"No way? The famous King of Gamblers can't even beat a high school kid?"
Under the whispers of the onlookers, Smith had no choice but to continue the gamble.
The next game was cards.
"Haha! How can I lose with four aces?"
"W-what? A straight flush?"
"This is impossible!"
"No! You didn't even look at the bottom card, how did you know?"
Smith's eyes were bloodshot, his face full of existential doubt.
"Didn't I tell you? As long as it's about money, the Goddess of Fortune will always be on my side."
Tenya was on autopilot the whole time, no need for the common movie tropes of rubbing cards or hiding them. Whatever chips the opponent bet, he would match. He wouldn't look at the bottom card, just reveal it directly.
Any unnecessary actions were a disrespect to the God of Wealth skill.
After several gambling rounds, Tenya's winnings had already exceeded twenty million.
"Holy crap!"
"Is this the God of Gamblers?"
"Brother, do you take apprentices?"
The onlookers were all stunned.
"This is an illusion, it must be an illusion!"
"I'm not convinced, continue!!!"
"Boss, we can't follow anymore..."
"Get out! Get the checkbook!"
At this moment, Smith was like a gambler whose eyes had turned red from losing. For him, it was no longer about money. It was about the honor of the King of Gamblers.
And then...
Tenya's bank balance increased by over 40 million. Total winnings exceeded sixty million.
"Tenya-kun, you couldn't really be possessed by the God of Wealth, could you?" Haruno looked moved.
She thought to herself that this money would be enough for their family to redeem their sealed mansion.
"I'm going all-in with you. One game to decide the winner."
Smith directly bet hundred million chips. He planned a desperate comeback and to heavily win against Tenya at the same time.
The reason he dared to do this was because he had already made up his mind to cheat. He believed that with his exquisite gambling skills, he would be able to cheat without anyone knowing.
Mind Reading.
Hearing the opponent's dark thoughts clearly, Tenya's lips curved into a faint, cold smile.
Heh heh!
If you're going to play dirty, don't blame me for being impolite.
"All-in is fine. But if anyone is caught cheating, they'll leave their hands behind." Tenya's calm words, however, carried an inexplicable aura of menace.
Smith's expression changed slightly, and his demeanor instantly became serious.
The onlookers were stunned at first, then erupted in enthusiastic cheers.
"Good!"
"Ruthless enough!"
"Tenya-san is awesome!"
The eyes of the crowd looking at Tenya held a hint of admiration.
This, in turn, put Smith in an awkward position where he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He was the one who called for the all-in, and the other party not only followed but also raised the stakes.
Could he back down?
A step back, and his reputation would be ruined. A step forward, and he believed he had more than seventy percent chance of winning.
After weighing everything, Smith chose to accept.
"Good! Let's do as you say!"
"Finally, let's play Blackjack."
Smith signaled his assistant to display the hand to show fairness.
Tenya took the hand and checked it, finding no abnormalities. It didn't matter, he could add some abnormalities—Item Creation.
The cards began to be dealt.
"9 points..."
"Enough."
Tenya only took one card, because he knew that the second card would be a K, adding up to 22 points, which would be a bust.
"9 points is enough?"
"This is too reckless, isn't it?"
Everyone expressed their incomprehension.
The first card Smith received was 6 points, which was absolutely safe. No matter what the second card he drew was, he wouldn't bust.
"Looks like luck is on my side, haha!"
"Continue!"
Smith laughed excitedly.
The second card: A, which is 1 point.
The two cards added up to 7 points, which couldn't beat Tenya's 9 points, so Smith could only draw a third card.
A sharp glint flashed in Smith's eyes, he was going to cheat. He flipped his palm, and with a speed imperceptible to ordinary people, he pulled out a card from a hidden compartment in his sleeve—it was a K.
"21 points!"
"I'm sorry, but it seems that the Goddess of Fortune is on my side in the end."
Smith couldn't help but burst into laughter. However, to everyone's surprise, the other people present didn't laugh. Instead, they looked at him with strange, incomprehensible gazes.
"What's wrong?"
Smith's heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly had an ominous premonition.
"Boss, what are you doing?"
Following his assistant's astonished gaze, Smith looked down. He saw that the second card, the A, had somehow turned into a 2, and combined with the K he had cheated out, it added up to 22 points, he had busted.
"No, impossible!"
"This is absolutely impossible!"
"I clearly saw an A just now, why did it turn into a 2!!!"
Smith's eyes instantly widened, and he picked up the card to examine it carefully. Then he saw a bizarre scene. The number on the playing card kept changing, finally transforming into a cartoon figure of a J, who pulled out a long spear and fiercely stabbed his wrist.
"Ahhhh!"
Smith screamed in pain, throwing down his cards as if he had seen a ghost, and shouted in horror, "Look, everyone, this card is haunted!"
Everyone looked closely, and the card on the ground was still a 2, completely unchanged, and their gazes towards Smith became pitiful.
"I think Smith-san is temporarily unable to withstand the shock and has gone mad, hasn't he?"
"No! I'm not crazy!! I have proof!!!"
"Look at my hand, it was stabbed by that ghost thing."
Smith was agitated, eager to provide proof, and pulled up his sleeve.
Clatter!
The hidden card he used for cheating fell to the ground.
The entire room was silent.
"Pfft..."
Haruno couldn't help but laugh.
"Cheating is one thing, but to actually lose in the end. Are you, the King of Gamblers, here to be a comedian?"
"The performance ends here."
Tenya quietly accepted the hundred million, plus the sixty million he had won earlier, he had already earned 160 million yen tonight.
"How could it turn out like this?" Smith slumped to the ground, his expression dejected.
He knew he had lost, and it wasn't just about losing money, it was also his reputation as the King of Gamblers. It completely hit rock bottom tonight.
Unable to bear the strange looks from the onlookers, Smith, knowing he had lost face, prepared to slink away.
"Stop. You haven't fulfilled your wager yet."
Tenya's cold voice made the other party's body stiffen.
"Someone caught cheating must cut off their own hands... Tsk tsk!"
"It won't be for real, will it?"
Everyone discussed in hushed tones.
"Tenya..."
"Always leave a little leeway, it's good for future encounters."
"Is there a need to go for the kill?"
Smith said with a gloomy face.
In his heart, however, he wished he could tear the other party into ten thousand pieces. He had already made up his mind that afterwards, he would find people from the underworld to harm Tenya.
***
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