Chapter 660: Twenty-One

Qi Xia bent down and slowly extended a finger. This time, he didn't choose to break his finger again; instead, he poked it against his forehead.

His forehead had previously been broken by the wooden box, and now the wound was gaping open.

Qi Xia reached out and kept fiddling with the wound. Whether it was because the wound was too close to the brain or because he had temporarily gained control of his brain, at that moment, he actually felt that the appropriate pain could briefly clear his thoughts.

Is this rule really that complicated?

Is Di Hou really that clever?

Based on all of Di Hou's behavior in the game so far, Qi Xia still held his previous opinion that Di Hou wasn't a particularly smart person.

Even though Di Hou represented "intellect," it was only an intellect that surpassed ordinary people. After all, being pushed to this extent by a chaotic mind was proof enough of his level.

Zheng Yingxiong's various actions earlier had confirmed a strange issue—Di Hou carried some kind of "ability."

People who rely on "ability" probably don't overly train their minds, which explained why Di Hou seemed plainly intelligent yet remained so confident.

He was still easily deceived and hadn't become smarter, but he confidently believed he wouldn't lose because he carried some sort of "ability."

That was Di Hou's fatal weakness.

So, considering everything, Qi Xia had overcomplicated the rules.

"The rules aren't 'getting harder,' they're just 'changing'..." he thought to himself.

After all, if the rules went beyond what normal people could understand, even Di Hou would struggle to control them, let alone gamble with them. So, he would first keep the rules within his own manageable range.

Moreover, when Di Hou confirmed who had the "second largest" hand in this round, his lips moved slightly as he muttered to himself, clearly calculating something.

So, this round's rules required an additional layer of "calculation." The previous "Jie Qi" theoretically already needed calculation, and now there was one more step, which was the so-called "change."

"Shuo Wang Yue"... the boxes getting brighter...

Qi Xia turned his head to look at the wooden box, and his mind seemed to clear a bit.

Whether from the box's appearance or from the perspective of this "fourth round," this "Shuo Wang Yue" was in the process of going from "Shuo" to "Wang," and now it was full moon.

At the time of the "full moon," the rules had changed, so the rules must be related to the "full moon."

Qi Xia suddenly turned to look at Qiao Jiajin.

"What... what's wrong?" Qiao Jiajin was startled. "You scared me, you trickster."

"Make a fist. I'll give you three seconds to name a poker gambling game." Qi Xia said.

"Huh?"

"Three, two..."

"Texas Hold'em!!" Qiao Jiajin quickly said. "What are you up to, you trickster? Some kind of surprise test? I don't gamble..."

"I'll give you three more seconds to name a second one."

"Huh?!"

"Three, two, one..."

"Blackjack!!" Qiao Jiajin felt like his brain was about to fry. "Don't suddenly test me like that, you trickster. You know my brain's a bit slow."

Upon hearing "Blackjack," Qi Xia slowly narrowed his eyes.

That was it.

Although he didn't fully know the rules, he was quite familiar with "Blackjack." The most common poker games in casinos were "Texas Hold'em" and "Blackjack."

As a casino boss who thought himself clever, Di Hou would absolutely stick to these two card games, making the "rules" both controllable and mysteriously elusive.

As for "Blackjack" and "Er Shi Si Jie Qi"...

"I see..." Qi Xia murmured to himself, "So that's how it is..."

All the mysteries blocking his view suddenly dispersed, and the true rules surfaced clearly.

"What do you mean, 'that's how it is'?" Chen Junnan was confused. "What's going on now?"

Qi Xia was about to speak but suddenly thought of something, so he paused for a few seconds and nodded toward Xiao Cheng's direction.

"Get that young guy to explain the rules."

"Oh...?" Chen Junnan turned to look at Xiao Cheng. "Hey, you!"

"What...?" Xiao Cheng lifted his head, looking puzzled.

"The prompt is 'Blackjack.' You explain the rules to everyone." Qi Xia covered his bleeding forehead and slowly leaned back in his chair, as if he had no intention of speaking further.

"Me...?" Xiao Cheng's eyes widened slightly. "Blackjack...?"

"You're a university student, right?" Chen Junnan smirked. "Get your smart little brain working!"

Hearing Chen Junnan's words, Xiao Cheng quickly racked his brain. He did know the rules of "Blackjack," but he never thought they would apply to this game.

After all, in "Blackjack," a hand could theoretically have many cards, and there were no "community cards."

"Lao Qiao, how do you play 'Blackjack'?" Chen Junnan asked quietly.

"'Blackjack' is also called 'Hei Jie Ke.' Basically, you add up the points in your hand, and the one closest to twenty-one wins. If you think your points aren't enough, you can signal the dealer for more cards." Qiao Jiajin explained, then added, "But the total can't exceed twenty-one, or you're 'busted.'"

Xiao Cheng stood up, glanced at Di Hou's cards, then turned to look at his own, moving his lips like Di Hou had, trying various calculations.

My cards... the second largest?

"So... I get it, it's a simple rule... You just add up all the numbers...!"

Just as he was about to share his idea, he suddenly noticed Qiao Jiajin's cards.

"Zhong Yuan," "Chu Xi," "Chun Jie."

Xiao Cheng's initial thought was to add up all the numbers on the cards, with the one closest to twenty-one winning.

For example, "Qi Xi" as "Qi Chu Qi" would be fourteen, and so on—anything over twenty-one would be a loss.

But Qiao Jiajin's cards were really odd.

His "Zhong Yuan" was "Qi Yi Wu," "Chu Xi" was "Yi Er San Ling," and "Chun Jie" was "Yi Yi." Adding up these eight numbers totaled exactly "twenty-one"!

Yet strangely, Qiao Jiajin's hand hadn't won this round of gambling, not even qualifying as the second largest.

So, what exactly was the connection between this game and "Blackjack"...?