Gambling with Life

Ludo looked at He Ao's expression and subconsciously felt that something was off, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was for a moment.

He glanced at his other face-down card that hadn't been revealed yet. This card was now his hole card.

His bionic eye quickly determined the card's value: the Two of Diamonds.

At this moment, his two cards, the Diamond 10 and the Two of Diamonds, totaled 12 points. He Ao's were the Club 9 and the Spade 2, totaling 11 points. He clearly had the advantage.

Twelve to eleven, the advantage is mine.

He looked at He Ao and increasingly felt that this kid might be experiencing that mysterious confidence that appears after the game starts. Newbies who just enter a casino often have this kind of confidence, believing themselves to be favored by the heavens, capable of winning from 20 dollars to 37 million as soon as they sit at the table.

Most of the time, he would order the dealer to give these newbies some money to cultivate their habit. This was the casino's so-called 'newbie luck'.

It was called newbie luck, but it was merely artificial.

And in this game, there was no 'newbie luck'.

After dealing the two face-down cards, it was the hit phase. It was still He Ao's turn first.

Ludo adjusted his sitting posture so that his line of sight was at an angle where he could see the pattern on the top card of the deck.

This way, he could see every subsequent card and decide whether or not to hit.

"Card?"

Selina looked at He Ao.

He Ao nodded slightly.

Selina turned over the top card and placed it in front of He Ao. This card was the Spade 6. Now He Ao's three cards totaled seventeen points.

Selina then looked at Ludo.

"Hit!"

Ludo also nodded. He received a Club 3. His three cards now totaled fifteen points.

His expression became a little grim.

Immediately after, both of them took two more rounds of cards.

He Ao received a Heart 2 and a Diamond A. The A counted as 1 point, for a total of twenty points.

Ludo received a Spade 3 and a Club A, for a total of nineteen points.

Neither He Ao nor Ludo had seen the face-down hole card. Of course, Ludo already 'knew' both of their hole cards at this point.

In the fourth round, He Ao gave up hitting. His face-up points were eighteen, and his hole card was the Spade 2.

Ludo, on the other hand, looked at the top card of the deck. It was a Club 2. His face-up points were seventeen, and his hole card was the Two of Diamonds. Adding this Club 2, he would have twenty-one points, the largest hand in this game.

Under the circumstances of cheating, Ludo was practically playing this game with open cards. He knew every card and could see both sides' hole cards. As long as he operated properly, he was invincible.

So he confidently hit.

Selina turned over the top card, the Club 2.

"The game is over, rookie."

Ludo looked at He Ao, slowly and confidently leaning back in his chair, his fingertips resting on his hole card.

His confidence made everyone around him nervous.

Selina also looked at He Ao nervously. Ludo's face-up cards now totaled nineteen points, higher than He Ao's eighteen points. If Ludo's hole card was a 2, his victory would be almost certain.

However, even if they lost this round, there were still two more, which was acceptable.

"Wait a moment."

Under Selina's gaze, He Ao slowly raised his hand. He looked at Viktor, "Mr. Viktor, we're in a hurry. How about we settle it in one round? If I win, you let us in to find someone. If I lose, we'll leave on our own."

Viktor looked at He Ao with interest, but he didn't make a decision. Instead, he looked at Ludo, "Ludo, what do you think?"

"Investigator Ander comes and goes as he pleases," Ludo tapped his fingertips on his hole card, gently knocking. "He changes the rules as he pleases. According to the casino rules, shouldn't we add some stakes? After all, if you win, we risk disrupting normal business. If you lose, there's no cost. Isn't that a bit unfair?"

"What stakes do you want me to add?"

He Ao looked at him with interest.

"How about adding one of Investigator Ander's hands?" Ludo narrowed his eyes, smiling as he looked at He Ao. He wouldn't miss any opportunity for revenge. Leaving a hand was just an appetizer.

After the matter was over, he would find some thugs, break He Ao's hands and feet, and throw him into a dirty sewer, letting He Ao watch himself rot and stink little by little under the gnawing of maggots and rats, dying in agony.

Thinking of this scene, he couldn't help but get excited. He looked at He Ao, his voice filled with suppressed excitement,

"If you lose this round, Investigator Ander can leave freely after leaving one hand."

Then I'll secretly find someone to beat you to death.

"Betting a hand is too boring," He Ao smiled and stood up. Seeing Ludo's expression, he knew this guy was probably thinking about how to torture and kill him. He had some understanding of this kind of perverted wanted criminal. In the main world, such wanted criminals were very valuable.

So he pulled out a fine steel dagger from the waist of his combat uniform, twirled it, and threw it forward. The dagger accurately inserted into the center of the gambling table. "How about we play bigger? In addition to the previous agreement, whoever loses will use this knife to commit suicide."

"Ander!"

Selina looked at Ander with some anger. This was originally a gamble with little impact, but raising it to the level of betting lives was too much.

"It's okay," He Ao shook his head, signaling Selina not to worry. Then he looked at Ludo, who was startled by the dagger, "Mr. Ludo seems afraid to gamble?"

He Ao turned his head to Selina, "See? I said it's okay, he doesn't dare."

"I'll gamble!" Ludo suddenly stood up, slammed his fist on the gambling table, and then looked at He Ao with a ferocious expression, "I dare, do you dare?!"

His total points now added up to twenty-one, which was almost a sure win. Even if He Ao also had twenty-one in the end, it would be a tie. He absolutely couldn't lose. Why wouldn't he take He Ao's life when it was delivered to his hands?

"What am I afraid of?" He Ao looked at Viktor, "Mr. Viktor can be a witness."

"Okay!"

Viktor walked over with a smile.

With this bet, the crowd immediately became lively. Everyone craned their necks, wanting to see the final outcome of this gamble.

He Ao slowly turned over his hole card first.

"Spade 2," he calmly raised his head and looked at Ludo, "I have a total of twenty points."

"A confident but blind rookie," Ludo chuckled when he saw He Ao turn over his hole card. He looked at He Ao with his head held high and chest out, and turned over his own hole card, "The game is over. Sorry, I have twenty-one points."

The scene fell into sudden silence.

Wait, this isn't the reaction I expected!!

Ludo realized something was wrong.

He lowered his head and looked at his hole card. His hole card was the

[Queen of Diamonds]

All his points added up to twenty-nine, exceeding twenty-one, so his points were zero.

"It seems Mr. Ludo isn't good at math," He Ao said with a smile, shrugging his shoulders. He walked step by step to the center of the gambling table, reached out and pulled out the dagger stuck in the center of the table, and with a 'bang', he plunged it in front of Ludo, scaring Ludo back half a step.

"I don't recommend Mr. Ludo taking his own life. After all, inciting suicide is against the law," He left the dagger in front of Ludo, then looked at Viktor, "Can we go in now?"

Ludo looked in horror at his own dagger stuck in front of him.

He blankly flipped over the [Queen of Diamonds]. Just by looking at the pattern on the back, the result analyzed by his bionic eye was still the [Two of Diamonds].

"No, no," countless images echoed in his mind. He suddenly remembered the shot He Ao fired with the toy gun. The plastic bullet from that shot hit the back of this card. He looked at He Ao in horror, "It was then?! How did you do it?"