thefictionvixens Chapter 3: One Knife Makes You Poor, One Knife Makes You Rich
Chapter 3: One Knife Makes You Poor, One Knife Makes You Rich
The stone cutter roared to life, and the crowd of onlookers grew larger and larger.
Li Kai wore a smug expression, as if he could already see Lin Yu kneeling and begging for mercy after losing money. Lin Yu, on the other hand, remained calm, but his hands, clenched in his pockets, were covered in cold sweat.
In the jade gambling business, one cut can make you rich or poor. Although the system gave him X-ray vision, he lacked practical experience, and the system had a time limit.
That brief moment of clairvoyance had consumed a lot of his energy, and the "Elementary Eye of Treasure Appraisal" hadn't lasted long; it had already disappeared.
"Host, your basic abilities have been used up. Please recharge." The system's cold voice rang in your mind.
"Let me win this round first," Lin Yu thought to himself.
"Sizzle—"
The grinding wheel of the stone cutter rubs against the raw stone, sending up a string of sparks.
The piece of black jadeite that Li Kai bought was fixed on the machine. Based on experience, this kind of stone with a shiny black outer layer can fetch an astronomical price if it's cut and yields a good return, but if it's cut and yields a bad return, it's just waste material.
"First, wipe the edge." The stone cutter was an experienced master, and his technique was very steady.
The first cut revealed a completely white quartz surface, without a trace of green.
"It's all over, it's all over." Some people around shook their heads.
Li Kai looked at Lin Yu smugly: "Lin Yu, get ready to pay up. Thirty thousand yuan, cash or bank transfer?"
Lin Yu ignored him, staring intently at the cut surface. The system couldn't be wrong; the green mass was in the middle of the stone, and this cut was off-center!
"Cut two centimeters more over here," Lin Yu suddenly said, pointing to the other side of the stone.
"The stone cutting fee is separate." The master looked up at Li Kai.
"Tch! Let him give up!" Li Kai waved his hand dismissively.
The second cut still didn't produce any green.
Li Kai laughed even harder: "Lin Yu, are you blind? You've cut it twice already, and there's not even a trace of jade. If I could cut anything out of this stone, I'd eat it!"
The people around him started to murmur, thinking that Lin Yu was making a last-ditch effort.
Lin Yu's heart leaped into his throat. Could it be a system error? Or was the crack in the stone is preventing the jade from entering?
Just then, a system notification popped up: [Host detected to be in a state of extreme tension, triggering "Micro-management Correction". Reward: Precise location coordinates.]
Lin Yu's vision blurred, and the stone transformed into a semi-transparent model in his eyes once more, with the green mass in the center clearly visible and a red circle marked on the side.
"Stop cutting!" Lin Yu suddenly shouted, "Just rub it from here! Don't cut, rub it!"
He rushed forward and pointed to the very center of the stone.
Li Kai frowned: "What are you doing? Trying to cause a disturbance?"
"Li Kai, do you want to win or lose?" Lin Yu stared at him. "If this cut goes in, not even a god can save this rock. Listen to me, rub it! If you can't rub anything out, I'll give you fifty thousand!"
"You..." Li Kai was stunned by Lin Yu's imposing manner, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Damn it! What a load of crap!"
The experienced craftsman impatiently switched to sanding strips and began to slowly polish the center of the stone.
"Sizzle sizzle..."
The sound of the sandpaper scraping against the stone was particularly jarring in the quiet hall.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on that polishing spot.
Suddenly, the sander stopped.
"Huh?" The old master craftsman exclaimed in surprise.
"What happened?" Li Kai asked anxiously, "Is he crippled?"
The master craftsman didn't say anything, but instead picked up a powerful flashlight from the side and shone it on the polished area.
A deep, rich, almost dripping green hue instantly shone through the strong light onto the wall!
"High...high-grade icy jade?"
"This color... is it imperial green?"
"Impossible! Such a small piece of material could yield imperial green?"
The crowd erupted in chaos.
Li Kai's smile froze on his face, and he looked as if he had been struck by lightning, completely dumbfounded.
Lin Yu let out a long sigh of relief, his legs went weak, and he almost collapsed to the ground. He won.
"According to the bet, the stone is mine, and you give me another 70,000 yuan." Lin Yu held out his hand.
Li Kai's face was ashen as he gritted his teeth, staring at the rock before glancing at Lin Yu. He knew he had bitten off more than he could chew this time, but he couldn't back out in front of so many people.
"You win!" Li Kai tossed 70,000 yuan in cash from his bag, then threw the stone at Lin Yu with a hint of resentment. "Lin Yu, you just wait!"
Lin Yu took the stone; it felt heavy in his hand. Although it was only the size of a fist, it was top-grade imperial green jade. Even if it were made into several cabochons, its value would far exceed 100,000.
"Boss, are you taking it?" Lin Yu turned to ask the club's manager.
"Take it! Of course I'll take it!" The shopkeeper grinned from ear to ear. "Young Master Lin, this is a real gem. I'll offer five hundred thousand, how about it?"
Five hundred thousand?
Those around gasped. Three thousand yuan a moment ago, now five hundred thousand? How many times has that increased?
Lin Yu shook his head: "Too low. This piece of jade has good translucency, a perfect color, and no cracks. I'll go to an auction house."
He took the stones and money, turned, and left the club. As he exited, he glanced back at Li Kai, who was standing there dumbfounded, and a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
This is the primitive accumulation of capital.
Back in the car, Lin Yu closed the door, slumped into the seat, and gasped for breath.
He took out his phone and looked at the black app.
Account balance: 570,000 yuan (cash) + a piece of jade of unknown value.
[Mission Progress: 570,000 / 1,000,000.]
[Host has been detected to have initial capital. "Leverage Mode" unlocked: The value of items can be converted into mission progress.]
Lin Yu looked at the words and gave a bitter smile. He was still more than 400,000 short of raising his first million.
He gripped the jade tightly.
"System, if I collect one million and transfer it to you, will I be able to own the 'Eye of Treasure Appraisal' permanently?"
The phone vibrates, and the reply is concise and impactful: [Permanent modules can be unlocked. Future upgrades to "Intermediate" and "Advanced" are available.]
"Okay." A glint of light flashed in Lin Yu's eyes.
He remembered that tomorrow was a small public auction in Ruili, which was the real battleground.
Just then, my phone rang. It was Xia Yao calling.
"Lin Yu! I heard you gambled on stones with Li Kai? Are you crazy? That's my cousin!"
Xia Yao's furious voice came from the other end of the phone.
"I know," Lin Yu said calmly, "but he's bullying people."
"Where...where are you now? Li Kai said he's going to have someone deal with you!"
Lin Yu looked out at the night sky and gripped the steering wheel tightly. "I'm on my way to Ruili. Xia Yao, if I make a lot of money, will you be happy for me?"
There was a long silence on the other end of the phone before a helpless sigh came through: "If you dare to die out there, I won't let you off the hook."
Lin Yu smiled and hung up the phone.
He glanced at the jade on the passenger seat, then at the countdown app.
There are 18 hours left.
"One million, this is just the beginning."
With a throttle input, the car sped into the vast darkness, heading towards the border.