After clearing Spade 9, the group returned to the familiar Personal Space and saw Ace of Spades still wearing sunglasses and looking cool.
The process of clearing the level was quite thrilling, but fortunately, we got a "perfect clear" rating in the end. Yu Hanjiang looked at Guardian and said, "Perfect clear, we should get a reward, right? Can we try our luck at the treasure chest?"
Ace of Spades waved his hand, and a row of familiar cards with a full moon on the back appeared in front of everyone — the identity cards they had used in the " Blood Night Witch " chamber.
Surprisingly, this time Ace of Spades didn't let them draw a prize. Instead, they said, "This escape room only rewards game-limited cards. If you complete the game perfectly, you'll receive an extra reward: you can freely choose four identity cards from all the identity cards in the Werewolf Kill game."
Upon hearing this, Ye Qi's eyes lit up, and he asked, "For example, if we choose the Hunter, we can gain the Hunter's abilities? Can we choose any character that appears in the game?"
Ace of Spades nodded: "Yes, the card skills correspond to the game character skills. If you like, you can even choose a Cupid card, which will connect two people, bind them together, and killing one will cause the other to die for love."
They exchanged glances, then huddled together to discuss the matter.
The game Werewolf Kill has many identity cards with various skills. Since you can choose all the identity cards, you should choose the four most useful ones.
God Cards like the Idiot and Gravekeeper aren't really that useful. The Idiot is immune to exile during the voting phase, but who's going to vote for them after they leave the room? The Gravekeeper is just someone who digs up dead people's graves in the middle of the night... forget about it!
Ye Qi asked curiously, " If you're not playing Werewolf Kill, can you use Prophet to check identities in the Heart Room? For example, can you deduce who the murderer is, and at night check if they're a good guy or a werewolf?"
Ace of Spades said expressionlessly, "What do you think?"
Xiao Lou looked at Ye Qi and said, "That definitely won't work. If Prophet can find out the identity of the murderer in the heart room, what difficulty is there in the heart room? Just investigate one suspect every night, and you can clear it in a few days without even needing to deduce anything."
Ye Qi chuckled and scratched the back of his head: "That's true!"
After careful consideration, Xiao Lou said, "Let's take the Dream Catcher first. The Dream Catcher can protect a teammate from all damage at night. It's quite versatile. Once we get to the survival room, the teammate who gets dreamt at night won't have to be afraid of dying."
Yu Hanjiang agreed: " Dream Catcher can take down an opponent directly after two consecutive nights of dreaming. It's versatile and can be used for both offense and defense."
Xiao Lou looked at everyone: "What do you think?"
Everyone agreed.
Shao Qingge chuckled and joked, "Can I use this card?"
Xiao Lou said, "Of course, you used Dream Catcher quite well in the game."
Shao Qingge immediately raised several fingers: "I agree."
Xiao Lou glanced at him helplessly and said, "There are still a few cards left. Let's think about which ones we should take?"
Yu Hanjiang made a decision: "The witch. One bottle of poison, one bottle of antidote. The poison can kill a person directly, and the antidote can save a life in a critical moment. We still have too few healing cards. Relying solely on CEO Shao's Insect King is simply not enough."
The teammates all agreed. Although none of them had been seriously injured so far, if they encountered danger in the Spade or Plum Blossom Secret Chamber in the future, having the antidote would save their teammates if they were on the verge of death, which would be equivalent to having an extra life.
With two cards remaining, Xiao Lou suggested, "Nightmare and Butterfly. Nightmare can frighten enemies, preventing them from using their skills all night. Butterfly can also hug enemies, rendering all their skills ineffective. They are two strong single-target control cards for nighttime use."
The control cards I drew before, like Ye Qi's flute, all had very short skill cooldowns, controlling for about 3 seconds at a time.
However, [Nightmare] and [ Butterfly ] have very long cooldowns and can only be activated at night, yet they can control a single target for an entire night.
These two cards are incredibly powerful if you encounter a locked room during a night battle.
Everyone made the decision happily.
Ace of Spades gifted them four S-rank game decks with blood moon designs on the back.
