Jian to tell Ling Shu that you have a connection with Lu Zude."

Jiang He tapped the ash off his cigarette.

"I let him know about this just to make him more cautious and not continue investigating."

Yue Dingtang chuckled. "Mr. Jiang knows Ling Shu and knows he won't stop until he uncovers the truth. I don't quite believe that answer."

Jiang He also laughed. "Alright, believe it or not, I actually don't know that guy Lu Zude. Taking him as my godson was not my idea in the first place," said Jiang He.

Suddenly, Yue Dingtang asked, "Where is Lu Tongcang?"

Jiang He had intended to beat around the bush, but was caught off guard by the direct question. He almost choked on his cigarette and coughed a few times.

Shanghai was full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers, and there were many big shots. But if you were to talk about someone with a real reputation, Lu Tongcang was definitely one of them. Jiang He was just his most capable assistant.

However, Yue Dingtang knew that these two had long been at odds. Jiang He was too capable and his power grew too quickly, and Lu Tongcang couldn't tolerate anyone too powerful next to him.

He naturally wanted to get rid of Jiang He, otherwise there wouldn't have been that assasination attempt. The assassination failed once, but Jiang He later encountered various accidents such as poisoning, car crashes, and seduction plots, all aimed at killing him.

He and Lu Tongcang fought against each other in secret, but when they met, they still had a warm brotherly relationship.

Yue Dingtang didn't know about those incidents, but he knew about the night when Jiang He was chased.

After that incident, there would never be peace between Jiang He and Lu Tongcang.

The only person who could make Jiang He beat around the bush and hint without offending but still wanting to get involved was Lu Tongcang.

"I don't know where he is."

Seeing Yue Dingtang's indifferent expression, Jiang He sighed.

"I'm not just brushing you off, I really don't know where he is. With his cunning ways, do you think he would have told me even when he's already trying to avoid me? Plus, the reason I haven't confronted him yet is because his relationships are complicated. With his current status, I can't guarantee that I can take him down. You still have a chance to back out now that you've stepped in."

Yue Dingtang remained silent for a moment before asking, "What is Lu Zude's relationship with him?"

This question showed that Yue Dingtang didn't want to back out.

With the addition of Yue Dingtang and Ling Shu, there might be a chance to take down Lu Tongcang this time, Jiang He thought.

"As far as I know," said Jiang He, "Lu Tongcang has been in the profitable business of human trafficking for a long time. Unlike ordinary kidnappers who only abduct innocent people for sale, he controls gambling houses, opium dens, transportation, brothels, mines, and docks to scatter these people everywhere. They either become playthings of the rich or laborers who never see the light of day."

Yue Dingtang understood that Lu Tongcang had complete control over the entire process from the source to the destination, leaving these people with nowhere to escape.

As for those who were sold, some of them were desperate and sold themselves during times of famine to various places.

However, it's not the era of selling oneself into slavery anymore. Those people were often emaciated and not very attractive, so they might not be favored.

Therefore, Lu Tongcang preferred to use methods such as luring, kidnapping, and coercion to find beautiful women and children to supply to the clients in his high-end brothels. As for the strong and able-bodied men, they were often taken to remote brick kilns or mines to do hard labor.

Of course, it's not impossible that some powerful people have special preferences.

In order to facilitate business, Lu Tongcang often uses these as unique "gifts" to give to the other party, to add to the icing on the cake.

And because of this, Lu Tongcang holds the little secrets of those people in his hands, and they hold his as well, mutually holding each other's handles.

"Lu Zude is his capable assistant in this business, but these dealings are not above board and cannot be made public. Lu Tongcang wants to win people's hearts, but he doesn't want to get his hands dirty. So he asked me to take in that person as my godson, even though I have never met him in person."

After Jiang He finished speaking, the atmosphere fell into silence.

Yue Dingtang furrowed his brow and pondered, but Jiang He didn't rush him. He just smoked his cigarette and let the other person slowly digest the information.

"Don't you want to get involved in such a profitable business?"

Jiang He stopped smoking and looked at him coldly, his gaze sharp as a knife, cutting into him.

Yue Dingtang remained unfazed.

Jiang He chuckled, "When I was five years old, my own mother was sold by my own father. Since then, I have never touched this stuff in my entire life. Mr. Yue, in your eyes, I am naturally not a good person, and I don't think I am a good person either. But bullying women and children is something I disdain to do."

Yue Dingtang nodded, "I believe in your promise, and your honesty will increase our chances of success in our cooperation."

Jiang He applauded, "As expected of a learned man, Mr. Yue is really good at speaking! I heard that Lu Zude is already in his teens, but his body and face are similar to that of an eight or nine-year-old child. It seems that this is a kind of illness? However, if being sick can produce someone like him, it can also be considered a blessing in disguise. Although this person helps Lu Tongcang charge into battle, he is not a cannon fodder. He knows a lot of secrets in this business. However, if you catch him, it will alarm Lu Tongcang. Unless you are confident enough to take down Lu Tongcang together, I suggest you better not act rashly. Although the reputation of the Yue family can make others give face, even a cornered dog will jump over a wall. If you mess with Lu Tongcang in this business, he will definitely be at odds with you."

"Well, don't I still have you?" Yue Dingtang smiled, "Besides, what if we add foreigners to the equation?"

Jiang He's eyes lit up, and he became interested. "Please tell me more."

...

Young Master Liu Qi quickly left.

The gambling house intended to develop him as a high-end customer, letting him win a few rounds and inviting the top figures here to host a banquet for him.

Young Master Liu Qi was flattered and forgot all about Ling Shu and the others when he left.

Where is Ling Shu?

Shen Renjie became increasingly anxious.

He searched the crowd, luckily there were enough people that he didn't attract any special attention.

Could they have been discovered and taken away in a sack?

Shen Renjie knew that this gambling house was not an ordinary one. His identity as a police officer might not be effective here, and revealing it could cause trouble.

The people behind the scenes were well-connected and didn't care about two lives.

His eyes wandered around until they suddenly stopped at a certain place not far ahead.

"Buy and let go, buy and let go!" The dealer shouted, no different from any other table.

The gamblers were all so caught up in their betting that they didn't even notice when the middle-aged dealer was replaced by a young man.

The young man seemed to notice Shen Renjie's gaze and even winked at him with one eye.

Shen Renjie: ...