C21 – Bet All His Assets
“I must be on a lucky streak. You’re not seriously hoping to draw a card with an eight or a king, are you?” Mr. Zhen teased Wen Huaimu, clearly in high spirits. His eyes, however, couldn’t resist the occasional sly glance at Miss Zhuang’s chest, revealing his true intentions.
“Number eight, the holder of the sequential poker cards, please announce yourself.”
The dealer suddenly gestured towards Wen Huaimu.
“My turn to speak, huh?” Wen Huaimu gave Mr. Zhen a aningful look, tapped the hidden cards on the table, and declared with a smile, “I’m all in. I’ll wager everything I have.”
“He’s betting all his assets?”
The crowd around the gambling table was visibly shocked.
Could it be? It was his first ti at the table, and he was betting so high.
But as Wen Huaimu confidently slid over thirty million purple coins, it beca clear to everyone that the mysterious young man ant business. Did he actually hold an eight or a king in his hand?
Yet, he appeared not to have checked his hole card at all.
The table fell silent, all eyes on Wen Huaimu. Most thought him bold, wealthy, and wasteful.
At this point, Mr. Zhen’s smugness had faded, replaced by a look of confusion.
He was no longer certain about the cards Wen Huaimu held—whether they were the eight or the king.
Receiving no imdiate response, Wen Huaimu chuckled under his breath and provocatively t Mr. Zhen’s gaze. “You’ve got a strong hand, and I haven’t even peeked at mine. What’s the matter? Passing up such an easy chance to win my money? Maybe you should quit gambling and leave.”
In an instant, the mountainous pile of purple coins at the center of the table was a sight to behold, amounting to nearly 100 million yuan.
Mr. Zhen, face flushed as if intoxicated, pushed his money to the center and revealed his hand with a flourish: “I’m holding three kings and a pair of threes. Today, I refuse to believe you’ll draw the final eight or a king.”
“What a high score!” Wen Huaimu comnted with a surprisingly even tone, as if Mr. Zhen’s strong hand hadn’t fazed him at all.
“Quit your babbling. Show your cards,” Mr. Zhen scoffed with a sneer.
“Mind if I take a peek first?” Wen Huaimu chuckled, his tone playful, as if he were toying with soone.
Mr. Zhen bellowed, “We’ve wagered everything we own! This is the ultimate showdown, and we must reveal all our cards.”
“Oh, is that the rule? It’s my first ti playing this ga; I’m not familiar with the rules. Don’t hold it against .”
Wen Huaimu’s codic gestures and tone elicited a chuckle from the other players, while Mr. Zhen’s face grew darker by the second, convinced Wen Huaimu was making a fool of him.
“Let’s all take a look at my cards,” Wen Huaimu said as he casually lifted his hole card and turned it over.
The King of Hearts!
Wen Huaimu’s cards were in a perfect sequence! The table fell silent for a split second before erupting in amazed exclamations at his incredible fortune.
Mr. Zhen, now visibly sweating, was hit with the realization of a massive loss.
“How could this be? How is your hole card the King of Hearts?” Mr. Zhen stamred, unable to believe his eyes.
Wen Huaimu just shrugged and replied with feigned helplessness, “I can’t explain it, but my luck today is extraordinary. I’ve already won three consecutive bets. Seems like my winning streak might just keep on going.”
“Luck? I’m calling it cheating! I demand to inspect those cards!” Mr. Zhen cried out, unable to accept his fate.
He had felt confident when placing his bets, but facing the reality of a loss was another matter entirely. He was staring down the barrel of a 50 million RMB loss, a far cry from the nonchalance he’d previously displayed. If his father found out, he’d be in for a world of pain.
Previously, he had been untouchable, his ability to read the room and his lofty status protected him from cheaters, resulting in minimal losses and contentnt. But today, he had been outplayed by Wen Huaimu, a fact he partly attributed to his own arrogance.
“Inspect the cards?” Wen Huaimu said with a slight smile, turning to Miss Zhuang with a look of mock distress. “Sister, he’s accusing of cheating. What should I do?”
Miss Zhuang was still sowhat in shock, finding herself increasingly puzzled by Wen Huaimu. Casting a scornful glance at Mr. Zhen upon hearing his words, she was far from impressed.
When her gaze finally t his, Mr. Zhen felt no joy. Her icy deanor sent a shiver through him.
“Nighty Night is not a playground for the shaless. Everyone here knows whether or not we’ve cheated. Feel free to inspect our cards, but should you find no foul play, you’ll be held accountable,” Miss Zhuang declared, her voice a seductive blend of charm and softness.
Mr. Zhen was transfixed by the woman before him, her smile enchanting yet her eyes glinting with a frosty resolve. An inexplicable coldness crept into his heart.
“Enough talk. We begin the investigation now. And if we’re clean, you’ll sever your own right hand!” Miss Zhuang’s voice turned icy as she pointed at Mr. Zhen’s right hand—the very one that had once been raised against Wen Huaimu’s face.
The onlooking crowd, wealthy and unaccustod to such brutality, was stunned into silence. This was a place of luxury and leisure, not a battleground for gang skirmishes.
“Miss Zhuang, Mr. Zhen is young and impetuous. If he has wronged you, please accept my apology on his behalf, and let’s put this matter to rest,” implored the short-haired young man at Mr. Zhen’s side, his face a mask of resignation. He shot Mr. Zhen pleading looks, silently urging his friend to rein in his temper.
But Mr. Zhen was beyond caring. Who did this woman think she was? He had made a na for himself in Anbubury over the years, earning the respect of even the notorious Mu Shuxin. Yet she had the audacity to threaten him.
“Fine, it’s decided,” Mr. Zhen said with a cold smirk, his gaze still locked on Wen Huaimu, sharp as ice.
anwhile, Wen Huaimu remained nonchalant, secretly sharing a jest with the elfin.
“Diaochan, I owe you big ti for this one. I would’ve been utterly disgraced otherwise.”
“So now you rember ? Why not turn to that woman by your side?” The elfin feigned anger, her eyes wide with mock indignation.
Wen Huaimu let out a sly chuckle. “She’s no Diaochan, that’s for sure. What’s the deal with this magic? It’s like having a superpower. Truly thrilling.”
“A superpower? It’s simply a form of ntal control within the magical elents. I can use ntal energy to mimic many things, and it’s not all that uncommon. But your ntal energy is insufficient; you can’t yet harness this type of power,” the elfin boasted, swelling with pride. Her implication was clear: without the elfin, Wen Huaimu would be powerless.
Naturally, Wen Huaimu wasn’t about to slight the elfin. He knew he’d need her help in the future.
anwhile, sothing seed off to the three young n monitoring the fifth floor quarantine zone. Trouble was brewing, and they quickly vacated the area, dashing up to the eighth floor.
The dealer was a master of his craft. A deck of cards danced through his fingers, eventually being dealt into thirteen precise piles.
The count remained unchanged.
Clearly, there was no evidence of Wen Huaimu’s cheating to be found.
Mr. Zhen’s complexion briefly turned ashen before he sneered through clenched teeth, “If his cheating is so sophisticated, he must be a gambling connoisseur behind the scenes. Our shuffling won’t expose his tricks.”
This ti, Mr. Zhen was being unreasonable.
Unfazed, Wen Huaimu gently tugged at the visibly upset Miss Zhuang and asked with a grin, “What are you implying?”
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