Lu Mingfei was drenched in cold sweat. He understood now. The dealer wasn’t too stupid to fold—it was just that the initial difficulty was deliberately set low! This alchemical labyrinth was essentially a game designed to mess with people, like an RPG boss that could transform!
Lu Mingfei easily won against Wan Boqian, leaving her with only two hundred or so bottle caps, while the dealer had withdrawn before the real danger arrived.
“Come on, come on, don’t be stingy—bet big! The brave always win when enemies meet on a narrow path! I started gambling in Macau when I was three, got into the Lisboa Casino at four, became a gambling master by five, and learned how to be crooked by six. Little did I know I’d lose it all at seven, and now I’m twenty-seven, still free and easy as ever…” The dealer muttered as it shuffled cards in mid-air, its skeletal wings manipulating them into chains. “I need some herbal wine, a twenty-four flavor tea, a turtle egg mixed in, and a drop of ink. Do you have any? Hahaha!”
The shuffled cards snapped together as if drawn by a magnetic force, and the dealer gathered them into its skeletal wings with a flippant laugh. It dealt cards to Lu Mingfei and Wan Boqian, throwing them one by one. The eye sockets of its nine heads glowed with a golden light, and its nine neck bones twisted like snakes, as if dancing or taunting them. This was the dealer’s true form, identical to what Lu Mingfei had seen in the tunnel—an enchanting demonic skeleton, each delicate movement filled with lethal intent.
Lu Mingfei’s hole cards were a hearts “A” and a hearts “K.” The four community cards revealed so far were a spades “10,” a hearts “10,” a diamonds “10,” and a hearts “J.”
The cards were strange; the community cards included three tens, forming three-of-a-kind. The final showdown would depend on the kicker, meaning that whoever had the highest kicker outside of the three tens would win. Lu Mingfei had an ace of hearts, giving him a great chance of winning.
“The dealer has a pair,” Lu Mingze slowly opened his eyes, “which means its final hand is three-of-a-kind plus a pair, making a ‘full house,’ so it wins over you.” He paused, then continued, “But you still have a chance of winning if the last community card is a Queen of Hearts. The probability of drawing a Queen of Hearts is 1 in 52, but if it appears, you’ll have the strongest hand in Texas Hold’em—a ‘Royal Flush’—Ten, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace, all in hearts. Even a professional gambler might not encounter such a hand more than a few times in their lifetime,” Lu Mingze smiled. “Do you believe it will be revealed for you?”
Lu Mingfei’s palms were sweating, and his temples were throbbing. Putting everything on such elusive luck required immense courage.
It wasn’t his turn to bet yet; Wan Boqian had to decide if she was going to call. This round, Wan Boqian did something strange—she placed her hole cards face down without even looking at them.
“Show hand.” She pushed all her chips forward.
There was a buzzing noise in Lu Mingfei’s head. Show hand without even looking at her hole cards? Was she giving up because she couldn’t handle the pressure?
“Don’t worry about me, just beat this ugly freak.” Wan Boqian glanced at Lu Mingfei, a light smile appearing on her gaunt face, and for the first time, Lu Mingfei realized that this girl could be quite charming. “Junior, you’re really good at cards. If you didn’t care about me, you would have escaped long ago, right?”
The dealer’s nine heads stared at its hole cards, mumbling and groaning as if lost in deep thought. The situation was too complex, but clearly, it couldn’t bear to fold. If it won this round, it could kick Wan Boqian off the table. It had a greed for victory just like any human, and Wan Boqian was betting on that greed, putting herself on the line.
“Call!” The dealer finally made up its mind.
Wan Boqian let out a long sigh, seemingly relieved.
The last community card was flipped over—the Queen of Hearts!
Lu Mingfei revealed his hole cards with an impassive expression—the ultimate “Royal Flush”!
Wan Boqian’s hole cards were a pitiful “3” and “4,” but she stood up gracefully, her face glowing slightly, and her hollow cheeks seemed a bit fuller.
“Don’t look so sad; I know you’ve done your best.” Wan Boqian smiled. “If the dealer hadn’t suddenly learned to fold, you could have taken me out of here. Now I have to go find Gao Mi. Be careful on your way, and figure out how to rescue us once you’re out.”
“He treats you really well,” Lu Mingfei said softly.
“Yeah, if he didn’t always have unfinished business with his ex-girlfriend, I would probably have gotten engaged to him by now.” Wan Boqian pouted. “He’s just too soft-hearted—it’s really annoying.”
She paused. “Just now, I suddenly wanted to go back to him.”
“Yeah.” Lu Mingfei nodded. “I understood when I saw you show hand.”
“Do you have something on your mind?” Wan Boqian tilted her head and looked at him. “You seem absent-minded—did you fall for someone?”
“Yeah, I’m dreaming of liberating Lin Chi-ling by taking Taiwan.” Lu Mingfei forced a smile.
“If you like someone, go find her; don’t just wait in place.” Wan Boqian said softly, turning and walking into the seemingly endless darkness.
The darkness swallowed her figure, leaving only the sound of her light footsteps, which grew faster and faster. Lu Mingfei imagined the girl running in the pitch black, the white hem of her dress fluttering, like a shimmering unicorn—beautiful, though he couldn’t see her. She charged into the tunnel without hesitation, completely unafraid of the darkness—that was the direction Gao Mi had left.
After enduring the long loneliness on the subway, she would reunite with Gao Mi, hugging him tightly and never letting go, even though it meant fewer chips in the next round.
“Showing off your love… careful not to trip…” Lu Mingfei mumbled, then nudged the dealer with his foot. “The first two are gone, why aren’t you following?”
The dealer stared blankly at its own hole cards, seemingly unable to accept such a complete reversal of its fate. It only snapped back to reality after being kicked by Lu Mingfei, letting out a crazed, hoarse cry, “I shouldn’t have come here… it’s too late to regret now… can I just keep a hand… no, I need to take a life!”
“A dialogue fanatic always has to finish their lines before dying.” The dealer collapsed into the pile of chips, disintegrating into a heap of bronze-colored dust.
The incandescent light went out with a “fizz.”
“Senior, are you tired?” Xia Mi asked.
“No problem. How much do you weigh? A hundred pounds? It’s just carrying a hundred pounds from Wangfujing to Pingguoyuan,” Chu Zihang said calmly.