After the first three players revealed their cards, guided by the dealer, the stylish youth grinned as he reached for the deck in front of him and opened his hand.
"Hehehe..."
"My apologies, friends! I have a triplet!"
As soon as he spoke, three 4s appeared.
If nothing unexpected happened, when the dealer replaced and shuffled the cards, the stylish youth must have secretly stashed a 4 while pretending to cut the deck.
The advantage of hiding a small card was obvious.
It was a small target, less likely to arouse suspicion.
As long as there was an opportunity to match it with a pair, it could be used to its fullest value.
The highest hand among the first three players was a straight flush of 6, 7, 8, which was a whole level lower than a triplet.
Undoubtedly, the stylish youth had won this round.
Just as the scoring referee was about to tally the final points for the round...
"Wait a moment!"
Two abrupt voices overlapped, ringing out in unison.
One of those voices was mine, and the other...
...belonged to Shui Cenyin!
Although Shui Cenyin hadn't stated her intentions yet, just by looking at her demeanor, I knew she was likely there for the same reason as me.
Clearly, Shui Cenyin was also a cheat!
And I wasn't the only one who had noticed the stylish youth's unusual behavior earlier.
She also intended to use the stylish youth's points to boost her own score significantly.
On the current six-player table, apart from the tattooed woman and the middle-aged man sitting next to me with his very low presence, I had figured out the identities of everyone else.
...
After Shui Cenyin and I spoke simultaneously, before the dealer or scoring referee could say anything, the stylish youth, the person in question, immediately asked with a cold expression, "What do you two want?"
Shui Cenyin, with a slight upward curve of her lips, revealed a cold smile and replied, "With something this obvious, do I still need to state it openly?"
Upon hearing this, a flicker of panic immediately crossed the stylish youth's eyes.
After a brief moment of panic, the stylish youth's eyes widened, and he glared fiercely at Shui Cenyin, demanding, "I don't understand what cryptic message you're trying to send!"
"Let me say it!"
This time, without giving Shui Cenyin a chance to respond, I cut in and said, "You cheated!"
"You're talking nonsense!!!"
My words immediately drew a rebuttal from the stylish youth.
After a cold chuckle, I stood up and pointed directly at the poker cards in front of the dealer, saying, "Three sixes and eights. After dealing all fifty-two cards, there should be thirty-four left, but..."
"There must be only thirty-three cards in the deck right now!"
"The missing card is with you!"
Hearing this, the dealer and the scoring referee immediately frowned and looked at the stylish youth.
On the surface, the stylish youth appeared to remain composed, but anyone could see that after hearing my words, his entire demeanor and aura significantly weakened.
He weakly and unconvincingly argued, "Just because a card is missing, you accuse me of cheating?"
"You must be jealous because you saw me playing fair and winning!"
"If you're going to falsely accuse me like this, I... I... I'll say you're the one cheating!"
Without engaging in further debate with the stylish youth, I coldly stated, "The missing card is on you. A simple search will reveal the truth!"
At this point, the dealer, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke.
Glancing at the stylish youth, the dealer said meaningfully, "Sir, because two contestants have reported you for cheating, we are required by regulations to search you!"
"Rest assured! Based on the principles of fairness, justice, and openness, the event will handle this matter impartially!"
"If you are being falsely accused, the event will absolutely provide you with an explanation and resolution."
"So now, please cooperate with us!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the dealer officially halted the game and called over a nearby patrolling security guard to conduct the search for cheating.
Seeing this, the stylish youth's expression changed instantly. He hurriedly exclaimed, "Without my consent, who dares to search me!?"
As he said this, I saw the agitated stylish youth subtly press his right hand down and, seizing the opportunity, slowly retract it out of everyone's line of sight.
Seeing this, I immediately shouted to the security guard called over by the dealer, "Hold his right hand!!!"
"The card is hidden in his right sleeve. He's trying to move it!"
Hearing this, the security guard called over by the dealer immediately acted!
Grabbing the stylish youth's right hand, the guard said in a deep, stern tone, "Sir, until I complete the search, you'd best not move around!"
"Otherwise, I have the right, according to the event's rules on non-cooperation, to directly declare you guilty of cheating and fraud!"
Seeing the seriousness with which the guard spoke, the stylish youth immediately stopped his actions, standing frozen with a pale face.
Clearly, this was a young cheat with less than stellar psychological fortitude.
Without any further ado, the guard began to meticulously pat down the stylish youth.
The first area he checked was the right sleeve cuff.
As soon as he touched it, the guard smiled.
However, beneath that smile lay a chilling coldness.
After pausing at the stylish youth's sleeve cuff, the guard did not stop his actions. Instead, he searched thoroughly from top to bottom, inside and out.
However, there was no further discovery. After confirming multiple times, the guard stopped searching and placed his hand on the stylish youth's right sleeve cuff, then forcefully tugged...
A conspicuous Jack of Spades instantly flew out, landing precisely on the gambling table.
The moment the Jack of Spades was revealed, the dealer immediately spread out the deck of cards that had been covered on the table and began to examine them carefully...
In less than a minute, the results were out.
Among the original deck of cards, only the Jacks were missing one of each suit, and the missing one was precisely the Jack of Spades.
Except for me and Shui Cenyin, who already knew the inside story, everyone else, including the scoring referee and the dealer, was stunned.
Before anyone could react, the security guard beside them spoke first, "Alright! Caught red-handed!"
"I'll take this person away! You all continue!"
With that, the guard directly led the still-reeling stylish youth away from the table.
By the time the scoring referee and the dealer recovered, a new problem presented itself before them.
Although the cheat had been successfully apprehended, Shui Cenyin and I had spoken almost simultaneously.
The winnings and points for this round could be returned, but...
Whose points would the stylish youth's points be awarded to?
After about five or six minutes of discussion.
Following the deliberation between the scoring referee and the dealer, they finally reached a unanimous decision: the stylish youth's points, totaling just under 90,000, would be equally divided between me and Shui Cenyin.
Thus, Shui Cenyin and I became the top two contestants in terms of points at this gambling table.
And we immediately created a significant gap between ourselves and the remaining three players.
If nothing unexpected happened, the first place... would be decided between the two of us!