### Chapter 30: Do Women’s Intuitions Understand?
As Lu Yibei stepped onto the third floor of the entertainment city, she strictly adhered to the principle of “observe first, participate later; as long as you don’t lose, it counts as a win.” She held her dear Bai Xiaohua and looked around.
After more than ten minutes of studying, speculating, thinking, and analyzing, Lu Yibei finally confirmed that she had been deceived by Ahua.
In this luxurious hall, dozens of gambling tables were spread out everywhere, each moment brewing life-threatening gambling games!
This conclusion came after she watched a table of Texas Hold’em.
There were three people sitting at the table.
A young boy, wearing a loose T-shirt and jeans, looking malnourished with a sallow face.
A mature woman in a black suit and tube skirt, with fiery red hair and a metallic-framed pair of glasses hiding heterochromatic eyes.
The last one was a tall Black man, dressed in loose sportswear, his long black hair intricately braided, with various shaped bone pieces dangling at the ends of the braids.
All three were spiritual ability users, and the spirit energy fluctuations coming from them were not weak… After a brief observation of the trio, Lu Yibei retreated beside Ahua and quietly observed them.
The first to act was the young boy. Just before the bunny girl dealer began dealing cards, he suddenly clasped his hands together, raised his head, and howled in a language Lu Yibei could not understand.
It sounded like Thai? Lu Yibei thought to herself, raising her willow brows slightly. Soon after, a wave of heat surged forth from her eyes, her vision blurred, and the light before her dimmed.
As the chaotic lights dispersed like mist, when she looked at the young boy again, Lu Yibei’s pupils slightly shrank.
She saw an illusion of a skeletal Buddha statue rise from the boy’s spirit patterns, and the spirit energy fluctuations emanating from the boy transformed from one to two.
The skeletal Buddha statue stretched out dozens of arms and opened a mouth filled with sharp teeth, releasing a pale breath that floated from the boy’s head and gathered into the Buddha’s body.
With the pale breath entering the skeletal Buddha’s form, a scarlet flame suddenly leaped from the depths of its dark eye sockets, and a bizarre spirit energy fluctuation pulsed, spreading in all directions.
Lu Yibei, “……” Wow! So it’s a life-sucking player?
This kind of spirit pattern, she had seen related records in *The Book of Siye*. It was a spirit pattern that had been eliminated in the process of spirit pattern development.
Unlike the spirit patterns drawn today by most spirit ability users using the core of urban legends, this kind of spirit pattern was usually drawn directly from the living urban legends.
Rather than being a drawn spirit pattern, it was more of a forced binding of a person and an urban legend through a spirit pattern, forming a symbiotic relationship.
The advantage of this method was that it could maximally retain the special abilities possessed by the urban legend, while the downside was that the risk of the spirit pattern going out of control was much higher than normal spirit patterns.
When the dealer finished dealing the cards, after the boy looked at his cards, Lu Yibei noticed a barely perceptible smile flash across his face that seemed quite weak, clearly indicating he had received the hand he wanted.
“Ah, it’s just a game, no need to take it too seriously!” As if noticing the boy’s action, the mature woman murmured with a strange tone.
While speaking, she unbuttoned her shirt, slightly opening the collar. In the next moment, the spirit energy fluctuations suddenly intensified, and several eerie auras emerged from inside her shirt.
Using her superior eyesight in a special observational state, Lu Yibei faintly saw that the inside of her blouse was laden with many palm-sized golden pendants emitting a dim glow.
However, before she could see the specific shapes of the pendants, several shadows swiftly flew out from the mature woman’s blouse, landing on the boy’s skeletal Buddha statue. Upon closer inspection, they were five bloody, incomplete infant figures.
The five differently-colored infants landed on the skeletal Buddha and did not hesitate to bite as soon as they opened their mouths. Raucous scraping sounds echoed, as if countless blades were scratching on a smooth blackboard, yet the skeletal Buddha showed no signs of damage.
Furrowing her brows slightly, Lu Yibei scanned carefully once more with her spirit sense and suddenly realized that the spirit energy fluctuations of the skeletal Buddha, under the bites of those small mouths, had indeed weakened somewhat, while the spirit energy fluctuations of the five infants became increasingly strong.
Looting.
In an instant, the word flashed through Lu Yibei’s mind as she squinted her eyes and began to contemplate.
It was very likely that they were not only looting spirit energy fluctuations but also the luck acquired by the boy through sacrificing his lifespan.
This technique seemed similar to the five ghosts bringing wealth mentioned in the knowledge of the Great Serpent God…
“Bang——!”
Just as Lu Yibei was pondering, a loud bang on the table interrupted the five ghosts bringing wealth and her thoughts.
