Card Room

After clearing 9 of Spades, everyone returned to their familiar personal space and saw A of Spades, who was wearing sunglasses and pretending to be cool.

The clearance process was very thrilling but fortunately, they finally achieved the 'perfect clearance' evaluation. Yu Hanjiang looked at the keeper and said, "We received a perfect clearance so there should be extra rewards? Can we draw from the treasure chests?"

A of Spades waved his hands and a row of familiar cards with a full moon on the back appeared in front of everyone. They were the identity cards that everyone used in the Bloody Night Witch secret room.

Surprisingly, this time A of Spades didn't let them draw cards. He explained, "This time, the secret room only rewards limited cards from the game. You passed the instance perfectly and there are additional rewards. You can freely choose four cards from all the identity cards in the Werewolf killing game."

Ye Qi heard this sentence and his eyes lit up. "For example, if we choose a hunter then we can gain the ability of the hunter? All the characters that appear in the game can be chosen?"

A of Spades nodded. "Yes, the card skills correspond to the skills of the game characters. If you like, you can even choose Cupid to connect two people. Bind them together and if one is killed then the other will die."

Everyone looked at each other and got together to discuss it. The Werewolf killing game had a wide range of identity cards. Since all identity cards could be selected, they had to choose the four best ones.

The celestial cards like the elder and grave keeper were actually of little use. The elder was immune to exile in the voting stage. Who would vote for them after leaving the secret room? As for the grave keeper who could turn over the grave stones of the dead in the night… forget it!

Ye Qi asked curiously, "The prophet can check the other person's identity. If it isn't the Werewolf killing game, can we check the identity of people in the Hearts secret rooms? For example, guess the identity of the killer and find out whether they are a good person or werewolf at night?"

A of Spades was expressionless. "What do you think?"

Xiao Lou looked at Ye Qi. "This definitely isn't possible. If the prophet can check the identity of the murderer in the Hearts secret room, what will be the difficulty? Every night, we can check a suspect and clear the instance in a few days. We don't need to do any reasoning."

Ye Qi smiled and scratched the back of his head. "Yes!"

After careful consideration, Xiao Lou spoke. "Take the dreamer first. The dreamer can protect a teammate from all damage during the night. The versatility is relatively strong. Once it comes to the survival room, the person chosen by the dreamer at night doesn't need to be afraid of death."

Yu Hanjiang agreed. "The dreamer can also kill someone directly by picking the same person for two consecutive nights. It can be offensive and defensive and it is very flexible to use."

Xiao Lou looked at everyone. "What do you think?"

They all agreed.

Shao Qingge joked with a smile. "Can I use this card?"

Xiao Lou replied. "Of course, you used the dreamer in the game. You can keep it."

Shao Qingge immediately raised a few fingers. "I accept."

Xiao Lou looked at him helplessly. "There are still several cards. Which ones do you think are better?"

Yu Hanjiang made a decision. "The witch who has a bottle of poison and a bottle of antidote. The poison can directly poison a person while the antidote can save lives at critical moments. We still have too few healing cards. We can only rely on Chief Shao and the bug king card and that isn't enough."

His teammates agreed. Although no one had been injured so far, if they encountered danger in the Spades or Clubs secret room then there was the bottle of antidote. A team member could be rescued when dying.

There were two cards remaining. Xiao Lou suggested, "The nightmare and the flower butterfly. The nightmare can frighten enemies, leaving them unable to use skills at night. The flower butterfly can hug the enemy and invalidate all the enemy's skills. They are two single target control cards."

The previous control cards like Ye Qi's flute all had short skill duration times. One control was around 3 seconds. However, Nightmare and Flower Butterfly had long skill durations. They could only be activated at night but the control lasted all night. These two cards were quite awesome if they encountered a night battle in the secret room.

All the team members made the decision happily.

A of Spades gave them the four S-grade game cards with a bloody moon pattern on the back.

