Chapter 13

Round thirteen. Feng Bujue's tactics hadn't changed; he still flipped over three unknown cards, and all three... were One-Phase Clarity.

This added three more pairs to the known cards on the table, greatly increasing the probability of players flipping a scoreable card.

Next, it was Black Butterfly's turn.

Logically, she could still flip three known cards this round to use up her flipping rights.

However... when the moment came, she wavered once again...

"In this situation, if I still waste my flipping rights..." Black Butterfly calculated, hesitating.

Indeed, in the previous round, her plan seemed to be working, and Feng Bujue's final analysis made sense.

But, after the three One-Phase Clarity unknown cards were revealed... the situation changed suddenly.

The number of unknown cards remaining on the table had dropped to around twenty. The lowest probability of drawing any single card was around 5%, not to mention the many existing pairs.

If it were any other opponent, it would be fine, but her opponent was Feng Bujue...

Although Black Butterfly's contact with "Mr. Crow" hadn't been long, even just in this match, she had strongly felt that—the man before her did not compromise, was not afraid, and did not back down...

Moreover, he wasn't simply reckless; he was indeed very strong...

Based on Feng Bujue's previous performance, Black Butterfly was almost certain that he would flip unknown cards again in the next round; with the board from the twelfth round, Black Butterfly thought that was fine, but with the current board, ending the battle in one round... wasn't entirely impossible.

"Tch... no choice." After much deliberation, Black Butterfly cursed inwardly and, in the end... still flipped an unknown card.

As a result, she flipped... an Avici Hell card.

The appearance of this card meant that she couldn't score this round.

"Hah..." But Black Butterfly breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this. "So be it..." she muttered, then flipped two known cards that she had already somewhat forgotten to reinforce her memory, ending her turn.

"Heh..." At that moment, Feng Bujue smiled. "You've started to change, haven't you?"

Hearing this, Black Butterfly asked suspiciously, "Change? What change?"

In the next second, Feng Bujue replied powerfully and concisely, "Luck."

"Huh?" Black Butterfly's expression behind her mask immediately turned strange. "I thought you were going to say something profound... luck? Heh... you were talking about probabilities before, are you going to start playing the mystic now?"

"Humph..." Feng Bujue ignored her sarcasm and began his fourteenth round of flipping.

One... two... three...

This time, he still flipped three One-Phase Clarity cards.

"Ha! Hahaha..." Seeing this situation, Black Butterfly couldn't help but laugh out loud, losing all composure. "You said luck had changed, but in the end, you still flipped the worst possible situation?" She spread her hands. "To put it another way... even if there really is such a thing as 'luck', then I am undoubtedly at an advantage." As she spoke, she pointed at the table. "My flip in the previous round, although I flipped over an unknown card, from the results... not a single phase card was exposed, was it? From another point of view, that was the best possible outcome under the circumstances of having to flip an unknown card, wasn't it?"

"Of course not," Feng Bujue replied coldly. "The best result 'under the circumstances of having to flip an unknown card' is to score."

He was right.

"Tch—" Black Butterfly spat out the sound this time, but couldn't refute it.

"Also, you hadn't reached the point of 'having to flip an unknown card' just now," Feng Bujue added two seconds later. "You flipped an unknown card in the eleventh round, so in the thirteenth round just now, you could still have flipped three known cards to use them up." He paused, and said in a deep voice, "You 'should' have done that..."

"Hmph! Don't talk nonsense!" Black Butterfly shouted sharply upon hearing this. "That's what you wanted, right?" She said confidently, "If I had done that, by this round, you would have flipped three known cards to pass; and I... would have to flip unknown cards in this round, leaving you with the chance to kill me."

She was right, that was indeed one of the tactics that Brother Jue could have chosen, but...

"Winning is all that matters," Feng Bujue replied in a relaxed tone after hearing her words. "If the situation you described appeared, couldn't you just win directly in the next round, your turn?"

"Nonsense! Counting the three unknown cards you flipped this round and the Hell card I flipped myself in the previous round, it's only become possible to win in one round." Black Butterfly retorted, "If you and I had both flipped known cards just now, would that still be possible?"

"Possible," Feng Bujue gave a clear answer again in a firm tone, denying her statement. "It's just that the probability is a little lower than it is now." At this point, he changed the subject. "But... in that hypothetical situation, luck would still be on your side, so..."

"Are you still talking about those ethereal things?" Black Butterfly couldn't listen anymore and interrupted Brother Jue. "It seems I misjudged you; you're nothing more than this..."

After saying that, she reached out and started flipping cards.

At this moment, although the score was still unchanged at 33 to 24, the number of unknown cards on the table... had dropped to a mere 18; among them, there was 1 Avici Hell card, 8 pairs of One-Phase Clarity cards, and the number of "Two-Phase Clarity" cards... had reached as many as 9, with the probability of flipping one reaching 50%...

In addition, because the base number of unknown cards was getting smaller and smaller, even if you accidentally drew a One-Phase Clarity card, the possibility of drawing another card of the same suit was no longer negligible.

But...