Looking in the direction of the sound, without needing to focus carefully, Lu Yibei felt a wave of fear emanating from the Black man.
This fear did not come from the oppressive force of a strong spirit energy fluctuation but from an instinctive human fear of beasts, darkness, and all perilous things in nature.
The Black man’s glance swept between the boy and the woman, his expression unfriendly, a cruel smile lingering at the corner of his mouth.
The long braids hanging down behind him swayed lightly as if driven by an invisible wind, the bone pieces at the ends clinking together like a clear sound of wind chimes, exuding a slightly haunting resonance.
However, amid the enchanting chime of that crisp sound, Lu Yibei heard a terrifying rumble.
It sounded as if hundreds of lions were roaring, or perhaps like a strong typhoon was howling, interspersed with deafening thunder and the rumbling of surging floods.
Those disasters that had once claimed countless ancestors’ lives were ingrained in humanity’s genes, and most people couldn’t endure that kind of oppression and majesty. Soon, the woman and the boy turned pale, beads of sweat pouring from their foreheads.
At that moment, a phantom appeared behind the Black man, almost merging with his figure, as if guiding his body. He stretched out both arms and pushed all the chips before him onto the table.
“All-in!”
After the Black man pushed all the chips to the table, the bunny girl dealer warmly asked the two gamblers at the table, “This gentleman has gone all-in, do you two want to call?”
The woman and the boy hung their heads, not daring to look at the Black man.
“Not calling!”
“Not calling!”
After their replies, the two dejectedly stood up and left their seats.
Pulling her gaze back from the table, Lu Yibei looked at Ahua expressionlessly, “Ahua, I’ll ask you again, are you sure playing cards here poses no life threat?”
Life-sucking, ghost-raising, and someone using some sort of method, perhaps akin to shamanistic practices, were all gathered at one table.
Aside from these three spirit ability users, she saw spirit users calling upon godly assistance, using worms to alter the card faces, with various tricks emerging endlessly.
This isn’t a card game; it’s clearly a battle of magic! All of this is a divine game. Lu Yibei thought.
Facing Lu Yibei’s question, Ahua seemed entirely unaware of what had happened at that card table, and blankly replied, “Of course not!”
“Otherwise, how could my miss have played so many times without anything happening?”
“……”
Your miss being able to win significant chips is quite a difficult feat… Lu Yibei hesitated with her words.
She originally wanted to question Ahua about why she deceived her.
But then she thought that if Ahua could see what methods those gamblers were using, the Dark Lamp of the entertainment city probably could easily know too.
The reason she noticed probably relied entirely on her eyes, which occasionally triggered passive abilities.
It’s best I don’t participate in this gambling game; battling these entities, I still have a bit of a chance. But if I were to gamble money with them, I might end up losing everything.
However…
Lu Yibei turned her gaze towards the Black man counting chips at the table, squinting slightly.
I wonder if there are rewards for reporting cheating in this entertainment city?
Just as Lu Yibei secretly studied the Black man, planning how to extract some chips from him, a tall figure quickly walked past her side.
Was that the Dark Lamp that Liu Banxian just mentioned?
Why is he in such a hurry?
Could it be that he discovered a certain guest was cheating?
Thinking this, Lu Yibei’s gaze sharpened slightly as she followed Nan Hao’s footsteps towards a corner of the third-floor hall.
————
Within the realm of Dream Come True Entertainment City, extortion and blackmail will not lead to arrests.
However, just like cheating not being counted if undiscovered, the premise for extortion and blackmail to remain unpunished is that the other party will not report it to the entertainment city.
This was the information Lu Yibei obtained after confirming with Ahua.
As for how to select targets for extortion and blackmail to avoid being countered, Lu Yibei already had a definite answer in her heart.
This was all thanks to Liu Banxian telling her that Nan Hao might be a clue related to the Dark Lamp.
As long as the Dark Lamp of the entertainment city wants to catch someone, she can extort them!
Those already suspected of cheating by the entertainment city most likely will not go report saying, “Someone suspects I’m cheating and wants to extort me.”
Thus, with a target in mind, Lu Yibei followed the two men that Nan Hao had his eyes on all the way and finally seized an opportunity to sit at the same card table.
This table was playing blackjack, a game Lu Yibei had quickly learned since the rules were simple; as long as the total value of the cards in hand does not exceed twenty-one, then it’s fine.
She felt that her total value was too small and could continue to hit, but once hitting a card that exceeds twenty-one, it would bust, resulting in an automatic loss.
Overall, this is a game that relies more on luck and entertainment.
When Lu Yibei sat down at the table, there were already four people seated, and the configuration was nearly the same as before: two Dark Lamps and two suspected hustlers.
