After Ma Shu returned, he nodded slightly to Zhuang Zhixian, indicating that nothing was amiss.
Zhou Xuan didn't even glance at Ma Shu. On this yacht, he didn't need to use his eyes to see anything; he already had the entire situation under his control. If it came to taking action, there were about thirty people from the three sides in the hall, plus his other subordinates on the yacht, totaling no less than fifty. But as long as Zhou Xuan had the thought to act, as long as he thought it, he could unleash his icy energy and wipe them all out without leaving a trace.
But he can't do that now, because he hasn't figured out a way to deal with Zhuang Zhixian, and he's not sure he can find a way to deal with Fu Ying and Wei Haihong.
After Hank sat back down, he smiled and said to Zhou Xuan and Sato, "Now, it's up to one of you, Mr. Sato or Mr. Zhou, to shake the microwave. I won't embarrass myself any longer!"
Sato seemed reluctant to try. He wasn't particularly skilled at micro-gambling, otherwise he wouldn't have almost been fooled by Hank's tricks just now. So he shook his head. Then he looked at Zhou Xuan and said, "Mr. Zhou, would you like to give it a try?"
Zhou Xuan didn't refuse. If he did, the game would definitely change. If they used cards or other devices, they would need to use ice energy to transform and devour the cards. If he changed his hand, the number of cards would be less after the transformation and devouring, which would easily expose him. Although he couldn't pinpoint the culprit because there was no evidence, and it was impossible to find evidence anyway, if the other party or someone like Zhuang Zhixian cheated, there would be nothing he could do. Claiming missing cards would definitely mean someone was cheating, and if they couldn't find the culprit, declaring the rounds invalid wasn't out of the question. Therefore, Zhou Xuan felt it was best to stick with this micro-game. Even if he didn't win, at least he wouldn't lose. No matter what methods they used, the true hand was in his mind, and he wouldn't be wrong!
Hank slowly pushed the dice cup in front of Zhou Xuan. Zhou Xuan took the dice cup, but without opening the lid to look at the dice inside, he picked up the dice cup and held it in front of him, saying, "Since Mr. Hank wants me to shake the dice, then I'll make a fool of myself!"
After saying that, Zhou Xuan held the stock cup in both hands and shook it a few times. The cup jingled a few times. Then he put it on the table and spread his hands to Hank and Sato, saying, "Please, gentlemen."
Zhou Xuan's next move was Hank, and Hank spoke first, followed by Sato.
Hank had been paying close attention to Zhou Xuan as he held the cup, his eyes fixed on him and his ears listening intently. However, Zhou Xuan didn't use any fancy techniques; he simply shook the cup a few times. No technique was needed; he could tell the number of points on the prophecy coins just by the sound: two coins with two points, two coins with four points, one coin with one point, and one coin with six points.
Sato realized that Zhou Xuan hadn't used any tricks or made any hidden movements; his voice and gestures were consistent. Was that all?
Perhaps it was too simple, which surprised Hank and Sato.
Hank paused for a moment, then said, "I'm betting on two games: a big bet of 20 million, and a bet of 20 million on the six numbers 122446."
Sato heard the same thing as Hank, thought for a moment and came up with 40 million, then said to Zhou Xiao, "I'll do the same as Hank, 20 million for eight, and 40 million for one, two, two, four, four, six."
According to general casino rules, the more difficult the outcome, the higher the odds. Take the divination for example: the odds for big/small and odd/even are the same, with small odds being 1 to 1, a 50% chance. However, if the odds are accurate to the number of points, the odds are much higher, usually five or six times higher. If all the dice have the same number of points, which is called a triple, the odds are the highest.
But now, the bets between Hank, Sato, and Zhou Xuan aren't calculated according to those rules. They decide for themselves, and if they don't, it's a 1:1 payout. Besides, Zhou Xuan doesn't understand these odds games; he doesn't know anything about the rules, like how much he wins or loses.
Zhuang Zhixian, standing to the side, couldn't discern any points. He could only wait anxiously, placing all his hopes on Zhou Xuan. As long as Zhou Xuan could win, he wouldn't resort to brute force.
Ma Shu was also quite uneasy today. It wasn't surprising that he couldn't read Zhou Xuan's mind, since he already knew that Zhou Xuan was a very difficult person to deal with. But he actually had some difficulty with Hank and Sato. He first tried to probe Hank, but all he could see at first was a dark shadow. He couldn't see anything else. It seemed that this person was ruthless and had a very strong sense of self-control. Ma Shu himself couldn't read even a little bit of him.
As for the second person, Sato, Ma Shu did manage to read a little bit of his thoughts, but it was like a solar or lunar eclipse – he would see a little, then it would get dark, then he would see a little more, then it would get dark again. Combining this, Ma Shu was certain that Sato and Hank were both people with extremely strong mental abilities. He couldn't possibly force his way through the reading, otherwise what he read wouldn't be accurate. Ma Shu was also quite wary of people with extremely strong mental abilities. First, he might not be able to read the true thoughts of the master, and second, he might read something false, because people with very strong mental abilities could use mentally constructed images to deceive mind-reading techniques.
But that's only when both sides know each other very well, and that's when they're so wary.
To be honest, Hank and Sato didn't actually know or understand that Ma Shu had the ability to read minds. It's just that people like them, who often use their brains and schemes, have much stronger minds and brainpower than ordinary people. Such people usually have their minds shut down, so Ma Shu doesn't easily read anything.
