For the past two years, John Han worked two jobs, waking up at 5 a.m. and returning home at 8 p.m., then studying until 11:30 p.m., day in and day out.
These two jobs brought John a monthly salary of $3,500. But after deducting rent, utilities, internet fees, and daily expenses, there was hardly anything left.
Despite this, John managed to save up enough to buy a computer, subscribe to some online learning websites, and access knowledge libraries. After two years of self-study, he finally completed his knowledge preparation.
Fortunately, after "absorbing" the abacus, John's mind became much sharper, and his energy levels significantly improved, enabling him to sustain this routine.
Now, with his knowledge base complete, it was time to start making the computer chip. But John calculated that even if he chose the cheapest materials, it would still cost around $5,000 to $6,000. Including wastage and daily expenses during the chip-making period, he would need at least another $10,000.
Relying on his current jobs to save up $10,000 would take almost a year.
That's too long; John couldn't wait that long.
"I need to find a way to make money quickly," John thought. "If it comes to it, I'll have to take some risks."
John had already quit his two jobs. From today, he was completely unemployed. If he didn't find a way to make money quickly, he wouldn't even have enough to eat, let alone buy materials.
Early the next morning, John got up, took his pocket knife, and rode his old electric bike straight to the convenience store.
"Boss, do you have any temporary tattoos? Yes, just like that, give me two sheets."
"How much for these sunglasses? And this chain."
In front of John, a large iron tray was filled with thick, golden chains, each as heavy as a pinky finger.
If they were real gold chains, they would cost hundreds of thousands.
The boss glanced at the chain and said, "Twenty."
"I'll take a chain, two temporary tattoos, and a pair of sunglasses. That's fifty-six... Boss, give me a discount, how about fifty?"
After some bargaining, John managed to lower the price to fifty-three. With a heavy heart, he paid fifty-three dollars.
At this point, John's bank account had only $560 left.
John took his purchases home, carefully applied the temporary tattoos in front of a mirror, and put on the sunglasses and gold chain, giving him a bit of a thug look.
But his clothes looked too shabby, ruining the effect.
John went to a clothing store, picked out two flashy outfits, and spent another sixty-eight dollars.
After changing into the new clothes, slipping on some slippers, and wetting his hair, he indeed looked more like a thug.
In the afternoon, once the temporary tattoos had set, John walked out the door, heading towards the western side of the market district.
He didn't ride his electric bike; it would spoil the look.
Passing by Butcher Shawn's meat stall, Shawn gave John a surprised look and snorted heavily, continuing to chop meat, but with much more force than before.
John ignored him and headed straight to Black Three's Casino, several kilometers away.
After grabbing a quick bite at a nearby food stall, John strutted into the casino.
In the early afternoon, the casino was already packed. Various thugs, socialites, gamblers, and workers crowded around the tables, creating a cacophony of noise. The smell of smoke, alcohol, and sweat was overwhelming, making John's head spin.
John exchanged $400 for chips and began scouting for a target.
He didn't believe in luck, so he eliminated games purely based on luck.
The only thing he could rely on was his enhanced memory and calculation abilities after merging with the abacus. With these, John was confident he could win money in games requiring some skill.
After some observation, John chose a table playing "Fight the Landlord."
His observations confirmed that there were no tricks or collusion at this table; it was all independent players. When one gambler left, John took his seat.
Picking up his cards, John immediately memorized the cards he didn't have.
After several rounds of play, there were 18 cards on the table. The landlord had played 8 cards, the opponent 5, and John 5.
John remembered exactly which cards had been played by whom. Combining this with the cards in his hand, he quickly deduced the landlord's hand.
"The landlord played a straight from 8 to the queen and a pair of sevens. I have three kings but no aces, the last king is in the opponent's hand. But he hasn't played any single cards, so he must also have a straight. I have a seven, the opponent's straight is from seven to king, and his remaining cards are a triplet, which he can finish with. The landlord has no bombs, but I do..."
"Bomb!"
Having calculated the hand, John played a bomb, overriding the landlord's cards. Then he broke up his straight to play a seven-card sequence.
The opponent looked at John in surprise and happily played his straight from seven to king, then a triplet, finishing his hand.
This round, the two farmers won, and the landlord lost.
The landlord, looking dissatisfied, threw down his cards and continued playing.
In the next round, John glanced at his cards and mentally calculated: "In this round, I have a 72% chance of winning if I call landlord."
With his exceptional memory and calculation abilities, John won more often than he lost at the Fight the Landlord table, netting over $2,000 in three hours.
John then switched to a Texas Hold'em table, where another round of meticulous calculation earned him over $2,000 more, bringing his total winnings to over $5,000.
Winnings of $5,000 weren't significant in this casino, so no one noticed him yet. But John cautiously controlled his play, intentionally losing over $1,000 to keep his final profit at $4,000. Finally, he pretended to be having a bad run, cursed, and left the table to cash out.
The next day, John went to a different casino and repeated the process.
On the third day, he went to an even more distant casino and did the same. That day, he won over $7,000 but intentionally lost $3,000 to keep a low profile.
Now, John had over $13,000 in his pocket.
"It's time to stop. If I keep this up, someone will notice. If I get shot, it'll be over."
"Damn, such bad luck!"
Ignoring the joker card in his hand, John decisively folded, slammed $200 worth of chips on the table, and cursed as he left, blending in perfectly with any other losing gambler.
He exchanged his chips for cash and staggered out of the casino, heading home.
"Thirteen thousand should be enough for materials and living expenses for a while. Wait, something's wrong."
John noticed a skinny, shady character following him.
"Damn, really? Three casinos and only $13,000, and I'm already being tailed?"
Cursing internally, John quickened his pace, weaving through crowded areas. He bought clothes, swapped his outfit, ditched the sunglasses and gold chain, and changed into long sleeves to cover the tattoos, slipping out the back door.
After circling around to ensure he'd lost his tail, John finally returned home.
"Whew... Finally got the money."
Without hesitation, John opened his computer and started ordering the necessary materials online.