Chapter 56

Bai Xuechao had initially hidden two Ace cards in the cuffs of his jacket. Then, using the motion of resting his chin on one hand, he transferred the two cards to the collar of his shirt behind his neck.

The white shirt he wore under his jacket had a stand-up collar with a ruffled design. The two Ace cards were inserted diagonally from the shoulder and neck area to the back of his neck, the raised edges of the playing cards perfectly concealed by the ruffles. Unless someone were to pull down his collar and look, no one would notice that two cards were hidden there.

To prevent the motion of resting his chin on his hand from seeming abrupt when he was cheating, he often rested his chin on his hand. It just so happened that he was a little tired, and at the same time, he could use this action for further concealment.

Because of this, even Gong Ting, who was sitting right across from him, didn't notice.

Of course, the fact that the other party's emotions were turbulent, with great ups and downs affecting his judgment, was also a reason. In short, everything was under his control.

The cheating process just now was actually very risky.

Bai Xuechao had to cheat to win, which made Gong Ting prepared to catch him in the act.

He was well aware that the cards Gong Ting gave him would be a bust. Therefore, before sitting up straight, he used the motion of propping his chin to transfer one of the Ace cards he needed to switch back to his cuff. But Gong Ting had suffered repeated setbacks at his hands, causing every subtle movement of his hands to be closely watched by the other party now. The slightest carelessness would get him caught.

His cheating skills were superb, but not invincible.

Thus, he took the initiative to talk to Gong Ting, stirring the other's emotions and attracting his attention.

He deliberately swept his hand over the top of the playing cards, creating an atmosphere that he was just toying with him, thereby rationalizing his subsequent actions of alternately sweeping both his hands over the cards—in reality, this action was him looking for an opportunity to cheat, and two hands were better for concealment than one. The moment his two hands switched and crossed was the best angle for swapping cards.

He took advantage of the moment Gong Ting was briefly distracted by his mention of the "penalty for wrongly accusing someone of cheating," and right in front of Zhou Chenhao and Ling Feng who were explaining the penalty rules, he used both hands to swiftly complete a move of stealing the sky and putting up a sham sun, hiding the swapped card in his palm.

This was the most thrilling step.

Even if he had been half a second slower, they would have discovered it.

The card in his palm was gently squeezed and held by the base of his little finger and the thenar eminence at the base of his thumb. The playing card was squeezed into a slight arc, clinging to his palm. Even Zhou Chenhao and Ling Feng, who were sitting on either side of him and should have had the easiest angle to spot a problem, did not see anything.

This sleight of hand was very common, but fortunately, many magicians used such a technique to hide cards when performing magic tricks with playing cards.

Another rather risky part was that Bai Xuechao had to transfer the hidden card immediately to deal with Gong Ting's subsequent accusation of him cheating.

He reached out as if to flip the card, nimbly dodged Gong Ting's grasping hand, and once again swept his hand over the back of the card. He used a carefully designed angle to cover the card in his palm, smoothly moved his hand to the back of his neck, and took the opportunity to stuff the card into his collar.

At that moment, Gong Ting's attempt to grab his hand was a completely subconscious reaction and was extremely fast; he was almost caught.

However, in the end, it was a close call without any real danger.

At this point, Bai Xuechao had completed a series of actions: cheating, and cleaning up afterwards. That is to say, he had already finished cheating before officially flipping the card.

But Bai Xuechao wouldn't explain these processes in detail to Xiao 6, because there was too much to say, and he found it troublesome.

Xiao 6 couldn't figure out the reason why Bai Xuechao rested his chin on his hand and asked: “Why?”

Bai Xuechao explained it succinctly: “When I rested my chin on my hand, I hid the cards behind my neck.”

“Huh?!” Xiao 6 was shocked, it hadn't seen it at all.

It turned on the system function for a scan, and sure enough, there were two cards behind Bai Xuechao's neck! Because the edges were blocked by the ruffled stand-up collar and they were in the blind spot of the other three's line of sight, they had not been discovered. To satisfy its curiosity about how Bai Xuechao had hidden them, it plunged into the system replay of the previous scene and started watching.

On the other side, Gong Ting had also calmed down after his outburst.

He shook off Zhou Chenhao's hand with an unkind expression, dusted off his wrinkled sleeve, and looked at Bai Xuechao with a cold and sinister gaze: “Continue.”

This look was chilling and carried a hint of murderous intent, as if he were making a threat: I will remember you, you damn fellow, for the rest of my life. I will defeat you, kill you.

The big screen updated their game coin counts.

Because Gong Ting had failed to catch Bai Xuechao cheating twice, the Dream Game City system judged it as a wrong accusation, deducting double the game coins and distributing them to the other three. As the "victim," Bai Xuechao received the extra 1 coin that couldn't be divided equally.

【City Lord: 13,333,334】

【Player A: 153,333,332】

【Player B: 443,333,331】

【Player C: 970,000,003】

Gong Ting had to exchange something he owned for game coins, or he would have to leave this game.

Ling Feng, whose game coins had exceeded 150 million with this addition, was now qualified for another round of the game. He glanced thoughtfully at Zhou Chenhao, who had returned to his seat.

He knew that, while Zhou Chenhao was a kind person, when faced with Bai Xuechao, whose stance was unclear—friend or foe—and who possessed over 900 million game coins, helping him out with a few words before was still within the bounds of what Zhou Chenhao's character would do. However, getting up to stop Gong Ting just now was an attitude that couldn't help but make one overthink things; it was hard to say whether he was purely trying to help.

