Hong Kong variety show: From being bitten by a cockroach to becoming a legend

Chapter 145 Mutual Testing

This wasn't a contest of gambling skills; it was an absolute crushing of superiority, a hunter's complete domination of his prey, both psychologically and practically. "I—I—" Sun Yifeng opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but found himself unable to utter a sound.

A tremendous sense of exhaustion and emptiness swept over him. The "way of gambling" that had sustained him for decades, that had captivated him, and that had made him proud, collapsed and vanished completely at this moment, like the pile of dice dust.

He staggered back two steps, his eyes vacant, as if his soul had been ripped out. In the end, he said nothing, but nodded to Jiang Zhen with extreme difficulty and a very small gesture. Then he turned around, looking as if he had suddenly aged twenty years, his back hunched, and he walked out of the casino silently, disappearing into the crowd.

Inside the casino, all was still deathly silent.

Everyone was still reeling from the unbelievable scene that had just unfolded. Dice turned to dust? Was this really real? Or just a collective hallucination?

There was no applause, no cheers. Only a suppressed silence, filled with awe and fear.

Jiang Zhen nodded slightly to the referee, signaling the butler to push the wheelchair slowly away from the gambling table and towards the finals area.

Wherever he went, the crowds parted automatically, as if Moses had parted the sea.

The three first-round matches have now all come to an end.

Song Zhaowen – He overcomes cleverness with force, boldly exposes all tricks, and is both intelligent and brave.

Chen Jincheng—a cunning and shrewd strategist, a master of psychological warfare, and utterly unpredictable.

Jiang Zhen returned to simplicity, effortlessly crushing powerful enemies with understated skill, making him incredibly mysterious.

Three top players with distinct styles will meet in the final round.

Bob, her voice hoarse from exhaustion, announced: "Let's take a short break. In ten minutes, the final no-limit Texas Hold'em tournament will begin, with a prize pool of 100 million waiting to be won!"

Huang Lei patted her chest, still shaken, and whispered to Song Zhaowen, "Mr. Song, that old Mr. Jiang—he was terrifying. How did the dice—turn into powder? Do you think he knows qigong?"

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, not only was there a qigong craze in mainland China, but it also swept through Hong Kong.

Song Zhaowen flicked Huang Lei's nose: "Miss Huang, if qigong really existed in this world, would those big shots sitting in the Heavenly Palace let ordinary people know about it? Wouldn't they just lock them up in the Heavenly Palace and enjoy them themselves? It's nothing more than divine skill."

Several minutes earlier, Jiang Zhen's every move had been captured by the high-speed video camera. Chen Xiaodao in the control room analyzed it frame by frame. In the infrared imager, there was no abnormal change in the temperature of the old gambling king's body. There was no strange qigong involved. The old gambling king's movements seemed slow, but in fact, in just a few seconds, the high-frequency vibrations resonated with the dice cup, making it difficult to capture with the naked eye. The dice were resonated into powder. This was the result of at least fifty years of hard work day after day. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he had mastered the skill.

Huang Lei was taken aback, thought for a moment, and said seriously, "I didn't believe it before, I thought it was all made up in movies. But today—I'm starting to believe it. There really is a small group of people in this world who can focus on one thing their whole lives and achieve superhuman skill; but the more this is the case, the more worried I am about Song Sheng."

Song Zhaowen laughed heartily: "Miss Huang, it's not that I'm arrogant, but whether it's the Gambling Demon or the Gambling King, there's only one winner in my establishment, and that's me!"

"Oh? Song Sheng looks really handsome with his confidence."

Ten minutes passed quickly.

The spotlight shone again without warning, precisely on the lone oval final betting table in the center, covered with brand-new dark green velvet.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Bob's voice boomed throughout the venue through the top-of-the-line speakers: "Let our hearts pound once more for the upcoming showdown!"

"Welcome back to the finals of the inaugural Galaxy Cup God of Gamblers Tournament! After three thrilling rounds of competition, the three ultimate champions stand here!"

"First, he swiftly exposed the cheating scheme with ruthless methods. A man of both wisdom and courage, our host, Mr. Song Zhaowen, the master of the 'Star River'!"

Song Zhaowen rose from the rest area. Instead of immediately heading towards the gambling table, he turned and gave a slight bow to the direction where Huang Tian, ​​Jiang Tiansheng, and other bigwigs were located, as well as to the entire audience. His demeanor was composed and unhurried, as if he were attending a casual cocktail party. This composure drew murmurs of approval and applause.

He walked to the west side of the gaming table, pulled out a chair, and sat down gracefully. Huang Lei followed closely behind and took her seat in the co-host's seat.

As for Song Zhaowen's backup plan, the army with special abilities was in the spectator stands behind the two.

"The second is Mr. Chen Jincheng, a gambling tycoon who has dominated the international gambling scene for decades, known for his cunning and scheming, and forever unpredictable!"

Chen Jincheng stood up expressionlessly, walking slowly, each step seemingly measured. He went straight to the north-facing seat and sat down, his hands clasped on the table, his jade ring gleaming softly. His female companion, Lisa, sat quietly beside him, like a beautiful ornament.

"The last one—the legendary gambling king, Mr. Jiang Zhen, who just returned to the gambling world with a divine and unimaginable victory over his opponents!"

Jiang Zhen remained seated in his wheelchair, slowly pushed to the east by the taciturn old butler. He slightly raised his hand, and the butler stopped, securing the wheelchair in its specially designed position.

