Chapter 651: Winning by Deception
When Ground Monkey saw that "Dragon Boat Festival" card, the world seemed to spin around him in an instant.
"Winter Solstice" — 1,1,2,3.
"Start of Summer" — 4,6.
"Dragon Boat Festival" — 5,5.
The cards Zheng Yingxiong had revealed not only included "1,2,3,4,5,6," but also featured "two pairs of 1s" and "two pairs of 5s."
Compared to Ground Monkey's final hand of a "straight" plus "one pair," Zheng Yingxiong's hand was a "straight" plus "two pairs."
"What...?"
Countless questions exploded in his mind, making him feel as though he had been thoroughly toyed with.
"How could you possibly have the 'Dragon Boat Festival' card?"
Qi Xia slowly straightened up, folding his arms across his chest. "Ground Monkey, I think you're right — you really didn't cheat. There's only one 'Dragon Boat Festival' card in this deck."
Hearing this, Ground Monkey whipped his head around to stare at Qi Xia. "What kind of tactic is this? You deliberately made me think you had the 'Dragon Boat Festival' in your hand?"
Even though Ground Monkey had spent years in the gambling world, he had rarely encountered anything like this before.
He had seen people collude to cheat, but he had never seen anyone do so immediately after learning the rules of the game, without any prior communication.
Moreover, the other person was only an eight-year-old child. How could he possibly be made to cooperate in acting out an argument?
"Is there something wrong with that?" Qi Xia curled the corner of his mouth. "Who said that to win against you, I had to rely solely on 'gambling skills'? Sometimes 'deception' works just as well."
"Deception...?"
"Right, I forgot to introduce myself." Qi Xia wiped the blood from his face with his hand. "My name is Qi Xia. I'm a swindler. You can only believe half of what I say."
This brief self-introduction pierced Ground Monkey's ears, bringing him no less shock than that "Dragon Boat Festival" card had just moments ago.
"What the hell...? A swindler?" Ground Monkey scratched his head, his eyes still wide open. "You're saying you're a swindler...?"
Seeing Ground Monkey's expression, Qi Xia became even more certain of one thing — he really hadn't been a swindler before.
At least, the people who had known him previously hadn't thought of him as one. Chen Junnan, for example.
So this "swindler" identity had lasted at most seven years, and it was highly likely related to becoming a "Zodiac."
"So you... were lying to me the whole time just now...?"
"Yes." Qi Xia nodded. "We barely managed to win one round against you, and we were afraid the stakes weren't high enough, so this time we took seven of your tokens directly."
"But how did you do it?" Ground Monkey was genuinely puzzled. "You didn't know the rules before the game started. How could you coordinate with that child to put on an act?"
"What are you doing?" Qi Xia asked with a cold laugh. "We're only in the second round, and you're already asking about my hand?"
Ground Monkey's expression flickered. He took the cigarette from his mouth and held it between his fingers, then slowly sat down with a contemplative look.
"Ground Monkey, I'm disappointed in you." Qi Xia picked up the cards on the table and tossed them away. "Did you really design this 'game'?"
"What...?"
"Never mind." Qi Xia's expression remained icy. "I was planning to invite you into a 'setup,' but now it seems you're not qualified enough."
Qi Xia's words stabbed into Ground Monkey's heart like a sharp needle, causing his expression to shift repeatedly.
"I'm not qualified..." He slowly lowered his head, his eyes dimming. "So you've become that kind of person now...?"
"Oh?"
"Only those who can beat you... are qualified to enter this 'setup'?" Ground Monkey asked.
"It doesn't necessarily have to be by beating me, but at least you need to show me your ability." Qi Xia tapped the table with his hand. "But right now, you're just an ordinary 'Earth-level.' There are plenty of Zodiacs like you. I don't know if this is your natural state, or if you've been a 'casino owner' for too long."
Ground Monkey's murky yellow eyes fixed on Qi Xia. He pondered for a long moment before putting the cigarette back in his mouth. "Qi Xia, if I win, you won't have money left to buy your life."
"That's not a good line." Qi Xia shook his head. "It sounds as if our victory just now was pure luck, and you've been holding back all along."
"And what if that's really the case?"
"Then I'd feel looked down upon." Qi Xia said. "Only by constantly playing against strong opponents can I become stronger. I hope every opponent I face is exceptionally powerful. But you claim you're going to go easy on me — that's really underestimating me."
It seemed every word Qi Xia spoke plunged Ground Monkey into deep thought.
He just kept blinking, mulling over the meaning behind Qi Xia's words.
"So all these years... you've been playing against even stronger people?" Ground Monkey asked again.
"What else?" Qi Xia said. "Should I also open a casino and sleep at the counter every day?"
Once again, Qi Xia's words struck Ground Monkey's heart. He lowered his head listlessly.
At this moment, Zheng Yingxiong sensed something was off. He tugged at Tian Tian's sleeve. "Sister..."
Tian Tian immediately became alert. She knew Zheng Yingxiong must have smelled that strange "stench" again. She quickly scanned the room and finally fixed her gaze on Ground Monkey.
Ground Monkey's state seemed strange. He no longer appeared as carefree as he had at the beginning.
"Qi Xia, I really did underestimate you." Ground Monkey said. "I'm going to get serious now. I'll show you what kind of opponent I am."
"Go ahead."
Ground Monkey threw his cards onto the table. The others also handed their cards to Tian Tian, who was next in line to shuffle and deal.
After Qi Xia collected all the "chips" from the table, he redistributed them.
In the first round, they won four "Tao" from Ground Monkey; in the second, seven — a total of eleven.
Originally, the six of them had an uneven distribution of "Tao." Now that everyone seemed capable of handling things on their own, Qi Xia first replenished Tian Tian, Zheng Yingxiong, and Chen Junnan's chips to four each. With the remaining six, each of the others got one.
Except for Xiao Cheng, everyone now had five "Tao" as their stake — enough to handle various situations. Xiao Cheng naturally didn't refuse.
So far, his contribution to the game had been minimal, so it was only fair that he didn't hold the same stake as the others.
But when Ground Monkey had revealed his hand and mentioned "straight" and "pair," it suddenly opened Xiao Cheng's mind.
If he wasn't mistaken, he had now fully grasped the winning strategy for this game. It all came down to the luck of the draw.
His ultimate goal was different from the others'. Besides surviving the game, he also needed to find a way to awaken his "Echo." But that leader, Qi Xia, was far too clever. Xiao Cheng hardly needed to think for himself — the chips kept piling up.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the third round officially begins!"
Ground Monkey once again announced the words clearly and forcefully.