IWOL Chapter 54: Blackjack

Unlike Dong Zheng’s team, Wang Que and Victor’s negotiations went very smoothly. It didn’t take them much effort to enter the central castle and meet Agatha.

After Wang Que explained her intentions, Agatha was taken aback. The dolls had been hiding things from her, and she didn’t know a disaster that could destroy the entire Paradise was coming.

When the barbies who took care of Agatha heard Wang Que mention how urgent the catastrophe was, they almost threw her out. But Agatha desperately wanted to know the truth and so Wang Que was finally able to explain everything.

Perhaps, Wang Que seemed similar to the only girl in school who’d treated Agatha kindly. This, combined with Victor’s cute and harmless appearance, made Agatha less vigilant. She hesitated for a while and finally agreed to Wang Que’s request for her to meet the five people who were imprisoned.

When Cui Zuojing and the others were brought to the palace, they found Wang Que chatting with Agatha. Victor was lying obediently on the girl’s lap, accepting her caresses.

The guards, which consisted of a few dozen dolls, stood by the palace wall with swords in their hands, staring at the group. If there were any changes, they were prepared to immediately step forward and subdue these people.

Seeing them enter, Agatha subconsciously wanted to hide in her chair. Then, the girl realized that this was her town and that there was nothing to be afraid of. So, she raised her head confidently.

“How do you know that there will be a catastrophe? Even I don’t know about it.”

As early as the hotel, they’d discussed how to fabricate their origins. Dong Zheng said, “We’re travelers passing by here on our way to an unknown, distant pilgrimage to complete a mission God had entrusted to us. We happened to hear some residents say that there will be a big disaster coming. As a result, we decided to stay during this period of time in order to help the town out of danger.”

Although Wang Que had initially told her the same thing, Dong Zheng made people feel at a glance that he was very trustworthy, and his face looked very serious and honorable. In the end, Agatha was just a ten year old child and was completely deceived by him.

She anxiously asked the barbie standing behind her. “Will there really be a catastrophe?”

Barbie bit her bottom lip, nodded, and hesitantly said, “Yes, the astrologer had a vision a week ago. The prediction said that there will be a big event soon. A catastrophe will come. It is different from the previous ones and has the potential to completely destroy Paradise.”

Agatha said in disbelief, “The previous ones? Something had happened before? Why did you hide them from me?”

“We didn’t want to let master worry about those things that could easily be solved without risk. We originally thought we could do the same this time…”

“I’m also a member of this place. If something happens, shouldn’t everyone face it together?”

Barbie didn’t make a sound.

“You said you can help solve the catastrophe, how can you help?”

“We came from a mysterious land where everyone has different abilities.” Dong Zheng glanced at Dong Linhai. The teen met his eyes and took the spoon on the table. The spoon was simply resting in the palm of his hand, but it soon became curved and twisted into an enchanting arc, as if it had been given some kind of magic.

“Wow!” Agatha couldn’t help but exclaimed.

Dong Linhai sighed in his heart and placed the spoon in front of her. To this day, his abilities could only be used to deceive children.

“I can run very fast.” Before Alan’s words fell, he moved from the other end of the long table to behind Agatha. The guards only saw an afterimage and were surprised. Thinking that he was making a move against their master, they raised their arms and faced Allen.

“Sorry, I just wanted to prove that we do have the ability to protect this place.” Allen raised his hands and gave a dry laugh, then returned to his original position in the blink of an eye.

The dolls in the entire palace were stunned. They suddenly realized that if the group had wanted to harm Agatha, faced with Allen’s ability, they would not have had time to stop it.

Agatha froze for a long time. These abilities seemed to her like magic.

She looked to Barbie as if for help, and the other side whispered, “This is your world, Master. No matter what decision you make, we will be by your side.”

The right to make decisions was entirely in her hands, but it was still too difficult for a little girl.

Wang Que said at the right time, “Don’t worry. We don’t have any other thoughts. We just want to help.”

Seeing all the dolls’ grave expressions, Agatha pursed her lips and said softly, “Sorry, let me think about it again. I won’t let you wait for long.”

