Chapter 20: Two Against Four

“Lawyer Lin!”

Qin Yao stood up in surprise and went to greet him.

Jiang He frowned and asked with some confusion, “You... why were you in there for so long?”

Lin Sizhi looked at her and said somewhat inexplicably, “The game rules didn't say I couldn't stay in there.”

Jiang He was momentarily speechless. She wanted to say something more, but quickly lost her nerve and lowered her head in silence.

Qin Yao hurriedly explained, “Sister Jiang He, Lawyer Lin, neither of you is wrong. There’s no need to argue over something like this.

“I’m sorry, Lawyer Lin. Because we were short one person just now, we lost terribly in our gamble against Community 3. That’s probably why Sister Jiang He felt that having one more person would increase our chances of winning.

“But it’s not your fault. Don't take it to heart.”

Jiang He sighed silently. “I never said it was his fault.”

Lin Sizhi looked at the rules on the large screen; they were no different from what he had written in the proposal.

“How did you lose?”

...

Qin Yao gave a brief introduction to the cause and effect of the multi-player gambling table.

Lin Sizhi looked at the chips in his hand and fell into thought.

Qin Yao continued, “Lawyer Lin, what do you plan to do next?

“Why not just accept the loss? Either way, whether you join the multi-player table or not, you're losing ten thousand chips.”

Lin Sizhi looked at the countdown on the large screen. “But it’s still early. It’s no fun just sitting around.

“Why don't we play a few rounds with them?”

Hearing Lin Sizhi's tone, Qin Yao couldn't help but be startled.

“Lawyer Lin, are you planning to gamble seriously with them?

“Please don't think like that. They are very skilled, and...

“There are four of them. They have many chips and work well together. You have no chance of winning one-on-four.”

Lin Sizhi spread his hands. “But you lost 26,000 chips. Don't you want to win them back?”

The three of them looked at each other.

“Win? How? By hoping our luck suddenly explodes? That’s completely unrealistic,” Jiang He said, shaking her head repeatedly.

She and Su Xiucen were both dejected; at this moment, they only wanted to stay away from that gambling table.

Qin Yao hesitated. “I want to! But... how should we do it?”

Lin Sizhi took out a 2,000-value chip from his pocket and flipped it through his fingers. “One person indeed has no chance, but with two people, there is an opportunity.”

Qin Yao looked at her meager remaining chips. “But I only have 7,000 chips left.”

Lin Sizhi was unconcerned. “It doesn't matter. I'll wait fifteen minutes for you to go get some more.”

Qin Yao was surprised. “Get some more?”

“Yes.” Lin Sizhi pointed to the chip exchange area nearby.

Jiang He could no longer stand by and watch. She stood up abruptly. “Yao Yao, don't get carried away by gambling!

“Drawing blood just to break even is too dangerous!

“If we leave now, we can at least exchange it for a few thousand minutes of visa time. It wouldn't be a total loss. But if you lose too much blood...”

Lin Sizhi remained noncommittal.

Jiang He grew even angrier. “Lawyer Lin, are you some kind of gambling expert?”

Lin Sizhi shook his head. “I am not. In fact, I have never gambled before this. But gambling isn't the only way to win a game.”

Jiang He wanted to say more, but Qin Yao stopped her.

“Sister Jiang He, I believe Lawyer Lin must have his reasons. Don't worry, I won't draw much.”

Jiang He sat back down angrily. Clearly, the idea of exchanging blood for chips still triggered an instinctive resistance and repulsion in her.

“Once you go in, do as I say.”

Before Qin Yao entered the cubicle, Lin Sizhi lowered his voice and gave her a few brief instructions.

Qin Yao's eyes widened instantly. “Huh? We can do that?”

...

Lu Xinyi repeatedly flicked a chip into the air with her thumb, letting it land in her palm.

Lü Mingxuan leaned back in his chair, looking somewhat bored.

He glanced at the time on the large screen again.

46:48

46:47

Time was passing too slowly.

