A door opened in the wall in front of them, and they all went inside. In the middle of the room was still a large card table, covered with a green velvet carpet. There were two scoreboards on the table for clearing the score cards, and four chairs were placed around the table.
A few seconds after everyone entered the room, the two doors on the side of the wall opened.
Two more teams of about 10 people each walked in. Although everyone was wearing silver masks and their expressions were obscured, Xiao Lou recognized many familiar faces through their eyes: Gao Xiaoyi's team and Bearded Uncle's team from Eternal Kingdom.
Clearly, after leaving Spade 8, they also drew the Plum Blossom 8 card, and since everyone was on the same track, they were matched together.
Gao Xiaoyi met Xiao Lou's eyes and felt a strong sense of familiarity. She couldn't help but ask, "Haven't we met at Spade 8?"
Bearded Uncle chuckled, "What a coincidence, it seems like we both came from Spade 8. "
resemble
Lou nodded and said, "Yes, this time the escape room is a points-based race. Whoever has more points will get more gold coins."
Fortunately, this time the Plum Blossom Secret Chamber doesn't require players to fight each other. Xiao Lou doesn't want to make enemies with the other Challenger teams; everyone has come a long way, and a win-win situation is the best outcome. This time, there's no life-threatening danger in the chamber, and there's no need to steal each other's good cards. The coin challenge is just a matter of winning more or less, so everyone feels relatively relaxed.
Before entering the S-level secret room, the young boy Plum Blossom gave everyone gold coins as a reward.
How much he can win depends on Challenger's skill.
Plum Blossom Youth stood in the middle, putting on white gloves as he said, "Each team will send out two players first. The game will be a best-of-three elimination format, with a total of three rounds." He dealt three cards of different colors to the captains of the three teams, saying, " Red team, yellow team, blue team, you will compete in pairs. The loser will be eliminated and cannot play again. You have three minutes to discuss the personnel arrangements."
Xiao Lou and his friends received red cards.
The elimination system means that if the two players sent out in the first round lose, they cannot play in the following rounds. If a team loses all three rounds due to bad luck, at least six players are needed. The more skilled players a team has, the more points they can earn.
Xiao Lou gathered his teammates together and asked softly, "50K game, who knows how to play?"
Ye Qi excitedly raised his hand: "I can!"
Qu Wanyue said, "In my hometown, we also play this kind of points game, especially during the Chinese New Year. I played 50k with my family before I joined Card World."
Long Sen scratched his head and grinned sheepishly: " Wanyue taught me, so I can do it too."
Xiao Lou turned his gaze to CEO Shao, who smiled and said, "I know all the poker games I can name."
Everyone:
No wonder he was the man who went straight for A at Plum Blossom 2, scaring everyone else away from following suit.
It seems that CEO Shao is very professional in playing cards and gambling.
Liu Qiao and Lao Mo both said they didn't know how to play. Although they understood the rules of the game, there was a big difference between those who knew how to play and those who didn't. They were completely clueless about how to control the order of playing cards, how to protect their teammates, and how to count cards.
Xiao Lou looked at Yu Hanjiang and asked in a low voice, "Then let Teacher Qu and Long Sen go first. CEO Shao and Xiao Ye can observe. If Teacher Qu and his team lose, then let CEO Shao and Xiao Ye go up to support them. With CEO Shao there, there shouldn't be a need for a third group of players."
Yu Hanjiang was happy to have some free time, so he crossed his arms and nodded decisively: "Let's do it this way."
Xiao Lou announced the decision after discussion, and his teammates all expressed no objection.
The card table was in the middle of the venue, with many chairs around it. Xiao Lou and his teammates sat in the back row to watch the game.
The red team fielded the husband-and-wife duo of Long Sen and Qu Wanyue. The blue team featured Gao Xiaoyi and his junior teammate Lin Yuhang, while the yellow team consisted of Beard Uncle and a tall, long-haired woman.
Plum Blossom Youth announced: " Red team vs. blue team, the winner will face the yellow team. The first round begins, players please prepare."
Gao Xiaoyi and Lin Yuhang walked over and sat down facing each other. Qu Wanyue and Long Sen also sat down, and the first round of the game began with the cards being dealt.
To facilitate viewing for other teammates, a large screen in the center of the venue displays the game table situation in real time. Of course, the players' hands are hidden to prevent teammates from whispering or making secret communication. The masks make it difficult for teammates to communicate through facial expressions, but eye contact is still possible, making it relatively fair.
