"Ransom"

Lu Xinyi's expression darkened. Just as Lin Sizhi had said, she and Lu Mingxuan had been kidnapped.

As long as Lin Sizhi and Qin Yao kept raising against each other, each spending a minute of thinking time, they could easily burn through all the remaining time in the game after a few rounds.

It meant nothing to Lin Sizhi and Qin Yao, but it would keep Lu Xinyi and Lu Mingxuan trapped at the table, naturally preventing them from looking for a loophole in the Chip Exchange Machine.

"What do you want?" At this moment, Lu Xinyi finally cracked a little.

Lin Sizhi spoke unhurriedly. "You guessed right. The Chip Exchange Machine really does have a loophole.

"And it's very easy to verify.

"But right now, I don't want you leaving this table."

Lu Xinyi frowned. "What do you want?"

Lin Sizhi played with his chips. "The two of you bet all your chips, then fold. That is the ransom."

Lu Xinyi nearly laughed in anger. "You're dreaming."

At the moment, she had 37,000 chips, while Lu Mingxuan had more than 40,000.

Together, that was close to 80,000 chips—not a small amount.

"Is that so? Think about it again.

"At the Chip Exchange Machine, if you're lucky, two minutes is enough to earn far more than 80,000.

"If you're unlucky, ten minutes will still be enough."

As he spoke, Lin Sizhi reached into his suit pocket and pulled out another handful of chips, spreading them across his palm for Lu Xinyi to see.

Lu Xinyi's expression instantly froze. There were chips worth 5,000 and even 10,000 among them, and more than one of each.

That handful of chips was worth at least 50,000, by a rough estimate.

Now Lu Xinyi understood where Lin Sizhi's confidence came from. From the beginning, the amount of chips they possessed had never been on the same level.

She had always thought Lin Sizhi was bluffing, pretending that his chip pool was at least twice as large as it really was.

Only now did she realize it had not been a bluff.

No wonder Lin Sizhi had never cared, no matter how much he lost.

"Don't you want to give it a try?

"A game that practically gives away Visa Time probably won't come around again." Lin Sizhi smiled.

Lu Xinyi looked him in the eyes. "But how can I be sure you won't go back on your word?"

Lin Sizhi spread his hands. "You can't be sure. But you don't have no chance to resist.

"I'll deliberately lose this game to Qin Yao and let her be the dealer next round.

"All of us will bet without looking at our cards.

"In the first round, you raise by 1,000 first, then Lu Mingxuan goes all in.

"Qin Yao and I will call.

"In the second round, you go all in, and Lu Mingxuan folds.

"After that, I raise, and Qin Yao calls.

"At that point, you can fold. Since only one person raised, the system will automatically reveal the cards, and then you can leave the table.

"Of course, during this process, either you or us can go back on our word at any time.

"If Lu Mingxuan doesn't fold in the second round, that means you've gone back on your word. Qin Yao and I will keep raising until time runs out.

"If Qin Yao and I both raise in the second round, that means we've gone back on our word. You can choose not to fold and play it out with us.

"Or if you don't fold in the third round, Qin Yao and I will continue raising until time runs out.

"In any of those situations, as long as either side goes back on their word, we wait until time runs out and let the system settle it automatically. Who wins and who loses will depend entirely on luck.

"That is my proposal. Whether you accept it is up to you."

Lu Xinyi thought for a moment. "Fine. I accept.

"But I want one more question thrown in at the end."

Lin Sizhi nodded. "Ask. I'll decide whether to answer."

Lu Xinyi stared into his eyes. "What exactly were your hole cards in the last game?"

Lin Sizhi fell silent for a moment, then smiled. "Would you believe me if I told you?"

Lu Xinyi nodded. "I would."

"Fine." Lin Sizhi spread his hands. "A king-high flush."

Lu Xinyi's gaze flickered. It was impossible to tell whether she believed him, but she merely nodded. "Thank you."

The final game proceeded exactly according to Lin Sizhi's script.

The four of them raised and folded in order.

After Qin Yao folded, Lin Sizhi took all the chips from the final round.

Lu Xinyi said nothing more. She simply seized the last ten-odd minutes to enter the Chip Exchange Area.

Before leaving the table, she gave Lin Sizhi a meaningful look.

"Lin Sizhi... I'll remember you."

After Lu Xinyi and Lu Mingxuan lost all their chips and left, there was only one game remaining out of the ten.

Only Lin Sizhi and Qin Yao remained for this game. They still needed to balance out their chips one final time.

Before the seventh game, Lin Sizhi had lost a net total of 42,000, while Qin Yao had earned a net total of 23,000. In the seventh game, Lin Sizhi won all 90,000 chips on the table, while Qin Yao lost 45,000.

After settling the ransom with Lu Xinyi in the eighth game, Lin Sizhi deliberately lost 40,000 to Qin Yao to maintain Qin Yao's chip pool.

In the ninth game, Lin Sizhi won all 124,000 chips on the table, while Qin Yao lost 44,000 chips.

In the final game, Lin Sizhi deliberately lost 60,000 to Qin Yao.

As a result, Lin Sizhi ultimately earned a net total of 72,000 chips from this gambling match, while Qin Yao earned 34,000.

Including the high-value chips hidden in her own pocket, Qin Yao could barely keep track of the total anymore.

"Lawyer Lin, I thought that after Lu Mingxuan folded in the final game, when it was two against one, you would go back on your word," Qin Yao said.

Lin Sizhi raised a brow. "Hm? Do I look like someone who breaks his promises?"

Qin Yao shook her head. "Not really.

"It's mainly because we probably won't get another chance to be matched with Community No. 3. Breaking our promise wouldn't have cost us anything.

"After Lu Mingxuan folded, it was two against one. We had a 66% chance of winning."

Lin Sizhi shook his head. "Doesn't that mean there was still a 33% chance of losing?

"I'm not a gambler. If possible, I'd still rather win money that is 100% certain."

Qin Yao thought for a moment. "Lawyer Lin, I have another question.

"Why was Lu Xinyi able to decide so decisively to give up all her chips?

"At the time, she couldn't know for certain about the hidden rule that 'the Chip Exchange Machine won't fold.' What if she failed to figure it out, or never got good cards? Wouldn't she lose both money and everything else?

"If it were me, I'd just give up and keep the remaining 80,000 chips safely in hand."

Lin Sizhi said calmly, "Because she's a smart person, I chose to deal with her using a smart person's method. And she would definitely fall for it.

"If she thought like you, I would have used another method from the start."

Qin Yao nodded slightly. "Mm...

"Wait, Lawyer Lin, are you saying I'm stupid?!"

She widened her eyes in disbelief.

The countdown on the big screen reached zero.

[Game Over]