Chapter 323

As the saying goes, there is no gambling without greed, and no greed without gambling. Once a gambling game begins, the result is nothing more than winning or losing.

But the attitude the Gambler showed at the table was extreme greed that couldn't even accept breaking even. It only wanted to win. The Gambler refused to accept any result other than the winner taking all; it only accepted winning.

"You win, win, win, and in the end, you lose everything." Ning Zhe looked back at the empty, deep corridor behind him, his eyes as calm as water.

At the table, a new round of drawing had already begun. Xia Yubing nervously gripped the tip of her pen, just about to write and ask Ning Zhe what the conditions were for becoming the 'winner' in this game. Before the pen tip was even raised, as if they had a telepathic connection, a line of black handwriting appeared on the paper stroke by stroke:

【I cannot tell you for the time being what the criteria for being judged a 'winner' are.】

【But I can teach you how to judge who might be the 'loser'.】

【Now look up, look at everyone's hand at the table, and find the person holding the most cards.】

【The ghost card is in his hand.】

Xia Yubing moved her gaze away from the period at the end of the sentence and looked up across the table.

The Gambler inherited the five cards from the deceased Alan, then drew a card from Ikes, pulling out a Club Ace which successfully paired with the Spade Ace in its hand. Both cards were discarded to the card pile.

Number of cards held by the Gambler: 4.

Next was Ikes. He originally held seven cards; after the Gambler drew one, he had six left. Then he drew a card from the God of Wealth, pulling out a Diamond 2, which successfully paired with the Heart 2 in his hand. Both cards were discarded to the card pile.

Number of cards held by Ikes: 5.

Then it was the God of Wealth. The God of Wealth originally held nine cards; after Ikes drew one, he had eight left. But he immediately drew a Club Queen from Sha Li Sha Li, bringing his hand count back to nine.

Number of cards held by the God of Wealth: 9.

"Ah, this..." Xia Yubing was stunned, seeing Sha Li Sha Li, who had been drawn from by the God of Wealth, turn around and cautiously reach out her hand.

Sha Li Sha Li originally held five cards; after the God of Wealth drew one, she had four left. Then she drew a Heart King from Xia Yubing's hand and pulled a Diamond King from her own hand to pair with it. Both cards were discarded to the card pile.

Number of cards held by Sha Li Sha Li: 3.

Xia Yubing looked down at her own hand again; she now held five cards.

It was Xia Yubing's turn to draw again.

"According to Ning Zhe, the ghost card is in the hand of the person holding the most cards on the table. This person is undoubtedly the God of Wealth," Xia Yubing thought.

The God of Wealth held nine cards. This was the initial number of cards when the Gambler finished dealing and the game officially began. Each player's initial hand was nine cards. This number would gradually decrease with each round of drawing and pairing.

"But the God of Wealth's hand count has never decreased. From the beginning of the game until now, after so many rounds of drawing, he hasn't discarded a single card. The God of Wealth has always held the initial nine cards; not a single one has decreased."

This meant that the God of Wealth hadn't even drawn a single card that could pair with his hand until now. What kind of game is this?

"This luck is too bad..." Xia Yubing couldn't help but glance a few more times at the headless old corpse draped in a wide Confucian robe. The pitch-black lightning-struck wood tattoo on the pale skin was so eye-catching and glaring.

While she was thinking, the Gambler's hand holding the cards had already reached over. The rotting flesh emitted a pungent stench, causing Xia Yubing's nose to wrinkle slightly. "Why is it so urgent?" Doubting in her heart, Xia Yubing reached out and randomly pinched one of the four cards held by the Gambler, pulling it out.

Spade 9.

Xia Yubing looked down, and the corresponding Club 9 happened to be in her hand. The two cards were successfully paired and discarded by her to the card pile in the center of the table.

The number of cards held by Xia Yubing reached four, while the Gambler had only three cards left.

This round of drawing ended.

Okay, now let's sort out the currently known information.

1. The wandering Gambler will randomly pull people into a gambling game, forcing them to engage in a gambling-style game with it. The content of the game depends on specific conditions.

2. All game types that have appeared so far must have the concepts of 'winning/losing' and 'stakes'.

3. Players who cheat in the game will be directly judged as losers, their stakes confiscated, and they will be expelled from the game.

4. The Gambler's competitive spirit, or greed, is extremely strong. It will keep gambling until it becomes the winner and takes all the stakes of all other players into its pocket.

"Currently, it is known that the 'ghost card' is very likely in the God of Wealth's hand. If this ghost card is never drawn in the subsequent drawing rounds, then after all other players have cleared their hands and left the game, the God of Wealth, who holds the ghost card last, will be judged as the 'loser'."

"Also known: players who clear their hands and leave the game will not be judged as 'winners'. The winner of this Old Maid game has other criteria. The Gambler returning to the game after leaving and picking up Alan's hand again is to satisfy this condition and become the winner."

"So what is this condition? What conditions must be met to become the 'winner'?"

Think, Xia Yubing, think. Is your brain really that slow? Can you do nothing if Ning Zhe is not by your side? If he were here, what line of reasoning would he use to find the unique solution to these vague game rules?

"Ghost card... first of all, it's the ghost card. The condition for being judged the loser is 'the last one to hold the ghost card'."

!

"Now I know the ghost card is in the God of Wealth's hand, but I don't know exactly which card it is, because the Gambler neither drew out the Big Joker and an 8 according to the domestic Old Maid rules, nor randomly drew one card from the 54 cards to create an orphan card according to the internationally accepted Old Maid rules."

"Although I cannot determine exactly which card is the ghost card, I know a pattern. Whether it's the domestic Old Maid rules or the internationally accepted 'orphan card is ghost' rule, the ghost card under both rules has a common characteristic, which is—it cannot be paired with other cards."

"The ghost card is a lonely card. It cannot be paired with other cards, so it will not be discarded to the card pile. It will only frequently change hands between different players like a time bomb until the game ends, all other players have escaped, and the ghost card explodes in the loser's hand."

"In a complete deck of 54 playing cards, which card cannot be paired with other cards?"

"Only the jokers, that is, the Big Joker and the Small Joker."

Xia Yubing looked down and confirmed her hand again. One of the cards was indeed the colorful Big Joker.

The 'Big Joker' was in her hand, and it had been there since the end of the initial deal.

"It is known that the ghost card is in the God of Wealth's hand, and it is known that the Big Joker is now in my hand. If the ghost card really is one of the Big Joker or the Small Joker, then the Small Joker in the God of Wealth's hand is the ghost card."

(End of chapter)