Qiao Jiajin held his “one-two-eight” card that had no relation to the “community card” and brazenly provoked Earth-Monkey.

“Fat monkey, my cards are so bad, yet I’m betting two ‘Dao.’ Are you in or not?”

Qiao Jiajin placed two “Dao” on the table, but Earth-Monkey showed no reaction.

“Who cares about him? This young master’s in anyway.” Chen Junnan decisively tossed out two “Dao.” “Our Brother Monkey isn’t short on cash. He can follow or not as he pleases.”

Next, Qi Xia also chose to call, and everyone looked at Earth-Monkey simultaneously.

His expression this round was quite intriguing, as if he had figured something out, remaining silent the whole time.

“I’m also calling.” Qi Xia tossed down two “Dao” on the table, then looked up and said, “Earth-Monkey, didn’t you say you were going to show me your real skills?”

Earth-Monkey raised his head to scan everyone, looked at the cards in his hand again, and said indifferently, “I’m folding.”

Before anyone could react, he turned his cards face down and tossed the two “Dao” on the table away.

“I concede this round. You guys play.”

He shook his head, reached up to remove the cigarette from his mouth, held it to the side and flicked it a few times, looking like he had truly completely withdrawn from this round.

Qi Xia frowned, naturally not having expected Earth-Monkey would withdraw so decisively.

Now even everyone’s “hidden cards” hadn’t been dealt yet, but he wouldn’t even place the most basic bet.

“This is your real skill…?” Qi Xia stared at Earth-Monkey for a long time before finally speaking. “As a ‘gambler,’ yet you don’t have the courage to take a chance.”

“The fact that you can say that only proves you’re not a ‘gambler.'” Earth-Monkey looked up to answer. “The ‘victory’ I want is to ensure that after eight rounds, none of you will have enough chips to survive, not to let you gain ‘Dao’ in this round when my hand is bad.”

“Qi Xia, you also know that even if I do nothing in this game, I’ll ultimately win. After all, you’re the ones who want to win chips from me. The ones in a hurry aren’t me, but you.” Earth-Monkey’s gaze swept over the “Dao” on everyone’s tables. “So I have more choices than you do. If I want to fold, I fold.”

“I don’t think so.” Qi Xia shook his head. “In the first round, you got a hand similar to what you have now, but you resolutely chose to ‘raise.’ Yet this round you conceded. So I believe there’s another reason behind your withdrawal.”

“Is that so?” Earth-Monkey gave Qi Xia an ambiguous look. “What reason would that be?”

“You’re ‘waiting,’ right?” Qi Xia’s eyes also turned cold. “You believe that currently I’ve fully grasped the rules of ‘Lunar Month’ and can team up with other teammates to deceive you, causing your odds of winning to decrease significantly. So you’re waiting for something.”

After hearing this, Earth-Monkey slowly placed both hands in front of him, but his face showed no ripples of emotion.

“Can you win by ‘waiting’?” Qi Xia asked again.

But Earth-Monkey’s demeanor appeared very controlled, completely not revealing any microexpressions. Seeing the psychological defense Earth-Monkey had suddenly built up, Qi Xia found it somewhat interesting.

His state seemed to have improved. He didn’t know if Earth-Monkey had always been like this, or if his words had made him grow.

Seeing that no information could be extracted from the questioning, Qi Xia looked at the others, only wanting to hastily end this round.

With Earth-Monkey choosing to withdraw, no matter how the remaining people bet, the final number of chips wouldn’t change. It had become a small-scale “zero-sum game.”

Next time it would be Xiao Cheng’s turn to shuffle.

Xiao Cheng slowly frowned. He felt this round was extremely regrettable. He had probably already figured out the rules, and his hand was quite good—he had gathered four “nines,” which should be the biggest hand he could think of currently. Yet Earth-Monkey had directly chosen to withdraw.

“Everyone…” Xiao Cheng bit his lip. “I… I…”

He clutched his hands tightly, seeming to have something to say, but after several attempts, nothing came out.

He appeared to be making some difficult choice.

“Be careful.” Qi Xia coldly turned his head to look at him.

“What?”

“Do you want to compete with us here?” Qi Xia frowned and asked. “Do you really have that confidence?”

After hearing this, Xiao Cheng lowered his head with some difficulty, his expression carrying both sadness and a bit of unwillingness. He hadn’t expected the other party to see through his thoughts from a small expression.

“Qi Xia… right?” Xiao Cheng asked. “You probably don’t know what my purpose in coming here is… I never thought about provoking an ‘Earth-level’… I just wanted to make myself ‘Echo.'”

“I can roughly imagine.” Qi Xia answered. “But I suggest you don’t lose the forest for the trees.”

“But I can’t die…” Xiao Cheng clutched the cards in his hand, his expression extremely pained. “If I could win this round… I’d concede every subsequent round, and I’d have the ‘capital’ to get out…”

“And then?” Qi Xia slightly raised his eyebrows. “Then go to other game venues and try to trigger your own ‘Echo’?”

“I…”

“If I’m not mistaken, the girl and child beside you are at this game venue because of you, right?” Qi Xia asked again.

Xiao Cheng froze, slowly turning his head to look at Tiantian and Zheng Yingxiong.

Seeing his expression waver, Qi Xia asked again, “Are you going to leave them both here now and win against everyone yourself? I’ll give you one chance. You tell me yourself whether this is appropriate. After you make your choice, I won’t interfere with any of your decisions anymore.”

Xiao Cheng pressed his lips together and thought for a long time, then slowly lowered his head. “I just want to say this game really isn’t suitable for me… As long as you’re here, we’ll definitely win… If I stay here, there’s no possibility of ‘Echo,’ but instead I’ll lose my life because of the grudge between you and Earth-Monkey.”

“You’re not only underestimating Earth-Monkey, but also underestimating me,” Qi Xia said.

“What…?” Xiao Cheng froze. “I don’t understand.”

“Do you think the rules of this game end here? If you don’t keep your brain working, you’ll definitely die here.”

“You mean…” Xiao Cheng instantly lowered his voice. “The ‘rules’ will ‘change’?”

Qi Xia didn’t answer, and said instead, “Besides, even if Earth-Monkey and I have a grudge, I won’t possibly die here.”

“Qi Xia… who exactly are you…”

“A con artist.” Qi Xia answered. “Will you trust me?”

After hearing Qi Xia’s words, Xiao Cheng remained silent for a long time, then said, “But I…”

“You probably don’t know whose ‘scheme’ you’ve entered.” Qi Xia waved his hand, interrupting him. “Just tell me whether you trust me or not. I don’t want to hear extra explanations.”