My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 621

“But some can’t.”

They become addicted to the powerful adrenaline rush, craving it and constantly seeking to recreate it.

“Since you exercise, you probably understand. After a certain amount of exertion, your body suddenly feels good, and you can keep going, right?”

“That’s right.”

“That’s the effect of adrenaline.”

In response to physical stress, the body releases adrenaline to mitigate the stress.

“The problem is, if you get addicted to that level of adrenaline, everyday life becomes boring.”

Nothing is fun. That’s what addiction does. Even meeting a loved one, doing enjoyable activities, or eating delicious food doesn’t bring happiness; it all feels dull.

“Most people go through that process, adapt, and then return to their normal routines.”

Even if it’s difficult at first, the body eventually adjusts to daily life. So, they adapt to the absence of adrenaline and naturally resume their lives.

“But a very few seek it out and crave it.”

What can replace that is drugs. That’s why so many people who return from war become addicted to drugs.

Often, they use drugs as a way to cope with fear, but also as a substitute for adrenaline.

“But there’s another way.”

“You don’t mean…?”

“Yes, that’s right. Recreating the same environment. Or creating a similar situation.”

“A similar situation?”

“A situation where you bet everything at once.”

To live or die. To lose everything or gain everything. This is a phenomenon commonly seen in gambling addicts.

“Sounds like gambling.”

“Yes.”

Gambling is all or nothing. Everything or nothing.

“Yes, it’s gambling.”

In fact, the biggest driver of gambling addiction is adrenaline.

“And where would you get the money needed for that gambling?”

By working diligently? Of course not. Can someone who is already addicted to adrenaline and craves that kind of excitement really work diligently?

“Bombing murders……”

“Should we call it killing two birds with one stone?”

They can satisfy their adrenaline rush by handling bombs. At the same time, contract killing is an incredibly lucrative job. Tens of millions of won [Korean currency]? No. In the case of murder using bombs, it’s on a billion-won scale.

Because using bombs makes it difficult to identify the perpetrator.

Guns, knives, or poisons, on the other hand, make it easier to identify the perpetrator. Because when a victim dies, you can easily identify or suspect the perpetrator by thinking about who benefits from it.

But bomb attacks are different. Bomb attacks are a very difficult and dangerous method. So, they’re usually not used.

Therefore, if someone dies from a bomb, the first thing people suspect is terrorism. Like Hong Chang-sik this time.

That’s why the price of killing someone using a bomb is unimaginably high.

“So, you can also earn gambling money.”

“That’s right.”

Killing just one person can earn you a huge amount of gambling money. There’s no reason to refuse it since you can satisfy your adrenaline cravings and earn money at the same time.

“And if they lived a life driven by their instincts in the past, even more so.”

Tension and adrenaline. The possibility that they would crave it and choose contract killing, which they know well, to get it, cannot be ignored, causing everyone to gulp.

“It’s definitely decreased a lot, but there are still more than a few guys in gambling dens.”

Of course, if there was help from the Philippine government, it might have been easier to find them. But realistically, in a situation where they can’t get help, they couldn’t identify individuals.

“You’ll be able to tell when you go to the scene.”

“The scene?”

“Yes.”

“But there’s more than one casino?”

“It won’t be a small place.”

They wouldn’t play small games in a small place. A person with 10 billion won [approximately $7.5 million USD] wouldn’t get an adrenaline rush from a 10 million won [approximately $7,500 USD] game.

Considering it’s all or nothing, they’ll look for a place where they can bet a significant amount of assets at once.

“Then most of the game rooms will be excluded?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Most game rooms have a set limit. If they don’t keep it, the real game will grow infinitely. Of course, that’s better in terms of profit, but if they lose everything in one go, continuous gaming is impossible.

In fact, even Las Vegas, which is called the paradise of gambling, rarely has unlimited games, unlike what people imagine.

“But there’s a problem with illegal gambling dens.”

However, illegal gambling dens are largely aimed at making a big score, so unlimited gambling is often done. Since they have to close the business and run away if they get caught anyway, it’s not a loss to close and move if they fleece one guy properly.

“No. That guy won’t use illegal gambling dens.”

“Why?”

“Because there’s no guarantee they’ll get paid even if they win. The perpetrator isn’t stupid. In the first place, the funds circulating in illegal gambling dens are easily traceable.”

“Certainly……”

You can win in an illegal gambling den. Then you might win about 10 billion won. But would such an illegal gambling den give you 10 billion won? Even if they emptied their organization, that money wouldn’t come out.

Then there’s only one way. Killing the opponent. There’s no possibility that a perpetrator operating in the dark world of murder wouldn’t know that fact.

“On the other hand, a legitimate gambling house has to return it even if they have to take out a loan. In the worst case, they have to give it even if they sell the gambling house.”

There’s no option to kill the opponent. If the situation is really bad, they have to pay in installments. In fact, even in Las Vegas, if the amount of the winnings is too large, they sometimes pay in installments.

“You’re a National Intelligence Service agent, so you probably know?”

