The Game of a Single Bullet

A man stood with his back to the door, facing the floor-to-ceiling windows. He was tall, dressed in a tailored dark blue captain's uniform, and the gold fringe on his epaulettes showed his rank.

Hearing the door open, he slowly turned around.

He looked to be around fifty. His hair was impeccably groomed, and years at sea had given his face sharply defined features. His blue eyes, however, were astonishingly keen. A practiced smile touched the corners of his mouth, but never reached his eyes.

He didn't approach her right away. Instead, he surveyed her, his gaze less like that of a man looking at a guest and more like one sizing up an intriguing object—or a worthy opponent.

"I'm Karl Crawford," he said in a brief introduction, inclining his head. The gesture was elegant, yet carried an unmistakable air of distance. "I'm the captain of this ship. Pleased to meet you."

He extended a hand toward one of the sofas. "Please, sit."

After Ling Chu sat down, he didn't return to his desk. He took the sofa opposite her and offered her a cigar. Ling Chu declined. "I don't smoke."

Karl tucked the cigar between his lips and lit it. His tone was calm, but every word carried weight. "I heard you stirred up quite a commotion at my casino tonight and won a lot of chips."

"Just luck," Ling Chu said. She wasn't being modest; it was the truth.

"Most people would have trembling hands after winning that much in my casino. But you seem... quite composed."

He watched Ling Chu's reaction, the corner of his mouth curling into a faintly scornful smile. Then he drawled, "So, how about it? Dare to play a couple of rounds with me?"

He leaned forward slightly, and an invisible pressure filled the room.

"I guarantee the little games downstairs will seem as boring as children playing house compared to ours."

[Karl Claude]

[Occupation: ???]

[The other party's rank is too high. Specific information cannot be viewed.]

Ling Chu looked at the message from the Eyepatch, her expression faltering slightly.

This was the first person whose information she couldn't view with the Eyepatch. Back when she was a first-rank Ghost Pirate, she'd been able to read the information on a second-rank Sulfur Giant Lizard. Now she was second rank, which meant his strength was at least fourth rank.

There were hundreds of attendants on this ship, and it even had cannons. It was impossible that it wasn't equipped with other weapons, too. With his strength, killing her would be easy if he wanted to. But instead, he'd invited her to gamble.

Ling Chu guessed he'd simply noticed that she wasn't very strong and wanted her to cough up the chips she'd won.

If everyone who won money aboard the gambling ship got murdered to keep them quiet, the Golden Finger Casino's reputation would have been in tatters long ago.

Once she was sure he wouldn't attack her, Ling Chu relaxed considerably.

Getting her to cough up the money wouldn't be so easy.

"Sure. But I don't know many card games. I only know two or three," Ling Chu said.

"I heard you're good at blackjack. Then let's play blackjack."

Karl Claude pressed the service bell on the table. A dealer came in, and the redwood coffee table was cleared and turned into a makeshift gambling table.

The dealer opened a brand-new deck of cards in front of them. Karl Crawford gestured for her to go first. "Ladies first. You can deal the first round."

Ling Chu didn't refuse.

The cards were shuffled, cut, and dealt.

Her face-up card was the king of hearts; Karl Claude's was the nine of spades.

Ling Chu's hole card was a six, giving her sixteen in total. She glanced at his card and said calmly, "Hit."

The dealer slid her a card—it was a four! Perfect: twenty points.

A total that was nearly unbeatable.

The captain's hole card was a seven, giving him sixteen in total. He had to hit.

He tapped the table lightly with his fingertip. The dealer dealt him a card—a five! Twenty-one!

Ling Chu's twenty was instantly crushed. The captain didn't even need her to reveal her hole card.

"Looks like my luck's not bad either."

Karl Claude smiled faintly and slid the dealer's chip over to himself. "We'll switch dealers."

In the second round, Karl dealt. His face-up card was an ace.

Ling Chu had a pair of tens: a ten of diamonds and a ten of clubs.

She didn't hesitate. "Split." She separated her chips into two piles.

The dealer dealt a card to each of her tens. The first was a jack: twenty points. The second was a queen! Another twenty points!

Things were looking very good.

Now all the pressure was on the dealer.

Karl Claude revealed his hole card—it was an eight! A soft nineteen, an excellent hand. But by the rules, he had to hit again. Every eye was fixed on the dealer's fingers.

The card slid out—it was a two!

Another twenty-one! The dealer won everything!

Ling Chu's two twenties were no different from zero against the captain's twenty-one.

The small pile of chips in front of her was quickly raked away.

"Wins and losses are part of the game," the captain said evenly, as though commenting on the weather.

The next few rounds turned into a strange stalemate. Ling Chu finally got a blackjack—a and a king—and won the whole pot to take back one round. The captain immediately struck back in the next. While she was still deciding whether to hit, he revealed his two cards: a jack and an ace. Twenty-one again, and an outright win. Sometimes they had the same total, and the round ended in a tie.

The stakes climbed slowly but steadily. The air in the room seemed to congeal, with only the faint swish of cards sliding across the table and the crisp clink of chips breaking the silence.

Ling Chu could tell that her opponent was no less lucky than she was. After all, he had a despicable item like the Voodoo Doll of Luck Transfer. Who knew how many people's luck he'd already siphoned away?

And as the owner of a casino, his skill at cards was beyond question.

The way he watched the cards, the timing of his bets—it all spoke of an unfathomable level of experience. He seemed to be enjoying the process, savoring the slow erosion of her chips and confidence.

Unsure whether he had an item that could detect ghost possession, Ling Chu didn't dare let Hemlock come out. She could only rely on her luck and her mediocre card skills. At this rate, she'd lose all her chips sooner or later.

Another round began, with Karl Claude dealing. His face-up card was a nine.

Ling Chu's face-up card was a ten, and her hole card was also a ten, giving her twenty points in total.

"Stand."

Karl Claude chose not to hit again.

In an ordinary game, a total of twenty would have been a sure win. But for some reason, Ling Chu had a feeling she wouldn't win this round, even with twenty.

The dealer handed her a card without expression.

Ling Chu gently pinched the corner of the card between her fingertips and turned it over. It was a killer ace.

In blackjack, an ace could count as either one point or eleven.

Ling Chu revealed her cards: ten, ten, and an ace, for a total of twenty-one.

The captain revealed his cards: a face-up nine and a hole-card ace, for a total of twenty.

Ling Chu finally scraped out a narrow win by one point.

At last, she'd won back some of the chips she'd lost.

Karl Claude studied Ling Chu, thoughtful. Even with twenty, a total that was usually a sure thing, she'd dared to hit despite the very real risk of busting—and had somehow drawn an ace. Her luck really was incredible.

He couldn't help guessing that she probably had an item that increased her luck, too.

Time slipped away amid the haze of cigar smoke.

Ling Chu began to grow restless.

The effects of Double Luck would wear off after midnight, and it was already nearly eleven thirty. She had to finish gambling with him before then.

"I'm getting a little tired. At this rate, who knows how long we'll be playing? Why don't we settle it in a single round?"

After one round ended, Ling Chu suggested it herself.

She'd already lost more than a hundred chips. To Karl Claude, her suggestion made her seem like someone so desperate to turn things around that she was losing her head.

Just what he'd hoped for.

Karl Claude nodded. "All right."

"Since we're settling it in one hand..."

He took a revolver from his pocket and gently slapped it down on the table.

"Have you ever heard of the Game of a Single Bullet?"