Willing to Lose When Gambling

The card game went on for a long time.

Until Eveya flipped over the cards in her hand and admitted with crisp finality:

"I lost."

This was practically a crushing defeat; there was no point in continuing.

The young man before her had the calculation abilities of a monster.

However, Eveya was prepared for this. She put a cigarette between her lips, leaned back, and tilted her head up to light it.

Seeing Bo Shuo watching her, Eveya smiled. Her action of lighting the cigarette paused as she pulled another one from her pack and offered it to him, asking flirtatiously, "Want one?"

"No, thank you," Bo Shuo lowered his gaze, glancing at it without intending to take it. "I don't smoke."

Eveya wasn't embarrassed. She casually withdrew her hand and then began to smoke by herself, the wisps of white smoke obscuring her beautiful eyebrows and eyes, her red lips at the curve of her jaw looking stunningly vibrant.

Shedding her previous pretense of delicate weakness, she now resembled a viper lurking in a cave, ready to strike.

Or perhaps... like a bandit leader.

And this bandit leader seemed to have latched onto him.

Bo Shuo found it troublesome.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "You don't seem surprised at all by the outcome of this gamble."

"I knew you would win."

Eveya's voice was lazy, her entire body seeming boneless as she lounged in the chair.

Her beautiful, foxy eyes stared unblinkingly at Bo Shuo, and she smiled, "As long as it's something you want to achieve, you never make a mistake."

Another one of those damn riddle-tellers.

Bo Shuo's face hardened. He had no desire to continue talking with the woman in front of him. His gaze shifted to the floor-to-ceiling window not far away.

The vantage point was excellent, offering a view of the entire casino below, allowing him to meticulously observe everyone's facial expressions.

The fanatical, contorted faces of the gamblers, the unchanging fake smiles of the dealers, and the hidden dark emotions within them.

Finally, his gaze settled on a short, stout man wearing a black hat on the second floor.

"That's the Gambling King of our White Tower's second floor."

Eveya had been watching Bo Shuo the entire time and naturally knew what he was looking at. She smiled, extinguished the ladies' cigarette in her hand, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Want to challenge him? I can introduce you."

The White Tower was more lively than usual today.

Countless gamblers had heard the news and arrived, their expressions so fervent as if they were following a divine miracle.

Just moments ago, the ancient bell at the very top of the White Tower had been struck, its long, heavy chime resonating throughout the heavens and earth.

Someone was actually challenging the Gambling King publicly!

This was truly a rare occurrence.

After all, not just anyone could challenge the Gambling King. First, one needed astonishing gambling skills, a substantial amount of points as stakes, and even if both were met, it still depended on whether the Gambling King was willing to accept the challenge.

It had been a full year since the last public challenge to the Gambling King.

The crowd began to surge. A gambler who had already lost three fingers pushed frantically towards the front, just to get a clear view of the screen.

"My god! As of now, he's already on a 13-game winning streak. No wonder he has the qualifications to gamble against the second-floor Gambling King."

"Quick, look, this match is almost over."

"I just arrived, what's the situation? Did the Gambling King win?"

"Is this person a monster? Such terrifying memory and calculation abilities."

As this voice spoke, a chorus of gasps erupted.

The shock in some people's eyes was palpable.

Could this truly be done by a human?

In the center of the platform was a massive light screen.

What met the eye was pure white gauze, layered behind, surging like a wheat field in the wind.

The camera angle shifted constantly, accompanied by an urgent drumbeat, and paired with the handsome, aloof appearance of the young man on screen, it felt less like a casino and more like an elegant art hall.

But unfortunately, the white gauze was not a decoration but an obstacle designed to obstruct vision.

Around the card table, there were narrow cards, only the size of half a fingernail, floating and moving within the white gauze.

The cards were of different colors, inscribed with jumbled characters, and were only revealed for ten seconds at the very beginning.

The rules of this match were simple: mix together cards with the same characters, and no props or acquired talents were allowed.

As time passed, the score gradually widened.

The Gambling King, sitting opposite, was covered in a cold sweat. The look in his eyes towards the young man was not just shock, but a fear bordering on seeing a monster.

The opponent was now leading him by nearly three times the score!

At first, their speeds were comparable, and the back-and-forth play genuinely excited the Gambling King, who hadn't had a worthy opponent in a long time.

But as time went on, the memories in his mind began to blur slightly, and his speed started to slow down. He then noticed that the young man before him was still maintaining his original pace.

Not too fast, not too slow; not even a single number more or less per minute. It was as if he were toying with him like a cat playing with a mouse, with an air of calm amusement.

Until now—

A wave of immense powerlessness washed over him. The soaring score pressed down on his heart like a great mountain, filling him with despair and hopelessness.