Chapter 15: Chapter 15 King of Cheating?

“Your case is a bit special,”

Shen Qianqian nodded, “We’ll need to wait for a professional to arrive before we can make a judgement. Until then, we have to temporarily detain you.”

Lin Chuan felt a tightness in his chest.

What misfortune!

Shen Qianqian personally took him into the detention room.

Lin Chuan looked at the row upon row of iron cell doors in the detention room, behind which were narrow, dark chambers, their grey walls marked with conspicuous warning signs.

Those frequently detained knew that there were no windows in the detention rooms, making it very stifling and oppressive, with the air quite foul.

Because, more often than not, there was more than one person being detained inside.

Such was the situation Lin Chuan faced.

Inside the detention room.

Lin Chuan glanced around and saw seven or eight men, all looking downcast.

Some had scarred faces and looked fierce and threatening, others were punk kids with spiky hair, and there was also…

Landlord Old Zhang!

Old Zhang also spotted Lin Chuan, “Lin Chuan, how did you end up here?”

“Old Zhang, how come you’re in here, too?” Lin Chuan was surprised.

The two met, and there was a sort of ‘hometown folks meeting each other, tears streaming down their faces’ feeling.

No one would have thought that one day, a landlord and his tenant would become cellmates!

“Alas…”

Old Zhang pulled Lin Chuan over to a corner to sit down, sighing deeply.

Lin Chuan laughed, “Old Zhang, you didn’t go gambling again, did you?”

He had only been caught a couple of days ago, and here he was again.

“Don’t remind me.”

Old Zhang squatted against the grey wall, waving his hand, “Got the gambling itch, thought I’d take a walk in the casino, and just happened to run into the comrades from the police, ended up directly here.”

Lin Chuan sighed, “Ah… gambling is harmful indeed!”

“Isn’t that the truth!”

Old Zhang, still shaken, touched his five fingers on his right hand, recalling how he nearly had his fingers chopped off for swindling, “Lin Chuan, how did you get in here?”

“That’s a long story,” Lin Chuan felt deflated as well.

Old Zhang put his arm around Lin Chuan’s shoulders, showing great camaraderie, “Kid, I’ve always seen you as a straight shooter. Don’t tell me it was for a delivery girl showing up?”

Lin Chuan shook his head, “I wouldn’t dare.”

What if there was a biochemical crisis or something?

“What did you do?” Old Zhang was curious.

Lin Chuan looked up at a 45-degree angle, his expression melancholic, “I wrote myself into my book.”

“Ah?”

Old Zhang’s mouth fell open in surprise.

It was the first time he’d ever heard of someone writing themselves into the police station.

That piqued his curiosity even more.

Old Zhang asked eagerly, “Was what you wrote a serious novel?”

“I’m a serious person, of course, I wrote a serious novel,” Lin Chuan said with a bitter face.

“A serious novel… then how did you get arrested?” Old Zhang asked.

Lin Chuan recounted, “The officers said I was guilty of instructing in criminal methods. I reckon a reader reported me. If I ever find out who got me captured, I’ll tear him apart!”

Old Zhang patted Lin Chuan’s shoulder, fully agreeing, “Right, tear him apart. I really hate these types of people, no sense of brotherhood at all!”

“Sigh…”

The two shared a feeling of being fellow sufferers, and they sighed again.

…

Meanwhile.

At the Anling City Police Station’s Public Security Squad, someone was already reading and analyzing Lin Chuan’s “Swindler,” extracting the sections concerning cheating techniques.

Just then.

A middle-aged man in a suit and with a balding head entered the police station. Captain Li Bing, with a beaming smile, shook his hand, “Expert Chen, there’s a case that needs your expertise.”

Expert Chen chuckled, “Captain Li, it’s my duty.”

This Expert Chen, Chen Ming, was a famous anti-gambling expert from Anling City, a master of Cheating Techniques, and had done much public welfare anti-gambling propaganda for Anling City.

“This case is a bit special. I’ll have Officer Shen explain the details to you,” Li Bing said with a smile, “Thank you for your trouble, Officer Shen.”

Shen Qianqian smiled and then detailed Lin Chuan’s case.

After listening, Chen Ming said, “Using novels to teach Cheating Techniques?”

Shen Qianqian nodded, “Yes.”

Chen Ming shook his head and laughed, “That’s hardly possible. Each Cheating Technique is extremely difficult to master. Just like when I was an apprentice, despite my master’s personal guidance, it still took me ten years to be considered proficient, and only then did I dedicate myself to public welfare against gambling.”

“Based solely on the text of a novel, it’s very difficult to pass on Cheating Techniques. You might have misunderstood that author.”

Chen Ming didn’t make his statement too definitive.

But clearly, this was practically an impossibility.

Cheating Techniques aren’t something anyone can learn.

Nor is it something everyone can master.

There are plenty of video tutorials, pictorial instructions, and even in-person teachings available online, yet they all struggle to produce a true master of Cheating Techniques.

Modern swindlers rely more on technological gadgets to cheat and commit fraud.

Passing on Cheating Techniques through a novel?

Impossible!

Shen Qianqian and Li Bing exchanged glances, then said, “However, someone learned a bit of Cheating Techniques from the novel.”

Chen Ming’s brows furrowed into a “Chuan” shape, “May I take a look at the novel?”

The group immediately huddled together, pulling up the descriptions of Cheating Techniques from Lin Chuan’s novel.

‘For dice of the same material, the force determines the volume of the sound, but different pips determine the sounds of the collisions. Take ordinary dice, for example…’

“Hehe~”

Upon seeing the first part about the auditory Cheating Techniques with dice, Chen Ming merely gave a faint smile, “This is just a beginner’s level auditory dice technique.”

Shen Qianqian pointed to the next section.

“Here’s his description of card Cheating Techniques.”

Chen Ming looked intently.

‘Holding the cards in the left hand, when dealing them, use the left thumb to push out the corner of the top card, covering the next one with the top right corner of the deck, then with the middle finger of the right hand, gently pull out the bottom card, acting swiftly while simultaneously…’

Hiss!

Chen Ming’s brows tightened slightly, his condescending attitude waning.

“I must say, the author has some neat tricks up his sleeve. This part describes the ‘card controlling’ technique of Poker Cheating Techniques quite accurately.”

Shen Qianqian raised an eyebrow.

Could Lin Chuan really know Cheating Techniques?

Lock-picking and now Cheating Techniques as well? You’re too much!

And you claim to be a legitimate writer?

Pah!

“There are many more descriptions of Poker Cheating Techniques here.”

The relevant staff continuously presented excerpts from the novel.

Shen Qianqian, Li Bing, and Chen Ming all stared intently at the screen.

‘Hide the good cards in the palm of your hand beforehand, and when it’s time to cut the deck, let someone else do it, creating the illusion that the deck was never touched…’

‘After dealing the cards, conceal the original deck beneath the good cards, and when revealing your hand, don’t just toss the cards down but gently place them in the pile, with skill and technique…’

‘…’

The more the anti-gambling expert Chen Ming read, the graver his expression became.

Any initial condescension had completely vanished.

He couldn’t help but inhale sharply.

The descriptions of Cheating Techniques in this book were meticulously detailed.

But what shocked Chen Ming even more was that some of the Cheating Techniques mentioned were beyond even his knowledge!

Chen Ming made his judgment!

“Captain Li, the author of this book is undoubtedly a master of Cheating Techniques!”

“The King of Cheating!”