Super Zoo

He pushed open the doors to the private box, one side of which was a large floor-to-ceiling window that offered a clear view of the entire racetrack below, where two men stood before the window, their backs to Suming, looking down at the racecourse.

Upon hearing someone enter, both men turned around simultaneously.

One was Jacky, and upon seeing the other, Nangong couldn't help but exclaim on the side, "Long Wu?"

The man had a slightly elongated, square face with sharp and defined features. Despite the inevitable wrinkles crisscrossing his face due to his age, his posture was ramrod straight. He wore a suit and stood there, not cracking a smile, like a sharp steel knife; also, due to his age, although he had a spirited look, he was very reserved and not overbearing at all.

If Zhao Yun was a middle-aged handsome man who took the refined and cultured route, then the man before them was the tough-guy uncle of the hard-boiled style.

Hearing Nangong call out the name "Long Wu," Jacky and the tough-guy uncle exchanged glances and smiled at the same time.

When the tough-guy uncle had kept a straight face without a smile, he seemed as distant as an iceberg, rejecting others from a thousand miles away. But when he smiled, Suming realized that such a tough guy actually had a pair of peach blossom eyes.

"I always said it, you are even more imposing than the God of Gamblers!" Jacky chuckled.

The tough-guy uncle called 'Brother Ten' shrugged, saying, "It seems my acting is really bad. Having played so many roles, only Long Wu seems to be memorable to people."

The uncle before them, oh, should be said brother or perhaps boss, was indeed Xiang Huaqiang, the loyal, stone-faced bodyguard 'Long Wu' from the God of Gamblers film series.

As he said himself, in fact, aside from Long Wu, he had played many other roles. He was a famous supporting actor during the golden age of Hong Kong cinema and had even been nominated for the Best Actor award at the Golden Horse Awards, overtaking Leslie Cheung. Yet, what people truly recognized and remembered him for was Long Wu.

Seeing this man, Suming instantly understood two things.

First, why Jacky said he was busy with new film affairs yet, in fact, was here gambling on horses. Because the Long Wu with Jacky was not only an actor as a pastime; his real identity was the former chairman of the Xiangjiang Yongsheng Film Company, now the chairman of the Huaxia Star Group.

Huaxia Star Group is a listed enterprise in Xiangjiang, their business scope involving properties, hotels, health products, entertainment, and other fields, with their most famous endeavor being film production. Therefore, Jacky being together with him must be related to a new movie project.

Second, why the retired triad big shot Mr. Li would bring him to this private box. There had always been rumors that beneath the surface, Long Wu's other identity was that of the leader of the New Record, one of the top four triads in Xiangjiang before its handover, a true underworld figure.

If he hasn't guessed wrong, these two gentlemen are also official members of the Xiangjiang Jockey Club, maybe Long Wu is even one of the core elective members. The club encountered him, someone who came to 'smash the scene,' and just so happened to have Long Wu there, so they had Mr. Li step in to mediate; Jacky, seeing 'Mr. Su' in the box watching the race from below, took the opportunity to invite him up to meet.

"Let's have a formal introduction." Jacky led Suming and Nangong into the box and formally introduced them, finally turning to Suming with a smile and saying, "You can just call him Brother Ten, just like me."

The Xiang Family had thirteen brothers, and this Long Wu was the tenth in line.

What kind of background Long Wu had, Suming had roughly known from the internet, and it was pretty much as expected. The Xiangjiang Jockey Club was a place frequented by celebrities, so seeing him here was not too surprising.

Hearing that Suming, at such a young age, had built up a substantial industry all by himself and was also a party member, Long Wu's eyes brightened slightly as he looked at Suming with a hint of admiration, half-jokingly saying, "Young and promising, eh? No wonder the mainland government is so powerful, making both sides of the strait so well-developed."

"Brother Ten, if you want to join the Party, I'll be your sponsor," Suming said seriously.

Long Wu: "..."

"Brother Ten, can you sign an autograph for me? I'm a fan of your movies!"

Whether it was a party member or a triad boss, neither had any solutions for dealing with such young, pretty girls who could act coy. Long Wu probably wrote the characters 'Long Wu' more times than his own name in his life. Now in the private box of the Jockey Club, he didn't expect to meet an 'enthusiastic' fan, shook his head with some helplessness, then swiftly signed his name.

Not long after they settled into the box, the seventh race on the track below had already begun. From the large floor-to-ceiling windows of the box, they could clearly see the twelve horses burst out of the gates and gallop away.

Although the setup in the box was more complete, even equipped with a betting machine that allowed direct betting without the need to queue at the window, it was a pity that they couldn't hear the shouting of the audience outside or the commentary from the host, making it feel like it was lacking the proper racing atmosphere. However, if celebrities like Jacky or Long Wu appeared directly on the race track, they wouldn't need to watch the horses, as signing autographs would keep them busy until their hands ached.

"Just saw a 'God of Horses,' Mr. Su, on the big screen a while ago, didn't expect it to be you. I hope you aren't unhappy about me breaking your streak," Jacky jokingly said as he passed two glasses of red wine, one to Nangong and one to Suming.