The S-rank card [ Dream Catcher ] was assigned to Shao Qingge, who is also quite proficient at using it. [Witch] was given to Liu Qiao, the remaining [Nightmare] was given to Lao Mo who lacks strong crowd control skills, and [ Butterfly ] was given to Qu Wanyue.
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang didn't take anything. After all, Xiao Lou had too many control skills in his character cards, while Yu Hanjiang didn't like these fancy cards. His cards were mostly knives and guns, which were simple and straightforward to use.
After playing the thrilling murder mystery game for several days in the Spade Secret Room, everyone was able to obtain 4 werewolf kill cards, which was a pretty good result. The gloom in everyone's hearts was swept away, and joy appeared on their faces.
After returning to the main city, the group first went to a hot pot restaurant for a big meal.
This time, Spade Secret Room deliberately blocked everyone's metabolic system. Everyone was like robots, staying in an unfamiliar village for so many days, repeating the process of operating at night, reviewing logic at dawn, and voting, without eating a single meal.
Although I'm not hungry, I'm very hungry in my heart!
After a delicious hot pot meal, everyone regained their energy and returned to the villa to continue playing Plum Blossom 9.
The A-level Plum Blossom Secret Chamber isn't too difficult yet; it should still be played with poker.
Gaming. This is what CEO Shao excels at; whether you win or lose money, there's not much pressure, and it's easy to find plum blossoms. Guardian changed into a neat black suit at the request of the boy with facial paralysis.
Everyone followed Plum Blossom Youth into the elevator.
With a "ding," the elevator doors opened, and Plum Blossom Youth introduced, "Welcome to Moon City's largest underground casino."
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.
Isn't Plum Blossom Secret Chamber supposed to be playing against Challenger? Why are they bringing people to the underground casino in Moon City?
This underground casino, back in the early days of Spade 3... During their time in the Financial Crisis escape room, Xiao Lou and Shao Qingge had heard the taxi driver mention it. At the time, Shao Qingge even said he'd go and broaden his horizons sometime. Later, they went to Moon City, where they were busy every day, constantly solving puzzles, so Shao Qingge didn't have time to go. Besides, his teammates weren't very interested in playing cards, and he was too lazy to watch the fun alone.
I never expected that Plum Blossom Youth would bring me here today.
Following the boy into the hall, everyone was startled by the hall's seemingly endless expanse before them—
The ceiling is adorned with luxurious crystal chandeliers, and the hall floor is covered with thick velvet carpets, making almost no sound underfoot. Numerous tables are neatly arranged throughout the hall, all covered with uniform green velvet, and each table is surrounded by ten soft chairs.
At this time, there weren't many guests in the hall; they were gathered in twos and threes at the tables playing cards.
Many of the team members were visiting such a large casino for the first time. They felt both excited and a little nervous. They just had to keep up with Plum Blossom Youth to see what tricks he was up to this time.
The young man led everyone to a side passage. A beautiful woman with a graceful figure saw him and immediately said respectfully, "Young master, your guest will arrive in half an hour. The room is ready for you."
Plum Blossom Youth nodded: "Mm."
The underground casino has three floors. He led everyone down to the third basement level and into a VIP room.
The private room was much more luxurious than the main hall, and there was no one there at the moment.
Previously, the Plum Blossom Secret Chamber was a place where Challengers played directly against each other at the tables. After passing through the door to the Personal Space, you would find yourself at a table arranged by Plum Blossom A. But today, they had all come to the casino together, and the atmosphere seemed a bit strange.
Yu Hanjiang frowned and asked, "What do you mean by bringing us to the casino?"
The boy said expressionlessly, "This is the last poker game in the A-grade secret room, so naturally we have to go all out."
Shao Qingge smiled and stroked his chin, saying, "This is the underground casino in Moon City. I heard that beautiful lady say you made a reservation. Don't tell me you made a reservation with a big shot in Moon City? Aren't you playing with Challenger this time?"
