pertwk Chapter 189 The Solution - This Miracle Was Easily Achieved
Chapter 189 The Solution - This Miracle Was Easily Achieved
Chapter 199 The Solution - This Miracle Was Easily Achieved
"Just as the detective deduced earlier, I did indeed meet that mathematics professor named Fischer once."
Despite the inexplicable turmoil, Ms. Naz remained calm and steered the conversation back to the main topic.
"On the Royal United, Yueju lost the roulette game and then disembarked without saying a word, which puzzled me greatly. At that time, the old man suggested that I visit this detective agency in Feiyun City. He believed that if it was Detective Hugo who introduced him to this consulting job, he would know the truth about the whole incident."
The actress patiently explained her visit to the Feather Residence. As expected of a current movie star, she spoke with elegance and composure, a far cry from the overly enthusiastic rookie director, Touko, and even more so from a certain superpowered individual she had frequently dealt with in the past.
As the detective silently rated his client, Naza continued speaking—
"After Miss Douzi's previous explanation, I already know why King Yueju deliberately lost the second round of the bet. It's amazing that you were able to get firsthand information about the bet so early, and even know more details than I, who was there firsthand... Could it be that you have sent an undercover agent within that cult organization?"
"Uh, no, it must have just been a coincidence that I knew..."
Bilan rubbed her forehead in exasperation and glanced at Douzi beside her, who looked embarrassed.
The younger man omitted the fact that N himself was the source of the intelligence in his description, but there were only a handful of people in the glass gambling room at the time who were present at the roulette game. With a little process of elimination, it would be easy to find out who the "undercover agent" who carelessly leaked the secret was.
However, for Naz, who is unaware of the green-haired youth's stance, this would probably be a profound and difficult puzzle.
"Fine, considering you explained the secret on the business card to me earlier, I'll let this go for now. But..."
The superpowered girl rested her index finger on her chin, recalling the excited smile on the other person's face before the gambling game began, a smile as sharp as a poisoned blade.
Then, Natsume uttered words that negated the detective's reasoning—
"To be honest, I don't think that guy Yueju would choose to lose out of cowardice just because of external pressure. As far as I know, he is a real gambler. When faced with a dilemma where the odds are even, he should not hesitate to gamble away a fortune. Running away with his tail between his legs is really not like Yueju."
"It's right that they don't look alike. On the Royal United, Blueberry wasn't a real gambler, but a masterful con artist."
Detective Hugo, however, disagreed and calmly offered a counterargument—
"From the moment Yueju began his partnership with the business alliance, he abandoned his identity as a gambler. Whether it was roulette, double dragon poker, or even all the gambling equipment in that transparent gambling room, there were corresponding cheating methods. All the ups and downs in the casino were actually under the control of that gambling king. Otherwise, he would never have been able to gain the trust of the capitalists he partnered with, let alone bring in an investment worth 10 billion alliance coins for the casino."
"Is everything under his control?"
Naza was taken aback; the detective's confident words reminded her of what Cranberry had told her—
"This match was so boring that the outcome was already decided before it even started; it wasn't even a decent gamble..."
What kind of foolproof cheating scheme allowed the King of Blueberries to confidently say such things?
"Mr. Hugo, putting aside the roulette game in the second round, how exactly did Blueberry manipulate the duel between Vio and the Double Dragon Poker?"
Finally, Naz asked the question that had been on her mind the most since the start of her trip.
While the roulette reversal was astonishing, on the surface it was simply a game of chance, a binary choice entirely based on luck. Even the green-haired youth who won looked utterly bewildered. In Sabrina's eyes, even without using her superpowers, she could tell that it was a result deliberately orchestrated by Lantana.
But the oppressive aura emanating from Vio the Sage, that legendary figure in the casino, was entirely different. This man was not only a master of mathematics but also intimately familiar with the many shady dealings within the casino, meticulously examining the layout of the transparent gaming room before the game even began.
How did Blueberry manage to cheat flawlessly under the watchful eyes of everyone?
"Any seemingly insurmountable problem can actually be broken down into many smaller problems and solved one by one. In the Double Dragon Poker game, the problem that Lanting faced was to make Vio, the sage of Team Plasma, lose all the funds that would shake the foundation of Team Plasma in one go."
