Chapter 74: The Art of Intimidation

Thirty-four million in chips!

After just two rounds, the stakes of this game had already reached such heights!

Brother Yun, who was observing from the side, glanced at the calm He Tian and couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration.

Without even glancing at his cards, he had first blindly raised by a million, then pushed it to five million!

Not everyone possessed such nerve!

Brother Yun was eager to see what Lin Yun would choose next.

He Tian touched his nose and glanced down at the chips in front of him.

There were still forty-three million left.

When He Tian looked up again, his face wore a gentle, self-assured smile, the kind that radiated confidence, as though everything was firmly under his control.

Then, to everyone’s astonishment, He Tian shoved all his remaining chips forward in one go—forty-three million!

“Forty-three million! I’ll keep raising blindly… I’ve always been lucky, and I trust my luck!” He Tian leaned back in his chair, smiling faintly, eyes fixed on the obese boss from Qingdao and the boss from Weihai seated next to him.

Now, the obese Qingdao boss had withdrawn his hand from the young woman beside him, his demeanor turning deadly serious. Eyes almost buried in flesh stared intently at the smiling He Tian.

Forty-three million!

And he hadn’t even looked at his cards!

If the Qingdao boss wanted to follow, he’d have to match eighty-six million.

Eighty-six million!

No matter how deep his pockets, at this point, anyone would waver and weigh things carefully.

“Oh, darling, let’s just watch this round,” the fat boss suddenly chuckled after pondering for more than ten seconds, then gently tossed his cards away.

He’d folded.

He’d just lost twelve million.

But compared to risking eighty-six million, twelve million was nothing to the Qingdao boss.

Well, though it stung a little, how could he show any sign of regret in front of so many people? No, he could not! Money was a small matter; face was everything!

The obese Qingdao boss was out.

Now only the boss from Weihai remained.

If he wanted to stay in, he’d have to put up at least eighty-six million.

Without a doubt, faced with such a sum, he needed to think carefully.

Even though the Qingdao boss had already taken his time, it wasn’t enough for the boss from Weihai to make up his mind.

What made him hesitate was that He Tian had never even looked at his cards…

He had no idea if He Tian’s hand was strong or weak!

As for his own cards, he was genuinely reluctant to give up just like that.

The entire VIP room was silent.

Standing behind He Tian, Cao Xiaobin’s eyes were filled with awe.

In his eyes, He Tian’s composure was simply too cool, too commanding!

“You’re out of chips,” the Weihai boss finally broke the silence, speaking in a low voice.

“Oh… dear Brother Yun, would you kindly check how much is in this card?” Like performing a magic trick, He Tian produced a golden bank card.

Brother Yun’s eyes lit up.

He’d thought He Tian was a fat sheep, but he hadn’t imagined just how fat.

This kind of golden card could only be held by someone with deposits of at least a billion!

And He Tian had one! What did that mean? It meant He Tian’s assets exceeded a billion!

Perhaps there were several billions in that card… who could say for sure?

“I fold,” the Weihai boss suddenly tossed his cards aside.

He’d just been testing He Tian…

But upon seeing He Tian’s obvious financial might, he decisively backed down.

He was afraid. Afraid that after he matched eighty-six million, He Tian would push it further—to a hundred million! At that point, would he follow or fold?

He Tian swiftly put the golden card away, a faint smile on his lips.

Meanwhile, the seventy-seven million in chips on the table had already been deftly raked in front of He Tian by an excited Cao Xiaobin.

Of those, fifty million were He Tian’s own chips; the rest—twenty-seven million, no, plus seventy thousand in the pot—meant that He Tian had won a total of twenty-seven million and seventy thousand in this hand.

For a gambler like Cao Xiaobin, how could he not be excited at such a scene?

Cao Xiaomin, on the other hand, was stupefied.

She was a high-level professional, a “gold-collar worker,” but even so, her annual base salary—excluding benefits, bonuses, and shares—was only three million.

And now, in just a brief moment, He Tian had won twenty-seven million—nine years of her salary!

For the first time, Cao Xiaomin felt the true thrill of gambling.

Yet beyond the excitement, what she found even more impressive was He Tian’s composure and poise…

He hadn’t checked his cards from start to finish. Yet he’d won!

Cao Xiaomin still couldn’t quite grasp how he’d pulled it off.

“What… what cards did you have?” she asked softly.

Though her voice was quiet, everyone present heard, and all eyes turned to the three cards in front of He Tian, which had lain untouched the entire time.

