Yes, I did all of this!

"casual."

Cangyi was already planning to end the conversation, but just as she was about to hang up, she paused:

"...However, there is one more thing."

"what?"

"You just said you were thinking about me... could you explain in more detail?"

"Oh, this is just to check on your physical condition."

Duanmu Mo looked at the two incubation chambers in front of him and said casually.

"That's alright then, come back soon. They're discussing the battle as usual, and your involvement would probably make the analysis more accurate."

"I'll try my best." Duanmu Mo stretched comfortably. "I'm hanging up now."

After Cangyi responded, Duanmu Mo hung up the phone, closed his phone, and threw the two incubation chambers back into the shadows.

Chapter 474: Poker

. . . . . .

"—It's time to begin the second phase of training."

The next day, Duanmu Mo returned home and, after having lunch with everyone, said...

"what?"

Xia Yan looked at Duanmu Mo in bewilderment: "Now?"

“This is the perfect time.” Duanmu Mo said, toothpick in his mouth, as he and Shen Wuyin cleared the plates off the table and wiped the surface.

"...Are we going to have to climb mountains again?"

"No, that's not it." Looking at the cleaned-up dining table, Duanmu Mo blew a breath. The table dried very quickly in this weather, and the moisture was gone immediately.

“This is what we’re going to play,” Duanmu Mo said, taking out a deck of cards: “Texas Hold’em, you should have heard of that name.”

"..." Upon hearing this, Shen Wuling sent over a string of data: "I have completed the search for information about the gameplay of this game."

"Um..." Yu Zhi waved her hand awkwardly, "I think I'll pass on gambling."

"Rin shouldn't play this kind of game either," Shinmaine said, coming out of the kitchen and wiping her hands.

"Hmm..."

"Gambling addiction is certainly not something to be taken lightly. Some strange people lurk in human society, using this method to kidnap people who have lost everything." Duanmu Mo shook the cards. "However, our purpose is to train our teamwork. The stakes can't be money, but rather commands like in the King's Game, how about that?"

Seeing that Duanmu Mo insisted on playing it this way, Yu Zhi sighed helplessly: "Mr. Duanmu, please explain the rules..."

"Let me explain it simply. Each person has two cards in their hand, and five common cards. Use these seven cards to form the five highest-ranking cards... As for the purpose, it's to train everyone's familiarity with each other."

The two jokers were removed; they weren't needed in this game. Duanmu Mo then began shuffling the cards:

"Observe the other party's expression as you place your bets. Whether it's cutting your losses in time or making a big win, you all need to perform well for the other party—after all, it's about building rapport."

"It sounds a lot like gambling..." Shen Wuyin sat down, sighed, and said.

"The magical girl production team doesn't allow this kind of plot to appear~" Duanmu Mo joked, "In order not to destroy the magical girl worldview, this game does not involve any gambling-related matters."

—Although the magical girl worldview is already riddled with holes, what Xia Yan and Shen Wuyin did had nothing to do with magical girls...

"What nonsense are you spouting again?" Xia Yan sighed and looked at Shen Wuling beside her. "Could you explain the detailed rules?"

"Well, simply put, it's about comparing the size of the hands, but there are also hand types like high cards, a pair, two pairs, etc..." Shen Wuling said, taking out a tablet computer and placing the pictures on the table to help everyone understand.

"It sounds so complicated..." Cang Yuan looked at the picture and tilted his head.

"As the dealer, I'll join in too. It'll be more lively with six people together," Duanmu Mo said, shuffling the cards and looking at everyone.

Cang Yuan was taken aback: "Huh? I want one too?"

"It's to practice teamwork with everyone in advance." Duanmu Mo smiled and shuffled the cards.

"There should be a prize pool before the cards are dealt... How about this—I will personally provide the winner with a week's worth of foot massage services."

"A week's worth of foot massage services..." Xia Yan was taken aback, then looked at Duanmu Mo with a mischievous grin: "Really? No backing out, okay?"

"It wouldn't be fun if I went back on my word, so I'll still abide by these rules."

As he spoke, Duanmu Mo first dealt two cards to himself, and then dealt two cards clockwise to Shen Wuyin, Ling, Cangyuan, Xia Yan, and Yu Zhi, before looking at everyone.

"Next comes the call, where everyone has to make an option that is similar to or the same as mine; or make a bigger demand so that everyone has to call; or fold and cut your losses, which is also a good option."

Duanmu Mo sat down and glanced at his cards.

—3 hearts and 8 diamonds...

"Then, I'll do the same as Mr. Duanmu and wash the winner's feet for a week," Shen Wuyin said with a sly smile, glancing at the cards. "But I'm used to doing things like this, so wouldn't that be a bit of an unfair advantage? Haha..."

“Call… I mean, call.” Shen Wuling looked at Duanmu Mo, observing his expression, and said.

Me too.

Everyone else called, and Xia Yan was playing this game for the first time. She didn't try anything funny, but still strangely said something like:

"So, the final winner will receive a week's worth of foot-washing services from five people? Wouldn't that take more than a month to complete?"

