After a relatively short yet infinitely long time, Xu Xiaoyou looked at Natsu Kuri, whose expression had completely dimmed. She let out a soft sigh, made a gesture, and turned to leave.
At that moment, the dark red-haired girl stood up and walked back to the gambling table in a few steps, pressing her remaining chips onto the surface. "Where do you think you're going?"
"The gamble between us isn't over yet. I still have my final chips. At least I can still save one of my companions."
Xu Xiaoyou didn't look back. "Chips? Companions?"
"I don't think your current state can change anything. You will lose the second game quite miserably. A qualified gambler wouldn't let their partner leave the stage in such a lonely manner; it would take away too much fun from the next encounter."
"Are you afraid?" Natsu Kuri squeezed the words out from between her teeth.
"I won't lose again."
"But I'm no longer interested in the next game."
Xu Xiaoyou gave a noncommittal hum and waved her hand, not intending to change her decision. Suddenly, gasps of shock erupted from the surrounding crowd.
Turning back in surprise, she saw the dagger in Natsu Kuri's hand held precariously close to her own fragile neck. Blood was already seeping from the surface; a slight stroke would be enough to sever the carotid artery. Her dark red hair fell loosely beside her face and over her shoulder. The girl's eyes were dim yet resolute.
Natsu Kuri held the Spider-Gu Fang and scanned the surrounding gang members. Not a single person dared to step forward, fearing that the little family head might do something irrational.
"I have placed my life on the gambling table. If you don't follow the bet, they won't let you walk out of this room either."
"You all still intend to use me to bargain with the Chi family, don't you? Although I don't know your objective, as soon as I die, all your plans will fail, and you will have to endure the Chi family's wrath."
Everyone present was stunned by Natsu Kuri's words. No one expected this innocent little family head to use such a method to threaten them. After a brief calculation of pros and cons, they seemed to receive an order from Roman simultaneously. Two figures carrying guns walked to the exit, blocking Xu Xiaoyou's path.
Xu Xiaoyou raised an eyebrow and took a few steps back to Natsu Kuri's side.
"I didn't expect you to make such a crazy and bold move."
The latter was slightly taken aback and stepped back a few paces, the Spider-Gu Fang never leaving the side of her neck.
"Yuzu..."
Natsu Kuri clenched her hands so tightly that her nails dug deep into her flesh. However, upon feeling the girl's presence, she slowly relaxed. She really couldn't convince herself to see the person before her as the same blonde girl who had accompanied her, yet she could not vent the long-suppressed hatred in her heart.
"Fine, it seems I've been coerced onto the gambling table, stuck between a rock and a hard place."
"Then, as you wish, Your Highness the little family head."
Xu Xiaoyou's hand swept quickly across the table. Ten cards corresponding to King, Soldier, and Slave clattered onto the table. She picked up a King and tossed it casually toward Natsu Kuri, who caught it and looked at the face.
"The rules for the second game are simple. A third party will deal three Soldiers, one Slave, and one King to each of us. The King can command the Soldier, the Soldier can suppress the Slave, and the Slave can rise in indignant rebellion to hang the King."
"So, on the card faces, King beats Soldier, Soldier beats Slave, and Slave beats King. We will arrange and play five cards, comparing their values one by one. The one who wins more cards wins the gamble. How about it?"
"Best of three, just like before." Natsu Kuri lowered her eyes.
"As you please."
Xu Xiaoyou spread all the cards face up on the table. An Eight-Spider member stepped forward at her signal and completed the deal in front of both of them. The surrounding members of Eight-Spider held their breath as they watched this scene; no one made a sound.
The first round began.
Xu Xiaoyou paced around the gambling table. After a long while, she placed a card face down: "My first card is a Soldier. As long as you play a King, you can beat me."
Natsu Kuri ignored Xu Xiaoyou's words. After a quick glance at her hand, she pulled out a card and played it in response.
Xu Xiaoyou then put down her second card, her fingertip tapping the card with deliberate significance as she continued her announcement. "My second card is also a Soldier."
Natsu Kuri silently followed with her second card.
Seeing the girl unmoved, Xu Xiaoyou calmly placed all three remaining cards on the table. "Next are King, Soldier, and Slave."
Upon hearing this, Natsu Kuri simply adjusted the positions of the cards in her hand and followed suit one by one. Under everyone's gaze, all ten cards were revealed.
Natsu Kuri → Xu Xiaoyou
King → Soldier
Soldier → Soldier
Slave → King
Soldier → Soldier
Soldier → Slave
Xu Xiaoyou spread her hands. "See? I was being sincere. You won the first round, Meijiu."
Natsu Kuri did not respond, only nodding silently.