There are many casinos for tourists, but the number of places that have a certain size and can handle it is limited.

The smaller the scale, the more limited the amount that can be bet at one time.

“A large-scale place……”

The agent hesitated for a moment and then named one place.

“It must be the Royal Casino in the Fantasia Hotel.”

“Is that place famous?”

“It’s the most famous casino in the Philippines.”

In the first place, the cheapest room at the Fantasia Hotel costs around 1.8 million won [approximately $1,350 USD] per night. No matter how five-star it is, it’s definitely not a cheap price. But it’s that fancy, and there’s a lot to see.

“And the Royal Casino has the largest maximum bet in the Philippines.”

“How much is it?”

“A maximum of 30,000 dollars.”

“Wow!”

Park Do-joon clicked his tongue at the words. But Lee Ji-soo, who didn’t understand, tilted her head.

“Is 30,000 dollars a lot? It doesn’t seem like much?”

In Korean currency, it’s 38 million won [approximately $28,500 USD]. Of course, it’s a lot of money for the average person. But it’s too small for the money mobilized in a place where the wealthiest people gather.

“That 30,000 dollars is probably not per person.”

“Yes?”

“That’s right. It’s per round.”

“Huh?”

Lee Ji-soo’s eyes widened at the words. So, when a game opens, 30,000 dollars is bet at once.

“Then how much does it go up to?”

“It could be almost hundreds of millions of dollars.”

“Wow.”

In many gambling games, they raise the stakes even higher. The money circulates internally, but at the same time, it becomes a counter.

For example, when people gamble with 1,000 won, if they repeat winning and losing, the stakes eventually fluctuate around a set level. If five people bet 100,000 won each, it’s eventually 500,000 won.

But when the police investigate, it’s not 100,000 won per person. They calculate the total based on how much money was circulated per game.

So, as a result, even if the stakes were 500,000 won, it’s theoretically possible to reach hundreds of millions of won considering the money that circulates within.

And when it goes out to the media, that money is reported as the total gambling money. From that point of view, that hotel must be of enormous size.

“Wait, if it’s the Fantasia Hotel, isn’t that a global chain?”

“That’s right.”

“Well, it has to be that level to handle the high stakes in the game.”

Otherwise, if the amount gets too high, the company itself could collapse. The reason why the police announce the total gambling funds is not simply to inflate the numbers.

If you make 10 million won by circulating money in that way, the other person actually has to cough up 10 million won. At that point, it doesn’t matter that they started with 100,000 won per game.

“You’re a National Intelligence Service agent, so you probably know?”

There are many casinos for tourists, but the number of places that have a certain size and can handle it is limited.

The smaller the scale, the more limited the amount that can be bet at one time.

“A large-scale place……”

The agent hesitated for a moment and then named one place.

“Then let’s go there tomorrow. Can we get in? As far as I know, the Fantasia Hotel has tight security?”

“Entry itself won’t be difficult. But finding the perpetrator inside will be a completely different matter.”

“That’s not difficult.”

“It’s not?”

“You’ll know when you go. Hehehe.”

The next day, Park Do-joon realized why he said he would know when he went.

“Surprisingly…… there aren’t many Southeast Asian people.”

“The Philippines is a developing country. Realistically, there aren’t many locals who can afford to gamble at this level.”

The moment they entered the Fantasia Hotel, most of the people they saw were foreigners, mostly Caucasians and a few Asians.

“Not all Southeast Asian people are poor, are they?”

Lee Ji-soo tilted her head. Apart from the fact that Southeast Asia has developing countries, the wealthy are bound to be incredibly rich. It’s true that India is a developing country, but India’s richest people have more money than Korea’s richest person, right?

“That’s not the point. But would you go on a trip to a place you know so well? Why would Koreans come to Southeast Asia for travel? Just because it’s cheap? No.”

“Ah, I guess so.”

A new environment.

And because there are new things to enjoy. It’s true that Korean travel is expensive, but one of the reasons why it’s not as popular is that most destinations offer similar experiences.

“From the perspective of the wealthy, if the area is too familiar, there’s no reason to go.”

Switzerland is a country that Koreans want to visit at least once. Wide pastures and clean air, etc. But if you tell someone who sees that every day to go on vacation, would that person go there? No.

“It’s the same here.”

It’s expensive, but it’s safe and secure, and there are many things to enjoy.

“And what wealthy people are like other commoners, leisurely looking around the market or looking around historical sites?”

Of course, they might do that in the beginning. But they don’t continue. The means of stress relief that such wealthy people want is stimulation itself.

And when it comes to stimulation, there’s nothing like gambling.

“Sounds like a bomber.”

Yoon Tae-min sensed something and nodded.

“That’s right.”

Most people probably won’t understand. Vacation is an act for stress relief. But they crawl into a gambling den to enjoy stress themselves.

“That’s how effective adrenaline is in controlling stress.”

“But the rich people I know must be under a lot of stress? Then wouldn’t adrenaline naturally be released to relieve stress?”