Chapter 1 The Organizer's Adjustments

The organizer spent ten minutes perfecting several suggestions proposed by Feng Bujue.

He canceled everyone's challenge immunity and added a rule: "The referee will flip a coin to decide who goes first."

This way, before a duel was established, no one knew whether they would be the proposer or the solver, and with the order of attack and defense decided by the coin, both sides had nothing to say.

In addition, to reduce the objective gap caused by the difference in funds, "secondary loans" were also initiated; the upper limit of the loan was the difference between the current holdings of the game player and the funds of the person ranked first, rounded to the nearest whole number.

Incidentally, the person currently ranked first was Feng Bujue.

His lead in "time" gave him more hunting opportunities... By ten o'clock sharp, his holdings had reached over three hundred thousand US dollars.

Therefore, the amount of the secondary loan was based on him.

For example, if someone lost and only had less than ten thousand US dollars left, they could borrow two hundred and ninety thousand; and if they had sixty thousand on hand, they could borrow two hundred and forty thousand...

Of course, they would have to sign a new supplementary contract on top of the first contract they signed.

Long story short...

At ten thirty-eight, secondary loans began.

Although the organizer had a group of top-notch legal and financial personnel, drafting and printing the contracts still took about twenty minutes.

Honestly, these people were already working extremely efficiently without making mistakes... But the organizer didn't seem too satisfied, because he didn't like waiting.

"Hurry up! You scum, you're dawdling around borrowing money, time waits for no one!"

While the game players were borrowing money, the organizer was already urging them loudly from the second floor.

Indeed, the time until midnight was getting shorter and shorter, and even if they shortened the time of each duel to within twenty minutes as Feng Bujue said, they wouldn't be able to play too many rounds.

…………

At ten forty-five, everyone who needed it had completed the secondary loan.

At this moment, the contest of victory and defeat reopened.

This time, everyone knew the importance of funds; no one hesitated anymore, and they all desperately raised the amount of funds to the upper limit of three hundred thousand.

Thus, at this point in time, the difference in funds among all the game players disappeared, the right to challenge each other was released, and the order of attack and defense depended on fate.

In short... they returned to a relatively fair competitive state.

Of course, that's not to say that the advantages of those "leaders" had vanished, because... at midnight, when the "guess the number duel" ended, everyone had to pay back the "loan" first, and then settle the "chips."

Therefore, the disadvantages of the laggards still existed, and the "secondary loan" only gave them the capital and opportunity to counterattack.

As for whether they could turn the tables in adversity, it would depend on their performance in the following rounds...

…………

"Young Master, there's something I don't understand..." More than ten minutes after the duel reopened, Suit A found an opportunity to speak to the organizer.

"What is it?" The organizer was in a good mood at the moment, and he responded immediately in a light tone.

"I can see that Jiang Daode's purpose in making suggestions to you... was because he was afraid that the set of rules you originally wanted to change would be too unfavorable to him, so he proposed a more moderate method." Suit A continued, "But what I don't understand is... why is he still actively earning chips now?"

"Yes... Young Master, I don't understand either..." Suit B also said at this time, "According to the current situation, he should try to delay the time and adopt a conservative strategy as much as possible." He paused for half a second, and then said, "As a leader, there's no need to continue 'striving for profit,' they only need to 'lose less' to be firmly in the forefront when the settlement is made."

"Heh..." The organizer smiled when he heard this, "It's not surprising that you don't understand..." He shook his head, "The reason why you don't understand his behavior is because your most basic 'thinking mode' is different from his."

As soon as he said this, the two suits looked at the organizer with puzzled expressions, waiting for him to continue.

"You, and 99% of the hundreds of people here, are thinking based on the concept of 'surviving'." The organizer paused for a moment, and then continued, "Surviving in this game, surviving in tonight's gambling game, returning to the outside world... surviving..."

Suit A swallowed: "Young Master... is this idea... wrong?"

"There's no right or wrong in it..." The organizer replied, "It can only be said that your ideas represent the 'will of the majority,' which is what is called 'normal'..." As he said this, his gaze had already turned to Brother Jue in the hall, "However, that man... his ideas are different from yours, or rather—'abnormal'."

"He... is he thinking about dying?" Suit B asked very straightforwardly.

"Haha..." The organizer was amused, "That's not what I meant..." He turned his head and glanced at the two bodyguards beside him, then said, "You've watched many such 'good shows' with me, what do you think... is the essence of 'gambling'?"

The two big men looked at each other, without answering, because they didn't have a real answer in their hearts either.

"Heh..." Seeing this, the organizer waited for a few seconds, and then continued on his own, "Gambling is dying without any meaning..."

Although he said an "answer," the two of them still didn't understand.

"The size of the cards, the number of dice, the destination of a certain marble, the outcome of a certain game, or even what kind of car will drive by in the next minute..." The organizer said again, "Gambling, to put it bluntly, is these 'boring' things... at least most of them are boring and meaningless. If it doesn't involve 'bets,' then gambling will probably become as annoying as statistics. But... it's different after there are 'bets'—winning may mean gaining everything, and losing may mean losing everything; betting 'everything' on a 'result' that hasn't happened yet, enjoying the excitement of that process, and bearing the ecstasy or pain when the result is revealed... this is the real gambler, the real 'rogue'."

"Young Master, are you saying..." Suit A also turned his head to look at Brother Jue at this time, "He is also a real..."

