Bluff

Had he built up quite a bit of luck?

Was his fortune turning around?

Lu Xinyi almost laughed, and her suspicions were further confirmed.

Unlike the other three steady players from Community No. 17, Lin Sizhi was probably a gambler who liked to go all in.

He had most likely gotten a little taste of success while betting against the Chip Exchange Machine, gotten carried away, and then lost many rounds in a row.

Many gamblers had a strange obsession with luck. For instance, after losing too much, they believed they were bound to win big next.

But real-world probabilities did not come with pity systems like gacha games.

Still, Lu Xinyi was not so easily convinced.

Whether he was a real gambler or merely pretending to be one would ultimately have to be determined by his raises, calls, and folds over the course of the game.

A gambler's true intentions could only be seen when their actions were paired with the value of their chips.

The game began.

Everyone took out 1,000 chips and tossed them into the betting area on the table.

As before, the mechanical arm took out a new deck of cards, shuffled it randomly, and dealt them in order.

Lu Xinyi was the dealer, while Lu Mingxuan was still seated on her right.

"Fold."

Lu Mingxuan directly threw down his cards.

The four people from Community No. 3 had already developed a tacit understanding. Lu Mingxuan's action showed that his hand was not particularly strong, so the other two teammates could only be relied upon to raise.

It was Lin Sizhi's turn.

He carefully spread apart the overlapping cards in his hand and gave them a quick glance.

Then, without a word, he threw four 1,000-point chips onto the table.

"Raise."

After saying that, Lin Sizhi calmly stared at Lu Xinyi, the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

Lu Xinyi's brows lifted slightly.

Raising straight to 4,000 points right from the start meant that Lin Sizhi and Jiang He were definitely not the same kind of player.

He really did seem more like a gambler who enjoyed going all in.

But the question was, had Lin Sizhi truly been dealt a powerful hand, or was he bluffing?

Many veteran gamblers were adept at this. Even with a weak hand, they could use superb acting and manipulation to make their opponent believe they held strong cards, forcing them to fold.

It had to be said that Lin Sizhi was a much better actor than Jiang He. For a moment, Lu Xinyi could not see through him.

But Lu Xinyi noticed that Lin Sizhi's hands were clasped together, seemingly trembling ever so slightly where no one could see.

Was that part of the act too?

Lu Xinyi's mind raced.

Qin Yao chose to fold. That was perfectly normal, because calling now would require adding 4,000 chips at once.

Lu Xinyi knew that even if Qin Yao had exchanged blood for chips, she probably would not have exchanged much. She likely had only around 30,000 chips at most, so there was no need to force a call with a bad hand.

Lu Xinyi's gaze swept across the faces of the other three people from Community No. 3.

Clearly, none of them had particularly strong hands, and hesitation showed on their faces.

"You should all fold."

Lu Xinyi picked up four 1,000-point chips from the pile in front of her one after another. "I have to admit, you're much better than that foolish girl from before, and you've got a lot more nerve too.

"I really can't tell whether you actually have a strong hand or are bluffing.

"But unfortunately, you should have come in the previous game.

"Because my chip stack is much bigger than yours now. I can call your bluffs many times without any psychological burden.

"I bet you don't have a strong hand.

"Call."

Lin Sizhi's expression stiffened, and his fingers instinctively clenched.

One player raised, and another called. The cards were automatically revealed.

Lin Sizhi silently turned over his hand.

Three of hearts, seven of clubs, five of hearts.

Lu Xinyi's lips curved slightly as she revealed her cards. "I've got ace-high junk. Thanks."

As the mechanical arm swept all the chips on the table over to Lu Xinyi, Qin Yao seemed to grow a little nervous as well.

Clearly, having his bluff exposed in the very first round was highly disadvantageous for the rounds to come.

The psychological pressure borne by the two sides was simply not on the same level.

Lin Sizhi seemed to recover quickly. He forced out a smile. "It's only one round. Winning and losing are both common at the poker table. Let's continue."

In the second round, Lu Xinyi was the dealer.

