My Notoriety Spreads Throughout the World-Chapter 320 - 288: Farewell Ceremony (Part 4) [Two-in-One]
Xu Xiaoyou handed the gun to the dealer beside him, lightly pinching a card between his fingers and tightly holding it in the dealer's palm, he tapped his own forehead, "If I lose, just shoot me."
Mori's expression slightly changed, remaining silent.
The dealer soon completed the second round of dealing.
The atmosphere was always swept by a storm, with the silent people deliberately blurred into silhouettes, like ghosts in the river of history, laden with heavy obscurity.
Mori initially pretended to glance at her own cards, five new and even cards that shimmered under the light.
Through the gap between the King and the Pauper, Mori closely observed Xu Xiaoyou's hand. After catching a glimpse of bright red with her peripheral vision, her heartbeat sped up, and the blood in her body accelerated, spreading a tense emotion through her heart.
Wonderful.
Mori's gaze passed over the card surface and landed on her finger, cut by a can tab earlier in the afternoon. In the previous round, she had left her blood mark on the back of a King card. The mark was faint under the light, barely visible, unnoticed by Xu Xiaoyou and the dealer.
Now that King card was dealt into Xu Xiaoyou's hand; as long as she plays soldiers as much as possible before the opponent plays the King card, leaving the Pauper to assassinate the opponent's King, her chance of winning the second round will be greatly increased, even a poor situation would result in a draw.
She had already won the first round.
If she won the second round again.
She would be the victor of this game.
At that time, what should she do, really point the gun at You?
Two conflicting emotions entwined in the girl's heart, memories of past interactions with the girl surfaced, swaying Mori's heart, yet thinking of her companion's tragic death, Mori's wavering heart was anchored.
She couldn't let this Demon die so easily.
The other must pay for their actions.
Her life should be hers to dispose of.
Just then, Mori noticed a fleeting flash of light in the darkness and realized there was a half-mirror in the shadow of the building behind Xu Xiaoyou. From this angle, she could vaguely glimpse the cards in the opponent's hand. Previously, her thoughts were too mixed, and she had failed to notice this mirror.
Mori silently lowered her head, hiding her face in darkness, as outsiders would see her looking at her own cards, her peripheral vision consistently surveyed Xu Xiaoyou's cards through the mirror. The latter seemed lost in thought, finger pinching the corner of a card, trembling between a soldier and a Pauper, finally drawing one of the two, placing it among the first three cards, just beyond Mori's viewing angle.
"I need to think carefully, hmm..."
Mori's eyes twitched.
Did the opponent just put the Pauper or the soldier among the first three?
She couldn't see clearly, after weighing the options, Mori decided to put the King as the last card, regardless of whether the opponent placed the Pauper or soldier in front, she'd counter with soldiers, increasing her chance of winning.
Xu Xiaoyou played the first card, after confirming there were no blood marks, Mori followed with a soldier, simultaneously holding her breath and staring at the fourth card in Xu Xiaoyou's hand, the blood-marked 'King'.
Xu Xiaoyou thoughtfully nodded and played the second card.
Mori followed with another soldier.
Xu Xiaoyou's fingers vacillated between the fourth and third cards, finally, after a drawn-out time, Mori witnessed the blood-marked 'King' card being played, she held back her excitement and swiftly played the Pauper.
She had the soldier and King remaining in her hand, the opponent's hand could only contain the Pauper and soldier.
Mori's breath gradually grew urgent, her gaze swung back and forth between her card surface and the mirror, hoping to catch the slightest glimpse of Xu Xiaoyou's card surface. Just then, the girl's calm voice thundered beside her ear.
"What are you looking at, Rice Wine?"
She looked up to see Xu Xiaoyou propping his face, card surfaces fanned against his cheek, calmly watching her, eyes beneath the mask seemed to conceal a storm, seeing through everything, the intense pressure made Mori's fingers, holding the last two cards, slightly tremble.
