Chapter Thirty: A Pair of Aces—How Did You Get a Flush?

"Human, I will definitely eat you."

The eel-headed creature stared at Liu Zheng, enunciating every word.

"You'd better go take a number first; there are far too many things that want to eat me. Deal the cards, deal the cards."

Liu Zheng aimed for two seconds before tossing a red chip precisely into the circumcircle of the succubus dealer.

"Hey, you there, get this guest a Pink Fuzzy Bunny."

The succubus dealer didn't deal the cards immediately; instead, she called out to a passing jellyfish waiter.

"Handsome, this one is on me." She winked at him.

In the pale yellow beer, a pink rabbit with half its skin peeled away floated listlessly. Red blood slowly seeped out, only to be immediately absorbed and assimilated by the liquid.

"Not too shabby." Liu Zheng took a hearty gulp.

"Hiccup."

The succubus dealer opened a new deck of cards and began to deal. The pattern on the back of this deck was different from the last. The previous one had featured a massive, withered tree, while this one depicted a blood-red waxing crescent moon.

Liu Zheng picked up his hole cards, blocking the view of the Ox-Horse.

"A pair of Aces again. Sigh." He put the cards down and sighed.

"Again?! I don't even need to look to know you don't have a pair of Aces." The veins on the Ox-Horse's forehead throbbed. He felt that this guy had lost his mind ever since entering the black market.

"If I have a pair of Aces, you're going to gnaw on this table," Liu Zheng retorted angrily.

"If you don't have a pair of Aces, you're going to eat this glass," the Ox-Horse shot back, refusing to back down.

"Come on then." He reached out to flip over his hole cards.

"Handsome, if you reveal your cards now, it counts as a loss," the succubus dealer reminded him.

"Hmph, you’re lucky." Liu Zheng loosened his tentacles.

"Putting on a show," the Ox-Horse rolled his eyes hard.

"Does the casino just watch them fool around like this?" a gambler with a head shaped like a screw asked with dissatisfaction.

"This is not within the prohibited range," the succubus dealer said with a smile.

"Hmph. I’ll raise." The screw-head looked at his hole cards and tossed out two red chips.

"Call."

"Call."

"Call."

...

This time, no one folded; all the gamblers chose to call.

"You guys are calling even on a pair of Aces? Do you even know how to play?" Liu Zheng complained indignantly.

"If they still believed you had a pair of Aces, then they wouldn't know how to play," the Ox-Horse said quietly from the side.

"Whose side are you on, anyway?" He glared at the Ox-Horse.

"You're the one winning, you're the boss." The Ox-Horse shut his mouth.

Three community cards were dealt: a Queen of Diamonds, an 8 of Diamonds, and a 5 of Diamonds.

"Raise." The gambler in the small blind position couldn't wait. It looked like a lump of fermented dough, and it would puff up like it was being heated whenever it spoke. It pushed a black chip forward with its pudgy white hand. It made Liu Zheng hungry just looking at it.

"I have three Queens, do you dare to call?" the dough-creature taunted him.

"You think I'm afraid of your three Queens with my flush? I'll raise you." Liu Zheng licked his healing mouthparts and threw out two black chips.

"Aren't you supposed to have a pair of Aces? How are you making a flush?" The Ox-Horse was at his wit's end.

"None of your business. Can't I have two Aces of Diamonds?" He rolled his eyes.

"Fine, fine, fine." The Ox-Horse surrendered.

"Call."

"Fold."

"Call."

"Fold."

Two other players chose to call, one of them being the eel-head.

"I have, a flush. You, wait, to die." It said slowly.

"If you can't talk, don't bother. Go learn some sign language; it's better than making a fool of yourself," Liu Zheng mocked.

"Die!" The eel-head was beyond furious. Its slender neck suddenly shot forward, snapping toward his head like lightning.

"Pretty fast!" Liu Zheng's eyes narrowed. He hadn't expected the eel-head to be quite so strong; its speed was almost on par with the security guards of the Green Jujube Crazy City. However, he was no longer the human who could only be slaughtered at will.

He raised his tentacles to block, but someone was faster than him. The Ox-Horse stood on its hind legs, trampling the ground with hooves that sounded like drums. The eel-head was pinned under the bovine hoof, looking like a venomous snake subdued by a divine ox.

"Don't act like I'm not here," the Ox-Horse said nonchalantly.

The eel-head opened its mouth to bite the Ox-Horse's ankle, but couldn't even pierce the hide. Being a three-time "Employee of the Month" at the Bloody Restaurant wasn't something easily achieved.

"No fighting allowed, or I'll have to call security," the succubus dealer interjected at the perfect moment.

A cold gaze swept over them, and Liu Zheng couldn't help but shiver. He looked toward the corner, where a man in a cowboy hat was flipping a coin. His left hand rested on his waist, gripping an unusually large revolver. No one doubted that a bullet from that gun could shatter anyone's skull.

"Just livening up the atmosphere. Ox-Horse, let it go," Liu Zheng said coolly.

"You won't even call me 'Boss'." The Ox-Horse curled his lip, but still lifted his hoof.

The eel-head retracted rapidly, even bouncing a few times. It glared at Liu Zheng, ignoring the Ox-Horse entirely.

"Deal, deal," the dough-creature urged. It didn't care about their grudges; it only wanted to win money.

The succubus dealer dealt the fourth community card: the 8 of Clubs.

"Hahaha!" The dough-creature let out a laugh like a pressure cooker venting steam, its skin puffing up high. "Let's see you call that." It tossed out five black chips.

"A full house beats my four Aces? I'll crush you, you bastard." Liu Zheng threw out ten black chips without hesitation.

"There isn't even a single Ace on the table! How the hell do you have four Aces?" The Ox-Horse felt like he was going crazy.

"If you don't understand, shut up. Hey, you, give me more..." Liu Zheng suddenly stopped.

He was staring straight at a bat-headed waiter. It was carrying a little girl with curly hair upside down. Her eyes were dull and lifeless, her skin purple. She was, in all likelihood, already dead. Yes, if she were still alive, why wouldn't she be crying?

"Don't do anything reckless, kid." The Ox-Horse's hoof rested quietly on his shoulder. "That's how this world is. You've eaten crocodile meat in the employee meals before."

"Then why don't you eat those canned ox-horse meat?" Liu Zheng asked in return.

"I just don't eat them, but I can't save them either," the Ox-Horse said calmly. "Oink was so strong, yet all he could do was burn down that pig farm. He chopped up half the restaurant, only to end up hiding in the black market. Don't you want to live? Then just stay alive for now." He patted Liu Zheng on the shoulder.

"Hey, you, I want that," Liu Zheng said after a moment of silence.

"Sorry, sir, that was ordered by the guest at that table," the bat-headed waiter said politely.

"I'll pay extra."

"It's not a question of money." The bat-headed waiter shook its head.

"Hey, how about you let me have that?" Liu Zheng grabbed two black chips and threw them toward the guest he had pointed out—a crocodile with a messy, bird's-nest hairstyle.

The chips traced a graceful arc and landed in the center of the bird's nest. The crocodile looked up slowly, reached out with its short arms, and retrieved the chips. It looked at Liu Zheng, then at the Ox-Horse, and nodded slowly.

"Can you give it to me now?" Liu Zheng asked.

"Very well, she is yours. Do you need her prepared? We offer steamed, braised, or claypot rice styles," the bat-headed waiter asked.

"Just give me a takeout box."