"Because someone accused you of cheating, the game is now suspended. Please come with us, and I'll arrange for a female attendant to search you!"
"Rest assured! In my establishment, Liu Xiang's, we will never let any cheater get away, nor will we ever wrongly accuse a guest!"
Although his words were forthright, I knew this was just a formality, a way to placate people.
The fact that he could arrange for female cheaters to work in his establishment meant that Liu Xiang had undoubtedly considered this beforehand.
As a female cheat, the most important advantage they had was that once called out by a gambler, they didn't have to endure being searched in public by a crowd, unlike male cheats.
I had thought that in this sudden, accidental drama, my role would only be that of a spectator, but I never expected...
The moment the young woman surnamed Zheng stood up, her gaze locked onto me, and she pointed at me, saying coldly, "Searching me is fine, but please search him first!"
"I suspect... he's the real cheater!!!"
Upon hearing this, Liu Xiang paused slightly, and then a knowing smile spread across his lips.
"Young man, please!"
Though he said "please," Liu Xiang's tone was heavy, indicating that refusal was not an option.
Even though the young woman surnamed Zheng had pointed me out, I knew she was suspicious of my unusually skillful play in Blackjack just now.
This was her domain; if there were any evidence of cheating, I would have been called out earlier.
Therefore, I was not flustered at all. I remained seated, unmoving, and chuckled, "Boss Liu, you own several casinos, don't you?"
"Don't you know that anything said by a guest accused of cheating, before they've cleared their name, is not to be taken seriously?"
"You haven't even had this Ms. Zheng searched, yet you're already coming after me. Isn't that a bit against the rules?"
Liu Xiang was rendered speechless by my words.
As for the young woman surnamed Zheng, after a moment of surprise, she shot me a fierce glare.
I gestured towards the high-definition cameras mounted on the walls, exhaled a puff of smoke, and said calmly, "To catch a thief, you need evidence. To catch an adulterer, you need proof."
"If you believe this Ms. Zheng and think I'm a cheater, you can check the surveillance room for playback! Anyway, until the session ends, I'm not going anywhere!"
Seeing my confidence, Liu Xiang immediately laughed it off, "Hahahaha~ Young man, don't worry! I will definitely not wrong you."
He paused, then turned to the young woman surnamed Zheng and continued, "Of course, I will also absolutely not wrong you, Ms. Zheng!"
"Please, you go with us first!"
After saying this, Liu Xiang led the young woman surnamed Zheng and his subordinates through a side door guarded by security.
Although the show had ended, and I had successfully avoided getting entangled with my "retreat to advance" tactic, I knew this was merely a moment of calm before the storm.
Since the young woman surnamed Zheng had pointed me out, it meant she had her eyes on me.
When she returned, it would be a situation where the daggers were drawn!
No matter how I concealed it, as long as the final outcome was a win, then by the time the session ended at dawn...
With this thought, I took advantage of the sudden intermission, turned back, and exchanged a look with Cheng Minglang and Xianyu, signaling them to be ready.
...
Less than ten minutes later.
Liu Xiang, with a beaming smile, returned with the young woman surnamed Zheng and his first words were, "A misunderstanding! It was all a misunderstanding!"
"Boss Qiu, my people have informed me that Ms. Zheng is completely clean and innocent!"
Upon hearing this, Boss Qiu, whose eyes had been full of anticipation, instantly lost their sparkle.
In the eyes of gamblers, a casino was synonymous with fairness and justice.
Since they had arranged to search Ms. Zheng and found nothing, it indicated that she was definitely not at fault.
Muttering, "This is really bizarre," Boss Qiu resentfully returned to his seat.
As for the young woman surnamed Zheng, the moment she returned to her seat, she spoke coldly, "Since you all can't stand me having good luck, I won't play with you out of pity anymore."
"Aren't you all envious of me winning money and accusing me of cheating? Fine! From now on, I demand that the betting limits be opened, and I will be the banker myself!"
"Bet whatever you want and double it; I, Zheng Xinyi, will take it all!!!"
Hearing this, my heart skipped a beat, and I inwardly knew things were not good.
On the surface, this was Zheng Xinyi acting out of spite, purely relying on luck against the rest of us at the table.
In reality, she was targeting me.
Being the sole banker meant the banker was fixed.
Under a fixed banker system, many rules in Blackjack were advantageous to the dealer.
Like when the banker rotated, I could occasionally sneak in some gains through my "leak-picking" ability.
But now, with the betting limits opened, if I wanted to help Yu Fei recoup his million-dollar debt, there was no other way but to cheat.
It seemed Zheng Xinyi had already informed Liu Xiang that I was a suspected cheater.
Furthermore, after checking the surveillance footage and finding nothing, Liu Xiang had likely conspired with Zheng Xinyi to devise this strategy against me.
In an instant, the situation took a sharp turn.
Out of guilt, Boss Qiu was the first to agree to Zheng Xinyi's proposal.
After Boss Qiu stated his position, the other two gamblers, perhaps with a "what the heck, fortune favors the bold" mentality, also agreed.
Now, only I was left. According to the principle of the majority ruling, even if I didn't agree, I would have to.
Soon, with Zheng Xinyi's proposal and Liu Xiang's formulation of new rules...
The real deadly game began!
...
With betting limits raised to one hundred thousand, a single hand could potentially bankrupt a gambler overnight!
Without regard for how much I or the other three gamblers had bet, Zheng Xinyi showed no mercy, unleashing her "Sleeve Sword" instantly.
Compared to sleeve swords that required tools like spring-loaded devices, Zheng Xinyi's sleeve sword was purely a display of hand speed.
The card-switching process took no more than a second.
Even I could barely catch a glimpse of it.
After switching cards, without a moment's delay, she chose to reveal her hand.
Another Blackjack!
With none of the four players, including myself, having Blackjack, Zheng Xinyi swept the round.
Fortunately, I knew how strong this woman's greed was and only bet the minimum limit of ten thousand.
As for Boss Qiu, who had loudly accused Zheng Xinyi of cheating, he had bet the maximum of one hundred thousand right from the start... and lost it all!
From revealing her hand to collecting the chips, in just a minute or two, Zheng Xinyi had gained nearly two hundred thousand.
At this pace, even with the twenty-three thousand cash I had won the night before, I could only last about thirty more hands without cheating.
I knew it was time to make the final decision...