All of the above, things that were very reasonable in terms of probability, were discarded by Feng Bujue.

"You won't flip it." Just as Black Butterfly was about to flip her first card, Brother Jue coldly uttered these four words.

As a result... what Black Butterfly flipped was indeed a One-Phase Clarity card.

At that instant, Black Butterfly's expression behind her mask twisted, and her body also trembled visibly.

Depression, anger, unwillingness... similar emotions rose in her heart, difficult to suppress.

"I said, luck has changed." Feng Bujue's mockery came closely after, relentless.

"Enough nonsense..." Black Butterfly lowered her voice and said fiercely, "Eight out of eighteen probability, there's nothing strange about it!"

"Is that so?" Feng Bujue continued, "Then try drawing two more cards, I think... you still won't draw a Two-Phase Clarity card."

"Hmph! Do you think I'm an idiot?" Black Butterfly sneered. "I've already drawn a One-Phase Clarity card. I can only score if I flip a card that's the same as it, if I can't, it will only reveal more unknown cards for you! This kind of digging-my-own-grave thing..."

"What if flipping it allowed you to continue attacking?" This time, Feng Bujue interrupted her, saying something incredible in a very relaxed tone.

"You're... what?" Even Black Butterfly couldn't believe what she heard.

"What I mean is, in your next two flips, if you can flip a Two-Phase Clarity card in either hand, I will treat that hand as your 'first flip' of this round and let you flip two more times." Feng Bujue replied calmly. "Of course, in that case, you must flip known cards to score, and you can't flip unknown cards anymore; and after you score, you will still get three new flipping rights, and the flipping mechanism will return to the normal rules." As he spoke, he raised two fingers. "Simply put, my concession... is just these two times, that is, the two remaining flips you have."

"Hey, hey..." The referee interjected at this time. "Don't just say whatever you want. Rules are not something you can..."

Just as he was about to stop Brother Jue, suddenly, the walkie-talkie on his body rang.

The referee could only temporarily stop the match and take two steps back, picking up the walkie-talkie, covering his mouth with his hand, and saying in a low voice, "Please speak... uh... you... what? But this... okay, I understand..."

Although the two sides of the match couldn't hear the sound coming from the walkie-talkie, they could guess from the referee's attitude that the person on the other end of the walkie-talkie was ordering him to do as Brother Jue said.

"Looks like your boss also supports me..." Feng Bujue didn't look at the referee when he said this, but looked at the organizer on the second floor.

In fact, the moment the walkie-talkie rang, Brother Jue's first reaction was to turn his gaze to the location of the organizer; unsurprisingly... it was the person on the second floor who was giving the order.

"Well..." The referee didn't say much, just looked at the two people beside him, and continued, "Then... since Mr. Crow, as the non-beneficiary, has taken the initiative to propose it, then we will make an exception, but..." As he spoke, he turned to look at Black Butterfly. "Madam, do you agree to this gentleman's proposal?"

His question was actually very redundant. In the current situation, Black Butterfly couldn't possibly refuse such a good thing.

After she flipped a One-Phase Clarity card, the table had become [17 unknown cards, 6 pairs of One-Phase Clarity cards, 10 Two-Phase Clarity cards, 1 Hell card]. If Feng Bujue hadn't made this suggestion, then Black Butterfly's choice would undoubtedly have been to flip two known cards and then hand over this board to her opponent.

But... the reality was that he had made the suggestion, and the situation was very different.

In Black Butterfly's next two cards, the probability of flipping a Two-Phase Clarity card in the first hand was 10/17, close to 59%; even if she still didn't flip it in this hand (assuming she still flipped a One-Phase Clarity card), then in the second hand... the probability of her flipping a Two-Phase Clarity card would increase to 11/16, close to 69%...

In summary, the "concession" that Feng Bujue proposed was definitely a true "concession", and it was different from the kind of "fake modesty" that Black Butterfly had proposed at the beginning with the "second move".

That's why Brother Jue's behavior was so incredible...

"I agree." Out of caution, Black Butterfly thought for a few seconds before giving a definite answer.

"Then... please continue flipping cards." The referee responded after receiving the answer.

"This kid... what is he up to?" While reaching out, Black Butterfly's eyes behind her mask were still staring at Feng Bujue, her mind completely puzzled.

If it were someone else, she might have come to a conclusion like "this guy is bewitched by me," but she knew... the "Crow" before her wasn't that kind of person.

"I don't like to 'guess' without any basis, but..." Just then, Feng Bujue spoke again. "At this moment, I want to guess..." Before she flipped the card, he said, "You will still flip a One-Phase Clarity card in this hand."

"Hmph... cursing me is useless, you will regret it!" Black Butterfly snorted coquettishly, looked at the unknown cards on the table, hesitated for a few seconds, picked one, and flipped it...

Result—One-Phase Clarity.

"Unreasonable!" Black Butterfly turned her head and glared at the referee. "Referee! Is this normal? Did he do anything strange just now?"

"Uh..." The referee was also stunned by the question. "No, he didn't."

