Finally, it's time for the grey-suited man's turn. I wonder what will happen I just hope luck is on my side.
You know you're relying on luck a lot, Ken. Maybe you should use logic, Lilith told me, sounding a bit annoyed.
"That's what gambling is, isn't it? A way to rely on luck while also using your mind to make yourself 'luckier.'" It might sound like a dumb sentence, but... what I mean is that you're able to change events through luck. That's why the key essence of gambling is luck because, in a twist of fate, luck can change the course of an entire game.
As the grey-suited man picked up a card, it was the King of Hearts. He immediately swapped that card for the Fisherman's Five of Diamonds. So sudden, I thought. So he really wants to fight fire with fire. He'll get to my Seven of Diamonds sooner or later. The only thing I can hope for is that Allen doesn't notice one of his cards missing swapped with my Six of Diamonds.
Oh yeah, let me check what card I stole from Allen. To avoid suspicion, I'll check all my cards.
Huh? Are you kidding me? The Queen of Spades.
I see... this is perfect. At first, I was hoping to win and then expose the cheaters, but now I can fly under the radar. What if... I make Allen win without him even realizing it? Ugh, gosh, this is too much to think about. Even so, he only needs the Ace of Spades, my own jack of spades and Ten of Spades for the strongest hand in poker.
The hunt has begun.
Noticing the Fisherman's expression, it didn't seem like he was mad or upset about his card being taken. Instead, he looked pleased, and he also glanced at the ginger-haired man.
As the Green Coat man picked up a card, it was the Ten of Hearts, and the Fisherman's eyes quickly lit up only for a split second.
That's it... the perfect opportunity. He likely has a Queen as one of his face-down cards. Now, with the King he just got and his Jack, he'll only need the ginger-haired man's Ace and the Green Coat's Ten to get a straight. That will take two rounds.
It's enough time to get Allen the royal flush if I act correctly. Worst-case scenario, I'll have to sabotage Fisherman again, buying another round.
I do wonder... where is that 10 of Spades? Wait, all this time, my sights have been on the ginger-haired man's 9 of Spades for the straight flush, but what if he's after the same thing? He couldn't have the 8 of Spades or Queen of Spades since I have both of them. That means he has the 10 of Spades. Since he didn't react much when the Fisherman got the Jack of Clubs, it means he already has the 9 and 10 possibly even a 7, though that's highly unlikely.
So that's how it is.
"Hahahahaha, this is perfect," I thought, unable to suppress a smile.
"What's the matter, Ken? Why are you laughing? What's going on?" Lilith asked, confused.
"Can't you see, Lili? The perfect scenario has just occurred."
"Yeah, I have no clue what you're talking about."
"See, the Fisherman wants to create a straight, the ginger-haired man wants a straight flush, and I want to make the old man next to me the winner. Oh, and by the way, these three people next to me are cheating, in case you haven't noticed. Anyway, now you see... a chain reaction is about to occur.
"I'll take the ginger-haired man's 10 of Spades, the Fisherman will take his Ace of Hearts, and the ginger-haired man, at this pace, won't be able to make a straight flush. He'll be forced to lose and basically become a ghost in this game. You can't fold in this game or at least that's what the referee hinted earlier.
"I noticed something about the referee he's a bit odd. This game is designed to cause chaos. That's the main idea. Those who lose their opportunity to win can sabotage the others or become ghosts. The ginger-haired man is smart, though. He's arrogant but clever. He used the Invisible Guard strategy the best, but if he sabotages too much in future games, the other players might turn on him. He'll effectively become a ghost playing not to win, but just to finish the game with minimal losses.
"If I take his card, he won't take it back because he knows I need it, and I might bet on it. Basically, what I'm saying is that we're all walking on a bridge, chained together. Once someone does something, the entire game will erupt into chaos. That chaos is the momentum that changes the tide of the game."
"ZzzZZZ. Oh, you finished? I stopped listening when you started calling everyone by weird names Fisherman? Ginger-haired man? What?"
"Whatever. It's just to help me remember them because of my crappy memory. Anyway, this may be risky, but I've got nothing to lose."
The Green Coat's turn continued.
"I'd like to switch my 10 of Hearts for that 7 of Diamonds. Also, I'd like to place a bet on the 10 of Hearts I just swapped. 10,000, please."
So that's how it is. He's acting boldly, creating an anchor with 10,000. I have to get rid of that card. He's buying them time to do what they want trying to make me lose. No one will go for this, but he knows the grey-suited man can't have a 10 when he wins since he's going for a straight flush with a 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9 of Diamonds.
Now it was my turn.
Reaching In to grab a card "The ace of spades please.."
"Alright, referee, enlighten me, what's the card?"
"The Ace of Spades," he confirmed.
"YESSS! MY LUCK!" I screamed internally, barely containing my joy.
"I'd also like to make a swap. Take one of my face-down cards this one," I said, pointing to my 8 of Spades, "and exchange it with the card from the funny guy who got the Ace of Hearts earlier."
"Okay," the referee said. "Which card would you like to swap with his first face-down card or his second?"
Earlier, when I caught on to his gaze after I took the Jack of Spades, I noticed he looked at his first face-down card as well, though I didn't pay much attention to it then. Now I know that's where the 10 of Spades is.
"The first one."
The swap was made.
"Referee, please tell me what's the card?"
The referee leaned in and whispered, "The 10 of Spades."
"Is that all for this turn?"
"Before I end my turn, I'd like to place a bet of 5,000 coins on the player to my left on all of his cards as well as on the player holding the 3 of clubs."
"That brings the total to 50,000 coins. Are you sure about this, sir?"
"Yes, please."
Everything has gone to plan. I guess getting lucky isn't so bad after all.
"Ken, you do realize it's the old man's turn now, right? Weren't you going to make him win? How will you do that? You can't call 'Bindu,' and neither can he, because everyone's watching him."
"Yeah, I know that much. I wasn't planning on either of us calling Bindu. The grey-suited man will do it. Can't you see? He's shaking. He wants to get out he's scared. Since I didn't act against that anchor his partner placed, he's fearing me. By the time everyone finishes this round, he'll know where that 6 of Diamonds is, and he'll call Bindu during his turn. Before he does that, while everyone's eyes are on him, I'll make the swap."
"Can't your cards get stolen until then?"
"Not likely. Spades have become the most useless suit in the game. The only thing I should be worried about is Tank Top. He'll still look for that King of Spades. He hid his intentions by not taking it in the fourth round, but I have a plan for that too."
The moment is near. The end is near. Soon, I'll make sure to crush those cheaters.
"Hey, bartender! Can I get a bottle of beer?"
"Sure, coming right up."
"So your plan is to get drunk, Ken?"
"Not entirely, but trust me I know what I'm doing."
"I should've picked someone else."
"And you should've won some money at roulette. I'm not the one starting with 5,000 needing to make it big."
"Do not, under any circumstances, depend on a partial feeling."
"THAT'S MY MUSASHI MIYAMOTO QUOTE BOOK! Again??"
"Here you go, sir. Your bottle of beer."
"Open a tab while you're at it. I'm staying here all night."
"Yes, sir."
"You're not starting your turn, Allen?"
"Yeah, what's taking so long?" Tank Top chimed in, joining me.
"Oh, sorry, I got distracted…"
"He's drinking. How old is that kid anyway?"
A smile lit up my face. The stage is set. In the next few moments, the bridge we're all standing on is about to collapse. The question is: who will find the key to unlock their chains and survive?