Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1372: Chapter 99: King’s Game (Part 2)

The “King’s Game”, as the name implies, the king’s command is absolute, and the game participants cannot defy it… However, when the “King” selects a number, they do not know who is holding the number… It is a completely random game.

But the specifics of the game depend on the number of participants and the rules set at the time.

If not counting the Golden Dragon knocked unconscious again by the true dragon of China and Teresa who lost too much blood, there are only five participants in the living room.

Two people from the club, the true dragon of China, and the lady with butterfly wings… as well as Mina.

The chance of becoming the king is equal, with each having a twenty percent likelihood. The rule is that the king can randomly select 1-2 number holders to execute commands.

Although it’s impossible to know who the number holder is… if the king chooses to have two people execute the command, then among the remaining four participants, there seems to be a fifty percent chance that a specific person will be selected to execute the command.

The true dragon of China, not very good at math, saw more intricacies in the lady with butterfly wings’ follow-up simple analysis and summarized the essence of the game: just rely on luck!

“Noble Master, before the game starts, we need to set some rules… this game is slightly different from the usual ‘King’s Game’.”

At this moment, Mina picked out a complete set of Aces, 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, and a Spade King from the playing cards found by the maid, a total of twenty-one cards, and shuffled them casually in her hand.

“Please go ahead, Ms. Mina,” Boss Luo nodded with a smile.

Mina slowly said, “Now, I have a total of twenty-one cards in my hand… The rules for dealing are the same as usual games, the King card determines who becomes the ‘King’… but I will only deal twenty cards each time. If the remaining card is the Spade King, the deck will not be reshuffled, and it will automatically become part of the next person’s hand according to the dealing order, making them the king. If it’s not the Spade King, then it will be exposed as part of the next hand… which means that from the beginning, there will be someone holding a hand of five cards.”

“Twenty cards with four suits?” The maid suddenly smiled and asked, “This means that numbers will repeat, right… and a person might hold four different numbers, increasing the probability of executing the king’s command?”

“Wrong.” The girl unexpectedly smiled sweetly at this moment, “The probability of executing the ‘King’ command could be as high as one hundred percent!”

The lady with butterfly wings thought for a moment and said, “With us five and twenty cards, isn’t the maximum each person can hold four cards? But aren’t the numbers from A to 5, a total of five? How can it reach one hundred percent?”

The true dragon of China said nothing and conveniently placed both hands under the table… the ultimate arithmetic technique of kindergarten—finger counting!

Counting… can’t keep up!!!

“Because, the new rules are to be added next.”

The girl giggled and said, “First, if the twenty cards are dealt, producing a ‘King’, the holder of the King card cannot show it immediately, as the second step comes next… I named it ‘Fate’s Correction’.”

“‘Fate’s Correction’?” Boss Luo curiously asked, “It sounds quite interesting, what does it specifically entail?”

The girl said, “After the king is determined, in order of dealing, each family can designate another family to draw a card. Listen, during this card drawing process, according to the order of Spades, Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, cards with identical numbers of Spades and Hearts, and Clubs and Diamonds can be discarded, otherwise, they must be kept. Also, if you had cards that can be grouped and discarded, wait until after the official card draw to discard them!”

“I see,” Boss Luo thought for a moment, “Then indeed, reaching a hundred percent execution rate is possible.”

“Aren’t you afraid of getting stuck in your own web with such rules, Ms. Mina?” The maid chuckled softly at this time.

“However, if luck is on your side, you might directly become the ‘King’ without having any cards, thus being completely safe!” The lady with butterfly wings blinked.

The true dragon of China, finger counting… cannot keep up!!!!

“W-wait a moment.”

But the true dragon of China still managed to catch on slightly, “You say if the last card is the king, it will automatically become part of a hand. But wouldn’t this mean the king’s identity is immediately exposed, contradicting your so-called ‘Fate’s Correction’?”

“Nope.” The girl giggled, “Even if I know you have the king card, I might not draw it. Besides, isn’t fate always like this? Didn’t the people always know the successor king from the start… then, a coup happens and the regime shifts, isn’t that fate’s correction too… After hearing these rules, Noble Master, do you still want to play this game?”

“What about the restrictions on specific directives,” Boss Luo smiled slightly and asked, “and the contents of punishments?”

