Free Gambling Game

At this moment, the chips that the "Chip Exchange Machine" had won were neatly stacked inside by the mechanical arm, covered by a thick, transparent glass.

In that instant, Qin Yao had some thoughts, such as what would happen if she tried to snatch the chips directly from the mechanical arm during a gamble?

But she quickly dismissed the idea because she was firmly locked in her seat throughout the entire exchange process and couldn't reach the chips at all. Moreover, the "Gallery" had made it very clear that any behavior that violated the rules would inevitably result in penalties such as "Deduct Visa Time" or even "expulsion."

Don't court death by touching the red line.

Leaving the small booth for exchanging chips, Qin Yao's eyes lit up, and she greedily breathed in the fresh air.

Compared to that dark, cramped, and oxygen-depriving narrow booth, the area outside was like heaven.

It was a bit like a lounge area in a high-end bar or cafe, with spacious sofas, exquisite coffee tables, and an old record player playing vinyl records. The melodious sound inexplicably added a touch of artistic flair to the entire scene.

The most spacious area had two giant gambling tables, each with 8 seats.

The booths for the "Chip Exchange Zone" were located at the edge of the entire scene. They looked dilapidated and simple, with rough, uneven cement walls stained with dirt, completely different in style.

At this moment, the doors of the other booths also opened one after another.

To Qin Yao's surprise, two familiar faces emerged.

"Sister Jiang He? Aunt Su! We're in the same round?"

Qin Yao's joy was evident, as the people coming out of the adjacent booths were acquaintances she had already met in Community No. 17: Player No. 2, Jiang He, and Player No. 8, Su Xiucen.

"Yao Yao! I'm so happy to see you!" Jiang He also seemed very pleased, even hugging her excitedly.

"But... what's going on?" Jiang He frowned, looking at the only booth that hadn't opened.

Su Xiucen pointed across: "Hey, look quickly! There's someone over there too!"

Qin Yao followed Su Xiucen's gaze to the other side of the gambling floor and found that there were also four "Chip Exchange Zone" booths on that side, from which four completely unfamiliar faces emerged one after another.

On her side, there were also four booths, but one had never opened.

"Is there anyone inside? Could they be from our community too? Why haven't they come out?"

Jiang He stepped forward to take a look. The booth door remained tightly locked, and the red indicator meant the internal lock hadn't been opened, so entry was impossible.

"Hello, is anyone there?"

Jiang He gently knocked on the booth door but received no response.

Although these booths looked simple, their soundproofing was actually very good. When everyone was inside earlier, they couldn't hear any external sounds at all.

"Could they have died inside..."

Jiang He's expression changed, and such a guess suddenly flashed through her mind.

To exchange chips, one had to draw blood. If too much blood was drawn, it was entirely possible to fall unconscious or even die.

Su Xiucen subconsciously took a few steps back from the booth.

Qin Yao quickly said, "Sister Jiang He, let's not worry about unimportant things for now. The game isn't over yet.

"Look, the screen says we still have to play at least one game with players from other communities before we can leave here."

Jiang He looked at the two large gambling tables in the center of the venue. On the wall directly in front of the multi-player tables, there was a large screen clearly displaying the game rules.

[Players from Community No. 3 and Community No. 17, welcome to "Blood Poker."]

[Players who have finished exchanging chips can proceed to the automatic gambling tables in the center of the venue to play.]

[The game rules are still "Simplified Golden Flower," with slight differences in the specific rules for multi-player games. Detailed rules and hand rankings can be found on the tables.]

[The gambling tables can automatically shuffle, deal, and collect cards according to the rules, helping everyone complete the games fairly and impartially.]

[The number of players at the multi-player tables is limited to 2 to 8 people. Each table must have "at least 1 player from another community" at the start.]

[The default ante for the tables is 1000 chips.]

[Once a table game begins, players must complete 10 rounds or use up all their chips to leave.]

[Any violent or rule-breaking behavior is strictly prohibited during this game, or you will face an Instant Death Punishment.]

[The game time is 90 minutes.]

[At the end of the game, the Gallery will tally the players' chip counts. After the players return to their communities, the chips will be converted into corresponding Visa Time.]

[If no game has been played with other players at the end of the game, 10000 minutes of Visa Time will be deducted.]

[Will it be Full of Pots, or Lose All Capital?]

[The game has begun, good luck!]

A countdown had already appeared on the large screen. The current time was 1:25:33, meaning the time spent in the chip exchange area was also included in this hour and a half.

The bright red numbers flickered continuously. The "tick-tock" sound, though not loud, created an extremely urgent feeling.

Jiang He instantly realized something and asked, "Yao Yao, Aunt Su, how many chips do you have left? I have 19,000 left."

Qin Yao counted the chips in her hand: "18,000."

Su Xiucen held her chips tightly: "I have 18,000 too."

Clearly, this Visa Time was very precious to Su Xiucen.

She only had 16 days of Visa Time remaining. If she could take these chips out when leaving, her remaining Visa Time would double.

"Did you all also exchange 200ml of blood? And... did you call?" Jiang He asked.

Qin Yao and Su Xiucen looked at each other, then nodded.

Since everyone went through the same process when betting against the "Chip Exchange Machine," it was easy to guess the situation based on the remaining chips.

The 1000 chips the two women had less than Jiang He were clearly the losses from calling and seeing the cards twice.

Jiang He sighed, "Why would you call? That kind of wishful thinking is no good.

"This game is obviously unfair, so running away decisively is the right move.

"Just a little bit of curiosity or stubbornness, and you've actually lost 500 yuan.

"But this loss is still acceptable. No one should be stupid enough to raise their bet or continue gambling in this situation."

After speaking, she glanced at the compartment that still hadn't opened, wondering what was happening inside.

Su Xiucen sighed, "I understand. Let's just consider this money a lesson learned..."

As someone who was frugal, losing a thousand yuan for no reason made her heart ache.

Qin Yao wasn't as upset, she just felt the game rules were unfair: "This Chip Exchange Machine could have just robbed us directly, but it pretended to play two rounds with us."

Given the current odds of winning and losing, betting against the "Chip Exchange Machine" was the absolute worst choice.

The Chip Exchange Machine drawing one more card greatly increased its probability of forming a better hand, giving it a huge advantage in the game of "Simplified Golden Flower."

"So what do we do now? Should we gamble with those people?" Su Xiucen was a bit at a loss.

Qin Yao thought for a moment and said, "We probably still have to gamble, right?

"If we don't gamble, we'll be directly deducted 10,000 minutes of visa time. But if we gamble, even if we lose the ante for all ten rounds, it's only 10,000.

"During this time, as long as we get a relatively big hand in any single round, we can earn a lot back."

Jiang He shook her head slightly, "It's not that simple.

"The situation at the gambling table changes rapidly. How can you be sure that what you got is a 'relatively big hand'?

"There's a situation called 'nemesis cards,' meaning you get a decent big hand, but someone else happens to have a better hand than you.

"In such a situation, if you confidently raise your bet, you'll just be wiped out. In that case, the loss won't be just 10,000, but you'll lose all your capital."

Qin Yao was a bit doubtful, "But this is a low probability event, isn't it? If we're afraid of this and keep folding, won't we never be able to win?"

Jiang He pondered seriously for a moment, "I think we should still go to the gambling table, but we don't necessarily have to gamble entirely according to the game rules.

"This game actually has a 'Perfect Solution'."