Chapter 61

With one hand supporting his temple, Bai Xuechao assumed a thoughtful expression, as if he too was struggling with whether to continue taking cards.

Who knew he would suddenly turn his gaze to ask the nearby Zhou Chenhao: “Do you think I should take a card?”

“Huh?” Zhou Chenhao hadn't expected to be asked for his opinion. After coming to his senses, he thought about it seriously, “You have 18 points now, you’ll likely bust if you continue taking cards... Don’t take one?”

Bai Xuechao said: “Alright, then I won’t.”

Seeing that Bai Xuechao had directly taken his advice, seemingly without needing to think, Zhou Chenhao was stunned for a moment.

He couldn't help but wonder, if he had said to take a card, would Bai Xuechao have just taken one? Even if he was very likely to bust?

“Are you sure you want to stand?” Gong Ting confirmed once more.

If he wasn't mistaken, the number on the next card should be 3.

Bai Xuechao said calmly: “I’m sure.”

“Alright.” Gong Ting turned his head and pushed the next card to Zhou Chenhao, saying with certainty, “You’re definitely going to take a card, right?”

“Yeah.” Zhou Chenhao flipped over the card that was pushed to him. The moment he saw the number on it, his eyes widened instantly. He subconsciously looked up at Bai Xuechao with some apology, “Ah, this…”

The card he flipped over was the 3 of spades.

Gong Ting had anticipated this. Ever since he saw his own 20 points, he knew Dongfang Bubai was going to get 21 points, which was why he had described his own hand as “just right”. But he hadn't expected that Dongfang Bubai would actually listen to Zhou Chenhao and stand.

Zhou Chenhao now felt a little guilty.

He felt that if Bai Xuechao hadn’t listened to his suggestion, this round would have been a sure win.

If Bai Xuechao had gotten this card, he could have formed 21 points with his previous cards, locking in the victory for this round early. Even if the dealer also got 21 points, Bai Xuechao would at least have a draw.

This was not an ordinary game where losing meant nothing. He knew that Bai Xuechao had exchanged his life for game coins, and the bet had now increased to 50 million per round.

Every time he lost, Bai Xuechao moved one step closer to paying with the game coins he had exchanged his life for (800 million).

The more Zhou Chenhao thought about it, the guiltier he felt, because he imagined that if, in the future, Bai Xuechao was exactly 50 million short of redeeming his life, it would be his fault.

Although Bai Xuechao claimed to be doing it for the thrill, Zhou Chenhao, who had lived an optimistic and positive life since childhood, found it hard to imagine that someone would be so careless with their own life.

While feeling guilty and apologetic, his sense of trust in Bai Xuechao also grew. Because Bai Xuechao had missed the chance for 21 points out of trust in him, he subconsciously wanted to “compensate” the other party with the same level of trust.

At the same time, this action by Bai Xuechao was also a good thing in Ling Feng's eyes.

Originally, Ling Feng was secretly wondering if Bai Xuechao, being the last to shuffle, had cheated. After all, he wasn't helping Gong Ting, but he could help himself. Now it seemed that if he had cheated, he wouldn't have listened to Zhou Chenhao's opinion and would have chosen to take another card.

In this way, some of Bai Xuechao's actions were quite easy to understand. Just as he himself had said, it was for the thrill.

For the thrill, he didn't cheat this round, maintaining the fairness and unpredictability of the game; for the thrill, he listened to Zhou Chenhao's opinion, letting someone else make the choice for him.

Thinking further, Ling Feng felt that Bai Xuechao's character was actually reliable. Otherwise, he could have completely cheated during the last shuffle to make everyone lose and take all their coins in one go. Not only did he not do that, but he had also spoken up to help them before.

As he thought about it, Ling Feng's favorable impression of Bai Xuechao also grew. He even suspected that the other party's purpose in coming to the Dream Game City might be purely for fun.

Even the matter of Bai Xuechao hiding his special ability level now had another reason in his mind—perhaps it was for the experience of the fun. Just like how people use alternate accounts in games, it was normal to hide or fabricate some of one's own information. But the essence wasn't to deceive people, nor did it cause harm to anyone; it was just to protect his own privacy.