“Indeed,”

The girl laughed and said, “If the command is too excessive, then it would lose the original meaning of the game… after all, if participants don’t feel the fun of the game and instead develop resentment, then it becomes pointless. Since everyone is participating together… why don’t we each set one rule ourselves? However, the last person to set a rule cannot eliminate any previously set rules with something like, ‘All above rules are canceled’ or ‘The last rule is canceled’, making all restrictions invalid! Regarding the punishment… got it!”

The girl quickly ran out and returned shortly after with a small bottle of liquid in her hand, “This is a paint made from a plant that grows in a very special place. Once it touches the skin, it can’t be washed off for half a month… As punishment, the king will write a sentence of at least seven characters on the punished person’s face!”

“Childish,” The true dragon of China snorted softly… and then inexplicably felt a sense of relief.

“Well then… this punishment is acceptable,” Boss Luo nodded, “With each having one rule, it seems fair enough.”

“In that case, let’s confirm once more… does everyone plan to participate in this game? Only after deciding to join can we begin setting rules; once decided, you cannot back out,” the girl slowly raised her hand and said sweetly: “I will join.”

Seeing this, the boss and the maid exchanged a smile and then slowly raised their own hands.

“It sounds interesting! I’m in too!” The lady with butterfly wings raised her hand without a second thought.

Left with the true dragon of China under everyone’s watchful eyes, the pressure was immense, but her commitment to face saved her and she nonchalantly raised her hand, “Might as well kill some time.”

“Then, let’s start setting rules, one each. I’ll start,” the girl thought for a moment, and her eyes shifted as she said, “Rule One, if an executor cannot complete or refuses to complete a command, they can choose to accept punishment or take off a piece of clothing to offset it, but only up to the underwear~”

“Vulgar!” The true dragon snorted softly… Counted her clothes, surprisingly many?

“In this case, it seems Ms. Mina would be at a disadvantage.” The maid covered her mouth while chuckling lightly… this girl was wearing only sleepwear, “If all clothes are removed, what then?”

“That’s true!” The girl pondered and glanced at her clothes, then said: “Then… it will be limited to underwear only!”

“Ms. Mina, you’re confident,” Boss Luo casually laughed, “Well… Rule Two, allow two vetoes for commands, but the third must be executed regardless, no punishment! What do you think?”

“Agreed,” the girl nodded, smiling: “Noble Master is kind… really reduces participants’ pressure.”

Boss Luo merely smiled and said nothing.

“In that case…” The maid chuckled and said, “Rule Three, commands cannot involve any physical contact.”

“Ah, this makes it less fun… seems to take away a lot of enjoyment.” The girl shook her head in disappointment… but Rule Three received no objections, so she conceded: “Rule Three is set, who is next?”

The true dragon of China glanced at the lady with butterfly wings, who blinked and pointed at herself, “Me next? Then… Rule Four… no one is allowed to get angry, keep smiling!”

How… wasted a chance to set a rule—this large-chested, brainless butterfly.

“Did I… did I say it wrong?” Feeling the sharp gaze from Sister Long beside her, the lady with butterfly wings helplessly looked towards the maid and the boss for help.

“No, I think it’s nice,” Boss Luo chuckled, “After all, games are meant for fun… I agree.”

The true dragon of China rolled her eyes… indeed, it was up to her!

She quickly reviewed the above four rules in her mind and finally slowly said: “Rule Five, commands must be limited to this living room, not allowing any means to let effects extend beyond its range.”

Several people looked in surprise at the true dragon… seeing it, Long Xiruo felt uncomfortable and frowned, “What, do you have any objections?!”

“No…” Mina the girl shook her head, looking surprised, “On the contrary, it’s such a normal rule, it’s somewhat… unexpected. I thought this auntie’s rules would be more… well, let’s just go with this.”

Auntie…

This little brat…

Stay calm… A dignified true dragon of China shouldn’t argue with a wet-behind-the-ears little brat, it’s beneath my status… Stay calm.

So, the rules and conditions were thus established.

…

At this moment.

The girl started picking up the cards she had already selected and continued to shuffle them, “Before we formally begin, there are two additional notes. The dealer must change after each game. Secondly, using abilities to peek at cards is not allowed since Mina isn’t like the Noble Master, possessing magical abilities, just an ordinary human… Of course, even if you nobles do use your abilities, Mina wouldn’t know and can’t help it, so even if Mina gets bullied, she’ll just have to obediently accept it.”

