Spy-x-War Showdown
Chapter 91 - 90: Outshine Them All

Chapter 91: Chapter 90: Outshine Them All

Haste makes waste.

Yang Yi believed that Zhang Yong’s reluctance to teach him was not due to some principled issue; it was purely out of laziness. Just think, if he really entered prison just to find some peace and quiet—though the idea seems laughable, it’s entirely possible—then, of course, he wouldn’t want his tranquil life to be disturbed.

Everyone has a weakness, and once you find it, you can exploit it.

When Yang Yi arrived, Danny hadn’t told him that Zhang Yong was a gambler. However, seeing Zhang Yong deal cards to himself and play 21 Blackjack, Yang Yi couldn’t believe he merely liked playing cards for their own sake.

Are there people who simply enjoy playing cards without the gambling? Yes, there are plenty. But those who like playing cards definitely wouldn’t study the game of 21 Blackjack on their own.

So, when Yang Yi saw Zhang Yong playing 21 Blackjack alone, he wanted to use Zhang Yong’s hobby to achieve his own goals.

Therefore, Yang Yi couldn’t be hasty; being too eager could cause Zhang Yong to become antagonistic, and all his efforts would be in vain.

On the first day, Yang Yi won all of Zhang Yong’s cigarettes, which Zhang Yong had borrowed from others he knew. So Yang Yi thought Zhang Yong must have been quite unhappy that day.

Yang Yi made Zhang Yong unhappy on the first day, but was determined to make him even unhappier on the second.

Now Yang Yi had many cigarettes—he had won six boxes plus ten individual cigarettes yesterday, and he had brought four cartons when he moved sections, which totaled forty boxes. He had plenty of gambling capital.

During time out in the yard, Yang Yi brought ten boxes of cigarettes with him.

They met at the usual spot. Zhang Yong was already there waiting, along with those who had lent him cigarettes the day before.

Upon seeing Yang Yi, the black man named Marvin exclaimed, "He’s here, give him a tough one to see!"

It seemed like a show of intimidation towards Yang Yi. The crowd standing around Zhang Yong were all smoking, staring at Yang Yi with arrogant looks.

"Come, have a seat."

"Hello, Landmine."

Yang Yi sat down diagonally across from Zhang Yong.

On the chair in front of Zhang Yong were two cartons of cigarettes, one unopened and the other opened but still full. Picking up the opened one, Zhang Yong smiled and said, "Today, I’ve definitely got enough stakes."

Yang Yi took out the cigarettes from his pocket and placed them on the chair, laughing, "How about one box at a time?"

"No problem!"

Confidently agreeing, Zhang Yong chuckled as he took out a new deck of cards from his pocket.

"I thought a lot about it when I went back yesterday. It can’t be possible that you cheated, but you also definitely didn’t rely on luck. That reminded me of someone, the gambling king Johnny Chen. He has an excellent memory and very strong math skills. I think maybe you are that kind of person, so I’ve got a new deck of cards."

Yang Yi was taken aback; he hadn’t expected Zhang Yong to find a way to counter him so quickly.

Indeed, Yang Yi’s gambling skills were actually quite ordinary. He had routed Zhang Yong yesterday because he memorized the minute details on each card. At first, he wasn’t sure, but after playing many games, he had no problem at all.

But with a new deck, that wouldn’t work unless he made some marks on them. But that would be cheating.

Taking a breath, Yang Yi smiled, "Still playing 21 Blackjack today?"

"Yes."

Yang Yi nodded and said, "Then let’s begin."

Zhang Yong opened the deck and removed the jokers. After shuffling several times, he began to deal cards to Yang Yi.

Zhang Yong stared intently into Yang Yi’s eyes, while Yang Yi looked back at him with a smile while the cards were being dealt, not avoiding Zhang Yong’s gaze.

In the first round, Yang Yi won, but it was purely due to luck. The second hand he lost, again simply due to luck. Then the third and fourth hands, Yang Yi lost them all.

Zhang Yong seemed quite pleased, and Carlos had a fierce look about him. After Yang Yi lost the fourth hand, Carlos spoke threateningly, "If you don’t have the same amazing luck as yesterday, then you were cheating. And if that’s the case, you’re going to be in a world of pain."

Yang Yi spread his hands and laughed, "Don’t rush, let’s continue, please deal the cards."

With marked cards, Yang Yi could achieve an over 95 percent win rate, but with unmarked cards, he could still reach at least a 55 percent win rate. This was already quite powerful, extremely so, in fact—any game that yielded a 55 percent win rate could lead to someone amassing wealth through gambling.

Yang Yi had an exceptional memory and superb mathematical skills.

Card playing involved analysis and judgment, touching on the issue of probability. Of course, you also had to analyze your opponent’s actions to deduce their hand. Yang Yi excelled in this, so as long as his opponents didn’t cheat and the game didn’t hinge on a single hand, he was sure to win the long game.

A smart brain was Yang Yi’s best weapon. His emotional intelligence might not be as high as Zhang Yong’s, nor was his experience as rich, but he possessed a genius brain.

So, when the one-hour yard time was almost up, Zhang Yong began to sweat again.

Now Zhang Yong realized something: a person might be a ruthless killer, taking lives as easily as slaughtering chickens, but they could still get nervous at the gambling table.

Wiping off his sweat, Zhang Yong tried to appear calmer and said to Yang Yi, "Your call."

"Hit me."

Zhang Yong flipped over a five, and after Yang Yi received it, he made 18 points and then smiled, "I’ll stay."

Clenching his teeth, Zhang Yong took a card for himself, while the Carlos behind him couldn’t help but let out a frustrated groan when the card was revealed.