As Hugo put the neatly rearranged business cards back into the business card box, he answered easily without hesitation.
"To solve this enormous problem, we need to overcome three relatively easy obstacles in turn—first, we must determine what method Vio used to win every game in the past."
"Is that important?" Naz asked, puzzled.
"If the opponent's mathematical theory of card counting is truly flawless, then there is no possibility of defeating Vio in the game, and it would be best to give up as soon as possible. If Vio's theory has flaws that he himself is aware of, then even if he can defeat this sage, he will not be able to win enough wealth to shake Group Plasma. If Vio simply won the past games by cheating, then he would never have accepted Blueberry's challenge—therefore, before all plans begin, Blueberry must get the answer to this question."
"Since the bet is valid, Vio's winning strategy shouldn't be any of the three methods, right?"
The assistant standing nearby said thoughtfully, "He was neither a cheater nor did he possess absolutely correct mathematical tools, yet he became a casino legend thanks to his almost flawless mathematical theory. However, his theory still harbors fatal flaws."
"Yes, through rumors, reasoning, or a gambler's intuition, Blueberry noticed this and tried to prove it with theory—which is why Fisher was able to find work on the gambling ship."
Hugo raised a finger mysteriously, reminding everyone: "Whether a scam succeeds or not depends not on how clever the con artist is, but on whether the victim is even likely to be deceived."
"So that's how it is. The whole scam was set up for Vio, the perfect victim."
Sabrina nodded with an expression that said, "Just as I expected." She had vaguely sensed the trap behind it as soon as she boarded the Royal United Ship.
“The second step to achieving our goal is to force Vio to place enough chips at the gambling table.” The detective raised his second finger.
"This is a task that requires both patience and acting skills. In every line of dialogue and every action, you must continuously and to the maximum extent provoke the other party's desire to gamble, while at the same time concealing the fact that you are in control of the game. You must pretend to be cold and make Vio think that your opponent is putting on a brave face, while also controlling your own sense of pressure so that Vio does not feel anything is wrong."
Like the pendulum in the hands of the Dream Eater, the Blueberry must subtly ignite the opponent's competitive spirit through unobtrusive movements and expressions. By the time Vio makes the decision to gamble everything, he is already deeply entrenched in the game, to the point that he unknowingly acts in accordance with his opponent's desires.
"However, judging from the live broadcast, King of the Oranges only remained expressionless and calm until the engine was turned on, causing the bets on the table to double, at which point he started to become arrogant," Naz said truthfully, expressing her observations.
"That's the exciting part of the game!"
This time, it was Douzi who chimed in. When it comes to acting skills and dramatic plot twists, this self-proclaimed director is the most qualified person to speak on Yuqi Mansion.
"The human face has more than forty muscles that can combine to form more than 1 expressions, of which 3000 have emotional meaning. Even a simple expressionless face has dozens of vastly different classifications, such as whether the corners of the eyes are downturned or upturned, whether the breathing is rapid or long, where the eyebrows are placed, and the tension in the cheeks—there is a lot to learn about how to use expressions to conceal one's emotions and how to convey the emotions one wishes to express to the audience through expressions!"
"Oh?" Sabrina's eyes lit up, and her gaze toward Touko turned respectful. Touko, on the other hand, stood tall and proud like a water otter showing off its shells, talking nonstop.
"The change in attitude after the stakes were raised is the highlight of the entire performance. Think about it, what kind of character is Yueju portraying in the gambling game? He is a profit-driven opportunist who straddles both the League and the Order. The fundamental need of this character is neither to win the game nor to defeat his opponent, but to drive Vio off the table, pass the scrutiny smoothly, and allow his Royal United to continue to parasitize Team Plasma, becoming a lawless place where it can freely enjoy gambling."
Only the girl, who seemed to know everything about movies, spoke with great confidence—
"Therefore, he had to put on a show of 200% confidence when the stakes were doubled. A person who is truly in control cannot be this arrogant. Vio would subconsciously see through Blueberry's bluff. And after Blueberry's previous expressionless hints, he would subconsciously rule out the possibility that Blueberry actually had something to rely on, and thus—confidently give it his all in the game."
