Chapter 36: The Supreme Consecutive Tiles Vanish—The Key Tiles for a Quadruple Flush

Underworld Card Games: From Fight the Landlord to Six-Chong, Volume 2, Chapter 36: The "Supreme Straight" Is Missing: The "Key Card" for the Four-Chong Semifinals

Old Zhou clutched the two 6s remaining from the bomb he had just dismantled, a grin still plastered on his face. Having won the round by breaking his set, he found even his blue cloth bag pleasing to the eye; even the sunflower seed shells inside seemed like treasures capable of sprouting underworld currency. Granny Meng approached with a fresh pot of sweet soup, handing a bowl to everyone with a smile. "Old Zhou really performed a great feat today. I added extra osmanthus to this batch—it’s very sweet!"

Little Li accepted the bowl, already scribbling new lines in his yellow paper notebook: "Old Zhou's dismantling was truly sublime, two 6s determined the fate of the time. Sweet soup with osmanthus, a fragrant treat, a god-like performance in the semifinal heat!" After reciting it, he held the notebook right in front of Old Zhou, whose eyes squinted with delight. He kept saying, "Well written, well written," nearly spilling his soup onto his blue cloth bag.

Wang Er-Ma took a sip of the soup, just about to discuss tactics for the semifinals, when he saw the Judge rushing over, carrying a bag even more bulging than usual. A slip of paper labeled "Important Item" was stuck to the side, flapping frantically from the speed of his arrival. He dashed to the stone table, gasping for air, slammed the bag down, and wiped his sweat. "The semifinals are about to start! I’ve brought the 'Supreme Straight.' This card can substitute for any straight; it’s a lifesaver in a pinch!"

Upon hearing "Supreme Straight," everyone crowded around—they had heard of it but never seen it in the flesh. Old Zhou even nudged his blue cloth bag toward the center of the table to get a better look. The Judge carefully opened the bag, pulling out his counting abacus, half a bag of sunflower seeds (a debt still owed to Master Ma’s team), and several crumpled rule sheets. He shuffled through them, his face slowly turning pale.

"Huh? Where is my Supreme Straight?" The Judge’s hand rummaged through the bag, the abacus beads clattering loudly. Finally, he turned the bag upside down, dumping everything onto the stone table: the abacus, the seeds, the rule sheets, and half an uneaten underworld flatbread. But the so-called "Supreme Straight" was nowhere to be found.

"Judge, check again. Did it get stuck in the rule sheets?" Wang Er-Ma leaned in to help flip through the pages. Each sheet was covered in dense, tiny characters, with miniature abacuses drawn in every corner, but there was no sign of the card.

Little Li crouched down, sifting through the sunflower seeds on the ground. "Could it have fallen on the way? You were running so fast, maybe the bag wasn't zipped shut?"

The Judge stomped his feet in anxiety, his three pairs of reading glasses sliding to the tip of his nose. "Impossible! I checked three times before leaving. I tucked the Supreme Straight inside the thickest rulebook and even marked it with a red slip of paper!" As he spoke, he grabbed the thickest rulebook and flipped through it frantically. By the last page, there was only a torn red scrap that read, "Supreme Straight Here," but the card itself was gone.

"Disaster, absolute disaster!" The Judge slapped his thigh, his voice cracking. "The Supreme Straight is a custom-made piece for the Underworld Card Games. There’s only one. If it’s lost, the semifinals can't be played. If we find out who stole it, they’ll be sentenced to six months of card-washing duty!"

At the mention of "six months of card-washing," Old Zhou recoiled, instinctively hugging his blue cloth bag to his chest. He hated labor more than anything; washing cards for half a year would be worse than being forced to play a bomb. Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai gathered around, and Xiao Hei scratched his head. "Judge, did you forget it at the Yama Palace? You left your abacus there last time, and I had to go get it for you."

"I retrieved it from the Yama Palace just yesterday!" The Judge paced in circles, frantic. "I even promised the Queen of Hell that it wouldn't be lost. If I can't find it, I won't just be washing cards—I'll have to copy the 'Detailed Guide to Four-Chong Rules' ten times!"

Granny Meng stood by, sipping her soup, and said slowly, "Judge, don't panic. Think back. When you passed the kitchen door this morning, did you stop to talk to A-Xiang? I think I saw your bag open then."

"A-Xiang?" The Judge paused. "I did speak to her this morning to ask if she wanted to watch the semifinals, but I didn't open my bag!" He began rummaging through his bag again, checking the lining, but still found nothing.

Wang Er-Ma looked at the sweating, panicked Judge and then at the curious ghosts peering from the shadows. He cleared his throat. "Everyone, stay calm. The Supreme Straight can't have gone far. Maybe someone took it by mistake, or it fell into a corner. Let's search the card area first. If we don't find it, we'll ask A-Xiang in the kitchen. We'll find it eventually."

Little Li pulled out his yellow notebook and wrote another poem: "The Supreme Straight has vanished from sight, the Judge is sweating in a desperate plight. Everyone helps to search the floor, we'll find it soon and worry no more!" He waved the notebook to boost morale, but the Judge’s face remained white. He kept searching under the stone table and beside the card piles, even trying to peer under Old Zhou’s blue cloth bag, which made Old Zhou hug it even tighter.

"Judge, don't go poking around!" Old Zhou cried out. "My bag only has seed shells and chips, not your straight!"

"I'm just looking, no offense intended!" The Judge waved his hand, but his eyes kept darting toward the bag—Old Zhou was notoriously stingy, and who knew if he’d secretly hidden the "lifesaver" card?

Wang Er-Ma mediated. "Judge, Old Zhou isn't that kind of person. He might hoard shells, but a hidden card is useless to him—it can't be traded for underworld currency. Let’s split up. Little Li and I will check behind the card tables. Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai, go ask A-Xiang. You stay here and check your bag again; it might have slipped into a seam when you dumped it out."

The Judge nodded and crouched down, picking up the items one by one, counting them as he put them back, not even sparing the half-eaten flatbread. "One abacus, thirty-two seeds, eight rule sheets, half a flatbread... still no card!"

Old Zhou stood nearby, watching the Judge’s distress, and tugged on Wang Er-Ma’s sleeve. "Master Ma, what if it’s really lost? If we can't find it, do we lose the semifinals? I really don't want to wash cards for half a year..."

Wang Er-Ma patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll find it. Remember when Old Zhao hid the Big Joker in his shoe and we still found it? This card is bigger than the Joker; it'll be easier to spot. Besides, even if we don't find it, we still have you, our 'Dismantling Expert.' We can still win!"

Hearing "Dismantling Expert," Old Zhou perked up, his fear forgotten. He crouched down to help the Judge, adding, "Judge, don't rush. Take it slow. This is how we find lost things in our neighborhood—we always find them in the end!"

The card arena became a hive of activity. Everyone searched for the Supreme Straight. Little Li recited poetry while searching, Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai ran toward the kitchen, the Judge continued to turn his bag inside out, and Old Zhou sifted through the cracks in the stone floor, not missing a single seed shell. After all, if the card wasn't found, not only would the semifinals be ruined, but he would have to endure the Judge’s panic over card-washing duty for months—which was the last thing he wanted.