Chapter 15: The Free Bet

At this moment, the chips won by the "Chip Exchange Machine" had been neatly stacked inside by a robotic arm, covered by a heavy transparent glass dome.

In that instant, a thought occurred to Qin Yao: what would happen if she tried to snatch the chips directly from the robotic arm during the gamble?

But she quickly dismissed the idea. Throughout the entire exchange process, she had been firmly locked into her seat, making it impossible to reach the chips. Furthermore, the "Gallery" had made it very clear: any act of breaking the rules would inevitably result in punishments such as "deduction of visa time" or even "deportation."

Do not seek death by touching the red line.

Leaving the small chip exchange cubicle, Qin Yao felt her vision brighten as she greedily inhaled the fresh air.

Compared to that dark, cramped, and somewhat oxygen-deprived narrow stall, the area outside felt like paradise.

It resembled the lounge area of a high-end tavern or cafe, featuring spacious sofas, exquisite coffee tables, and an old record player spinning a vinyl disc. The melodious sound lent the entire scene an unexpected touch of artistic flair.

In the most spacious area, there were two massive gambling tables, each with eight seats.

The "Chip Exchange Area" cubicles, however, were located at the edge of the scene. They looked dilapidated and crude, with rough, uneven cement walls stained with grime—a completely different aesthetic.

At this moment, the doors to the other cubicles began to open one after another.

To Qin Yao's surprise, two familiar faces emerged.

"Sister Jiang He? Auntie Su! We're actually in the same game?"

Qin Yao's joy was evident. The people coming out of the adjacent cubicles were acquaintances from Community 17: Player No. 2, Jiang He, and Player No. 8, Su Xiucen.

"Yaoyao! I'm so happy to see you!" Jiang He seemed equally delighted, even giving her an excited hug.

"But... what's going on?" Jiang He frowned, looking toward the only cubicle that had not opened its door.

Su Xiucen pointed across the way: "Hey, look over there! There are people there too!"

Following Su Xiucen's finger, Qin Yao looked toward the other side of the gaming area and discovered four more "Chip Exchange Area" cubicles. Four completely unfamiliar faces emerged from them one after another.

On their side, there were also four cubicles, but one remained closed.

"Is there actually someone inside? Could they be from our community? Why haven't they come out?"

Jiang He stepped forward to inspect it. The cubicle door remained tightly locked; the red indicator meant the internal deadbolt had not been released, making entry impossible.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

Jiang He knocked gently on the door, but received no response.

Although these cubicles looked crude, they were actually well-soundproofed. When everyone was inside earlier, they hadn't heard any sounds from the outside world at all.

"Could they have died inside..."

Jiang He's expression changed as this suspicion flashed through her mind.

To exchange chips, one had to draw blood. If too much blood was drawn, it was entirely possible to fall into a coma or even die.

Su Xiucen instinctively took a few steps away from the cubicle.

Qin Yao hurriedly said, "Sister Jiang He, let's not worry about irrelevant matters for now. The game isn't over yet. Look, the screen says we have to play at least one game against players from other communities before we can leave."

Jiang He looked toward the two multi-player gambling tables in the center of the venue. On the wall directly in front of the tables was a large screen clearly displaying the game rules.

【Greetings to the players of Community 3 and Community 17. Welcome to "Blood Poker."】

【Players who have completed their chip exchange may proceed to the automatic gambling tables in the center of the venue to play.】

【The game rules remain "Simplified Three Card Poker." Specific rules for multi-player games vary slightly; please refer to the instructions and hand rankings on the tables for details.】

【The tables can automatically shuffle, deal, and collect cards according to the rules, ensuring absolute fairness and justice for all participants.】

【Multi-player tables are limited to 2 to 8 players. At the start of each game, there must be "at least one player from another community" present.】

【The default ante for multi-player tables is 1,000 chips.】

【Once a game begins, players must complete 10 rounds or exhaust all their chips before they are permitted to leave.】

【Any form of violence or rule-breaking is strictly prohibited; violators will face immediate death.】

【Game duration: 90 minutes.】

【At the end of the game, the Gallery will tally the players' chip counts. Upon returning to their communities, chips will be converted into corresponding visa time.】

【If no games have been played with other players by the end of the session, 10,000 minutes of visa time will be deducted.】

【Will you walk away with a fortune, or lose everything?】

【The game has begun. Good luck!】

A countdown was already running on the large screen, though the current time was 1:25:33. This meant the time spent in the chip exchange area was also included in this hour and a half.

The bright red numbers flickered continuously. Though the "tick-tock" sound was not loud, it created an intense sense of urgency.

Jiang He instantly realized something and asked, "Yaoyao, Auntie Su, how many chips do you have left? I have 19,000 left."

Qin Yao counted the chips in her hand: "18,000."

Su Xiucen gripped her chips tightly: "I also have 18,000."

Clearly, this visa time was extremely precious to Su Xiucen.

Her remaining visa time was only 16 days. If she could take these chips with her when she left, her remaining visa time could double.

"You all exchanged 200ML of blood, right? And... you called the bets?" Jiang He asked.

Qin Yao and Su Xiucen looked at each other and then nodded.

Since everyone followed the same process when gambling against the "Chip Exchange Machine," it was easy to guess the specific circumstances based on the remaining chip counts.

The 1,000 chips less than Jiang He were clearly the losses incurred from two instances of calling a bet to see the cards.

Jiang He sighed. "How could you call? You shouldn't rely on luck like that. This game is obviously unfair; the right move was to run immediately. Just a little curiosity or a refusal to believe in bad luck, and you've lost 500 for real. However, this loss is acceptable; no one would be stupid enough to raise or keep gambling under these circumstances."

After speaking, she glanced at the unopened cubicle, wondering what was happening inside.

Su Xiucen sighed. "I understand. Let's just consider this money a lesson learned..."

As someone who lived frugally, losing a thousand yuan for no reason felt like a physical ache.

Qin Yao didn't feel as bad; she just felt the rules were unfair. "That chip exchange machine could have just let us snatch the chips directly, yet it went through the motions of playing two rounds with us."

Given the current win/loss probabilities, gambling against the "Chip Exchange Machine" was absolutely the worst possible choice.

The machine's ability to draw an extra card significantly increased its probability of forming better hands, giving it an overwhelming advantage in "Simplified Three Card Poker."

"Then what should we do now? Should we gamble with those people?" Su Xiucen asked, feeling somewhat lost.

Qin Yao thought for a moment and said, "We probably have to gamble, right? If we don't, we'll be docked 10,000 minutes of visa time directly. If we do gamble, even if we lose the ante for all ten rounds, it's only 10,000. During that time, as long as we get a big hand in any single round, we can make a lot back."

Jiang He shook her head slightly. "It's not that simple. The situation at a gambling table changes in an instant. How can you be sure if what you hold is a 'big hand'? There is a situation called a 'clash hand'—meaning you hold a decent big hand, but someone else happens to have a hand even larger than yours. In that case, if you confidently raise, you'll end up being wiped out in one bite. If that happens, the loss won't just be 10,000; you'll lose everything."

Qin Yao was skeptical. "But isn't that a low-probability event? If we keep folding just because we're afraid of that, won't we never be able to win?"

Jiang He thought seriously for a moment. "I think we should still get to the table, but we don't necessarily have to play strictly by the game's rules. This game actually has a 'perfect solution'."

(End of Chapter)