Although you wanted to teach her an unforgettable lesson, you cautiously held back. Instead, you stood quietly to the side, observing like a curious onlooker.
By listening to their conversation, you learned that this mahjong-like gambling game was called 'Celestial Jade,' and its inventor was none other than the young woman in green before you: Qingque.
Wasting such intelligence on devious tricks instead of a proper path, all to invent a new way to gamble!
Even though it was your first time meeting, your impression of Qingque had already hit rock bottom. You secretly decided that you would have to 'welcome' her properly and teach her how cruel the world can be.
Celestial Jade was similar to mahjong. After watching them play just a few hands, you had already completely figured it out. You were absolutely confident you could dominate at the table.
An opportunity came quickly. One of the players at the table had lost too much and made an excuse to leave the game.
"If you don't mind, count me in," you took the chance to ask. The other three were in high spirits and readily agreed.
You sat down at the table, and the game began again…
Two hours later, the game ended.
Qingque couldn't wipe the smile off her face. Although there were wins and losses during the game, when it was all tallied up, she came out far ahead, winning nearly a million credits in total!
The two other players at her side looked at Qingque's massive winnings with a mix of envy, jealousy, and bitterness.
"Qingque, you have to treat us!"
"Yeah, you won so much, don't even think about fobbing us off with some cheap place!"
"Of course! Of course!" Qingque said, pretending to be generous.
Your face was ashen as you shouted in frustration:
"Hmph! My luck was just bad today! Same time, same place tomorrow, we'll continue! Don't even think about running off with your winnings!"
In this game, you were the biggest loser. Most of Qingque's winnings had come from you.
"Of course, no problem!"
Qingque agreed without a moment's hesitation. When someone is offering you free credits, only a fool would refuse.
After Qingque left, you instantly dropped the miserable look of a sore loser. Your expression was incredibly calm, as if you weren't the one who had just lost a huge sum of credits.
In fact, everything was under your control.
If Qingque had carefully calculated all the data, she would never have dared to play Celestial Jade with you again.
Over the entire game, a total of 4 rounds were played, which broke down into about 16 smaller hands. While it seemed like everyone was winning and losing throughout these 16 hands, tallying the final results would reveal a terrifying truth.
Besides the winner, Qingque, and the loser, you, the other two players had net earnings of zero. They hadn't won a single credit, nor had they lost a single credit!
Across 16 full hands of play, they had won hands, lost by discard, been the dealer, and had others win by self-draw. Their credits came in and went out, yet their final profit was exactly '0'!
Victor couldn't help but gasp when he read this.
The golden 'God of Gamblers' trait was truly extraordinary.
Even the legendary Mahjong Demon of the Summit could only control their own score with precision.
But 'God of Gamblers' was completely unfair; it directly controlled the entire table.
It had the domineering power of 'You win only when I let you win. If I don't, you won't take a single cent with you.'
Understanding this, Victor roughly figured out what his simulated self was planning.
It was nothing more than 'fishing.'
This was a classic trick often used in gambling dens: let the gambler win a little at first, and once they're hooked, fleece them for all they're worth, making them not only give back what they won but also lose a considerable amount more.
The reason this trick was a classic was because it was effective, fully exploiting the weaknesses of human nature.
It could be said that 99% of gamblers who fell for it could not escape.
In the end, it was all due to greed. After winning one hand, you want to win the next. After losing, you only think about winning it back in the next hand, step by step walking into the abyss...
And just as expected.
The next day, you arrived at the parlor on time, and Qingque was there as promised.
Two hours later, the game ended. Once again, Qingque won big, taking in over 2 million credits in one go.
Under your formidable control, the other two players once again broke even.
Your eyes were slightly bloodshot, and your face was full of defiance, looking just like a desperate gambler seeing red from all the losses.
"Damn it! We continue tomorrow! I refuse to believe I'll keep losing!"
You spat out, leaving them with a threat.
"Of course, no problem! We'll see you tomorrow!"
With you continuing to hand-deliver credits, Qingque was already overjoyed. The two other players, who had gained nothing, were pestering her to treat them to a meal.
The moment you were out of their sight, the expression on your face vanished instantly.
In your two-hundred-year career as a gambler, acting had become second nature.
The deceit and trickery at the gambling table were far more exciting than anything on a screen; after all, what was being wagered at the table was real money, and sometimes even limbs or lives.
To deceive your opponents, you had honed your acting skills to a level comparable to that of a master thespian.
Neither Qingque nor the other players, who had come away empty-handed for two days straight, were deceived by your superb acting and noticed nothing unusual.
On the third day, you arrived at the parlor on time, but Qingque was already sitting by the table early.
Perhaps out of envy or jealousy, the original two players no longer wanted to join the game. You and Qingque had to find two temporary replacements at the parlor.
Two hours later, the game ended.
This time, you lost a straight four million credits to Qingque. The two temporary players' eyes were red with jealousy, clamoring for Qingque to give them a red envelope.
You shot Qingque a fierce glare and threw out one last line.
"Tomorrow, we continue!"
Then you hurried away.
Qingque pursed her lips. Free credits were free credits. At that moment, she was already fantasizing about winning enough to buy a new house.
Distracted by the other players, Qingque didn't see that as you turned your back to her, a meaningful smile flashed across your face.
'Time to pull in the net...' you thought to yourself.
On the fourth day, you arrived on time. Qingque was sitting at the table, looking like she was in a daydream. It was as if she could already see a large new house beckoning to her.
Two hours later, the game ended. Qingque sat by the table, utterly devastated, her eyes staring blankly at the Celestial Jade in front of her.
In that short two-hour game, not only did you reverse your losing streak, but it was as if you had defied fate itself. You pulled all sorts of heavenly and earthly winning hands with ease.
Qingque not only returned all of the nearly ten million credits she had won over the past three days, but she even ended up losing an additional one million credits to you.
"Looks like my luck has turned around today. Shall we continue tomorrow?"
You said with the triumphant smile of a scoundrel.
______
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