Although Zhou Chenhao appeared cheerful and like a cheerful idiot on the surface, he was actually naturally black-bellied. Sometimes, no one knew if the things he did were intentional or not.

Originally, the best solution was to let Gong Ting and Bai Xuechao grapple over this matter.

Whether Bai Xuechao was caught cheating or Gong Ting failed to catch him, they would receive the game coins from the system's double penalty, which would be split equally.

Moreover, this would also drain the energy of these two people who could cheat, causing them both to suffer and affecting their condition—it was better than nothing.

But Zhou Chenhao's action sped up the process, leading them to a quick result.

Gong Ting was penalized.

It could be said that Zhou Chenhao had, in a roundabout way, chosen to side with the former between Bai Xuechao and Gong Ting.

Doing so was not without its benefits.

It was obvious that Bai Xuechao's cheating skills were superior at the moment. If the two were allowed to continue their struggle, there was no telling when it would end. They could wait, but Xia Xiaoxi was locked alone in a dark secret room, without water or food, and it was unknown how long her spirit could hold on. Since they would benefit from any outcome anyway, giving a push was not out of the question.

By the way, this could also put Gong Ting in a difficult situation, forcing him to exchange for game coins.

...Yes, that must have been Zhou Chenhao's main objective!

Ling Feng seemed to have suddenly figured it out.

It was difficult for them to win game coins from Bai Xuechao. In that case, it would be better to increase the total number of game coins on the field, which would also give them a better chance to accumulate enough.

As long as there were enough game coins on the field, even if Bai Xuechao won the majority, they could still save up enough.

So that's how it was.

Of course, it was also possible that Ling Feng was overthinking.

While Ling Feng was brainstorming over here, Gong Ting over there was talking with the Waiter in a tuxedo special ability entity that had appeared.

Gong Ting was, after all, the master of the Dream Game City. The special ability entity's attitude towards him was more respectful. It bowed its head and asked by his side: “Respected Lord City Lord, may I ask what you would like to exchange?”

Gong Ting's expression was very ugly. Apart from the leader of the Apocalypse Society, Dongfang Bubai was the second person to force him to exchange for game coins midway.

And coincidentally, both of these people shared the same characteristic—white hair.

From now on, he hated people with white hair!

Gong Ting had won and owned too many things over the years. He was originally thinking about what to exchange to get 100 million game coins, when Bai Xuechao, sitting opposite him, spoke up.

“City Lord Gong, how about using your life?” Bai Xuechao rested his chin on the back of his hands, a faint, inscrutable smile on his face.

Gong Ting shot him a glare: “Do you think I'm crazy?”

“It's not that you're crazy, it's that I am.” Bai Xuechao's tone, like he was coaxing a child, was somewhat perfunctory, which made Gong Ting's brow furrow tightly. He then heard him let out a low laugh and continue, “Don't you know what I used to exchange for my 800 million game coins?”

His tone was very certain.

Hearing this, Gong Ting's tightly furrowed brow relaxed, and he froze for a moment as if he had just remembered this matter.

That's right, the game coins of this white-haired young man before him were exchanged with his own life! A life worth 800 million game coins, how brilliant must it be? What enormous value would it create! Who exactly was he?

Gong Ting couldn't help but recall their conversation before the game officially started—

『Aren't you afraid of death?』

『It's fine, I won't lose.』

To lose is to die, this was a true gambler!

Could this be the reason he lost?

Because what he used to exchange for game coins was just a hostage, someone not important to him at all, so he couldn't stimulate his potential? Even the leader's command wasn't enough to put immense pressure on him, because he could defeat Zhou Chenhao in the game and get what the other had.

Was it because he didn't bear the pressure of "die if you don't win" that he lost to Dongfang Bubai?

If that's the case...

Seeing Gong Ting's expression seem to waver, a wicked light flickered in Bai Xuechao's plum-blossom-red eyes.

“To be honest, playing with you is too boring.” His opening words were a critical hit to Gong Ting.

Gong Ting's eyes widened.

Bai Xuechao put on an expression of disinterest and tilted his head: “You're too weak. Playing with you isn't exciting at all. I can already foresee that the final winner of this game will be me. A game where you know the outcome is utterly uninteresting.”

At this moment, Xiao 6 suddenly said with relief: “Host, that's the cheesy vibe!”

Bai Xuechao almost broke character on the spot, but luckily he held it in.

Gong Ting had been thwarted by Bai Xuechao three times, and now he received the sentence "You're too weak" from the other party. His mind wavered.

Seeing this, Bai Xuechao continued to increase the pressure: “I like excitement, so I exchanged my life for game coins. But I don't see anything on your side that can match me. It's so boring, and you're no match for me. I think I'll leave.”

He can't leave!

This was the only thought in Gong Ting's mind.

Zhou Chenhao and Ling Feng, who were beside him, were also startled when they heard Bai Xuechao say, "I think I'll leave."

The thing they feared most had happened.

Bai Xuechao had 970 million game coins! If he left with the 170 million he had won, how would they ever gather enough game coins to rescue Xia Xiaoxi?

Gong Ting subconsciously said: “What if I also use my life to exchange for game coins?”

“That, it seems,” Bai Xuechao revealed a meaningful smile, “would become a little more interesting.”

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