GAMBLE: Rule of Cards

CHAPTER 13

A LOT of compliments circulated around the zombie kind about how good Denton is leading his own kind. Since the compliments have already circulated around the other kinds, some of them have started thinking twice about their decisions in life. Some of them are still contemplating their decisions but some have already taken their chance to convert into being a human again. “Welcome to our kind. We hope you won’t regret converting to our kind.”

And, that’s the last one who converted herself before the second round ended. “The second one has ended by this time.” Denton looked at his lane and saw that there are already a lot of players who trusted his kind. Some of them are even interacting with each other. “The third round will now commence. This time, the use of both the pull and the potion card is allowed. You can give the guard your pull card and shout the code name of the player that you want to pull to your lane. Only the kings can do this privilege.”

Denton looked at his members and talked. “In order to win, we must get as much zombies as we can, so give me all your pull cards. Also, give me the name of your suggested player to save and convert to our kind.” Denton paused on his talk and looked at the table. “The only problem we have is that we lack in number of potions that we have. If ever you still have, give me also. This will be of help, if you really want our kind to win.”

His members are all cooperative as they all entrusted their useful cards towards their king. Denton just gave them a smile, one by one, as a response to their cooperation. “I will use this for our own benefit, guys. I will make sure that these will all be used for us to win this match,” Denton muttered. He looked back and gave the guards his attention. “I will generate this potion cards to real potions as our initiation to the third round.”

The guards acknowledged Denton’s cards and went back, together with all the potion cards that were converted. Denton placed the cards safely on his table. “We are going to start when they started on pulling our members already. Defense is always better than attack,” he muttered which was agreed and seconded by his members. “But whenever they do not do something and plan to play safe, of course, I will move. I will just let them start the game. Please trust me, and no matter what, don’t ever plan to change kind again. Thank you for the cooperation.”

All of a sudden, the zombie king raised his hand. “I will use one of my pull cards,” he muttered as he gave it to the guard. “L-16, come back to your original kind, asshole. How dare you leave this kind?”

The player who was being pulled by the zombie kind looked at Denton, asking a consideration to pull him back. Denton, as a leader he is, did not stay put and pulled a pull card from the table. “I won’t let him get one of my members,” he said as he raised his pull card before actually giving it towards the guard on his kind. “I want to pull L-16 back to my kind. It’s up to him if he really wanted to get my member. I will not stay put and not do anything.”

The zombie kind heaved a deep sigh before pulling another pull card from his hand. “If you do not want to let go of that goddamn L-16, then I will just pull another one. It’s not that hard to do so, M-22,” the zombie king muttered before raising his card. “If the human king wants me not to get one of his members, then I will get another one. Go here, I-09,” he muttered. Denton looked at the Player I-09 and nodded. “Come to your original daddy, shall you?” The player slowly walked towards the line that is dividing the two kinds. “Oh, your kind does not mind you going back to me? It looks like he only cares for certain people.”

Player I-09 stopped. “I won’t have to ask for his help when I can just help myself.”

“Ugh!” the zombie king groaned and kicked the table in front of him. He pulled a card that was on his table and raised it once more. “I won’t let you win until I still have a lot of cards,” he said. “Come here, J-19. Come here quickly!”

Denton raised his pull card and smiled. “She won’t…”

While Denton was winning the so-called ‘bidding’ of cards, a lot of zombies are starting to feel uneasy as some of them are continuously changing their lane into the human kind. Denton felt uneasy as the number of potions are slowly being deducted as the number of demands continues on uprising. “We are losing a lot of potions. We might actually not make it. We need more potions.”

The zombie king smiled and looked at Denton. “Do you need these cards?” Denton did not reply with any kind of response but he can’t deny that he really needs those potion cards. “Sadly, you can’t get it. Why would I help you win when the consequence of doing that will be my loss?”

“Denton,” Paul muttered. Denton turned his gaze towards Paul who called out of worry. “Denton, our cards will not make it. Assuming that the zombie king has a lot of pull cards, if you cancel your pull card to his, it will still not make it. Plus, the quantity of our potion is too little. Even though a lot of players come to us, we will still lack in potion. The zombie kind is still too big to defeat.”

“We just have to think,” Denton muttered. He was the leader and he was the most responsible to having all his members to survive. He has to think smart, not only for his sake but also for his member’s sake. It is a group survival, and everyone is rooting for him, entrusting him for their survival. He has to think for the sake of everybody, he has to think for everybody’s safety. “I have an idea. Does anyone have a number card and a multiplication card?”

Fortunately, two of his members immediately compromised to his suggestion. “What are you doing?”

Denton made an equation with the use of the cards on his table. Even the zombie king was invested to knowing what the hell he is doing. “Is this acceptable?” The other player thought that Denton was too dumb to think that it can be accepted by the game’s system. It was an equation that tells: three times the potions. “Overall, there are eleven potions left. If I have a three and a multiplication card, that just means that I can use it to multiply my own potions. Then, I can get twenty-two more potions?” There was a heavy, deafening silence afterwards. “Rule of Cards is a game where there is only one rule; to survive. That’s what I can remember. I am doing this, so that I can survive… and my members too.”

It took at least two minutes of silence before the guards collected the two cards and all the potions. The guards just walked towards the secret room without minding any call from them. “No way. Are they going to nullify all those cards and the potions because of what you did?”

“No way,” Denton muttered. Seeing that certain guard go to the secret room, he was quite worried but also half hoping that his cards and the potions will not be nullified by the time the guards come back. Good thing, the guard went back with visible things on them. “Look. I just made that rule and they followed it. We just need to think smarter, not harder. If so, do both.”

The guard placed the vials on the table. “Thirty-three vials of potion, all in all. No more added rule.”

Denton nodded as he looked at the vials of potions placed in front of him on the table. “Thank you. I promise not to add more rule and just play it fair.” He looked at the lane of the zombie kind. The first one who caught his eyes was the girl on the same group as he is, coolly sitting on the ground, as if there was no really danger that is currently happening on her life. “Anyone who wants to survive, go here and drink our potion. It must be really awful to die as a zombie, right?”

The girl, Jannah, stood up and walked, but she stopped on before entering the human kind’s lane. Denton looked at her, asking her to just come to his lane and survive together. The girl, Jannah, nodded her head while looking at Denton. Furious as he is, Denton walked towards the dividing line and gave her the vial of potion. Jannah was first doubting but still continued on drinking the potion. “Welcome to our kind.”

Acting as if she hasn’t heard anything, Jannah just walked towards the human kind’s lane and sat on the ground of the kind’s lane. Denton was about to look aback when a massive number of zombies started on walking towards the dividing line and asked to have a vial of potion. Denton’s mind was in chaos that time as he has only few vials of potion already. “Listen,” Paul muttered. “We will first accommodate those players who have potion cards. We will try to accommodate all, but will prioritize those with potion cards.”