Striving to control her inner turmoil, Mori outwardly feigned calm.
A moment later, Xu Xiaoyou spoke, "Play the fourth card first."
Already somewhat guilty, Mori didn't object, sighed in relief, grateful the opponent hadn't directly exposed her cheating, the opponent likely didn't know anything...
In the brief deliberation between the fourth soldier and fifth King, Mori opted to play the King, assuming that at worst, it would be a draw. However, as soon as she played it, Xu Xiaoyou instantly followed suit on the table.
Mori, momentarily stunned, suddenly realized something was off, bewilderingly stared at the card she played, then glanced at Xu Xiaoyou, who merely smiled, "What's wrong, Rice Wine?"
"What's strange about this?"
"I'm also curious why, when I played the first three cards, you chose to follow suit so quickly."
After saying this, Xu Xiaoyou threw out her own last card. Seeing that, like hers, the girl's fingertip bore an equally subtle cut, Mori's pupils contracted violently, reaching to alter the alignment of the cards on the table, only to have her hand gripped by Xu Xiaoyou, causing the last soldier to slowly fall.
"Shall we reveal the cards?" Xu Xiaoyou's tone was unchanged.
Soldier → Soldier
Soldier → Soldier
Pauper → Soldier
King → Pauper
Soldier → King
"You lost the second round, Rice Wine."
Mori blankly gazed at the blonde girl before her, Xu Xiaoyou released his grip, allowing the girl to slump back into her seat, "Did you think I wouldn't notice your little tricks?"
Countless ignored prior details like seabed grains floated sporadically on the sea of memory, Mori should have foreseen it.
In the first round, when her opponent played the second card, her fingers intentionally tapped the card surface. It was at that time that Xu Xiaoyou left a blood mark on the soldier card. Due to the light and brilliance, Mori failed to catch it in time.
And when Xu Xiaoyou later handed the gun to the dealer, she wiped off Mori's blood on the King card, discreetly swapping the girl's marked 'King' for the soldier card.
Even the mirror was intentionally positioned by Xu Xiaoyou, purposefully seated at that angle, ensuring Mori could witness the action of 'placing soldier or Pauper among the first three' and confidently predicting she would reposition the King card due to doubt. It was just necessary to notice the chosen card at that time to lock her King card, which was why she matched the Pauper card as soon as Mori played the King card...
A trap, enticing one into a snare?
This game only had draws or complete victory.
After taking her Pauper and King cards, no matter how the remaining soldiers were played, the final winner will inevitably be Xu Xiaoyou.
From the start, for the opponent, winning the game was a sure thing, her heart had been entirely seen through by Xu Xiaoyou, who merely played along from the standpoint of a jest to complete the whole game. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺
"Never readily trust what you see, blind pursuit leads to failure." Xu Xiaoyou's tone was calm.
"I haven't lost yet."
Mori lowered her head, tightly bit her pale lip, deep-rooted pride and self-respect crushed by the vast disparity of reality, breeding intense unwillingness.
"We are tied one to one now, isn't there a third round?"
"Of course."
Xu Xiaoyou snapped his fingers, the dealer meticulously wiped off all the blood marks and redistributed ten cards to both hands.
The surrounding Octagonal Spider members were unaware of the tumult and entangled conflicts beneath the seemingly calm surface, engaging in hushed discussions.
Mori no longer looked at her cards, wagering everything at once on the table.
This time, she could only entrust everything to fate, internally praying for the Goddess of Fortune's gaze to fall upon her, even if only for a moment...
Under the eyes of countless witnesses, the outcome of the third round revealed.
Soldier → King
Pauper → King
King → King
Soldier → King
The candlelight in Mori's dim eyes extinguished, distant came the sound of a companion's fall, her heart dropped to the depths.
Xu Xiaoyou personally overturned the last card surface.
——Soldier → King
"When you have power, always be the dictator of the rules, not the compromiser."
