Spy-x-War Showdown
Chapter 234 - 233 Collateral Effects

Chapter 234: Chapter 233 Collateral Effects

Yang Yi followed the somewhat familiar-looking young man, and Xiao Ran followed him.

"What are you going to do about it?"

"I haven’t decided yet, get closer first, and then decide depending on the situation."

"Then do you speak Korean?"

"No."

Xiao Ran stopped in her tracks and then smiled, "I do."

Yang Yi was very surprised, "You speak Korean?"

"Not only can I speak Korean, but I can also speak Japanese."

Xiao Ran smiled at Yang Yi and then walked past him holding her chips.

Two South Koreans had already taken a seat at a Texas Hold’em poker table, and with the three people already there, including the two of them, there were five, which meant the game could begin.

Xiao Ran sat down next to the young man and placed her box of chips on the table.

One of the South Koreans was in his twenties, while the other appeared to be in his thirties, not yet forty. Yang Yi thought the older one could be a bodyguard or an attendant, but seeing that both sat at the table, he felt that wasn’t the case.

With six players ready, Yang Yi found no seats left, so he stood up and walked around the poker room, looking for any sign of Zhang Yong.

After making a round, when Yang Yi returned, a seat had opened up at the table, so he quickly sat down.

Yang Yi sat at the very end, next to the croupier, with Xiao Ran on the other side.

The two didn’t speak or make eye contact. Yang Yi waited, then joined the new game when it started.

This was the VIP room, so the stakes were high, with a minimum bet of a hundred US dollars each time.

Two cards were dealt in front of Yang Yi; his hole cards were two Jacks, putting him in a very strong position.

Without any change in expression, he placed his cards face down and tossed two hundred-dollar chips onto the table.

Yang Yi lost the first hand, down six hundred dollars, while the middle-aged South Korean won the final victory, taking in about four thousand US dollars.

Xiao Ran tossed her chips carelessly, as though a hundred-dollar chip couldn’t capture her slightest attention.

After throwing down a hundred-dollar chip, Xiao Ran casually spoke to the young man sitting next to her in Korean. Yang Yi couldn’t understand what she said.

Then the somewhat young South Korean man seemed very surprised and quickly started chatting with Xiao Ran in Korean.

Yang Yi didn’t understand, nor did he need to know what Xiao Ran was saying; he kept observing his opponents.

Among the six players, one was a professional gambler, the one sitting next to Yang Yi, and another was an old man who was losing in a hurry but still managed to maintain gentlemanly decorum. Yang Yi watched him lose over ten thousand already.

Xiao Ran was skilled at the game, and her play was decent. As for the two South Koreans, the middle-aged one seemed to be a regular at the casino, but his skills were just so-so. The younger one was purely a sucker.

The so-called professional gamblers don’t necessarily thrive on cheating; they just need to have a higher win rate than the average person when playing cards. These people can’t guarantee a win every time they gamble, but when they lose, they lose less than others, and when they win, they win more than others. In terms of experience and card-playing skills, they are unmatched by ordinary people.

Yang Yi was the type that relied on innate talent with cards; he could have been a mathematician, as his brain came with a built-in cheating device. Although he couldn’t rely on cheating to win money, he could play better than the professional gambler.

After four rounds, the professional gambler began to get a read on Yang Yi. Realizing that Yang Yi was not an ATM for him to withdraw from, he lifted his glass, which was on the gaming table, nodded slightly at Yang Yi, and smiled.

The two professional gamblers acknowledged each other.

When encountering a skillful player at the gambling table, the objective is not to defeat this expert, but rather, you win your way, I win mine. There are plenty of suckers; there’s no need for professionals to engage in infighting.

Yang Yi and the professional gambler beside him had an understanding; they would not battle it out in the same card game.

Yang Yi glanced at his hole cards, then threw in a chip. The person next to him also followed his bet. Next were the two South Koreans, then Xiao Ran, and finally, the old man who was there to donate money.

All six players called. The community cards were in Yang Yi’s favor, so he tossed down a thousand-chip, and then all five followed again.

After the community cards were dealt again, Yang Yi felt his hand was not as good as that of the professional gambler beside him, but he didn’t fold. Instead, he raised another two thousand US dollars.

Yang Yi felt he no longer had a chance to win, but he still threw in chips only to build up the pot. He was muddying the waters for the others.

On the next card reveal, Yang Yi didn’t hesitate to fold, while the professional gambler beside him checked. It wasn’t until one of the South Koreans raised and the desperately losing old man went all in that things came to a head.

Yang Yi was content to serve as a foil, escalating a rare, big-hand game even further.

Yang Yi knew a professional gambler wouldn’t resort to petty theft. Then the hole cards were revealed, and sure enough, the professional gambler won the final victory. The old man lost everything and left the table, and Xiao Ran lost twelve thousand in that hand.

Yang Yi voluntarily revealed his hole cards.

The gambler smiled again at Yang Yi; he knew what Yang Yi meant. This was two experts tacitly cooperating to take the suckers’ money.

Two experts can act independently, but they can also collaborate silently based on an unspoken agreement.

Yang Yi aimed to win the money from the two South Koreans; he showed his sincerity, and now he was looking for the opportunity to deliver the fatal blow.

It was time to reciprocate. Yang Yi got a strong hand, aiming to lure one of the South Koreans into betting against him to the end. Realizing Yang Yi’s intention, the gambler next to him immediately assisted by raising the bet.

There are too many tactics at the gambling table. For example, one person might put on an aggressive front, ferociously raising the bets to shield the person who truly has the strong hand. That was what the professional gambler was doing now.

The professional gambler decided to leave the game. Having repaid Yang Yi’s help, he would leave the table. Thus, he started to deliberately provoke the two South Koreans, while Yang Yi just quietly followed suit.

After throwing in about six thousand US dollars and riling up the two South Koreans, the professional gambler, in feigned anger, folded and left the table. He had already won enough money and it was time to move to a new table.

Xiao Ran didn’t follow through to the end. Yang Yi chose to show his fangs at the last moment, going all in. The stack of chips on the table forced the two South Koreans to follow, unable to fold even when they knew they were bested, because they couldn’t manage to let go when they needed to.

The hole cards were revealed, and Yang Yi wiped out the younger South Korean’s money, leaving the other with less than ten thousand US dollars in chips. By the end of it all, Yang Yi had won over ninety thousand; even after deducting the more than thirty thousand Xiao Ran lost, he still netted sixty thousand.

In fact, Yang Yi just wanted to win money. Since he had the ability, why not win a bit more while he was at it? As for creating opportunities for Xiao Ran, that was just a side effect.