Volume One, Chapter Four: Broadening Horizons

A black bear.

But it was dead.

After a closer look, I was certain I wasn’t mistaken—the creature lying on the ground was exactly the kind of large black bear you’d only see on TV or in a zoo.

In our country, these animals are protected species, and no one dares to harm them.

Yet here, they were treated as ingredients, displayed openly in the market for sale. It was hard to believe unless seen with one’s own eyes.

“There’s more up ahead!” A Long said, heading forward.

As we walked on, my unease grew. On the ground lay dead roe deer, wild pheasants, live pangolins, and cobras…

Animals protected back home had no such protections here; anyone could buy them if they had the money.

“This place even has tiger meat, and bear paws aren’t expensive either. Three thousand yuan gets you one. I got tired of eating these last year. Once business picks up, I’ll take you there. If you’re coming all this way, you have to try the things you can’t even get back home, no matter how rich you are. It’ll make for good bragging, right?” A Long chuckled.

His words warmed my heart, and I had to agree.

Tiger meat, bear paws, pangolins—these delicacies are nearly impossible to get in our country, even with money. If you manage to eat them here, you’ll have a story to boast about when you return.

Leaving the market, A Long led me to the entrance of the Vegas Casino.

“Dongzi, I’ll take you inside to see it for yourself, so you won’t say I’m lying. Gambling here isn’t banned like back home; it’s completely legal!” A Long put his arm around me as we entered Vegas.

Being a legal casino, the entrance was grand and magnificent, with several security guards at the door, each carrying a handgun.

Inside, the space was quite large, lavishly decorated with gold and bright colors. The layout matched what I’d seen on TV: rows of gambling tables, each staffed by dealers dressed in matching uniforms.

I remembered reading online that casinos have no windows to prevent gamblers from knowing whether it’s day or night. I looked around and sure enough, the walls had no windows.

“Look at that!”

Following A Long’s gaze, I swallowed nervously and asked, “Is all that real money?”

Behind the counter stood an even larger cabinet, piled high with stacks of cash—bundles arranged into a giant triangle.

“Of course it’s real. That pile is worth about ten million!” he said.

Having lived over twenty years, the most cash I’d ever seen in reality, outside of TV, was a hundred thousand.

Seeing ten million stacked together was a first.

“Isn’t all that cash just lying there risky? Doesn’t anyone try to rob it?” I asked curiously.

A Long snorted, “Who dares? You think the casino’s security is just those few guards at the door?”

“There’s plenty more upstairs. Robbing a place like this is suicide. Besides, the casino’s shareholders are government officials. If anything happens, all roads get blocked immediately. Where could you run?”

Thinking about TV dramas where robbers use hostages to protect themselves, I smiled and said, “They could take hostages. Look at all the people inside.”

A Long rolled his eyes and scolded me, “Dongzi, you watch too much TV.”

“Remember, this is northern Myanmar. The chaos here isn’t any less than the Golden Triangle. They don’t value human life like we do back home.”

“Human life is the cheapest thing here. Taking hostages? That’s just stupid. You think these guards care about hostages’ safety?”

“They’d just spray a burst of bullets. If people die, they die. At worst, they pay compensation. This huge casino can afford it.”

“Besides, 99 out of 100 people who come here are illegal immigrants. If someone dies here, and no one helps, they’re just like dead stray dogs on the roadside—no one cares, and they’re dragged off to be buried in the hills.”

The more I thought about it, the more I realized A Long wasn’t trying to scare me.

Illegal immigration is, after all, unlawful. If someone sneaks in alone and dies here with no one to contact their family, their loved ones would never even find out.

Human life truly holds no value here.

“Come on, I’ll show you around!”

A Long led me weaving between the gambling tables, expanding my horizons. There were many games: the common Dragon Tiger and Baccarat, as well as Niuniu, Three Public Cards, Push Tubes, Pai Gow, and more.

Some players used cash, others chips. The minimum bet was a hundred yuan.

Noticing signs for Super Niuniu and Super Three Public Cards, I asked A Long curiously what those were.

His explanation amazed me again.

No matter Super Three Public Cards or Super Niuniu, once you place a bet, your own points multiply accordingly.

For example, in Super Niuniu, if you bet a hundred and get Niuniu yourself, the casino pays you a thousand. But if the dealer gets Niuniu and your hand isn’t better, you lose a thousand to the casino.

Back home during the New Year, we played Niuniu too, but the maximum multiplier was three hundred. This super version sounded thrilling.

Having grown up with me, A Long knew I gambled and suddenly reminded me, “Dongzi, one more thing—don’t gamble in the casino. The company forbids employees from gambling or using drugs.”

I had been thinking about trying my luck once I had money, but hearing this, I couldn’t help but ask, “Why the ban?”

A Long’s face turned serious. “Forgot why we came here?”

“We came to make money. If you win, you have to give it back to the casino. What’s the point of working so hard?”

“You know drugs aren’t allowed, that’s obvious.”

“Whether it’s gambling or drugs, once you get involved, you lose focus at work. If you lose money gambling, you’ll do anything to get it back.”

“The guy you saw in the detention cell earlier? He lost all his money gambling and started targeting clients to borrow money behind the scenes.”

So that’s why middle-aged people who don’t listen end up in such trouble.

I nodded and quietly discarded any thought of trying my luck here.

“Of course, if you want free drinks, you can come inside!” A Long said, signaling to a waiter weaving through the crowd and ordering, “Two bottles of Red Bull, please!”

Soon, two glass bottles of Red Bull were placed in our hands. I asked curiously, “This doesn’t cost anything?”

A Long shook his head. “Everything inside here is free—food, drinks, fruit platters, milk, whatever you can eat, it’s all on the house.”

I hadn’t expected such treatment in a casino.

As we moved on, we stopped by a Dragon Tiger table. A Long stared at the screen tracking the game’s progress for two minutes, then suddenly pulled out a stack of cash and placed it on the Dragon spot.

I was startled. Didn’t the company forbid gambling? Why was A Long betting?

And he was betting heavily!

I remembered he had taken that money out during lunch, still sealed. It was a full ten thousand yuan. After paying for food and buying some things at the market, about nine thousand remained.

Though it wasn’t my money, seeing such a large bet made me nervous. I clenched my hands tightly.