The S-grade card Dreamer was assigned to Shao Qingge since he was relatively skilled in using it. Witch was given to Liu Qiao, Nightmare was given to Old Mo who had no strong control skills and Flower Butterfly was given to Qu Wanyue.

Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang didn't take anything. After all, Xiao Lou had too many control skills from his character summoning card and Yu Hanjiang didn't like such fancy cards. The cards in his hand were basically blades and guns. They were simple and easy to use.

This time, they played a thrilling killing game for a few days in the Spades secret room and were able to obtain four Werewolf killing game cards. The harvest wasn't bad. The previous haze in their hearts was swept away and joy filled their faces.

Back in the main city, the group found a hot pot restaurant to eat first.

This time, the Spades secret room deliberately shielded everyone’s metabolic system. They were all like robots, spending many days in the unfamiliar village, repeating the process of acting during the night and voting during the day without eating a single meal. They weren’t physically hungry but they were psychologically hungry!

After a delicious hot pot meal, they regained their vitality. Then they went back to the villa and continued with 9 of Clubs.

An A-grade Clubs room wasn't too difficult so it should be a card game. This was what Chief Shao was good at. It was winning or losing money so they didn't feel too much pressure. They easily found the Clubs keeper and put on neat black suits according to the requirements of the teenager with facial paralysis.

Everyone followed the Clubs keeper into the elevator. There was a ding and the elevator door opened. The Clubs teenager gave an introduction. "Welcome to the largest underground casino in the City of the Moon."

The group heard this and looked at each other. Wasn't the Clubs secret room against challengers? Why were they brought to the underground casino in the City of the Moon?

As early as the 3 of Spades secret room, Xiao Lou and Shao Qingge had heard about the underground casino from the taxi driver. At that time, Shao Qingge said he would go and see it if he had time. Later, everyone came to the City of the Moon. Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang weren't on the same flight as Shao Qingge and Ye Qi. The two of them found Shao Qingge and Ye Qi in the underground casino. At that time, Chief Shao was playing a few card games.

Unexpectedly, the Clubs keeper brought them here today. They followed the teenager into the hall and everyone was startled by the hall that seemed to have no end in sight.

Luxurious crystal chandeliers were hanging from the ceiling and the floor of the hall was covered with a thick carpet. There was almost no sound when stepping on it. There were countless tables lined up neatly throughout the hall, all of them covered with a uniform green flannel. 10 soft chairs were arranged around each of the tables.

At this time, there weren't many guests in the hall. They were gathered at the tables to play cards in groups of two or three.

It was the first time that many members of the team had come to such a big casino. It felt fresh but they were also nervous. All they could do was follow the footsteps of A of Clubs, not knowing what tricks he was going to play this time.

The teenager led everyone to a side passage. A beautiful woman saw him and immediately spoke reverently, "Master, the guests you have reserved will be here in half an hour. The room is ready for you."

The Clubs teenager nodded. "Yes."

The underground casino had a total of three floors. He took everyone to the third underground floor and walked into a VIP box. The decorations in the box were much more luxurious than the hall and there was no one inside at the moment.

Previously, the Clubs secret room was a game between challengers at a table. Once everyone walked through the door of the personal space, they would see a card table arranged by A of Clubs which was a closed game environment. Yet today, they were taken to the large casino by A of Clubs and the atmosphere was really strange.

Yu Hanjiang frowned. "What do you mean by taking us to the casino?"

The teenager spoke in a blank manner, "This is the last card game of the A grade secret rooms. Naturally, I want to make it a bit more exciting."

Shao Qingge smiled and touched his chin. "This is the underground casino in the City of the Moon. I heard the beautiful young lady say just now that you have reserved some guests. Don't tell me you have an appointment with some bigshots from the City of the Moon? We aren't playing with challengers this time?"

The young man looked at Shao Qingge with cold eyes. "You are smart. What is the point of always playing against challengers? I know the balance in your bank card but this money isn't enough against the local tyrants. Today, I have invited some distinguished guests from the top 10 of the Card World's rich list. Their worth is immeasurable."

