Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner-Chapter 319 - 240: King of Games·Sazaki Gen

Fushimi Roku’s current hand is "3, 4, JOKER". He didn’t need mental arithmetic to know that Sazaki Gen’s remaining two cards were 3 and 4. After all, these ten cards were all pairs. Just by looking at his own hand, he could know what the opponent had.

At this point, it didn’t matter if he drew 3 or 4; he could form a pair. Sazaki Gen’s hint was utterly meaningless.

Fushimi Roku paused for a moment, then drew the second card from Sazaki Gen’s hand and flipped it over. It was indeed a 3.

What the hell, is this guy playing his cards face-up?

Fushimi Roku glanced down briefly. Now he had a pair of 3s that he could play, or he could keep them in his hand.

But since it was a two-person competition, there wasn’t much room for maneuver. Keeping a pair of 3s in hand was meaningless and would only reduce the probability of Sazaki Gen drawing the Joker.

He did some quick mental arithmetic, played the pair of threes, and then shuffled the last two cards with his palm.

Next, it was Sazaki Gen’s turn to draw a card.

Sazaki Gen still had one last card, the 4 of diamonds. If he could draw the 4 from Fushimi Roku’s hand, he would win. Otherwise, the game would continue until someone drew a pair of fours, and then the game would end.

Fushimi Roku extended the two cards in his hand, focusing all his attention on Sazaki Gen’s eyes. Even if the opponent cheated, he wouldn’t escape his gaze.

Sazaki Gen reached out, without probing, said nothing, and casually drew the last 4.

"Pair of fours," he laid his cards out: "The game is over."

Just as he finished speaking, Ishii Takamasa yawned. A bet of over two thousand yen was really not exciting to him.

However, Fushimi Roku thought otherwise. He looked at the Joker in his hand, replaying the scene in his mind. He realized that whether he drew a card or Sazaki Gen did, the situation favored Sazaki Gen — he could draw a good card in a fifty percent probability, while Fushimi himself drew the Joker with a twenty percent probability.

Something was off.

Fushimi Roku flung the Joker onto the table, saying, "One more round."

"Sure," Sazaki Gen took a ten-thousand-yen bill from his briefcase and tossed it onto the table, saying, "But my chips are all from ten thousand onward."

He paused, and his tone suddenly turned flippant, gleefully saying, "It’s rare to see Mr. Fu Jian take a hit. These two thousand six hundred fifty yen are quite memorable. I’m thinking of framing this money and hanging it in the hallway, naming it ’The Dignity of the Defeated’... What does Mr. Fu Jian think?"

Fushimi Roku could tell that this was a provocation.

He knew he would best walk away, but he couldn’t shake the irritation.

Especially as Sazaki Gen smoothed two thousand-yen bills with his palms in front of him while the younger brothers fetched a frame and pressed it under the glass. They chatted about where this frame would look best hung.

"How about in the hallway? So everyone notices it when they pass by..."

"I think it would be better in the reception room; then Mr. Sazaki can introduce it to guests..."

"Maybe in the bedroom? Recalling the taste of victory before sleep every night..."

...

Fushimi Roku felt these people were crazy. Logically, he shouldn’t care, but he was inexplicably angry.

He stood up, threw down a ’wait’, went to the restaurant front desk to swipe a card, bought a deck of cards, exchanged for ten thousand yen in cash, returned to the private room, folding it between two fingers: "One more round, I’ll bet your two thousand six hundred fifty yen with my ten thousand yen."

"Why bother?" Sazaki Gen continued the provocation, saying, "You’ll lose anyway. I advise Mr. Fu Jian to cut his losses now..."

"Enough nonsense, shuffle the cards!"

Fushimi Roku sat down assertively, insisting on using the deck he bought and asked to shuffle and deal the cards himself.

Sazaki Gen had no objections and nodded in agreement. The younger brothers cleared the table, the croupier left, and Ishii Takamasa, now interested, also wanted to join, but was refused again by Sazaki Gen.

With both participants ready, it was still ten cards — three pairs, three identical cards, and one Joker.

When shuffling the cards, Fushimi Roku pressed the Joker in his palm, cheating while dealing, ensuring he got a pair of 4s and three 5s, while giving Sazaki Gen a pair of 2s, a pair of 3s, and a JOKER.

The entire process flowed naturally and went unnoticed.

After dealing, Fushimi Roku was ready to play his cards and declare victory, but Sazaki Gen interjected, "Since you went first last round, shouldn’t it be my turn to go first this time?"

"Why?" Fushimi Roku objected.

"I’ll make a concession then, rock-paper-scissors, the winner goes first. Isn’t that fairer? You can’t go first two rounds in a row, can you?"

With that, Sazaki Gen covered his cards, seriously saying, "If Mr. Fu Jian doesn’t agree to even this, then I won’t continue gambling."

Fushimi Roku was silent for a moment. Although Sazaki Gen’s request was reasonable, something about it felt off, yet he couldn’t pinpoint why, so he reluctantly agreed.

Rock-paper-scissors isn’t necessarily a game of chance. Skilled players can pick up on split-second changes in their opponent’s expressions and change their gestures mid-air. Insight, judgment, and reflexes are indispensable.

"Rock—" freёnovelkiss-com

"Scissors—"

Both of them moved simultaneously. Fushimi Roku squinted his eyes. In that moment, he caught sight of Sazaki Gen’s move, which seemed to indicate rock, so he opened his hand in midair — you only get one chance to change your hand shape, and once your right arm is within your opponent’s line of sight, the hand motion becomes quite obvious.

"Paper!"

Fushimi Roku played paper, but Sazaki Gen played scissors.

"Looks like I won." Sazaki Gen leaned back in his wheelchair, extending his right hand to indicate Fushimi Roku to bend forward and let him draw a card.

Tsk.

Fushimi Roku furrowed his brow.

Sazaki Gen was an experienced old hand at gambling. Given that he proposed rock-paper-scissors to decide the first move, he must have been confident, so winning wasn’t surprising.

As agreed, with Sazaki Gen drawing first, he promptly drew a 4, instantly breaking Fushimi Roku’s guaranteed win.

Immediately, he discarded all pairs, playing a pair of 3s and a pair of 2s straight out, leaving only two cards in hand, a JOKER and the diamond 4 he just drew.

Finally, Sazaki Gen pointed to the first card in his left hand with his right finger, expressionlessly saying, "This card is the Joker."

"..."

Fushimi Roku felt pressure for the first time.

As long as he could draw the diamond four, he would win.

Originally a 50% probability, but with Sazaki Gen’s declaration, the odds changed. Fushimi Roku forced himself to stay calm, not to let his emotions control him. After some mental arithmetic, he chose the other card.

That is, the second card in Sazaki Gen’s left hand.

Fushimi Roku dragged it over the table, slowly unveiling it... only to reveal a colorful JOKER.

He had once again drawn the Joker.

Fushimi Roku’s frown deepened. He played three 5s, leaving a 4 and a JOKER in hand, shuffled them, and let Sazaki Gen draw a card.

"The game..."

Sazaki Gen slowly drew the 4 from his hand, declaring, "is over."

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