Lynch really liked casinos, not because he enjoyed gambling. Since the first time he gambled and lost five dollars, feeling upset about it for half a day, he realized that gambling wasn't his fate.

He was not someone who liked gambling, nor could he get obsessed with it. What fascinated him were the myriad forms of human life in the casino.

He once met a gambling expert, a true expert. This expert had a high win rate, not the kind that cheats but truly relied on some mysterious power.

After becoming friends with him, he told Lynch that he didn't have much insight; his way of winning was through observation.

By observing every tiny change in people's expressions and quickly analyzing through multiple observations to form an efficient and reliable observation pattern, he could integrate the next game into this pattern, allowing him to easily avoid all the odds of losing money while significantly increasing his chance of winning.

Everyone experiences subconscious changes when they get good or bad cards, some physiological changes that can't be controlled, like pupil dilation and contraction, or suddenly altered breathing habits.

Besides these, there are also slight gestures, like subtle hand movements, eye movements, or sudden posture adjustments.

Actually, the first instinct of someone with a good hand is to hide their real state, yet it is this desire to hide that often betrays them.

Lynch's observational skills started to improve at that time when he won a person's money by observing a gambler's expression changes, and from then on, he began to like it here.

Everyone expresses joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness differently, and it's a fascinating game to identify those patterns, verify your guesses, and eventually take away money from others' pockets.

The gain or loss of money became insignificant; it was just an irrelevant add-on.

Helen was pulled by Lynch, and only then did she snap back to reality, accompanying Lynch to exchange twenty dollars for chips—just one chip.

On this luxury cruise, cash and chips hold the same value. In places where cash can be used as a payment method, chips also possess the same value and power.

It's worth noting that typically cruise chips must be exchanged before disembarking, even if some passengers plan to join the cruise the following year, it's not advisable to keep these chips.

Because, come next year, to prevent some people from having clever ideas, the cruise will use new chips.

In these years, technology has advanced significantly, with situations people never encountered before happening frequently.

Counterfeiting checks, making fake money, forging chips… all sorts of things occur, and more frustratingly, people didn't detect them initially, always causing losses to others.

Many casinos periodically replace batches of chips with new anti-counterfeit marks to stop individuals from profiting through chip forgery, but some still manage to keep pace with the casino's chip changes.

Fortunately, the casino on the cruise doesn't have to worry about these; the chips used for each sailing are different from the last.

Now, the chip in Lynch's hand was brand new, with green edging and a twenty in the center representing its value.

"Is one enough?" Helen expressed her doubt, looking at the only chip in Lynch's hand.

Compared to the girl's insecure question, Lynch seemed much more confident, "It's enough!"

Helen looked at Lynch with some admiration. During this period of contact, she was attracted to a kind of undeniable confidence in Lynch. More captivating was his seeming eternal correctness, never making a mistake; each decision, appearing unconsidered, always hit the right note.

An infallible man, this was Lynch in Helen's heart. So, when Lynch said one twenty-dollar chip was enough, she believed it must be enough; she was convinced of it.

She even believed that as long as Lynch was willing, he could use that twenty-dollar chip to win this entire cruise, if only given the opportunity.

But soon, she realized she didn't understand Lynch as well as she imagined. He always brought inexplicable novelty, along with surprises she wasn't sure should be considered as such.

"You… seem to have lost." Standing by the gambling table, she watched Lynch place the only chip in the betting area, then saw the croupier take the chip away without any surprise or twist.

Lynch nodded casually, "Yes, I lost." He directly admitted it, without making excuses, admitting it with ease.

"I thought..." Helen was a bit at a loss on how to express her feelings, "I thought when you said 'one chip is enough,' you meant you could keep winning with one chip!"

She really thought so. Lynch's overly confident face and relaxed tone filled the girl with huge confidence, believing firmly that Lynch could still create miracles.

But... losing on the very first bet was hard to accept!

Lynch didn't mind at all, greeted the other players around the table, and stood up, leading the girl towards the back. "What I meant by 'enough' was that every time I come to the casino, I only play with twenty dollars, never exceeding twenty dollars."

"Surely you didn't genuinely think I could use twenty dollars and just one opportunity to win countless money, did you?"

"If I could really do that, I wouldn't need to do anything now; casinos worldwide would deliver loads of cash to me every year!"

His smile always made Helen feel like she'd been deceived by her own silly thoughts. She didn't know how to respond, but instead found herself genuinely silly, asking awkward questions.

As he walked ahead, he spoke, "I'm telling you about something interesting, about the ring. Do you know boxing?"

The girl nodded, "I know, but I don't really like watching it."

Lynch continued walking, the two crossing most of the casino and entering the casino's back area, where people surrounded a cage, and inside, people were fighting fiercely.

Each physical attack could splash more blood on the ground, the arena's floor stained red with blood.

Two relatively middle-aged men were facing off.

They were breathing heavily, one had a cut on his brow. Although simply dressed and stitched, blood kept flowing out.

Both of them had already exerted themselves, and they looked quite exhausted.

Everything here wasn't like the technicality of rings and fighting seen on TV or in movies, where two seemingly tireless people could dodge each other's attacks in varied flourishes, striking and counter-striking.

Here, there was none of that, only pure, raw punches.

Lynch found a decent spot, beckoned to the girl, then sat down.

The cruise staff brought him a betting form, allowing him to place bets or just watch.

Helen dared not watch the two battling inside the cage, softly asking, "Will anyone die?"

"Die?" Lynch shook his head, "Of course not, this isn't a novel or a movie, not so many people would die here."

"Injuries are allowed, but death is not. The Federation wouldn't allow such accidents to happen. If the cruise line doesn't want trouble, it's best not to do that."

Federation law is odd; sometimes you might call it laws made by lunatics, not serious or sacred at all.

For instance, in one region's local law, it clearly states that people cannot place more than three toy ducks in a bathtub, else they will be arrested and prosecuted.

But sometimes, Federation law seems quite serious, especially regarding life.

Liberty, love of liberty, and respect for the subjects of freedom—humans and life—permeate the entire law, sanctified by some unseen elements. Human life is precious, sacred; no one can easily take others' lives, including the law itself (later on, capitalists convinced people that private property is also sacred and equates with life legally).

This is also why, with societal progress, the widespread abolition of the death penalty has begun, for even the law and executioners don't possess the authority to take lives.

Only the Lord can take life. The Lord gave us life and can thus take it away, but no one else can!

This includes the cage fights on the cruise; if the cruise line doesn't want major trouble, they'd best not let something like this occur.

Hearing that only injuries occurred and no deaths, the girl's expression instantly relaxed, although she still hesitated to watch the two attacking each other inside the cage.

"I've always told myself that if I don't work hard, one day I'll end up standing inside it." Lynch watched intently, unlike the girl's timid avoidance.

"Only at this moment, here, can you understand the despair that poverty brings."

"These people don't go in because they enjoy it, fighting fiercely against a stranger, or being beaten fiercely by a stranger, just to entertain people like us around them."

"They're only here because of poverty, having no other option, at their wits' end, forced to earn money this way."

"Watching them inside, suffering, bleeding, struggling, resisting, these scenes motivate me to never stop!"

"Because as soon as I stop, get surpassed, I could be the one trapped next in the cage."

Lynch turned his head towards the dazed girl. "Actually, we're all the same, running, unable to stop, aware of this fact. Therefore, I cherish everything I have now."

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