God's imitator

Chapter 13 'Blood Poker'

The hall, which had just seemed quite leisurely and even serene, immediately became noisy and chaotic.

"what?"

"An hour later?"

"Everyone is forced to participate? Isn't that too sudden!"

Clearly, many people were not psychologically prepared for this.

Yesterday, when the basic rules were introduced in the lobby, although it was emphasized that "the gallery may open at any time," it still caught everyone somewhat off guard.

More importantly, participation in this game was mandatory for everyone.

According to the basic rules originally introduced, the games in the arcade have a certain degree of selection.

It's possible that only a portion of people will be selected to participate, and it's not necessarily mandatory; some participations are voluntary.

This has led many people to develop a sense of complacency.

I don't think the trial game will start so soon, and even if it does, it might not immediately fall on my head.

At this point, the disillusionment of this wishful thinking exacerbated the panic.

Some people sat helplessly on chairs or sofas, their faces pale, while others paced anxiously around.

"Don't panic, everyone! There's still one hour left!"
"Since this game is called 'Blood Poker,' it must be related to playing cards. Everyone should think carefully about the rules of playing cards!"

The speaker was Wang Yongxin, and it was clear that he was also anxious, but he was trying to calm himself down.

Lee In-sook's voice was more composed.

"This is the first game we've encountered. Since everyone is participating, it shouldn't be too difficult."

"The most important thing now is to stay rational and calm."

At the same time, she took Qin Yao's hand, who was trembling beside her, and gently patted it to comfort her.

The two people's words had a certain effect, and the initially panicked crowd calmed down a bit.

Cai Zhiyuan, holding a book, walked quickly toward Fu Chen.

It was obviously found in the book reading area.

Upon seeing the book title, Fu Chen's eyes lit up, and he quickly announced loudly, "Everyone gather around, there's a book here about the rules of poker."

"We have an hour left. Let's quickly learn the basic rules of the various games. That might be helpful."

Everyone cast grateful glances at Cai Zhiyuan and Fu Chen.

Clearly, within that hour, apart from a few people like Cao Haichuan with exceptional mental fortitude, most people were quite panicked.

While last-minute preparation may not always prove useful, it can certainly help stabilize morale.

Fu Chen quickly flipped through the book; of course, he wouldn't go through it all from beginning to end—there simply wasn't enough time.

"I'll focus on some popular rules: Texas Hold'em, Blackjack, Dou Dizhu, Golden Flower, Solitaire..."

“Let’s start with Texas Hold’em, which has the highest probability of success.”

Everyone listened intently as time ticked by.

00:01
00:00
As the countdown on the big screen reached zero, everyone felt a sudden darkness before their eyes, and then lost consciousness.

……

"Di-"

A sharp buzzing sound rang out, and Qin Yao gradually woke up.

She then realized that she was firmly bound to the iron chair.

"Hello? Is anyone home?"

Qin Yao tried to speak, but received no response.

She has a special metal device around her neck that restricts her head movement.

Not only that, Qin Yao's thighs, waist, and other vital areas were locked to the chair, her left hand was locked to the table in front of her, and her elbow, wrist, and even fingers were firmly fixed in place, unable to move an inch. Her right hand could move freely, but when she tried to touch these mechanisms, they were perfectly sealed and did not budge.

Qin Yao looked around. It was an extremely cramped single room, less than 1.5 meters wide, with only a dim ceiling light, which made her feel a sense of fear.

The table in front of me was covered with a green tablecloth, and there was a deck of cards and two mechanical arms that looked simple yet rugged.

On the wall of the cubicle on the left is information about exchanging chips.

On the right-hand partition wall is an introduction to the rules of "Simplified Version of Texas Hold'em" and detailed card pattern diagrams.

Qin Yao felt her heart racing and her body temperature rising. Clearly, this unfamiliar and oppressive environment was putting immense psychological pressure on her.

Suddenly, a sound came from ahead.

Qin Yao looked in the direction of the sound and found that it was a very small speaker, consisting of only a few simple round holes, so the sound quality was also indistinct.

The addition of emotionless electronic sounds further amplified the eeriness of the atmosphere.

Welcome to Blood Poker.

This is the game's chip exchange area.

The machine in front of you is a "chip exchange machine," used to exchange chips needed for multi-player gambling games.

The exchange rate is: 100ml of blood = 10000 chips = 10000 minutes of visa processing time.

[When exchanging chips, you need to gamble against the 'chip exchange machine' according to the rules of 'simplified version of Texas Hold'em'.]

[For every 10000 chips exchanged, you must gamble at least one round and at most 20 rounds before you can leave the game.]

After the game ends, based on the outcome, the "chip exchange machine" will distribute the exchanged chips to the players, allowing them to unlock mechanisms and move freely.

Please state the number of chips you wish to exchange, in units of 10000 chips. The minimum initial exchange is 20000 chips.

The cubicle fell silent again, with only Qin Yao's slightly rapid breathing remaining.

After a while, when no more electronic sounds came, Qin Yao gradually sorted out her chaotic thoughts.

"This machine can be exchanged for chips. What are chips used for? They should be used in the upcoming games."

"But the redemption method isn't direct; you have to gamble against this machine once..."

"And it was exchanged with blood."

Qin Yao looked at her left hand, which was firmly fixed to the table by the mechanism, and then looked at the mechanism suspended in the upper left corner.

It was some kind of special blood-drawing device, the needle gleaming coldly. The device was also connected to a huge, clean, transparent blood storage tank, marked with different increments in 100ml units.

This made Qin Yao instinctively feel resistant and afraid.

But she also knew she had no choice; if she did nothing, the game could not continue.

Please state the number of chips you wish to exchange, in units of 10000 chips. The minimum initial exchange is 20000 chips.

The muffled notification sound reminded me again.

"Does the first exchange require at least 200ml? With this amount of health, there shouldn't be any danger, right?"

After thinking for a long time, Qin Yao finally mustered up the courage to say, "Exchange... 20000 chips."

[Redemption begins.]

After the muffled electronic sound ended, the mechanism in the upper left corner emitted a piercing friction sound and began to move.

Qin Yao felt the restraint mechanism on her left arm tighten instantly, the cold lock rings constricting her painfully, causing the veins on her arm to bulge.

The sudden sharp pain made Qin Yao's body tremble involuntarily. The blood collection needle had already pierced her blood vessel, and the bright red blood flowed along the needle and the tubing into the blood storage tank.

It stopped at the 200ml mark.

The sharp metallic scraping sound rang out again as the blood-drawing needle was pulled out and the mechanism returned to its original position.

At the same time, the mechanism that locked Qin Yao's left hand used a small cotton ball to press on the wound at the needle tip to help stop the bleeding.

(End of this chapter)