"No." The organizer interrupted him, "You're wrong to use the word 'also'." He spread his hands and smiled, "Only he is the real deal, I'm not a 'rogue'... I'm just a coward." He said wistfully, "People like me who use money to protect themselves and stay in a safe place from beginning to end... can't be considered 'gambling,' at most they're just 'playing'."

The organizer paused, and then continued: "Obviously, this 'Mr. Crow'... is a complete rogue; to make a not-so-appropriate analogy... when everyone is considering 'how to survive to the next round of the game,' he is considering 'how to kill everyone.' This essential difference, coupled with the difference in ability, makes his execution several levels higher than others..."

…………

Late, eleven fifty-nine.

One minute left until midnight.

According to the rules, duels not completed at midnight can be extended until the end.

And at this moment, almost all the "guests" were still in duels...

Some people had composure written on their faces, some had smugness, and some had expressions that said "it's over"; the masks covered these expressions, but sweat, tears... still flowed uncontrollably down some people's cheeks and chins; the trembling of their bodies and postures... were also impossible to hide.

It can be said that although this last duel wasn't over yet, it was basically possible to identify which people would be eliminated based on their body language.

On the other hand, it was unknown when, but the number of suits and sunglasses men in the hall had increased again; and dozens of suits and sunglasses women had also arrived.

As staff members, they were all very clear... that the scene that followed would become quite ugly, so they needed enough manpower to suppress a large number of frantic people to control the scene.

And this noisy moment after midnight was also a good show that the organizer was very happy to see.

People who had fallen into the quagmire of despair revealed their ugly and embarrassing postures and faces.

Those men who were originally upright and arrogant were kneeling on the ground begging for mercy and crying; those women who were originally graceful and charming were screaming, crying, and hysterical.

But this last struggle was undoubtedly futile, and they were eventually dragged out...

Among them, those who had not signed a "protection contract" were forcibly sent back to their respective single cabins. As soon as the ship docked, they would be driven ashore and burdened with even more severe debts.

And those who had already signed a "protection contract" were gathered together according to gender; the other guests did not know where they were going, but... they could imagine their future as "possessions."

…………

Early morning, twelve twenty-five.

"Ladies and gentlemen~" Tonight, the organizer came down from the second floor for the first time, "Allow me to congratulate you all first."

He walked into the middle of the main hall with a dashing gait, and the two suits followed closely behind, one on each side.

"Congratulations to everyone for standing out in the Guess the Number Duel." The organizer paused here and clapped his hands gently.

The next second, all the suits and sunglasses men and women around him also applauded. However... there was not the slightest hint of "congratulations" on their faces.

"Before announcing the rules of the next round of the game, allow me... to offer everyone a toast."

Before the organizer finished speaking, sixty-four sunglasses men had already come to the sides of the remaining sixty-four guests in the main hall with trays.

Each of them held a glass of champagne on their trays.

"Please be sure to do me the honor..." The organizer said as he took his own glass of champagne from the sixty-fifth staff member and raised it high.

Seeing this, the guests naturally raised their glasses to show their appreciation, and some of those with tighter masks slightly lifted the lower half of their masks with their other hands to prepare to drink.

As for Feng Bujue... he originally had to raise his glass to about the same height as his face to drink the contents, so at this moment his action of "sticking the straw into the eye of the mask" was still the same.

"Well..." The organizer held up his glass for a few seconds and said, "Hmm... let me think about a toast..."

"Hurry up, my arm is getting sore." Before he could finish speaking, Brother Jue urged him on.

The organizer pursed his lips under his mask: "Okay... then I wish the world pe..."

Before he could say the word "ace," Feng Bujue snatched it away: "Who are you kidding? Peace your ass, do you think you're participating in a beauty pageant? Change it!"

As soon as he heard this, the organizer's expression twitched, and he muttered in his heart: "Hey, you're the one urging me... you're the one picking and choosing... are you looking for trouble..."

Thinking was thinking, he still changed his words: "Then... thank you for your..."

"Is this a full moon banquet or a classmate reunion? Do you want to change your words and call us all guests? Thank you for what? It's as if we came here to do you a favor, change it!" Brother Jue interrupted him again and launched his cheap and full of complaining ability again.

"I haven't said what I'm going to thank you for yet!" The organizer finally couldn't help it and roared at Brother Jue, "Are you done yet! Why don't you just say it!"

"Okay, I wish you all good health." Feng Bujue said in a very fast tone, and then sucked down more than half a glass of champagne with a slurp.

The organizer was shocked at the time, but after being shocked, he still finished the champagne in his hand with the other guests.

Feeling embarrassed by his gaffe, the organizer cleared his throat awkwardly after drinking, waited a few seconds, and then said: "Ahem... well... everyone, I'll announce the content of the second game now."

With that, he raised a hand and snapped his fingers.

Two seconds later, a suit and sunglasses man came over, took the empty glass from the organizer's hand, and then handed him something.

After the organizer took it, he raised "that thing" and showed it to everyone: "I named this game—'Triple Neurasthenia'."

At the same time as he said those six words, he took advantage of the situation and used a shuffling technique commonly seen in Hong Kong gambling films from the 1990s, passing the entire deck of neatly stacked and brand new cards from top to bottom.

At this moment, none of the sixty-three guests present could see anything from the organizer's show of skill, only one person... already knew a lot of information.

"Hmm... not poker, but special cards. A total of one hundred and two cards, divided into thirty-four patterns... it is indeed a bit more difficult than ordinary 'Neurasthenia,' but..." After a glance, Feng Bujue was already saying in his heart, "Heh... playing cards in front of me, you're probably still a little tender..."