The three sat down, forming a tripod-like arrangement.

The dealer was replaced by the most experienced white-haired dealer who had previously officiated the match between Jiang Zhen and Sun Yifeng. He looked solemn, put on brand-new white gloves, held up an unopened deck of cards as a signal, and then, with a "ripping" sound, cleanly and neatly tore it open.

The sound of shuffling the cards rang out, not a loud clatter, but a rhythmic "swish, swish" like a sharp blade cutting through the air. His technique was extremely fluid; the cards flew and danced in the air, tracing dazzling arcs, before finally snapping together with a "snap" and landing steadily in the center of the gambling table.

"Gentlemen, the final round will be played in no-limit Texas Hold'em. Each player will start with 50 million chips; blinds will increase every 30 minutes, determined clockwise from the button position. The button position for the first round will be determined by a draw, with the player with the highest card winning."

He picked up the top three cards from the cut stack and slid them toward the three players respectively.

Song Zhaowen flipped up the corner of the card—the Queen of Spades.

Chen Jincheng – King of Hearts.

Jiang Zhen – 9 of Diamonds.

"Mr. Chen Jincheng has the highest score and wins the button position for the first round. Blinds: Small blind 100,000, Big blind 200,000. Please place your bets."

The chips were pushed into the pot, the crisp clinking sound particularly loud in the silence.

Song Zhaowen, in the small blind spot, threw out 100,000.

Jiang Zhen made up the difference of 200,000 in the large blind spot.

Chen Jincheng, at the button, glanced at his hole cards (which hadn't been dealt yet), then at Song Zhaowen and Jiang Zhen. A barely perceptible smile played on his lips as he slowly pushed out his chips: "Call."

Three teams entered the pool in a row, bringing the bottom pool to 650,000. The atmosphere seemed peaceful, but undercurrents were swirling beneath the surface.

The dealer deals the hole cards. Two cards, face down, slide precisely in front of each player.

Song Zhaowen gently lifted the corner of the cards with his left index and middle fingers, his eyes scanning them—the Ace of Hearts, the Ace of Diamonds. AA of different suits, a top-tier starting hand.

He calmly placed the cards face down, tapped the back of the cards lightly with his fingers, and looked across at the other side.

Chen Jincheng merely touched the back of the card with his fingertips, his gaze behind his glasses lowered, revealing no emotion.

Jiang Zhen—he still squinted, not even reaching out to touch the two cards, as if they didn't exist.

"Mr. Chen Jincheng, please make the first move." (The button operator makes the last move before the flop, but in the first round, he decides whether to raise. Here, the dealer indicates that as the "dealer," he has the option to raise first.)

Chen Jincheng pushed up his glasses, his voice hoarse: "Since everyone's being so polite, let's play for the first round. Raise the stakes to 500,000."

A standard opening raise.

The pressure is on Song Zhaowen (small blind). He has AA, and facing a raise, calling or re-raising are both reasonable options. But he wants to see Jiang Zhen's reaction.

"Call." Song Zhaowen pushed out 400,000 chips.

When it was Jiang Zhen's (big blind) turn, his voice was flat and unremarkable: "Call."

All three companies were put back into the pool, and the pool swelled to 1.65 million.

In the very first hand, the three players were already vying for control!

The dealer, expressionless, drew three cards as community cards, then turned them over one by one, placing the Jack of Spades, the 10 of Hearts, and the Queen of Clubs in the center of the table!

An incredibly wet and promising board! Straight draws (any K or 9 to form a straight, or even an 8 or K to form a double straight), flush draws (spades or hearts), three of a kind, two pairs—almost any starting hand with a decent strength can find hope here.

Song Zhaowen quickly calculated in his mind that his AK was now a perfect straight draw (waiting for only one K to complete the straight (A-K-Q-J-10), and he also had a high card A and a gutshot straight, making his hand very strong, but not invincible. At the same time, he also needed to be wary of others who had already completed their straights (for example, someone holding K9) or had even stronger draws.

But there's a saying in Texas Hold'em: "Anyone who doesn't call with AA is a fool!"

However, Song Zhaowen still wanted to observe further.

"Check."

Let's pass the order to fire and see how Chen Jincheng and Jiang Zhen react.

Chen Jincheng (on the button) rubbed his jade ring between his fingers. He glanced at the community cards, then at Song Zhaowen who had already seen his cards, and at Jiang Zhen who still had no expression. After a moment of contemplation, he pushed out his chips: "500,000."

A tentative bet, neither too big nor too small, could be used to extract value with a made hand, or it could be used to semi-bluff with a draw or a medium-strength hand.

The pressure is on Jiang Zhen (the big blind).

This time, he didn't hesitate for long.

"Call." Jiang Zhen pushed out 500,000 chips.

"Song Sheng, it's your turn."

Faced with Chen Jincheng's bet and Jiang Zhen's call, Song Zhaowen now has three options: call, raise, or fold.

He has a top-card straight draw and an Ace-high, a decent hand. Facing a bet and a call, calling is standard play. Raising could apply pressure, test the opponent's hand, or even take down the pot. Folding would be too conservative.

Song Zhaowen's fingers lightly traced the stack of chips. He glanced at Chen Jincheng, the old fox, whose face remained expressionless. He then looked at Jiang Zhen, whose eyes had already narrowed again.

"Call back." Song Zhaowen also put in 500,000.