Chapter 5: Yuri and Gold

In the evening, Tom appeared in the Soho district of London, located in the Westminster borough of Greater London. This area was the liveliest and most chaotic part of London during the midnight hours. As night fell, people from all walks of life gathered here like a tide, flowing into the numerous casinos, nightclubs, and other entertainment venues.

The entire area resonated with the roar of motorcycles, and many men and women drove their bikes, creating a cacophony of deafening engine sounds as they raced through the streets.

Tom arrived at a casino where he often did odd jobs. The bouncer at the entrance, dressed in black, recognized him with just a glance.

"Young scoundrel, coming to mooch a meal again?"

"Uncle John, today I'm here to try my luck," Tom grinned and exchanged a few words with the man at the entrance, and John, the doorman, eventually let him in.

As night fell, the casino was already bustling with activity. The main hall had nearly a hundred tables, each surrounded by people. There were private rooms downstairs, but Tom couldn't access them with his current status. However, that wasn't a problem, as he had no intention of targeting the patrons in those private rooms.

He exchanged his last thirty pounds for chips and casually strolled through the casino. The casino staff didn't pay much attention to him; after all, he was just a child who didn't look dirty. Why bother?

Tom often blended in here, doing odd jobs and enjoying the occasional buffet. Yes, this casino also offered a buffet, as did most others. They wanted their patrons to eat in the casino when they got hungry, so they wouldn't leave due to hunger. Most casino buffets were good, offering a wide selection of dishes with decent flavors, and they were affordable. Sometimes, all Tom had to do was tell the kitchen staff to consider the leftover food as "food waste," allowing him to take it home.

However, today was not about getting a free meal.

Tom stopped in front of a roulette table and watched for a while. Roulette was a very common casino game, typically featuring 37 or 38 numbers. A croupier was responsible for spinning the roulette wheel and releasing a ball into it. The number where the ball landed was the winning number. Tom had a vague feeling that the next ball would land on the number 9, so he confidently placed a five-pound chip on that spot.

Roulette had various betting options, but the simplest one was to bet on a specific number, typically with odds of 35 to 1. After placing his chip, Tom remained calm. He watched as the small ball bounced around the spinning wheel.

"7, 8—9!"

In the end, the ball landed on number 9. Nearby casino patrons expressed various emotions—joy, disappointment—as the croupier efficiently paid out winning bets and collected losing chips.

In a matter of moments, Tom's five pounds had turned into 175 pounds.

He continued to wander aimlessly through the casino, winning some and losing some. Eventually, he had over three hundred pounds in his possession.

At this point, £100 was roughly equivalent to $160, while an ounce of gold was around $370. Therefore, Tom could exchange £231 for an ounce of gold, which is approximately 31 grams. His goal was to leave the casino with enough money to exchange for 50 grams of gold.

Gringotts strictly regulated currency exchanges. They had implemented a rule this year allowing only young witches and wizards with both Muggle parents to exchange 10 Galleons for £5 at a rate of 5 pounds to 1 Galleon. However, the exchange of gold to Galleons was unlimited, with a rate of 1 Galleon for every 5 grams of gold, but it was strictly one-way.

The shrewd goblins didn't leave any loopholes for humans to exploit.

Tom weighed his chip stack and headed for another table. This table was hosting a game known as Casino Storm. Although it sounded high-end, it was actually one of the simplest games with straightforward rules. It was essentially a game of comparing card values between the dealer and the players. If a player's card value exceeded the dealer's, they received a payout equal to their bet.

Tom stood by the gaming table and occasionally placed bets. When he left the table, he had over five hundred pounds in his pocket. He decided to call it quits and leave the casino. However, just before he exited, he overheard an interesting conversation in the casino restroom.

Yuri Orlov was an immigrant from the Soviet Union, and his family's business was running a restaurant. However, a chance encounter had opened the doors to the arms trade for him. Today was the day this novice arms dealer completed his first deal.

He had arranged to meet the client in a small casino restroom. Yuri had even slicked back his hair with gel and shaved to appear more professional.

Everything was going smoothly.

He opened the suitcase and handed a brand new Uzi submachine gun to a stern-faced young man.

"Sir, this is the new Uzi automatic pistol. Despite its compact size, it retains its firepower. It's equipped with a 9mm hollow point bullet, a 25-round extended magazine, adjustable grip size, and a standard silencer with extremely low recoil..."

Towards the end, Yuri even made a small joke, "Even if you fire a whole magazine at me right now, no one outside will notice."

Unexpectedly, the buyer loaded the gun and pointed it at Yuri's chest.

Yuri was stunned but reacted quickly. He said with ease, "Of course, this way you won't have a chance to do bigger business with me."

The young buyer smiled, handed Yuri the money, and left the restroom with the briefcase.

Yuri felt like he had narrowly escaped death. His entire back was drenched in cold sweat. He realized that he had no idea what he was getting into. Although it was thrilling, it ended too quickly.

He left the restroom, and in the adjacent stall, he saw a young boy walk out, wearing a sly expression as he

  observed Yuri.

Yuri wanted to leave quickly, but the boy stopped him.

"With a gun like that, do you have any more? I need one that even a kid like me can use."

Yuri was a professional businessman, which meant he didn't discriminate against customers. Even though the person before him was just a child, as long as he had pounds and a demand, he was a customer.

So, the two of them ended up in a small warehouse together.

Yuri handed over a slightly used Uzi submachine gun and a box of bullets to Tom.

"It's not brand new, but it's still in good condition. Twenty-five pounds for the gun and bullets, you can take them both."

A fairly reasonable price.

Tom took the gun case, gave Yuri the money, thanked him, and prepared to leave. But Yuri stopped him and handed him a business card. He couldn't help but ask, "Who are you really?" Although curiosity was an emotion he shouldn't be feeling, Yuri couldn't help but ask.

Tom didn't answer immediately. Instead, he picked up a withered flower from the ground and handed it to Yuri.

"An apprentice."

Tom walked away. Yuri watched the boy disappear, still deep in thought.

(End of this chapter)