Chapter 171
Chapter 171
“Thank you.”
Zhang Ru accepted the handkerchief and wiped the blood from her hands.
“Aren’t you going to play?”
Zhang Ru was puzzled. Logically speaking, Zhang Shun had suffered more than anyone else in their group. So why was he so calm now?
“I feel as if I’ve been through all this before. I’ve forgotten the details, but I do know the final game is very… very unusual.”
“Unusual how?” Zhang Ru asked quickly.
“I don’t know. I can’t remember.”
Pain crossed Zhang Shun’s face. Countless shattered images flickered through his mind.
At last, they froze on the sight of Mr. Huo emerging from a room with a tray.
Zhang Shun’s eyes flew open. He stared at one of the rooms in the casino-the very room Mr. Huo had emerged from in his memory.
He told Zhang Ru what he had recalled. After thinking it over, she decided they would have to take a risk.
“I’ll sneak inside and take a look. Cover for me.”
“Let me go instead. I’ve been here so long that I’m used to it,” Zhang Shun said hurriedly.
“That’s exactly why I should go. You’ve grown accustomed to this place, so you might overlook something important.”
With that, Zhang Ru went to a gaming table near the room and began to play.
Zhang Shun drew a deep breath, walked over to Li Wei’s table, and joined him for a few hands. Since Li Wei had already memorized the cards, Zhang Shun lost miserably.
“Zhang Shun, go play somewhere else. This game isn’t for you.”
Li Wei had meant well. There were so many games here that Zhang Shun had no reason to keep banging his head against this particular wall.
But those words lit Zhang Shun like a firecracker. He flung down the cards in his hand.
“What’s that supposed to mean? You calling me stupid? I’m telling you, I’ve hated your guts for a long time! You looked down on me outside too! You-”
Zhang Shun swung a chair at him. Li Wei’s temper flared as well. He was already sensitive about what had happened outside, and with Zhang Shun deliberately provoking him, the two immediately began wrestling.
“Gentlemen, stop fighting!”
The dealer hurried over to separate them, but they fought so fiercely that he could not manage it. Zhang Shun intentionally edged to one side, drawing the attention of dealers from several nearby tables.
“Go stop them, would you? How is anyone supposed to play with all this noise?” Zhang Ru tossed down her chips and complained.
The dealer quickly apologized to her, then ran over to help break up the fight. Zhang Ru glanced left and right. Once she was sure no one was watching, she hurried to the door.
She inserted a thin wire into the lock and worked it a few times. The door opened at once, and she slipped inside.
The instant she entered, a wave of bitter cold struck her.
Her heart lurched.
A Fiend!
The room was only about three square meters. Cabinets lined all four walls, while miscellaneous objects lay jumbled together in the middle.
It appeared to be a storage room.
Zhang Ru swept her gaze across it, then focused on the table at the center. A red cloth lay over it, with a tiny flag attached on top.
The room grew colder and colder. Zhang Ru knew there had to be a Fiend inside. The only reason it had not attacked was that she had yet to trigger its Taboo.
Hmm…?
An idea occurred to her. She reached out and touched the objects around her. Nothing happened with the others, but when her hand moved toward the central table, the cold intensified sharply.
Zhang Ru understood at once. This table would undoubtedly be used for the gambling game three days from now.
But she could not touch it. She was certain she would die the instant she did.
What was she supposed to do?
You forced my hand, Zhang Ru thought, then turned and left the room.
Outside, Zhang Shun and Li Wei had already stopped fighting. It seemed the others had finally calmed them down.
Zhang Ru gave Zhang Shun another signal. He immediately roared, “You called me ugly again! I’ll kill you!”
“Hey, hey! Stop fighting!”
Everyone scrambled to separate the two men again.
Liu Ye had been enjoying the spectacle when Zhang Ru tugged at him.
“Brother Liu, there’s something I’d like your help with.”
That was the solution she had come up with: lean on the strongest person available. She might be helpless, but her powerful backer certainly would not be.
Liu Ye followed her into the room. The chamber, which had been freezing moments earlier, instantly grew warm.
Zhang Ru was speechless.
It wasn’t like this when I came in by myself.
With Liu Ye there to hold the line, she immediately pulled away the red cloth. A pile of cards lay on the table beneath it.
They came in two colors. The red cards read **Take It All**, while the blue cards read **Next Level**.
The moment Zhang Ru saw them, she understood the final game.
It was a trust game!
Games like it existed in the real world. Anyone who selected Take It All could claim all the rewards for themselves, while the group could advance to the next level only if everyone chose a blue card.
It was a pure test of human nature. Zhang Ru’s expression darkened. Even knowing the contents of the game did not seem to offer a solution.
They could proceed only if everyone united behind Next Level. If even one person chose Take It All, the entire group was finished.
Could those people still be trusted?
The sounds of their drunken revelry drifted in from outside. Zhang Ru had little hope. Still, just because she had no solution did not mean someone else lacked one. Without the slightest hesitation, she clung to her powerful backer.
“Brother Liu, here’s the situation…”
“So we can only move on if we all choose the blue card, right?”
Zhang Ru nodded. A delighted smile spread across Liu Ye’s face.
“Then it’s simple.”
His teammates were about to stray from the proper path. Helping them correct their ways was exactly what a good person ought to do. He could not stand by and watch them tumble into the abyss!
With that thought, he gazed lovingly at the table.
Zhang Ru clearly saw it tremble several times.
Half an hour later, the two emerged. Zhang Ru gave Zhang Shun an okay sign. He immediately understood that the problem had been resolved and ended the charade.
Li Wei was furious. He had been right in the middle of an exhilarating winning streak when someone came along and ruined it. It was thoroughly irritating. He looked at the things on his table. He had reached thirty million long ago and purchased almost everything he wanted.
No longer in the mood to gamble, he rented a room, hired a companion, and went off to sleep.
The others were much the same. All of them had accumulated enough chips.
They spent most of the next two days indulging themselves. At eight o’clock that evening, Mr. Huo walked in from outside.
“I trust you have enjoyed the last two days?”
Li Wei and the others nodded, their faces glowing with health. They had lived exceedingly well over the past three days.
“Excellent. With your abilities, I am sure you have all earned thirty million. Without further delay, the game will now begin!”