The lobby, which had just seemed quite leisurely and even peacefully quiet, immediately became noisy and chaotic.
"What?"
"In one hour?"
"Everyone has to participate forcibly? Isn't this too sudden!"
Obviously, many people were completely unprepared mentally.
Yesterday when introducing the basic rules in the lobby, although it was emphasized that "the Gallery may open at any time," it still caught everyone off guard.
More importantly, this game actually required everyone to participate forcibly.
According to the originally introduced basic rules, the Gallery's games had a certain selectivity.
Only a portion of people might be selected to participate, and it wasn't necessarily forced, there were also voluntary situations.
They felt that judgment games wouldn't open so quickly, and even if they did open, they wouldn't necessarily fall on their own heads immediately.
At this moment, the shattering of this wishful thinking intensified the panic.
Some people sat helplessly on chairs or sofas, faces pale as death, while others paced around anxiously.
"Everyone don't panic, there's still an hour!
"Since this game is called 'Blood Poker,' it means it's related to playing cards. Everyone can think carefully about playing card rules!"
The speaker was Wang Yongxin. You could see he was also anxious at this moment, but was still trying hard to calm down.
Li Renshu's voice was more steady.
"This is the first game we're encountering. Since everyone is participating, it shouldn't be too difficult.
"The most important thing now is to stay rational and calm."
At the same time, she held the hand of Qin Yao, who was trembling beside her, gently patting to comfort her.
These two people's statements had some effect, and the originally panicked crowd settled down slightly.
Cai Zhiyuan held a book and quickly walked toward Fu Chen.
Obviously he had found it from the library reading area.
Seeing the book title, Fu Chen's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly said loudly, "Everyone gather around, there's a book about playing card rules here.
"We still have an hour. Let's quickly learn about the basic rules of various gameplay types. It might help."
Everyone cast grateful looks toward Cai Zhiyuan and Fu Chen.
Obviously, within this hour, except for a few people like Cao Haichuan who had strong psychological qualities, most people were panicking.
Although cramming at the last minute might not necessarily be useful, it was enough to stabilize morale.
Fu Chen quickly flipped through this book. He certainly wouldn't explain from beginning to end, there simply wasn't enough time.
"I'll focus on explaining a few popular rule types: Texas Hold'em, Blackjack, Fight the Landlord, Golden Flower, Solitaire...
"Let's start with the most likely one, Texas Hold'em."
Everyone listened attentively as time passed minute by minute.
00:01...
00:00...
As the countdown on the large screen reached zero, everyone felt their vision go black, then lost consciousness.
......
"Beep—"
A sharp buzzing sound rang out, and Qin Yao gradually woke up.
She immediately realized she was firmly restrained in an iron chair.
"Hello? Is anyone there?"
Qin Yao tried to speak, but received no response.
There was a special metal mechanism on her neck that limited her head movement.
Not only that, Qin Yao's thighs, waist, and other key positions were locked to the chair. Her left hand was locked to the table in front, with her elbow, wrist, and even fingers firmly fixed, unable to move an inch.
Her right hand could move freely, but when she tried touching these mechanisms, they were tightly sealed and completely immovable.
Qin Yao looked around. This was an extremely cramped single compartment, less than 1.5 meters wide, with only a dim ceiling light above, making one instinctively fearful.
On the table in front was spread a green tablecloth, along with a deck of playing cards and two mechanical arms that looked simple and rugged in style.
On the left compartment wall was an introduction about exchanging chips.
On the right compartment wall was a rule introduction for "Simplified Golden Flower" along with detailed card type diagrams.
Qin Yao felt her heartbeat accelerating and body temperature rising. Obviously, this unfamiliar and oppressive environment created enormous psychological pressure for her.
Suddenly, a sound came from in front.
Qin Yao looked toward the sound and discovered it was a very small speaker, consisting only of a few simple circular holes, so the sound quality was also muffled and unclear.
Combined with the emotionless electronic voice, it added several more degrees of terror to the atmosphere here.
[Welcome to "Blood Poker."]
[This is currently the game's chip exchange area.]
[The machine in front of you is a "Chip Exchange Machine," used to exchange chips needed for multiplayer gambling.]
[Exchange ratio: 100ML blood = 10,000 chips = 10,000 minutes of visa time.]
[When exchanging, you need to gamble with the "Chip Exchange Machine" according to "Simplified Golden Flower" rules.]
[For every 10,000 chips exchanged, you must gamble at least 1 round, at most 20 rounds, before you can leave.]
[After the gambling ends, according to the win-loss situation of the gambling, the "Chip Exchange Machine" will distribute the exchanged chips to the player and allow the player to unlock the mechanisms and move freely.]
[Now please state the number of chips you want to exchange, in units of 10,000 chips. First exchange must be at least 20,000 chips.]
The compartment became quiet again, with only Qin Yao's somewhat rapid breathing.
After a moment, when no more electronic sounds came, Qin Yao gradually sorted through her chaotic thoughts.
"This machine can exchange chips. What are chips used for? They should be needed in the upcoming game.
"But the exchange method isn't direct exchange, but must gamble with this machine once...
"And it's exchanged with blood."
Qin Yao looked at her left hand firmly fixed to the table by the mechanism, then looked up at the suspended mechanism above.
That was some kind of special blood-drawing device. The needle gleamed coldly, and the device was connected to a huge blood storage tank, smooth and transparent, marked with different scales in 100ML units.
This made Qin Yao instinctively feel resistant and afraid.
But she also knew she had no choice. If she did nothing, the game couldn't continue.
[Now please state the number of chips you want to exchange, in units of 10,000 chips. First exchange must be at least 20,000 chips.]
The muffled prompt sounded again as a reminder.
"The first exchange requires at least 200ML of blood? This amount of blood shouldn't be dangerous, right?"
Qin Yao thought for a long time before finally mustering the courage to say, "Exchange... 20,000 chips."
[Exchange begins.]
After the muffled electronic sound ended, the mechanism above left made harsh grinding sounds and began moving.
Qin Yao felt the restraint mechanism on her left arm instantly tighten. The cold shackles pressed painfully into her, making the blood vessels on her arm bulge.
The sudden sharp pain made Qin Yao's body involuntarily tremble. The blood collection needle had already pierced the blood vessel, and crimson blood flowed through the needle and tubing toward the storage tank.
It didn't stop until reaching the 200ML mark.
Sharp metal grinding sounds rang out again as the blood collection needle was withdrawn and the mechanism returned to position.
At the same time, the mechanism locking Qin Yao's left hand used a small cotton ball to press against the wound where the needle had been, helping to stop the bleeding.