Danny had not expected any of this.
It all started because, a few days earlier, one or two crews of armed thugs had suddenly shown up in Las Vegas.
They hit the homes of two casino moguls with heavy firepower and explosives, killed both men, and made off with a fortune in valuables.
After that, the casino owners across Las Vegas started panicking.
Some packed up their families and fled to other cities, even other countries, at least temporarily. Most stayed, but they all tightened security around themselves and everything they owned.
Terry Benedict, the target of Danny's operation, was no different.
He increased the number of armed bodyguards around him, reinforced both his home and his casino, and upgraded his security measures.
To keep the heist on track, Danny had decided to bring in a new gambling expert.
He had not expected that this newly recruited teammate would be immediately targeted by Ruben, the operation's sponsor and another Las Vegas casino owner.
And so, on the very first meeting, the two of them had ended up in a gambling showdown over six million dollars.
Rusty wanted to laugh, but he held it in because of the situation.
"Alright, Ruben. There should be a limit to joking around with our new guy."
He was thick-skinned enough to step in and give Ruben a way out.
But Ruben just glanced at him, lifted his chin, and took another drag from his cigar.
"No need to verify assets. On my turf, anyone who loses money and refuses to pay has their hands and feet chopped off."
Then he called over one of his men.
"Go get a set of chips and bring over a few decks and a table."
"And make sure the chips total twelve million."
When he finished, he looked at Hunter with open challenge.
Hunter raised an eyebrow, then glanced at Danny and Rusty, the smile on his lips widening.
"Now this is more like it. That is the real world."
In Ocean's Eleven, Danny had talked Ruben into funding the operation with nothing more than a few words. He got the money, the equipment, the location, and the connections, all to go after Terry Benedict.
Ruben even helped out willingly during the job, then happily split the 150 million with everyone afterward.
That kind of warm, family-style teamwork.
Hunter had interacted with plenty of people since he crossed into this world.
Leaving women aside, he did not have a single male friend.
It was not that he did not want to make friends. He just could not.
Most Westerners were too focused on self-interest and too self-centered.
Plainly put, they were selfish.
A lot of men, especially, had grown up in ways that made them openly racist or bullying toward you, while the subtle discrimination and suppression were even worse.
Even Cole, the Continental concierge in Los Angeles who had treated Hunter fairly well so far, only wanted to recruit him for work.
After enough time dealing with people like that, Hunter had stopped bothering with real friendship.
This was Las Vegas. It had no shortage of gambling equipment.
Soon, Ruben's men brought over everything he had asked for.
Hunter stood there the entire time, calm and motionless.
The table was set. The chips were laid out on both sides.
Ruben, with no sense of restraint at all, sat down at one side.
"Kid, still want to quit while you are ahead?"
Hunter took the other seat without caring.
"Not sure who gave you the courage, but I should warn you."
"I do not care about money, but the people who have tried to cheat me or refuse to pay me have all disappeared."
Ruben used the cigar cutter brought by his bodyguard to trim the end of his cigar.
Then he looked up at Hunter and sneered.
"Rusty, I hear your card skills are pretty good. Why don't you deal for us?"
Rusty's face darkened.
He looked at Ruben, but said nothing.
Earlier, he had also noticed Ruben's arrogance, but most of the time the man had kept it under control, only occasionally directing it at Linus and the others.
As for Danny and Rusty, the core of the operation, Ruben had not really been sarcastic or hostile.
So until now, Danny and Rusty had actually thought the man was fairly easy to get along with.
Only today had they really experienced the kind of treatment the rest of the team usually got.
Even so, Rusty was annoyed but still stepped up and took the role of dealer.
He rolled up his sleeves high and held both hands out toward Hunter and Ruben.
Ruben did not know what he was doing.
Hunter did.
Rusty was telling him he would not cheat for either side.
"What are we playing?" Ruben asked.
"Your choice."
"Then let's play blackjack."
Blackjack, also known as Twenty-One, had a strong gambling and competition aspect. When the betting got intense, players would often push everything in, which was why it was sometimes called "stud" in parts of Asia.
It originated in France and spread around the world to become one of the most famous card games.
It was played by two to six players using a standard 52-card deck without jokers.
The goal was to get as close to 21 points as possible without going over.
Hunter did not care.
He intended to give Ruben a hard lesson.
Once the game began, his attention stayed locked on Ruben.
Every card dealt to him, he only brushed lightly across the back with his finger.
That was enough for the passive effect of his max-level card skill to instantly reveal everything about the hand.
If the cards were strong enough, Hunter went all in.
If not, he folded immediately.
He never once looked at his own cards.
And no matter how loudly Ruben bragged or taunted, Hunter's eyes never left Ruben's face.
"You are not my opponent. Bring someone else in."
By the time Ruben had lost one-fifth of the chips, Hunter said it calmly.
Ruben kept a dark face and ignored him.
Soon after, he lost another one-fifth.
Hunter remained just as calm.
"Your card skill is terrible. You are nowhere near a professional gambler. Bring someone else in."
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