The Rise Of A Billionaire 1943

Unlike his previous visits to Havana, which were always rushed, this time Pierre not only stayed but also attended the welcome banquet held by the Chinese Association. At the banquet, he naturally shared his vision for the future of North Borneo with everyone.

Havana isn't a big place, and the Chinese community is even smaller. News travels fast, and for overseas Chinese who have long suffered discrimination…

We certainly don't object to investing in a place where Chinese people are in charge.

As for mainland China, for now, they're not considering it. After all, the fighting there has been going on for decades—who knows when it will end?

However, even as they readily agreed, everyone still had their doubts: could a single Chinese person really take over the North Borneo Company?

Almost no one believed such a thing was possible—at least, not until Pierre actually obtained that land. But that didn't stop them from hosting banquets for this young billionaire.

In Havana, there weren't many people Pierre needed to visit; rather, it was he who received a flood of invitations. Nearly every day, he was invited by various prominent figures from the Cuban Chinese community. Pierre didn't refuse these invitations—after all, he hoped to attract their investments in the future.

Banquets always meant drinking, and by the time the parties ended, Pierre was already a bit drunk. Although he could hold his liquor, there were just too many people. After returning to his hotel, Pierre, riding his buzz, headed to the casino. This hotel was not only famously expensive, but its casino was also the most upscale in all of Havana.

For Pierre, who had never gambled before, everything here was new and exciting.

Holding a few chips in his hand, he tossed them back and forth between his hands like people in old Hong Kong movies. Though the sun blazed outside, the bustling casino was refreshingly cool.

Clearly, there was air conditioning here—in fact, the entire hotel was equipped with central air.

After wandering around the crowded casino while playing with his chips, Pierre found a blackjack table and sat down. He hadn't even settled in when a translucent screen appeared before him.

[Location "Casino" discovered. Skill "Gambling" can be learned. Learn now?]

So this function can be activated too!

This system really lives up to its name.

"Learn!"

[Skill "Gambling" acquired.]

A wealth of gambling knowledge appeared in Pierre's mind, including how to play blackjack, dice games, and other basic information.

Although it was only an elementary level in the system, its definition of "elementary" was clearly different from that of ordinary people. What's more, the system was like a cheat device. When Pierre activated the "assist" function, the translucent screen before his eyes would display various calculations, including bet amounts, implied odds, card structures, whether to hit or stand, and so on...

"What the..."

Pierre suddenly felt a little nervous as he put down his chips.

Why nervous?

Afraid of getting beaten up!

Afraid of winning too much and getting roughed up, or even tossed into the Caribbean Sea.

He checked his cards: a 10.

Even as a complete rookie, Pierre knew that when your upcard is a 10 and the dealer's is between 3 and 7, it's a tough spot. If you hit, there's a 50% chance of busting—and if you bust, you lose for sure. If you stand, you might still lose.

But the translucent screen advised him to hit.

"Hit."

"Player has 20. You win."

...

Everything had become soulless. With the system's help, Pierre quickly won more than twenty hands in a row, turning his $100 in chips into over $10,000.

Casinos are never short of spectators, and people especially love to crowd around a winner. Soon, Pierre was surrounded by onlookers, and every time he won, there was a chorus of exclamations.

After spending some time with her sister in the VIP room, Grace grew bored and left. As soon as she entered the casino, she followed the commotion and saw Pierre surrounded by a crowd.

"It's that rude guy from the plane."

Thinking of how she'd been ignored on the flight, Grace felt a pang of frustration. She'd never been snubbed like that before.

But she had to admit, sitting among a group of middle-aged men, he really did look quite handsome!

Sometimes, people really do need a bit of contrast.

Before long, she too was stunned by the man's unbelievable gambling skills—he just kept winning.

How could anyone keep winning like that?

Amazed, Grace joined the crowd of onlookers.

Faced with such soulless gambling, Pierre quickly lost interest, especially with so many people watching. So he got up to leave the table.

At that moment, he even noticed the dealer breathe a huge sigh of relief. As he made his way through the crowd, heading back to his room, someone suddenly called out behind him.

"You seem to be quite good at blackjack."

The voice sounded familiar. Turning around, Pierre saw a blonde girl in a white dress—it was the same girl from the plane.

She was tall, looking no more than eighteen or nineteen, with a hint of baby fat on her face. He had to admit, Western girls really did develop well.

His gaze involuntarily drifted to her V-neck, but don't get him wrong—he was looking at her jewelry. The entire necklace was made of interlinked clear and blue diamonds, with a peach-sized diamond set at the center, sparkling with a mesmerizing brilliance.

No need to guess—there was only one word for this necklace: expensive!

In these times, synthetic diamonds didn't exist. Just that peach-sized diamond alone would be worth nine figures in another world.

"Hello, miss."

He nodded at the blonde beauty.

Pierre's gaze couldn't help but fall once again on that necklace. For most people, owning such a necklace would probably mean they could just lie back and take it easy for the rest of their lives.

Sensing the man's eyes on her chest, Grace stuck out her chest with a hint of pride. At last… Hmph, this man does know how to appreciate beauty, after all.

Feeling much more cheerful, Grace said,

"I noticed you seem to be winning all the time."

Honestly, if it had just been a chance encounter on the plane, she wouldn't have paid any attention to this rude guy. But what happened next had completely stunned her—he kept winning, and whenever he folded, the dealer would always win.

That was exactly why she'd grown curious about him and stopped him for a chat.

She had to admit, this man was extremely focused—whether on the plane or here in the casino.

Now, his gaze helped Grace regain some confidence. After all, she had never been so thoroughly ignored by anyone before.

In her good mood, she naturally chalked up his indifference to… concentration.

"I'm not interested in staying because I keep winning!"

It wasn't that he wasn't interested in winning, but rather that he wasn't interested in being unable to leave this casino. After all, someone had already walked over to the dealer.

If this continued, they'd definitely switch dealers, and then?

According to the movies, he'd have two choices: either be threatened into taking his winnings and leaving, or be stuffed into a sack and dumped in the ocean.

Compared to that, it was better to quit while he was ahead.

"All because you keep winning…"

Grace looked at him as if he were a monster. Wasn't he being a bit too arrogant?

"You're definitely bluffing!"

She pouted and said coquettishly,

"You must be lying to me."

"Lying to you?"

Looking at the girl in front of him, Pierre glanced at the surrounding gaming tables and asked in return,

"Do you have any chips?"