bookbashuk Chapter 143 Raise it high, lower it gently
Chapter 143 Raise it high, lower it gently
Chapter 143 Raise it high, lower it gently
Song Zhaowen seemed to have anticipated this. With a flick of his wrist, holding the Ace of Spades, he gently deflected Zhuo Lan's elbow with the back of his hand. The force was skillful, neutralizing the attack without giving Zhuo Lan any leverage. At the same time, his body slid like an eel, sidestepping the attack. He flicked the 10 of Clubs he had caught with his right hand, precisely striking the Queen of Hearts that Zhuo Lan was about to grab, changing its trajectory and sending it flying towards him, where he caught it with his left hand!
In the blink of an eye, the two had already exchanged several blows, and they had snatched away most of the cards flying through the air.
Zhuo Lan grew increasingly alarmed as the fight progressed. Song Zhaowen's skills were simply unbelievable—fast, powerful, and with reflexes that seemed inhuman. Moreover, he always appeared to anticipate her movements. What frustrated her even more was that this guy could still talk amidst the fierce card-grabbing and blocking!
"Miss Zhuo, you're quite skilled. Have you practiced Wing Chun?" Song Zhaowen said, easily dodging Zhuo Lan's tricky kick while casually snatching a Jack of Diamonds.
"None of your business!" Zhuo Lan cursed angrily, and her attack became even more intense.
"Girls shouldn't swear so easily." Song Zhaowen chuckled, then suddenly ducked under Zhuo Lan's arm, his right hand flashing out like a ghost to "snatch" the King of Clubs she had just grabbed: "This King is nice, thanks."
"You!" Zhuo Lan was furious. This guy not only stole her card, but also flirted with her. Because of that sweep just now, Song Zhaowen took the opportunity to pinch her breasts.
She let out a sharp cry and unleashed a flurry of palm strikes, the force of which aimed directly at Song Zhaowen's center. At the same time, she tripped him, attempting to knock him down.
Song Zhaowen neither dodged nor evaded. He held the stack of cards he had snatched in his left hand in front of him, while his right hand, with fingers like a knife, swiftly tapped Zhuo Lan's wrist as she slapped him.
"Snapped!"
Zhuo Lan felt a numbness in her wrist, and her attack faltered instantly. Taking advantage of the moment, Song Zhaowen lightly touched the ground with his toes, his body floating back half a step like a willow catkin, just avoiding her tripping.
At this moment, the last few cards in the air are about to land.
Song Zhaowen glanced around and immediately saw the cards in his hand: Ace of Spades, King of Hearts, Queen of Diamonds, Ten of Clubs.
The Jack of Diamonds can form Blackjack, which is the highest possible hand: Ace (11 points) + King (10 points) = 21 points!
Zhuo Lan has the following cards: Ace of Hearts, King of Clubs, 10 of Diamonds, 9 of Spades, and 8 of Hearts. The best combination is Ace (11 points) + King.
(10 points) = 21 points, which is also Blackjack.
The two landed almost simultaneously, as shown on the casino screen.
Song Zhaowen: Ace of Spades + King of Hearts = Blackjack!
Zhuo Lan: Ace of Hearts + King of Clubs = Blackjack!
They're all Blackjack!
The crowd erupted in uproar once again! A draw?
Just as the gambling hall was in an uproar and the referee team was about to announce a tiebreaker, Song Zhaowen suddenly spoke again. His voice was not loud, but it was clearly heard by everyone.
"etc."
All eyes immediately focused on Song Zhaowen.
"Mr. Song, what are your thoughts?" one of the referees asked.
"I don't have any brilliant insights, but during my struggle with Miss Zhuo for the cards just now, I think I discovered something extraordinary."
After saying that, Song Zhaowen didn't bother with any further discussion. He took out the playing cards he had snatched from Zhuo Lan and tore them open. Inside the cards, a chip the size of a fingernail fell out.
The thing was so small and thin that no one would have noticed it if Song Zhaowen hadn't shown it to them.
"This is—" On the judges' table, an old gambling king wearing reading glasses suddenly stood up and leaned closer to the screen to take a closer look.
When Zhuo Lan saw the chip, her expression remained normal, but her eyebrows kept twitching.
"If I'm not mistaken," Song Zhaowen moved the chip to a brighter spot, letting it reflect a cold luster so everyone could see it more clearly, "this thing is attached to the cards, and when used with special contact lenses, it can track the position of specific cards during shuffling or throwing. Miss Zhuo, your 'cheating technique' is quite high-tech."
Faced with the accusation, Zhuo Lan sneered: "Mr. Song, it seems you've forgotten that this deck of cards was provided by your gambling ship. Are you suggesting that you're the one making the false accusation?"
Song Zhaowen laughed heartily: "I knew you'd say that! Look at the big screen!"
Zhuo Lan was unaware that several high-speed cameras had been installed around the casino lobby.
On the screen, Zhuo Lan takes the deck of cards from the dealer and, in a mere 0.1 seconds, uses a clever trick to replace the entire deck with her own specially made deck of cards.
Sure enough, the screen showed Zhuo Lan's previous technique in slow motion.
"Cheating in the very first round?!"
There was indeed something hidden in the cards.
"No wonder she was so confident about playing the aerial card-grabbing game! There was something fishy going on!"
"How did Song Zhaowen discover it? Was it an X-ray of his eye?"
Exclamations and murmurs swept through the entire casino like a tsunami!
Chen Xiaodao watched the screen in the control room, a cold smile playing on his lips. He had already discovered, through high-definition cameras and spectral analysis, some extremely subtle movements Zhuo Lan made during her warm-up, as well as abnormal reflective spots on certain parts of her body.
So he reminded his boss through his headset.
