The scene before me was exactly as I had anticipated, and therefore, not surprising.
Each finalist in the tournament was given one million chips, with no further additions allowed in the subsequent two rounds.
This meant a total of nine million chips per person, which would be continuously played until the final three remained.
The first round, moving from nine to six players, signified that three individuals would be eliminated.
Even if He Chenguang's side was a complete team of cheaters, having reached the finals, no one would want to be eliminated in the first round.
After all, the Gambling King tournament represented the highest honor in the gambling world, and to shine brightly on the final stage…
Fame, fortune, influence, and more could propel a person to the pinnacle of their life overnight!
Thus, while they appeared to be a unified front, in reality, each person remained an independent entity.
After all, as the saying goes, "If a man doesn't look out for himself, heaven and earth will destroy him!"
Until I had eliminated both Yu Shuang and myself, He Chenguang's group would undoubtedly try their best to preserve their chips.
It took me approximately twenty minutes, from the start until now, to truly understand the mindset and strategies of this group.
Simultaneously, I was recalling the names of the seven opponents in the finals that I had asked Li Wenting about earlier, and their respective strengths.
Now, apart from He Chenguang's identity being confirmed, I still needed to individually confirm the remaining six.
"Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated!"
It was also He Zhonghua's fault for tricking me out early this morning, causing my plan to gather intelligence to be completely thwarted.
If it weren't for Li Wenting, I would still be completely clueless about these people.
Therefore, only by understanding everyone's identity and strength could I devise a plan to deal with them accordingly…
Just as I was desperately assessing the current situation, after the "bottom fishing" phase, the beautiful dealer began reshuffling the cards with great speed.
It was clear that this beautiful dealer was in league with He Chenguang and his group, ensuring that each hand concluded normally, leaving me no opportunity to recall or ponder.
After shuffling, according to the rules of "Haojiang Fugui Sanbao," I was to cut the cards again.
As I reached out to cut the cards, I employed the same tactic as the previous round, deliberately revealing a subtle, almost imperceptible flaw to test He Chenguang and the others.
Unfortunately, He Chenguang was impervious to both soft and hard tactics; his expression remained as placid as ever, as if he hadn't noticed anything.
However, one of the other six individuals showed a subtle change in their expression.
This person was extremely unsavory in appearance, especially his prominent ears, which made him look like a monkey.
I knew very well that the man with the prominent ears showing such an expression meant he had begun to harbor suspicions about my card-cutting action.
Once suspicion is sown, I have a target to focus on.
If I couldn't figure out who was who, and therefore couldn't match the names Li Wenting mentioned to the individuals, I would start by elimination, aiming to get one of them out first.
With this decision made, and taking advantage of the moment when the beautiful dealer's hands were dealing cards and blocking the line of sight, I quickly gave Yu Shuang a subtle glance.
I signaled her to cooperate with me in this hand.
After the cards were dealt, the long-haired man sitting to my upper hand, with the typical look of an artist, spoke first to call the bet.
To avoid anyone not knowing what "Fugui Sanbao" was, or how to play the game, I will reveal the correct answer.
"Haojiang Fugui Sanbao" is actually the most popular card game in mainland China, "Zha Jin Hua" (Exploding Golden Flower), though there are quite a few differences in the rules compared to the mainland version.
The specific differences will become clear as you continue reading.
The long-haired man, holding the priority to call the bet, was very cautious. He actually looked at his cards first.
Then… he folded immediately!
This turn of events completely caught me by surprise.
After the long-haired man folded, the betting right passed to his upper hand, a person with dead fish eyes that were inherently uncomfortable to look at.
The dead fish eyes did not look at their cards but directly made a blind bet of ten thousand.
As for the others, when it was my turn to speak, sitting at the last position, three people from He Chenguang's side chose to look at their cards and fold.
This meant their strategy was a four-on-two.
They were targeting me and Yu Shuang with a two-to-one ratio, leaving three people to preserve more chips and deal with any potential unexpected situations.
It was very strange, and very peculiar.
This was the complete opposite of my earlier assumption that all seven would gang up on the two of us.
I wondered what He Chenguang was really planning.
On the highly anticipated finals stage, I didn't, as I usually would, rack my brain trying to decipher the deeper meaning behind He Chenguang's actions.
Because Uncle Tuo had once taught me that when you cannot fathom an enemy's actions, never waste time or energy trying to guess, deduce, or even fantasize; it is best to remain steadfast and respond to changes as they come.
Since they are enemies, we will eventually clash. It is best to be prepared and wait for them to make their move.
With this thought, I directly countered by raising the bet to fifty thousand, throwing my chips into the pot.
Upon seeing my move, Yu Shuang couldn't help but furrow her delicate brows slightly. She glanced at me from the corner of her eye, seemingly asking why I had proactively raised the bet before the enemy had even raised.
Even He Chenguang's face flashed with a look of disbelief.
It seemed that He Chenguang, who had always been unruffled, couldn't understand why I would dare to raise the bet to fifty thousand without looking at my cards.
As most people at the table cast various glances at me, I put on a mysterious smile and lit a cigarette.
The moment I lit the cigarette with the lighter, the little finger of my right hand trembled slightly.
When it was Yu Shuang's turn to speak later, seeing my subtle gesture, Queen Bee hesitated uncharacteristically.
I knew her hesitation stemmed from being too close to the situation, completely unaware of my calculations for this hand.
At the same time, she was also unsure if I was truly trustworthy.
This was the first time Yu Shuang and I had put aside our past grievances and fought side-by-side at the gambling table.
We hadn't rehearsed any secret signals that only we could understand beforehand. Even though Yu Shuang had always appeared exceptionally intelligent, she couldn't fathom my thoughts and intentions at this moment.
Therefore, she hesitated, deeply hesitated.
Halfway through smoking the cigarette…
Whether it was out of gambling instinct or a final choice of trust, after half a cigarette's time, Yu Shuang, with her red lips slightly pursed, silently matched my five-thousand chip bet.
Seeing that both of us had called, He Chenguang, who had remained silent until now, finally couldn't help but speak.
"This is interesting!"