Spy-x-War Showdown
Chapter 92 - 91 Let’s Talk

Chapter 92: Chapter 91 Let’s Talk

In prison, cigarettes are a luxury, but weapons are essentials.

Think about it, in the notorious Pelican Bay Prison, if people from at least two gangs were without weapons—well, without even mentioning anything else, that’s a loss they couldn’t afford.

Yang Yi had no choice, and he was angry too.

After all, he was young and hot-blooded, had gone through hell to get into prison, and had fought tooth and nail just to meet Zhang Yong. Yet Zhang Yong wanted to send Yang Yi back without saying a word. How could Yang Yi not be angry?

So, if Zhang Yong really wasn’t going to teach him, then Yang Yi would just refuse to learn. He didn’t believe that without this butcher Zhang, he’d be forced to eat pork with the hair still on.

Then, no matter what, Zhang Yong had to give Danny some face. Not teaching was one thing, but killing off Yang Yi, who had been sent by Danny, would mean Zhang Yong couldn’t call himself righteous.

Zhang Yong’s loss was disastrous, but Yang Yi had won fair and square. If Zhang Yong couldn’t even accept a loss in gambling, Yang Yi had nothing to learn from someone with such character.

Long, long ago, people Yang Yi knew would no longer gamble with him, whether it was poker or mahjong—whatever the bet, they absolutely wouldn’t participate.

Now, Yang Yi had finally recaptured the feeling he once had in his college dorm.

The feeling of triumphing over everyone, leaving them looking as if they were deathly pale, was just too good.

Now, there were seven knives lying in front of Yang Yi, and all the cigarettes were his too.

Apart from those Carlos and his gang had taken and immediately handed out, allowing a bunch of nicotine addicts to smoke them, the rest of the cigarettes had finally all returned to Yang Yi.

"Sorry, guys, if you can’t put up any more bets, shall we call it quits for today?"

Zhang Yong muttered a few words under his breath before standing up and addressing the crowd, "Everyone, I’ll return your cigarettes to you. I’m sorry you’ll have to endure for one more day. But no one touches this kid, got it? We’re done for today. Dismissed."

Yang Yi couldn’t help but ask, "Hey, are we still going on tomorrow? You guys can trade other stuff for cigarettes, knives, food, whatever. Still playing?"

Carlos was about to burst with rage, pointing at Yang Yi and gritting his teeth, "Don’t gloat. Your day of reckoning will come."

Zhang Yong exhaled and gave a bow to Yang Yi, saying, "Fair is fair, I’ll bow out gracefully. Knowing when to quit is important. You won, so let it be."

Suddenly, Yang Yi spoke in Chinese, "Let’s make a deal."

Zhang Yong shook his head, also speaking in Chinese, "I don’t bet with anything other than money, especially not freedom."

Yang Yi smiled widely, "What you’re talking about is gambling, which is different from a trade. How about this: you teach me, and I teach you, deal?"

Zhang Yong looked at Yang Yi with a sneer, but Yang Yi calmly said, "Prison is clean enough, but it’s terribly boring, right? What fun is there in playing cards alone? I can play with you, and I can even teach you. To be honest, your level of card-playing is really poor..."

Yang Yi shook his head, smiling at Zhang Yong, "The more you play chess with a stinker, the worse you get, and the same goes for cards. You only get better by playing with masters, so I strongly suggest you learn from me. At least you won’t be sitting ducks at the gambling table, right?"

Pointing at himself, Yang Yi said with a smile, "Give the boss some face, huh? It’s not good to always owe someone a favor. If you’re too comfortable in prison to leave, why not pay back what you owe Danny right here? What’s wrong with that?"

Zhang Yong started to laugh, saying, "Kid, you’re quite the talker, interesting."

Yang Yi glanced around at the people and said with a smile, "Let me just say, this isn’t me threatening you because I know you’re not the type to be threatened, and I wouldn’t dare. So, what I’m doing here is just showing you my skills at the poker table so that I can have a chance to make a deal with you. Well, it’s not really a trade, it’s more like I’m begging you, but I have no other choice. Think about it, I’ve gone through great trouble to get into this prison just to find you—that should prove my sincerity."

Zhang Yong looked at the people around and then suddenly asked, "Just how good are you at playing cards?"