"Wait, what is she doing?"
Several nearby members of Eight-Spider clearly didn't understand what Xu Xiaoyou was doing. Why would she hand over the first round? Was she playing psychological games?
"No idea. Who knows what that lunatic is thinking?"
But given her flamboyant personality, anyone would believe she would truly arrange the cards according to her announcements.
"Congratulations, Meijiu. You only need to win one more round, and you can leave with your last companion," Xu Xiaoyou said with a sincere nod.
"Of course, if you want to kill me before you leave, I will follow the guidance of fate. You've already thrown caution to the wind and bet everything; how could I possibly remain unaffected?"
With that, Xu Xiaoyou handed her gun to the nearby dealer. She lightly pinched a card and pressed it into the dealer's palm, then tapped her own forehead. "If I lose, just shoot me."
Natsu Kuri's expression shifted slightly, but she remained silent.
The dealer finished the second round of dealing shortly after.
The quiet atmosphere was constantly churning with a hidden storm. The silent onlookers were deliberately blurred into dark shadows, like ghosts in the long river of history, draped in heavy gloom.
Natsu Kuri first pretended to glance at the cards in her hand—five cards as flat as new, their polished surfaces emitting a faint shimmer under the lights.
Through the gap between the King and the Slave, Natsu Kuri stared intently at the cards in Xu Xiaoyou's hand. After her peripheral vision caught a glimpse of bright red, her heartbeat gradually quickened. The blood throughout her body began to flow faster, and a sense of tension spread through her mind.
Perfect.
Natsu Kuri's gaze moved past the cards and settled on her finger, which had been cut by a soda can tab that afternoon. During the previous round, she had left a trace of her blood on the back of a King card. That bloodstain was faint and dissipated under the light, perfectly masked by the glare. Neither Xu Xiaoyou nor the dealer had noticed it.
Now, that King card had been dealt to Xu Xiaoyou. As long as she played Soldiers as much as possible before the opponent played that King, and saved her Slave to assassinate the King, her chances of winning the second round would be infinitely expanded. Even a bad outcome would be a draw.
She had already won the first round.
If she won this second round as well...
She would be the winner of this game.
When that time came, what should she do? Should she really point the gun at Yuzu?
Two completely different emotions intertwined within the girl's heart. Memories of her past with the girl surfaced, making Natsu Kuri's heart waver for a moment. But thinking of the tragic deaths of her companions, her hesitant heart was fixed like an anchor.
She couldn't let this demon die so easily.
The other had to pay the price for her actions.
Her life should be left for her to dispose of.
Just then, Natsu Kuri noticed a fleeting flash in the darkness. She suddenly realized there was a half-length mirror in the shadows of the building behind Xu Xiaoyou. From this angle, she could just barely glimpse the cards in the other's hand. Her thoughts had been too chaotic earlier, and she hadn't noticed the mirror until now.
Natsu Kuri silently lowered her head, hiding her face in the dark. To outsiders, it looked like she was studying her own cards, but in reality, she was using her peripheral vision to spy on Xu Xiaoyou's hand through the mirror. The latter seemed lost in thought, her finger repeatedly pinching the corner of a card, indecisive between a Soldier and a Slave. Finally, she pulled one of them out and placed it among the first three, just at an angle Natsu Kuri couldn't see.
"I need to think this through, hmm..."
Natsu Kuri's eyes flickered.
Did she just put the Slave or the Soldier in the first three?
She hadn't seen clearly. After some weighing, Natsu Kuri chose to place the King as her final card. This way, whether the opponent placed a Slave or a Soldier in front, she only needed to respond with Soldiers, and her chances of winning would increase again.
Xu Xiaoyou played the first card. After confirming there was no bloodstain on it, Natsu Kuri decisively followed with a Soldier. At the same time, she held her breath, her eyes constantly falling on the fourth card in Xu Xiaoyou's hand—the 'King' with the bloodstain.
Xu Xiaoyou nodded thoughtfully and played her second card.
Natsu Kuri followed with another Soldier.
Xu Xiaoyou's finger repeatedly hesitated between the fourth and third cards. Finally, after a tense and long time, Natsu Kuri saw with her own eyes that the 'King' card with the bloodstain was played. She suppressed the excitement in her heart and quickly played her Slave.
Her remaining cards were a Soldier and a King. The opponent's remaining cards could only be a Slave and a Soldier.
Natsu Kuri's breathing grew slightly rapid. Her gaze swayed repeatedly between her own cards and that mirror, hoping to see even a tiny bit of Xu Xiaoyou's cards. At that moment, the girl's calm voice boomed in her ears like a clap of thunder.
