American comics: I am full of martial virtues and I love to be kind to others.

He walked up to the young man in charge of customer service. "Hello, I'd like to check a client's contact information."

"What customer?" the young man asked, looking up.

"Delta-27, Wang Zhiqiang."

The young man checked on the computer, then shook his head. "This client has been marked as 'out of contact'; we don't have his valid contact information."

"What was his last registered address?"

“Yes, I do, but it might be expired.” The young man wrote the address on a piece of paper and handed it to Lynn. “What do you need him for?”

"To check some accounts."

Lynn took the paper back to his seat and looked at the address. It was a residential area south of San Francisco, about a half-hour drive away.

After considering it for a while, he decided to go there himself.

He approached Ah Qiang and said he needed to go out for a while to verify some customer information. Ah Qiang didn't ask many questions, but simply reminded him to be back before 7 p.m. because someone needed to be on duty after the casino opened.

Lynn left the Sands Pavilion, rented a taxi, and drove towards that address.

It was an ordinary residential area in South San Francisco, with rows of similar single-family homes lining the streets, each with a small front yard and garage. The afternoon sun slanted across the rooftops, bathing the entire block in a warm golden light. Several children rode bicycles on the sidewalk, and a golden retriever lazily sunbathed in someone's yard.

Lynn stopped in front of a house with a light blue exterior. This was the address Wang Zhiqiang had registered.

He stepped forward and pressed the doorbell.

After waiting for about half a minute, the door opened. A man in his forties, wearing glasses, a plain T-shirt and sweatpants, and holding a book, opened the door. He looked slightly wary when he saw Lynn.

Who are you looking for?

"Mr. Wang Zhiqiang?"

"I am. Who are you?"

Lynn showed her work ID from Sands Casino. "I'm a finance staff member at Sands Casino. I need to verify some accounting matters with you."

Wang Zhiqiang's expression changed instantly. His body stiffened for a moment, and a hint of fear flashed in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a complex emotion—a mixture of anger and helplessness.

"What more do you want?" His voice deepened. "I've paid off all the money. What more do you want?"

"Payed off?" Lynn frowned. "According to our records, you haven't repaid the $150,000 you owed three months ago."

"What?!" Wang Zhiqiang's eyes widened. "This is impossible! I clearly already paid it back!"

Do you have any evidence?

Wang Zhiqiang paused for a moment, then nodded. "Yes. Wait a moment."

He turned and went into the house, and came out a few minutes later with a stack of documents.

“Look,” he handed the document to Lynn, “this is my transfer record from three months ago. $150,000, every penny, transferred to your designated account.”

Lynn took the document and examined it carefully.

It was a bank transfer receipt, dated three months ago, for a sum of US$150,000. The account holder was "Huaxing Trading Co., Ltd."—one of Jinshage's external receiving accounts.

“This account was given to me by your finance department,” Wang Zhiqiang said. “He said that as long as I transferred the money to this account, the debt would be paid off. After I transferred it, he even called to confirm that he received it.”

"What's the name of that finance person?"

“What was that Li-something again?” Wang Zhiqiang thought for a moment, “Li Minghui, yes, that’s Li Minghui.”

Lynn's heart skipped a beat.

Li Minghui – the former accountant, the one who "got into some trouble" and then left.

What does he look like?

"In his thirties, not very tall, a bit overweight, and wears glasses," Wang Zhiqiang described. "He speaks very politely, but his eyes have a slightly sly look."

Lynn took a picture of the transfer receipt and then returned the document to Wang Zhiqiang.

"Mr. Wang, I have a few questions for you."

"Ask away."

"You mean you've stopped gambling?"

Wang Zhiqiang's expression became complicated. He remained silent for a moment, then let out a long sigh.

"Yes, I'm not gambling anymore."

"Why?"

Wang Zhiqiang looked at Lin En, his eyes filled with an indescribable emotion. "Come in and sit down. This is a long story."

He stepped aside to let Lynn into the house.

The house was simply furnished, but cozy. The living room had a standard sofa and a television; family photos hung on the walls; and a piano with sheet music sat in the corner. A teenage girl was doing her homework at the dining table. When Lynn entered, she looked up curiously at her.