This was exactly what Dong Zheng wanted. Facing a little girl who had been hurt so much, he unconsciously softened his tone and said, “Good. This place is so calm and peaceful. It makes people not want to see it fall. Once you make a decision, we can also prepare a little.”

Agatha nodded, stood up and said to Barbie, the female officer closest to her. “Take the guests to rest. I’ll go see the astrologer.”

She was a little lame on one foot when she walked. It wasn’t certain whether it was congenital or due to an accident. Cui Zuojing looked at the girl’s back for a few seconds, then retracted his gaze, and followed the female officer to the rooms temporarily prepared for them.

The castle was very big. Although the dolls had strong hostility and vigilance towards uninvited guests, they still obediently listened to Agatha’s words and arranged a room for each of them.

Cui Zuojing went to his room and looked around, especially interested in the huge princess bed in the center. Before he laid down to feel it, he heard Dong Zheng calling him through the prisoner contract.

“What’s wrong?” Cui Zuojing appeared in front of Dong Zheng in the next second.

“There are some questions I want to ask you.”

Cui Zuojing guessed it all at once and smiled, “You wanted to ask what I did after going out?”

Dong Zheng said nothing.

“It is about seeing an old friend. If you don’t believe me, what can I do.” Cui Zuojing sat on Dong Zheng’s bed, sighed for a moment, and snapped his fingers. “Let’s play a game. The winner can ask the loser a question, and the loser can’t lie. How about it?”

Dong Zheng said, “What do you want to play?”

“Black jack, how about it?”

“Yes.”

Black jack is also called 21 or blackjack. It’s a poker game often used for gambling. It uses 52 cards other than the big and small kings. Players need to make the sum of the cards in their hands not exceed 21 points and still be as large as possible.

Cui Zuojing went to ask the doll outside the room, who was in charge of guarding and monitoring them, for three sets of playing cards. After removing the six “ghost cards”, he sat beside the princess bed with Dong Zheng and started the game.

Dong Zheng asked, “Who is going to be the dealer?”

“Come on. Let’s see what you want to know so much.” Cui Zuojing looked confident.

Dong Zheng was not polite with him, drawing the first card as a hidden card, 5 of Hearts.

The two each drew two cards. Cui Zuojing’s two cards were 7 of Diamond and A of Club, which could total 8 or 18 points, while Dong Zheng’s cards were 5 of Hearts and J of Diamonds, which added up to 15 points.

This start was a bit detrimental to Dong Zheng, but he still chose to ask for a card.

The pleasure of gambling lay in the desperate process, and the two people’s chips were only a question; he could afford to lose.

5 of Spades.

Dong Zheng secretly breathed out a sigh of relief. It totaled 20 points. In this case, he might win a lot.

“It’s my turn.” Cui Zuojing muttered to himself. He touched the next card, opened a corner and looked at it, and the corner of his lips raised in a secret smile.

“Sorry, I won.” He reversed the card, revealing a shining 3 of Clubs.

Exactly 21 on the dot.

Cui Zuojing pushed the card to the side and said with a smile, “Black jack.”

Dong Zheng: “………..”

Although he lost, this was only the first game. Dong Zheng wasn’t upset. He re-stacked the cards and said, “Okay, what is your question?”

“Let me think…” Cui Zuojing supported the side of his face with one hand and asked with curiosity, “Yes, what’s the relationship between you and Dong Linhai?”

Dong Zheng didn’t expect him to ask this. It seemed that Cui Zuojing still had the same doubts since when they first met.

In fact, there was nothing to hide. Dong Zheng said, “We’re half-brothers. His mother is my stepmother.”

“So that’s it.” Cui Zuojing nodded clearly. “I was right. There are too many differences between you two brothers, not only in appearance, but also in personality.”

As if he didn’t want to talk about it anymore, Dong Zheng said, “Next.”

As they began drawing cards again, Cui Zuojing, as the winner of the previous round, became the banker. This time, Dong Zheng decided to use the hi-low card counting strategy to calculate the probability.

Unlike other forms of gambling, blackjack was more rule-based. If you use appropriate mathematical methods, you could even increase the probability of winning to a staggering 51% with 6 people participating.

He must win at least once.

He didn’t like the feeling of being kept in the dark.

