novelhk 0023, let's give Kangnuo one.
0023, let's give Kangnuo one.
Steam carrying the scents of thyme, lavender, and violet washed over Zhou Yun's face, and the warm bath instantly dispelled the chill that had enveloped him.
Located amidst mountains, Macuraq experiences bitterly cold nights, so the people of Macuraq chose bathhouses as their nightlife venue.
Therefore, bathhouses are not just bathhouses, but also places of pleasure, socializing, and gambling.
As soon as Zhou Yun stepped onto the damp corridor of the bathhouse, he caught glimpses of the obscene and lewd scenes unfolding within.
A stunning singer, dressed in a nearly transparent gauze dress, stood on a high platform in the center of the bathhouse, bathing in the flowing water, swaying her supple waist like a water snake while singing a captivating melody.
The girls in the bath were naked, laughing and playing, displaying their still somewhat immature bodies like commodities. If they were just girls, it wouldn't be so bad... Zhou Yun realized he also saw figures dressed similarly to the girls, but definitely not women, soaking in the bath, displaying alluring postures.
Men who were clearly from wealthy families by the bathhouse couldn't help but cheer. Some impatient customers even jumped into the bathhouse fully clothed, picked up the girl amidst her gasps, and carried her to a private room next to the bathhouse.
"I thought our dear Governor Connor had already banned open prostitution," Zhou Yun said, watching the scene unfold.
Upon hearing this, Cicero exaggeratedly widened his eyes and said to Zhou Yun, "My dear friend, how can you humiliate these pure and romantic girls like this?"
"There's no prostitution involved. It's just that men and women happen to fall in love at first sight tonight—and as for the money paid to the girls, oh, that's just a breakup fee if they fall out of love tomorrow morning."
"I wonder what Governor Connor would think if he heard such a romantic story?"
"Then we can only ask Lord Connor to make do—in the end, his laws are simply unreasonable. The poor girls need a job, and the weary men need tenderness. These needs will always exist... You know, even many elders are feasting here, so even if Lord Connor came, there wouldn't be anything he could do."
Cicero chuckled and said:
"Can he still lock everyone in his boring cell? Poor and ridiculous Connor."
Connor Guilliman may not have been able to do it, but his son certainly did.
Honestly, those extravagant and wasteful bastards in Macurag should really kowtow to Connor, whom they hold a grudge against.
The Primarch, Robert Guilliman, possessed a cold and mechanical mindset. He saw only right and wrong, strength and weakness, black and white, allowing no gray areas. His study of military affairs was like a child reading a fairy tale. The terrifying destructive potential he exuded even instilled fear in his foster mother, Mrs. Euton.
If Connor hadn't taught him so well, changing Robert Guilliman's cold, mechanical mindset, then in the future, Guilliman would most likely have chosen the most efficient method when facing these nobles—to kill them all.
While secretly mocking him, Zhou Yun followed Cicero up to the casino area on the second floor.
"Cicero! Brother Zhou Yun!" A clear whistle rang out, and a rather obese man wearing the same red leather shoes as Cicero waved to the two men at a gambling table.
Zhou Yun remembered that it was the slave trader Thur, who used to gamble and have fun with Zhou Yun and Cicero in the market.
He beckoned Zhou Yun and Cicero to sit next to him, then had a waiter bring each of them a glass of wine.
"Brother Zhou Yun, you haven't been to our banquet for several days. I thought you had grown tired of us brothers." Tuer laughed and raised his glass to Zhou Yun in a toast.
"It's just that my boring niece keeps stopping me, so I finally found an opportunity." Zhou Yun also raised his wine glass to return the gesture to Tuer.
"Then you'd better gamble hard today and make up for what you missed the last few days." Tull's smile became even more pronounced.
Zhou Yun smiled slightly, looked at the gambling table in front of him and said, "Of course, I just told Cicero that I came here today to collect my money from you all."
Tu'er seemed amused by Zhou Yun's words and couldn't help but reveal a playful smile: "I really like what you said, so how about we play blackjack today?"
With that, Tull gestured for a waiter to bring a deck of cards, giving Zhou Yun no chance to refuse.
He placed the playing cards on the table before asking, "The usual, one chip for one dinar?"
"We were just saying we were going to catch up on all the fun we missed these past few days," Zhou Yun said with a slightly bored expression. "How about one hundred dinars per chip?"
The air seemed to freeze for a moment, and then...
Applause rang out.
"Ha! You're starting to like me," Tull exclaimed, clapping his hands in amazement.
