He then noticed Chen Peiyue's presence.
To avoid any trouble, Chen Peiyue had chosen neutral clothing and wore a mask. It was only after she walked in that the blond man noticed her clear, spirited eyes and fair skin.
She was undoubtedly a great beauty!
The blond man was momentarily mesmerized.
Seeing this, Li Chonglou spoke up, "Thanks, but we don't smoke."
The blond man snapped back to reality. He cast another lingering, reluctant glance at Chen Peiyue before turning and saying, "Follow me."
Led by the blond man, they meandered through alleys until they reached a hidden door.
"You can enter through here. If you want to hide your identity, you can get free masks. However, remember to remove them and be searched if you encounter our patrols."
"The place to exchange money is also at the entrance; you'll see it once you go in."
After fulfilling his duties by reminding them, the blond man turned to leave, but he kept looking back repeatedly, sizing up Chen Peiyue who was walking behind.
After everyone had gone inside, he suddenly muttered, "What a stunner. I wonder which bastard will get lucky with her."
"But anyone coming to the Red Pavilion is probably no good. Maybe if they lose all their money, I could..."
At this, the blond man broke into a lecherous grin. He was at the age where youthful vigor was at its peak, and he was hardly able to resist the temptation of beauty.
If not for his position, he feared he would have already asked for her contact information!
Just then, the blond man's expression suddenly froze.
"Oh, right. Didn't Young Master Huang say he wanted to recruit beauties? And there's a million bounty for it?"
Upon mentioning the million bounty, the lustful glint in the blond man's eyes instantly turned to a golden gleam. This age was not only about lust but also about greed.
Furthermore, for people like them, as long as they had enough money, what kind of beauties couldn't they have?
With this thought, the blond man could no longer restrain himself and took out his phone.
Meanwhile.
After Li Chonglou and the others entered the hidden door, they found themselves in a brightly lit corridor.
Unlike other hidden passages, this corridor was decorated luxuriously, making one think they had entered a star-rated hotel.
Yue Hai, who had seen private gambling dens before, was immediately astonished.
"Is this really a gambling den? It's completely different from the ones I've been to!"
Chen Peiyue remembered their prior division of tasks; Yue Hai and Li Chonglou were responsible for the gambling dens. Therefore, she wasn't surprised by Yue Hai's words. Instead, Green Bull, who was walking ahead, replied,
"There are only three Red Pavilions in the entire Yellow Leopard territory, and each one is built to the highest standards, so of course, it's different. You should know that the income from these three Red Pavilions accounts for nearly fifty percent of Yellow Leopard's total revenue."
Yue Hai didn't quite grasp the implications of the revenue figures, but he was very interested in the "highest standards" that Green Bull mentioned, and his face lit up with anticipation.
The corridor sloped downwards. After a few minutes of walking, they reached the end. When Green Bull pushed open the door, a magnificent hall filled with splendor immediately appeared before their eyes.
Li Chonglou had been to the most famous gambling city in the south, Macau. The scene before him was almost identical to the places he had visited there, suggesting it might have been an imitation.
The entire hall spanned over a thousand square meters. Besides the striking chandeliers, numerous gambling tables were scattered throughout the vast space, and they were all packed with people.
However, it was vastly different from the private gambling den he and Yue Hai had visited before. Although many people were smoking here, the air was filled with a faint, pleasant fragrance.
It was clear that they had top-tier air filtration systems.
"Gentlemen, do you require masks?"
"How much in chips would you like?"
A refined man in a formal suit approached them and asked softly.
Li Chonglou then looked towards Green Bull. Since Green Bull had been here before, he should know how to find people.
"Masks for each person, and let's start with a million."
"Certainly, sir. Please wait a moment."
After the refined man walked away, Yue Hai clicked his tongue in amazement. "A million just to get in?"
Green Bull explained, "The minimum requirement for the Red Pavilion is a million in chips, otherwise, you can't even enter. Furthermore, after you exchange for chips, even if you don't gamble, there's a 10% handling fee to convert them back to cash."
Yue Hai was stunned.
"You mean, if we just come here to look for someone, we'll lose at least a hundred thousand yuan?"
Green Bull nodded.
Li Chonglou hadn't expected such a rule and said, "I'll transfer the money to you later."
Green Bull frowned and said earnestly, "What do you mean by that, brother? Are you looking down on me?"
"No, it's just that we're the ones looking for the person. We're grateful that you can help us find clues, so we can't let you spend your own money."
Green Bull shook his head. "That's not how it works. You saved my life. Let alone this paltry hundred thousand, you can play with this million as you please. My life is never worth that much, at least not in my opinion."
Seeing that Li Chonglou was about to say more, Green Bull added, "Alright, brother, don't say anything else. If you're going to haggle over this little bit of money, then you're looking down on me!"
Seeing Green Bull's serious expression, Li Chonglou could only reluctantly agree.
The staff quickly returned with several masks and a pile of chips. With Green Bull's earlier words in mind, Yue Hai, after putting on his mask, suddenly said to Green Bull,
"How about I play a few rounds? I'm quite lucky, maybe I can earn back your handling fee quickly!"
Green Bull looked at Yue Hai with some surprise but directly handed him the chips.
"Take them and play. I'll go find the person first. You guys wait here."
Li Chonglou attributed Yue Hai's reaction to his fascination with the new environment. Moreover, with Chen Peiyue clearly also interested, he didn't stop them. Instead, he asked Green Bull,
"How are you going to look for the person? Do you need any help?"
Green Bull shook his head. "No need. I know a friend here, and he doesn't really like outsiders."
Although the explanation was somewhat vague, Li Chonglou understood what he meant and said no more.
After Green Bull left, Li Chonglou looked at Yue Hai. Despite wearing a mask, he could clearly see the excitement in Yue Hai's eyes.
"Hey, kid, you're not getting addicted to gambling, are you?"
"How could I, Brother Li? I'm just bored, and since we're here anyway, why not play a bit."
As he spoke, Yue Hai reached out to give half of the chips to Li Chonglou.
"Forget it, you and Yue go play, but this is someone else's money, so take it easy."
Li Chonglou's unspoken meaning was that he would cover any losses.