Yang Yi replied seriously, "If I wanted, I could win the World Poker Championship. Of course, that would require me to put in some effort and practice, but I have that ability. The God of Gamblers is me, I am the God of Gamblers. If you learn from me, I can’t promise to make you a Saint of Gamblers, but, as I’ve said before, I can ensure you win money instead of losing it. Is that enough for you?"

Zhang Yong rubbed his head and said, "I was pretty mad, but what you’ve said is really tempting. I’m competitive, and there’s not much I accept as a loss to others in this life, but it’s really upsetting that I’m fond of gambling yet always lose. Well, it’s not like I can’t teach you, but my methods are harsh, exhausting, and quite dangerous."

Yang Yi was overjoyed; he spread his hands and said with a laugh, "I’ve come all this way, and transferring from a minimum security area to here almost cost me my life. Do you think I’m afraid of hardship?"

Zhang Yong pinched his chin and frowned, "It doesn’t make sense. You’re so smart and can make a lot of money through gambling, why bother learning all this? This world isn’t for someone like you."

Yang Yi replied gravely, "That’s because I have my reasons for entering this underworld."

Zhang Yong sighed and replied, "Alright, you’ve persuaded me. Let’s teach each other then. You are not my apprentice, and I am not your student. It’s just each of us benefiting from the other’s strengths, that’s all."

Yang Yi immediately shouted to the crowd that hadn’t dispersed yet, "Hey, everyone, don’t rush off. The thing from the past couple of days was just a joke. Whoever owns the knife, please take it back."

While telling people to take their knives back, the cigarettes were not directly given away by Yang Yi. He turned to Zhang Yong with a smile and said, "These cigarettes, you personally need to take care of them. I still have a lot of them, and I’ll bring them out tomorrow for you to return to them, with interest."

Zhang Yong laughed and replied, "I don’t owe you that favor. The winnings are yours to keep. You’ve returned the knife, so that’s that. It’s not righteous to ask for people’s lifesaving tools back, but I don’t owe you for the cigarettes, either. Give them these to smoke for now; I’ll get back to you after I get my hands on some more."

After saying that, Zhang Yong picked up the cigarettes, handed them to Marvin and Carlos, and laughed, "Tomorrow, I’ll return all your cigarettes to you. Thank you for lending them to me. That’s all for today. Everyone can leave now."

The crowd, previously menacing, was now all smiles. People started lighting up cigarettes, and Zhang Yong turned to Yang Yi and said, "Come with me."

Yang Yi followed eagerly, and after a few steps, Zhang Yong suddenly asked, "What do you want to learn?"

Yang Yi answered honestly, "A lot. The captain says that the body is the foundation and capital for all skills. But the captain says you’re an amazing fighter, and I think I’d like to start with fighting. Is that okay? To train my body while learning how to fight."

Zhang Yong nodded and said, "Danny’s right; you can’t get by without a good body. You want to start learning from fighting, that’s fine. So, what do you think of them?"

Yang Yi looked back at Carlos and the others, then spoke in a quiet voice, "They all seem quite good, very obedient to you, but surely your relationship with them is more than just friends, right?"

Zhang Yong laughed heartily, "Friends? They have all been defeated by me. In this place, you’re looking to make friends? Don’t make me laugh. Let’s set a small goal first; when you can take on a group like them by yourself, then you’ll have truly learned your lesson, and only then we can consider other training. Let’s leave it at that for now."

Yang Yi sucked in a breath of cold air; he looked at the crowd of at least fifty and said, "You’re not kidding, right? There are fifty or sixty people."

Zhang Yong laughed and replied, "It’s not about the numbers, it’s whether they can fight or not. There are many of them, but they’re not very difficult to beat. They look imposing but have no real fighting skills; they just rely on brute force or are willing to take drastic measures. Once you’re trained, you’ll be able to dodge and fight against a crowd like them as if it’s nothing."

Yang Yi got excited; he nodded repeatedly and said, "Alright! Alright!"

Zhang Yong exhaled and said, "If it’s just fighting, that’s easy. Let’s start from tomorrow. Yeah, and when do you plan to teach me poker?"

"Anytime is good, whenever you say!"

Zhang Yong nodded and replied, "Good, then it’s set for tomorrow. Wait for my message."