Taking the wine, Suming nodded to Jacky in appreciation, and then said, "With a master like Brother Ten here, I think even if I wanted to win, I probably couldn't anymore. Better to quit while I'm ahead."

"If it were greyhound racing, I could consider myself half an expert, but as for horse racing, I'm still a rookie, just raising one for fun now and then," Long Wu said.

When Suming called Long Wu a 'master,' he certainly wasn't referring to his horse racing skills. After entering the private room, everyone present tacitly avoided mentioning the incident of Mr. Li hoping Suming would stop placing bets, and Suming likewise made his stance clear through his actions.

Everyone there was savvy, and some things didn't need to be spelled out. Hearing that Long Wu also had a horse in the race, Suming looked on with curiosity and asked, "Which one is Brother Ten's horse?"

"It's Big Happy," Long Wu pointed with one finger, towards the Big Happy currently straining and advancing from fourth place, a mix of three parts affection and seven parts helplessness in his voice, "Every time I watch it run, it gives me a heart attack."

There was something interesting about Big Happy. It appeared to be of average standard, but its explosive power was strong, often suddenly picking up speed in the middle of the race and overtaking several horses. However, it seemed there was always a gap it couldn't close between itself and the first place, like an unbridgeable moat.

After the seventh race ended, Big Happy did as before, skyrocketing from fourth to second place, but the gap to the first place was still significant, almost a full horse length. Throughout the final twenty meters, Big Happy was desperately chasing but never caught up.

"Big Happy has potential, only lacking in that final step. It seems to lack the boldness to challenge for first place. Look at it, even if the first place isn't that fast, it always fails to catch up, almost content with being in the top three," Suming commented calmly.

He had observed Big Happy several times and found, first of all, that its physical condition was not inferior to any of the other horses on the field – a basic requirement, since a horse with poor stamina obviously can't perform well in races.

What's more important is that Big Happy has a strong fighting spirit, like an entrepreneur brimming with hope for the future, exuding positive energy like the sun itself.

The issue is its lack of the 'I'm number one in the world' kind of dominance and risk-taking spirit, belonging more to the steady and calculated type of competitor.

Shebao Dragon, on the other hand, had the opposite traits; its physical condition was up to standard, but its temperament was stubborn, like a rebellious teenager.

"Shebao Dragon is Mr. Luo's horse; everyone knows that, and it has a temper as quirky as Mr. Luo's," Long Wu nodded, impressed by how Suming had accurately analyzed the two horses with just a few remarks, and looked at him with renewed interest, chuckling, "It seems Su Sheng is indeed an expert."

"He's the director of a zoo on the mainland, just like a beast tamer at an aquarium with dolphins. How could he not understand them?" Jacky said.

"I just guess a bit, that's all," Suming replied with a humble laugh.

"There's one last race left. How about the three of us place a bet?" Long Wu suggested.

"Wow, I'm not joining in!" Jacky laughed and shook his head, "Both of you are experts, especially Suming. He's a true professional. Betting against him would be like gambling on stocks with Soros, basically just giving him money to spend."

"If you say that, Brother Ten might really think I'm here to swindle the Horse Club's money. I'd be scared of being chopped to death on the street," Suming said, pretending to be afraid.

"It's been over a decade since the handover; no one dares to hack people on Xiangjiang street anymore, relax."

Long Wu wasn't bothered by Suming's pointed joke and just laughed it off. Turning to Suming, he tilted his head and said, "I had Mr. Li go looking for you earlier, cutting off your revenue stream. If I lose, consider it a small recompense."

Brother Long Wu had been very amiable since their meeting, giving the impression of a trustworthy old friend, sometimes even shyly smiling in a way that would make girls want to cuddle and pamper him—an endearing uncle figure, without a trace of the former gang leader or entertainment industry tycoon's airs.

However, when it came to betting against Suming in horse racing, an inherently competitive activity that must result in one winning and another losing, Long Wu's tone betrayed a strong challenge.

Suming guessed that it wasn't necessarily because of him, but it was clear beneath the uncle's mild exterior lay a relentless, competitive spirit.

"What should we bet on?" Suming shook the small Nangong bag full of cash, "I only have seventy-something thousand in cash. Brother Ten isn't planning to take away all the forty million I just won in one go, is he?"

Naturally, the Xiangjiang Jockey Club and Long Wu wouldn't be so lacking in sportsmanship as to not accept a loss of a mere several million and immediately set a trap to regain face. Still, it wasn't Suming's home turf, so being cautious was the best course of action; always good to be wary.

Suming wasn't worried about Long Wu taking his forty million, but rather, what if he won? If he won forty million from the Horse Club and then from Long Wu, would the uncle fly into a rage and have him killed?

Seeing Suming's expression, Long Wu suddenly burst into laughter.

————Dividing Line————

PS: I had considered adding a little more to the three chapters of over nine thousand words and dividing them into four or five chapters, then tagging them as four or five updates in a lavish manner. But then I thought about it, that would be deceiving people... I believe everyone who purchases chapters will see that my daily guarantee of three chapters is the very same as those four or five updates... Of course, I'll still find time to add more when possible...