Ludo looked at He Ao's expression and instinctively felt that something was off, but he could not tell what it was.
He glanced at his other facedown card, which he had yet to reveal. It was now his hole card.
His prosthetic eye quickly identified the card as [Two of Diamonds].
His two cards, Diamond 10 and Two of Diamonds, totaled twelve points. He Ao had Club 9 and Spade 2, totaling eleven points. He clearly had the advantage.
Twelve against eleven. The advantage was mine.
Looking at He Ao, he increasingly felt that this kid had developed some inexplicable confidence after the game began. Newbies who had just entered a casino often had this sort of confidence, believing themselves to be heaven's chosen and thinking they could win thirty-seven million from twenty bucks the moment they sat at the table.
Most of the time, he would have the dealer let these rookies win a little money and cultivate their habits. This was what casinos called a "newcomer's luck."
They called it newcomer's luck, but it was nothing more than manipulation.
And there would be no such "newcomer's luck" in this game.
After the two facedown cards were dealt came the drawing phase, with He Ao still going first.
Ludo adjusted his posture, placing his line of sight at just the right angle to see the pattern on the top card of the deck.
That way, he could see every card that came next and decide whether to draw.
"Draw?"
Selina looked at He Ao.
He Ao nodded lightly.
Selina flipped over the top card and placed it before He Ao. It was [Spade 6], bringing He Ao's three cards to seventeen points.
Selina then looked at Ludo.
"Draw!"
Ludo nodded as well. He received [Club 3], bringing his three-card total to fifteen points.
His expression darkened slightly.
Then, the two of them drew another two rounds.
He Ao received [Heart 2] and [Diamond A]. The A counted as one point, bringing his total to twenty.
Ludo received [Spade 3] and [Club A], bringing his total to nineteen.
Neither He Ao nor Ludo had looked at their facedown hole cards. Of course, Ludo already "knew" both of their hole cards.
In the fourth round, He Ao declined to draw. His visible cards totaled eighteen points, and his hole card was [Spade 2].
Ludo, meanwhile, looked at the top card of the deck. It was [Club 2]. His visible cards totaled seventeen points, and his hole card was [Two of Diamonds]. With this [Club 2], he would have twenty-one points—the highest hand in the game.
With his cheating, Ludo was practically playing with his cards faceup. He knew every card and could see both players' hole cards. As long as he handled things properly, he could not lose.
So he confidently chose to draw.
Selina flipped over the top card: [Club 2].
"The game is over, rookie."
Ludo looked at He Ao and slowly leaned back in his chair with confidence, his fingertips resting on his hole card.
His confidence made everyone around them tense.
Selina also watched He Ao nervously. Ludo's visible cards had reached nineteen points, higher than He Ao's eighteen. If Ludo's hole card was a 2, then his victory was practically certain.
Still, even if they lost this round, there were two more. It was acceptable.
"Wait."
Under Selina's gaze, He Ao slowly raised his hand and looked at Viktor. "Mr. Viktor, we're in a hurry. How about we settle this 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 did not make the decision. Instead, he turned to Ludo. "Ludo, what do you think?"
"Investigator Ander comes when he wants and leaves when he wants," Ludo said, lightly tapping his fingertips against his hole card. "He changes the rules whenever he wants. By casino rules, shouldn't he put up some extra stakes? If you win, we have to risk interfering with normal business. If you lose, you pay no price at all. Isn't that a little unfair?"
"What stakes do you want me to add?"
He Ao looked at him with interest.
"How about Investigator Ander adds one hand?" Ludo narrowed his eyes and smiled at He Ao. He would not let any chance for revenge slip away. Taking one hand would only be the appetizer.
Once this was over, he would hire some thugs to break He Ao's arms and legs, throw him into a filthy sewer, and let him watch himself rot and stink away bit by bit beneath the bites of maggots and rats until he died in agony.
The thought of that scene excited him. Looking at He Ao, he could not suppress the excitement in his voice.
"If you lose this round, Investigator Ander leaves one hand behind and may leave freely."
Then I'll secretly have someone beat you to death.
"What's the fun in betting just one hand?" He Ao smiled and stood up. Seeing Ludo's expression, he knew this man was probably thinking about how to torture him to death. He knew a thing or two about these deranged Wanted Criminals. In the Main World, Wanted Criminals like this were worth quite a lot.
He drew a Fine Steel Dagger from the waist of his Combat Suit, spun it in his hand, and threw it forward. The dagger stabbed precisely into the center of the gambling table. "Let's play bigger. Besides our previous agreement, whoever loses uses this knife to kill himself."
"Ander!"
Selina looked at Ander with some anger. This had originally been a harmless gamble, but raising it to a wager of life and death was going too far.
"It's fine." He Ao shook his head, signaling Selina not to worry. Then he looked at Ludo, who had been startled by the dagger. "It seems Mr. Ludo doesn't dare to gamble?"
He Ao turned to Selina. "See? I told you it was fine. He doesn't dare."
"I'll gamble!" Ludo abruptly stood up and slammed his fist onto the gambling table. Then he glared at He Ao with a savage expression. "I dare. The question is, do you?!"
His cards totaled twenty-one points. It was practically a guaranteed win. Even if He Ao also ended with twenty-one points, it would only be a tie. He could never lose. He Ao was handing his life to him—why would he refuse?
"What do I have to be afraid of?" He Ao looked at Viktor. "Mr. Viktor can serve as witness."
"Certainly!"
Viktor smiled and walked over.
With such stakes, the crowd immediately became lively. Everyone craned their necks forward, wanting to see the final result of this gamble.
He Ao was the first to slowly flip over his hole card.
"Spade 2." He calmly raised his head and looked at Ludo. "I have twenty points."
"A confident yet blind rookie." Seeing He Ao reveal his hole card, Ludo chuckled. He raised his chin and chest as he looked at He Ao, then flipped over his own hole card. "The game is over. Sorry, I have twenty-one points."
The room suddenly fell silent.
Wait, that was not the reaction there should have been!!
Ludo realized something was wrong.
He lowered his head and looked at his hole card. It was—
[Queen of Diamonds]
His cards totaled twenty-nine points. He had exceeded twenty-one, and his score dropped to zero.
"Looks like Mr. Ludo isn't very good at math." He Ao smiled and shrugged. He walked step by step to the center of the gambling table, pulled out the dagger embedded there, and with a bang--, drove it into the table in front of Ludo, startling him into taking half a step back.
"I wouldn't advise Mr. Ludo to kill himself. After all, inciting suicide is against the law." He left the dagger before Ludo, then looked at Viktor. "Can you let us in now?"
Ludo stared in horror at the dagger embedded before him.
Blankly, he turned over the [Queen of Diamonds]. Looking only at the pattern on its back, his prosthetic eye still identified it as [Two of Diamonds].
"No, no..." Countless images echoed through his mind. He suddenly recalled the shot He Ao had fired with the toy gun. The plastic bullet had struck the back of this card. He looked at He Ao in terror. "That was when?! How did you do it?"
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