As I had analyzed and deduced, it was almost exactly as I had predicted.
Just as Lin Xinyu was about to speak and publicly announce the winner of the first round, Uncle Qiu immediately requested to examine and verify the cards.
Although Uncle Qiu knew very well that I was likely in the clear for this round, losing purely due to luck felt like being defeated by a random punch, something he found hard to accept.
Therefore, Uncle Qiu could only retreat and seek a compromise, using the card examination as a breakthrough to see if he could find any flaws.
After all, if he directly accused me of cheating and it turned out to be unfounded, he would be immediately ruled as having lost.
So, the best approach was to examine the cards first.
The opportunity for each person to examine the cards once indeed placed a strong constraint on me.
But for Uncle Qiu… it was completely useless.
Even if he found nothing and gained nothing, it wouldn't matter if he wasted this opportunity.
As long as he didn't directly accuse me of cheating without any certainty, that was fine.
Don't forget, this was Uncle Qiu's home turf.
If he sensed anything amiss from me later, he could still use the pretext of other hidden players to request another card examination.
If all else failed, he could secretly instruct a hidden player to step forward and accuse me of cheating.
The method Uncle Qiu employed was a rule-based advantage, bolstered by his home turf advantage.
And this advantage was something only he could enjoy.
To put it bluntly, Lin Jiahuan was openly favoring Uncle Qiu.
While it seemed fair to give both me and Uncle Qiu one chance each to examine cards and accuse of cheating, Lin Jiahuan directly linked the success or failure of the accusation to the outcome of the bet.
Accusation successful: If I caught Uncle Qiu, he lost. If Uncle Qiu caught me, I lost.
Accusation failed: The person who made the accusation was immediately ruled as having lost and was eliminated.
At first glance, it seemed like there were no issues.
However, the real problem was that, apart from Cheng Minglang, everyone else in the room was a helper brought by Lin Jiahuan.
Moreover, when Lin Jiahuan spoke of opportunities earlier, he had only specifically addressed me and Uncle Qiu at the gambling table, making no mention of these hidden players at all!
Could it be that Lin Jiahuan was unaware of the purpose of these people?
The answer was clearly no!
The "failed accusation results in a loss" that Lin Jiahuan mentioned earlier referred to the situation between me and Uncle Qiu, who were seated at the gambling table; whoever failed in their accusation would lose.
These hidden players outside the gambling table were inherently targeting me, observing and guarding against me in secret.
Besides taking the initiative, these hidden players would also passively accuse me of cheating according to the requests made by Uncle Qiu or Lin Jiahuan.
Therefore, he was simply playing a sophisticated game of words.
Once I agreed, the home turf advantage would be silently established.
As for me catching Uncle Qiu? Forget about it!
With a room full of helpers supporting him, let alone hiding a few playing cards, they could even pull off a vanishing act!
…
After understanding the intricacies of the situation, I knew that the subsequent gambling rounds were the real highlight, and I had to be even more careful and cautious!
While I was secretly contemplating the upcoming rounds, Lin Xinyu had already collected all the cards on the table and handed them to Uncle Qiu.
Upon seeing this, Uncle Qiu, without a word, began to meticulously examine and verify the cards…
After an unknown amount of time.
Uncle Qiu slightly raised his head, looked at Lin Jiahuan with annoyance and disappointment, and said, "All 52 cards are accounted for, no issues at all!"
No issues?
Upon seeing Uncle Qiu shake his head, Lin Jiahuan's brows immediately furrowed, and his face displayed disbelief…
If the cards were fine, it meant that Uncle Qiu had truly lost the first round due to luck.
That damned and detestable 17 points!
But then again, even if Uncle Qiu hadn't played it safe and had chosen to gamble, that conspicuous red five wouldn't have helped him turn the tide.
Instead, it might have accelerated Uncle Qiu's failure and completely cost him the victory in the first round.
It seemed I could only find an opportunity to exert myself in the subsequent rounds…
With this thought, Lin Jiahuan couldn't help but cast a subtle glance at Uncle Qiu.
He then signaled Lin Xinyu to prepare for the second round of gambling.
Lin Xinyu, serving as the temporary dealer, received Lin Jiahuan's instructions and immediately looked at me, saying, "You won the first round!"
"Now, would you like to rest for a bit, or shall we proceed directly to the second round?"
"Let's start directly."
After exhaling a puff of smoke, I stated decisively.
Upon hearing this, Lin Xinyu nodded slightly and began preparing for the second round…
Not long after, after Uncle Qiu and I had taken turns examining the cards, Lin Xinyu placed all the new decks required for Baccarat into the automatic poker shuffler.
Even a professional cheat couldn't shuffle eight decks at once, let alone an ordinary person who didn't know any cheating techniques.
After pressing the button, a series of shuffling sounds emanated from the automatic poker shuffler.
Due to the loss in the previous round, Uncle Qiu and the onlookers like Lin Jiahuan had grim expressions as the cards were being shuffled this round.
For the Lin family, this round was unequivocally a life-or-death match where winning was imperative.
If they won, the gap between the two sides would be erased, and they would return to a level playing field.
But if they lost, it would be time to pay the debt!
Without even thinking, I knew that the second round… was the true beginning of the confrontation!
After shuffling the cards, Lin Xinyu began dealing.
According to the outcome of the previous round, I had the first move.
Although this was a one-on-one single bet, with no distinction between banker and player, no standing or drawing cards based on circumstances, and everything was focused on winning or losing, unlike Blackjack…
In Baccarat, both cards are dealt face down.
In other words, Uncle Qiu and I… each had two opportunities to "bet" on our cards!
For a cheat, having even one opportunity to manipulate cards could allow them to secretly steal, swap, or even hide cards without anyone noticing.
Two opportunities essentially meant that a cheat could act as they pleased, with complete freedom.
Unfortunately, this round, I had the first move.
If I were to cheat right from the start and aim for an 8 or even a 9, regardless of whether Uncle Qiu also chose to cheat…
I could guarantee that someone from the outside would actively step forward to request a card examination or even a body search.
Once such a situation occurred, I wouldn't need to guess to know what the subsequent script would be.
Therefore, I decided to abandon the idea of cheating in the second round and save all the suspense for the final deciding round.