A hush fell over the other gamblers at the table as they noticed a subtle shift. The newcomer, this "dark lamp," seemed to be targeting me specifically.
However, for those deeply entrenched in the thrill of gambling, nothing could deter them from the pursuit of wealth. Thus, even though they knew the man in the Zhongshan suit meant trouble, the gamblers continued to place their bets as usual. Some even followed my lead, placing their chips behind mine, hoping to hitch a ride on my perceived luck.
This time, I didn't intentionally misplace my chips as I had before. Instead, I listened intently to the dice and placed my twenty thousand chips on "small." This move served two purposes.
Firstly, to draw others in as shields, sharing the casino's animosity with me. In this world, no venture is risk-free. If they wanted to ride my coattails, they had to share the risk. The more people, the better; the more chaotic, the better! Once chaos ensued, with Xu Shiyu's deployment and planning, amplified by the pandemonium, I could easily extricate myself.
The second purpose was to further test the man in the Zhongshan suit. Before the dice were revealed, only he and I knew the outcome. And I was certain my bet was correct. I was eager to see if, to win the gamble, he would dare to press the switch beneath the table right in front of me. If he dared, I would call him out. My identity had already been revealed by that "horse general," so if I was to be exposed, I might as well be completely transparent!
...
The moment the dice were placed, the man in the Zhongshan suit, without a word, flipped open his dice cup. 1-2-4, a total of seven, small. After losing to me for two consecutive rounds, a look of solemnity finally appeared in his eyes as he regarded me. He knew he had met a formidable opponent.
As for the gamblers who had followed my bets, they were all beaming. Seeing me quietly win twenty thousand, then another twenty thousand, they had finally managed to piggyback on my luck. In a casino, benefiting from someone else's fortune was a good thing. It meant you were borrowing their good luck, distancing yourself from your own bad luck. Without a doubt, at that very moment, those gamblers likely saw me as Chen Xiaodao, the "Gambling God" whose ears twitched. And in the next round, even more people would follow my bets.
Despite losing two rounds in a row, the man in the Zhongshan suit still managed a smile, though it was laced with defiance. While he smiled, I could see the hidden daggers, his deep-seated malice and anger laid bare in his eyes. It was clear the man in the Zhongshan suit was truly angered. As they say, three strikes and you're out. The next round would be crucial.
Slamming the dice cup down, the man in the Zhongshan suit instantly scooped the dice into the cup and began to shake it with both hands. While I wasn't sure if the man in the Zhongshan suit was one of Ying Baolin's twelve "dark lamps," he certainly possessed a natural talent for shaking dice. This was evident as he immediately employed a special technique as soon as he started shaking this round: "Two Dragons Emerging from the Sea!"
It seemed he hadn't taken the previous two rounds seriously, merely testing my depth. Now, having gauged my capabilities, he was finally exerting himself… The so-called "Two Dragons Emerging from the Sea" involved using both hands to shake the dice alternately. It is widely known that for one's left and right hands to achieve true synchronized resonance requires extensive practice and coordination. The movement of "Two Dragons Emerging from the Sea" is not inherently difficult to master; its true challenge lies in the subtle shifts in the dice's outcome within the cup during the alternating shakes, once synchronization is achieved.
In a silent environment, this subtle shift would be trivial for a keen-eared cheater. But what kind of place is a casino? Jubilation in victory, curses and shouts in defeat! Noise and chaos, incessant disturbance. Even if your concentration is unwavering, if you cannot immediately quiet the surroundings, a moment's lapse… that subtle shift is enough to influence and alter the final outcome of a gamble!
With his special skill displayed, an expression of extreme confidence spread across the face of the man in the Zhongshan suit. I, on the other hand, furrowed my brow, concentrating intently on the sound of the dice colliding within the cup.
About half a minute later… With a bang, he secured the dice cup onto the tray and, with a provocative gesture, invited me to proceed. From the upward flick of his eyebrows, it was evident he believed I couldn't possibly discern the dice's outcome with such concentration in this environment. Only the "Dice Listening Faction" could ignore all environmental factors and accurately determine the dice's outcome. Without a second thought, I knew I wasn't from the Dice Listening Faction. The first generation of Dice Listening Faction cheaters, back in '08, were generally between thirty-five and forty years old. I was only in my early twenties, so I could be safely excluded.
Rumor had it that every cheater in the Dice Listening Faction possessed extraordinary hearing. Since the mid-90s, they had swept through underground casinos across the country with their almost mystical dice-listening abilities, rarely tasting defeat. Of course, they weren't undefeated. The "Dice Demon" Lin Zhenbei, in his prime, had single-handedly routed the entire Dice Listening Faction. It was a joke, wasn't it! Uncle Tuo told me that in his prime, the Dice Demon Lin Zhenbei would practice shaking eight dice at a time. He would judge the success or failure of each practice session by the different decibel levels of the dice colliding within the cup. To have him shake three dice in a casino against the Dice Listening Faction was like a dimensional attack.
Besides him, there was also Lu Mingtai, who was then unknown, working as a "dark lamp" in a casino, and who had not yet earned the title "Uncrowned King"—my guide in the blue path, Uncle Tuo—who had also decisively defeated the Dice Listening Faction. After a series of setbacks in the southern campaign, the Dice Listening Faction became much more discreet. Eventually, they vanished without a trace.
...
While I was lost in thought, the man in the Zhongshan suit began to provoke me. "What's wrong, friend?" he asked. "I've only just started to raise the stakes, and you can't handle it?"
To be honest, I hadn't intended to bet heavily. But upon seeing the man in the Zhongshan suit's smug demeanor, I changed my mind and decided to go all in. I detested cheaters like him, who constantly elevated themselves while belittling others. The man in the Zhongshan suit thought I wasn't qualified to be his opponent, but he didn't realize I hadn't even considered him a worthy adversary!
"While you're acting, aren't I also acting towards you?" With this thought, I pushed all seventeen thousand of my chips into the specific number area, onto the conspicuously marked three 3s…