"This thing isn't working out either."
Liu Zheng looked at the chips in front of him.
Half an hour had passed, and he had only made 500 bucks.
To put it bluntly, what the hell was that enough for?
"It's clearly because you're too unlucky. Even the Joker cards couldn't save you."
Cow-Horse stubbornly argued.
"This won't do."
He shook his head and stood up.
"What are you doing?"
Cow-Horse hurriedly asked.
"Switching to a different game."
Liu Zheng looked around and walked toward a gambling table.
"Do you even know how to play?"
Cow-Horse questioned him.
"Texas Hold’em? I've played it plenty."
He spoke with Trust, then dropped into an empty seat directly across from the dealer.
The dealer raised its head and glanced at him. A flash of greed passed through its yellow vertical pupils, and a strand of drool slipped from the corner of its scaled mouth.
"Can I file a complaint against it?"
Liu Zheng pointed at the dealer.
"And what would the customer like to complain about?"
The dealer spoke.
Its voice carried a strange hissing sound.
"You're drooling at me. I consider that sexual harassment."
He said righteously.
"You misunderstand, customer."
The dealer laughed soundlessly.
"I have no interest in mating with humans. I merely want to eat your Flesh."
It explained.
"Hahaha."
The other gamblers burst into laughter, some mocking, others clearly harboring ill intent.
"I don't care what you think. I care what I think."
Liu Zheng waved a hand, treating the laughter as nothing.
"I can file a complaint against it, right?"
He asked Cow-Horse again.
"You can, I guess."
Cow-Horse scratched its head.
"Fine. You, go get your supervisor."
Liu Zheng pointed at a passing waiter and shouted.
"Me?"
Jellyfish Head pointed at himself and asked.
"Yes, hurry up, or I'll complain about you too."
Liu Zheng said seriously.
"There's no need for that, customer. Don't forget, you'll have to leave eventually."
A cold smile hung on the dealer's face.
"Who the fuck are you threatening?"
Before Liu Zheng could speak, Cow-Horse lost its temper first.
"Come on, let's go outside and settle this right now. Whoever chickens out is his mother's son."
It rose onto its hind legs, its swollen shadow completely covering the dealer.
Cow-Horse might have been meek and obedient before Oink, but that didn't mean just anyone could throw punches at it.
"I'm sorry, I spoke too loudly. How would you like to resolve this?"
Anger flashed across the dealer's face before it spoke.
"You tell him."
Cow-Horse lifted its chin toward Liu Zheng.
"Buy each of us a drink, then replace the dealer."
He said.
"Very well. May the two of you have prosperous gambling luck."
The dealer said stiffly, then left the table.
At some point, the other gamblers' laughter had stopped as well.
A minute later, the waiter brought over two glasses of whiskey.
The new dealer was also in place—a female succubus.
She was damn—
Well, Liu Zheng hadn't had time to look at her face.
"Handsome, it's my first day on the job today. Don't complain about me, okay?"
Succubus Dealer winked at him.
"That depends on how you deal."
Liu Zheng said coldly.
"Is dealing them like this no good?"
Succubus Dealer tucked a card between her two hemispheres, then bent forward.
"You're sexually harassing me. I'll forgive you this time, but don't let it happen again."
He reached in and took the card away.
"Then thank you, handsome."
The succubus giggled, a strange glint flashing through her eyes.
Not just anyone could touch her chest, yet this human had not fallen for it.
"Deal."
Liu Zheng urged her.
He did not have much time.
"Okay."
The succubus opened a fresh deck and dealt two hole cards to each person in turn.
Liu Zheng flipped over his cards and saw a pair of nines.
One was a club, the other a diamond.
How should he put it? Neither good nor bad.
They were worse than premium hands like pocket aces, pocket kings, suited A-K, or K-Q, but better than unpaired trash or small pocket pairs.
He swept his gaze across the other gamblers and frowned.
When playing Texas Hold’em, observing your opponents' expressions was an important skill.
But that skill was hard to use now, considering some of the gamblers did not even have faces.
"Cow-Horse, smash my face."
Liu Zheng suddenly said.
"Huh?"
Cow-Horse looked utterly bewildered.
"Hurry up. Don't you want to win money?"
"Since when did you get to order me around?"
Cow-Horse muttered, then kicked him in the face.
It controlled its strength well, only disfiguring Liu Zheng without hurting his eyes or brain.
Liu Zheng blew two clumps of bloody mucus from his crushed nostrils and tossed out a white chip.
"Raise!"
"Going that big right away?"
Cow-Horse was so startled that it nearly stretched out a hoof to rake the chip back.
"Pocket aces and you think that's not big? If you don't know how to play, lie down."
Liu Zheng showed it no mercy.
"Are you asking for a beating?"
Cow-Horse's eyes bulged wide.
"And you don't have pocket aces at all. You clearly have a pair of nines."
???
Both the dealer and the gamblers turned their eyes toward them.
Were these two here to perform comedy or gamble?
Did they even know how to play?
"I'm out."
The Doghead seated beside Liu Zheng thought for a moment, then folded.
"I'm out."
"I'm out."
"I'm out."
There were six players in total, and four chose to fold.
The remaining Eel Head looked at his hole cards again, then sneered at Liu Zheng.
"Do we know each other?"
He narrowed his eyes as he spoke.
Eel Head said nothing, only sneered.
"I remember now. I almost didn't recognize you with your clothes off."
Liu Zheng said in sudden realization.
When he had delivered the first order, this guy had bitten off a piece of his Flesh.
Today, it was not wearing its security uniform. Its long Eel Head grew directly out of its chest cavity, looking like a swaying flower arrangement.
"Your Flesh smells delicious."
Eel Head finally spoke, slowly and mockingly.
"Thanks. You don't look bad yourself. Once I win even your underwear, I'll swallow that dead fish head of yours in one bite."
Liu Zheng said seriously.
"Deal."
He tossed a yellow chip to the Succubus Dealer.
"Boss, you're so generous."
The Succubus Dealer tucked the chip into her neckline and gave Liu Zheng a sickly sweet smile.
After the first round of betting came the flop, with three community cards dealt.
An ace of hearts, a five of clubs, and a king of hearts.
"Handsome, it's your turn to speak again."
The Succubus Dealer said.
"What's there to say with Three Bamboo? I'm raising you."
Liu Zheng threw out his remaining five white chips.
"I have an ace. I don't Trust you."
Eel Head stared at him for a long while before slowly speaking.
"If you don't Trust me, then call."
Liu Zheng leaned back as a tentacle curled the whiskey up to his mouth.
"That's enough. He has pocket aces, and you have a pair of nines. Call my ass."
Cow-Horse advised.
"If you undermine me again, I'll go all in immediately."
Liu Zheng shot it a glare.
"You dare!"
Cow-Horse slapped the ground and sprang up.
"It has a straight—"
It opened its mouth to shout.
"Fine, fine, Three Bamboo it is."
Cow-Horse covered his mouth.
"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey."
Liu Zheng spat furiously.
That bastard's hoof reeked of a compounded stench of corpses.
"Come on, I've been waiting so long the flowers have wilted."
He rinsed his mouth with whiskey and urged them on.
"I'm out."
Eel Head pinched his hole cards and finally gave up.
"Tch, lucky you got away fast. Watch closely, everyone—three Aces!"
Liu Zheng scooped up his cards and slammed them hard onto the table.
A pair of nines lay stacked together, like two people in the grand harmony of life.
"Huh, so that wasn't it. Sorry, sorry."
Grinning, he pulled the chips over in front of himself.
He completely ignored the murderous stares of the other gamblers.
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