“Don’t worry, I will stick to the rules.” Boss Luo nodded, then looked at the true dragon of China and said, “Miss Long, you will also follow the rules, right.”

“Hmph, I… I really disdain playing such petty tricks with a young girl!”

“Then let’s begin.” Boss Luo directly made a gesture of invitation to the girl.

So, before dealing the cards, the girl smiled and asked, “Well, would you like to cut the cards?”

“No need.” Boss Luo said casually.

The true dragon of China, who had just said some grand words, immediately crossed its arms… the lady with butterfly wings looking at the cards in the girl’s hand with anticipation.

The maid remained unfazed, pouring fresh flower tea for the people seated at the table.

The girl adeptly performed a quick shuffle, then with a flick of her fingers, a card sprung from her hand, a Three of Hearts, placed between her lips, as the starting card.

What’s with that expert demeanor… the true dragon of China couldn’t help twitching the corner of its eye… suddenly said, “Wait! I’ll cut the deck!”

The girl chuckled, said nothing, and handed the deck over.

The true dragon of China haphazardly shuffled a few times before returning the cards.

The girl resumed counting from the Three of Hearts — starting from herself, ending up with the lady with butterfly wings by her side.

Dealing began with the maid.

The order was: the maid, Long Xiruo, Luo Pianqian, Mina the girl, Luo Qiu.

“Wow!”

When the cards reached the lady with butterfly wings, she eagerly grabbed them.

The true dragon of China leaned back slightly, eyes narrowing, eyes glancing right to the extent… the little butterfly monster slightly pouted, covering her first card over her chest, “Sister Long, no cheating!!”

Zhongshan Butterfly!!

The true dragon of China rolled its eyes… one by one, cards were dealt to each participant.

Soon, twenty cards were dealt, and the girl smiled, revealing the last undelivered card to everyone.

The Ace of Spades… automatically added to the true dragon of China’s group — the true dragon naturally showed a dark expression.

The first round.

Mina the girl: Three of Hearts, Three of Clubs, Four of Spades, Five of Diamonds.

Lady with butterfly wings: Two of Hearts, Two of Clubs, Two of Diamonds, Four of Diamonds.

Maid: King of Spades, Two of Spades, Five of Spades, Ace of Clubs.

Luo Qiu: Ace of Hearts, Five of Hearts, Four of Clubs, Five of Clubs.

The true dragon of China: Three of Spades, Four of Hearts, Ace of Diamonds, Three of Diamonds, Ace of Spades (face-up card).

With the face-down cards held in front of it, the true dragon of China glanced at the people around the table… then very casually placed the face-up Ace of Spades on the far left.

Let’s go… the Ace of Spades is right here!

The girl said at this point, “Okay, let’s start the Fate’s Correction… The first person in line to draw a card, please do so! The drawing order is the same as the dealing order.”

The first one… the maid.

Just as the maid reached out without hesitation, the true dragon nodded to itself… let’s go, the Ace of Spades is here!

Unexpectedly, the maid just looked at her master, then seemingly casually drew a card from Boss Luo’s hand, “Ah, lucky, can get rid of a pair now.”

She paired the Five of Spades in her hand with the Five of Hearts she drew from Boss Luo, then discarded them.

Tsk… no Ace of Hearts in your hand… the true dragon pouted, it’s her turn to draw next.

Seeing the merchant and this scheming maid each only having three cards in hand, the true dragon, having no charity in mind, randomly grabbed a card from the lady with butterfly wings.

Two of Hearts… six cards!

The true dragon went dark around the face.

Then it was the lady with butterfly wings’ turn… she looked at the six cards in Sister Long’s hand, glanced at the three in Boss Luo and You Ye’s respective hands, and the four in Mina the girl’s hand, then bit her finger, eyeing the true dragon while reaching towards Boss Luo’s cards.

From watching the true dragon’s changing gaze, the lady with butterfly wings lowered her head instantly, quickly drawing a card from Boss Luo’s deck, then immediately discarded her hand’s Diamond 2 and Club 2, checked her newly drawn card, finding it to be Club 4.

Forming a pair, discarding…

Current number of cards held by lady with butterfly wings: 0

########

PS: Next chapter later.