Three-Player Dou Dizhu

Choosing one of fifty-four playing cards is a chance of less than 2%.

What happens if I choose the wrong one?

"Die."

When Rein heard this expected remark, he frowned.

He shook his head and said again, "Mr. Metternich, I'm afraid I can't help you."

Rein never thought he was very lucky. If it weren't for the cheat code and his caution, he would have died many times over on this time travel journey.

This 54% probability is practically a death sentence.

He felt that it was better to leave this opportunity for "suicide" to Metternich himself.

He didn't want to get involved in this life-and-death karma because of someone he wasn't very familiar with.

"That would be a pity."

Metternich didn't seem to care, and smiled slightly, as if he took life and death lightly.

He saw through Rein's thoughts and said, "Originally, choosing to gamble with poker wasn't about pure probability, but about 'luck.' I think your luck is better than mine no matter what. But since Mr. Rein isn't willing to do me this small favor, then forget it."

It seemed he had given up the chance to flip the cards; with a wave of his hand, the phantom cards disappeared again.

"."

Rein was puzzled by these words.

Is gambling on luck the same as gambling on probability? What's the difference between the two?

He asked, "Aren't you going to try it yourself?"

Metternich shook his head. "I'm not trying."

Rein: "???"

"Because I knew I was doomed to lose."

Metternich smiled.

Having always been an expert in gambling, how could he not understand his own situation? He calmly said, "The biggest taboo in gambling is insisting on gambling when you yourself are not even sure of winning. Whether this game starts or not, I have no chance of winning."

Hearing this, Rein became even more curious about the backlash from the "Gambler Sequence" ability and asked, "What will happen if I don't choose it?"

"If I choose, I'll die immediately. If I don't choose, I'll probably live for another two or three days."

Metternich spoke casually, as if it were none of his business, and added, "But it's pointless to live a few more days now. What's meant to happen will happen, and the ending is already set."

As he spoke, he narrowed his eyes, revealing a fox-like smile, and said meaningfully, "It's all over."

But this time, he didn't give off a scheming vibe; instead, he had a relieved and carefree smile.

Originally Rein and Ymir wanted to take this guy out of the Oma Imperial Capital, but now it seems that whether they take him out or not is not very meaningful.

This guy seems to be planning to die here too.

As Metternich said, his life was always in his own hands, and whether he lived or died had nothing to do with the Old Emperor's pardon.

Since this guy wasn't planning to leave, Rein didn't intend to keep him any longer. "In that case, Mr. Metternich, take care."

"Etc."

At this moment, Metternich suddenly smiled and said, "It's really boring to be here for so long and not be able to find a single person to play cards."

The gambling mentality is ingrained in a gambler's bones; even in the last moment of their life, they cannot forget this hobby.

He paused for a moment, then added, "Since you're already here, Mr. Rein, would you be interested in playing a few hands of cards with me?"

"Good."

Without hesitation, Rein agreed immediately.

He didn't have a bad impression of the squinty-eyed man.

Although I can't help this guy choose the cards to decide his fate, I can still accompany him to enjoy the game of cards at the end of his life.

Metternich's face lit up with a bright smile as he looked at his new card-playing opponent.

He flipped his hand and took out a deck of cards, then skillfully began shuffling them.

The shuffling of the cards was dazzling, and he added, "We didn't have enough fun at the Plague Base last time. Let's have a proper game this time."

He paused, then said with great interest, "It would be perfect if you two told me about your 'Black Dragon City.' Those intelligence gatherers always bring back very incomplete information, which naturally can't compare to the details you two provide."

Rein: "Okay."

Metternich extended a warm invitation to Rein and Ymir, but not to Andrew.

Andrew, of course, wouldn't play cards with this guy.

Then the three of them sat down at a table and started playing "Dou Dizhu" (a popular Chinese card game).

Although Ymir had never played poker before, she sat down with Rein.

The rules of Dou Dizhu are very simple; she learned them immediately after just a brief explanation.

Ymir's expression remained serious throughout his encounter with Metternich.

One reason is temperament and habits;

Secondly, this guy was, after all, a legendary powerhouse with bizarre abilities, and had previously shown some "hostile" behavior, which made her wary of him.

"Three against three."

"Sixes in a row".

"Pass."

"."

The three of them quickly got into playing, but the atmosphere was a little tense.

"34567, a straight."

Metternich seemed to have seen through Ymir's thoughts. Between playing his cards, he smiled and explained, "Miss Ymir, although it seems we had some conflicts in the past, I have never intended to harm you."

