Pressure

The voice sounded calm, so matter-of-fact, that Jiang He almost thought she misheard.

She looked up at Lu Xinyi, only to find Lu Xinyi's expression unchanged, as if she didn't think there was anything wrong with what she said.

"Wait, did something go wrong?

"Isn't it supposed to be taking turns winning cards?

"Shouldn't you fold at this point?"

Jiang He looked at Lu Xinyi in disbelief. Or rather, she had already realized some problems but found it hard to accept.

You can know someone's face but not their heart. Jiang He had considered the possibility of the other party dropping the pretense, but she didn't expect them to not even bother pretending for a second.

Lu Xinyi smiled indifferently, offering no explanation, and merely pointed to the timer on the gambling table.

"Everyone had best make a decision quickly."

"Blood Poker" not only had a one-hour limit for the entire game but also a one-minute limit for each person's thinking time at multi-player tables.

There was a small timer on the table; if one exceeded the time limit, it would automatically be treated as a fold.

After all, repeated betting could occur in every small round of the game, and it was necessary to avoid meaningless delays.

The bright red numbers on the timer continued to tick.

43

42

"Fine, fine, so you want to play it this way?"

Jiang He's expression turned grim. She hadn't expected that Lu Xinyi, who seemed so amiable, would be so utterly ruthless when dropping the pretense.

She picked up her hand cards on the table and glanced at them again.

A pair of 9s.

The cards were already known, but just in case, to avoid misreading them earlier, Jiang He looked again.

Unfortunately, this hand wasn't small, but it wasn't very big either. It would be difficult to win everything on the table.

The game continued. To the right of Lu Xinyi was another player from Community No. 3, a thin middle-aged man wearing glasses named Lu Mingxuan.

He threw another 3,000 chips into the betting area: "Raise."

It was Su Xiucen's turn. In this round, she was the dealer and also the last to act.

Before this, Jiang He, Lu Xinyi, and Lu Mingxuan had successively raised, and everyone else had already folded.

Su Xiucen also panicked; the current situation had completely disrupted her expectations.

Jiang He frowned: "Aunt Su, call."

Su Xiucen appeared even more flustered: "But, but..."

In Jiang He's view, the situation was clear: if Su Xiucen folded, it would be a pair of twos on the table, putting her in a very disadvantageous position. If Su Xiucen called, it would be two pairs, and her chances of winning would be greater.

But Su Xiucen's panicked expression had completely revealed that her cards, her hand, were very small.

During the brief stalemate, Lu Xinyi spoke.

She seemed to have completely shed her previous gentle and friendly disguise, her voice filled with aggression: "Auntie, don't try to hold on, just fold.

"In this game, from the moment you sat down at the table, you had no chance of winning.

"Of course, you can choose to stubbornly continue betting. No matter how much you raise, I will choose to call."

[Thinking time exceeded, automatically folded.]

As the notification sounded, Su Xiucen seemed to collapse, listlessly placing her hand cards back on the table.

In just one minute, it was difficult for her to make a decision.

At this point, to call, she would have to throw in another 3,000 chips. Su Xiucen's hand was small, and if she lost, she would lose 4,000 along with the ante, which was completely unbearable for her.

After all, losing all ten rounds, only losing the ante, would only be 10,000.

If she lost 4,000 in the very first round, what would happen afterward? Even if she luckily got a good hand, it would be difficult to make a comeback.

Amidst this struggle, one minute quickly passed.

It was Jiang He's turn again.

In the previous round, three people had chosen to raise, so the cards could not be revealed in this round.

The cards would only be revealed when only one person raised and everyone else called.

The bright red countdown started from 60 again, and Jiang He only had two options.

Either call or raise, or fold.

"I can't fold. If I completely surrender in the first round, I won't have any ability to fight back..."

"At least I need to see what their hand cards are.

"My hand is a pair of 9s, at least it's a pair. Playing against just the two of them, I'm not without a chance.

"Damn it, those who break the rules should be ganged up on by others, but why are the other three people from Community No. 3 not reacting at all?"

"Did they anticipate this situation from the beginning?

Why would two fold and two raise?"

Jiang He's mind was in chaos, too much information making it difficult to sort through her thoughts.

The countdown had only 20 seconds left.

Jiang He decided to call first.

However, just then, Lu Xinyi spoke.

"A friendly reminder, even if you choose to call now, the cards won't be revealed.

Because the two of us will keep raising until you've bet all your chips.

So, if your hand is truly strong, you might as well go all-in and save some time."

Jiang He, who had just picked up her chips, froze mid-air.

According to the game rules, if two people keep raising in a hand, the cards will never be revealed until everyone's chips are depleted and it becomes an all-in situation.

All-in, also known as 'suo ha' or ALL-IN, is the most desperate situation.

Win, and your chips double; lose, and your chips are wiped clean.

For Jiang He, she had mentally prepared herself to lose 4,000 chips, but she wasn't prepared to lose them all in the first round.

"Tick-tock."

[Thinking time expired, automatically folded.]

Jiang He felt as if all her strength was instantly drained, and the hand holding the chips drooped again.

"Raise."

"Fold."

Lu Mingxuan chose to fold. Without any player's hand being revealed, Lu Xinyi won all the chips on the table.

After deducting her own bet, she profited 9,000 chips.

Lu Mingxuan lost the most here, losing a total of 4,000 chips including the ante.

But Lu Mingxuan showed no emotion, nor did he even consider calling to see the cards, simply handing over all those chips.

This made Jiang He even more certain: the four players in Community No. 3 must have planned this setup from the very beginning.

But what Jiang He couldn't understand was that, according to the Gallery's matchmaking mechanism, Community No. 3 should have only been formed a day ago.

Why could they trust each other so unconditionally?

As analyzed at the beginning, although they were in the same community, players weren't exactly a community of interest. Lu Xinyi's earned Visa Time shouldn't have been tradable with others.

So why did the other three cooperate unconditionally?

Before Jiang He could figure this out, a new round was about to begin.

This time, Lu Xinyi was the dealer, and Lu Mingxuan, to her right, acted first.

Lu Mingxuan looked at his hand and said, "Fold."

This was somewhat unexpected for Jiang He. She had thought Lu Mingxuan would continue raising, repeating the act with Lu Xinyi from the previous round.

It was Aunt Su's turn, and she was flustered: "I, I this..."

She even subconsciously wanted to show Jiang He her hand but stopped herself, as it was against the rules.

Multiplayer gambling tables allowed players to engage in minor actions outside the rules, but actions like looking at each other's hands were strictly forbidden.

Jiang He comforted her, "It's okay, Aunt Su. If your hand is good, just call first."

However, before she could finish, Lu Xinyi interrupted her.

"Haven't you figured out the situation yet?

You have no chance of winning in this game. Any form of resistance will only lead to greater losses."