Cicero, sitting to the side, twitched his eyelids slightly: "I didn't bring that much money with me."
"What a coincidence, I didn't bring any either." Zhou Yun waved his hand. "But can't we borrow some?"
borrow......
Cicero breathed a soft sigh of relief. He was taken aback by Zhou Yun's initiative, and leaned forward slightly, supporting himself on the table as he asked, "Are you really going to play like this?"
"Don't you want to experience the thrill?" Zhou Yun asked Cicero, tapping the gambling table.
Cicero was silent for a moment, then waved to the waiter beside him.
The attendant quickly returned with two loan agreements for the Temple of Simeneta.
"This is the loan agreement for three thousand dinars," the waiter said after placing the agreement on the table.
Zhou Yun and Cicero signed the contract at the same time and quickly exchanged it for thirty chips.
Tours, on the other hand, exchanged the cash for thirty chips.
"We'll take turns being the dealer, one for each round, starting with Cicero," Tour said, picking up the playing cards from the table and handing them to Cicero.
As Zhou Yun watched this scene, he simultaneously began to search through the scholar's memories for the rules of blackjack.
This is an ancient card game that existed long before Zhou Yun's time travel.
Although the rules of Makula are slightly different, the basic rules are the same.
A deck of cards, excluding the jokers, has 52 cards in total.
Points 2 to 10 are counted according to their face value, while J, K, and Q are counted as 10 points. Finally, Ace can be used as 1 or 11 points depending on the situation.
The player's goal is to get the sum of their cards as close to or equal to 21 points as possible, but not more than 21 points.
Each player starts with two cards. Players can choose to draw or stand, while the dealer must draw if their hand is less than 16 and stand if their hand is greater than 17.
After the game ends, the player whose hand sum is closer to 21 wins; if they are the same, it's a tie.
If both players have 21 points, the game is normally a draw.
However, there is another hand type known as "Blackjack," which is a blackjack hand with an A+J/Q/K. This hand beats other blackjack hands and has higher payouts.
In addition to this, there is a special rule called splitting the cards, which involves splitting two cards into two hands and calculating the win/loss separately. However, this rule can only be used when two identical cards are drawn.
"Place your bets, gentlemen," Cicero said to the two men in front of him.
The rules of blackjack are that the player bets first, and the banker wins or loses based on the player's bets.
Tour grinned and placed ten chips, symbolizing one thousand dinars, in front of him.
Zhou Yun then placed all thirty chips on the table.
"All in!" Zhou Yun gently extended a finger, waved it in the air, and said to Cicero, "It's a kind of wisdom."
Cicero's throat moved slightly; a sense of tension rose within him, and his fingers trembled slightly.
This emotion came so suddenly that his heart raced, making Cicero feel a little dizzy.
If Zhou Yun wins, Cicero will have to lose the three thousand dinars he just borrowed...
Is that why I'm nervous?
No, there's no need to be nervous about this.
Zhou Yun has no chance of winning; don't be intimidated by his foolish confidence.
Cicero suppressed his nervousness slightly, gave a cold laugh, and began shuffling the cards at lightning speed.
The cards were split into two piles between Cicero's fingers, unfolding like dovetails, and then fell back into a single pile in his palm, repeating this several times.
This betting game was a trap set for Zhou Yun from the start; the cards were already dealt when they were presented on the table.
Cicero could use a perfect shuffle to turn the hand into the order he wanted... In other words, if he and Tours were the dealers, Zhou Yun was bound to lose.
Two cards were presented to each of Zhou Yun, Tours, and Cicero.
Cicero first turned over one of the two cards in front of him; it was a 9.
In the rules, the dealer's cards will be one face up and one face down, while the other players' cards will both be face up.
Cicero knew his other card was a 10, making the total 19.
Tours turned over his cards: a Jack and a 9, which added up to 19.
According to the plan, Tours will not take the cards.
Zhou Yun's hand consisted of a 10 and a Queen, totaling 20 points.
If he dares to ask for the card, Cicero will deal Zhou Yun a 2, making Zhou Yun's hand total 22, which will result in him busting and losing.
If he doesn't play his cards, Cicero will reach 21 points, which would be the winning hand.
Cicero smiled and looked at Zhou Yun...
Zhou Yun smiled and looked at Cicero, then turned over the cards.
The first card was Q, which was exactly what Cicero had expected.
Then Zhou Yun gently turned to the second page...
"Huh?" Cicero uttered a bewildered "Ah."