Truthfully, if I had continued playing until midnight, I wouldn't dare guarantee anything else, but at least my 200 chips would surely be doubled.
Entering tomorrow's elimination round with four million chips, the ten million baseline difference would only be six million, a step behind others.
But since this venue was set up with a "fierce tiger presiding" layout, there was no need for me to take risks to save a little energy for tomorrow.
The moon waxes only to wane, and water fills only to overflow.
I was well aware of the principle that trying to swallow too much leads to indigestion.
Therefore, after achieving my goal of two million, I immediately asked the female dealer to tally the chips and secure them.
Following that, I chose to win and advance, then withdrew from the competition area to eat at the restaurant.
...
Around 9 PM, after sitting in the restaurant for about two hours, just as Cheng Minglang and I were about to lose our patience...
Xu Shiyu, Ma Wei, and Han Jinlun all arrived at the restaurant one after another.
Just as I had predicted, apart from Xu Shiyu, Ma Wei and Han Jinlun had both been eliminated from the elimination round due to losing all their chips.
Whether Ma Wei's skill level is worth discussing is another matter, but Han Jinlun's situation represented the reality for the vast majority of ordinary people participating in gambling competitions.
They might advance to the preliminary rounds through luck, but once they entered the elimination rounds, the outcome was basically the same – reaching their limit.
So, everyone, don't bother signing up for any competitions if you can avoid it, especially games like "JJ Dou Dizhu," "Happy Poker," or "Chongqing Mahjong: Bloody Battle to the End"...
Going there is just throwing away registration fees and playing the role of a runner-up. How many people who truly win all the way to the end don't have any special skills?
Back to the main topic.
Although the first day's elimination round was scheduled to continue until midnight, by this time, most of the competition areas were already empty.
Especially around the time Han Jinlun and the other two emerged, waves of people were leaving before and after them.
Therefore, by the time Han Jinlun and the others finished their meal at the restaurant, the first day's elimination round had officially concluded.
Before leaving, the top ten contestants who won the most chips in the elimination round that day were all displayed on the restaurant's big screen in a scrolling broadcast.
And among them, there was a name that looked familiar to me.
Isabella!
Isabella, the Texas Hold'em player at my table during the preliminary rounds, was ranked eighth.
Her chip amount was: four million three hundred fifty thousand!
Seeing this, I knew my guess was correct; that Isabella was indeed no ordinary person!
However, her worldly experience and social savvy were not very rich.
On this scrolling top ten chip ranking list, Isabella was the only one who boldly used her very conspicuous English name.
As for the others, they were all using pseudonyms and nicknames.
Such as: Big J, Flying Chicken, Gambling Immortal, and so on.
Seeing Isabella's prominent name, a strong feeling suddenly arose in my heart.
The words she had said at noon... were likely to come true!
However, at this moment, I no longer had the thought of avoiding her.
At least this English name showed me the only flaw she had exposed so far.
Perhaps competing at the same table with someone like her would indeed bring some unique fun?
To be honest, I was already vaguely looking forward to the final showdown.
At least, this was the only bit of fun I could find on the cruise ship...
After resting for a night, I got out of my room early the next morning.
Fortunately, Leng Meng had prepared a full head mask made of silicone, what is commonly referred to as a "human skin mask" in movies and TV shows.
When not in use, it could simply be removed by following a small opening along the back of the neck.
So, all I needed to do was put it on after washing up.
After tidying myself up and having breakfast, I headed straight to the competition area, waiting for the computer to randomly assign today's competition events.
Not long after, when I saw the computer screen gradually freeze and the words pop up...
I smiled.
It wasn't easy! After deciphering the casino's feng shui layout, today I finally started to turn my luck around!
Blackjack!
It was one of my most proficient, and also a favorite card game for cheaters.
After half a day of intense play, I successfully accumulated ten million chips and advanced to the finals tomorrow.
This time, I didn't stop immediately upon winning ten million chips, but instead won an additional less than two million chips to deal with any unforeseen circumstances.
After seeing the chip rankings from last night, I knew very well that twelve million chips would definitely not make it onto the scrolling big screen.
Although I could continue to use the time from afternoon until midnight to accumulate chips to a number sufficient to appear on the scrolling big screen, the result of doing so would be...
Being targeted by countless eyes in secret!
Before the final event and rules were announced, being too conspicuous was the worst strategy, easily leading to being targeted.
Quietly accumulating wealth without attracting attention was the absolute path to victory.
...
The third day, the actual finals.
As soon as I entered the casino lobby that morning, I noticed that the number of people moving around in the contestant area was significantly less than on the previous two days.
Counting roughly, there were about six tables.
If each table still had six participants, it meant that only the thirty-six of us present had reached the finals by accumulating ten million chips.
Today's finals were strange; the game was not the currently popular "Show Hand," but Texas Hold'em, which had only flowed into mainland China from Macau a few years ago!
And it was the most professional tournament.
Texas Hold'em tournaments, six players per table, only the top three chip earners would advance, and those who advanced would automatically enter the final grand final.
I never expected that the competition event I drew on the first day of the preliminary rounds would be the one used in the final showdown.
What I also didn't expect was...
Isabella was at the same table as me again!
She had indeed spoken her prophecy into reality.
However, upon seeing me, Isabella didn't seem overly surprised, merely nodding and smiling at me.
Seeing this, combined with today's competition event, and recalling my previous deductions about Isabella's identity, I strongly suspected...
This girl might be someone arranged by the casino!
If my inference is correct, then I have no interest in today's showdown.
How fair and just can a rigged competition be? That's utter nonsense...