“I have no idea! I never looked at them! Want to see? Go ahead, flip them over yourself!” He Tian replied with a cheerful grin.

Cao Xiaomin hesitated.

“Come on, take a look,” He Tian encouraged.

Only then did Cao Xiaomin reach out with trembling fingers…

The five bosses and Brother Yun focused even more intently on those three cards.

She flipped the first: the three of diamonds.

Then the second: the four of spades.

The five bosses exchanged glances—would the third be a two or a five? If so, losing to such a hand wouldn’t be so bad.

Brother Yun was also eager to see the third card.

Cao Xiaomin didn’t keep them waiting. The third card was turned over.

The nine of hearts.

Instantly, Brother Yun and the five bosses were stunned.

A nine of hearts, a four of spades, and a three of diamonds.

This… this was an abysmal hand!

All five bosses looked regretful, especially the obese Qingdao boss and the boss from Weihai. Their regret was almost palpable.

Their hands had been far stronger than He Tian’s!

But in the end, they’d both been bluffed out by He Tian and hadn’t dared to follow.

“Well, my luck’s not so great! Still, I’m glad I won,” He Tian said with feigned embarrassment as he looked at his cards, smiling apologetically at everyone.

He genuinely didn’t know what cards he’d been holding!

Now it was too late to check the dealer’s hand for clues.

But He Tian had to win the first round—so he’d seized the opportunity to act first, raised blindly without looking at his cards.

If the Weihai boss hadn’t folded, He Tian was prepared to keep raising to a hundred million, never giving his opponent a chance to demand a showdown, simply driving him out with money.

Now, He Tian had achieved his aim.

And the outcome of this hand only boosted his confidence for the rounds to come.

“Mr. He, you really have guts! I’m impressed! Dealer, shuffle the cards. Let’s go again!” the obese Qingdao boss grumbled, squinting.

“I just took a gamble, that’s all. Thank you for letting me win,” He Tian replied, smiling and giving a polite clasp of his fists.

No one noticed that He Tian’s sharp eyes were already watching the dealer’s hands closely as he shuffled. One by one, he was memorizing the cards.

As far as He Tian was concerned, the dealer’s hands were far too slow to escape his notice.

Each of the six tossed in the minimum ante of ten thousand.

The dealer dealt three cards to each player.

He Tian quickly judged the strength of everyone’s hand.

He wore his confident smile and didn’t bother looking at his cards.

The obese Qingdao boss, seeing He Tian so unfazed, drew his hand back as well.

The Jinan boss, the Rizhao boss, and the Yantai boss, however, immediately checked their cards.

The Weihai boss hesitated, but in the end, did not look.

Since He Tian had won the previous hand, according to the rules, the Jinan boss, seated after him, would speak first.

He Tian had the last say—a powerful advantage, reserved for the previous winner.

“One million,” the Jinan boss declared after glancing at his cards.

With uncertainty in the air, there was no way he’d fold outright—unless his hand was truly abysmal.

After him came the obese Qingdao boss.

“I’ll raise a million!” the fat boss chuckled, pushing a million in chips to the center. “Let’s see if I can learn a thing or two from Mr. He.”

He Tian smiled slightly, neither confirming nor denying the comment, but always exuding self-assurance.

“Five million!” The Rizhao boss—who had folded first in the previous round—surprised everyone by immediately tossing in five million.

Next was the Yantai boss.

He smiled broadly. “It’s not easy, but I finally got a good hand! I’m in for ten million!”

Everyone turned to look at him. No one expected such a bold bet.

Did he really have a good hand?

Doubt lingered in every heart.

Perhaps the Yantai boss was just putting on a show.

But regardless, his ten million was already in the pot. Now it was the Weihai boss’s turn.

“I’ll raise five million!” he declared, tossing in his chips.

Five million—for another round of observation—seemed worth it to him.

If he checked his cards now, it would look too timid.

And with a ten-million bet on the table, one only needed five million to follow without looking.

Finally, it was He Tian’s turn.

“With everyone still in, how could I leave now? The feeling of winning just now was great—I want to try my luck again! I’ll raise ten million…” He Tian fondled his mountain of chips, counted out ten million, and pushed them into the center of the table.

Everyone’s eyes narrowed.

A blind raise of ten million!

Anyone who wanted to match would now need to put in at least twenty million.

A tough choice.

And first to face it was the Jinan boss.

Adjusting his glasses, his scholarly face calm, he thought for a moment, then smiled.

“You all go on ahead. I’m out this round.”