Duanmu Mo said, "I can collect some next round, but now the game has already started."

"Then let's continue," Xia Yan said, indicating that she had no objections.

“Now, let’s deal the three community cards.” Duanmu Mo drew three cards and placed them in the center of the table. “You still remember the rules, right? The highest possible hand is formed by combining your two cards and the five community cards. There are still two community cards to be dealt.”

“We’re all still beginners, so we just go with the flow and don’t need to go into so much detail.” Xia Yan shook her head, and Duanmu Mo smiled as he looked at the three community cards.

— 2 of Diamonds, Jack of Spades, Ace of Spades.

If there were a 3 or an 8 in the deck, Duanmu Mo could at least form a pair, but now there are none, which makes him feel quite uneasy.

If you want to reduce your losses now, there are only two possibilities: either fold and leave, even though you still have to go get a foot massage, at least you can stop the losses in time.

Another way is to win outright, relying on these scattered cards...

His gaze swept over the five people around him. Shen Wuyin looked thoughtful, Ling had a straight face, Cang Yuan seemed confused, Xia Yan chuckled to herself, and Yu Zhi pondered.

—Cangyi stood to the side, looking at everyone's cards, and couldn't help but shake his head. He stood next to Duanmu Mo and said:

"This guy has really bad luck with cards."

Yu Zhi glanced at Cang Yi, but didn't speak. She only thought to herself, "Don't say things like that..."

However, despite saying that, Yu Zhi looked at the Jack of Hearts and the Ace of Clubs in her hand and wondered what kind of cards Duanmu Mo had.

Duanmu Mo concealed his thoughts, smiled and nodded, saying, "Then, I'll continue my bet—clean every corner of this yard, including this house, the car, and my motorcycle. If anyone bets the same as me, remember not to use any special abilities."

"Clean the entire yard?" Xia Yan looked at Duanmu Mo in disbelief: "And I'm not allowed to use special abilities?"

With such a large yard, the last time the six of them spent an entire afternoon just shoveling snow, and that was with the help of Cangyuan's abilities. Not to mention the even more difficult task of clearing the yard.

“With five people, it won’t take much time,” Duanmu Mo said, looking at everyone.

Snapped.

Shen Wuling sighed, covered her cards, and said, "I discard."

"Then I'll fold too..." Cang Yuan followed Shen Wu Ling's example and covered his cards.

“Cutting losses in time is a wise choice.” Duanmu Mo nodded. “However, we should let Yin express her opinion first, so let’s leave it at that this time.”

“At this rate, only three people will be left to clean the yard,” Shen Wuyin said, looking around. “I’ll go with them.”

Looking at the two 2s in her hand and the confident Duanmu Mo, Shen Wuyin felt a little unsure of herself, but she didn't want to hand over such a hard job to two people, so she agreed.

"In that case..." Xia Yan looked at the Queen of Hearts and King of Clubs in her hand and smiled, "I want to raise!"

"Huh?" Duanmu Mo looked at Xia Yan, somewhat surprised: "Add what?"

"Besides cleaning the yard, the loser also has to finish the textbooks in the study," Xia Yan said with a smile.

"—This was originally your mission, wasn't it?" Duanmu Mo frowned.

"At least some of Cangyuan's are in here!" Xia Yan said, embarrassed and annoyed.

“Mine is already finished,” Cangyuan added.

"Hmm..."

"Alright, I'll go with you too," Shen Wuyin said helplessly.

“Me too.” Yuzhi nodded.

"Then play the fourth card."

Duanmu Mo drew a card and placed it on the table.

10 squares...

Duanmu Mo looked at everyone and noticed Xia Yan's expression.

From her earlier confidence to now, it's either that she has one or two pairs... or that she has a Q and a K forming a straight.

Judging from her expression, the latter is probably more likely.

"Phew..." Looking at his two single cards, Duanmu Mo let out a breath, a mysterious smile still on his face.

“This time, I will share my own inventory with everyone,” Duanmu Mo said, putting down the cards. “For example, textbooks and stationery I bought for the commissions.”

"I'm not going to play anymore..." Shen Wuyin put down her cards and shook her head.

Now, only Duanmu Mo, Xia Yan, and Yu Zhi remain, facing off against each other.

"hiss......

She took a deep breath, forced a smile, and looked at Duanmu Mo: "I say, who would want this? Besides, don't forget the bet from the last round. If you lose, you'll have to write down all of yours too."

"We can't rule out the possibility of winning." Duanmu Mo maintained his confident smile.

"...It seems there really are a few."

"Ahem..." Xia Yan cleared her throat, not wanting to lose to Duanmu Mo at this moment: "In that case, I want to raise the stakes!"

Her gaze darted back and forth between Duanmu Mo's hand, the community cards, and her own hand:

"I'll also buy a few books out of my own pocket, but on top of that, the loser has to feed the winner for a month... no, that includes snacks. If the winner wants snacks, I'll have to feed them too!"

“Then I’ll raise the stakes too.” Duanmu Mo refused to back down in terms of momentum: “How about we feed each other snacks mouth-to-mouth?”