"You win, Lu Mingtai!"
"A genius is a genius!"
"Ten years ago, if external factors hadn't interfered with you, the one who won the 'Ten-Gambit' should have been you!"
In the surveillance footage, after uttering these three sentences, Lin Zhenbei picked up the dice cup in front of him with his right hand and smashed it down hard on his left middle finger!
Once, twice, thrice...
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang...
By the time the people around him reacted, Lin Zhenbei's left middle finger had already been smashed by the dice cup, bleeding profusely and becoming a bloody mess.
Lin Jiahuan and the others by his side were about to intervene when they heard Lin Zhenbei shout loudly, "Don't move, all of you!"
"A bet is a bet! This is a private grievance between Lu Mingtai and me, it has nothing to do with you!"
As soon as he finished speaking, with a crisp "snap," Lin Zhenbei's last smash directly broke his middle finger!
Immediately after, for reasons unknown, Lin Zhenbei suddenly became unsteady and then inexplicably collapsed onto the ground.
As everyone else scrambled to help Lin Zhenbei, the enraged Lin Jiahuan grabbed the blood-stained dice cup and rushed towards Uncle Tuo.
At that moment, Lin Zhenbei, lying on the ground, shouted with all his might, "Jiahuan, stop!"
"I, Lin Zhenbei, conduct myself with integrity. Losing is losing, and winning is winning!"
"Are you trying to frame me by doing this?"
"Although Lu Mingtai and I have animosity, it is only a difference in stance, nothing else!"
After a pause, Lin Zhenbei looked at Uncle Tuo and said, "Can the two fingers I owe you be repaid at a later date?"
In the surveillance footage, facing Lin Zhenbei's question, Uncle Tuo did not give his answer. Instead, he turned and left without a word.
From my understanding of Uncle Tuo, he always says what he means and dislikes playing games of duplicity.
Although Uncle Tuo did not answer Lin Zhenbei, his silent departure was tantamount to a tacit acceptance of his request.
Uncle Tuo... had implicitly agreed to Lin Zhenbei's request!
Shortly after Uncle Tuo left, Lin Zhenbei completely lost consciousness.
Thus, I had watched all the footage of Uncle Tuo's appearance at Tianqi Tower a week ago from beginning to end.
Seeing me stare blankly without a word, with my eyes still fixed on the closed-circuit television, Lin Zhenbei immediately instructed his subordinate to replay the surveillance footage from earlier.
At this very moment, although the closed-circuit television was replaying the surveillance footage from a week ago, I had already fallen into a daze, and a series of doubts began to arise in the depths of my mind...
What exactly happened during the Thousand Kings Tournament ten years ago?
Who was the mastermind behind the side bet that revolved around Uncle Tuo?
What was Uncle Tuo's purpose in participating in that side bet?
Besides the dice demon Lin Zhenbei, who was the one who defeated Uncle Tuo and caused him to lose a leg?
Given Uncle Tuo's temperament, if he wanted revenge for a best-of-five side bet, he wouldn't just target the opponents in the two lost games.
Uncle Tuo would definitely seek out the person he drew with in the last game, as well as the adversary who set up the bet!
Who was this formidable opponent that Uncle Tuo remained silent about and Helian Shan refused to mention?
The more I thought, the more doubts arose.
The more doubts, the more confused my thoughts became.
...
The closed-circuit television continued to play the footage of Uncle Tuo and Lin Zhenbei's gamble.
Originally, my mind was filled with a chaotic mess of thoughts, but after my eyes landed on the scene where Uncle Tuo and Lin Zhenbei placed their dice, suddenly... a flash of inspiration struck!
A week ago, Uncle Tuo appeared in Songhu in high spirits.
Three days ago, Uncle Tuo was seriously injured and unconscious, admitted to Songhu People's Hospital.
After removing the beginning and end, the time frame for Uncle Tuo's incident could basically be narrowed down to between the second and fourth day.
From the surveillance footage, Lin Zhenbei, who was approached by Uncle Tuo on the first day, could basically be ruled out as a suspect.
The reason I came to this conclusion was not solely because Lin Zhenbei lost to Uncle Tuo.
Since this nearly seventy-year-old man appeared, I had seen a sense of powerlessness and decline in his words and actions.
To put it in simpler terms, the aged Lin Zhenbei not only lacked his former prowess but also seemed to have seen through everything.
And after Lin Zhenbei was ruled out as a suspect, there were only three potential opponents, or rather, enemies, left for Uncle Tuo!
The one who lost a leg, the one who drew, and the one who orchestrated the bet.
To seek revenge on one of them in a single day, three days was neither too much nor too little, it was just right!
It seemed that the true culprit who harmed Uncle Tuo... was most likely hidden among the other three!
...
Just as I had figured out the intricacies of the matter, a Shanghai brand cigarette appeared before my eyes.
Taking the cigarette and turning my head, I saw... Lin Zhenbei.
Lin Zhenbei said in an extremely serious tone, "Kid, the reason I'm showing you this surveillance footage is not only to prove my innocence but also to remind you of something."
"Your master's death is likely related to the Thousand Kings Tournament ten years ago!"
Upon hearing this, I directly asked, "Can you tell me what happened during the Thousand Kings Tournament ten years ago?"
"Why was there a side bet?"
After exhaling a puff of smoke, Lin Zhenbei looked at me and slowly said, "I can tell you about what happened at the Thousand Kings Tournament ten years ago, but..."
"You'll have to exchange it for that Thousand Kings Token!"
"There is no such thing as getting something for nothing in this world!"
"To reap rewards, you must first learn to pay."
Hearing this, I frowned and retorted, "Since you care so much about the Thousand Kings Token, why didn't you mention it before we started reviewing the surveillance?"
Seeing my frown, Lin Zhenbei immediately explained, "One thing at a time!"
"I'm proving my innocence because I, Lin Zhenbei, have always acted with integrity!"
"Since someone is trying to frame me for Lu Mingtai's death, I naturally cannot stand by and do nothing!"
"After proving my innocence, other matters... are a separate issue!"
"You need to understand one thing: before a person demonstrates any valuable benefit, others have no obligation to provide assistance."
"Especially when it comes to revenge!"
"If I were to help you without expecting anything in return, but you ultimately failed to achieve revenge, then the potential risks could very well shift to me."
"Therefore, if you want to avenge your master and get some useful information from me, you must learn the principle of equivalent exchange!"
"You give me the Thousand Kings Token, and I'll provide you with clues!"