154: You don't recognize me?

He Ming looked like he was barely suppressing the smile on his lips while trying to maintain composure; his acting skills had reached a peak.

Because that was Wang Chao's persona.

Vicious, with emotions clearly displayed on his face.

Among the governors, he was a notorious fat sheep.

Governor Li saw He Ming's expression and guessed he must have gotten 50 points. Looking at Chris's reaction, he likely also had 50, possibly even a high-scoring hand.

Governor Li couldn't bear to watch and advised, "Governor Wang, playing around with the cards is fine, but there's no need to involve star system assets."

He Ming: "It's fine, I'm guaranteed to win."

Governor Li sighed inwardly, knowing it's hard to reason with a doomed man, and said no more.

Chris: "One billion slaves, how about that?"

He Ming's mind stirred.

[Market Price of Slaves]

[100,000 star coins]

He Ming raised the bet: "Two billion."

"Plus one star marrow ore mine."

star marrow ore mines can refine Star Stones of extremely high purity, which contain highly refined Stellar Energy. This energy can be used for cultivation and is also an indispensable basic material for manufacturing energy facilities.

The Luol Star System only has two star marrow ore mines in total; this item is completely priceless and unavailable on the market.

Even within the Star Empire, it is an extremely rare resource.

Cases where a single star marrow ore mine led to the downfall of a civilization are common.

Most importantly, the star marrow ore mine is a resource provided by the Star Empire for the governors' cultivation; it does not need to be handed over, and the governor has absolute disposal rights.

Upon hearing this, Chris's eyelids twitched uncontrollably!

He had only intended to fleece He Ming severely, but who would have thought that this guy would directly offer his head?

Governor Li leaped up in shock and advised, "Gentlemen, there's no need to bet this big, is there?"

"Your two territories are already quite close..."

Chris glared fiercely at Governor Li; the threat was obvious.

Governor Li ignored Chris's warning, walked up, and pulled He Ming aside: "Governor Wang, think carefully. If you lose this bet, the Imperial Executor will send people to enforce the handover."

He Ming chuckled lightly and said calmly, "Don't worry, I have 50 points. I can't lose."

Governor Li shook his head slightly, knowing that if he spoke further, he would cause offense.

"Handle it yourself."

The conversation quickly attracted the attention of people at the surrounding card tables.

"Betting this big, how interesting."

"Looks like I arrived just in time; there's a good show to watch."

"A star marrow ore mine? That's a generous bet. You two didn't both draw 50 points, did you?"

"That makes it even more interesting. Villains competing with the largest cards—that's exciting."

Chris looked toward the dealer and urged, "Draft the contract."

The dealer looked at He Ming and asked, "Governor Wang, are you sure you want to use two billion slaves plus one star marrow ore mine as the stake?"

He Ming nodded: "Yes, draft the contract."

The dealer nodded and began operating the system.

Before long, the contract was drafted, in duplicate.

He Ming and Chris took the contract, read the terms clearly, and signed their names.

dealer: "Show your cards."

Chris let out a long breath, no longer able to suppress his smile, which stretched all the way to his ears.

"Wang Chao, you don't think 50 points is a big hand, do you?"

He Ming: "Do you even know how to play cards? 50 points is the maximum hand score."

The people around couldn't help but burst into laughter upon hearing their conversation, though it was unclear who they were laughing at.

Shui Meng sensed that the atmosphere was wrong; the way people around them were looking made her very uncomfortable.

It was like they were looking at an idiot... She leaned close to He Ming's ear and whispered, "Governor, is our hand actually big?"

He Ming: "Of course it's very big."

Chris was in high spirits and slowly flipped over his cards one by one.

More and more people gathered around. Everyone was secretly calculating the points in their hearts, and when Chris's last card was flipped over, a gasp echoed throughout the room.

"99 points! That's already the second-largest hand score. Chris, your luck is too good."

"It looks like Chris is guaranteed to win. To beat this heaven-sent hand, the high card must be 100 points."

"Wang Chao, it's your turn to flip your cards. Hurry up."

He Ming didn't dilly-dally and immediately flipped over his five cards.

The next moment, everyone's chatter and laughter stopped abruptly.

Crown Card!

Scepter Card!

Two wild cards actually appeared together?

Even the dealer was so shocked he stood up.

He had worked in this position for hundreds of years and had only seen the Crown and Scepter cards appear simultaneously in one person's hand ten times.

"No way..."

"This is truly an eye-opener today. It's the first time I've seen this situation; I'm stunned!"

"What a twist! Everyone thought Wang Chao was definitely going to lose, but he actually drew both the Crown and the Scepter. He must have used up all his luck for a lifetime on this one game, right?"

"That's seriously outrageous."

Chris's expression completely froze.

His smile was slowly transferring, appearing now on He Ming's face.

He widened his eyes and screamed hysterically: "Impossible!"

"I demand a card inspection!"

The dealer picked up He Ming's hand and placed it on the card scanner, card after card. There were absolutely no issues.

"This hand is fine."

Chris's heart sank to the bottom. The dealer was only responsible for operating the machine; the one responsible for dealing the cards was the Star Empire's Super Intellect.

Even if he were bolder, he wouldn't dare publicly question whether the Star Empire's Intellect would cheat in a card game... "I..."

He Ming burst into loud laughter.

"Chris, I'll send people over tomorrow to take possession. You need to notify everyone beforehand, so there's no misunderstanding."

"This money is really easy to earn: one hundred trillion in cash, two billion slaves, and one star marrow ore mine."

The gaze of the surrounding governors toward He Ming was starting to look strange.

Too lucky.

So lucky it made others jealous.

"How boring. Get another table ready to keep playing."

He Ming settled the balance on the card table, put away his terminal, wrapped an arm around Shui Meng's slender waist, and walked toward the exit.

Shui Meng lowered her head, her cheeks flushed crimson.

She kept trying to convince herself internally: My current identity is the Governor's female companion, I must act more gracefully!

Chris roughly pushed through the crowd and caught up with the distant He Ming.

"Wang Chao, you just wait!"

He Ming turned around and looked at Chris mockingly.

"What's wrong? Are you unconvinced?"

Chris: "Yes. Let's bet again! I'm going to win back the star marrow ore mine!"

He Ming: "Forget it. You only have two star marrow ore mines in total. If you lose another one to me, your cultivation progress will fall far behind ours."

Chris's face was flushed red, and his emotions were extremely agitated: "Are you scared?!"