Chapter 21: Bluffing

Accumulated a lot of good karma?

A stroke of luck?

Lu Xinyi felt like laughing, which further confirmed her suspicion.

Unlike the other three steady players from Community 17, Lin Sizhi was likely a gambler who enjoyed going all-in.

He had probably just tasted a bit of sweetness in a gamble against the chip exchange machine, which made him get carried away, leading to a series of consecutive losses.

Many gamblers always hold a strange obsession with luck—for instance, believing that after losing enough, a massive win is bound to come next.

But real-world probabilities don't work like gacha games with pity systems.

However, Lu Xinyi was not so easily convinced.

Whether he was a true gambler or just pretending to be one ultimately had to be judged by his repeated actions of raising, calling, and folding during the game.

A gambler's true intentions could only be seen when their behavior was paired with the value of their chips.

The game began.

Everyone took out 1,000 chips and placed them in the betting area on the table.

The mechanical arm proceeded as before, taking out a new deck of cards, shuffling them randomly, and dealing them in order.

Lu Xinyi was the dealer, and Lyu Mingxuan was still sitting to her right.

"Fold."

Lyu Mingxuan threw his cards down immediately.

The four members of Community 3 already had a very tacit cooperation; Lyu Mingxuan's action indicated that his hand wasn't particularly strong, leaving it to his two companions to raise.

It was Lin Sizhi's turn.

He cautiously pushed aside the overlapping cards in his hand and took a quick glance.

Then, he silently tossed exactly four 1,000-point chips onto the table.

"Raise."

After speaking, Lin Sizhi stared at Lu Xinyi with a calm expression, a slight smirk playing at the corners of his mouth.

Lu Xinyi's eyebrows twitched slightly.

Raising directly to 4,000 right at the start meant that Lin Sizhi and Jiang He were definitely not the same style of player.

He indeed looked more like a gambler who loved to risk everything.

But the question was: did Lin Sizhi actually have a massive hand, or was he bluffing?

Many veteran gamblers were masters of this: they could take a very weak hand and, through exquisite acting and maneuvering, make the opponent believe they held a powerhouse, thereby forcing a fold.

It had to be said that Lin Sizhi's acting was much better than Jiang He's; for a moment, Lu Xinyi actually couldn't see through him.

However, Lu Xinyi noticed that Lin Sizhi's hands were clasped together, appearing to tremble slightly in an almost imperceptible way.

Was that also part of the act?

Lu Xinyi's mind raced.

Qin Yao chose to fold, which was normal, because calling at this point would require 4,000 chips at once.

Lu Xinyi knew that even if Qin Yao had exchanged blood for chips, she wouldn't have exchanged much; she likely had at most around 30,000 chips on hand, and there was no need to force a call if the cards were bad.

Lu Xinyi's gaze swept across the faces of the other three from Community 3.

Clearly, none of their hands were particularly strong, and their expressions were filled with hesitation.

"You all fold."

Lu Xinyi picked up four 1,000-unit chips from the pile in front of her one by one. "I must say, your skill level is indeed much higher than that clumsy girl's, and you're much bolder too.

"I truly can't tell if you actually have a great hand or if you're bluffing.

"But unfortunately, you should have come during the last game.

"Because right now, my chip stack is much larger than yours, allowing me to call your bluff many times without any psychological burden.

"I bet you don't have a big hand.

"Call."

Lin Sizhi's expression froze, and his fingers instinctively tightened.

One raise, one call, automatic showdown.

Lin Sizhi silently flipped over his cards.

3 of Hearts, 7 of Clubs, 5 of Hearts.

The corners of Lu Xinyi's mouth curled up slightly as she revealed her hand: "I have an Ace-high junk hand. Thanks."

Watching the mechanical arm sweep all the chips on the table toward Lu Xinyi, Qin Yao seemed to grow a bit nervous.

Clearly, having a bluff exposed in the very first round was extremely disadvantageous for the subsequent games.

The psychological pressure being endured by both sides was not on the same level.

Lin Sizhi seemed to adjust quickly, offering a forced smile: "It's just one game; winning and losing at the table is common. Let's continue."

In the second round, Lu Xinyi was the dealer.

