Chapter 321

Alan actually drew this Spade 6, a card originally held by the God of Wealth, later drawn by Ikes and taken into his own hand—the Spade 6.

"Too much of a coincidence."

Xia Yubing thought: "First the God of Wealth, then Ikes, then Alan. Every round, this Spade 6 gets drawn and changes hands. And every time this card changes owners, it moves a little closer to the Gambler."

Why would such an unbelievable thing happen?

Xia Yubing lowered her head and cast her gaze toward the line of text Ning Zhe had written, already having the answer in her heart.

"Because the Club 6 is in the Gambler's hand, this Spade 6, which can pair with the Club 6, is being drawn again and again, moving round by round toward the Gambler until, in the end, it falls into its hands."

The Gambler's luck is truly good—so good that it wouldn't get hit by a single shot while playing Russian Roulette, and so good that when drawing ghost cards, the cards it needs actively come looking for it.

Everything goes its way, everything is as it wishes, it is blessed by the stars, and its fortune is boundless.

It was Ikes's turn to draw a card.

Xia Yubing calmed her emotions and watched Ikes reach toward the God of Wealth, unable to help but think: Which card did the God of Wealth draw from Sha Li Sha Li in the previous round?

Was it the Spade 9?

As soon as this thought emerged, a playing card slipped from Ikes's fingers and fell onto the table with a *pat*.

Spade 9.

"As expected." Xia Yubing was no longer surprised: "This Spade 9 was originally in Sha Li Sha Li's hand, then drawn by the God of Wealth, and then drawn by Ikes..."

In the next round of drawing, it will probably be drawn by Alan, right?

"This Spade 9 is also actively moving toward the Gambler, which means the Gambler holds the other card that can pair with it—that is, the Club 9."

Xia Yubing glanced at the Gambler sitting motionless by the table and the three cards remaining in its hand, already having the answer in her heart:

"The three cards held by the Gambler should be the Club 6, the Club 9, and one unknown card."

"And the two cards that can pair with them: the Spade 6 is in Alan's hand, and the Spade 9 is in Ikes's hand."

"Which means, when it's my turn to draw from the Gambler later, I absolutely cannot draw the Club 6 or Club 9 from its hand. I will definitely draw that unknown card, because no matter which one of the Club 6 or Club 9 I draw, it would result in an unpairable card in the Gambler's hand."

Such a thing will not happen. The Gambler's affairs go smoothly, the Gambler's wishes are fulfilled, the Gambler is blessed, and the Gambler's fortune is boundless. No probabilistic event harmful to the Gambler will ever occur at this table; its luck is just that good.

It was the God of Wealth's turn to draw.

Xia Yubing reined in her thoughts and focused her attention on the God of Wealth's hand; perhaps she could judge the suit of the Gambler's last card by which card the God of Wealth drew...

—Club Ace.

The God of Wealth drew a Club Ace from Sha Li Sha Li and added it to his own hand. Clearly, he had no card to pair it with; the Spade Ace was not in his hand.

It was Sha Li Sha Li's turn to draw.

Sha Li Sha Li cautiously glanced at Xia Yubing, the expression in her eyes somewhat complex; it was unclear what she was thinking.

She drew a Heart 7 from Xia Yubing's hand, successfully paired it with the Diamond 7 in her own hand, and both cards were discarded to the center of the table.

Sha Li Sha Li still had four cards left.

Her luck was not bad; she had once again drawn a card that could pair with her hand. Now she was the player with the fewest cards on the table besides the Gambler. With only four cards left, she would be able to leave the game.

Sha Li Sha Li's luck was truly quite good, probably because she had previously performed mass with Xia Yubing in front of that crucifix stained with Ning Zhe's blood, satisfying the conditions for sacrifice, prayer, and fire-starting.

But her good luck also made Xia Yubing feel a bit suspicious. She had clearly performed the mass together with Sha Li Sha Li, and both had sacrificed and prayed to the crucifix, so why was only Sha Li Sha Li having good luck, while she herself showed no signs of good fortune?

With such thoughts, Xia Yubing turned around; it was now her turn to draw.

Xia Yubing did not delay, directly reaching out to draw a card from the Gambler. The result was as expected: not the Club 6, nor the Club 9, but a:

Club Jack. Xia Yubing had no card to pair with the Club Jack, so she had to add it to her hand.

This round of drawing ended, and the next round began.

It was the Gambler's turn to draw again.

Alan, having realized something, nervously shuffled the cards in his hand over and over before fanning them out, holding them up to himself, and nervously staring at the suits on the faces of each card.

The Gambler's movements were completely normal. It raised its palm, covered in corpse spots, reached out toward Alan as usual, and used its fingers to gently pinch one of the cards as usual.

"How is this possible?!"

The moment the card was pinched, Alan finally couldn't help but exclaim, his face full of terror.

His palm gripped tightly, as if he didn't want the Gambler to pull that card out, but the Gambler remained unmoved. Two fingers emitting a rotten stench clamped onto the chosen card like iron pincers, forcibly pulling it out and slapping it onto the table with a *snap*.

Spade 6.

"As expected," Xia Yubing clicked her tongue in her heart.

Immediately after, the Gambler drew a Club 6 from the two remaining cards in its hand and discarded it to the center of the table along with the Spade 6 from just now.

The Gambler had only one card left in its hand.

!

"If my previous deduction is correct, this last card in its hand should be the Club 9," Xia Yubing thought.

And the Spade 9 that can pair with the Club 9 is now in...

Xia Yubing silently cast her gaze toward Ikes sitting across the table.

It was Alan's turn to draw.

It was known that the last card in the Gambler's hand was likely the Club 9, and the only Spade 9 that could pair with the Club 9 was now in Ikes's hand.

If Alan were to draw that Spade 9 from Ikes next, then when this round of drawing ended and the next began, the Gambler would definitely draw that Spade 9 from Alan.

At that time, the Gambler would be able to clear its last card and be the first to leave empty-handed.

Ikes endured the excruciating pain of the gunshot wound on his thigh and cast an ambiguous look at Alan. Although the information they possessed was not as complete as Xia Yubing's and Ning Zhe's, it was enough for both of them to clearly understand one thing—Alan must absolutely not draw that Spade 9 next.

*Snap, snap, snap*—

Ikes shuffled the cards in his hand over and over before fanning them out and holding them up to his face.

Alan swallowed nervously and reached his hand out toward Ikes. He slowly moved his fingers over the playing cards, observing Ikes's expression as he did so.

After much deliberation, Alan finally chose a card from the fan and pinched it with his fingers.

At the same time, Ikes's expression suddenly froze.

If Xia Yubing were standing behind Ikes now, she would be able to see that the card Alan had pinched was none other than... the Spade 9.

"How is this possible..."

Seeing the look of astonishment on Ikes's face, Alan's eyes widened instantly. He subconsciously wanted to loosen his fingers and choose another card.

At this moment, the Gambler, which had been sitting motionless by the table, suddenly stood up.

(End of chapter)