Chapter 16: Earning Startup Capital
After finishing their meal, Trish also emerged from her shower.
She had already heard Darry arrive while she was bathing, so the girl was wrapped in just a bathrobe.
Darry didn't react much to this, but Chris's expression was strained.
Because he'd watched the girl go in for a shower completely naked, and although Trish was now wrapped in a bathrobe, in Chris's mind's eye, it was no different from being naked.
Coupled with Darry's presence, Chris immediately felt his blood pressure spike again.
He quickly stopped Trish from reaching for a slice of pizza, handed her clothes, and said, "Hold up—get dressed first."
Although Trish didn't understand, she still followed Chris's suggestion, picked up her clothes, and went to the bathroom to change.
When she came out again, Chris felt much better.
His enhanced perception wasn't X-ray vision after all; it was far from being able to see through varied and complex layers of clothing.
So when Trish put on her clothes, Chris's imagination was suppressed quite a bit, which allowed his composure to return.
After his mind cleared, Chris finally brought up serious business.
He had previously mentioned the Creeper's truck to the Taggart father and son, and even actively suggested they exhibit it to make money, but it wasn't just because they had helped him.
It was also because Chris wanted nothing to do with that cursed vehicle, and it wasn't worth the risk for Trish and her brother to deal with it either.
Chris still remembered that in the stories he'd heard about other Creeper incidents, when cops went to impound the truck, several of them were killed because they didn't understand how dangerous the thing was.
If he let Trish and her brother, two kids with no real-world experience, go deal with it, how would that be any different from sending them to their deaths?
So it was better to do them a favor and let the experienced Taggart father and son handle it.
After all, according to what he knew, those two had even managed to weaponize some of the Creeper's equipment.
Thus, with his guidance, securing an abandoned cursed truck would be straightforward for them.
And since he was so generous to two strangers who had helped him a little, Chris had to make even better arrangements for his first lover before he left.
The most important thing was to get Trish enough money to last her a lifetime, so Chris could leave with a clear conscience.
As for how to get this money, for Chris, someone who knew the future, it was the simplest thing imaginable.
Especially in this year of 2001.
However, because Chris could only stay for a few days at most, he ruled out slow money-making methods and focused on the fastest and simplest ones.
There were only a handful of such options, and the most suitable for Chris were gambling and the stock market.
After forming a rough plan in his mind, Chris spoke, "Trish, I'll be leaving in a few days, and it might be hard for us to see each other again. So before I go, I want to use some insider knowledge I have to set you up financially."
Trish, who was eating pizza, paused, then lowered her head and said, "Okay. Like my brother said, you must have some big organization backing you, so even if you just share a little information, it'll be enough for ordinary people like us to live off for life."
She didn't look up while speaking, but Chris still heard the bitter tone in her voice.
This was evident from her emphasis on the words "ordinary people."
However, Chris had no intention of trying to console her; they had gotten together out of mutual attraction, and while there might have been some affection, it was mostly driven by physical chemistry.
Therefore, Chris was mentally prepared for this separation.
As for Trish, she might have had some preparation too, but women are ultimately more emotional—they'd been so intimate last night, and then suddenly this afternoon he was talking about leaving.
It could be said that Trish not making a scene was already quite beyond Chris's expectations, so even though Chris noticed her emotional state, he didn't point it out.
At times like this, it was better to focus on something practical to ensure her future security.
"I'm glad you understand."
Chris calmly responded to Trish, then turned to look at Darry, who wore an expectant expression.
"How much cash do you have on you, and do you know where there's a casino nearby?"
When Trish had told him to come over, she'd also told him to bring money, so Darry reached into his pocket and pulled out five hundred dollars.
Chris looked at the worn but neatly stacked bills and guessed the kid had emptied his entire savings.
Darry's words confirmed Chris's guess, "This is everything I've got—my future happiness depends on you, man!"
Originally, Darry thought bringing this money was for his sister and Chris to go out and have fun, but now it seemed Chris was going to take him to get rich!
Darry drove the three of them, and soon they arrived in front of an arcade.
Chris looked at the sparsely populated arcade and asked in surprise, "This is it? Why isn't anyone here?"
"I heard about it from a buddy of mine; he said there's a place here to make quick cash."
Seeing how sketchy this seemed, Chris could only hope Darry's friend hadn't been lying; otherwise, getting startup capital would be more complicated.
Fortunately, Trish perked up at this moment and pointed toward the back entrance of the arcade, "Look over there."
Following Trish's direction, Chris saw an old Black man reading a newspaper by a door, and then he understood.
The three of them walked closer, and the old man looked up and asked, "You got someone vouching for you?"
Chris and Trish looked at Darry, who paused and said, "Does Thomson count?"
This was the person who had told Darry about this place; apparently he'd worked here as a dealer.
Hearing the name, the old man put away his newspaper, opened the door, and said, "Go on in."
Looking at the hidden space beyond, Chris led the way, with Trish and Darry quickly following.
"Now that's more like it! I thought kids in this town didn't like to gamble!"
Upon stepping into the underground casino, Chris glanced around and saw at least two hundred people, most of whom looked college-aged.
It seemed the students here weren't avoiding gambling—they were just playing something more exciting than arcade games.
However, this had nothing to do with Chris; he wasn't a cop or a politician, and he didn't have time to worry about these things.
He took out the five hundred dollars Darry had given him, plus the few tens of dollars left over from the motel room, totaling five hundred seventy-three dollars.
Holding this considerable sum of money, Chris casually picked a simple gambling table.
Whether in his old life or this one, this was Chris's first time gambling.
So Chris didn't understand much about the various gambling games in front of him.
Therefore, he simply found a table playing high-low dice and then directly bet all his money on "high."
Seeing Chris go all-in right away, not only were Trish and her brother stunned, but even the people around them were shocked, and someone immediately said, "Whoa, buddy! That's not how you play—are you just here to donate to the house?"
Chris just smiled at the surprised reactions around him and didn't pay them any mind.
Not knowing the outcome is gambling; knowing the outcome is investing.
Even before killing the Creeper, Chris's five senses had already reached peak human ability, and perhaps even surpassed normal human limits.
And after killing the Creeper, with the enhancement of that mysterious energy, Chris's senses reached new heights.
With such heightened perception, Chris could easily perform the tricks that only gambling masters in casino movies could pull off.
That is, reading dice by sound—determining the exact numbers on the dice just by listening.
With this ability, even if Chris knew nothing about gambling strategy, he could still clean house.
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