After collecting the spoils of his decisive victory, Wang Zhuo quickly tallied the chips; the total amounted to about four hundred and fifty thousand, making the customary thousand-chip "joy money" given to the winner seem like a mere trifle.

There were six players in total. Excluding Wang Zhuo himself, the other five had contributed five thousand in joy money. Wang Zhuo placed these five chips directly into Ji Qiong's hand, paying Bao Hua's thousand-chip contribution separately with his own chips.

Looking at the four gleaming, thousand-chip tokens in his hand, Bao Hua’s frustration was immeasurable. Just moments ago, he had been imagining pocketing over two hundred thousand; unexpectedly, the tide had turned so violently, the victor replaced, and now he had lost his own two hundred thousand—an entire sedan simply vanished.

"Heh, Young Master Bao still has quite a few chips left," Wei Mingrong, who had just quit the dealer position, said with a consoling smile. In truth, handing over two thousand in joy money had stung him deeply as well.

This turn of events meant it was now Wang Zhuo's turn to deal. Everyone soon noticed that after winning that massive pot, Wang Zhuo’s playing style had undergone a radical shift. In every hand, he would first check once, and then, upon receiving strong cards, he would press the attack ruthlessly; with weak cards, he would bait the tigers into eating the pigs, betting three rounds regardless.

Although he didn't encounter any truly contentious hands that ignited a fierce showdown, every time he won, it was by a margin of several thousand, and the stack of chips before Wang Zhuo grew even more substantial.

When one hand saw Wang Zhuo scare off Boss Huang—who had managed a straight—with a pair of lowly Fours, only to lose out to Wei Mingrong, who held an Ace down, eventually matching up with Jun Ge’er's hidden hand to hit four of a kind, beating Jun Ge'er's Jacks with his third King, everyone finally realized: this newcomer was playing increasingly boldly; he was unstoppable.

Bao Hua's remaining chips quickly vanished. Still unreconciled, he failed to borrow money from Jun Ge’er, then loudly declared he was stepping out to get more cash and left in a hurry.

The plump youth, having collected Wang Zhuo's hundred-chip starter fee, returned to the table. However, this fellow was clearly having a run of bad luck, consistently receiving what the group jokingly called "rake-rake hands" (very bad hands). For the time being, he settled into the role of a supporting actor, contributing two hundred chips each round.

When Wang Zhuo once again unleashed his all-in move, crushing Wei Mingrong’s big straight with a flush, his stack soared past one million chips. Wei Mingrong walked out of the room, his face ashen. His Mercedes keys were currently collateral with a loan shark; he needed to hurry back and raise funds.

Ji Qiong had stopped trying to persuade Wang Zhuo to quit. She knew reasoning was futile; she could only pray silently in her heart that Wang Zhuo would know when to stop while ahead.

She thought this innocently enough, but Ji Yunlei understood that Wang Zhuo was genuinely playing for the high stakes. Otherwise, why wouldn't he first pay off the loan shark's debt instead of holding chips but showing no intention of redeeming the keys?

After losing over ten thousand, the plump youth finally grew restless again. Anyone facing Wang Zhuo’s aggressive strategy—where he would check three rounds regardless of hand strength—would find it unbearable. Wang Zhuo had set the stakes too high; others couldn't even afford to see the cards without spending two or three thousand per hand.

Boss Huang across the table was the first to speak with a wry smile: "I can't take this. Your style is too fierce. I’ll sit out for a bit."

The plump youth immediately echoed his sentiment. Jun Ge’er, riding a streak of good luck, was managing to win slightly against Wang Zhuo’s onslaught, but even he frowned at the situation.

"Should I go call in a couple of bigger players for you?" the plump youth suggested.

"That sounds great, very welcome," Wang Zhuo agreed with a smile.

In a short while, the plump youth returned with three people. Among them, a youth with a baby face whose age was hard to gauge, slightly stout, but with remarkably slender fingers, immediately caught Wang Zhuo’s attention. The man and woman accompanying him clearly came from wealthy backgrounds, seeking excitement; they addressed each other as Boss Zhang and Boss Zhou, their demeanor suggesting they were gambling acquaintances met at the casino, perhaps little more than nodding acquaintances.

With the entry of these three, the minimum bet instantly rose to the blue five-hundred-chip level, and the checks and raises jumped from one hundred and two hundred to five hundred and one thousand, respectively. The baby-faced man introduced himself as Qiu Guangliang. The first time he dealt, Wang Zhuo immediately spotted the issue: this man was an authentic gambler, and his cheating skills were extraordinarily high.

Since this was a professional establishment, there was a large box in the room filled entirely with decks of cards. Wang Zhuo had subtly checked them upon entering; every deck was genuine, factory-sealed poker, untouched. After every few hands, someone would casually tear open a new deck and replace the old one, making it difficult to tamper with the cards themselves.

Yet, even so, Qiu Guangliang was manipulating the cards. Every card that passed through his hands bore a minuscule, almost imperceptible mark from rubbing, pinching, or scratching. When he was dealing, he could even manage to place specific cards in positions he desired, though not with complete freedom, it was enough to influence the outcome of many hands.

Wang Zhuo quickly discerned a pattern, understanding the meaning behind the different markings Qiu Guangliang left. However, this knowledge offered him little benefit, as he could see everyone else’s cards clearly with his X-ray vision.

During those two years in high school when he had fully given up, Wang Zhuo had gambled before. He had even made a living winning at billiards for a time, so he had certainly seen card cheats. But someone of Qiu Guangliang's caliber was indeed a first.

