The host spent ten minutes refining several suggestions Feng Bujue had made.

He canceled everyone's challenge immunity and added a rule that "the referee flips a coin to decide who goes first."

This way, before the duel was established, no one knew whether they would be the questioner or the solver, and both sides would have nothing to say about the order of attack and defense determined by the coin.

In addition, in order to shorten the objective gap brought about by the funding difference, "secondary loans" were also started; the upper limit of the loan was the difference between the player's current holdings and the funds of the first-ranked player, rounded to the nearest whole number.

By the way, the person currently ranked first is Feng Bujue.

His lead in "time" allowed him more hunting opportunities… By ten o'clock, his holdings had reached over three hundred thousand U.S. dollars.

Therefore, the amount of the secondary loan was based on him.

For example, if someone lost and only had less than ten thousand U.S. dollars left, they could borrow two hundred and ninety thousand; if they had sixty thousand on hand, they could borrow two hundred and forty thousand…

Of course, they would have to sign a new supplementary contract on the basis of the first contract they signed.

Long story short…

At ten thirty-eight, the secondary loan began.

Although the host had a group of top-notch legal and financial personnel, the drafting and printing of the contract still took about twenty minutes.

To be honest, without making mistakes, these people's work was already extremely efficient… But the host seemed not very satisfied, because he didn't like waiting.

"Hurry up! You scum, you're dawdling when borrowing money. Time waits for no one!"

While the players were borrowing money, the host was already urging loudly from the second floor.

Indeed, the time until midnight was getting shorter and shorter. Even if they shortened the time of each duel to within twenty minutes as Feng Bujue said, they wouldn't be able to play too many rounds.

…………

At ten forty-five, everyone who needed it had completed the secondary loan.

At this moment, victory or defeat was on again.

This time, everyone knew the importance of funding; no one was hesitant or indecisive anymore. They all put all their eggs in one basket and raised the amount of funding to the limit of three hundred thousand.

So, at this point in time, the funding difference between all the players disappeared, the right to challenge each other was also released, and the order of attack and defense depended on fate.

In short… they returned to a relatively fair competitive state.

Of course, it wasn't that the advantages of the "leaders" just now had disappeared, because… at midnight, that is, at the end of the "guess the number duel," everyone had to pay off the "loan" first, and then settle the "chips."

Therefore, the disadvantage of the laggards still existed. The "secondary loan" only gave them the capital and opportunity to counterattack.

As for whether they can turn the tables in adversity, it depends on their performance in the future…

…………

"Young Master, there is something I don't understand…" More than ten minutes after the duel restarted, Suit A found an opportunity and said to the host.

"What's the matter?" The host was in a good mood at the moment, and he immediately responded in a brisk tone.

"I can see the purpose of Jiang Daode's suggestion to you… He was afraid that the set of rules you originally wanted to change would be too unfavorable to him, so he proposed a more compromise method." Suit A continued, "But what I don't understand is… why is he still actively earning chips now?"

"Yes… Young Master, I don't understand either…" Suit B also said at this time, "According to the current situation, he should try to delay the time and adopt a conservative strategy as much as possible." He paused for half a second, and then said, "As leaders, there is no need to continue to 'strive for profit'. As long as they 'lose less', they can be firmly in the forefront when settling accounts."

"Hehe…" The host smiled when he heard this, "It's no wonder you can't understand…" He shook his head, "The reason why you can't understand his behavior is because your most basic 'thinking mode' is different from him."

As soon as these words came out, the two suits looked at the host with puzzled expressions, waiting for him to continue.

"You, and 99% of the hundreds of people here, are thinking based on the concept of 'surviving'." The host paused for a moment, then continued, "Surviving in this game, surviving in tonight's gambling game, returning to the outside world… surviving…"

Suit A swallowed: "Young Master… is this idea… wrong?"

"There is no right or wrong in this…" the host replied, "It can only be said that your ideas represent 'the will of the majority', that is, what is called 'normal'…" As he spoke, his eyes were already cast on Jue-ge in the venue, "However, that man… his thoughts are different from yours, or in other words—'abnormal'."

"He… is he thinking about dying?" Suit B asked very directly.

"Haha…" The host was amused, "Not that meaning…" He turned his head and glanced at the two bodyguards next to him, and then said, "You have also accompanied me to watch many such 'good shows'. What do you think… is the essence of 'gambling'?"

The two men looked at each other, but did not respond, because they did not have a real answer in their hearts.

"Heh…" The host saw this and waited for a few seconds, then continued, "Gambling is dying meaninglessly…"

Although he said an "answer," the two of them still didn't understand.

"The size of the cards, the number of dice, the whereabouts of a certain marble, the outcome of a certain game, or even what kind of car will drive by in the next minute…" the host continued, "Gambling is these 'boring' things… at least most of them are boring and meaningless. If it doesn't involve 'betting', gambling will probably become as annoying as statistics. But… it's different after there is a 'bet'—winning may mean getting everything, and losing may mean losing everything; betting 'everything' on a 'result' that has not yet happened, enjoying the excitement in the process, and bearing the joy or pain when the result is revealed… this is the real gambler, the real 'rascal'."

"Young Master, you mean…" Suit A also turned his head to look at Jue-ge at this time, "He is also a real…"

"No." The host interrupted the other party, "It's wrong for you to use the word 'also'." He spread his hands and smiled, "Only he is the real deal, I'm not a 'rascal'… I'm just a coward." He muttered sadly, "People like me who use money to protect themselves and are always in a safe place from beginning to end… can't be considered 'gambling', at most it's just 'playing'."