"Where are you looking, Meijiu?"
Looking up, she saw Xu Xiaoyou resting her chin on her hand, the cards in her hand held like a fan against her cheek, looking at her calmly. The gaze behind the mask seemed to harbor a storm, capable of seeing through everything in a person's heart. The heavy sense of oppression made the fingertips holding Natsu Kuri's remaining two cards tremble slightly.
Struggling to suppress the turmoil in her heart, Natsu Kuri forced a look of composure on the surface.
After a moment, Xu Xiaoyou spoke: "For the fourth card, you play first."
Feeling somewhat guilty, Natsu Kuri didn't argue. She breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that the other hadn't directly pointed out her cheating. The other should still know nothing...
Natsu Kuri hesitated briefly between the fourth card, a Soldier, and the fifth card, the King. With the lucky thought that it would at most be a draw, she played the King first. Unexpectedly, Xu Xiaoyou's card followed onto the table the instant she made her move.
Natsu Kuri's mind wavered for a moment. She finally realized something was wrong and looked down at the card she had played in shock, then back at Xu Xiaoyou. The latter merely smiled. "What's wrong, Meijiu?"
"Is there something strange?"
"I'm also curious why you were able to match my first three cards so quickly."
After speaking, Xu Xiaoyou tossed out her final card. When she saw that the girl's fingertip had an imperceptible cut just like her own, Natsu Kuri's pupils shrank violently. She tried to reach out and change the positions of the cards on the table, but Xu Xiaoyou grabbed her hand firmly, and the final Soldier in her hand slowly fell downward.
"Let's reveal the cards, shall we?" Xu Xiaoyou's tone was unreadable.
Soldier → Soldier
Soldier → Soldier
Slave → Soldier
King → Slave
Soldier → King
"You lost the second round, Meijiu."
Natsu Kuri stared blankly at the blonde girl before her. Xu Xiaoyou let go of her hand, allowing the girl to slump back into her seat. "Did you think I didn't know about those little tricks of yours?"
Numerous details that had been ignored earlier surfaced like fine sand from the seabed, dotting the ocean of her memory. Natsu Kuri should have realized earlier.
In the first round, when the opponent played the second card, her fingertip had tapped the card face with deliberate significance. Even back then, Xu Xiaoyou had left a bloodstain on that Soldier card as well. Due to the glare from the lights, Natsu Kuri had failed to notice it in time.
And when she handed the gun to the dealer afterward, Xu Xiaoyou had wiped away the blood Natsu Kuri had left on the King card, and had stealthily replaced the 'King' card the girl had marked with a Soldier card.
Even that mirror had been placed there deliberately by Xu Xiaoyou. She had sat at that angle on purpose, just so Natsu Kuri could see her 'placing a Soldier or Slave among the first three' and was certain that Natsu Kuri would move her King's position out of suspicion. She only needed to watch which card was pulled out to lock onto her King, which was why she followed with a Slave the moment Natsu Kuri played her King...
Walking into a trap, falling into a snare?
In this game, only a draw or a total victory existed.
Once her Slave and King were beaten, no matter how the remaining Soldiers were played, the ultimate winner would only be Xu Xiaoyou. From the very beginning, the probability of winning this game was one hundred percent for the opponent. Her heart had been seen through completely; Xu Xiaoyou had merely played along for the entire round from the perspective of a mocker.
"Never easily believe what you see; don't just work behind closed doors," Xu Xiaoyou said peacefully.
"I haven't lost yet."
Natsu Kuri lowered her head, biting her pale lip. The pride and self-esteem deep in her bones since childhood had been shattered by the massive drop in reality, giving rise to an intense sense of indignation.
"It's one-to-one now. There's still a third round, isn't there?"
"Of course."
Xu Xiaoyou snapped her fingers. This time, the dealer carefully wiped away all bloodstains and redistributed the ten cards to both of them.
The surrounding Eight-Spider members had no idea how many storms and gambits were hidden beneath this seemingly calm surface, and they began whispering among themselves.
Natsu Kuri didn't look at her cards again. She bet everything on the table immediately.
This time, she could only leave everything to fate. She begged in her heart for the Goddess of Luck to look upon her, if only for a moment...
Under the gaze of countless witnesses, the outcome of the third round was revealed.
Soldier → King
Slave → King
King → King
Soldier → King
The flicker of hope in Natsu Kuri's grey eyes went out. The sound of a companion falling came from not far away, and her heart sank to the bottom.
Xu Xiaoyou flipped over the final cards with her own hand.
Soldier → King
"When you have the power, you must always be the dictator of the rules, not the one who compromises."
Rate on N.U.