As soon as she sat down, all four turned to look at her. The two Dark Lamps had a hint of sympathy in their eyes, while the two suspected hustlers displayed a glimmer of delight, as if she had replaced that previous unfortunate passerby.
Lu Yibei didn’t care much about their strange looks since she wasn’t genuinely there to gamble money; she just wanted to impose some psychological pressure on them in the game.
Most importantly, she aimed to thoroughly understand the methods of the two suspected hustlers to facilitate extortion later.
To appear as a passerby, Lu Yibei immediately struck up a conversation with the Dark Lamp beside her, “How is it? Winning or losing?”
The boy, called Le Er, paused for a moment before smiling, “Uh, it’s okay! I won a little, but it’s that gentleman who has been losing.”
But that’s precisely what makes it dangerous! Each time I win a little, once I get carried away and bet, it’ll inevitably lead to a big loss… Le Er thought darkly.
The middle-aged man with messy brows cast a sidelong glance at the silent Le Er and rolled his eyes.
“Wow! What luck! I came just in time!” Lu Yibei exclaimed happily, turning to the bunny girl dealer and raising an eyebrow. “Miss, deal the cards!?”
“Okay, what about the other guests?” The bunny girl politely bowed and, after consulting the opinions of the other players, smiled and began dealing the cards.
After dealing the cards, everyone quietly glanced at their hands. When Lu Yibei looked at her cards, her eyebrow involuntarily twitched.
One card was a 2 and the other a 3, totaling five points, which could nearly be considered the lowest hand in this game.
Lu Yibei, “……”
Is it my bad luck, or have those two suspected hustlers already made their moves?
If they had already made their move, why didn’t I sense any spirit energy fluctuations at all?
Or are they those who can cheat without using spirit abilities?
As she pondered, she placed the two cards down on the table and glanced at the bunny girl dealer, expressionless, and said, “Please deal me another card.”
While waiting for the bunny girl dealer to deal, Lu Yibei discreetly examined the expressions of the two suspected hustlers, noticing their faces were grim, brows tightly furrowed, as if they were encountering some trouble.
At that moment, an eerie and almost undetectable spirit energy fluctuation flashed within her spirit sense, and a warm wave surged in her eyes.
Following that, she saw a very thin, light golden thread emerge from the middle-aged man’s fingertip and tightly wrap around her own finger.
The next moment, a playing card fell in front of her.
What the hell? Lu Yibei thought, secretly unleashed her talent to burst the golden thread and picked up the playing card for a glance. Her brow raised slightly.
Good grief, a 7? Am I about to turn my luck around?
Next, as long as I get another card that doesn’t exceed ten, I’ll have a perfect hand, right?
However, luck like that doesn’t exist; as long as there’s a probability of busting, there are risks. Therefore, to avoid losing more chips…
“Not calling!”
With twelve points, it was almost certain that getting any card would likely yield a winning hand. In this situation, it was rare for anyone to choose not to call.
When Lu Yibei announced her not calling, the other four people at the table all froze simultaneously and looked at her in surprise.
Even Ahua couldn’t help but whisper in Lu Yibei’s ear, “You should try calling; you have a good hand to win.”
Lu Yibei pouted, “Superficial!”
Ahua, “……”
Looking back at the two suspected hustlers, a hint of coldness flashed in their eyes.
Lu Yibei, “……”
Strangely enough, I’m losing money to them, so why aren’t they pleased?
Aren’t they just masochists?
Moments later, as the cards were compared, one Dark Lamp had a hand of nineteen points, winning the first round. Lu Yibei, due to leaving early, only lost two hundred chips.
In the second round, Lu Yibei held thirteen points and discarded again, while another Dark Lamp won with eighteen points.
Third round, fourth round…
In succession, after eight or nine rounds, Lu Yibei always discarded with hands of twelve or thirteen points, situations where the probability of busting was minimal, leading to odd behaviors.
At first, Ahua kindly reminded Lu Yibei to call, but then fell silent. She knew Lu Yibei’s purpose but felt a bit pained to see her losing so much and worried that saying something inappropriate would worsen things, so it seemed better not to interfere.
Gradually, the middle-aged man’s expression grew darker, and finally, the younger man accompanying him couldn’t help but bang the table, pointing at Lu Yibei mockingly, “Are you sick? You discard such good hands every time, are you here just to give away your money?”
“I like it; that’s none of your business!” Lu Yibei casually rolled her eyes. “Who says that just because the hand is good, I have to call? It’s not a guaranteed win; there are still small chances of losing, why can’t I choose to discard? Discarding early helps me lose less!”
Moreover, there are two suspected hustlers at this table! It’s not a minute’s work for them to make me bust! I won’t fall for it! Lu Yibei thought.