Everyone heard this and couldn't help sweating. Guests from the top 10 rich list? They were people that ordinary people would never be able to see in their lifetime, right?

Xiao Lou wondered, "You are letting us play card games with noble guests from the rich list?"

Ordinary people and people on the rich list going to a professional casino to play cards? Was A of Clubs crazy?! Everyone wanted to ask this question but were forced to shut their mouths after meeting the teenager's cold eyes. It wasn't a good thing to offend the keeper.

Yu Hanjiang simply said, "Let's talk about the rules first. Do all eight of us need to play?"

The Clubs teenager replied, "The table seats are limited. You can choose two people as representatives to participate in the game. I will give 100 chips to everyone participating in the game. One chip represents 1 million gold coins. Winning or losing depends on your strength. If you lose all the chips, you can ask the dealer to continue to redeem chips. The amount will be deducted from your bank card. It isn't easy to make an appointment with these big shots so they need to have a good time in this game."

Shao Qingge narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean by a good time?"

"It will start at 8 o'clock in the evening and they will leave at midnight. You have to accompany them until midnight. If you don't have enough chips, you can redeem it with money from your bank card on the spot until you lose it all."

Shao Qingge rolled his eyes. "Are we little white mice caught by you to accompany the bigshots to practice?"

The Clubs teenager slightly raised his eyebrow. "Aren't you good at playing cards? If you don't have the confidence to win then just lose and go back. These bigshots have a good temper. If you really lose the balance in your bank card, they won't let you take off just one pair of underwear."

Everyone, "……"

They all turned to Shao Qingge for help.

Chief Shao thought, 'I am under great pressure!'

He rubbed his temples and asked helplessly, "What game is it this time?"

A of Clubs replied, "Texas Hold'em."

Shao Qingge, "……"

Well, it was really professional.

Texas hold'em was a popular tournament card game all over the world. The rules were unified and there were many professional clubs and players who made a living from it. Shao Qingge had gone to the world's largest Las Vegas casino to play it.

The problem now was that if he lost money, it would be the team's money, not his own. The team's bank accounts were kept by him. There might be a lot of money in them but was it comparable to the richest people? If he played with the rich for a few hours and really lost then it would be his fault. Not to mention, his cards like Rich and Willful and Thousand Gold Coin Throw cost money to use.

Shao Qingge wondered, "Can we not play? I still think it is kinder to play against the challengers at your card table."

The Clubs teenager looked at him with cold eyes. "You don't have to play and your entire team will go to the Nightmare Room to play. Then it won't just be a matter of losing your underwear. Perhaps you will have your fingers chopped off or your organs harvested."

Everyone replied in unison, "Let's play!"

Shao Qingge took a deep breath to calm down and glanced at his teammates. "Since everyone believes in me, let me be the representative today."

The others nodded. "Of course. I believe Chief Shao will definitely be able to hold on in such a scene."

How could students like Liu Qiao and Ye Qi ever seen such a battle? Playing cards with the richest people in the world? Ye Qi trembled just thinking about it. Xiao Lou wasn't good at playing cards. He had only played Fight the Landlord. Qu Wanyue, Long Sen and Old Mo didn't play at all.

Yu Hanjiang's eyes swept over his teammates. "Since no one else can play, I will take the other spot."

Shao Qingge asked, "Group Leader Yu, you can play?"

Yu Hanjiang nodded. "Yes, but I'm at the level of an amateur."

An amateur was better than nothing. Xiao Lou smiled and said, "Then Chief Shao and Group Leader Yu will be our representatives. There is no pressure. It doesn't matter if you win or lose as long as you are okay."

Shao Qingge and Yu Hanjiang looked at each other and calm soon returned to their eyes. It wasn't a big deal to lose. What were they afraid of? Money could always be earned from scratch again. It was better than going to the Nightmare Room and losing a finger if they lost a game.

