“You don’t know my constitution by now? I’ve been training since I was a kid. I figure it must’ve been something wrong with the booze last night, otherwise my head wouldn’t be spinning like this. It was just a small 250ml bottle—do you really think I’d black out from that?” Brian Carter couldn’t remember what he’d done last night either, and assumed he’d just drunk too much and lost part of his memory. It wasn’t the first time this had happened, so he wasn’t surprised.

“Hey, didn’t I tell you? Don’t buy alcohol here, especially from those little shops. Who knows if they’re mixing in industrial alcohol? You could go blind! If you want to drink, just take some from my place when you leave the day after tomorrow. No one in my family drinks, but people always give us booze during the holidays. We’ve still got bottles from years ago. Speaking of which, remind me when we see Mr. Parker later, okay? The Mid-Autumn Festival is coming up, and our company really shouldn’t hand out alcohol as gifts anymore. Give out something else, even cigarettes would be fine. I don’t smoke, but I could give them away. It’s not like it’s Wuliangye or Moutai—if I wanted to give it away, I couldn’t!” Director Walker thought Brian Carter’s guess was probably right. This guy was the healthiest in the company, even stronger than the boss’s driver who’d just left the army a couple of years ago. So the problem must’ve been with that bottle of booze. Talking about alcohol, he started complaining about the office manager’s poor shopping skills.

“Yeah, yeah, cigarettes would be great. If you don’t smoke, sell them to me at half price—I’ll take them all!” Brian Carter didn’t respond directly to Director Walker’s complaint. His boss and the office manager didn’t get along, and he figured it was best not to get involved in their personal feud. There was no need to pick sides at work; just do your job well. As for promotions, he didn’t even think about it. No matter how much the boss praised him, it was just to encourage him to work harder. He was an external hire, not part of their inner circle, a total outsider. Even if the driver got promoted, it would never be his turn.

“Half price? In your dreams! You always win money from me and still want to take advantage? Forget it! Did you bring enough cash today? I’m out for revenge! Don’t tell me you’re out of money after a few rounds. You’re not leaving until Monday!” As soon as Director Walker heard the word “money,” he immediately remembered how annoying Brian Carter was, gritting his teeth in frustration.

“Look, it’s all here—over eight hundred, is that enough? Honestly, you worry too much. I usually only bring two hundred, and I always make sure to round it off before heading home. Sometimes I even end up with extra. Shouldn’t you be the one checking if you’ve got enough cash?” Brian Carter wasn’t backing down either. He rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a wad of cash. Strangely, he couldn’t remember when he’d stuffed so much money in his pockets. That wasn’t like him at all. Was his blacking out getting worse? Forgetting things for days at a time?

“Yeah, right! I just hadn’t figured out your playing style before. You think you’ll always get good cards? Don’t worry, I’ve got a few thousand at home. If I lose it all, I’ll borrow from you. If you’ve got the guts, win it all!” Director Walker had never won a card game against Brian Carter, but he refused to believe it was because of his own lack of skill. He blamed it on not knowing his opponent well enough, letting Brian Carter take advantage.

“Fine, if you’re willing to die, I’m willing to bury you! Can we go a bit faster? I need to grab a bite in Jiugong first. When Mr. Parker gets back, we’ll definitely be drinking again, and I can’t handle it on an empty stomach. Honestly, Mr. Parker has a real problem with his card game etiquette. Why do we have to drink before playing? Isn’t that just cheating?” Thinking about their usual weekend card game routine, Brian Carter felt a bit worried. He wasn’t afraid of playing cards, but he was afraid of Mr. Parker’s drinking. Erguotou was like beer to that boss—everyone else drank by the glass, but he drank by the bottle. He’d start off by asking, “How many bottles are we planning to go through today?” and then have the waiter bring everyone a bottle just to warm up. If that wasn’t enough, he’d order more. For him, one bottle was just a warm-up. Even if Brian Carter was in top form, he could only handle a bottle and a half. If he was off his game, one bottle would knock him out.

“Today I’ll vouch for you. You just blacked out, so you can take it easy and skip Mr. Parker’s quota.” Director Walker was pretty loyal, helping Brian Carter out of a big jam.

“Heh heh heh… I won’t take advantage of you. When we play three-card brag, if you see me lick my lips, just fold. It’s either three of a kind or a straight flush. Same goes for mahjong—if you see me lick my lips, I’m waiting on the last tile. If you’re not ready or your hand’s too small, just break up your tiles and let someone else win. How’s that?” Hearing that Director Walker was on his side, Brian Carter didn’t hold back. He decided not to win too much from Director Walker this time and would focus on the others instead.

“Deal! Let’s team up today and clean them out, hahahaha… heh heh heh…” Director Walker wasn’t exactly a saint either. He just didn’t know how to cheat—if he did, he would’ve done it already. Hearing Brian Carter’s plan, he was delighted, hoping to use this chance to shake off his reputation as “the guy who always gives away his money.” So, in this Jetta sedan speeding east along the Jing-Shi Expressway, a burst of laughter suddenly erupted, so sinister and scheming that even the crows in the roadside trees grew wary. That sound was just too damn sleazy and devious—nothing good could come of it.

Crows are highly intelligent—this has been scientifically proven. They’re also very good judges of character. If you bully them once, they’ll remember your face for years and can even tell other crows what you look like and what kind of person you are.