280: Chapter 280 I am irreconcilably opposed to gambling and drugs

When Chen You's vision cleared again, he found himself standing in a bizarre space that defied description.

Beneath his feet was a black obsidian floor, smooth as a mirror, cold and hard, reflecting the only light source above—

A sphere floating in the air, emitting a soft white glow.

All around was endless void; there were no walls, no boundaries—only dead silence.

A simple, ancient bronze long table stood alone in the center of the space, and behind the table, a figure stood quietly.

She wore a well-tailored black vest and a white shirt, her long silver hair meticulously tied back, with an impeccable professional smile on her face.

It was none other than the exclusive customer service of the Supreme Tower, Hill.

Except, at this moment, she lacked her usual poetic flair and enthusiasm, leaving only a programmed, absolute calmness.

【Welcome, Challenger of Destiny.】

Her voice rang out, devoid of any emotional color, sounding like a synthesized tone.

【Divine Gold-grade Destiny Trial—'Destiny Duel', is about to begin.】

Chen You's eyebrow twitched.

What's the situation here?

He couldn't help but complain in his heart: Is this game company really that cheap?

They couldn't even be bothered to create a new NPC model? They just grabbed the customer service rep and changed her clothes?

“Hill?” Chen You called out tentatively.

The curve of her smile didn't change in the slightest.

【In the trial grounds, my codename is [Dealer].】

Fine then, she puts on a new skin and acts like she doesn't know me.

Chen You walked to the bronze table, pulled out the only chair, and sat down.

“Alright, how do we play?”

【Trial Rules: Heaven-Asking Cards (Zha Jin Hua).】

【You and I will engage in a card game with a ten-minute time limit.】

【Initial Chips: 10,000.】

【After ten minutes, the number of chips you hold will determine your trial rating and final reward.】

【Now, the trial begins.】

As soon as the words fell, Dealer waved her arm, and a deck of translucent cards condensed from starlight appeared out of thin air.

She shuffled and cut the cards with fluid grace, producing crisp clicking sounds.

Chen You looked at her, finding it hard to keep a straight face.

Zha Jin Hua?

This so-called "Destiny Trial" was actually a gambling match.

“Wait a second,” Chen You spoke up.

Dealer's movements paused, and her glowing white face turned toward him, seemingly waiting for him to continue.

“I understand the rules.” Chen You leaned forward slightly, crossing his hands on the table and looking directly at Dealer.

“But in my hometown, there's a rule. Before the game starts, we have to inspect the deck.”

His tone was calm, as if stating a self-evident truth.

“I need to be sure that you haven't tampered with these cards.”

Dealer fell silent for a moment, as if processing this request that fell outside of its logic.

【Deception and fraud do not exist in the trial.】 Its voice suffered a slight stutter. 【Your suspicion is a profanity against Destiny.】

“I don't know if Destiny can be profaned,” Chen You curled his lip, “I only know that you have to choose between inspecting the deck or shining my shoes.”

Dealer paused for a full three seconds, seemingly contemplating these two completely unrelated things.

Ultimately, she nodded in agreement.

【...Very well.】

She raised her hand and waved; the deck instantly spread out, and fifty-two starlight cards hovered neatly in the air, clearly visible.

Chen You activated [Gazing at Qi to See the Heart], a golden light flashing through his eyes.

The energy fluctuations of every single card were identical, with no hidden marks or residual energy.

There was indeed no problem.

“The deck is fine.” Chen You nodded and leaned back against the chair again. “Deal.”

Dealer gathered the cards, shuffled, and dealt.

First round.

Chen You glanced at his cards: a mixed-suit J-Q-K straight.

Not small.

【You first.】 Dealer commanded.

“One thousand,” Chen You said nonchalantly.

【Raise, two thousand.】

Chen You've brow furrowed slightly.

The opponent raising meant they had a strong hand, but it would be a pity to fold this hand.

“Showdown.” He decided not to follow.

The cards in front of Dealer flipped over—three fives, a set.

Nearly a third of Chen You's ten thousand chips were instantly swept away.

“Interesting.” Chen You's expression didn't change, but he began to calculate in his mind.

Second round.

Chen You got a pair of Kings; a decent hand.

He chose to take the initiative and raise.

However, after two rounds, Dealer used a straight flush to eat up another three thousand of his chips.

Third round...

In less than three minutes, Chen You's initial ten thousand chips had dwindled to less than two thousand.

Meanwhile, Dealer's chips were piled up like a small mountain.

“...”

Chen You looked at the junk hand in his grasp and fell into silence.

He paid for a ticket only to lose everything in less than three minutes?

If word got out, where would he hide his face as "God You"?

Something was wrong.

This was definitely not right.

If it was a simple competition of probability, a Divine Gold-grade trial would be too ridiculous.

There must be a rule he hadn't discovered.

Destiny... Luck...

Chen You's gaze swept across the card table, through the void, and finally landed on the cold Dealer.

He suddenly understood something.

This wasn't a game about probability at all.

This was a... contest of "Momentum."

When he was timid and tried to use Earth's poker techniques to test the waters, his "Momentum" was already weak.

And Dealer, as the incarnation of the rules, had the strongest "Momentum" from the very beginning.

That was why he kept losing.

Having realized this, Chen You's entire aura underwent a sudden transformation.

Fifth round, deal.

He didn't even look at his cards; he simply pushed the remaining thousand-odd chips forward with his finger.

“All-in.”

Dealer faced him directly, seemingly surprised.

【You... are not looking at your cards?】

“Destiny is with me, why would I need to look at the cards?” Chen You's tone became profound as he spoke absolute nonsense with a straight face.

“I observed the stars just now and found that in this round, the Tianshu Star is moving and the Ziwei Star is bright—it is the sign of an Emperor.”

“The advantage is mine.”

Dealer: 【...】

It fell silent.

This was the first time since its creation that it had heard such an outrageous statement.

【Call.】

Dealer mechanically called the bet.

The cards were flipped.

Chen You: junk hand 9, 5, 2.

Dealer: junk hand K, Q, 7.

Chen You lost.

The chips in front of him were cleared.

Chen You: “...”

【Trial ended.】

Before Chen You could react, the surrounding scenery shifted instantly.

He was back on top of the city wall.

The battle below was in full swing; because of his brief absence, the undead monsters had begun to counterattack.

Then, with his appearance, they fell silent once more.

Chen You was oblivious to all of this.

He was still immersed in the failure from just now.

He lost.

The all-in failed, and everything was gone.

The "Momentum" he had so seriously analyzed was smashed to pieces by a K, Q, 7 in the face of cold reality.

A sense of absolute absurdity welled up in his heart.

He began to engage in profound self-reflection.

As expected, gambling ruins people!

Cherish life, stay away from gambling.

And drugs!

From now on, I am irreconcilable with gambling and drugs!

Just as Chen You was conducting serious self-criticism and education, the system notification rang out again.

【Destiny Trial has ended, calculating rewards—】

【Congratulations, you have obtained [Destiny Divine Stone: Greased Lightning (Rare)]!】