Chapter 668: A Draw Counts as a Loss
“One round to decide the winner…?”
“Yes.” Qi Xia agreed. “There are still three rounds left, but I don’t want to go through all that trouble. I intend to settle everything with you in this single round.”
“Oh…?” Ground Monkey reached up and scratched his head, seemingly weighing the feasibility of this proposal.
“This round, it’s just me.” Qi Xia continued. “We don’t need to bother with ‘Tao’ anymore. I’ll directly stake all six of our lives.”
“You not only want to decide the match in one round, but you also want to stake your lives right here and now?” Ground Monkey asked.
“That’s right.” Qi Xia said. “This is fair to you too. After all, our current chips are close to twenty. If I win, the accumulated money will likely allow three people to escape, and you’ll only get three lives.”
“How is that fair to me?” Ground Monkey retorted. “If you’re betting six lives, then I need to stake my own life too.”
“Of course not.” Qi Xia shook his head. “If I win, you only need to give us enough ‘Tao’ to survive. The six of us will exchange our ‘lives’ for your ‘Tao.’ Isn’t that fair enough?”
Ground Monkey thought it over carefully for a moment, feeling that what Qi Xia said wasn’t unreasonable.
If they really continued gambling normally, Qi Xia’s chances of winning weren’t small. After all, he had already seen through most of the rules. Even if he couldn’t guarantee everyone’s survival, keeping three people alive was more than feasible.
But if he could win the next round, he might obtain all six lives at once.
Steadily winning three lives, or gambling for a chance at six—which should he choose?
“Heh… What else can I choose?” Ground Monkey slowly curled his lips. “Even if everyone else would pick three lives, I’m a ‘gambler.’”
“So…?”
“I agree.” Ground Monkey nodded. “After all, I said it before—you’re definitely lying. You don’t know what my ‘trump card’ is, so your chances of winning are infinitely low.”
“What if I’m not lying?”
“Then I’ll accept that I lost the bet.” Ground Monkey frowned. “I’ll admit defeat.”
“Alright.”
“But…” Ground Monkey slowly raised his eyes. “I have a condition.”
“A condition…?” Qi Xia frowned, sensing trouble. “Let’s hear it.”
“I was supposed to win this game for sure, yet I’m willing to make such a big concession and go along with your one-round decision. I need to clarify the rules again.”
“What…? Are you changing the rules again?” Qi Xia asked.
“Of course not.” Ground Monkey denied it. “We’ll play the final round under the ‘Full Moon’ rules. But I need to state upfront: a ‘draw’ counts as my win.”
“A draw…?” Qi Xia’s nearly paralyzed brain worked quickly. “You mean… if both of us have the same points, it counts as your win?”
“Not just ‘same points.’” Ground Monkey shook his head. “Even if we both ‘bust’ at the same time, that counts as my win too.”
Qiao Jiajin and Chen Junnan, who had been silent nearby, couldn’t sit still any longer upon hearing this.
“Damn it, Brother Monkey, aren’t you pushing it a bit?” Chen Junnan said. “Why don’t you just say that once you touch the cards, you win?”
“Hey! Hold on!” Qiao Jiajin suddenly thought of something. He reached out to stop Chen Junnan. “Brother Junnan, we might have misunderstood Fatty Monkey. He said a ‘draw’ counts as his win. If it’s not a draw, then it counts as the liar’s win!”
“Whoa~~~!” Chen Junnan slapped his forehead. “Old Qiao, I love your way of thinking! So that’s what Brother Monkey meant?”
“How could it not be?!” Qiao Jiajin added. “Liar, hurry up and bet with him! Your chances are great!”
Ground Monkey pressed his hands on the table, a chill flashing in his eyes. “This must be your last struggle, right? After this round, you’ll all be dead.”
He then turned to look at Qi Xia and asked, “You decide. Do you want to play this final round under my rules, or finish the three normal rounds?”
Qi Xia knew this was the last chance if he wanted everyone to survive together.
If they played out the three rounds normally, not only would he need extremely strong ‘luck’ in every round, but also a very high ‘capital.’ At the same time, Ground Monkey absolutely couldn’t concede voluntarily; he had to put up more than ten chips each round. If even one condition wasn’t met, someone would definitely be left behind.
A certain chance of everyone surviving, versus a guaranteed chance of saving three people—if he were Qi Xia, which would he choose?
“Too bad. I’m also a ‘gambler.’” Qi Xia said. “I agree. We’ll play under the ‘Full Moon’ rules. If it’s a ‘draw,’ it counts as your win.”
“Haha! Straightforward!” Ground Monkey said. “We have plenty of hands this round. Pick someone to deal for us.”
Qi Xia thought for a moment, and then Tiantian, who was not far behind him, suddenly spoke up.
“I’ll do it.”
Everyone turned to look at her at the same time. Tiantian didn’t seem to care at all and walked straight over to the round table.
“Can I?” Tiantian asked again.
Seeing this, Qi Xia slowly nodded, then looked at Ground Monkey.
“Among my people, she’s the only one who doesn’t understand gambling. You can feel at ease if she deals, right?”
“Of course. It doesn’t matter to me who deals.”
Tiantian looked at the two men’s death-defying expressions and could only carefully gather all the cards together. She examined them and wiped off the bloodstains on the surface.
Everyone’s lives were now tied to this single round of gambling. No mistakes could be made.
Qi Xia slowly stood up, then turned his head to glance at Qiao Jiajin and Chen Junnan and said, “You two, come with me.”
Without looking back, he walked toward a table in the distance. The two quickly followed.
Ground Monkey watched as the three sat down slowly at a small table not far away. Then Qi Xia moved his lips, speaking in a very low voice, while the expressions of the two beside him kept changing, as if hearing something extremely unbelievable.
“So… do you understand?” Qi Xia’s voice returned to normal, his tone heavy.
“Un… understand… right?”
The two looked at each other, their expressions a mix of surprise.
“Then I’ll start this round.” Qi Xia said. “Let’s fight this together.”
While Tiantian was shuffling the cards, the three sat down at the round table with different expressions, but they adjusted their seats: Qi Xia in the middle, with Qiao Jiajin and Chen Junnan on either side of him.
This move displeased Ground Monkey.
“Hey…” Ground Monkey tapped the table. “Aren’t you the only one participating in this bet? What are those two doing beside you?”
“My assistants.” Qi Xia said without hesitation. “To prevent me from fainting, and also to make sure I don’t misread the cards.”