"Are you sure you saw it clearly?" Black Butterfly used a questioning tone, because with Jin Mian Chou's precedent, without evidence, no one dared to say with certainty that the other side was cheating anymore.

"Of course I saw it clearly," the referee replied. "His hands didn't touch the table at all just now, and besides... he said those words and then you flipped the card, what could he do?"

The referee's words were reasonable and well-founded, leaving Black Butterfly speechless.

"Damn it..." Black Butterfly turned her head again, glaring at Brother Jue. "In the end... the probability of flipping a One-Phase Clarity card is still about one-third, you just guessed right, there's nothing to be proud of!"

"Yes, I was just guessing," Feng Bujue replied frankly. "Didn't I say, I was 'guessing'~" He shrugged. "By the way... I guess your next hand will be Avici Hell."

"What!" Black Butterfly's anger was provoked by the other side.

If the other side still said One-Phase Clarity, that would be fine, the probability of her drawing a One-Phase Clarity card next was exactly 25%; however, Brother Jue actually said that she would draw "Avici Hell," that was a one-in-sixteen probability.

"Don't believe it?" At this moment, Feng Bujue, who was in an obviously disadvantageous situation, seemed fearless and arrogant. "If you don't believe it, flip it."

Now that things had reached this point, no matter what the opponent said, it was impossible for Black Butterfly to flip known cards again.

The current hand was basically the hand that determined the outcome... flipping a Two-Phase Clarity card would very likely lead to continuous scoring and direct victory; not flipping it... would hand over the great situation to the other side, and there would likely be no next round.

"Must win... must win! I won't lose..." Looking at the scattered cards on the table, Black Butterfly kept chanting in her heart, "God... if you exist, please bless me, let me flip a Two-Phase Clarity card no matter what in this hand..."

"Dragging it out... praying in your heart?" At this moment, Feng Bujue spoke again, revealing his opponent's thoughts.

And Black Butterfly... although she didn't reply, her obvious stunned reaction was equivalent to confirming the other side's statement.

"Heh... useless..." Feng Bujue looked at his opponent and said playfully, "There are no gods or Buddhas at the gambling table, only demons... When you flipped an unknown card in the first hand of the previous round, you exposed the 'wavering' in your heart under the eyes of the demon; from that moment on, 'luck' changed... The 'Avici Hell' that you flipped was a 'sign'.

"If you had simply chosen to go all in at that time and flip two more unknown cards, maybe you could have saved it, but... you didn't, you flipped two known cards, and showed 'retreat' in front of the demon again.

"So, the demon attacked you, it made you flip a One-Phase Clarity in the first hand of this round... This is another 'sign'; with your previous luck, it was absolutely impossible to fail to flip a scoreable card with a probability of more than 50%.

"At this time, I was even more certain... that luck had completely turned, and it wouldn't hurt to let you flip two more times, anyway, you couldn't flip a Two-Phase Clarity card. So, I proposed that kind of concession that seemed incredible to ordinary people...

"Then, you accepted it, and as I predicted... you flipped another One-Phase Clarity card.

"Then, you, who were forced into a desperate situation, still questioned the referee about whether I was cheating under obviously unreasonable premises; exposing your 'stupidity', 'anger', and the 'weakness' and 'helplessness' hidden under 'anger'.

"At this point, you're already hopeless... The cry of prayer in your heart is a signal to announce that you have 'given up thinking and are powerless', and it is a signal to guide the demon to devour you."

Feng Bujue's words were like a curse, making people shudder, and even the referee on the side got goosebumps listening to them.

On the other side, the organizer, who was listening to this theory through the live broadcast screen, showed an excited and fanatical smile...

"Nonsense!" A few seconds later, Black Butterfly responded to Brother Jue with a shout. "'Demons at the gambling table'? Hmph... what is that? Some kind of psychological suggestion? The guy who kept talking about probabilities at the beginning is now talking so confidently about 'luck', it's ridiculous!"

After she finished saying these few sentences loudly, she grabbed a card and flipped it up.

Fire, blood, evil spirits, mournful souls... The lifelike, distinctive pattern on the front of the card was imprinted in Black Butterfly's eyes.

In that brief moment, she seemed to be there...

The appearance of this "Avici Hell" announced the end of Black Butterfly's round, and in the end... she really didn't flip a single scoreable card in these three consecutive hands, and also helped Feng Bujue make two pairs and confirmed the location of the last Hell card.

"Why..." When she put down the card, Black Butterfly felt her blood running cold. "Why... would you know..."

"Let me emphasize again... I don't 'know', I'm 'guessing'," Feng Bujue said, looking down at the Hell card. "Actually, the probability of you flipping a One-Phase Clarity card in this hand was higher, and your flipping a One-Phase Clarity card would also make my advantage greater, but... I just felt that you would flip 'Avici Hell'. Because... if I were a 'demon', I would also make you flip a Hell card... it's more symbolic and more dramatic."

Saying this, he stood up again, preparing to make his last round of flips in this game.

"Then..." Feng Bujue said leisurely as he reached out, "I won't be polite... and take advantage of this luck to clean up this mess."