Lyu Mingxuan raised 1,000; it looked like he had a decent hand this time.

Lin Sizhi studied his cards seriously; his thinking time was noticeably longer than last time.

A moment later, he pulled four 1,000-unit chips from his pocket.

"Raise."

Lu Xinyi was somewhat surprised, as it was rare to see someone continue bluffing in the very next round after being caught bluffing in the previous one.

Perhaps Lin Sizhi's hand was actually good this time?

Or perhaps he was utilizing the "hidden in plain sight" psychological tactic in reverse.

Lu Xinyi looked at her own hand; unfortunately, her cards were very poor this time—just an Ace-high junk hand with a 7.

Under these circumstances, even if Lin Sizhi was bluffing, it would be difficult for her to catch him.

Not only that, but Qin Yao, sitting to Lin Sizhi's right, actually pulled a handful of chips from her pocket, counted out 5,000, and placed them gently in the betting area.

"I raise too."

The large pile of chips in the betting area instantly made the atmosphere tense.

Lu Xinyi stared at Qin Yao, trying to find a clue in her micro-expressions, but found nothing.

From Qin Yao's expression, she was indeed very nervous, but the problem was that she wasn't playing with Jiang He this time; she was playing with Lin Sizhi.

Lu Xinyi knew that before coming, Lin Sizhi must have taught Qin Yao some basic cooperative tactics.

Therefore, Lu Xinyi could not discern whether Qin Yao's nervous expression stemmed from a bluff or from the trepidation of a specific plan.

"A double bluff?

"But in terms of chip quantity, it looks more like Qin Yao actually has a big hand..."

Lu Xinyi knew Qin Yao didn't have many chips; even if she had exchanged blood, she would have at most a little over 30,000.

A single bet of 5,000 chips was by no means a small amount.

It seemed Qin Yao's hand should be quite good.

But Lu Xinyi could not rule out the possibility that both of them were bluffing. This round had to go to a showdown, otherwise, the mystery would never be solved.

However, to force a showdown, simply calling was not enough.

Because Lin Sizhi and Qin Yao were raising together specifically to drive the chip count up infinitely.

If Lu Xinyi called this round, Lin Sizhi and Qin Yao would continue to raise the chips, potentially up to 8,000 or even 10,000.

Just like the way Lu Xinyi and Lyu Mingxuan had played before.

Paying such a high price just to see the cards would be very unprofitable.

However, Lu Xinyi was not panicking, because she had another way.

The young man to Qin Yao's right had already chosen to fold; with a weak hand, 5,000 chips was beyond his limit.

After a moment of thought, Lu Xinyi issued an instruction to the lady sitting to her left.

"Sister Liu, call this one all the way."

Sister Liu froze, wanting to explain that her hand was actually very small.

But Lu Xinyi shook her head slightly, signaling her not to say anything.

Sister Liu could only look down at her meager chips: "Alright."

She was the unluckiest of the four from Community 3; she had lost more than she won in the previous game against Jiang He, and now she only had 7,000 chips left.

Of course, most of her chips had been won by Lu Xinyi and Lyu Mingxuan.

The four members of Community 3 all had poor hands, but at least one person had to choose to call for the cards to be revealed.

The person with more chips faced a greater risk by calling to the end. Conversely, for someone like Sister Liu with few chips, going all-in at the end would result in a maximum loss of only 7,000 chips.

In terms of chip quantity, it was the optimal solution.

Sister Liu put out 5,000 chips to call.

When it was Lu Xinyi and Lyu Mingxuan's turn, both of them indeed chose to fold.

Lyu Mingxuan's hand was decent, but the chip volume this round exceeded his capacity to bear.

Lu Xinyi was their backbone; since she needed more time to observe before giving a definitive command, Lyu Mingxuan chose to fold to be safe.

"So many people folding?

"That's a bit of a pity. I'll raise again."

Lin Sizhi once again produced a 2,000-unit chip and placed it in the betting area.

"I raise too," Qin Yao also produced a 2,000-unit chip.

Sister Liu looked at Lu Xinyi, and after receiving a confirming glance, she threw all her remaining 2,000 chips into the betting area.

(End of Chapter)