The Swindler should keep a low profile.

Yet many a Swindler, for some reason, opts for the opposite.

Just like Tao Hua.

Today at the Elephant Tower.

She cheated in front of everyone, with no regard for the evidence on her person.

And now, she’s forcing me to gamble under the table.

I glance at my cards again.

Still a straight flush.

My expression grows tense.

Tao Hua’s hand is a flush.

To win, I’d have to switch cards.

But how?

“Place your bet, what are you waiting for?”

Seeing my tension, Tao Hua seems even more smug.

She’s convinced she’s got me in her pocket today.

Because I just looked at my cards.

So now, to call, I need ten thousand.

I take out ten thousand and toss it onto the card table.

It’s the next player’s turn, his last bet.

Once he’s placed his bet.

The four of us will have to reveal our cards.

The next player doesn’t hesitate, takes out five thousand, and decides to follow without seeing.

Just as he throws the money onto the card table.

I suddenly point to the cigarette in front of him and politely ask:

“Boss, may I have a cigarette of yours…”

“Help yourself, don’t be shy!”

The boss hands me the cigarette.

My cigarettes are in the living room.

And at this critical moment.

I need a cigarette to ease the tension.

I take one out, put the pack back.

After lighting it, I take a deep drag.

“Nervous? It’s fine, it’s not your money you’re losing, what’s there to fear…”

Tao Hua looks at me sideways, deliberately provoking me with her words.

I smoke in silence.

Anyone looking at me would think I’m nervous, worried.

Uncle Tong’s face also looks rather unpleasant.

He stares at the money on the card table, his thoughts unreadable.

“Come on, stop playing it cool, let’s reveal our cards…”

Tao Hua says loudly.

The first to reveal cards is the next player.

He has a pair of Qs.

Then, it’s Tao Hua’s turn.

She picks up her three cards and elegantly places them on the table.

She smiles triumphantly at the four of us.

That feeling, like a female gambling god from a movie.

“Sorry everyone, a straight flush…”

Saying so, she even gestures to Uncle Tong.

“Uncle, your turn!”

Uncle Tong reveals his cards.

A pair of Ks.

Tao Hua’s expression grows even more smug.

She looks at me with a grin.

While I smoke.

My expression seems to grow tenser.

“If you’re not going to reveal, I’m going to take the money!”

She says.

Tao Hua then reaches for the pile of money.

“Wait a minute!”

I suddenly interrupt her.

Tao Hua looks up at me.

Confident and smug.

“What is it?”

“I think I’ve won against you!”

Saying so.

I hold the cigarette in my mouth.

Slowly, I reveal my three cards.

“Sorry, I’ve got a straight flush too!”

I mimic Tao Hua’s way of speaking.

I place the three cards on the table one by one.

6, 7, 8, a spades straight flush.

“How is that possible?”

Tao Hua’s eyes widen in disbelief.

She stares at my cards as if afraid she’s seen wrong.

The next player’s boss laughs heartily.

He pats my shoulder and says:

“Brother, your hand was so strong. Why were you nervous just now…”

The boss clearly dislikes Tao Hua’s ostentatious behavior.

He’s just speaking up for me because he feels vindicated.

“I thought she had a Leopard, I didn’t even want to call…”

Taking advantage and acting coy.

That’s me at this moment.

This seemingly powerless speech.

For a Swindler as confident and inflated as Tao Hua, it’s often more lethal.

In fact, I really didn’t want to gamble with her this hand.

I even wanted to discard my cards.

But she thought, knowing she’s The Swindler.

I wouldn’t dare gamble with her.

So, she pressured me.

Then, I didn’t need to be polite.

I pretended to be nervous.

Letting her think she had the upper hand.

As for where that spades 6 came from.

Of course, it wasn’t switched from the casino dealer’s deck.

The dealer was far from me, and I don’t have the skill to switch cards through the air.

I switched it with the next player’s boss.

When I took his cigarette, I kept the clubs 9 in my palm.

