Chapter 6

I checked the available active skills, and to my delight discovered the list had changed:

I decided there needed to be more ways to get points, so I picked the top choice.

千虑一得 thousand tries one success (1/1)

- if the odds are less than 1000 to 1 you will achieve success when you gamble, cost 500000 points, can be used once per day, if odds are greater than 1000 to 1 then odds are reduced by a factor of 1000, must spend before making attempt, if you lose get back 1 point for every Yuan of loss

I could see several ways that this could be used to generate big profits. A quick check said one yuan was about 14 cents. A 36,000 bet would either win or return the lost points. On a roulette wheel that would be a 1.2 million payout. I wondered if anyone would take a bet like that.

I was seriously reconsidering the power of single level skills after thinking about what this one did.

I checked out my stats:

I had 10 skills now, one of them was Scribe, which was really helpful. I was just about to review things when there was a knock at the door.

I wasn’t expecting anyone, but called “come in”

John Marcham stepped in looking as dapper as ever.

“Koby, good news. I’ve got something for you.”

He handed over an envelope. “This is your new card. Your bill for the hotel has been cleared, and all your room charges go onto it now. It’s got $1000 on it, and will get another $500 every morning at 6am Eastern time.

“I talked to the office and they agreed that this was the simplest method available that gives you the most freedom. It’ll auto load for a year, there’s an app that’ll show you your balance if you need it, it’s all in the envelope.

“I’ve also arranged for your paycheck to continue to auto deposit into your Saudi Chase Bank account. You are on leave, but still considered working overseas, that might protect your income from some taxation, you’ll have to check with your accountant to know how it all works.

“I think I’ve got everything settled here, my number is in the envelope. Any questions for me?”

“Are you leaving?” I asked.

“Yes. Headed back to Texas. Flights tonight, got to head for the airport molestation line early or you don’t get on.”

“Well thank you. I appreciate the help you’ve given me.”

“No problem, let me know how you’re doing in about ten months or so. Oh, before I forget, the pin on your card is the middle five digits of your social security number, and there are no restrictions. Go spend it on booze and ladies if you want.”