Chapter 13: Blood Poker

Chapter 13: "Blood Poker"

The lobby, which had seemed quite leisurely and even peaceful just a moment ago, instantly became noisy and fell into chaos.

"What?"

"In one hour?"

"Everyone is forced to participate? Isn't this too sudden!"

Clearly, many people were completely unprepared mentally.

Although it had been emphasized during yesterday's introduction of the basic rules in the lobby that "the Corridor might open at any time," it still caught many off guard.

More importantly, this game was mandatory for everyone.

According to the original basic rules, games in the Corridor were somewhat selective.

They might only select a portion of the people to participate, and it wasn't necessarily mandatory; there were cases of voluntary participation.

This had allowed many people to harbor a sense of complacency.

They felt that the Judgment Games wouldn't start so soon, and even if they did, they wouldn't necessarily fall upon them immediately.

Now, the shattering of that complacency intensified the panic.

Some people sat on chairs or sofas, pale and helpless, while others paced around anxiously.

"Everyone, don't panic! There's still an hour!"

"Since this game is called 'Blood Poker,' it means it's related to playing cards. Everyone, try to think about the rules of poker!"

The speaker was Wang Yongxin. It was evident that he was also anxious, but he was trying his best to remain calm.

Li Renshu's voice was even steadier.

"This is the first game we've encountered. Since everyone is participating, it shouldn't be too difficult."

"The most important thing right now is to maintain reason and composure."

At the same time, she took the hand of the trembling Qin Yao beside her and patted it gently to soothe her.

The remarks of these two people had a certain effect, and the initially panicked crowd calmed down slightly.

Cai Zhiyuan, holding a book, walked quickly toward Fu Chen.

He had clearly found it in the reading area.

Seeing the title of the book, Fu Chen's eyes lit up. He hurriedly spoke up loudly, "Everyone, gather around! There's a book here about poker rules."

"We have one hour left. Let's quickly learn the basic rules of various ways to play; it might be helpful."

The crowd cast looks of gratitude toward Cai Zhiyuan and Fu Chen.

It was obvious that within this hour, except for a few people with strong psychological resilience like Cao Haichuan, most people were panicking.

While "sharpening the spear before battle" might not necessarily be useful, it was enough to stabilize morale.

Fu Chen flipped through the book quickly. He certainly wouldn't explain it from cover to cover; there simply wasn't enough time.

"I'll focus on a few popular rules: Texas Hold'em, Blackjack, Fight the Landlord, Three Card Poker, Solitaire..."

"Let's start with Texas Hold'em, as it's the most likely."

Everyone listened with rapt attention as the minutes and seconds ticked away.

00:01

00:00

As the countdown on the large screen hit zero, everyone felt their vision go black, and then they lost consciousness.

...

"Beep—"

A sharp, piercing beep sounded, and Qin Yao gradually woke up.

She immediately realized she was tightly bound to an iron chair.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

Qin Yao tried to speak, but received no response.

There was a special metal mechanism on her neck that restricted the movement of her head.

Not only that, but Qin Yao's thighs, waist, and other key areas were locked to the seat. Her left hand was locked to the table in front of her; her elbow, wrist, and even her fingers were firmly fixed, unable to move even a fraction.

Her right hand could move freely, but when she tried to feel the mechanisms, they were seamless and immovable.

Qin Yao looked around. This was an extremely cramped single cubicle, less than 1.5 meters wide. There was only a dim overhead light on the ceiling, which inevitably inspired fear.

The table in front of her was covered with a green cloth, and there was a deck of playing cards and two mechanical arms that looked simple and rugged in style.

On the left wall of the cubicle was an introduction to exchanging chips.

On the right wall was an introduction to the rules of "Simplified Three Card Poker" and a detailed chart of hand rankings.

Qin Yao felt her heartbeat accelerating and her body temperature rising. Clearly, this strange and oppressive environment was exerting immense psychological pressure on her.

Suddenly, a sound came from the front.

Qin Yao followed the sound and found a very small speaker, consisting only of a few simple circular holes, so the audio quality was muffled and indistinct.

Coupled with a soulless electronic voice, the atmosphere here became even more terrifying.

【Welcome to "Blood Poker."】

【The current area is the Chip Exchange Zone.】

【The machine in front of you is the "Chip Exchange Machine," used to exchange for the chips required in multiplayer gambling games.】

【The exchange ratio is: 100ML of blood = 10,000 chips = 10,000 minutes of visa time.】

【When exchanging, you must gamble against the "Chip Exchange Machine" according to the rules of "Simplified Three Card Poker."】

【For every 10,000 chips exchanged, you must gamble at least 1 round and at most 20 rounds before you can leave.】

【After the gambling session ends, based on the outcome of the game, the "Chip Exchange Machine" will issue the exchanged chips to the player and allow the player to unlock the mechanisms and move freely.】

【Now, please state the amount of chips you wish to exchange, in units of 10,000 chips. For the first exchange, a minimum of 20,000 chips is required.】

Silence returned to the cubicle, leaving only the sound of Qin Yao's rapid breathing.

After a moment, no more electronic voice came, and only then did Qin Yao gradually clear her chaotic thoughts.

"This machine can exchange chips. What are the chips for? They must be used in the upcoming game."

"But the exchange method isn't a direct exchange; I have to gamble against this machine once..."

"And it's exchanged for blood."

Qin Yao looked at her left hand, which was firmly fixed to the table by the mechanism, and then looked at the mechanism suspended above her to the upper left.

It was some kind of special blood-drawing device. The needle glinted with a cold light, and the device was connected to a large, clear, and transparent blood storage tank, marked with different scales in units of 100ML.

This caused Qin Yao to feel an instinctive resistance and fear.

But she also knew she had no choice; if she did nothing, the game could not proceed.

【Now, please state the amount of chips you wish to exchange, in units of 10,000 chips. For the first exchange, a minimum of 20,000 chips is required.】

The muffled prompt reminded her again.

"For the first exchange, I have to draw at least 200ML? This amount of blood... it shouldn't be dangerous, right?"

Qin Yao thought for a long time before finally summoning the courage to say, "Exchange... 20,000 chips."

【Exchange commencing.】

After the muffled electronic voice finished, the mechanism in the upper left made a piercing grinding sound and began to move.

Qin Yao felt the restraint mechanism on her left arm tighten instantly. The cold metal ring squeezed her painfully, causing the veins in her arm to bulge.

The sudden sting caused Qin Yao's body to tremble involuntarily. The blood-sampling needle had already pierced the vein, and crimson blood flowed along the needle and tube into the storage tank.

It did not stop until it reached the 200ML mark.

The sharp sound of metal grinding rang out again; the needle was withdrawn, and the mechanism returned to its position.

At the same time, the mechanism locking Qin Yao's left hand used a small cotton ball to press against the wound at the needle site to help stop the bleeding.

(End of Chapter)