On a high seas gambling ship.
Knock, knock, knock! Knock, knock!
A series of urgent knocks broke the dead silence of the cruise ship.
“Miss Ye, something’s wrong! The patient you treated earlier has suddenly died during sexual intercourse. Please, come quickly.”
All traces of sleep vanished from Ye Jiuting. She sprang out of bed, grabbed her medical kit, and opened the door.
She followed the attendant, running all the way to the patient’s room.
Inside the luxurious suite, gambling chips were scattered all over the floor, piled together with messy clothes and bedsheets.
The pungent smell of musk filled the air.
A gaunt man lay stiffly on the floor, motionless.
A woman with tear-streaked makeup knelt beside him.
The couple’s surname was Zhou, and they were of Chinese descent.
They were the patients Ye Jiuting had treated not long ago.
Ye Jiuting walked over to the patient and set down her medical kit.
Kneeling beside the man, she took out a penlight and pried open his eyelids.
His pupils were dilated and unresponsive.
She reached out to feel for his carotid artery.
No pulse.
The skin her fingers touched was slightly cool.
Ye Jiuting listened for a heartbeat with her stethoscope, then put away her emergency tools and stood up.
“He’s been dead for about four hours. Why are you only calling for a doctor now?”
Madam Zhou collapsed into tears. “We were… very intense earlier. I thought he was just tired, so I didn’t pay it any mind. When I got up in the middle of the night to use the restroom, I found that I couldn’t wake my husband up.”
As she spoke, a sudden realization seemed to dawn on her. Her eyes widened as she stared at Ye Jiuting.
“If he died four hours ago, that means he died less than an hour after you gave him that injection for his cold. You’re a quack! A murderer!”
Instantly, all eyes in the room turned to Ye Jiuting.
A baseless accusation, a disaster from out of the blue.
Ye Jiuting calmly took off her mask.
“Do you have any proof that there was a problem with my medicine? Once we dock, a forensic examiner can perform an autopsy. If I am guilty, the law will punish me.”
Madam Zhou let out a loud cry, beating her chest and stamping her feet as she sat on the floor, wailing.
“Oh, heavens! The murderer is so brazenly self-righteous! How are we, the victims, supposed to live? Husband, I’m useless! I can’t avenge you! I’ll join you in death!”
With that, she grabbed a fruit knife and aimed it at her own neck.
A security guard reacted swiftly, grabbing her hand.
Madam Zhou began to struggle and hurl insults at Ye Jiuting, making a scene about wanting to die.
The person in charge of the cruise ship walked up to Ye Jiuting.
“Miss Ye, we paid a great deal of money to have you on this yacht to ensure everyone’s health and safety. Now that something like this has happened, please find a way to resolve it.”
Ye Jiuting replied, “This was not my doing.”
This was the Renjian Hao, one of the world’s largest gambling ships, a gathering place for the rich and powerful from all corners.
The secret owner of the Renjian Hao was a friend of her father’s.
The ship’s contracted doctor had suddenly been in a car accident right before it was due to set sail, and they couldn’t find a familiar, reliable doctor in time.
The owner had contacted her father, and her father had personally spoken with her. Only then had she agreed to come aboard as a substitute.
Now that this had happened, she had a headache as well.
The manager said, “Whether it’s your fault or not will have to wait for the autopsy. For now, we need to calm Madam Zhou down. I have an indelicate request.”
“Go on.”
“I’m sure there’s nothing wrong with your medicine, Miss Ye. If you just inject me with a little of it in front of Madam Zhou, and I’m fine, won’t that clear your name?”
Ye Jiuting said, “They are the ones slandering me, so they must provide the evidence. I don’t need to prove my own innocence.”
The manager bowed deeply to Ye Jiuting with his hands clasped.
“Miss Ye, please, just help me out. If another person dies, I won’t be able to escape responsibility. I’m begging you.”
As he spoke, he looked as if he was about to kneel before her.
Ye Jiuting reached out to stop him. She took a vial of the same antiviral medication she had given Mr. Zhou from her kit and injected it into her own arm.
“Is this sufficient?”
No one spoke; they just stared at her without blinking.
Ye Jiuting bent down, packed her medical kit, and walked out with it in hand.
Madam Zhao even ran out after her, shouting at her back, “We’ll come check on you in an hour! If you’re dead, then you’re the murderer!”
Ye Jiuting turned a deaf ear and quickened her pace.
A moment later, her vision began to blur. Her blood started to feel hot, and her limbs grew weak.
The medical kit slipped from her hand, hitting the floor with a loud thud.
She bent to pick it up and nearly pitched forward.
Ye Jiuting leaned against the wall, trying to recover for a while, but her symptoms didn’t subside. Instead, they grew worse.
An unbearable itch clawed at her from within, slowly spreading to her very bones and invading every cell.
Ye Jiuting’s mouth became dry, and her hands began to uncontrollably remove her clothes.
Halfway through undressing, her senses snapped back into focus.
She remembered this was a high seas gambling ship, a place filled with all sorts of people.
What kind of catastrophe would she face if she collapsed naked in the corridor?
How could this be happening?
Her mind was sluggish, making it difficult to think.
It still took her two seconds to figure it out: it was the injection from before.
Her medicine had been swapped.
She had been set up!
The thought made her even more desperate to leave.
Ye Jiuting tried to run but stumbled and fell to the floor, unable to get back up.
She curled into a ball, hugging herself tightly, soft moans escaping her lips unconsciously.
Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps approached.
She looked up and saw several men in waiter uniforms running toward her.
“Miss, are you ill? Don’t worry, we’ll take you to the infirmary right now.”
With that, the men began to lift her.
“I’m not sick. I’m just tired and want to rest. Don’t touch me.”
They paid her no heed, clumsily hoisting her up and starting to run.
Ye Jiuting struggled with all her might, but her body was limp and weak. She could only watch helplessly as she was carried away.
For these people to have appeared so quickly, it was clearly a premeditated plan.
Once they carried her away and locked her in some room, her cries would go unanswered. Her fate would be uncertain.
Ye Jiuting bit her lip until it bled. The pain brought a sliver of clarity to her mind.
She screamed, “Help… Is anyone there? Help…”
“Gag her,” someone ordered.
A hand immediately clamped over Ye Jiuting’s mouth, muffling her cries into whimpers.
Ye Jiuting watched as they stopped in front of a room.
Someone was already waiting inside and immediately pulled the door open.
In the nick of time, a majestic and commanding voice echoed through the empty corridor.
“Stop. What are you doing?”
Ye Jiuting looked back. Through her blurry vision, she saw a tall, elegant man walking toward them.
The man had a powerful aura, an innate presence that instantly silenced the surroundings.
The attendants carrying Ye Jiuting immediately set her down, lined up, and bowed with pious reverence.
“Mr. God of Gamblers.”
On this ship, the God of Gamblers held the most esteemed status. Anyone who saw him had to stop and make way.
There was a saying in the industry: you hadn’t truly entered the world of gambling until you’d played at his table.
He was a legend at the gambling table, a mysterious figure revered by thousands.
Ye Jiuting had heard of this man. She knew that if he was willing to help, she would be safe.
She scrambled and crawled to the God of Gamblers’ feet, clinging to his leg.
“Mr. God of Gamblers, please save me.”