The more Ling Feng thought, the more it made sense. Bai Xuechao had gone to the amusement park with his brother, and they had only met him by chance. There was no need to report his real information.

Bai Xuechao sacrificed a chance for 21 points in exchange for the goodwill of both Zhou Chenhao and Ling Feng.

And all of this was within his calculations.

“It's nothing.” Bai Xuechao gave a slight smile, his fingertips casually fiddling with the cards in front of him, his cool and pleasant voice sounding, “It's just one round of the game. If I lose, I lose. It’s quite interesting to listen to others’ opinions to make a choice, isn't it?”

Being comforted, Zhou Chenhao nodded while saying “Yeah, yeah”.

For a rare moment, Bai Xuechao took the initiative to speak to Xiao 6 in his mind: “Xiao 6, believe it or not, I’ve pretty much cleared my name in their eyes now, especially Zhou Chenhao’s.”

“I believe it! I believe everything the Host says!” Xiao 6 agreed without thinking, even scattering little code flowers in Bai Xuechao's vision, but it was still a bit puzzled, “But why? Is it just because you stood on the male lead’s advice?”

Bai Xuechao was in a good mood and explained, “You have to think a little deeper, I used his kindness.”

I guess Zhou Chenhao must have been feeling very guilty just now, right?

Over here, Zhou Chenhao chose to take another card.

He got an Ace. If counted as 11, he would bust, but if counted as 1, his current point total was 16, which was a bit low.

Without much hesitation, Zhou Chenhao said: “Hit!”

Gong Ting dealt another card to Zhou Chenhao, thinking to himself, this one was arranged by Dongfang Bubai, wasn't it?

When he saw the number on Zhou Chenhao's flipped card was 9, he couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration for Dongfang Bubai's meticulous consideration.

—The other party had considered both possibilities.

If Zhou Chenhao had told Dongfang Bubai to hit just now, he wouldn't have gotten that 3 of spades. After getting the Ace as his first card, his point total would be 23 or 13. If he didn't hit, he would bust. So he would definitely have to hit, and the next card, a 9, would still make him bust, and it was exactly 1 point over 21. He wondered if this was someone's twisted sense of humor.

No matter what, Zhou Chenhao was bound to lose.

And so, a comical scene appeared in this round of the game—

Gong Ting was inwardly admiring how meticulous Dongfang Bubai was, even when cheating, to the point of considering everyone's choices, making him feel both respectful and envious; Zhou Chenhao felt that Bai Xuechao trusted him and had even lost the chance for 21 points for it, so he should also trust Bai Xuechao more; Ling Feng, on the other hand, was thinking that Bai Xuechao was not bad at heart and had good character, just that he liked to seek thrills, so he and Zhou Chenhao could trust him a bit more.

Each of the three had their own thoughts, but they all added a filter to their perception of Bai Xuechao.

The players had all finished taking cards, and it was the dealer's turn.

Gong Ting flipped over his face-down card, showing everyone the number 9 on it, and said happily: “I have 20 points.”

When Zhou Chenhao saw this, he felt even more guilty.

He thought, if Bai Xuechao had gotten his 3 of spades, he wouldn't have lost. Now, because of him, he was going to lose 50 million game coins.

The big screen updated the game coin amounts.

All three players lost 50 million, and the dealer won 150 million game coins.

【City Lord: 700,000,001】

【Player A: 119,999,998】

【Player B: 193,333,331】

【Player C: 986,666,670】

It was Ling Feng's turn to be the dealer again.

But Ling Feng just sat in his original position, thinking about something, without starting to shuffle the cards.

A moment later, he spoke up: “I request to change the game.”

As long as a dealer had lost three times, they would gain the right to change the game rules or the game itself. Previously, it was Zhou Chenhao who proposed changing the game to Blackjack. Gong Ting had asked Ling Feng, but at that time he chose not to change, so Ling Feng's right to change the game was still available.

Gong Ting looked at their game coin amounts, which started with 100 million, and asked with a smile: “What do you want to change it to?”

Ling Feng had considered it just now. Zhou Chenhao's suggestion to have everyone shuffle was not a long-term solution; Gong Ting would not agree to it forever.

Once it was his turn to be the dealer, Gong Ting would have the opportunity to cheat again.

