"Are you accusing me of cheating?"

Faced with Chu Xiu's accusations, the masked man looked fierce: "I warn you, don't speak without evidence!"

"You're smart," Chu Xiu said with a faint smile, "The gilt pattern on the back of the cards looks identical but actually has a special perspective structure. From my direction, there's no clue, but from yours, there are subtle differences that can distinguish different cards."

"I suspect you arranged the card placement with the Notary in advance, and since I was restrained by chains, I couldn't detect any issues from my angle."

"Usually, when people receive cards, they instinctively turn the card backs toward their opponent to prevent them from seeing the face, making it even harder to notice anything unusual."

In a past life, Chu Xiu had seen a sculptor's work that was nearly transparent from the front, showing only fine vertical lines, but from the side, it formed the shape of an astronaut.

The masked man was using this principle. His perspective structure was incredibly minute, combined with a light-diffusing gilt pattern, and he always covered the cards with his palm immediately after looking at them, making it exceedingly difficult for others to spot his tricks.

Thanks to the dynamic power of Nether Demon Eyes and because Chu Xiu's basic attributes weren't too weakened by the Bet Chain, he noticed the clue just as the opponent drew the card.

If it were any other Awakened, it would've been impossible to see through.

As Chu Xiu finished speaking, the Notary emitted a mechanical voice from his chest: "If the accusation fails, this round will automatically be judged as a loss. Are you sure you want to accuse?"

"I'm sure," Chu Xiu nodded.

The Notary immediately picked up two cards for a careful comparison, and then a violent red light flashed from his chest, accompanied by an ear-piercing alarm.

"Cheating detected, automatic loss!"

Another Notary lifted the scorecard and awarded Chu Xiu a point.

The masked man stared at Chu Xiu, his eyes fierce, and snorted, "You win this round, choose your punishment."

Chu Xiu glanced over and said casually, "Let the Notary choose randomly."

With his words, the Notary grabbed the masked man's wrist, pulled his left hand from his robe, and pressed it onto the table. He then picked up a hammer and, without hesitation, smashed it heavily onto his index finger!

With a scream, the masked man's index finger was smashed off! Despite trembling from pain, he continued to glare fiercely at Chu Xiu.

"Next round!" he said in a deep voice.

Soon, the Notary brought over two new decks of cards.

"I want to check it first," Chu Xiu said.

"Suit yourself," the masked man snorted, "Do you think without tricks, I can't win?"

Chu Xiu didn't respond, simply taking the cards from the Notary and examining them meticulously.

After confirming there were no issues, he returned the cards.

The Notary immediately began to shuffle and dealt the cards on the table, giving each of them two cards.

Chu Xiu picked up his cards and immediately frowned.

A King of Hearts and a Six of Spades.

"Hmm—sixteen points as a base, should I draw more?"

"Not drawing means sixteen isn't that big, but if I draw, any card over five would bust me. Probability-wise, I have a three-fifths chance of busting!"

Chu Xiu was at a loss; he knew it was a statistical problem but couldn't calculate whether drawing or not gave him better odds since he had rarely gambled before.

After hesitating, he decided not to draw more; a three-fifths bust rate was too high.

The masked man, however, drew a card without hesitation, and after looking, he drew another, then cursed: "Damn it!"

Then he slammed his cards on the table.

3+J+2+9, he busted.

This scene caught Chu Xiu off guard.

"Is this guy really not cheating? Or is he trying to confuse me?" he mused.

But regardless, he won the third round.

"You won, hurry and choose," the masked man said impatiently.

Chu Xiu glanced at the gun rack on the right, casually picked up a shotgun, aimed at the masked man's head, and pulled the trigger.

In the next moment, with a deafening blast, the masked man was sent flying with chair as the shot hit him!

His mask shattered, revealing an ugly face, with skin that was a sickly dark green, wrinkled like the bark of an ancient tree. His nose was oddly high, with inhuman fangs. Half his face was blown up by the shotgun blast, leaving it a bloody mess. Only a few pieces of skin remained, clinging to whitish tendons, making his already hideous face even more terrifying.

Nevertheless, he quickly got back up, glaring fiercely at Chu Xiu.

A Notary brought over a spare wooden chair for him, and the masked man sat down, shouting: "Next round!"

The injury did not deter him; it seemed only to have roused the gambler's ferocity in him.

"Does he have absolute confidence in beating me, or do all gamblers who get carried away become reckless, even with their lives?"

Chu Xiu secretly marveled.

As he pondered in surprise, the fourth round began.

This time Chu Xiu's initial hand was nine points. He drew one card, bringing it to thirteen points. Feeling it was a bit low, he drew another.

It was a Four of Diamonds.

He wasn't too satisfied but hadn't busted, so he stopped there.

The masked man soon finished drawing as well. Staring at Chu Xiu, he coldly said: "Show your cards."

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