“Go to your room and do your homework,” Wang Zhiqiang told the girl. “Dad has guests.”

The girl nodded, packed her things, and went into the room.

Wang Zhiqiang invited Lin En to sit on the sofa, and then sat down opposite her himself.

“You want to know why I stopped gambling?” he said. “Because I almost lost everything.”

Could you elaborate?

Wang Zhiqiang leaned back on the sofa, his gaze becoming somewhat unfocused, as if recalling some painful past events.

"I used to be a programmer, then I started my own small software company. Business was pretty good; I made some money, bought a house, got married, and had a daughter. Everything went smoothly."

He paused for a moment, his voice becoming low.

"Then one day, a friend took me to Sands Casino. He said it was a high-end place where I could meet wealthy people. At first, I just went to gamble for fun, a little bit for entertainment. But gradually, I found myself unable to stop."

"Gambling addiction?"

“It’s not just addiction,” Wang Zhiqiang said with a wry smile, “it’s madness. Every time I lose, I think I can win it back next time. Every time I win, I think I can win even more. Winning or losing, I can’t stop.”

"Then what?"

“Then I started embezzling company funds to gamble,” Wang Zhiqiang’s voice lowered further. “At first it was small amounts, but it kept getting bigger and bigger. By the time I realized the seriousness of the problem, the company’s accounts were already more than half empty.”

"Your company went bankrupt?"

“Almost,” Wang Zhiqiang said, “but I was lucky; an old friend was willing to lend me money to get through the crisis. I used that money to pay off the company's debts and save the company. But at that time, I still owed Jinsha Pavilion $150,000 in gambling debts.”

"So you borrowed money again to pay off your gambling debts?" "Yes," Wang Zhiqiang nodded, "I mortgaged the house, borrowed a sum of money, and paid off all my gambling debts. From then on, I vowed never to gamble again."

"You did it?"

“I did it,” Wang Zhiqiang said, his eyes softening as he looked at the family photos on the wall. “Because I almost lost them. My wife, my daughter. When I told them the truth, I’ll never forget the look in their eyes. That disappointment, that sadness, that disbelief. I swear, I will never let them go through that pain again.”

Lynn remained silent for a moment.

This man's story stands in stark contrast to the programmer who knelt and begged for money last night. Both were gamblers, both were deeply mired in debt, but Wang Zhiqiang eventually pulled himself out, while the programmer continued to sink deeper into the mire.

“Mr. Wang,” Lynn began, “I’ve reviewed your transfer records, and they do show that you’ve paid off your debt. But there’s no record of this transaction in our ledgers; there must be a problem.”

"What do you mean?" Wang Zhiqiang frowned. "You mean my money hasn't arrived?"

“The money arrived in your account, but it wasn’t recorded,” Lynn explained. “That means someone embezzled your repayment and then marked your account as a bad debt.”

Wang Zhiqiang's expression changed. "Li Minghui?"

"It's very likely him."

"That bastard!" Wang Zhiqiang stood up, his expression furious. "I knew he was no good! The way he looked when he took the money, I knew he was up to something!"

“Please calm down,” Lynn gestured for him to sit down. “I will investigate this matter thoroughly. If it is indeed true that he embezzled your repayment, we will hold him accountable.”

"Can you find him?"

"I will do my best."

Lynn stood up, ready to leave.

"Wait a minute," Wang Zhiqiang called out to him, "You're the new accountant, right?"

"Yes."

“You’re different from them,” Wang Zhiqiang said, looking at him with a complex emotion in his eyes. “There’s a sense of justice in your eyes. In a place like this, you rarely see someone like you.”

Lynn did not answer, but simply nodded slightly.

“I have something to say to you,” Wang Zhiqiang’s voice turned serious, “That place, Jinsha Pavilion, and the people behind you—they’re not just running a casino, they’re devouring people’s souls. I’ve seen too many people lose everything there, lose their families, lose their lives. If you have any conscience, leave that place.”

Lynn looked at him and remained silent for a few seconds.

“Thank you for the reminder,” he concluded. “Take care of yourself and your family.”

