'Reina told me about Scott and how his family has filed a missing person report.'Rudy smirked and muttered, "Too bad they will never find him even though he is publicly visible."
After teleporting near the casino, Rudy glanced around and saw Maria waiting for him in the back alley.
"There she is."
Rudy approached her from behind without making any noise and said, "Hey."
Maria turned around in surprise and looked at Rudy. After staring at him for a few seconds, she took out a hidden dagger from under her dress and attacked Rudy.
Rudy, obviously, blocked her attack and asked, "What are you doing?!"
"Who are you?!"
"Oh… right." Rudy let out a weary sigh and said, "I am Rudy."
"I don't remember Rudy looking like that. And there is no way one can grow such long hair in such a short time," she said with a glare in her eyes.
When Rudy came to the casino last time, he had changed his appearance to that of an adult, which was similar to his real appearance but different at the same time.
"This is a wig," Rudy stated.
Maria raised her brow with a judging look on her face and asked, "If you are really Rudy, then tell me something only Rudy and I know."
"You talked about the underworld's history and your family background on our way back," Rudy replied instantly.
"But anyone can know that. What if you abducted the real Rudy and learned that from him? Tell me something else."
"Uhh…" Rudy pondered for a while on what to say since there wasn't anything that could be considered a secret.
"What's wrong?"
"You named your contact on my phone as 'Sugar Mama'..."
"Hmm~" Maria hummed in amusement and placed the dagger back in her dress. "I believe you."
SIGH!
"That reminds me, you never actually called me after that night. Not going to lie, I was starting to believe that you lied to me. But then I remembered you are a kind person and how you gave me the money you won using my money," she said with a smile on her face.
"I am not exactly kind. I am only kind to those who are kind to me."
Maria moved her hand towards Rudy and said, "Give me your phone."
"Hmm? Why?"
"The number I gave you was my public number. I will give you my private number."
"Well… my phone is broken. And now I have to buy a new one.
"Oh? Then let's go buy one."
"Right now? I don't think the stores will be open. And what about the casino?"
"There is a big match going on inside for the tournament I talked to you about."
"Great. I wanted to participate in that."
"You do?" she asked curiously.
"Yes. And if I win this tournament, I get a casino pass and access to the VIP club, am I right?" Rudy asked curiously.
"Yes." Maria nodded and said, "I am surprised you remember that."
He smiled at Maria and said, "I remember every single thing we talked about that night."
Maria's face flushed a little after hearing that.
"You also said there are other yearly tournaments. When is that?"
"Currently, there is a poker tournament going on inside the casino. There are hundreds of gamblers trying to get to the top. And not only this casino, but all the casinos in this entire country are also currently crowded because of the tournament."
"How many winners are selected?"
"Only one."
"Oh!"
"And the winner of this tournament will gain access to the VIP club tournament, which is also in two days," she informed.
"And if I win that, I will get access to the underground VIP club?"
"Indeed. And the underground VIP club tournament is also later this week," she stated.
"What about you? Did you participate?"
Maria shook her head with a dejected look on her face and said, "It's not fun gambling alone. That's why I wanted you."
"I am here now. So let's win this thing!"
"Before we participate, I want to make some things straight." Maria looked into Rudy's eyes and said, "I will be the one providing all the funds. It doesn't matter if you win or lose. I just want to gamble, so you should have fun too.
And if, by chance, we end up winning today's tournament, you will return the money I provided. However, you can keep all the winnings, including the tournament prize, which is one million."
"..."
"Deal? I won't take the money like the last time. And if your force the winning money on me again, I will burn them and never talk to you, ever!" she threatened with puffed cheeks.
"Heh!" Rudy chuckled softly and said, "I know you are trying to act scary, but that's just making you look more cute."
"Wha—!" Maria's face flushed even more than before. She bit her lips to hide her embarrassment and said, "I can be scary too!"
"Oh?"
"Did you not see my attack on you just now? No one has ever been able to stop that.. attack…" Maria raised her brow and asked with a curious look on her face: "How did you stop it?!"
"Magic."
"Tell me!"
"I have superpowers."
"Come on! Tell me! I swear, if you turned out to be someone hired by my brother or father for my protection, I am going to be so pissed that I will hate you forever!" she hissed with a flushed face.
"Oh, no. Don't worry about that. And as you had said the other night, you truly don't need protection. And I can vouch that your attack was indeed powerful," Rudy said with a smile on his face.
"Now, let's go inside and register for the tournament before it ends. I cannot miss this chance."
"Yeah."
Maria took Rudy into the casino and registered his name for the tournament. They played one game after another, but Maria had only funded the first game that was betted at $100.
That night, after hours of gambling and playing numerous kinds of games, Rudy won the tournament without using his powers or any sort of cheating. He netted one million dollars from all the game winnings and got another one million as a reward for winning the tournament.