Ye Qi whispered to Xiao Lou, " My cards are all disabled, and I can't connect to CEO Shao's Telepathic Connection."
Xiao Lou nodded: "That's normal, otherwise you could have played together."
Ye Qi excitedly said, " Teacher Qu and Long Sen, this husband-and-wife team, are so in sync, they should be able to take down both the blue team and the yellow team this round!"
Xiao Lou rubbed his temples and said, "Don't say things like that before the competition starts, or you'll easily get slapped in the face."
Ye Qi immediately made a zipping motion over his mouth.
The competition consists of three rounds. If Long Sen and Qu Wanyue can persist until the end, there is actually no need for other players to participate.
However, Long Sen's luck was really bad today.
In the first round, Gao Xiaoyi drew the heart 3 and went first. She immediately played a straight of 9, 10, J, Q, K.
To beat this straight, you need 10jqka, but neither Qu Wanyue nor Long Sen have such a good hand, so they can only pass, and the opponent gets the 10 and K scoring cards.
Gao Xiaoyi immediately followed up with a pair of 556677. Qu Wanyue, sitting to her left, played a pair of 778899 to beat her. Then, Lin Yuhang, sitting to Qu Wanyue's left, suddenly played a bomb.
Long Sen: "I can't afford it."
In this round, Gao and Xiaoyi scored another 10 points.
Gao Xiaoyi had a really good hand today, with three-of-a-kind with a single card, consecutive pairs, and straights. After playing most of her cards, she was left with only small pairs and single cards. Qu Wanyue had more pairs in her hand and regained the right to play, winning 10 points.
She had just played a three-of-a-kind with a single card when Lin Yuhang played a bomb of 5, 10, and K, instantly gaining 25 points.
Long Sen said with a bitter face, "I can't afford it."
He definitely didn't wash his hands today; his hands were covered in random little pairs like 33, 66, and 88.
In the first round, Gao Xiaoyi was the first to finish his hand and win first place, Qu Wanyue came in second, Lin Yuhang came in third, and Long Sen still had more than a dozen cards left to play.
Gao and Xiaoyi both received a desktop score of 150.
They won 50 points, which are worth 10,000 gold coins at a rate of 1 point to 10,000 gold coins. In this one game alone, they won 2 million. Long Sen and Qu Wanyue got 500,000, which wasn't even a fraction of what the other team got.
Ye Qi looked at Shao Qingge and muttered, "Your Throwing a Fortune skill costs 100,000 gold coins to use once. Teacher Qu works hard for half a day and it's only enough for you to use the skill five times."
Shao Qingge rubbed his temples helplessly: "I'll try to be careful with my spending, and I won't use this card unless it's absolutely necessary, okay?"
Ye Qi chuckled and said, "I was just saying. The CEO Shao card is actually quite useful. Let's make more money later. When my flute goes on cooldown, you can use gold coins to attack people. Although your skill is expensive, it doesn't have a cooldown."
The fact that the ability to spend money doesn't cool down is the strongest aspect of the Throwing a Fortune card. Of course, this card isn't invincible; after all, the coins might miss. Once Ye Qi and Long Sen's control card abilities cool down, Shao Qingge can finish them off with coins to control the field. While 100,000 coins at once might sting, it's nothing compared to everyone's safety.
In the first game, the blue team won.
Long Sen rubbed his hands awkwardly: "My luck is terrible, all I get are single cards and small pairs."
Qu Wanyue smiled and comforted him, saying, "Playing cards does depend on luck. It's okay, your luck won't always be bad."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Lou had a bad feeling.
Sure enough, Long Sen, who had been jinxed by Teacher Qu, had absolutely terrible luck with his hands afterward. His frustrated shouts echoed throughout the poker table: "Can't beat," "Pass," "Check."
Qu Wanyue said, "I shouldn't have said that."
Long Sen not only had a bad hand, but also often couldn't draw key scoring cards like 5, 10, and K. Fortunately, Qu Wanyue had good luck today. In the second round, he used his spade 5, 10, and K to bomb the opponent's consecutive pairs of qqkk, winning 45 points in one round.
After three games, the Longqu Couple team won a total of 125 points, which can be exchanged for 125 gold coins worth 10,000 each.
Both players were eliminated after losing 2-1 to the blue team.