He turned and left Wang Zhiqiang's house.

When I stepped outside, the sun was still warm, and the streets were still quiet. The golden retriever was still dozing in the yard, and several children were still playing on the sidewalk. Everything seemed so normal, so peaceful, as if the heavy conversation that had just taken place had never happened.

Lynn stood by the roadside, took a deep breath, and then hailed a taxi back to Jinsha Pavilion.

Upon returning to the casino, Lynn immediately began a thorough investigation into Li Minghui's situation.

He retrieved all the accounts handled by Li Minghui during his tenure and checked them one by one. This was a tedious task, requiring comparison of data from multiple sources, including original vouchers, bank statements, and ledger records, to identify any inconsistencies.

By 9 p.m., he had discovered even more problems.

Besides Wang Zhiqiang's $150,000, there were three other similar cases—customers had clearly repaid their loans, but the books marked them as bad debts, and the corresponding amounts were recorded as "other income." These three sums added up to nearly $400,000.

In other words, Li Minghui embezzled at least $550,000.

Lynn compiled all the evidence into a report, including bank statements, transfer vouchers, account comparisons, and a transcript of his conversation with Wang Zhiqiang. After completing the report, he hesitated for a moment, then decided to report directly to A-Qiang.

Ah-Qiang was patrolling the casino when he saw Lynn walking over, and he was somewhat surprised.

"What's wrong? Is something the matter?"

“I’ve discovered a problem,” Lynn handed him the report, “about the former treasurer, Li Minghui.”

A-Qiang took the report and quickly glanced through it. His expression changed from curiosity to surprise, and then from surprise to anger.

"That bastard!" he muttered under his breath. "He stole over half a million from us?"

“Based on my investigation, that’s at least the number,” Lynn said. “There may be more that I haven’t discovered.”

“Wait a minute,” Ah Qiang looked at Lynn, a hint of wariness flashing in his eyes, “How did you find out all this?”

"While checking the accounts, I discovered that a bad debt and an income from an unknown source had the same amount, so I followed the trail."

"You even went to verify with that customer?"

"Yes."

Ah Qiang remained silent for a while, seemingly weighing something.

“You did a good job,” he said finally, but with a complicated tone. “I’ll report this to my superiors. You can go back to work now.”

"OK."

Lynn returned to his office and continued working on other accounts. But his mind kept wandering back to what had just happened.

A-Qiang's reaction was somewhat strange. Although he appeared angry, he wasn't particularly surprised—it was as if he had known all along that Li Minghui had a problem, but hadn't investigated it further.

Are those in power protecting Li Minghui? Or is there something else going on?

At 11 p.m., A-Qiang came to the office area again.

“Jack, come with me,” he said. “Someone wants to see you.”

Lynn stood up and followed Ah Qiang out of the office area. They walked through the casino and came to a door that Lynn hadn't noticed before. The door was made of dark wood and looked ordinary, but two tall security guards stood in the doorway.

Ah Qiang said something to the security guard, who nodded and opened the door.

Behind the door was a short corridor, at the end of which was a carved double door. Ah Qiang pushed the door open and gestured for Lynn to go in.

This is a spacious office, luxuriously decorated. The floors are dark solid wood, several valuable oil paintings hang on the walls, and antique porcelain and sculptures are placed in the corners. One side of the room has a row of floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the entire casino lobby—the gaming tables, slot machines, and bustling gamblers, all bathed in light, creating a scene of extravagance.

In the center of the office was a huge mahogany desk, behind which sat a man in his fifties. He wore a dark gray suit, his hair was neatly combed, and his face carried the dignified air typical of someone who had long held a high position.

"You're Jack Bryan?" the man said, his voice deep and powerful.

"Yes."

“I’m the general manager of Jinsha Pavilion, you can call me Mr. Chen,” the man gestured for Lynn to sit down, “Qiang showed me your report. Very well done.”

"Thanks."

“We’ve always suspected something about Li Minghui,” Mr. Chen said, “but we’ve never had concrete evidence. The fact that you found this in just two days shows your strong capabilities.” (End of Chapter)