Chapter 28: s.h.i.+ Xiaobai’s Intuition
Dozens of poker cards floated in mid-air and although it looked like a messy distribution, there were no two poker cards that overlapped each other. s.h.i.+ Xiaobai even realized that in his range of vision, all the backs of the poker cards were facing him. It was probably deliberately done by Hisith.
“Make your choice. Choose one card out of these fifty-four poker cards. If it has more than ten points, I will help you conceal your ident.i.ty. If it is ten or below, I will directly eliminate you from the rookie line up. Make your choice, my beloved little toy.”
Hisith said those words with a sinister smile on his face. He had a savoring expression, but his tone was not to be doubted.
s.h.i.+ Xiaobai suddenly found his body relaxed. The invisible binding energy had been removed, but once he looked up, his eyes met Hisith’s, causing a biting chill to immediately suffuse, as if he had been thrown into a dark forest where danger lurked at every corner.
s.h.i.+ Xiaobai instinctively felt fear, but he was unusually furious. The words Hisith said, “make your choice”, made him recall that unforgettable sunset, as well as the cold voice that rang in his head.
“Compared to filling in the blanks or short answer questions, This King prefers questions with options, but This King does not like being forced to make a choice. Why should This King choose from the options you provide? This King refuses. This King chooses—not to choose!” s.h.i.+ Xiaobai said with a sneer as he looked straight into Hisith’s eyes that were narrowed into a slit. He felt like there was the coldest blade hidden behind those slits. Every moment he looked at them made him lose a bit of his courage, but s.h.i.+ Xiaobai did not s.h.i.+ft his gaze.
“Very good! Very good! Very good!”
Hisith suddenly looked up and issued a harsh and sharp laughter hysterically. It was terrifying. Then he inserted his five fingers into his flaming red hair, his mouth pursed into a sinister arc.
“s.h.i.+ Xiaobai, O’ s.h.i.+ Xiaobai, my liking for you is truly increasing. Your choice makes me surprised, so I am very satisfied.”
Hisith put out his tongue to lick his lips. Suddenly, his body seemed to teleport through the densely hovering poker cards without them moving, as Hisith appeared in front of s.h.i.+ Xiaobai.
s.h.i.+ Xiaobai’s pupils contracted as he could not help but draw a gasp. Suddenly he found his body bound by that invisible force once again, there was no way to move his stiff body.
Hisith leaned his face close to s.h.i.+ Xiaobai, and whispered, like how lovers exchanged whispers, “But the game has already begun. I will not allow you to quit midway. So you still have to make a choice. If you don’t, I will…”
Hisith dragged out the word “will” before suddenly closing his mouth. This dragged out word that suddenly came to an abrupt stop sparked boundless imaginations. s.h.i.+ Xiaobai could not help but begin thinking. If he insisted on not choosing, what would this depraved person do?
s.h.i.+ Xiaobai felt his heartbeat increasing rapidly, and his back was beginning to ooze with sweat. The fear that came from the bottom of his soul occupied his mind. The sinister face that was inches away from him looked like the face of a most ferocious wraith.
“Relax, relax. Don’t be nervous.”
Hisith laughed softly as he reached out his right hand, gently caressing s.h.i.+ Xiaobai’s cheek with a sharp nail .
The cold nail moved across s.h.i.+ Xiaobai’s face, immediately giving him gooseb.u.mps.
“It’s just a little game. This King can join you in this game, is that fine? Hurry up and take your hand away.”
s.h.i.+ Xiaobai was extremely furious, but he no longer dared to put on a brave front. His intuition told him that the depraved person in front of him was very “dangerous”.
Upon hearing this, Hisith slowly retracted his hand. He had a slight disappointment on his face, as he turned around to take a step. In a blink of an eye, he had returned to the other side, across the poker cards.
“Choose. Choose the poker card that you think is greater than ten.”
Hisith stressed the rules once again. As he said, this was a game no one could guess the outcome to. Success and failure only depended on luck.
Of course, this game was considerably unfavorable for s.h.i.+ Xiaobai. Amongst the fifty-four poker cards, the number of cards with faces greater than ten only numbered fourteen.
s.h.i.+ Xiaobai focused on the floating poker cards but could only see the six-sided star with the short sword face on the cards. He could not tell the difference, much less be able to find the fourteen cards amongst the fifty-four cards. It looked like he needed a certain amount of luck..
“This card!”
In three seconds, s.h.i.+ Xiaobai had made his choice. He stretched out his hand to point at an unnoticeable card out of the dozens of cards. It was not at a corner, nor was it at a particularly unique location. In fact, it looked extremely ordinary.
However, s.h.i.+ Xiaobai’s eyes were br.i.m.m.i.n.g with confidence. The demeanor of his expression and his tone was extremely determined, as if the choice he made was definitely correct. It seemed like he was destined to win despite the outcome of this game of luck being completely unknown.
Hisith was standing on the other side of the poker cards, so he could immediately see what card s.h.i.+ Xiaobai had chosen. His gaze stared intently at the chosen card, as he fell into a long silence.
“You pa.s.sed, my little friend, Tu Dahei. I look forward to the upcoming rookie training. I will definitely give you ‘my love’.”
After a long while, Hisith finally announced the game’s outcome. His voice was still coquettish, but was now apparently exceptionally cold. When he said the two words “my love”, he even enunciated it with a tone that was absolutely terrifying.
s.h.i.+ Xiaobai felt the invisible bondage disappear immediately once again. Without another word, he hurried out of the office. He felt that every second he spent with this depraved person was dangerous.
After s.h.i.+ Xiaobai left, Hisith was still maintaining the same posture. His eyes were still on the poker card s.h.i.+ Xiaobai chose.
“A one in fifty-four chance. Was it by coincidence or simply inevitable?”
Hisith stretched out his hand to hold the poker card s.h.i.+ Xiaobai chose. The other fifty-three poker cards suddenly transformed into plumes of blue flames, turning to ash after burning for a moment.
As for the poker card in Hisith’s hand, it revealed its front side—it was the highest trump card, “Red Joker”!
“It looks like you indeed possess the Perception of G.o.d, and it’s the strongest one at that. Interesting, definitely interesting. As a toy, you are truly too extravagant for me.”
“However, the game has only just begun. I will ‘teach’ you well, and I hope you will not disappoint me.”
Hisith placed the “Red Joker” into his breast pocket as a sinister smile suffused on his lips.
…
…
After walking out the office, s.h.i.+ Xiaobai still felt panic-stricken. He hurried his footsteps, afraid that the hateful, depraved person would chase after him.
“Yet another monster that covets This King’s divine body. Thankfully This King was fast in getting away!”
The more he thought, the more he felt fear after the event. However, just thinking of himself being able to choose a poker card that was greater than ten out of fifty-four poker cards made him happy.
“There is indeed nothing This King can’t do! Isn’t it just a bet on luck? This King has never feared it!”
While s.h.i.+ Xiaobai was choosing the poker card, he thought of how he had blindly made a shot during the rookie evaluation’s ability test. Immediately, he had felt like he had invincible luck, so he chose without any hesitation.
His intuition told him that the poker card was greater than ten.
“Strange, why does This King keep having the thought that the poker card is the “Red Joker’?”
This bizarre idea flashed in s.h.i.+ Xiaobai’s mind, but soon vanished.
“Heh heh, there is nothing strange about that. The card chosen by This King is definitely the ‘Red Joker’!”
s.h.i.+ Xiaobai felt at ease and justified as he accepted his own explanation.