Chapter 258: Large Bank Loan Records, Pinpointing Everything About Ghost’s Past

Inside the house where Ghost had once lived for a long time.

Su Ming had already tucked away the lottery ticket in his hand and immediately headed for the study next door.

Just now, in the words shouted by Xu Changsheng, he had clearly heard the phrase “American Casino Chip.”

Judging from Qu Pengfei’s experience and other unusual circumstances, it was highly likely that a certain casino in the United States had deep and tangled ties with the drug trafficking organization led by K.

And now… a USA casino chip had turned up in this very house.

How could Su Ming not take that seriously? It was hard not to suspect that it might be a crucial clue.

…

In the study.

Su Ming found that, aside from Xu Changsheng, Chen Sheng was also there, standing by a cabinet, pulling out books one by one and flipping through them, hoping to uncover something else.

Xu Changsheng was holding a chip, examining it. When he saw Su Ming enter, he immediately handed it over and said,

“Xiao Ming, take a look.”

“This should be an American chip, right? It’s even got English printed on it.”

Without any hesitation, Su Ming took the round chip from Xu Changsheng and studied it carefully for a few moments. Then he nodded slightly and replied,

“This is a ten-thousand-dollar chip.”

“From the shape, the color scheme, and the anti-counterfeit English engravings, everything points to this being a USA casino chip.”

“Each casino has its own unique chip design. If we investigate carefully, we should be able to figure out exactly which casino it came from.”

At this point, Su Ming paused for a couple of seconds, placed the chip on the desk, then organized his thoughts and continued,

“There’s one more thing we can deduce.”

“The person who tucked this chip into the book was most likely Ghost’s deceased wife.”

“Because if Ghost had been the one to hide it, there’s no way he would have forgotten to get rid of such a clue. He would’ve destroyed it immediately.”

“Only Ghost’s wife, caught off guard by her sudden murder, wouldn’t have had time to retrieve the chip. Ghost probably didn’t even know it was hidden there.”

“As for burning the books, that’s even less likely.”

“There are so many books here. Burning them all would take time, and the bathtub’s limited capacity wouldn’t be enough.”

“Normally, there are only two types of people who would walk out of a casino with a ten-thousand-dollar chip.”

“First, the truly wealthy, who don’t care about the money and want to keep a chip as a souvenir from their trip. After all, ten thousand dollars isn’t exactly pocket change.”

“Second, someone who won big at the casino and kept a chip both as a memento and a lucky charm.”

“If they won a fortune, leaving one ten-thousand-dollar chip uncashed wouldn’t hurt too much.”

“But for those gamblers who’ve already lost their heads, even if they only had a ten-thousand-dollar chip—or even a hundred-dollar chip—they’d still go all-in without hesitation.”

“To them, a ‘lucky charm’ is just a fantasy. Once they’re in too deep, they’d swear on their own parents if they thought it would help them win back their losses.”

“And just now, I also found this in the crack by the headboard in the master bedroom…”

As he spoke, Su Ming pulled out the lottery ticket he’d been holding and placed it on the desk, narrowing his eyes.

“A lottery ticket.”

“A welfare lottery ticket that might’ve won a few million.”

“Judging from the printed purchase date, it was clearly bought before Ghost and his wife left for the United States to ‘study magic.’”

“Buying a lottery ticket in hopes of striking it rich, traveling to the US for ‘advanced magic training,’ leaving behind a ten-thousand-dollar chip as a keepsake, and most importantly…”

“Choosing to enter prison voluntarily to escape being hunted by someone or some organization—these all point to one very clear possibility.”

Chen Sheng, who had been flipping through books, immediately stopped and picked up the thread.

“So… he was so desperate for money that he started buying lottery tickets?”

“But with our country’s lottery system, a regular person would need a miracle to win. So this ticket clearly didn’t amount to anything.”

“Still desperate for money, Ghost then decided to try his luck at a casino?”

“But if that’s the case, why not go to a legal casino in our own Macau? Why spend a fortune flying all the way to the United States?”

Before he could finish, Chen Sheng suddenly slapped his thigh and exclaimed in realization,

“Wait, no—Ghost wasn’t gambling normally to win money. He was cheating.”

“Given his identity as a magician, he definitely had lightning-fast sleight of hand. He could’ve used that to win big at the casino. So at the time, he was probably cheating and raking in chips, to the point where even the casino couldn’t handle it.”

“Later, when the casino investigated and realized he wasn’t just lucky but had been cheating the whole time, they would’ve gone after him like mad to recover their losses.”

“Because the amount was so huge, even after Ghost returned to Dragon Country, he still didn’t feel safe. He felt he had no choice but to kill his wife and send himself to prison to be at ease.”

“And that also explains why, if he just wanted to gamble, he didn’t go to the much closer Macau and instead flew all the way to the US.”

“Because he wasn’t gambling—he was pulling a con.”

After hearing Su Ming and Chen Sheng’s analysis, Xu Changsheng paused to think seriously for a couple of seconds. Then he nodded slightly, clearly agreeing with the theory. But he also raised the most critical point.

“Xiao Ming, Chen Ju.”

“This theory is very plausible. It fills in and explains why Ghost would kill his own wife and send himself to prison.”

“But we’re still missing one solid piece of evidence to fully confirm this deduction.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Su Ming gave a confident smile and immediately proposed his method of verification.

“Brother Sheng.”

“Actually, it’s quite simple to confirm this theory.”

“The fact that they were buying lottery tickets to chase slim odds, and that they went as far as cheating in a casino—a move so risky that being caught could get you dumped in a river—”

“All of that points to one thing: Ghost and his wife were in serious financial trouble at the time. But to afford the high cost of flying to the US and the initial gambling funds…”

“There’s really only one possibility—they took out a bank loan.”

“Ghost used studying magic as a cover to go to the US. To most people, that would suggest he wasn’t short on money.”

“So it’s highly unlikely he could’ve borrowed a large sum from friends or family to fund this plan.”

“A bank loan would’ve been the only option left.”

At that moment, Su Ming turned to Chen Sheng beside him, his gaze sharp and full of confidence.

“Chen Ju.”

“Have the officers from the Criminal Investigation Technology Section check whether Ghost and his wife took out any loans from major banks.”

“If I’m right, not only did they take out loans, but they were probably very large ones…”

————

Macau is best known as the “Las Vegas of Asia”, famous for its casinos, luxury resorts, and nightlife. It also stands out for its blend of Chinese and Portuguese culture, seen in its historic sites, unique fusion cuisine, and UNESCO-listed old town.