The faces of the senior judges all darkened. Cheating is the most taboo thing in gambling, especially in such a high-profile, public competition!
The white-haired old gambling king asked in a deep voice, "Miss Zhuo, what explanation do you have for this?"
Zhuo Lan opened her mouth, wanting to argue, but the evidence was conclusive, and saying anything pointless would only make her a laughingstock.
So she shrugged nonchalantly: "A bet's a bet. Since Song caught me cheating on the spot, I'll let him do whatever he wants with me."
Several referees also turned their attention to Song Zhaowen.
As the host, and given that he caught Zhuo Lan red-handed, according to the rules of the underworld, Song Zhaowen had the right to deal with Zhuo Lan on the spot—he could chop off her hands or gouge out her eyes.
"Distinguished referees, honored guests," Song Zhaowen raised his voice, silencing the noise, "Actually, these kinds of tricks are beneath contempt at a real gambling table. I believe Miss Zhuo was simply too eager to win and wanted to use some tricks to increase her chances. After all, thirty million is no small sum."
Zhuo Lan's eyes lit up, and she nodded frantically.
"However," Song Zhaowen changed the subject, looking at Zhuo Lan, "gambling tables have their rules. Cheating is breaking the rules. Logically, it should result in an immediate loss, confiscation of chips, or even—more serious consequences."
"Damn it!" Zhuo Lan cursed inwardly. Song Zhaowen only said half of what he meant, and it seemed that she would have to borrow a hand to get away today.
"But—" Song Zhaowen drew out the "but," whetting everyone's appetite: "Today is the first time our Star River is hosting a major competition, and we're aiming for a great start, a lively and harmonious atmosphere. I don't want to push things too far."
He picked up the chip and casually tossed it into the ashtray next to him, as if it were just an insignificant piece of trash.
Song Zhaowen walked up to Zhuo Lan and lifted her chin with his finger: "I win this round. Your 30 million chips are mine. However, considering you are a woman and this is your first offense, I'll give you face. You can take your things and leave the casino now. The tournament organizing committee will not publicly pursue your responsibility for cheating; consider it as—you voluntarily withdrawing from the competition."
That's well said!
He won the bet and took the chips, while also appearing magnanimous and not bothered by trivial matters.
More importantly, in front of bigwigs like Huang Tian and Jiang Tiansheng, as well as all the media, they demonstrated the demeanor of a host!
As expected, after Song Zhaowen's words, the gambling hall was initially quiet, but then erupted in applause and hushed whispers.
"Mr. Song is so generous!"
"That's what you call a boss's demeanor!"
"That woman, Zhuo Lan, is ungrateful; she deserves it!"
Even the referees breathed a sigh of relief and nodded in agreement. This was the best possible solution; nobody wanted to see bloodshed, which would be difficult to manage later.
Regardless of Zhuo Lan's distraught state.
Song Zhaowen turned to the judges' table: "Seniors, may we announce the results now?"
The white-haired gambling tycoon cleared his throat and picked up the microphone: "Mr. Song Zhaowen wins the first match! He advances to the second round! Ms. Zhuo Lan is disqualified and withdrawn from the competition due to a violation!"
The applause rang out again, this time even more enthusiastic.
Zhuo Lan gave Song Zhaowen a deep look, then bent down to pick up her high heels from the ground. Barefoot and with her back straight, she swayed gracefully out of the casino amidst the disdainful gazes of the crowd, her back still proud.
"Wow, Song Sheng won beautifully!" He B's voice rang out at the right moment, breaking the brief silence. "Not only is his technique superb and his eyesight outstanding, but he also has a broad mind and the demeanor of a great general!"
DoDo chimed in, "That's right! Let's congratulate Mr. Song Zhaowen on advancing to the next round! We also look forward to the other two matches!"
Song Zhaowen returned to his seat, and Huang Lei immediately handed him his suit jacket, her face flushed with excitement, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him: "Brother Zhaowen, you're amazing! That chip—how did you see it? My eyes are blurry!"
Song Zhaowen took the coat and put it on, smiling, "Just lucky." Of course, he wouldn't say it was because of the cockroach's compound eye vision and Chen Xiaodao's high-tech tips.
He sat down, took a sip of champagne, and glanced at the other two gaming tables.
Central Gambling Table: Chen Jincheng vs. Nie Wanlong.
Instead of choosing games like poker or dice that require skill and luck, the two opted for Pai Gow!
The game involves comparing the total points of two dominoes. Each player receives two dominoes, and the player with the higher total wins. The rules are simple and straightforward, but the stakes are incredibly high—a base bet of five million per round, with no limit on the number of bets, until one player concedes or runs out of chips.
In the first round, Chen Jincheng narrowly defeated Nie Wanlong's Earth card (2 points) and Club card (10 points) with a Heaven card (12 points) and a miscellaneous card (8 points) for a total of 20 points, winning five million.
In the second round, Chen Jincheng won with a pair of human cards (8 points + 8 points = 16 points) by doubling his score, defeating Nie Wanlong's long hand (10 points).
(Points) with an axe (6 points) totals 16 points, still five million.
After two rounds, Chen Jincheng netted ten million, bringing his chip count close to forty million. More importantly, Chen Jincheng won two rounds in a row, putting him ahead of Nie Wanlong in terms of momentum.
"Old Nie, wanna play again?" Chen Jincheng asked casually and confidently. "You've lost to me every time. Looks like my luck is better than yours!"
""
Nie Wanlong raised his eyes, his gaze like a venomous snake spitting its tongue: "Chen Jincheng, don't be too smug. In Pai Gow, who knows the outcome until the very last moment? The first two rounds were just a warm-up."
He slammed his hand on the table, making the dominoes bounce slightly: "In the third round, I raise the stakes—all in!"
""
The entire audience erupted in uproar!