The host paused and continued: "Obviously, this 'Mr. Crow'… is a complete rascal; to make a not very appropriate analogy… when everyone is considering 'how to survive to the next round of the game', he is considering 'how to kill everyone'. This essential difference, coupled with the gap in ability, makes his execution higher than others by several levels…"

…………

Late, eleven fifty-nine.

There is only one minute left until midnight.

According to the rules, duels that are not completed at midnight can be extended until the end.

And at this moment, almost all the "guests" are still in duels…

Some of them have calmness written on their faces, some have smugness, and some have expressions of "it's over"; the masks cover up these expressions, but sweat, tears… still uncontrollably flow down some people's cheeks and chins; the trembling of their bodies and postures… cannot be concealed either.

It can be said that although this last duel is not over yet, based on body language, it is basically possible to identify who will be eliminated.

On the other hand, I don't know when, the number of men in suits and sunglasses in the venue has increased once again; moreover, dozens of women in suits and sunglasses have also come.

As staff, they are all very clear… the next scene will become quite ugly, so they need enough manpower to suppress a large number of frantic people to control the situation.

And this noisy moment after midnight is also a good show that the host is very happy to see.

People who have fallen into the quagmire of despair have shown their ugly and embarrassing postures and faces.

Those men who were originally upright and arrogant are now kneeling on the ground begging for mercy and crying; those women who were originally beautiful and elegant are screaming, crying, and hysterical.

But this last struggle is undoubtedly futile, and they are still dragged out…

Among them, those who have not signed a "protection contract" are forcibly sent back to their respective single cabins. As soon as the ship docks, they will be driven ashore and burdened with even more serious debts.

And those who have already signed a "protection contract" are gathered separately according to gender; other guests don't know where they are going, but… they can imagine their future as "possessions."

…………

Dawn, twelve twenty-five.

"Ladies and gentlemen~" Tonight, the host came down from the second floor for the first time, "Allow me to congratulate you all first."

He walked with a dashing pace to the middle of the main hall, while the two suits followed closely behind, one on each side.

"Congratulations to everyone for standing out in the number guessing duel." The host said here, and gently clapped his hands.

The next second, all the men and women staff in suits and sunglasses around also applauded. However… from their faces, there was no trace of "congratulations."

"Before announcing the rules of the next round of the game, allow me… to offer everyone a toast first."

Before the host finished speaking, sixty-four men in sunglasses had already come to the remaining sixty-four guests in the main hall with trays.

Each of them had a glass of champagne on their tray.

"Please be sure to show your appreciation…" The host said, while taking his glass of champagne from the sixty-fifth staff member, and raising it high.

Seeing this situation, the guests naturally raised their glasses to signal. Some of the masks were more tightly sealed, and they had already used their other hand to slightly lift the lower half of the mask in preparation for drinking.

As for Feng Bujue… he had to raise the glass to almost the same height as his face to drink the contents, so at this moment his action of "sticking the straw into the eye of the mask" was still the same.

"Then…" The host raised his glass for a few seconds and muttered, "Um… let me think about the toast…"

"Hurry up, my hand is sore." As soon as the other party finished speaking, Jue-ge urged.

The host curled his lips under the mask: "Okay… then I wish the world and…"

Before he could say the word "peace," Feng Bujue snatched it away: "Are you kidding me? What peace are you talking about? Do you think you're participating in a beauty pageant? Change it!"

As soon as he heard this, the host's expression twitched, and he muttered in his heart: "Hey hey… you're the one who's urging… you're also the one who's picking and choosing… are you looking for trouble…"

Thinking is thinking, he still changed his words: "Then… thank you all for…"

"Is this a full moon party or a classmate reunion? Do you want to change your words and call us all guests? Thank you for what? It's as if we came to show you face, change it!" Jue-ge interrupted the other party again, and once again launched his cheap and full of Tucao ability.

"I haven't said what I'm going to thank you for!" The host finally couldn't help it, and roared at Jue-ge, "Are you done! You might as well say it!"

"Okay, I wish you all good health." Feng Bujue said a sentence in an extremely fast tone, and then slurped away most of the glass of champagne.

The host was shocked at the time, but after being shocked, he still finished the champagne in his hand with the other guests.

Feeling ashamed of his gaffe, the host cleared his throat awkwardly after drinking, waited a few seconds, and then said: "Ahem… then… everyone, I will announce the content of the second game."

After saying that, he raised one hand and snapped his fingers.

Two seconds later, a man in a suit and sunglasses walked over, took the empty wine glass from the host's hand, and then handed him something.

After the host took it, he raised "that thing" and showed it to everyone: "I named this game—'Triple Neurasthenia'."

While saying those six words, he took the opportunity to use a common shuffling technique in Hong Kong gambling films in the 1990s, and ran the entire deck of neatly stacked, brand-new cards from top to bottom.

At this moment, the sixty-three guests present did not see anything from the host's show of skill, but only one person… already knew a lot of information.

"Um… not poker, but special cards. A total of one hundred and two cards, divided into thirty-four patterns… It is indeed a bit more difficult than ordinary 'Neurasthenia', but…" After a glance, Feng Bujue was already muttering in his heart, "Heh… playing cards in front of me, you're probably still a little tender…"