The Clubs teenager opened his mouth. "Okay, this time Shao Qingge and Yu Hanjiang are the team representatives. The others can watch but they can't make any noise. Next, I will briefly explain the rules of Texas hold'em poker."

"Everyone will get two hole cards in their hands and there will be five community cards on the table. The goal of the game is to use the two cards in your hand and the community cards on the table to make the largest five card poker hand and compare it with the other players."

"In the first stage, the dealer and the big and small blind bets are decided. Two hole cards are dealt to each person and they can fold or call in a clockwise order."

"In the second stage, it is the flop. Three community cards are turned over and players will make a decision in a clockwise order."

"In the third stage, the fourth community card is turned over."

"In the fourth stage, the fifth public card, also known as the river is turned over and the players will make a decision in a clockwise order."

"The amount you call must be the same or higher than the previous person. If you don't have enough chips then you can bet all in."

Shao Qingge and Yu Hanjiang understood the rules of the game or else they wouldn't dare sit at the table.

The others who didn't understand would probably understand after hearing this. In other words, there were two cards in hand plus five community cards. The five community cards would be used to make the largest poker hand of cards. A of Clubs handed out a list of different card hands for everyone.

From big to small, they were:

Royal flush: The biggest cards of the same suit e.g. A, K, Q, J and 10 of Spades.

Straight flush: Five consecutive cards of the same suit such as 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 of Diamonds.

Four of a kind: Such as 77772.

Full house: a combination of a three of a kind and a pair such as 66644.

Flush: Five cards of the same suit but any number.

Straight: Five consecutive cards of different suits such as 6 of Spades, 5 of Hearts, 4 of Diamonds, 3 of Spades, 2 of Hearts.

Three of a kind: such as 99937.

Two pairs: such as 33668.

One pair: One pair plus three miscellaneous cards.

Miscellaneous cards: five single cards of any type.

The size of the suits were easy to understand and it was consistent with many other games.

It was just that the characteristic of Texas hold'em was that each person had two hidden cards in their hand and five public cards on the table. Five out of seven cards could be used for comparison and there were many possible combinations. Moreover, the community cards were opened in turn. Perhaps in the last round, your cards and the one on the table made up three of a kind, which was quite big. As a result, the next round opened a flush and someone else made a straight flush!

In each round, deciding whether to all or fold was a psychological game. People with poor psychological quality might lose their minds and collapse after playing a few games.

Shao Qingge and Yu Hanjiang joined forces. Xiao Lou was still quite confident in them but he didn't know who the opponents were this time.

***

After everyone understood the rules, the door of the private room opened.

Several people who were impeccably attired came in. There were four men and two women. All of them were wearing sunglasses that they took off after entering the room. They gave off powerful auras but they greeted the Clubs teenager very politely.

These rich people were so polite to the Clubs teenager that Xiao Lou seriously wondered if this teenager with facial paralysis was actually holding the economic lifeline of the entire Card World, such as… the bank? He could give everyone rewards and control their bank accounts. Perhaps he really had something to do with the bank?

Once all the VIPs were seated, Xiao Lou saw a familiar face in the crowd.

Wasn't this man Li Mo who was behind the 4 of Hearts case?

He still remembered that case. In the elderly tourist group, an old man called Li Xuemin was killed. The method of death was an overdose of the insulin injection and they figured out that the real person behind the scenes was his son!

Li Mo's planning process was fully shown in the plot card so Xiao Lou had a deep impression of this person.

It was said that after his father's death, he used the assets under his father's name and his outstanding business acumen to become the richest real estate tycoon in the Card World within a few years. He and Shu Xiaomeng also got married smoothly.

The young Li Mo, his biological mother died early and he was ignored by his father and stepmother. He became seriously ill and was left unattended. He was forced to go to the hospital alone which was very distressing. However, as an adult, Li Mo had a deep heart and made people fearful.

He calmly calculated the death of his father.

Now he appeared at the table of 9 of Clubs as a rich man.

Proofreader: Fictional Reality