The voice sounded calm and natural, so much so that Jiang He almost thought she misheard.
She looked up at Lu Xinyi, only to find Lu Xinyi's expression as usual, seemingly completely unfazed by the issue with what she had just said.
"Wait, is there some mistake?
"Isn't it supposed to be winning rounds alternately?
"Shouldn't you be folding at this point?"
Jiang He looked at Lu Xinyi in disbelief. Or rather, she had already realized some issues, but it was hard to accept at the moment.
You can never really know a person's heart; Jiang He had considered the possibility of the other side showing their true colors, but she never expected them not to bother pretending for even a second.
Lu Xinyi, however, merely laughed it off indifferently, offering no explanation, only pointing at the timer on the betting table.
"Everyone should make their decision quickly."
In 'Blood Poker', aside from the one-hour limit on the overall game time, each person also has a one-minute limit on their turn at a multi-player table.
A small timer sits on the table, if time is exceeded, it automatically treats it as folding.
After all, the constant betting or raising in each round could lead to unnecessary delays if not controlled.
The scarlet numbers on the timer kept ticking down.
43...
42...
"Alright, alright, so that's how you want to play?"
Jiang He's face darkened; she hadn't expected Lu Xinyi, who seemed so amiable, to really leave no room once things were laid bare.
She picked up the cards from the table and glanced at them.
A pair of nines.
The face of the cards was something she already knew, but just to be sure, not wanting to have misjudged before, Jiang He looked once more.
Regrettably, this hand wasn't small, but it wasn't very large either; trying to sweep the entire table might be difficult.
The game continued; at Lu Xinyi's right side was another player from Community 3, a slender middle-aged man with glasses named Lv Mingxuan.
He tossed another three 1000 Chips into the betting area: "Raise."
It was Su Xiuqin's turn, who was the dealer, and also the last to act.
Before her, Jiang He, Lu Xinyi, and Lv Mingxuan had all raised, while the others had already folded.
Su Xiuqin was panicking, the current situation had completely disrupted her expectations.
Jiang He frowned: "Aunt Su, call."
Su Xiuqin appeared even more flustered: "B-but..."
In Jiang He's view, the situation was clear: if Su Xiuqin folded, it would be a two versus one on the table, and she would be in a very disadvantageous position; if Su Xiuqin called, it would be two versus two, with a better chance of winning.
But Su Xiuqin's panicked expression completely exposed the fact that her cards, her hand, was very small.
In the brief stalemate, Lu Xinyi spoke up.
It seemed she had completely shed her previous gentle and kind facade, her voice laced with aggression: "Ma'am, don't force it, fold.
"From the moment you sat at the table, you had no chance of winning this game.
"Of course, you can defy fate and choose to keep raising, but no matter how much you raise, I will keep raising in return."
[Time exceeded, fold automatically.]
As the prompt sounded, Su Xiuqin seemed to collapse at once, weakly laying her cards back on the table.
Within just a single minute, it was difficult for her to make a decision.
To call now, she would have to put in another 3000 Chips, and her hand was small; if she lost, she would lose the ante and a total of 4000, which was completely intolerable for her.
After all, losing all ten rounds, just losing the ante, would only come to 10,000.
If she lost 4000 in the first round, what then? Even if she were lucky enough to get a strong hand later, it would be difficult to make a comeback.
In such a dilemma, the minute passed quickly.
It was Jiang He's turn again.
Three people had chosen to raise in the last round, so there couldn't be a showdown yet in this round.
It needed to continue until just one person raised and everyone else called before there could be a showdown.
The scarlet countdown began falling from 60 again, leaving Jiang He only two paths.
Either call or raise or fold.
"Can't fold, if I completely cave in the first round, there'll be no chance to retaliate in the following games...
"I need to at least see what their hands are.
"My hand is a pair of nines, at least a pair; facing off against both of them, I can't be without any chance of winning.
"Damn it, the rule-breaker should be attacked by others, so why aren't the other three from Community 3 reacting at all?
"Did they foresee this situation from the start?
"Why did two fold and two raise?"
Jiang He's mind was a jumble; too much information made it hard to unravel her thoughts.
The countdown was already down to 20 seconds.
Jiang He decided to call first.
However, just then, Lu Xinyi spoke again.
"A friendly reminder, even if you choose to call now, there won't be a showdown.
"Because we both will keep raising until you bet all your Chips.
"So, if your hand is truly strong, why not just go all-in, it saves time."
Jiang He, just having picked up the Chips, froze in mid-air.
According to the game rules, if two people keep raising, there would never be a showdown, until all Chips are exhausted and turn into an all-in state.
All-in, also known as going all-out or ALL-IN, is the most extreme gamble.
Winning doubles the Chips, losing wipes them out.
For Jiang He, she had barely prepared herself to lose 4000 Chips, not to lose everything in the first round.
"Tick."
[Time exceeded, fold automatically.]
Jiang He felt as if all her energy was drained at once, and her hand clutching the Chips fell again.
"Raise."
"Fold."
Lv Mingxuan chose to fold, and without anyone's hand being revealed, Lu Xinyi won all the Chips on the table.
After deducting her own bet, she netted 9000 Chips.
The biggest loser here was Lv Mingxuan, losing a total of 4000 Chips including the ante.
But Lv Mingxuan showed no expression, not even thinking of calling to see the cards, just handing over all those Chips.
This made Jiang He even more certain that the four players from Community 3 had planned this game from the start.
What Jiang He couldn't understand was that, according to the Walkway's matching mechanism, Community 3 should have only been formed for a day.
How could they trust each other unconditionally like that?
As analyzed at the beginning, though in the same community, players don't really form a community of interest, Lu Xinyi's earned visa time shouldn't be tradable with others.
Why would the other three cooperate unconditionally?
Jiang He hadn't figured out the answer to this question when a new game was about to begin.
This time Lu Xinyi was the dealer, and Lv Mingxuan on her right was the first to act.
Lv Mingxuan looked at his hand and said, "Fold."
This surprised Jiang He; she thought Lv Mingxuan would continue raising, repeating last round's act with Lu Xinyi.
It was Su Xiuqin's turn; she was even more at a loss: "I, I'm this..."
She even subconsciously wanted to show Jiang He her hand, but restrained herself because that was against the rules.
In multi-player tables, some little tricks outside the rules are allowed, but showing each other your hand is absolutely prohibited.
Jiang He comforted her: "It's alright, Aunt Su, if your hand looks good, just call."
But before she'd finished speaking, she was interrupted by Lu Xinyi.
"Have you not figured out the situation?
"In this game, you have no chance of winning, and any form of resistance will only cause you more loss."