Chapter 29: A Single Hand Wins Two Million!

Then, without even looking at his second card, Jordan shouted, "Call! And raise it by fifty thousand!"

"Michael Jordan is experiencing emotional volatility; experience points dropped: 50!"

Here we go!

Lin Tian felt a secret surge of joy. Previously, the experience points Jordan dropped had only been 5 or 10—the man was stingy as could be! Now, he had popped 50 points all at once! It seemed that he wasn't far from getting his hands on something truly valuable!

"Fifty thousand called, and I’ll raise you another 50 cents! Also..." By the time the next round of dealing began, almost every Bulls player on the plane had gathered around, packing the area tightly. After all, making Jordan this angry—to the point of hysterical shouting—was a first in all the years the Bulls had been together.

Everyone in the league knew: you absolutely do not provoke Jordan. And the players on the Bulls knew this rule even better than anyone else. For a rookie like Lin Tian to enrage Jordan like this after playing only a single game... he was either a lunatic or a fool.

Lin Tian looked at the crowd surrounding them. When it was Jordan’s turn to speak, Lin Tian jumped in calmly, "No matter how much Michael raises, I’ll match it, and I’ll raise him... an extra 50 cents!"

"F***! Screw your 50 cents! Show your cards! I’ve got a pair of Aces and a pair of fives! I don’t believe you have a flush! I don’t believe it—" Before Jordan could finish, Lin Tian revealed his cards—it really was a flush!

He had lost again!

"Damn it! Again! Give me another round!" Jordan loosened his collar, his breathing noticeably heavier. He looked at the crowd packed around them and suddenly roared, "What the hell are you all doing? Get out! Get the hell out of here! Stop being an eyesore, get lost!"

At Jordan’s furious outburst, the onlookers didn't dare linger; they scattered in fear. Only the few who had been standing there from the start remained. Though they had dispersed, everyone’s eyes and attention remained fixed on the scene. They were curious! Everyone was dying to know how angry Jordan would get today, and whether Lin Tian would be able to walk off the plane alive.

They were genuinely afraid that Jordan might lose his temper and unleash a combo on Lin Tian. Wait, Lin Tian? The guy who KO’d three people in two minutes without a scratch? Never mind, he’s fine...

By now, Lin Tian had used psychological tactics to utterly crush Jordan. They played another ten hands or so, and Lin Tian’s win rate exceeded 80%. In these winning hands, some were genuine, while others were bluffs where he intimidated Jordan into folding. Every time a hand ended, win or lose, Lin Tian’s trash talk never stopped. It was one barb after another, stinging Jordan until his eyes turned red and steam seemed to rise from his forehead. He had never been this angry in his life!

By this point, Jordan had lost over a million dollars. Including the previous losses, in the hour-long flight from Orlando to Miami, he had already dropped two million dollars!

Just as Jordan, eyes bloodshot and desperate, was about to keep fighting to win it all back, the plane’s intercom crackled to life, reminding everyone to return to their seats as they would be landing in five minutes.

"That’s about it, Michael. Let’s play one last hand," Lin Tian said with a smile. "I’ll give you a chance to turn the tables. Two million on the final hand! If you win, you take the whole pot; if you lose, you double it! How about it? Got the guts to bet?"

"Bet! Let's do it!"

"Fine. Since it’s all about luck anyway, dealing five cards is too much trouble. We’ll each draw one card and compare values to decide the winner quickly. Got the guts?" Lin Tian continued to stare at Jordan, his tone dripping with disdain.

"Fine! You draw first!"

Jordan was completely blinded by the red mist of rage. His eyes were wild. Forget a two-million-dollar bet on a single card—if it were twenty million, he would have agreed with his eyes bloodshot and burning. He had never lost this badly in his entire life!

Pippen, watching from the side, felt that even back when they faced the "Bad Boy" Pistons—when Jordan was being knocked out of the air time and time again by Laimbeer, Mahorn, and Thomas—he had never been this furious or irrational! Pippen couldn't help but swallow hard as he looked at Lin Tian. Even though Lin Tian was just a second-round pick who had played only one game, Pippen had already made a decision: he would never, ever be an enemy of Lin Tian in this lifetime.

Lin Tian spread his hands, casually pulled a card from the deck, glanced at it, and smiled. "Your turn."

"Prepare to die, Lin! Watch me pull an Ace!"

Jordan let out a roar, his eyes bloodshot as he grabbed a card from the deck!

The Jack of Spades! A card with over a 75% win rate!

"Come on, Lin, let me see what you've got!" Jordan stared intensely at the card in Lin Tian’s hand.

Lin Tian looked at Jordan’s Jack, then at his own card, spread his hands, and sighed helplessly. "One last time, why has the Goddess of Victory abandoned me? Damn it all to hell! You win, Michael. You win!"

"I told you I’d win!" The ecstatic Jordan roared, throwing several punches into the air. After a night of suppression, he finally had a chance to vent. "No one beats Michael Jordan! No one! You hear me? No one!"

Lin Tian looked at Jordan, then suddenly threw his cards into the deck in a fit of rage, scattering them all over the floor. After muttering a few more curses, he stood up and returned to his seat.

"Two million in one hand! You’re something else, Michael!" Kerr, who had been too terrified to speak by the tense, bloodthirsty atmosphere, finally exhaled in relief. He patted Jordan on the shoulder excitedly. "This hand is enough for you to brag about for three months!"

"Two million in one hand? Huh? You guys think I won?" Jordan looked at the pile of scattered cards, then suddenly stepped on them, crushing them under his feet. There was no joy or triumph on his face.

His eyes remained fixed on the pile of cards on the floor, and a thought suddenly jumped into his mind. What card did Lin Tian actually hold? Why didn’t he let us see it? Why did he deliberately scatter them into a mess? What the hell was this kid doing?

Once the thought took root, it wouldn't leave Jordan's mind. He felt something was wrong; he felt there was something fishy about that last hand!

Even until the plane landed and everyone stood up to disembark, Jordan remained seated, motionless.