Chapter 21

When Jin Mianchou returned to the table, the referee had already cleared the surface, ready for the next round.

"Tch… how boring." Jin Mianchou picked up the paper and pen, muttering unhappily, "Talking about the 'domain of gambling,' do you think this is a movie? What are the odds of a royal flush versus a four-of-a-kind in a game of showdown in real life… you even know…"

"Stop the nonsense, hurry up and write down your answer. I've wasted enough time on a second-rate player like you." Feng Bujue didn't even bother letting Jin Mianchou finish, interrupting him in an almost brutish tone.

Upon hearing this, Jin Mianchou snorted coldly, finished writing his answer, and handed it to the referee.

The referee picked up the answer, glanced at it, and then, as usual, confirmed it with the question setter before signaling Feng Bujue to announce his round declaration.

"Oh… I see." However, Brother Jue didn't immediately announce the number of rounds. Instead, he slowly looked at the referee, then at Jin Mianchou, and said in an ambiguous, strange tone, "So, it's these numbers… indeed, it's the choice you'd make."

"What are you talking about?" Jin Mianchou glared at Brother Jue, responding with an unfriendly tone, "What's with that 'you already know the answer' tone? Don't tell me you're trying to say…"

"Seven rounds." Feng Bujue interrupted him again, rudely. "I declare… I'll give the answer within seven rounds."

"Wh… what?" At that moment, Jin Mianchou, who had maintained a calm demeanor, finally couldn't help but reveal his inner surprise. "You… this guy…"

But a few seconds later, after he recovered from the shock, he returned to his usual state and said in a deep voice, "Ah… I understand." He laughed. "Heh… heh heh… is this the so-called 'domain of gambling'? Hmph… isn't it just bluffing?" With that, he slammed the table, pointing at Brother Jue. "Seven rounds? Do you think you're guessing a four-digit number with no repeats? Or do you think I'd write an answer like 333333?"

"Oh… since you're so confident…" Feng Bujue replied calmly, "How about betting a hundred thousand?"

"Hmm?" Jin Mianchou was stunned by the sound of this.

"If the base bet for the number of rounds is a hundred thousand, you'd be guaranteed to win big as long as you hold out until the eighth round and then surrender, right?" Feng Bujue continued in a tone that was almost indifferent, "Even if I bet all my chips in the eighth round, the penalty for your surrender would only be around twenty thousand. Adding the seven thousand I gave you in the previous seven rounds, that's about thirteen thousand. And when the 'bet on rounds' is settled, you can take a hundred thousand from me in one go… In that case, when it's your turn to guess in the second game, my funds as the question setter would only be around fifteen thousand. Assuming I run away again in the tenth round, the high penalty due to the fund difference, and at least a thousand or so in base bets, would further erode my funds."

His words were practically helping Jin Mianchou calculate everything…

"The most important thing is…" Feng Bujue didn't forget to add in a concluding tone, "Once the above assumption holds true, regardless of whether I can be saved after the duel, at least your advancement is a certainty… At that point, you'll not only have completed two duels and gained exemption from challenges, but you'll also have nearly two hundred thousand in funds, which will give you a greater advantage in all subsequent 'challenge games'."

On the other side, Jin Mianchou was rapidly analyzing in his mind while listening to Brother Jue… and the conclusion he reached was consistent with what Brother Jue had said.

"This guy… is he crazy?" Jin Mianchou thought to himself, "Why is he telling me all this? Playing hard to get? Retreating to advance? No… this is digging his own grave… Although having him say these things makes it feel like there's some kind of trap hidden in this game, but… but! Deducing the answer in seven rounds is impossible no matter what!"

"I bet! A hundred thousand!" A few seconds later, just as the betting time was about to expire, Jin Mianchou pressed the switch on the timer and said to the referee in his grating, high-pitched voice.

"Heh… hahahaha…" Feng Bujue laughed then and there, a laughter that was no longer just "unsettling," but had reached the point of making people shudder.

Jin Mianchou didn't know why… in the face of the other party's absurd number of rounds, he should have been the one with the absolute advantage, but he felt a little apprehensive in his heart, always feeling that the man beneath the crow mask had some kind of "plan."

"Were you just thinking… that it's impossible to get the answer in seven rounds?" The next second, Brother Jue restrained his laughter and asked Jin Mianchou in a teasing tone.

And Jin Mianchou was so shocked by these words that his body shook…

"You…" He almost said the five words "How did you know?", but he managed to hold back in the end.

"Indeed, in the 'domain of calculation,' this is basically impossible." Feng Bujue continued, "But… in the world of gambling, that's another matter."

"Ha! Don't try to scare me!" Jin Mianchou was unwilling to show weakness either. "No matter how you bluff, after three… no… two rounds, you'll be exposed!"

"Exposed?" Feng Bujue repeated these four words and laughed, "Heh… alright, I hope you don't piss your pants when you see my true colors." At this point, his expression turned serious, and he announced, "First round, I bet 1021 dollars (according to the rounding principle, Feng Bujue, who currently holds 102072, has the same minimum bet as when he held 102112 at the start of the last duel)."

"I call…" Jin Mianchou thought for a second before saying that.

Feng Bujue didn't even think, picked up the paper, and wrote down a set of numbers – 【135899】

When this piece of paper was pushed in front of Jin Mianchou, the latter's body stiffened visibly, and his hand holding the pen… also began to tremble.

"What's going on? What's going on!" At the same time, his heart was crying out in alarm, his mind suddenly buzzed, and his thoughts fell into chaos, "This is impossible… why can he guess 1A5B in the first round!" (A=Accurate, B=Close)

Naturally, Jin Mianchou did not immediately give feedback on this set of numbers…

He suddenly looked up at his opponent.

However, all he saw was just a mask…

"Cheating! He must be cheating… but… how is he doing it?" Jin Mianchou's gaze lingered on Brother Jue's mask for a few seconds, then turned to the referee, pondering to himself, "The referee hasn't shown any reaction, and I haven't seen anything unusual, but for this guy to guess this far in the first round, it's absolutely unreasonable… Could it be…" Thinking of this, the expression under the mask changed drastically, "... this referee is in cahoots with him?"