In the face of evidence, the middle-aged man named Feng Ge did not show the slightest sign of panic. Instead, he appeared calm and composed.
Whether it was because he knew there was no danger of having his fingers chopped off, or because he intended to deny everything and hold his ground, this Feng Ge projected a strong presence.
He had the demeanor of someone whose composure wouldn't be shaken even if Mount Tai collapsed before him.
"Heh! To think of using 'Star Plucking' to break the Perfect Shuffle, and to succeed on the first try. It's enough to prove your sleight of hand is very impressive!"
After subtly praising me, Feng Ge changed the subject and continued, "Originally, I didn't want to break the rules of the game."
"But just now, your sister deliberately created a commotion to distract us so you could win."
"And you took that opportunity to use 'Star Plucking' to break my Perfect Shuffle."
"Strictly speaking... it should be you who broke the game rules first."
"To go a step further, even if we hadn't switched the cards, your 2, 5, and 10 wouldn't have beaten any of our Aces."
"So, this round... let's call it a draw."
"There are still twenty points..."
Before Feng Ge could finish, Leng Meng, who was watching from nearby, couldn't help but erupt.
Disregarding her image, Leng Meng pointed at the middle-aged man, Feng Ge, and unleashed a torrent of curses: "Draw your mother! Draw your stinky father!"
"If you really want to call it a draw... then give me back my two hundred thousand before you start talking."
"A shameless person is invincible!"
"No wonder I couldn't win a single hand earlier! So this is how you play!"
"What guts you have! Four grown men bullying a girl who can't play cards, and using such dirty tricks. Aren't you ashamed!"
"If you four don't give me a reasonable explanation today, believe it or not, this grandma will... make sure you can't leave this place!!!"
After Leng Meng finished her tirade, my expression instantly darkened.
It's over! This has become a big problem!
As the saying goes, settle江湖 matters in the江湖.
Since I encountered the gambling syndicate and agreed to a wager with them, it was meant to be settled on the cards and decided by skill.
Unless, like me, you catch them cheating red-handed, behavior like Leng Meng's, looking back with hindsight, would be considered a provocation by the gambling syndicate.
If the gambling syndicate took it seriously, it would be more than just a friendly game of cards!
What's more, Leng Meng had started cursing, and her language was particularly foul.
If Feng Ge and the others could tolerate that, they wouldn't be human!
I involuntarily raised my hand to cover my forehead. At that moment, my head felt like it was buzzing, and I cursed inwardly, "A useless pickpocket who achieves nothing but causes trouble!!!"
One cheater could bring down a card room; four cheaters... I couldn't even imagine!
At this moment, I truly regretted not asking Sister Ran to take Leng Meng away. Now, it wasn't just about whether I could win back the 200,000.
As expected, after Leng Meng had her fill of verbal abuse, the faces of the gambling syndicate, led by the middle-aged man Feng Ge, all turned grim.
"Heh!" Feng Ge let out a cold laugh, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. He stared intently at me and said, "It seems... your sister is very unconvinced!"
"Since that's the case, let's change the way we play. With 20 minutes remaining, we'll gamble four rounds."
"One round every five minutes, fifty thousand per round."
"If you win a round, I'll give you fifty thousand!"
"If you lose a round, I won't take anything, only three of your fingers!"
"Do you... dare to accept?"
"If you don't dare to accept, let me be blunt."
"From now on, the four of us brothers will be permanently stationed at your Baole Card Room!"
After hearing Feng Ge's words, I was rendered speechless: "Is it really necessary? Do we have to go this far!?"
"She's just a young girl who has just come of age. She only said a few angry words. There's no need to play so ruthlessly, is there?"
"Besides, if you're going to gamble, you should be gambling her fingers! Gambling my fingers, what kind of deal is that?"
To be honest, the moment Feng Ge mentioned gambling fingers, I wished I could escape immediately.
Setting aside the fact that this was an unwarranted disaster, I could never forget Uncle Tuo's left hand, which was missing three fingers.
Gambling four rounds, losing one round means chopping off three fingers. If I lost all four rounds, ten fingers wouldn't be enough to chop!
I seriously suspected that Leng Meng, this pickpocket girl... was she incompatible with my destiny?
Why is it that every time I encounter her, I get entangled in such troublesome affairs?!
Ignoring my words, Feng Ge's gaze was like a sword and lightning, staring directly at me and asking, "Are you in or out?"
"I'm in!!!"
Before I could even speak, Leng Meng once again preempted me with her answer.
Gritting her teeth, the girl raised her arm and coldly declared, "Since you want to gamble like this, if you have the guts, let's raise the stakes!"
"If we lose, besides his three fingers, add my three fingers!"
"But if we win, besides the fifty thousand yuan, I want your three fingers!!!"
"Do you... dare or not!?"
As soon as Leng Meng finished speaking, the entire first-floor lobby fell silent.
Everyone was stunned by Leng Meng's words.
Even the extremely flamboyant pimply guy, Xiao Shan, and Feng Ge, who had been the first to make a move, were now staring at Leng Meng in stunned silence, their faces filled with shock.
Leng Meng, with her burning gaze, did not shy away from the stares of the gambling syndicate. The brilliance in her eyes, like scattered stars, exuded a commanding heroism.
After this silent atmosphere persisted for about a minute or two.
Feng Ge, the first to withdraw his gaze from Leng Meng, suddenly lowered his eyelids and fell into thought.
"Heh, interesting! Truly interesting!"
"Little girl, you're trying to play a game of feigned retreat with me? Do you really think I'm easily scared?!"
"Deal!!!"
After snapping back to reality, Feng Ge agreed without hesitation.
"Good!"
Biting my lip hard, I nodded heavily in agreement.
At this point, it was too late to say anything about retreating, and it held no meaning.
Seeing that I had agreed, Leng Meng, without another word, directly lifted her foot and was about to stride towards the gambling table.
As Leng Meng was about to rush towards the card table, Sister Ran quickly held her shoulders with both hands and said anxiously, "Xiao Meng, why are you causing trouble like this!"
"I'm not causing trouble!"
Upon hearing this, Leng Meng pointed at Feng Ge and the others with a resounding voice, saying, "Since he admits that he cheated in the last round, who knows if he used such despicable methods to win against me earlier?"
"I, Leng Meng, am simple in my dealings!"
"Either defeat me with true skill, making me lose wholeheartedly!"
"Or... stop pretending and spitting out that two hundred thousand!"
"Then get lost back to wherever you came from, grandma will tell you!!!"