It had been over ten minutes since they easily defeated Jiang He, and they had nothing to do during this period, making the wait quite tedious.

“These opponents are far too stupid. If the opponents in the Corridor are all at this level, then...”

Lü Mingxuan was interrupted halfway through his sentence by Lu Xinyi.

“Do not underestimate any opponent.”

Although Lü Mingxuan was much older than Lu Xinyi, he could only bow his head and say submissively, “Yes.”

Even though they had only been in Community 3 for a single day, everyone felt a deep-seated admiration for Lu Xinyi.

Whether inside or outside the game, Lu Xinyi had established absolute authority.

If Lu Xinyi hadn't formulated such a meticulous plan from the start to play those three foolish women from the opposing community for fools, they wouldn't have been able to win so easily.

Suddenly, Lü Mingxuan noticed that Lu Xinyi's gaze was fixed on the young man from Community 17 who had been the last to emerge from a cubicle.

“Old Lü.”

“Hmm?”

“Do you think... what was he doing in that cubicle for so long?”

Clearly, Lu Xinyi was curious.

Lü Mingxuan thought for a moment. “What else could he be doing? He could only be gambling against the chip exchange machine.”

This answer clearly did not satisfy Lu Xinyi. “Would someone really be so stubborn as to play many rounds of a game with such low odds of winning?”

Lü Mingxuan pondered for a moment. “Oh... it might not necessarily be many rounds. Maybe he just took a long time to think? After all, there is no time limit for thinking when gambling against the machine.

“Besides, if he was lucky and won once, getting a taste of success might be enough to make him defy the odds and gamble against the machine a few more times.”

Lu Xinyi was still not entirely convinced. She turned to look at their own chip exchange area and fell into thought.

“I want to go back in and take a look,” Lu Xinyi said.

Lü Mingxuan thought about it. “Is that necessary? You've already drawn 400ml of blood; it's best not to draw any more.

“There are no reliable medical conditions in the community. If you lose too much blood, the loss will outweigh the gain.

“Most importantly, the odds of winning this game are far too low.”

Unlike others, Lu Xinyi had drawn 400ml of blood right from the start and played four rounds against the chip exchange machine.

She had originally wanted to play more rounds, but after the cards were revealed in all four rounds, she lost them all.

This had also caused her to abandon the idea of continuing.

Just as Lu Xinyi was hesitating, she saw Lin Sizhi and Qin Yao walking toward them.

“Hello, my name is Lin Sizhi.

“Can we play a game with you?”

Lu Xinyi looked at the countdown on the large screen.

46:13.

“No problem.” After a brief moment of thought, Lu Xinyi agreed with a smile.

During the remaining game time, she actually had two choices.

Either continue drawing blood to exchange for chips and gamble against the machine, or gamble against Lin Sizhi and Qin Yao.

Although Lu Xinyi was curious about why Lin Sizhi could stay in the cubicle for so long, no matter how she thought about it, gambling against real people offered higher odds and greater returns.

Lu Xinyi had played four rounds against the chip exchange machine and lost them all.

But gambling against Lin Sizhi would be four against two, which offered much better odds.

Furthermore, judging from the previous round, playing ten rounds wouldn't take much time—it would probably end in about 15 minutes.

After finishing this game, she would still have about half an hour left, which was plenty of time.

There would be more than enough time to study the chip exchange machine then.

In comparison, chips that were easier to secure should take priority.

The group sat down at the gambling table once more.

Lu Xinyi sized Lin Sizhi up and asked with some confusion, “You seem very confident, but you are currently two against four. You should know what the probability of winning is, right?”

Lin Sizhi spread his hands. “What can I do? No matter how much I try to persuade them, the other two are unwilling to come.

“Besides, the probabilities at a gambling table are all illusions.

“Ultimately, it comes down to luck.

“I have always been confident in my luck. I've already accumulated quite a bit of 'humanity' just now, so my luck should be turning around by now.”

(End of Chapter)