Even so, it didn't matter. While Qiu Guangliang cheated, he dared not conceal cards. As long as he couldn't pull a switch like they might under the Sic Bo cup downstairs, Wang Zhuo had him cornered, and there was no need to expose him.

Feigning weakness—this was a trick Wang Zhuo had only recently mastered, and he was eager to practice it on someone to gain experience points.

After several rounds, Qiu Guangliang won more than he lost, while Wang Zhuo maintained a neutral ledger. Jun Ge’er’s good luck seemed to wane, and he lost tens of thousands.

Finally, the first true "nemesis hand" arrived after the new players sat down.

A nemesis hand, as it was called, was one where both players held exceptionally strong cards, confident in their position, leading them to raise stakes heavily against each other, thus enabling a large win or loss. If one player dominated, and others folded early seeing weak hands, even if the winner held three Aces, they would only collect the blinds and five joy money contributions—at most, only tens of thousands.

The nemesis hand this round consisted of this: Wang Zhuo held a 6-7-8 straight; Qiu Guangliang had a set of Jacks leading a flush, which beat Wang Zhuo’s straight. Jun Ge’er's pair of Aces wasn't small either. The female boss, Ms. Zhou, held a straight flush, which was not only the best hand at the table but also carried joy money.

Since this hand used a newly opened deck, Qiu Guangliang hadn't had time to tamper with it, and he wasn't the dealer, so he should have been completely unaware of everyone else’s cards.

Since losing money was already decided, Wang Zhuo followed the general trend by checking once, then revealed his card, feigning a poor hand before casually tossing it in. Ms. Zhou on his left hesitated for a long time while looking at her cards, finally tossing in the one-thousand chip raise with visible reluctance.

Ms. Zhou's acting was clearly several levels superior to Bao Hua's, approaching that of a film empress. Every time she took her cards, she displayed the same expression. Sometimes she would fold immediately after this display, but other times she would fight to the bitter end; it was impossible to judge her hand based on her expression alone.

Wang Zhuo inwardly chuckled; if he didn't have his X-ray vision, he would surely have been fooled by this woman.

Boss Liu, sitting to Ms. Zhou's left, considered for a moment, then smiled and threw in a blue chip: "I'll check one more round to build up the tension."

Jun Ge’er followed suit without expression after seeing his cards; holding a pair of Aces, there was no reason to fold.

When it came to Qiu Guangliang, something unexpected happened. He looked at his cards, smiled, shook his head, and actually tossed his hand into the center of the table, folding as well.

A flush, just thrown away? Wang Zhuo was utterly perplexed. He had only folded his straight because his X-ray vision had shown him Ms. Zhou’s straight flush. Qiu Guangliang didn't have X-ray vision, and the cards were new and dealt by someone else; how could he know his hand was beaten by Ms. Zhou’s?

Finally, it was the turn of Wang Zhuo’s dealer, Uncle Ma, who held only a low Queen leading. He threw his hand in cheerfully after looking. Thus, three people folded, leaving only Jun Ge’er, Ms. Zhou, and Boss Liu in contention.

Ms. Zhou continued to raise calmly; Boss Liu called with a check. Jun Ge’er also threw chips into the center without weakness. The three continued to play around like this, round after round.

Wang Zhuo observed their expressions and finally realized that Boss Liu’s acting was just slightly inferior to Ms. Zhou’s. It turned out he was colluding with her, acting as a buffer with hidden cards to let Ms. Zhou win more money.

Then what about Qiu Guangliang? Wang Zhuo was certain he wasn't allied with that seemingly united couple. How could he have possessed prior knowledge that Ms. Zhou’s hand beat his?

Wang Zhuo thought it over and suddenly had a flash of insight. While Qiu Guangliang was bending down to retrieve a cigarette, Wang Zhuo focused his X-ray vision on him.

Under the supernatural vision, Qiu Guangliang’s entire body—clothes, skin, muscle, bone, and internal organs—transformed into a three-dimensional holographic map, as if scanned by an electromagnetic wave. Wang Zhuo located his target in less than one-tenth of a second: hidden beneath his long hair, deep inside his right ear canal, was a metallic object slightly larger than a soybean. Beneath its thin shell were a miniature, sophisticated battery, a receiving antenna, and a speaker—this was a genuine piece of espionage equipment, a wireless earpiece.

Wang Zhuo immediately understood: someone had secretly seen Ms. Zhou's hand and reported it to Qiu Guangliang via wireless signal, allowing him to preemptively dodge this nemesis hand where he should have been crushed.

High-tech cheating! Wang Zhuo was astounded, yet a new question arose: how did the informant see Ms. Zhou’s cards?

That problem was simpler. With the cue from the wireless earpiece, Wang Zhuo swept his gaze across the table and located Qiu Guangliang’s 'X-ray vision.' It turned out the table was designed with a half-centimeter-high surrounding lip, intended not only to contain chips and cards but also secretly housing six—yes, six—pinhole cameras installed by the Xiao Shan International Club.

So, while Ms. Zhou was looking at her cards, someone was simultaneously filming them through the pinhole cameras, immediately reporting the view to Qiu Guangliang via his earpiece. Ms. Zhou and Boss Liu, having meticulously plotted their scheme and pretending to be ordinary gambling buddies pooling their wins, were unaware that the mantis stalks the cicada, but the oriole waits behind; someone else was seeing their cards with perfect clarity.