Although Bai Xuechao's stance was slightly biased towards them, they were not important enough for Bai Xuechao to be willing to lose to protect them. Based on the other party's previous actions, he would probably cheat as well.

Even if he won this round, the next round would be Bai Xuechao's turn as dealer, and they would still lose. And they didn't have many game coins left.

They had to change the game.

“I want to change to a game that can’t be cheated in.” After Ling Feng finished speaking, he looked at Gong Ting with a grim expression, but his tone was quite polite as he inquired, “Is there one?”

Hearing this, Gong Ting was first stunned, then burst out laughing: “Hahahaha! You're actually asking me?”

The three of them silently watched him laugh, so much so that even Xiao 6 felt a bit awkward.

What kind of social animal was Gong Ting? How could he laugh so loudly with others watching every time, as if no one else was around?

Gong Ting laughed for more than ten seconds before he had enough. Wiping away the tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes, he said: “There is, the final form of my special ability—the Dream Game.”

“Dream Game?” Zhou Chenhao repeated.

“That's right.” Gong Ting raised his hand and snapped his fingers smartly.

Everyone's seats suddenly began to tremble, and the entire game space was rotating and changing.

The table disappeared, and their seats turned into swings. Under their buttocks was only a narrow wooden plank bearing the weight of their bodies. On both sides of the plank were chains only as thick as a little finger, extending into the sludge-textured ceiling above, suspending them in mid-air, dangling precariously.

And the void beneath their feet was no longer completely pitch-black. It seemed as if there was something dense and indistinct at the very bottom, but because it was too dark and too deep, it was hard to see clearly.

The entire game space was no longer square, but had become cylindrical, with everyone equidistant from each other.

The large screen that originally hung behind Gong Ting had shrunk in size and moved to the middle of them. It was held up by a black frame that looked very sturdy, and the number of screens had changed from one to four, with their short sides joined to form a square, so that each person was facing a screen. The shrunken screens didn't block their faces, so it didn't affect their ability to see each other's expressions.

“Welcome to the Dream Game.” Gong Ting spread his arms with a smile, “But participating in the game requires a bet of at least five rounds.”

Five rounds, that would be 250 million game coins.

Neither Zhou Chenhao nor Ling Feng had that many game coins, so they needed to continue exchanging their own things.

But first, they needed to know if the Dream Game was worth it.

Ling Feng was the first to ask: “Why do you say it’s a game that can’t be cheated in?”

“Let me introduce it~” Gong Ting said with a smile, “The Dream Game doesn't have a fixed game. It requires every player participating to state a requirement for the game. Then, the Dream Game will randomly generate a game that meets the requirements. Even I can't control what game it generates.”

He continued: “As long as you make a requirement that the game cannot be cheated in, it will become a game that can't be cheated in.”

As long as cheating was impossible, everyone could stand on the same starting line. Neither Bai Xuechao nor Gong Ting would be able to win by cheating.

This way, the game could be fair.

And fairness was what Zhou Chenhao and Ling Feng needed most right now. Firstly, they couldn't learn cheating techniques every time. Secondly, even if they did, they might not be able to outplay the two old hands at cheating, Bai Xuechao and Gong Ting. For example, in the game of Blackjack just now, even if Ling Feng had started to learn how to tamper with the cards during shuffling, Gong Ting could still cheat to win.

After getting his answer, Ling Feng glanced at Zhou Chenhao.

Zhou Chenhao didn't hesitate and nodded directly at him.

Both of them decided to participate in the Dream Game.

Ling Feng said: “We need to exchange for some game coins.”

“Wait a moment.” Gong Ting pressed his right index finger into his left palm, making a stop gesture, “There's another rule for the Dream Game, and that is everyone must exchange a commonly owned item to enter the prize pool.”

When Bai Xuechao heard this, wasn't this like getting a pillow just when you're sleepy?

Originally, he had to wait until he had won all of Zhou Chenhao's game coins before inducing him to make an exchange. Now, he could just say it directly.

“I have an interesting and thrilling proposal.” Bai Xuechao inserted himself into their conversation lightly, his pale face carrying a faint and calm smile, yet he spoke words that shocked all three people present, “How about we exchange our ‘personalities’?”

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