The young man looked at Shao Qingge with a cold gaze: "You're smart. What's the point of always playing against Challenger? I know exactly how much money you have in your bank accounts. That little bit of money isn't even enough to fill a rich person's teeth. Today, I've invited some distinguished guests from the top twenty on the Card World Rich List. Their net worth is immeasurable."
Upon hearing this, everyone's palms broke out in a cold sweat.
The top 20 richest people? Most people would never meet them in their lifetime.
Xiao Lou asked in confusion, "We're going to play poker with the VIPs on the rich list?"
Ordinary people and billionaires going to professional casinos to play cards? Are you crazy?!
Everyone wanted to ask that question, but after meeting the cold, beautiful eyes of the expressionless boy, they had no choice but to keep quiet.
Offending the Guardian is not a good thing.
Yu Hanjiang stated bluntly, "Let's talk about the rules. Do all eight of us need to participate?"
Plum Blossom Youth said, "There are limited tables, so you can choose two people to participate in the game. I will give each person 100 chips, with one chip representing 1 million gold coins. Winning or losing depends entirely on your skill. If you run out of chips, you can ask the dealer to exchange them for more, and the amount will be deducted from your bank card. Big shots are hard to get an appointment with, so they have to have a good time this time."
Shao Qingge narrowed his eyes slightly: "What do you mean by 'enjoying oneself to the fullest'?"
The boy said, "It's 8 p.m. now, and they'll leave at midnight. You'll have to play with them until midnight. If you don't have enough money, you can exchange it on the spot from your bank card until you lose it all."
Shao Qingge rolled his eyes: "We're just guinea pigs you sent here to be used by the big boss."
Plum Blossom Youth raised an eyebrow slightly and said, "You're pretty good at playing cards, aren't you? If you're not confident in winning, then go back empty-handed. These big shots are pretty good-natured; if you really lose all the money in your bank account, they won't leave you with nothing but your underwear."
Everyone: "..."
Everyone turned their pleading eyes to Shao Qingge.
CEO Shao said: I'm under immense pressure!
He rubbed his temples, looking exasperated, and asked, "What game is it this time?"
Plum Blossom Youth: "□□."
Shao Qingge: "..."
Okay, so they've brought in professionals.
Texas Hold'em is a popular competitive poker game worldwide, with many professional clubs and players who make a living from it. Shao Qingge played Texas Hold'em at the world's largest casino in Las Vegas back then.
But the problem now is that if he loses money, he's not losing his own, but his team's.
He manages the team's account. Although they have a considerable amount of savings, can they compare to the wealthy? If he were to risk everything and gamble with the rich for a few hours and lose it all, they would be left destitute!
Not to mention his luxury cards like "[ Rich and Willful ]" and "[ Throwing a Fortune ]", which...
Even a skill costs money.
Shao Qingge asked, "Can't I not come here? I still feel more comfortable playing against Challenger at your table."
Plum Blossom Youth gave him a cold look: "You don't have to play. The whole team can go to the Nightmare Secret Room. Then it won't just be about losing your underwear. Maybe if you lose, you'll have to chop off your fingers or have your organs harvested."
Everyone shouted in unison, "Let's play!"
Shao Qingge took a deep breath to calm down: "Since everyone trusts me, I will be the representative today."
The teammates nodded in unison like chickens pecking at rice: "Of course we believe you, CEO Shao will definitely be able to handle this situation."
Students like Liu Qiao and Ye Qi had never seen anything like this before. Ye Qi's hands trembled just thinking about playing cards with the richest people on the leaderboard. Xiao Lou wasn't good at cards, only knowing how to play Dou Dizhu (a popular Chinese card game). Qu Wanyue, Long Sen, and Lao Mo were also completely clueless.
Yu Hanjiang glanced at his teammates and said, "Since none of you know how, I'll take the other spot."
Shao Qingge and Yu Hanjiang became the team's hope. The two looked at each other, and their eyes quickly returned to calm.
So what if I lose everything? What's there to be afraid of?
Money gone, can be earned back; as long as you're safe, that's all that matters. It's better than going to Nightmare Secret Room and losing a game only to have a finger chopped off, right?