At the start of the second game, Cui Zuojing’s bright card was the King of Spades. Just after the two of them finished the drawing cards, the boy smiled and said, “I’m sorry, I won again.”

He turned over the hidden card, the Ace of Hearts.

Dong Zheng: “………….”

This time Cui Zuojing obviously thought about the question in advance and asked, “What do you do in the real world?”

Dong Zheng vaguely felt that something was wrong, but he still answered truthfully. “My father is an entrepreneur. After I graduated with a master’s degree, I returned to China. With his help, I started a company.”

Cui Zuojing raised an eyebrow, but he wasn’t surprised, and teased, “Then will I have to call you Boss Dong? Boss, you see, I’m working hard to serve you as a subordinate. When we get out in the future, don’t forget to pay me a salary.”

Dong Zheng placed one hand on his forehead. “We just barely started in the Pure White Realm. I haven’t even seen the shadow of the queen yet. How can I write you a blank check so soon?”

“Be confident.” Cui Zuojing shuffled the cards happily, and said, “Nevertheless, you’re the banker. Why should I let you win?”

They played six to seven games in a row. No matter how Dong Zheng counted, Cui Zuojing won in various ways every time, making him doubt life. Cui Zuojing asked all the questions about him. In the end, there was really nothing to ask, so he began to compile information about Dong Linhai.

“Has he talked about falling in love yet?”

Dong Zheng was silent for a few seconds and said, “I don’t know.”

“Speak well. We agreed that the loser is not allowed to lie.”

“This, I really don’t know. He’s already grown up. It’s impossible for him to tell me everything.”

Cui Zuojing thought about when his sister was fifteen to sixteen years old and was unwilling to share too many little secrets with him, so he let Dong Zheng go for the time being. “Okay. Then you have answered.”

The two continued to play, and this time, unsurprisingly, Cui Zuojing won again.

Cui Zuojing couldn’t think of any more questions. He pondered for a while, bored, and asked casually, “What is your ideal object?”

Dong Zheng: “…..”

He didn’t answer, but stared.

Looking at Cui Zuojing, who was about to shuffle the cards, he said, “Wait a minute.”

The boy raised his head and his face was innocent. “What’s the matter?”

Dong Zheng grabbed Cui Zuojing’s right hand with great force, causing slight pain, and reach out to touch his sleeve.

Cui Zuojing’s expression changed slightly, and he turned sideways to avoid Dong Zheng’s hand. “What are you doing?”

“What are you hiding?” Instead of letting go, Dong Zheng got up and bent over, trying to suppress Cui Zuojing with his body.

“Can I not hide if you touch me?!” Of course, Cui Zuojing would not sit still and wait for death. He tightly guarded his chest and sleeve and turned his back to Dong Zheng, climbing on the bed with both legs to escape.

The youth’s strength was much greater than Dong Zheng imagined. He knew that Cui Zuojing was extraordinary so Dong Zheng didn’t dare to take it lightly. Seeing that Cui Zuojing was about to break free, he immediately dropped down and used his weight to directly press Cui Zuojing on to the bed.

“Fuck, you let me go!” Cui Zuojing wriggled frantically, legs kicking back hard against Dong Zheng, “Ah ah ah ah ah pervert, ah–”

Dong Zheng’s lower leg was directly kicked by him and it hurted.Yet, he held back his strength and used his arm to retrain Cui Zuojing like an iron hoop, not allowing him to move.

Their struggles had scattered the cards on the bed all over the place. Dong Zheng pressed his chest to Cui Zuojing’s back and took the opportunity to stick his hand under the round neckline of Cui Zuojing’s T-shirt.

Cui Zuojing cried, “Ah—!”

Dong Zheng’s hand felt soft, warm skin, as well as the smooth playing cards. He pulled the hidden cards out of Cuo Zuojing’s clothes one by one and threw them on the bed.

The last card was the A of Diamonds, one of the most useful cards in blackjack. Dong Zheng finally found the reason why he’d been losing.

The youth’s body was strong and flexible. Dong Zheng forced himself to stop thinking about other things, and shook the A of Diamonds in front of Cui Zuojing’s eyes, releasing him.

“What else can you say now, eh?”

Cui Zuojing laid on the bed without saying a word, choosing to play dead.

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