Chapter 19: Lady Luck Was Smiling
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Lin Jin’s reaction seemed a little odd after Lin Yu had finished speaking.
“Keep it for yourself.”
Lin Jin did not seem to question nor argue about the issue of his superhuman abilities. He only remained silent for a moment before he removed the gauntlet and shoved it into Lin Yu’s arms.
“Dad, I’m telling you the truth! Believe me for once, alright? I don’t want anything to happen to you guys.”
At the moment, Lin Yu was extremely distraught.
“Wait.”
Lin Jin waved his hands around, walking out of Lin Yu’s room toward the kitchen.
Upon seeing that, Lin Yu began to chase after him. Before he could explain himself, he noticed his father take out a cutting board and knife.
“Hang the cutting board on the hook in the living room.”
Lin Jin placed the cutting board into Lin Yu’s hands as he spoke in a calm voice.
Lin Yu had a confused look on his face but did as he was told and hung the cutting board onto the hook in the living room. After that, he saw his father gesturing to him and he immediately stepped away.
“Is he going to demonstrate how to throw knives now…”
Lin Yu roughly understood what was happening and the instant he pondered on it, a swift ‘swoosh’ could be heard as the knife in Lin Jin’s hand immediately morphed into a ray of light and cut through the air around him, instantly piercing through the very center of the cutting board.
This speed! This accuracy! This strength!
2Lin Yu’s eyes were about to pop out of their sockets.
“Dad, could our Lin family possibly possess some sort of ancient martial art edict? The flying knives of Lin?”
1Lin Yu was completely stunned, staring at his father in shock.
“No, not flying knives.”
Lin Jin cracked a huge smile upon seeing Lin Yu’s reaction. After that, he picked up a random ‘insurance agent’s name card’ from the coffee table and gave it a toss once again.
Swoosh!
That paper card was similar to a poker card, but it exploded with a force more powerful than a bullet as it stuck itself halfway through the cutting board next to the knife.
1Lin Yu was speechless and even more surprised now.
It would be easier to explain the knife before as it was a sharp metal object; with enough practice, anyone could pull it off.
On the other hand, a flying card though… His roommate, Sixth Brother, had played with it once before. Although his aim was extremely inaccurate, the force generated by it was actually not bad and if it hit, it was capable of piercing through a watermelon or an apple.
4However, that was the extent of his skills and if the card struck a person, it would only graze off some skin. Even a ‘professional flying card player’ would only be slightly more accurate and powerful in their throws, being able to pierce through a thin wooden board.
However, the cutting board in his house was a regular solid block of wood. It was a smaller piece of wood taken from a log after it had been cut and was as thick as four human palms!
This was only a paper card. If it was swapped with a metal card, then could it be used like actual bullets?
The visual impact of the scene was far too great.
“Although you’re like the God of Gamblers, your name is Jin, and you enjoy playing cards… Could you not be so powerful in throwing cards!! Don’t you tell me our first names are actually Gao![1]”
Lin Yu cursed in his heart.
“You said you weren’t going to scare our son but you were blatantly showing off again!”
At the same moment, Mother Lin had walked out from the kitchen, rolling her eyes at Father Lin.
“Mom, dad, what’s going on? Is dad secretly a legendary warrior or something?”
Lin Yu stared suspiciously at both of them.
“No, it happened a few days ago. Perhaps it’s the superhuman abilities you were talking about. His strength has become greater and his aim is more accurate when he’s throwing objects.”
3No parent in the world would not want their own children to worship and revere them, and an obvious smile could be seen on Lin Jin’s face. He shook his head and said, “You should keep that gauntlet thing to yourself.”
“… My Piston Gauntlets were unwantedly tossed aside like this? To be fair, How was it possible for my dad to awaken his abilities? Could this be the legendary perfect genes?”
Lin Yu was completely speechless and in the current state, he never brought up his gauntlets again.
If a true comparison was made, the knife-throwing skill his father had displayed was even more ridiculous than his Piston Gauntlets as there was nothing that obviously stood out when he used his ability and he could use it in broad daylight. Instead of a gauntlet, he should spend the next two days making him a set of throwing knives shaped like a deck of cards.
Of course, advising would still be necessary. Hence, he stressed on the importance of staying safe and not revealing these superhuman abilities to anyone. Having superhuman abilities would a good thing but it would be a shame if anyone was forced to retire.
…
“Dad, face the camera! Face the camera! Your body is off.”
“Yes, yes, yes, lower your head and speak the lines with a low tone.”
On the next day, as it was currently a Saturday, Lin Yu began planning to help his father ascend into godhood, working to help him become the ‘real’ God of Gamblers.
1Perhaps it was a rare occasion for the seemingly distant father and son to bond and have a heartfelt talk, or maybe because they both shared the same secret that Lin Yu suddenly felt that his father was not so terrifying after all. Their body language showed that they had unknowing grown closer, and even Lin Jin’s face did not seem as strict as before as he was now smiling more.
The usually menacing and strict Lin Jin had won over his son’s heart as even Mother Lin smiled extremely happily while standing at the side. The couple even closed their restaurant for a day to go along with their son’s ‘huge plan’.
1Alright, he was only making a special deck of cards. He initially intended to make an entire deck out of metal but printing pictures on a metal plate was a little troublesome and he was unsure how long he would need to wait. Hence, he decided to commission a printing shop to help him print out a deck of cards with sturdier paper. All Lin Yu did was be involved in the slicing process in order to make the deck ‘upgradable’.
The front side of the entire 54 card deck was no different from a deck of normal playing cards. However, the back was printed in the colors of red, yellow, and blue. Each color contained 18 cards in total.
This deck of cards was named Lady Luck’s Smile. The source of its name was obvious as it was pirated… Or rather, it was taken from another hero from LoL called Twisted Fate, the Card Master.
Making Lady Luck’s Smile was only the first step. Before this deck of cards leveled up, it would only be a regular deck of cards. The more important thing was collecting the EXP points for its upgrade.
His guess was that the collection of EXP points was similar to collecting karmic energy. Based on the few hundred thousand followers he currently had, any video he uploaded would still gain a few ten thousand views. The only problem was that it was uncertain how many EXP points a few ten thousand views would yield.
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Poker was still regular old poker, so video production would not be that difficult. In order to captivate the viewers, he would have to work on the poker player himself.
It was due to that reason alone that Lin Yu looked for a suit and had his father dress up as a handsome and mature old uncle. After that, the video recording began.
“Lady luck is smiling.”
Lin Jin stood in a dimly lit alley while keeping his head lowered. He played with three of the different colored cards while reading out his lines in a deep tone.
After a demonstration of a series of extremely quick card tricks, the recording concluded.
“Okay, that should do it.”
As Director Lin watched the recording on his phone, he nodded, satisfied as it ended.
“This recording will do?”
After they were done shooting, Lin Jin the actor could not help but watch the fruits of his labors. However, he retained some degree of restraint as a father.
“Yeah, that should do it. After it’s uploaded, it’ll draw at least a few ten thousand views.”
Lin Yu added with a snarky chuckle, “Not only would your deck of cards become better but you can also make 100 or 200 yuan in revenue fees.”
Translator’s Note
[1] Gao or (高) in mandarin refers to a degree of greatness, usually when a person was given the title of (高人) that person would be highly revered. That word also meant high or tall. Hence the author made a remark on the main character’s lack of surprise if he was told his first name was actually (高). My dear readers, before I conclude this wonderful chapter, here is another haiku about the main character.
Lin Wu has gauntlets,
Upgraded from box of scraps,
Trolled by his father.
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