Ymir raised an eyebrow but remained silent.

Rein, however, glanced at him curiously, casting an inquisitive look his way.

Perhaps because he was about to die, Metternich had nothing left to hide, so he revealed all his arrangements.

"Back then, when you were ambushed by Prince William of Sid at Storm Lake, although I was the one who arranged the plan, they would have killed you even if it wasn't me. In addition, I specifically had someone warn you, which is why you avoided that sure-kill trap."

Upon hearing this, Ymir's expression changed slightly, and she asked with a hint of surprise, "You arranged for that person to come back then?"

When Blood Prince William of Storm Lake ambushed her, already severely wounded, there was no doubt that she would have died. However, because one of the ambush attackers was exposed beforehand, Ymir became alert and escaped the deadly trap.

"Yes."

Metternich shrugged and said, "After all, you are the person I think is most likely to take charge after Omar is destroyed. I also find your 'New Deal' very interesting, and they may be a hope for progress in this era."

"."

Ymir listened without replying.

She met Rein in the Ice Ridge Wasteland after Storm Lake.

In retrospect, it seems that they have actually "turned misfortune into blessing."

"Report to number 2."

At this moment, the man with squinty eyes played two of his last three cards and said, "You survived by 'accident,' and at that time you were the strongest contender for the Imperial Throne, so those Established Nobles naturally did not give up their desire to kill you."

"But given the circumstances back then, that old man was nearing the end. Even if you ascended the throne, your 'reform New Deal's were destined to fail. The Established Nobles groups would join forces to perpetuate this filthy aristocratic system."

As he said this, a cold glint flashed in Metternich's eyes, and he said in a sinister tone, "Besides, I want that old man and that woman to watch the power they care about most crumble before their own eyes, so naturally I won't let them do that."

Ymir said calmly, "So, you deliberately made it seem like you wanted to kill me, forcing Dopler to send me away?"

This is what the Old Emperor told her before.

Later, in City of Radiance, they even delivered intelligence, helping her evade a conspiracy targeting her small city-building force. That's how things came to be.

From this perspective, this guy, while not a friend, is at least not an enemy.

"Yes."

Metternich nodded nonchalantly and said, "One of the possibilities I originally predicted was that after the Omar split, you would return to take charge. And in that chaotic order, you would wield even more power than before."

At this point, he frowned again, revealing a helpless expression, and said, "But I don't know why, your 'Black Dragon City' suddenly appeared out of nowhere and brought me a big surprise."

Upon hearing this, Rein seemed to realize something.

If he hadn't traveled through time, the story of the Oma Empire would have unfolded according to Metternich's deductions.

His arrival caused a butterfly effect, which led to the formation of "Black Dragon City".

"A 5. Sorry, you two, I won."

Metternich won the hand and muttered to himself, "The changes in all things follow certain patterns; every cause has its effect. And my divination and deductions have never made such a big mistake before. Your 'Black Dragon City' seems to be a miracle that should never have appeared in this era. But it did."

After a pause, he uttered a profound statement. "It's like the ' JOKER Card in poker; it's the only poker card that's outside the rules."

In poker, the 52 cards of AK, regardless of the rules, almost all have their own fixed value and purpose.

But the "Joker Card is outside the rules.

As the deck continued to shuffle, Metternich asked, "So, I'm very curious, how exactly was your 'Black Dragon City' established? Every piece of intelligence I've received says that a city appeared out of thin air in the 'Karatva Basin,' and nobody knows exactly how you did it."

As he spoke, he looked at Rein with curiosity.

It seems he wanted to get the answer to this question before he died.

Ymir felt that there was something more important than idle chatter.

She heard the phrase "Omar Collapse" come out of this guy's mouth many times.

That's jarring.

After all, it was an empire founded by their ancestors Spurglin Family. Although it was already decaying and rotten, Ymir couldn't bear to see it destroyed before his eyes.

She then asked, "Mr. Metternich, what exactly did you do to make you so certain that Omar will collapse?"

"This one?"

Metternich smiled.

According to seniority, Metternich should call Ymir his aunt.

But neither of them seemed to have any intention of claiming kinship.

He didn't hide anything, but a sneer crept onto his lips as he said, "That old man's lifespan declined so drastically because he was poisoned. And the poison was administered personally by His Her Majesty the Empress, the woman who shared his bed."

"."

Upon hearing this, Ymir's gaze darkened.

Although they had previously suspected that the Old Emperor had been poisoned, the toxin had not left any trace in his body.

Now that Metternich himself has admitted it, things have taken a turn for the better.