Finally, as if using a "startle" move, the girl slammed her hand on the table in front of her. The three beginner Pokémon who were secretly watching outside the reception area were so startled that they shrank back behind the door.
"Indeed, that's roughly how it is. In short, King Cranberry has accomplished this phase of the task brilliantly."
Hugo nodded and said casually.
"In fact, all the mechanisms in a casino are designed to make people lose their rationality. From the flamboyant decor and color schemes to the ubiquitous alcoholic beverages and the highly revealing uniforms of the waiters—in terms of psychological warfare, Vio had already lost most of his game the moment he stepped back into the casino."
"This is even more terrifying than the 'hypnosis' spell of Psychic Pokémon," the Gym Leader exclaimed.
"Unlike Pokémon moves that induce sleep, human 'hypnosis' isn't as powerful as it seems, and it can't make the user do things they would otherwise oppose. The reason Vio fell into the trap of psychological suggestion is because these traps were created specifically for him."
At this point, even Hugo couldn't help but feel sorry for this sage he had never met. Just because he had a carefree time in the casinos thirty years ago, he was targeted by the "mega-shark" lurking in the dark trenches.
However, using the Seven Sages' past experiences as a weakness, and deliberately choosing to attack their most arrogant area, to drag the entire Plasma Group into a quagmire, is truly an ingenious trick.
That super gambler almost single-handedly destroyed the evil religion that had been entrenched in the Unova region for years. If he could coordinate perfectly with the Pokémon League, he might even be able to eradicate it completely…
It was all for naught.
"Alright, so there's one last obstacle left. I guess it's the sure-fire way to win the bet?"
The debriefing on the gambling game had reached its final stage, and the chestnut-haired assistant asked impatiently.
Surprisingly, Hugo shook his head: "I'm sorry, but I can't draw any specific conclusions."
Not only did Azure ask the question, but even Touko and Sabrina's eyes widened in surprise.
"Although the double dragon gambling game on the Royal Union was broadcast live, no video footage has been released to the public until now. Based on the current clues, I cannot pinpoint the truth as accurately as I would with the roulette mechanism."
The detective fell silent with some regret, taking a sip of his now-cold tea.
“That’s true.” Naza frowned. “I didn’t bring any on-site information with me. It’s really too naive of me to think I could uncover the elaborate scheme of the Time Traveler King just by reading his descriptions.”
"Huh? What did you say?" Hugo looked surprised. "I never said I couldn't expose the trick."
Two puzzled eyes met, neither knowing what the other was wondering about.
“What Hugo meant was…” Azure broke the awkward silence, explaining to her boss—
"Reasoning does not cease to exist as the number of known conditions decreases; on the contrary, it will extend indefinitely due to the inability to converge. In layman's terms, it means that when the existing conditions are insufficient, there are too many means to achieve the goal, making it impossible to determine which one is correct."
"Huh?" Naz was still completely confused.
"Indeed, just as Azure said."
After being reminded by his assistant, Hugo realized what was happening and began to explain to Sabrina again—
“In Double Dragon Poker, achieving a perfect record is far too easy, and there are countless strategies available, so I cannot determine which one Blueberry used.”
Double Dragon Poker is a game that tests both a player's betting and card-guessing skills. To win, it's actually quite simple: always bet heavily when your hand is better than your opponent's; and fold decisively when your hand is worse. By repeatedly doing this and never guessing wrong, a player can win all the chips on the table and achieve victory.
"In other words, as long as the lychee uses a method that can see through all the folded cards on the table, it can easily control the game and win the final victory."
"Simple? Easy peasy?" Naz asked, her face full of confusion.
"The gambling equipment and referees were all provided by Team Plasma, and there was also live surveillance on site with no blind spots. Whether it was the superpower of precognition and telekinesis, or the ghostly ability of passing through walls and communicating with spirits, everything was strictly guarded against by them. Tell me how to overcome these obstacles and see through the numbers on the face-down cards in front of Vio, who is known as the legend of the casino."
“Just as I said.” The detective in the white coat remained expressionless.
"Miracles of this magnitude are easy to achieve."