Spy-x-War Showdown
Chapter 117 - 116 The Real Forbidden Zone

Chapter 117: Chapter 116 The Real Forbidden Zone

Zhang Yong’s card reading skills had significantly improved.

In fact, if there were no marks on the cards, Yang Yi’s memory wouldn’t serve much of a purpose, and in games like Texas Hold’em, winning is more about reading cards.

It’s about analyzing what cards a player has from their expressions and small movements; this relies more on observation skills. Yang Yi’s memory could only help him remember each opponent’s little movements, giving him a slight edge over Zhang Yong but not a decisive one.

By now, Zhang Yong had become quite formidable in card games, especially in Texas Hold’em.

Being formidable didn’t mean winning every hand; if that were the case, there would be no more gambling. Who would want to bet against someone who only wins and never loses? They wouldn’t even be allowed in a casino.

So, a skilled player wins when they can and folds decisively when they can’t. Those who rely on luck and go all-in when they get a strong hand are often the ones who lose the most.

Now, Zhang Yong could make basically accurate decisions every time he played, which allowed him to achieve a 60% win rate. He would bet small when the odds were against him and bet big when the odds were in his favor, always managing to entice opponents with weaker hands to follow. Achieving this win rate was quite remarkable.

Zhang Yong laughed happily as he collected the cigarettes before him. Rodriguez had a distressed face, while Gweil was quite indifferent. Both of them followed through to the end but lost miserably.

There were two winners, Zhang Yong and Hamer Phil, but Hamer Phil was the one who won the most. The acting professor had extraordinary gambling skills.

As for Gweil, a chemist, his mathematical abilities seemed to be applied only to chemistry, and he often lost disastrously in gambling.

So, the final showdown was between Zhang Yong and Hamer.

As for Yang Yi, he could only deal cards, being prohibited from playing himself.

The final result was that the two shared the spoils. When the yard time ended, their game concluded with a draw between them.

Zhang Yong, holding the cigarettes he had won, walked away cheerfully back to his own cell.

Yes, Zhang Yong no longer lived in the same cell as Yang Yi; he had moved to a solitary cell that was originally meant as a punishment for prisoners, while Yang Yi now shared a cell with Gweil.

Zhang Yong always laughed with joy, but Yang Yi, after having lived with him for a full ten months, only understood today that beneath that seemingly carefree smile of Zhang Yong, there were other things hidden.

Thinking about it, believing in the excuse that someone would enter prison just to find a quiet place and never leave is something only a fool would believe.

Yet, Yang Yi had believed it, sincerely and without doubt, proving that high intelligence and being easily deceived are not much related.

Yang Yi had too many thoughts on his mind, causing him to be somewhat absent-minded even after entering his own cell.

"Boss, today I’d like to teach you how to synthesize some poisons," said Gweil.

Yang Yi raised his head and looked at Gweil, who resembled a lecturer in a university classroom, and waved his hand, saying, "No, wait, there’s no rush to talk about it now."

Gweil was taken aback, as Yang Yi was the best student he had ever seen. Perhaps not the smartest, as Yang Yi lacked a foundation in chemistry and toxicology, but Yang Yi was definitely the most eager to learn.

Basically, Gweil didn’t need to teach Yang Yi the rudimentary knowledge of toxicology because Yang wouldn’t need it; instead, he had been teaching Yang what kind of reactions different poisons caused, what outcomes resulted from various dosages, and how to concoct deadly poisons using easily obtainable ingredients.

Today, Gweil was finally ready to start describing the operational details because in prison, they had no teaching aids or chemical apparatus such as test tubes and flasks, so many things couldn’t be physically demonstrated and had to be explained verbally, which made teaching much slower.

Yang Yi had long been looking forward to this lesson, but when it was finally time to start, he found himself distracted, to Gweil’s great surprise.

"Why? Aren’t we studying today?"

Yang stood up, having made his decision, and said solemnly, "Yes, we’re not studying today, I need to step out and take care of something."

After speaking, Yang went to the cell door, then suddenly shouted, "Officer! Officer, I feel unwell—I need to see Dr. Zhao!"

A prison guard came over, looked at Yang, and asked, "What’s wrong with you?"

In a low voice, Yang said, "Please report to Officer Owen and say that I am feeling unwell and need to see a doctor."

"Wait a moment."

The guard walked aside, spoke a few words into his walkie-talkie, and soon came back, saying, "Come with me."

With the cell door opened, Yang was handcuffed and then taken directly to Owen’s office.

This was the first time Yang had initiated a meeting with Owen since reaching an agreement with him.

"Why do you want to see me? Do you have something urgent?"

Without hesitation, Yang responded, "Yes! I want to know whether there is another block here, used solely for the confinement of the most dangerous criminals."

Owen scratched his head in slight distress and gave a wry smile, "I thought you knew already, but you never brought it up, so I assumed you weren’t interested. Yes, there is another small unit, completely isolated from the world—you all cannot see the inmates inside because they are the most dangerous individuals on this planet."

"If I want to get inside, how can I do it?"

Owen shook his head and said solemnly to Yang, "You can’t get in. Why do you think Pelican Bay Prison has the highest security level in America? You think it’s because of the felons and gang members? No, it has the highest security level because it houses the most dangerous criminals, those you haven’t had access to."

Yang said gravely, "I just want to ask one question: is there a criminal named Beast Wayne inside?"

"I haven’t heard of anyone called Beast Wayne."

Owen chuckled, then nodded, "I don’t even have the interest to talk to the inmates there. Why do you think this is the highest security prison in America? That’s because it holds terrorists painstakingly caught by the FBI, as well as serial killers responsible for dozens of murders. They are all significant and cannot die, thus they are worthy to be incarcerated there. Nobody knows what will become of these people; therefore, I think the best choice is not to provoke them or come into contact with them."

In a low voice, Yang said, "You didn’t say it’s impossible to get in, which means you can get in, and you can let others in too, right?"

Owen laughed and replied, "I can, but I would never allow anyone to disturb them, as all the inmates there are forever under FBI surveillance. If you are thinking about going in and killing someone, I’m sorry, that’s impossible—that place is a true forbidden zone."