King murder and usurpation?

Haha, that empress, she's quite the schemer!

If the First Prince Quentin, hadn't died, their plan would probably have succeeded.

Of course, now that we know this is the plan of the squinty-eyed man, Quentin, even if he doesn't die, will never be able to ascend the throne.

At this point, Metternich's expression became strange again. "When I did the divination, I knew that the Empress would lose her chance to compete for the Imperial Throne, and I found it unbelievable. Even now, I still can't understand it. She clearly had many good cards in her hand, and there was no way she would be eliminated so easily. But yet, she was eliminated."

He then gave Rein a strange look and said directly, "I didn't expect you to actually break through the Oma Royal Academy of Sciences and destroy her biggest card."

Even though Metternich exclaimed that it was a demon, he never expected it to turn out this way.

After all, who would have thought that someone could breach the Royal Academy of Sciences in the Oma Imperial Capital?

Kill Dean Breidan?

Rein became interested and wanted to know what he had planned, so he asked, "And then, Mr. Metternich, which prince do you think will seize the throne?"

Metternich shook his head, showing no intention of revealing the answer, and laughed, "It would be no fun if I told you. You'll find out tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Rein and Ymir didn't ask any further questions.

The three played a few more rounds, but Metternich's card skills were indeed far superior to Rein' and the other two, and he kept winning.

The conversation about Omar's political situation couldn't continue, so they started talking about Black Dragon City.

This conversation left Metternich, this "all-knowing" fellow, completely dumbfounded.

"So... there are flying Mechanical City in this world?! You found a wreckage and that's how you built 'Black Dragon City'?"

"That guy from City of Radiance, he worships a living god?"

"Beyond the Mist, there are other human worlds, and above the Fifth-tier Extraordinary, there is even Sixth-tier Extraordinary?"

"."

As Rein recounted these absurd facts, Metternich was so shocked that he was speechless.

At this moment, some of his own beliefs were completely overturned.

The "Gambler Sequence" possesses divination abilities, but it is not omniscient or omnipotent.

The diviner's ability is not to directly obtain the result, but to deduce and reconstruct the reasonable course of events based on certain "phenomena" obtained through divination.

All these speculations are based on the diviner's understanding.

Metternich was incredibly gifted, yet he was unable to predict things beyond his comprehension.

What "mechanical airship," what "living evil god," what "world Beyond the Mist"?

If it hadn't come from Rein, Metternich would never have believed that such things existed in this world.

After hearing this, Metternich completely lost interest in playing cards, muttering to himself in shock, "So that's how it is."

Then, for the first time, Rein saw that this "squinty-eyed" person's eyes could open so wide, and that they were gleaming with a sharp light.

Unlike his previous calm acceptance of death, Metternich suddenly wanted to live again.

He had already avenged his great grudge, and his Transcendent advancement in the Gambler Sequence had come to an end. He thought there was nothing left in this world for him to look forward to.

Death did not frighten him at all.

Unexpectedly, they suddenly heard the scenery of the world outside the "bottom of the well".

After a moment of shock, Metternich regained his composure, but with a hint of regret, muttering, "If I had the chance to survive, I really wanted to see Mr. Rein's Black Dragon City, to see the world beyond the mist."

At this moment, he suddenly said, "If I draw a card now, my chances of surviving might be about 10%."

Rein found it strange and asked, "Shouldn't it be one-fifty-fourteenth? How did it become one-tenth?"

Metternich chuckled and explained, "As I said before, these Fate Card aren't purely about probability, but rather a gamble on 'luck.' Before, I didn't have a strong will to survive, so the probability was zero. Now..."

Metternich stopped mid-sentence, as if struck by a sudden realization. He slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "I finally understand!"

Rein was almost startled by the loud shout.

He looked at the increasingly wide-open squinty eyes with a puzzled expression and asked, "What do you understand?"

He felt that such intense emotion shouldn't be showing on this guy's face.

Metternich looked at Rein, his eyes burning with passion, and replied, "I finally understand why my previous deductions went wrong!"

Rein felt slightly uneasy under that intense, almost gay-sounding gaze.

"Mr. Rein, let's make a bet!"

Metternich, beaming with pride, shuffled the cards again and placed them face down on the table. "Same rules as always, draw a card and bet on big or small! If you win, I'll do your 'fortune telling'!"

Rein felt this guy was getting too excited, so he asked, "What if I lose?"

"You lost, which proves I was wrong. Nothing has changed."

Metternich squinted and said meaningfully, "If you win, it means I guessed right. I might actually survive!"