“I think you’re the one who’s sick. It’s not you losing money, so why are you so anxious?”
“Are you just bullying me because I’m a girl? Let me tell you, that’s gender discrimination!”
“……” Ahua glanced at Lu Yibei, wanting to say something but stopping.
“I…” The younger man opened his mouth, intending to say something, but the middle-aged man shot him a glare, making him obediently retreat to his seat.
Seeing the younger man sit back down, Lu Yibei rolled her eyes and began to ponder.
In the eight or nine rounds just played, it was almost always those two Dark Lamps winning. What’s the situation?
Could it be that they realized they were being watched and were planning to back off?
That doesn’t seem right; they’ve clearly been up to small tricks.
While contemplating, Lu Yibei glanced at the hands of the two Dark Lamps and slightly furrowed her brows.
At this moment, several light golden threads wrapped tightly around their hands, layers upon layers, unnoticeable to ordinary people.
Lu Yibei also should have those threads on her, but every time a thread would wrap around her fingers, she would burst it right away using her talent.
Keeping such unknown risks would lead to disaster in time!
Soon, the tenth round began.
As the cards were dealt, a series of rustling sounds suddenly erupted in Lu Yibei’s ears.
Following the sound, she saw the light golden threads coiling around the hands of the two Dark Lamps suddenly come alive, swirling and twitching, flying towards the younger man.
Thus, a frantic series of bets began.
“20,000; please deal me another card,” the middle-aged man’s voice was calm, directly putting down two chips.
Although the raise was several times more than before, he showed no emotional turmoil, as if this round were exactly the same as the previous nine.
“Call! Deal!” the younger man said.
“Call!” one Dark Lamp stated, “Deal!”
The other Dark Lamp seemed to sense something was off, glanced at his companion, then at his hand, hesitated for a long time, and finally gritted his teeth to call, “Deal!”
After the bunny girl dealer dealt cards to the four, it was Lu Yibei’s turn to speak. She looked at her hand and frowned.
A pair of fives, 10 points — a hand that absolutely wouldn’t bust, with a good chance to manage the highest point.
However, remembering the light golden threads that had flown toward the younger man earlier, she dismissed the thought of taking a risk.
“Ugh, a pair of fives, not calling!”
The Dark Lamp sitting beside Lu Yibei was taken aback, puzzledly looking at her, and murmured softly, “Miss, may I ask why you are discarding such a good hand?”
Lu Yibei pondered for a moment, pointed to her head and said, “Intuition, you understand women’s intuition, right? My intuition tells me that if I call, I will definitely lose.”
“I’ve been winning all the way up from the lower three floors, all thanks to intuition, you see?”
As she spoke, Lu Yibei’s peripheral vision drifted towards the middle-aged man, and there seemed a subtle awareness in his eyes as their gazes crossed.
Hearing this, the Dark Lamp frowned, thought for a moment, and gradually calmed down, turning his card face down on the table, and said solemnly, “I’m not calling.”
His hand was nineteen points, according to his years of work as a Dark Lamp, the probability of winning was at least ninety percent, but…
Only ninety percent.
At the moment he discarded, a series of soft sounds, as if a rope was snapping, reached Lu Yibei’s ears. Following the sound, she saw that the light golden threads wrapping around the younger man’s hand had broken most of them.
Looking back at the middle-aged man, there was now a hint of fierce glint in his eyes.
Although there was no overt scene of murderous intent as depicted in stories, Lu Yibei could already feel his urge to act, despite straining to suppress it.
Seeing his companion discard, the other Dark Lamp came back to his senses and, feeling a bit reluctant, placed two chips on the table, “20,000; let’s see the cards!”
No sooner had he finished speaking than the sounds of the light golden threads snapping returned to Lu Yibei’s ears, and looking over, she saw that the threads wrapped around the younger man’s hand had completely snapped, and his expression was as dark as if he had just been robbed of a five-k*ll and was facing taunts.
“Now, please reveal your bottom cards, everyone.”
At the prompt from the bunny girl dealer, the four players revealed their cards in unison: nineteen points, eighteen points, nineteen points, and… twenty-one points.
Holding the highest hand of twenty-one points was the younger man.
“Humph! What bad luck, I’m switching tables!”
After receiving the chips from the bunny girl, the younger man scoffed, clutching his chips as he walked towards another table.
The middle-aged man immediately stood up to follow, his gaze sweeping over Lu Yibei before he left.
Narrowing her eyes as she watched them leave, Lu Yibei waited for a moment before getting up, pulling Ahua along as she pursued.
Thinking of running? It won’t be that easy; I’ve understood your methods, the real show is just beginning! Lu Yibei thought.