Plum Blossom Youth: "Okay. This time, Shao Qingge and Yu Hanjiang will represent us in the escape room. The others can observe, but they must not make any noise. Next, I will briefly explain the rules of the escape room."
"In this game, each player will receive two bottom cards, and there will be five community cards on the table. The goal is to use your two cards and the community cards to form the highest possible five-card hand and compare it with other players."
In the first phase, the hole cards are dealt to determine the dealer and the big and small blinds. Each player is dealt two hole cards, and players indicate whether they want to fold or call in a clockwise direction.
In the second phase, the flop occurs, three community cards are revealed, and opinions are expressed clockwise.
In the third phase, the turn occurs, and the fourth community card is revealed.
In the fourth phase, on the river, the fifth community card is revealed, and all hands are compared.
Shao Qingge and Yu Hanjiang both understood the rules of the game; otherwise, they wouldn't have dared to sit at the card table.
Even those who didn't understand before, like Xiao Lou, roughly grasped the concept: it meant using two cards plus five community cards to form the highest possible hand. Plum Blossom Youth thoughtfully provided each person with a list of hand rankings.
From largest to smallest: —
A straight flush, the highest-ranking hand of the same suit, such as Ace of Spades, K, Q, J, 10;
A straight flush is a five-card sequence of the same suit, such as Diamond 7, 6, 5, 4, 3.
Four: such as 77772;
Gourd: also known as three with two, such as 66644;
Flush: Five cards of the same suit, any rank;
Straight: A sequence of 5 cards of different suits, such as spade 6, heart 5, diamond 4, spade 3, red heart 2;
Three of a Kind: such as 99937;
Two pairs: such as 33668;
A pair: There is only one pair, plus 3 other cards.
The suit and rank are easy to understand, consistent with many other card games that compare card values.
However, the unique feature of Texas Hold'em is that each player has two face-down cards, while five cards are face-up on the table. Players must choose five cards from the seven cards to compare their strength, resulting in a vast number of possible combinations. Furthermore, the community cards are revealed in batches. Perhaps in the previous round, your hand combined with the community cards on the table formed a Three of a Kind, which you thought was quite strong, but in the next round, a flush is revealed, and someone else might have a straight flush!
Whether to call or fold in each round is a psychological game.
People with poor mental fortitude will probably break down after playing a few rounds of [unclear - possibly a game or similar activity].
With Shao Qingge and Yu Hanjiang teaming up, Xiao Lou has a lot of confidence in them, but he doesn't know who their opponents will be this time.
**
After everyone understood the rules, the door to the private room was opened.
Several men and women dressed in suits walked in, most of them wearing sunglasses, which they took off after entering the room. They exuded a powerful aura, but they all greeted Plum Blossom Youth very politely.
The fact that the wealthy were so polite to Plum Blossom Youth made Xiao Lou seriously suspect that this expressionless young Plum Blossom might control the economic lifeline of the entire Card World, such as... banks? The fact that he could casually give out rewards and control everyone's bank accounts suggested that he might indeed have connections with banks.
After all the VIPs were seated, Xiao Lou suddenly spotted a familiar face in the crowd.
Isn't this man Li Mo, the mastermind behind the Red Heart 4 locked room [ Express Train ] case?!
Do you remember that case? It involved a senior citizen tour group, where an elderly man named Li Xuemin was murdered. The method of the crime was an overdose of insulin. It was only later discovered that the real mastermind behind it all was actually his son!
The story card showed the entire planning process of Li Mo, so Xiao Lou had a very deep impression of him.
It is said that after his father's death, he took control of his father's assets and, using his excellent business acumen, became the wealthiest real estate tycoon in Card World within a few years. He also successfully married Shu Xiaomeng.
As a child, Li Mo lost his mother at a young age and was neglected by his father and stepmother. When he was seriously ill, no one took care of him, and he had to climb to the hospital alone, which was heartbreaking. However, as an adult, Li Mo's deep scheming was also chilling.
He quietly plotted to kill his own father.
Now, he has surprisingly appeared at the poker table of Plu
m Blossom 9 as a wealthy man.