The onlooker sees clearly what the participant is blind to.
From the moment I entered the game, my thinking became trapped in a fallacy. I always assumed Luo Qiwen's cheating relied on her masterful sleight of hand. In reality, she didn't use any such techniques. Instead, she employed a high-tech product recently introduced from Hong Kong and Macau: the variable-point playing card, also known as the thermal playing card.
As the saying goes, "The righteous path is one foot high, the devil's path is ten feet high!" Apart from magic, thermal playing cards first appeared in the casinos of Hong Kong and Macau. With continuous technological advancement and refinement, the methods used by casinos in Hong Kong and Macau to counter cheaters have become increasingly numerous. But for every countermeasure, there's a counter-countermeasure. Thermal playing cards are one such countermeasure devised by cheaters.
These cards, made from thermal paper and special materials, can change their point values by increasing their temperature. I won't go into the technical details here. If you're interested, feel free to search it on Baidu.
Thermal playing cards aren't suitable for use in winter. Furthermore, they can only alter the point values of certain adjacent cards. Face cards and specialty cards are definitely unchangeable. The fact that I lost twice in a row on a "2" was highly suspicious. Initially, I attributed this to Luo Qiwen switching cards. Coupled with her deliberately wearing a sleeveless dress, which focused my attention entirely on her, I overlooked the playing cards themselves.
However, just now, her subconscious flicking of the cards revealed a fatal flaw. I recall Uncle Tuo once telling me that even the most adept cheater, no matter how well they conceal their actions, will inadvertently reveal a weakness. This weakness stems from superfluous actions performed unintentionally. These superfluous actions are manifestations of guilt after committing a misdeed.
Luo Qiwen made the flicking motion twice. Both times, she did it immediately after our legitimate rounds of gambling. Logically, if Luo Qiwen had won fairly, there would be no need for her to rush to collect the cards immediately after winning. The first time, I might not have noticed anything unusual. Even if I suspected something, I could only do so in secret. But the second time was different.
Honestly, if she hadn't moved just now, the doubts lingering in my mind might never have been confirmed. But now, I understand everything! It's no wonder she was so confident that she didn't need any hidden assistance, deliberately wore a sleeveless dress to distract me, and refused to let Gu Chunlai deal the cards for us. It turns out Luo Qiwen leveraged the opportune moment and favorable conditions to manipulate the playing cards directly!
As long as the thermal paper embedded within the cards reached the required temperature, the playing cards could instantly change their point values. When in contact with the palm's temperature, they could change points in half a second! And this process is definitely faster than switching cards. A trick that cannot be seen through is indeed a deception!
...
When Luo Qiwen spoke, the anticipated scene of Gu Chunlai stopping did not materialize. Seeing this, her face immediately darkened. As a notary, Gu Chunlai had the right to inspect the cards to ensure the fairness and impartiality of the game. Not to mention, I had already voiced my doubts.
After retrieving all the cards used from the drawer, Gu Chunlai, following the principle of thermal playing cards I had mentioned, held some small, adjacent cards against his palm... Just as I had described, when held against the palm, the playing cards changed their points in less than half a second! Without even needing to verify the actual hands from the previous round, Gu Chunlai already had his answer in his heart.
With a bang, he slammed the gambling table. Gu Chunlai, trembling with anger from Luo Qiwen's actions, roared, "Fine! Very fine!" "It seems that to win, your Baoli Casino has completely abandoned any pretense of method or principle!" "To ask me, Gu Chunlai, to be a witness while people from the cheater's world engage in trickery and cheating, this is simply a profound humiliation!" "I hereby solemnly declare that this gambling match... Baoli has completely lost! Ruichi is the victor!" "If you dare to renege on this, I, Gu Chunlai, will sacrifice all my reputation to ensure that Baoli Casino is shut down permanently in Wenzhou!"
Faced with irrefutable evidence and Gu Chunlai's furious pronouncement, Luo Qiwen, who had been so arrogant and smug moments before, wilted like a frost-bitten eggplant. At this point, any explanation or quibbling she might offer would be futile. After all, the game was held at the Baoli Casino, and the cards used were also from the casino. You could cheat, but with a notary present, the consequences of cheating are severe! Especially for someone like Gu Chunlai, a renowned elder in the legitimate gambling circles of Wenzhou.
The older generation of gamblers possessed a sense of righteous pride. They accepted defeat when outmatched and would never resort to deceit, even at the cost of broken hands or feet! Clearly, Luo Qiwen had gone too far! Since Gu Chunlai had spoken his mind, it indicated he was genuinely angered. In an instant, the atmosphere underwent a complete reversal. Baoli descended into silence from its prior clamor, while Ruichi behind me erupted in boundless cheers and shouts.
After an unknown period of time... Luo Qiwen finally spoke. "I am outmatched and accept the loss!" Unlike Xiang Tianhua last time, she did not try to deny it and promptly chose to concede.
"Damn it! Are you stupid? This is Baoli! Why would you admit defeat?" Hearing Luo Qiwen concede, Xiang Tianhua behind her frowned and cursed indignantly.
In response, Luo Qiwen turned to Xiang Tianhua and snapped, "Shut up!" "Not everyone is like you, throwing a tantrum when they lose! I, Luo Qiwen, can take it or leave it! Unlike you, who only embarrasses yourself!"
Frankly, this scene did not bring me any sense of relief; instead, it felt inexplicably strange. I couldn't believe that after all the effort, and with her cheating exposed, Luo Qiwen would concede so readily. In my memory, she was quite vengeful and never left any room for maneuver in her actions.
I glanced at Luo Qiwen with a look of bewilderment. Just as I was about to ask about closing the casino... As if sensing my intention, Luo Qiwen spoke first, saying, "Logically, losing twice should have been enough for the casino to close down twice already. But I am just an employee." "So Chen Xiang, let me make a call to ask the boss for his opinion."
After speaking, without waiting for my reaction, Luo Qiwen took out her phone and dialed a number. "Boss, I lost! What should we do now?" Hearing the address, Luo Qiwen had indeed called the owner of Baoli, Yu Youwei. And Yu Youwei's subsequent reply confirmed my suspicion.
"Heh heh! What to do?" "Closing the casino means cutting off my income and yours. What's the old saying? 'Cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents!'" "If they're already trying to kill our parents, then what can we do? We just fight back!!!"