Ace cards may be counted as 1 point or 11 points. It is up to the player to decide. The player stops playing when he considers he has reached the maximum points he can safely accumulate without going over.

  After the initial cards are distributed, if a player gets an A and a T in whatever order, he has got Blackjack.

  If the dealer’s card is a T and his hidden card is an A, he should directly bare his cards, he would have got Blackjack.

  However, because this was a two-player setup, the rules were set very simply.

  An open card, a hidden card, one of which was invisible to anyone but himself. The open card was shared.

  Then came the usual process of drawing the cards: “Hit” means to call for a card, “Stand” means to stop calling for cards and hold them, “double” means doubling the stakes.

  In the process of dealing, if a player’s cards total over 21, the player loses—this is known as “Bust”.

  For busted cards, the point recalculation will become very small.

  The winning rule is: The hand with the highest total up to a maximum of 21 points, is the winner.

  For example, if a player has a J and a 9, that gives 19 points. If another player asks for three cards, a J and a 9 and a 2, that gives 21 points, and he wins.

  “Let me announce the rules one last time. There will be a total of five rounds. There are two electric drills, one on each side of the balaclava. If you lose, the drill will be driven into your temple. If you lose five times in a row, it will be driven straight through your skull. For the amputation device, every round you lose, you will lose a finger. Heh, it will be amputated at the root! Oh, how exciting. I’m so looking forward to it!”


  “Cut the crap.” Gu Jinglian said, “Deal the cards.”


  The dealer dealt two cards each to Gu Jinglian and Qingjiu.

  Gu Jinglian looked at the hidden card. It was a 6 of Spades. The open card was a 3 of Hearts. Bad luck.

  Qingjiu couldn’t see the hidden card on the opposite side, but his open card was an 8 of Clubs.

  Even adding up the two cards that Gu Jinglian was holding in his hand, the total would only be slightly higher than his one open card. If his hidden card was a 3, it would be a total of 11 points. But if it was an Ace, the highest card, it would be 19 points. That was high.

  He would have to call for more cards.

  Even if he were to draw the highest card, an Ace with 11 points, it would come up to a total of 20 points. He would not bust it.

  Gu Jinglian called out, “Hit.”


  The dealer dealt another card. It was a 9 of Clubs.

  It added up to 18 points. At the moment, he could only hold back. Calling for another card would be too risky. If the card he was dealt exceeded 3 points, he would bust.

  As for the cards Qingjiu was holding?

  Would he call for more?

  In addition to capability and computing power, Blackjack relied on luck.

  The cards in the dealer had been shuffled so that no one could predict what the next card would be.

  If they were staking money, then so be it. However, the stakes now were too heavy for either Qingjiu or himself. He could not be overly cautious.

  “CEO Gu…” Qingjiu suddenly spoke.

  Gu Jinglian looked up, his expression darkening. “What do you wish to say, Qingjiu?”


  “I… I think I don’t have a choice this time round. I won’t walk out alive.”


  The man smiled bitterly. “I … I just want to ask one favor…” He mouthed his words silently, “I have a daughter, you know … please, please take good care of her.”


  Gu Jinglian nodded gently at that.

  Qingjiu said immediately, “Stand.” This meant the cards had been suspended. He would stop calling.

  Gu Jinglian was not surprised. He knew that Qingjiu was letting him win.