Chapter Sixty-Two: Is Claiming It in Advance Not Considered Breaking the Rules?

The staff carefully separated the stone, revealing a piece of deep green jadeite before everyone’s astonished eyes.

A look of satisfaction blossomed on Gao Youde’s face, as if he could already see immense wealth beckoning to him.

“Not bad at all. The texture and color of this jadeite are both excellent!” Lu Yier couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

The staff then announced the appraisal: “The market value of this jadeite is two million.”

Gao Youde’s expression darkened instantly.

He muttered curses under his breath, “How did they come up with this estimate? Would it kill them to add a little more?”

The staff proceeded to open Gao Youde’s sealed appraisal box and took out his estimate.

One million nine hundred thousand.

The other three had each lost one hundred thousand to him.

For someone like him, accustomed to high-stake wins and losses, this forty thousand might as well have been a slap in the face.

More importantly, he had wasted a precious first-guess privilege!

He had paid ten million for three such chances.

Old Chen the Leopard grinned slyly from the side. “Well done, Gao Youde. You won forty thousand in this round—guess you took all my small change.”

Gao Youde’s face was as dark as storm clouds, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white, clearly furious to his core.

Hearing Chen the Leopard’s taunt, he spun around, his gaze as sharp as a blade, stabbing straight at Chen the Leopard’s face.

“Chen the Leopard, spare me your schadenfreude!” Gao Youde spat through gritted teeth. “You really think you can just sit there and do nothing and walk away unscathed? I never thought you’d become so cowardly after all these years. Let me ask you, how many times have you made a move since the start? This was just a minor slip. Next time, I’ll see to it that you lose everything you have—even the shirt off your back!”

Chen the Leopard’s contemptuous smile grew wider. Arms crossed, he looked entirely unfazed by Gao Youde’s threats.

“Oh? Then I’m looking forward to our next contest. But do try not to waste your first-guess privilege again—it’s quite expensive, after all.”

“Looks like that ten million you spent on three guesses hasn’t exactly paid off either!”

With a cold snort, Gao Youde stopped responding to Chen the Leopard and returned to his seat to rethink his strategy.

He silently swore that he would not let this setback defeat him; on the contrary, it would fuel his resolve. Next time, he would redeem himself in front of everyone and reclaim his rightful fortune.

The audience, excited by this confrontation, began speculating about the two men’s next moves.

At this point, everyone’s assets had shifted again.

Su Li and I were left with sixteen million, with an appraised value of eight million. After this round, we had only fifteen million eight hundred thousand, with our appraised value now seven million nine hundred thousand.

Sister Hong stood at nineteen million nine hundred thousand.

Gao Youde, thirty-five million three hundred thousand.

Boss Chen, twenty-four million nine hundred thousand.

In comparison to such vast sums, Gao Youde’s recent winnings truly amounted to nothing more than pocket change.

The key was that his first-guess privilege had cost him over three million.

So far in the final round, eight rough stones had been opened, leaving over a hundred seventy still untouched.

At the current rate of finding jade, it was clear that among the four of us gamblers, three were certain to be eliminated.

From Gao Youde’s perspective, it seemed obvious that Chen the Leopard was most likely to fall—but naturally, in his mind, Sister Hong and I would be the first to go.

I glanced at Sister Hong. Her gaze remained as cold and indifferent as ever.

This scene reminded me of last night, and I couldn’t help recalling how, beneath that red coat, her figure was just as striking.

Lu Yier cleared his throat and announced, “Alright, everyone, let us begin a new round of stone gambling.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the staff began setting up new rough stones and placing them one by one into the little railway cart.

However, luck seemed to have run out this time. One after another, more than a dozen stones passed, and all of them turned out to be worthless scraps.

With each stone that was removed, I could see Gao Youde’s mood sinking lower and lower.

It wasn’t until over twenty stones had passed that, as a new piece was just being placed into the cart, I spoke up directly, “That’s the one!”

My sudden move left everyone baffled.

By the rules, we were only supposed to choose once the cart had started rolling.

My action stunned the entire room. This wasn’t a quiz show, after all—no one had ever seen someone jump the gun like this before.

Lu Yier frowned, clearly displeased by my abrupt action.

He glanced at Gao Youde, then at me, and said in a low voice, “By the rules, we really should wait for the cart to move before making a choice. Still, since it’s already happened, let’s just carry on.”

Gao Youde immediately seized the opportunity, sneering, “Boss Lu, this is breaking the rules—how can we just let it go? Does picking early really give him the upper hand?”

I met Gao Youde’s gaze coldly and retorted, “What are you afraid of, Gao Youde? Are you so sure that picking early will guarantee my victory?”

Gao Youde’s face darkened further, clearly provoked by my words.

He turned abruptly to Lu Yier, raising his voice, “Boss Lu, you need to set this right! This isn’t fair!”

He glared at me with a look that promised vengeance.

All along, he had hoped I would help him win money, but the reality was clear: when it came to the actual contest, my skill and luck were no match for his.

“I vote against it. We must wait until the cart moves before pausing!” Gao Youde declared loudly, then looked to Sister Hong and Chen the Leopard.

If either one of them supported him, my choice would be invalidated.

Sister Hong smiled slightly, a cunning glint in her eyes. She slowly raised her hand, as if to support Gao Youde’s proposal.

But her hand paused midair, then turned toward Chen the Leopard, as if waiting for his decision.

Chen the Leopard gave a cold chuckle, arms still crossed, his gaze shifting between Gao Youde and me. He seemed to be weighing his options. Finally, he spoke slowly, “I think we can make an exception this time. After all, stone gambling is a game full of uncertainty—a little accident might add to the fun.”

Upon hearing Chen the Leopard’s words, the cunning in Sister Hong’s eyes deepened. She lowered her hand and said with a smile, “Since Boss Chen has no objections, neither do I.”

Gao Youde’s face turned ashen. He shot a venomous glare at Chen the Leopard, clearly furious at his decision.

But the rules were set, and there was nothing he could do except grit his teeth and stare daggers at me, as if he intended to devour me whole.

And truly, if I couldn’t win and kept carrying on like this, it wouldn’t be long before my life was forfeit to him.