As the smoke rose, the card fell.

I casually took his spades 6.

Forming a 6, 7, 8 straight flush.

Tao Hua was red with anger.

But still handed over the one hundred and fifty thousand under the table.

Minus the capital.

I’ve now won about one hundred and forty thousand.

After that, I started to play it safe, rarely calling.

Because the atmosphere at the card table was starting to get weird.

It’s an indescribable feeling.

It always feels like something bad is about to happen.

Perhaps stung by that hand, Tao Hua started switching cards frequently.

Soon, she won over four hundred thousand.

While Uncle Tong only lost about a hundred thousand.

But he sat there with a dark face, smoking one cigarette after another, looking extremely upset.

Another round began.

As soon as the cards were dealt, I looked at mine directly.

A pair of 4s, I didn’t follow, and discarded immediately.

The other two bosses also discarded.

Only Uncle Tong and Tao Hua were left at the card table.

Because I had tampered with the cards.

I knew Uncle Tong had a very small scattered hand.

2, 6, 7.

Such cards aren’t worth a dime.

Normally, they should be discarded right away.

But Uncle Tong didn’t.

He looked at his cards, then took out ten thousand and threw it on the table.

“Ten thousand!”

I was startled.

Was Uncle Tong losing his head, trying to scare Tao Hua away?

But Tao Hua’s hand was a pair of 3s.

She would definitely not run with such cards.

If she was uncertain, she could even choose to compare cards directly.

“Wow, that’s a lot. I’ll call!”

Tao Hua didn’t look at her cards and chose to follow without seeing for five thousand.

When it was Uncle Tong’s turn, he didn’t hesitate and bet another ten thousand.

Normally speaking.

With only two players left, Uncle Tong’s way of betting was purely burning money.

Even a fool wouldn’t do such a thing.

Tao Hua didn’t know what Uncle Tong’s cards were.

When it was her turn, she chose to look at her cards.

Then, she placed ten thousand and decided to call.

Following the normal course of the game.

If Uncle Tong was trying to bluff Tao Hua at the start.

Now that Tao Hua was following so resolutely.

Uncle Tong should have discarded.

But he didn’t.

He still bet ten thousand.

The two continued to bet round after round.

The money on the table quickly reached the full bet of one hundred thousand.

It was time to compare cards.

But Uncle Tong suddenly spoke up:

“The hundred thousand limit is a bit small, how about we remove the limit?”

Tao Hua didn’t think twice and immediately nodded in agreement.

“Sure, how much do you want to raise it to?”

Tao Hua didn’t know what Uncle Tong’s cards were.

But she was very clear about her own.

She flicked her wrist back.

Her ring finger snapped.

She used the spring finger trick again.

Tao Hua switched cards.

The pair of 3s was swapped for a Leopard 3.

Looking at the seventy or eighty thousand in front of her.

Uncle Tong threw all his money onto the table.

“Eighty thousand, I’m all in!”

I was shocked again.

What was Uncle Tong doing?

He dared to bet so much with such a small scattered hand?

Could he also be an expert from The Swindler Sect?

Wanting to cheat?

Tao Hua’s mouth curled into a disdainful sneer.

“I thought it was more, just eighty thousand. I’ll call you, let’s reveal the cards!”

Tao Hua was extremely confident.

But Uncle Tong suddenly said again:

“Wait a minute, I haven’t finished…”

Saying so, there was a “slap” sound.

Uncle Tong actually slapped his hand onto the pile of money.

“Add this hand of mine too! How much do you think my hand is worth?”

A hand?

Everyone in the room was shocked.

Tao Hua also looked at Uncle Tong with astonishment.

Tao Hua was even more anxious, seeking answers with her eyes.

She also wanted to know what was wrong with Uncle Tong.

But I showed no reaction.

Just staring at Uncle Tong’s hand.

I wondered if he really was The Swindler?

Trying to create a chaotic atmosphere to switch cards?

But Uncle Tong’s hands just lay there on the table, motionless.