Lu Mingxuan raised by 1,000. His hand seemed decent this time.

Lin Sizhi carefully examined his cards. This time, he spent noticeably longer thinking than before.

A moment later, he took four more 1,000-point chips from his pocket.

"Raise."

Lu Xinyi was somewhat surprised, because it was rare to see someone continue bluffing in the very next round after having their bluff caught in the previous one.

Perhaps Lin Sizhi really did have a strong hand this time?

But perhaps he was exploiting that very assumption in reverse.

Lu Xinyi looked at her own cards. Unfortunately, her hand this time was terrible, merely seven-high junk.

In that situation, even if Lin Sizhi really was bluffing, she would have a hard time catching him.

What was more, Qin Yao, seated to Lin Sizhi's right, actually took out a handful of chips from her pocket, counted out 5,000, and gently placed them in the betting area.

"I'll raise too."

The large pile of chips in the betting area instantly made the atmosphere tense.

Lu Xinyi stared at Qin Yao, wanting to find some clue in her microexpressions, but found nothing.

Judging from Qin Yao's expression, she truly was nervous. But the problem was that this time, she was playing with Lin Sizhi rather than Jiang He.

Lu Xinyi knew that Lin Sizhi must have explained some basic coordination tactics to Qin Yao before coming here.

Therefore, Lu Xinyi could not tell whether Qin Yao's nervous expression came from bluffing or from anxiety over some special plan.

"A double bluff?

"But judging by the number of chips, it seems more likely that Qin Yao really got a strong hand..."

Lu Xinyi knew Qin Yao did not have many chips. Even if she had exchanged blood for them, she would have had just over 30,000 at most.

Betting 5,000 chips at once was definitely no small amount.

It seemed that Qin Yao's hand should be good.

But Lu Xinyi could not rule out the possibility that both of them were bluffing. This round had to go to a reveal, or the mystery would never be answered.

But simply calling was not enough to reveal the cards.

Because Lin Sizhi and Qin Yao had raised together precisely to drive the pot ever higher.

If Lu Xinyi called this round, Lin Sizhi and Qin Yao would keep raising, pushing it to 8,000 or even 10,000.

Just like how Lu Xinyi and Lu Mingxuan had played before.

Paying such a huge price just to see the cards would not be worthwhile.

But Lu Xinyi was not worried, because she had another method.

The young man to Qin Yao's right had already folded. With a weak hand, 5,000 chips exceeded what he could bear.

After thinking for a moment, Lu Xinyi gave an instruction to the next player, the woman seated on her left.

"Sister Liu, follow them to the end this round."

Sister Liu froze for a moment, wanting to explain again that her hand was truly very weak.

But Lu Xinyi shook her head slightly, signaling for her not to say more.

Sister Liu could only lower her head and look at the few chips in her hand. "All right."

She had the worst luck among the four people from Community No. 3. In the previous game with Jiang He, she had lost far more than she won, and now she had only 7,000 chips left.

Of course, most of her chips had been won by Lu Xinyi and Lu Mingxuan.

All four people from Community No. 3 had weak hands, but at least one person had to call in order to reveal the cards.

The more chips someone had, the greater the risk of calling all the way to the end. On the contrary, someone like Sister Liu, who had few chips, could go all in at the end and lose at most 7,000 chips.

In terms of chip count, that was the optimal solution.

Sister Liu took out 5,000 chips and called.

When it came to Lu Xinyi and Lu Mingxuan, both of them indeed chose to fold.

Lu Mingxuan's hand was decent, but the stakes in this round had somewhat exceeded what he could bear.

Lu Xinyi was their backbone. She needed to observe further before giving a clear instruction, so to be safe, Lu Mingxuan still chose to fold.

"So many people folded?

"That's a little regrettable. I'll keep raising, then."

Lin Sizhi once again took out a 2,000-point chip and tossed it into the betting area.

"I'll raise too." Qin Yao also took out a 2,000-point chip.

Sister Liu looked at Lu Xinyi. After receiving an affirming look, she threw all 2,000 of her remaining chips into the betting area.