Chapter 259: Memories from the Internet, Ghost’s Critical Flaw

Gambling requires capital.

That much goes without saying.

Just like those Gambling Dogs who lose everything they own—when they’re desperate to scrape together enough money to bet, not a single word out of their mouths is true.

Some will even use their family’s lives or fake emergencies to borrow money.

In short, Gambling Dogs are never worthy of sympathy.

And any money lent to them is as good as gone.

Now, based on the earlier deductions, it’s clear that Ghost was in serious need of cash at the time. But studying abroad in the United States isn’t something someone strapped for money would consider.

So it’s highly likely that Ghost couldn’t borrow enough from friends or relatives to fund this risky gamble in the United States.

Which means taking out a bank loan would’ve been the best option available to him.

…

At that moment, after hearing what Su Ming had said, Chen Sheng froze for a second before quickly snapping out of it. Without hesitation, he pulled out his phone and dialed the Criminal Investigation Technology Section.

Once the call connected, he didn’t wait for the officer on the other end to speak. He immediately said, “Check for me right now—see if Ghost and his wife took out any large bank loans five years ago.”

“Remember, I need this as fast as possible!”

With that, Chen Sheng hung up and looked at Su Ming and Xu Changsheng.

“If we find records of those loans, that would basically confirm our earlier deduction.”

“To be honest, looking at all the information and clues we’ve gathered so far, the number of times a United States casino has come up in these cases seems… unusually high.”

“Even if we can’t say for sure it’s the same casino, my instincts as a criminal investigator tell me this isn’t just a coincidence.”

“Plus, as Team Leader Su mentioned earlier…”

“If Ghost went so far as to hide in prison to escape being hunted down, it means he knew exactly how powerful that casino was.”

“So then, why would he agree to help K? Why would he take the risk of eliminating Lan Cai’er, who held key information, and even join a drug trafficking organization?”

“Money? I doubt Ghost cared about that anymore.”

“If the casino was going after him that hard, the amount he cheated them out of must’ve been astronomical.”

“Most casinos wouldn’t bother chasing someone down for just a few million. If they got conned, they’d chalk it up to bad luck.”

“So the money Ghost scammed was probably not just a few million—it was likely tens of millions, in US dollars.”

“At that point, money would’ve just been numbers to him. So for him to take action, to risk everything to deal with Lan Cai’er…”

“K must’ve offered him something he couldn’t refuse.”

“Maybe… help lifting the hit on him? Or acting as a mediator between Ghost and the casino to settle the conflict?”

“Those casinos in the US are backed by some serious players. Even K might not have the clout to negotiate with them.”

“Unless… the casino and K just happen to be in business together, which would explain why K’s word carried weight.”

Clearly, Chen Sheng’s ability to lead the Yangliu District Criminal Investigation Brigade wasn’t just for show. Using the clues Su Ming had pieced together, he’d entered full deduction mode, stringing together the most likely scenario from the evidence at hand.

Just as Chen Sheng was about to continue, the phone on the table suddenly rang with an urgent tone.

He didn’t waste a second.

Chen Sheng picked it up, hit the speaker button, and asked immediately, “What did you find? Do you have what I asked for?”

The officer from the Criminal Investigation Technology Section could tell how urgent the situation was and responded right away.

“Yes, Chief Chen.”

“We checked the loan records of Ghost and his wife. Five years ago, both of them took out multiple loans from various banks.”

“They even took out a second mortgage on their house and borrowed 300,000 yuan.”

“Altogether, the loans from different banks totaled 600,000 yuan, including various types of loans and credit lines.”

“Then, six months later, Ghost and his wife repaid all the loans in one go, including the mortgage.”

“So even now, Ghost still holds a five-star credit rating with all major banks.”

“Chief Chen, would you like us to send you the detailed bank names and loan amounts? My team is compiling the data now. It should only take a few more minutes—”

Before the officer could finish, Chen Sheng cut him off.

“Good, send it over when it’s ready.”

“That’s all for now. I’ve got other matters to handle.”

He hung up and looked across the table at Su Ming, concern in his eyes.

“Team Leader Su.”

“We can basically confirm it now.”

“Ghost’s experiences over the years match our deductions almost exactly. But the real problem now is…”

“How do we dig Ghost out? It still feels like we’re missing a key piece.”

Su Ming didn’t answer right away.

Instead, he pulled out his phone and began searching something, speaking with confidence as he did.

“Chief Chen.”

“Now that we’ve confirmed Ghost’s activities, and that he once cheated at a casino in the United States…”

“We can deduce one very important detail.”

“When he went to the US, there’s no way he used his real face. He must’ve used some kind of disguise.”

“Otherwise, the casino would’ve found him long ago. He wouldn’t have had the chance to fake his wife’s murder just to get into prison.”

“Normally, when someone uses a disguise, they subconsciously replicate or mimic a look that helped them escape successfully in the past.”

“And since Ghost disguised himself years ago in the US, and our Dragon Country police never recorded that face, he would’ve felt safe using it again.”

“But here’s the key point…”

“Chief Chen, back when we were tracking Qiang Wei, I once called Ghost, trying to trick him into revealing his location. But he realized what I was doing.”

“Even though Qiang Wei is now in a coma, from Ghost’s perspective, he can’t be sure whether Qiang Wei told me about the Skin Mask she made for him.”

“He wouldn’t dare take that risk. So the Skin Mask Qiang Wei gave him? Ghost definitely wouldn’t use it.”

“This time, his disguise had to be his own work…”

At that moment, Su Ming suddenly stopped speaking. He held out his phone to Chen Sheng and Xu Changsheng.

“Found it.”

“A news article from five years ago in the United States. The headline reads: [God of Gamblers Arrives! Middle-aged Couple from Dragon Country Win 50 Million Dollars at US Casino.]”

“This… is the internet’s unfading memory.”