Gao Xiaoyi and Lin Yuhang, who won the match on the blue team, can continue to face off against the players on the yellow team.
After returning to their teammates, Qu Wanyue and Long Sen were both a little embarrassed. Their teamwork was actually quite good, and they cooperated well with each other, but when their luck was bad, there was really nothing they could do. Long Sen was speechless about his hand. He didn't even have any big pairs. All he had were miscellaneous cards like spade 3, diamond 4, plum blossom 6, and spade 7. He couldn't even make straights, which was very frustrating.
Long Sen scratched the back of his head helplessly: "Sorry, it's my fault."
Xiao Lou patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry about it. Poker does depend on luck. Just do your best. It's not bad that you won 1.25 million gold coins, which is about 12,500 RMB. Think about it, in reality, how can you win more than 10,000 RMB in just three rounds of poker?"
Long and Qu were initially feeling down, but after hearing what Professor Xiao said, they cheered up.
These 1.25 million gold coins, while not enough for CEO Shao to use his skills a few times, will be enough for everyone's living expenses after returning to the main city. They won't have to worry about food and drink; prices in the main city are low, and they can eat meat and fish every day for a month. It's not a waste of time.
Qu Wanyue sat back in her chair and looked at Shao Qingge, saying, " CEO Shao, Xiao Ye, it's up to you two now."
Because Qu Wanyue had predicted that Long Sen's luck wouldn't stay bad forever, Long Sen kept repeating "I can't win" for three consecutive rounds. Shao Qingge then started to jokingly criticize himself: "Even though I know how to play cards, there's nothing I can do if I'm having bad luck."
Ye Qi tacitly replied, "I always come in last place when I play cards. I might not even get a King later."
Shao Qingge continued: "I probably won't even be able to touch a 5."
Ye Qi nodded seriously: "We might not even get a single point."
Teammates: ""
You two are really going too far; this poison is a bit too much!
Shao Qingge and Ye Qi exchanged a glance and laughed at the same time.
They've already hit this badly; hopefully, their luck won't be too bad in the next round. At least they should get a straight or a big pair, instead of ending up with all low cards like Long Sen.
At this point, the first round of the game had already ended.
Gao Xiaoyi and Lin Yuhang from the blue team must have had exceptionally good luck today, as they not only defeated the red team... The Longqu Couple even beat the Yellow Team's Bearded Uncle duo, making a fortune after just one round of games, and their eyes were full of smiles.
However, the next second, Plum Blossom Youth said calmly, "In the second round, the table score remains the same, but at the end of each round, the bonus points will be deducted from your opponent's score. If you don't have enough points to deduct, they will be deducted from your bank card balance."
Everyone:
As expected, Plum Blossom A wasn't just there to give away freebies.
In other words, if in a certain round, the two players on the red team who finish their hands in first and second place and receive 100 bonus points, then those 100 points will be deducted from the opponent's existing points.
Although Gao Xiaoyi and Lin Yuhang have earned several hundred points, these points haven't been converted into gold coins yet and don't entirely belong to them. What if they get deducted? Similarly, Teacher Qu and Long Sen only won 125 points in three games. If Shao Ye and Lin Yuhang continue to lose, they will not only lose all their points but also their bank account savings.
Shao Qingge looked at Ye Qi and said, "Let's go, it's our turn."
Ye Qi said seriously, "I'll try my best to help you finish your cards later. If my hand is good, you'll help me play. We shouldn't just look at the table points, but also pay more attention to the bonus points, since the bonus points are either 100 or 50."
The score is quite high.
Two decks of cards, including the 5, 10, and K, have a total of 200 points on the table. However, if you don't have many of these point-scoring cards and can't get the table points, you can still get 100 or 50 bonus points based on your ranking after playing all your cards first.
Ye Qi has clearly figured out the rules of the game. The scoring cards 5, 10, and K should be taken first, but the number of cards in hand is also important. Just like in Dou Dizhu, helping teammates to finish their cards first and strive for the reward points in the settlement is also a strategy.
Shao Qingge smiled slightly, patted Ye Qi on the shoulder and said, "Keep it up."
The two walked to the card table and sat down together. They looked at each other through their masks, offering each other encouragement with their eyes.
It was Ye Qi's first time fighting alongside CEO Shao, and even though it was just a poker game, she couldn't help but feel excited.
I hope my luck improves and I can win more money for CEO Shao to use his skills.