Chapter 653: Building Trust

Qiao Jiajin, holding the utterly irrelevant “one-two-eight” card in his hand compared to the “community cards,” boldly taunted Earth Monkey.

“Fat monkey, my hand’s so bad I’m betting two ‘Tao.’ You in or out?”

He placed two ‘Tao’ on the table, but Earth Monkey remained motionless.

“Who cares about him? I’m in anyway,” Chen Junnan decisively tossed out two ‘Tao.’ “Our Monkey Bro’s loaded. Whether he follows or not, it’s up to him.”

Next, Qi Xia also chose to call, and everyone turned their eyes to Earth Monkey.

This round, his expression was intriguing—as if he had realized something, yet he remained silent.

“I’m in too.” Qi Xia dropped two ‘Tao’ on the table before looking up. “Earth Monkey, didn’t you say you’d show me your skills?”

Earth Monkey raised his head, scanning the group before glancing at his own hand. Calmly, he spoke: “I fold.”

Without waiting for a reaction, he flipped his cards face-down and pushed his two ‘Tao’ into the pot.

“I concede this round. Play on without me.”

He shook his head, took the cigarette from his mouth, and flicked the ash—seemingly fully withdrawing from this round.

Qi Xia frowned, never expecting Earth Monkey to bow out so decisively.

They hadn’t even dealt the ‘hole cards’ yet, and he was already refusing to place the most basic bet.

“So this is your so-called skill…?” Qi Xia stared at Earth Monkey for a long moment before finally speaking. “A gambler without the guts to take a risk?”

“Only someone who isn’t a gambler would say that.” Earth Monkey met his gaze. “The ‘victory’ I want is to leave all of you without enough chips to survive after eight rounds—not to keep feeding you ‘Tao’ when my hand is weak.”

“Oh?”

“Qi Xia, you know as well as I do—even if I do nothing, I’ll win this game in the end. After all, *you’re* the ones trying to take chips from *me.* The ones in a hurry aren’t me, but you.” Earth Monkey’s eyes swept over the ‘Tao’ on the table. “So I have more choices than you. I fold whenever I want.”

“I don’t see it that way.” Qi Xia shook his head. “In the first round, you had a hand just as bad as this, yet you resolutely *raised.* This time, you folded. I think there’s more to your withdrawal.”

“Is that so?” Earth Monkey gave him an ambiguous look. “What do you think it is?”

“You’re *waiting,* aren’t you?” Qi Xia’s eyes turned icy. “You think I’ve already mastered the rules of ‘Waxing and Waning Moon’ and can collude with my teammates to cheat you, drastically lowering your odds. So you’re waiting for something.”

Earth Monkey slowly brought his hands together in front of him, his face unreadable.

“Will *waiting* bring you victory?” Qi Xia pressed.

But Earth Monkey’s composure was flawless—no microexpressions betrayed him.

Seeing the sudden psychological barrier Earth Monkey had erected, Qi Xia found it intriguing.

His state seemed elevated. Was he always like this, or had Qi Xia’s words forced him to evolve?

Realizing he wouldn’t pry anything loose, Qi Xia glanced at the others, deciding to wrap up the round.

With Earth Monkey out, no matter how the remaining players bet, the final chip count wouldn’t change—it was a small-scale *zero-sum game.*

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

Xiao Cheng slowly furrowed his brow. He found this round deeply frustrating—he might’ve already cracked the rules, and his hand was decent. He had four ‘nines,’ likely the strongest possible combination at this stage. Yet Earth Monkey had folded outright.

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

He clenched his fists, as if struggling to voice something.

He seemed to be wrestling with an impossible decision.

“Think carefully,” Qi Xia said coldly, turning to him.

“Huh?”

“You really want to challenge us here?” Qi Xia frowned. “Are you *that* confident?”

Xiao Cheng lowered his head, torn between frustration and reluctance. He hadn’t expected a mere flicker of expression to give him away.

“Qi Xia… right?” Xiao Cheng asked. “You probably don’t know why I’m here… I never meant to provoke an ‘Earth-rank.’ I just wanted to awaken my ‘Echo.’”

“I can guess,” Qi Xia replied. “But I advise you not to lose sight of the bigger picture.”

“But I *can’t* die…” Xiao Cheng gripped his cards, his face twisted in agony. “If I win this round… I can fold every round after and still have enough to leave…”

“And then what?” Qi Xia raised an eyebrow. “Head to another game site to try and trigger your ‘Echo’?”

“I—”

“If I’m not mistaken, that girl and kid are only here because of you, right?” Qi Xia pressed.

Xiao Cheng froze, then slowly turned to look at Tian Tian and Zheng Yingxiong.

Seeing his hesitation, Qi Xia continued: “Now you’re going to abandon them here and win alone? I’ll give you one chance—tell me yourself if that’s acceptable. Once you decide, I won’t interfere again.”

Xiao Cheng pursed his lips, deep in thought, before finally lowering his head. “All I’m saying is… this game isn’t for me. With you here, we *will* win. Staying gives me no chance to awaken my ‘Echo’—instead, I’ll just die caught in your feud with Earth Monkey.”

“You underestimate both Earth Monkey *and* me,” Qi Xia said.

“What…?” Xiao Cheng blinked. “I don’t follow.”

“You think the game’s rules end here? If you stop thinking, you *will* die.”

“You mean…” Xiao Cheng’s voice dropped to a whisper. “The ‘rules’ will *change* again?”

Qi Xia ignored the question. “Besides, even if Earth Monkey and I have a feud, it doesn’t mean we’ll die here.”

“Qi Xia… just who are you—”

“A liar,” Qi Xia answered. “Do you trust me?”

Xiao Cheng fell silent for a long moment. “But I—”

“You might not realize whose ‘game’ you’ve stepped into.” Qi Xia waved him off. “Just tell me if you believe me. I don’t need explanations.”