"It seems I’ve won again."

Yang Yi smiled as he placed the cigarettes in front of himself, then he turned to Zhang Yong and said, "Let’s continue."

Just then, the bell signaling the end of yard time rang out, and Zhang Yong immediately looked relieved as he said, "Time’s up for today, we’ll continue tomorrow!"

Yang Yi began to pack up the cigarettes that now belonged to him, smiling, "Sure, we’ll continue tomorrow."

Yang Yi wasn’t in a hurry; he had found Zhang Yong and had successfully led him onto the track he had wanted, so taking it slow was just fine.

So, on the third day, Yang Yi brought a packet of cigarettes during yard time, but this time Zhang Yong still had the three packs left over from yesterday. Moreover, none of those who had been watching Zhang Yong’s games smoked, and when they saw Yang Yi take out the cigarettes, the gleam in their eyes was like that of starving wolves spotting a large piece of fresh meat.

Yang Yi acted as if he couldn’t see their yearning glances. He placed the cigarettes on the chair and smiled, "What’s the game today?"

Scratching his head, Zhang Yong said, "We’re not playing blackjack today. Let’s play Texas Hold’em."

Yang Yi spread his hands and laughed, "Fine by me, Texas Hold’em it is. Though your stakes seem a bit short."

Zhang Yong’s face turned red as he said, "Well, let’s play for small stakes today, one cigarette at a time."

One cigarette at a time was fine by Yang Yi, but unexpectedly, he won all of Zhang Yong’s cigarettes in just one hand.

Zhang Yong had made a flush, but Yang Yi had a full house, so he won all of Zhang Yong’s cigarettes in just one hand.

When it came time to show his hand, Zhang Yong’s face turned green.

Yang Yi sighed, then with a helpless look, he said, "Sorry, Brother Yong, looks like you’re out of stakes, huh?"

Zhang Yong remained silent with a stony face, but then Marvin couldn’t help intervening, "Hey, kid, you’ve won so much, don’t you know you should share some cigarettes for everyone to enjoy? It’s cigarettes, not money!"

What effect was Yang Yi after? He wanted to win all the cigarettes Zhang Yong could get, to create a tobacco shortage in Zhang Yong’s social circle.

Inside prison, things were different from the outside world. Why could cigarettes become hard currency in prison, equivalent to money? It was because many inmates smoked, yet it was difficult to bring cigarettes into prison. Although the guards wouldn’t forbid smoking, they would never make it easy to bring cigarettes in. It was also a way to control the inmates. So, Zhang Yong’s cigarettes were borrowed, and even if he had the money, he couldn’t get a large supply of cigarettes in a short time to pay back to those people.

He wanted to suffocate those addicted to smoking, let them watch with desperation without being able to smoke, driving them to frustration and anger.

Yang Yi ignored those who couldn’t help but ask him for cigarettes. He looked at Zhang Yong and with a slight smile, said, "Looks like we can’t play today, huh?"

Zhang Yong, with a stern face, looked at Yang Yi and said irritably, "You won, will you sell me those cigarettes? One hundred US dollars a pack, I’ll buy."

"But I’m not selling."

Marvin erupted in anger, while Carlos immediately drew a knife. Seeing Carlos pull out the knife, his subordinate quickly positioned himself beside Yang Yi.

"Stop!"

Zhang Yong shouted loudly, then all those people looked like they were about to breathe fire but still, no one moved against Yang Yi.

Zhang Yong took a deep breath and said, "You’ve really got me in a corner, haven’t you, kid?"

Yang Yi spoke earnestly, "I don’t want to be a hypocrite, so I’ll speak frankly. Considering the captain’s face, you wouldn’t feel good about laying a hand on me, right? Well, then I’ll just keep gambling with you. You know what I want, but I don’t intend to use these cigarettes to coerce you. This kind of thing has to be voluntary, hmm, anyway, you can’t buy me off with money, but you can trade something else."

Grinning, Zhang Yong said, "You think you have me cornered? Alright, I won’t bet anymore. I’ll find cigarettes for them, and don’t think you can pressure me with this little trick."

Yang Yi smiled and said, "I have nothing to lose anyway, but at this point, even if no one bothers you anymore, it’s going to feel pretty uncomfortable to keep staying here, right? For me, it’s annoying not to win back what I’ve lost, and owing so many people cigarettes... Well, I won’t say any more, lest I become a petty person. Why don’t you reconsider?"

Carlos suddenly burst out in a fit of rage, "Play Texas Hold’em with him, let’s play Texas Hold’em! Kid, I want in, I’m going to bet with you too!"

Yang Yi spread his hands and said, "Sure, welcome to the game, as long as you have something to bet."

Carlos drew out a homemade knife and slammed it down in front of Yang Yi, angrily declaring, "I’ll trade this knife for ten packs of cigarettes! Then I’ll bet with you using the cigarettes!"

Yang Yi smiled faintly and said, "Five packs, not a pack more, or it’s no deal."

Marvin turned to Zhang Yong and said, "We can beat him at Texas Hold’em, let’s bet with him!"

After speaking, Marvin also pulled out a knife and slammed it down in front of Yang Yi, angrily saying, "Five packs! Hand them over!"

With a smile, Yang Yi placed the knives in front of himself and took out five packs of cigarettes.

The high-security area housed over two thousand inmates, and of course, it was impossible to cram them all together, so it was divided into six smaller sections, and Yang Yi had already caused a tobacco famine in the section where he and Zhang Yong were housed, Section E.

Now, Yang Yi decided to trade cigarettes for weapons, and then win over all of Section E’s weapons as well.