Ma Shu couldn't glean anything from Sato and Hank, but all he saw from Zhou Xuan was a wall with no end in sight.
Fortunately, Zhuang Zhixian didn't let him show up today. If he had, he would have been helpless if he couldn't read his opponent's mind. As for gambling skills, he had absolutely none. He couldn't tell the difference between Hank's two shakes and Zhou Xuan's just shake.
Hank and Sato both placed bets, and their bets were exactly the same. Of course, no one would see Sato as someone who was just trying to smooth things over and following Hank's lead. The fact that both of them placed bets like this could only mean that Zhou Xuan's calculation of the micro-points was correct.
Zhou Xuan smiled faintly. If it weren't for Zhuang Zhixian's influence, and if he were completely in control, he would have bet all his money in one go, since the points inside were different from what Hank and Sateng had said!
This is certainly not because Zhou Xuan's technique is particularly skillful, but because Zhou Xuan transformed a tiny bit of the material on the opposite side of one of the seeds. As a result, that tiny bit inside the seed will be different. The part that was transformed into gold will undoubtedly gain a tiny bit of weight. The difference in weight will result in a different sound!
It was this tiny difference that made Hank and Sateng mishear "one" as "six," when in fact there were two "ones," two "twos," and two "fours," for a total of fourteen.
Therefore, Sato and Hank's numbers, whether large or precise, are both incorrect.
Everyone assumed that Zhou Xuan would definitely give up this time, as his gambling skills and perception were no better than those of Sato and Hank.
Zhou Xuan remained silent, which Zhuang Zhixian and Ma Shu interpreted as a sign that he was preparing to give up.
However, Zhou Xuan's response surprised them all!
“Mr. Sato, Mr. Hank, I’ve taken your bets of 80 million for both the Big/Small and Points games. Do you have any more to add to your bets?” Zhou Xuan pondered for a moment before uttering these words that greatly surprised them.
Especially Zhuang Zhixian, judging from the performance just now, although Zhou Xuan won, the victory was not convincing. Sato and Hank had the same idea and bet, which fully shows that they guessed the same thing. Two experts of this level got the same result, so the accuracy must be very high. But Zhou Xuan got the opposite result!
Even Zhuang Zhixian was starting to doubt Zhou Xuan's intentions. The combined bet between the two of them in this round was a staggering 80 million US dollars—no small sum. Zhuang Zhixian couldn't afford to lose!
Was Zhou Xuan not interested in getting revenge on him? Zhuang Zhixian's heart was pounding. Did Zhou Xuan really want to use this opportunity to bring him down? Zhou Xuan had just said that Sato and Hank could raise the stakes as they pleased, which made him even more uneasy. "If..."
Zhuang Zhixian stared intently at Zhou Xuan, but Zhou Xuan ignored him, acting as if he didn't exist!
If Zhou Xuan had fooled him, Zhuang Zhixian was determined to send Fu Ying and Wei Haihong to their deaths ahead of schedule, absolutely!
Sato and Hank were taken aback. Although they both believed it, there was no reason for Zhou Xuan to lose like this. Could it really be true...?
Hank, in particular, was a little excited, and then pushed out another 40 million in chips, saying, "Alright, since Mr. Zhou is interested, I'll push again and add another 20 million to each of our bets!"
Adding another 20 million would bring the total to 40 million for both large bets and point bets. Combined with Sato's 40 million chips, the total would be a whopping 120 million. If Zhou Xuan lost this round, despite winning 20 million in the previous round, he would lose 120 million including his initial stake. Even after deducting his winnings, he would still lose 100 million of his initial capital, resulting in a loss of one-third of his total capital. This pressure was simply unbearable.
Fortunately, Sato didn't raise the bet. On the surface, Zhou Xuan seemed destined to lose, but in a gambling game, at the table, without revealing the final hand, nothing is absolute. Therefore, the seemingly ordinary and unknown Zhou Xuan actually seemed somewhat unfathomable to Sato, and perhaps this hand wasn't entirely secure! (To be continued)
Volume 1, Chapter 311: Mistake
Although Zhou Xuan didn't look at Zhuang Zhixian with his eyes, every move he made and the ferocious expression on his face were clearly imprinted in his mind.
He hummed softly and extended his hand to Hank and Sateng, saying, "Mr. Hank, this is a huge bet, I've never played before, my heart is pounding. Hehe, how about you take over this round?"
Sato and Hank were both taken aback again!
What is Zhou Xuan doing? This isn't called being overconfident; it's called teasing and mocking. Usually, only extremely skilled players would do this to treat ordinary players like fools. Is Zhou Xuan really stupid, or is he pretending to be weak to take advantage of others?
Hank paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Alright, since Mr. Zhou has this idea, I'll do it for you!"
Zhou Xuan intended for him to open the game, and Hank's heart stirred. He wondered if Zhou Xuan really wanted to bring down Zhuang Zhixian. He smiled, stretched out his right hand, and gently lifted the lid of the game. Unusually, he didn't deviate in any direction and lifted it straight up, and very slowly. If the shares in the game were to the side, as he had used in the previous game, then according to his lifting action, the number of shares would not change.
Of course, this was also the result Hank demanded; he had invested a full $80 million and could not afford any mistakes.
Zhou Xuan stared at him indifferently, his expression unmoved.