"What about a draw from running out of cards?"
The temperature inside the cabin kept dropping, and the humid air seemed like it could condense into water at any second. Although Xia De was tormented by hunger, he immediately perked up when he heard about playing cards.
"If it's a draw, you win. Also, I respect the special rules of rhode cards, and my deck has no special cards. I am a very fair person."
Xia De nodded and also placed his deck face down on the table. Imitating the other party, he reached out and pulled, and the cards immediately scattered.
He was stunned for a moment, then used both hands to re-collect the deck before carefully spreading the entire deck evenly into an arc.
"Let's not waste time. I'm really looking forward to seeing your cards."
The captain said, reaching out to the deck, and nine cards automatically slid out from the scattered arc of cards. He casually grouped the nine cards into threes, then flipped them all over:
"First set, 21 points."
The first three cards were Flower 3, sun 10, and Moon 8.
"Second set, 21 points."
The middle three cards were Moon 7, Flower 7, and star 7.
"Third set, 21 points."
The last three cards were Star 9, Moon 6, and Moon Sun 6.
The nine cards were placed face up on the table. On the nine different card faces, evil spirits and monsters wriggled, as if they truly existed within the flat paper cards.
The captain's card-flipping speed was very fast, but his speaking speed was even faster. He announced the result first, then flipped the cards, meaning he knew the result without looking at the cards.
In fact, this was completely unnecessary, after all, that deck was "printed" by him in front of Xia De. "It's not cheating unless you're caught cheating," the captain himself said, and he obviously knew what he was doing.
"It's your turn."
The captain gestured for Xia De to pick cards, his expression particularly cruel in the cold green light:
"It's not cheating unless you're caught cheating, but if you are caught cheating, the price won't be as simple as just getting your hands chopped off."
"I never cheat when playing cards," Xia De said, swallowing, feeling that the pain in his stomach had become numb. He turned slightly to look at Princess behind him. She was watching Xia De's cards very nervously:
"I believe you."
Her slightly pale lips moved as she whispered. But the problem now was that Xia De didn't believe himself. He just had very good luck playing rhode cards, not that he was guaranteed to win. After the opponent shamelessly drew three sets of 21 points, he wasn't sure what the outcome would be.
"However..."
【Genesis · Balance】 slid out from his left sleeve, then flew across the table bottom towards the opposite side. Xia De glanced, and neither the evil spirits nor the captain noticed his small movement:
"Playing cards like this is completely unfair!"
He said loudly, his sudden voice attracting the monsters' attention.
"You want to talk about fairness with me?"
The captain laughed, then slammed the table:
"Pick your cards quickly, if you don't, you lose!"
"Alright, then prepare for your defeat!"
Xia De said again, his loud voice and arrogant tone drawing the attention of most of the evil spirits to his outstretched right hand.
Princess, standing behind him, pressed her right hand nervously on the back of the chair. Based on her understanding of Xia De, he wouldn't speak in such a tone without reason. He seemed to be deliberately attracting attention.
"These nine."
He casually selected nine cards from the deck, grouped them into threes, and placed them in front of him:
"First set, watch carefully! Don't say I'm cheating if I win!"
He covered his stomach with his left hand and sequentially flipped over the first three cards with his right hand. Moon 9, Moon 1...
His hand deliberately paused:
"Watch carefully, the next card is Moon 11!"
Xia De continued to raise his voice, his expression like a gambler who had staked everything. The evil spirits all looked over, their whispers forming a continuous murmur, like eerie whispers in a cemetery late at night. Even the captain narrowed his eyes, as if guessing what method Xia De would use:
"It must be..."
He lifted the card high, then slammed it onto the table:
"11!"
The card was face up, the suit was indeed Moon, but it was Moon 3. Xia De lost the first set.
Even the skull lamp above his head let out a mocking laugh.
"Second set!"
Xia De said loudly again, reaching out to flip the cards. sun 5, sun 12...
Seeing this, Xia De was startled. He could always draw the sun 4 card face of 【Carson Rick Southern Folk · Moon Dance Festival】. If he did that, his second set of cards would also be 21 points, and he would win on a draw.
He looked up at the captain, who was looking at him with a strange smile. That terrifying smile made Xia De hesitate. Cheating was only cheating if caught, but he wasn't sure if these evil spirits captured by the ship could detect blessings from two weak souls.
After a moment of thought, he chose not to draw the Moon Dance Festival, but instead used normal means to sharply flip over the last card of the second set.
Moon 4. Luck came to Xia De's side. The second set totaled 21 points, and he won on a draw.
As he let out a sigh of relief, he also heard Princess's deep breaths behind him. She was probably very nervous as well.
"You won the second set, open the third set."
The captain urged, and the surrounding evil spirits suddenly fell silent. This eerie silence was even more terrifying than when whispers and curses had filled the air just moments ago. Fortunately, Xia De's "hunger" sensation now took precedence, and he paid no attention to the current atmosphere.
Looking down at his cards, Xia De was not someone who gambled on luck:
"I won."
He looked up at the captain:
"No need to open the cards, I won. Now let us leave."
"Oh? Are you crazy?"
The captain asked, and Xia De shook his head:
"You cheated, so you lost."
The sailors, emitting a pale green light, all looked at Xia De, who in turn looked at the captain.
"You're trying to say I can manipulate the points on my cards?"
The captain asked, narrowing his eyes. He was gradually becoming dangerous, and a strange odor was slowly emanating from him. His ugly face was increasingly resembling a fish.
"Of course not. I want to say, when we first started playing cards, your deck was a normal 54 cards, but please tell me, how many cards are in front of you now?"
The captain lowered his head to look at the deck in front of him, and Xia De immediately gave the answer:
"55 cards. Cheating is only cheating when caught, and now your deck has one extra card. You've been caught."
Fingers that seemed to have been soaked in slime rested on the cards in front of him. The captain pulled out the only card that didn't belong to him and flipped it over—it was 【Genesis · Balance】. Earlier, Xia De had attracted the sailors' attention, and while the captain was focused on speaking to him, he manipulated the card to fly into the opponent's deck.
Fortunately, this card was directly linked to the power of an ancient god, and not manipulated by sorcery for flight, otherwise it would likely have been discovered. Ways to cheat at cards are not limited to manipulating one's own cards; manipulating someone else's cards can also lead to victory.
