Honestly, when Lin Zhenbei told me he was taking me to check the surveillance footage, I felt a complex mix of emotions.
I hoped the footage Lin Zhenbei provided would help me uncover the truth behind Uncle Tuo's death.
Yet, I also feared that once the truth emerged and Lin Zhenbei was cleared, I would lose my direction and target for revenge.
My intuition told me that to fully unravel the truth of Uncle Tuo's demise, I would likely need to start investigating the Qian Wang Competition ten years ago.
However, the Qian Wang Competition was not only a distant event in time, but also extremely unfamiliar to me as a newcomer to the gambling world.
With my current status and strength, the clues I could find were extremely limited…
While I was lost in thought, Lin Zhenbei had already led me to the surveillance room of the Tian Qi Building.
After instructing his subordinates to retrieve the surveillance footage from a week prior, one of the closed-circuit televisions immediately began to play.
In the surveillance footage, Uncle Tuo first appeared outside the entrance of the Tian Qi Building.
Standing outside the entrance, Uncle Tuo scanned the area ahead. Although he limped, causing his gait to be slightly hunched,
the uninhibited and powerful aura he exuded with each step was truly rare.
This was a mental strength that transcended physical limitations!
This was the first time I had seen Uncle Tuo alive since we parted ways at the textile factory.
For a moment, my previously calm state of mind became slightly unsettled.
Upon entering the Tian Qi Building, Uncle Tuo made no unnecessary movements. He directly walked to an empty gambling table, sat down, and then took out his phone to make a call.
Shortly after, Lin Zhenbei appeared in the footage with his men.
Just as Lin Zhenbei had said earlier, although he and Uncle Tuo had a past grievance, their meeting did not involve the intense animosity of enemies encountering each other.
On the contrary, their gazes and conversations appeared extremely peaceful.
From their intermittent dialogue, I understood Uncle Tuo's purpose for visiting the Tian Qi Building this time.
He had indeed come to collect a debt from Lin Zhenbei, a debt from an off-table wager that occurred during the Qian Wang Competition ten years ago.
During their conversation, neither of them explicitly mentioned many details about that off-table wager from ten years ago.
After a brief exchange, Uncle Tuo suddenly said the following in the surveillance footage.
"Ten years ago, because of the Qian Wang Token, you chose a path completely different from mine."
"You stood on the opposite side of me, and I even lost three fingers because of you."
"I, Lu Mingtai, have always adhered to the principle of repaying grievances with grievances and vengeance with vengeance!"
"Ten years later, setting aside all other matters, I have come solely to avenge those three fingers. Therefore, Lin Zhenbei…"
"Are you ready?"
As Uncle Tuo finished speaking, two words instantly surfaced in the depths of my mind regarding Lin Zhenbei.
Dice Demon!
To this day, I clearly remember that Uncle Tuo lost his three fingers while competing against someone nicknamed "Dice Demon."
If what Uncle Tuo had said earlier was entirely true, then Lin Zhenbei, standing before me at this moment, was indeed the renowned Dice Demon of the entire gambling world!
A master of dice who could perfectly control the numbers and sizes of ten dice!
Could Uncle Tuo, who had lost three fingers on his right hand, be a match for Lin Zhenbei, the Dice Demon?
Currently, the bandaged finger on Lin Zhenbei's left hand, was it lost in this very gambling match!
Just as I was silently pondering this, in the surveillance footage, Lin Zhenbei, who had remained silent in response to Uncle Tuo's challenge, directly ordered someone to bring the dice cups and dice.
The battle of snatching dice instantly commenced!
Snatching dice, also known as "Qiang Shi" (Snatching Ten).
The so-called Qiang Shi is essentially when participants simultaneously use dice cups to collect and shake dice from different directions.
Each person has ten dice, starting with six and capping at ten.
After the dice are set, the one with the higher total wins.
As I mentioned earlier, the difficulty of shaking dice increases exponentially with each additional die.
The true meaning of Qiang Shi is to utilize all the dice to achieve the highest possible favorable score.
For skilled gamblers and pit bosses found in casinos, they can freely control the numbers and sizes of six dice.
For such individuals, the limit they can withstand in Qiang Shi is likely around seven dice.
Adding even one more die beyond that would not be a factor contributing to victory, but purely a burden and a hindrance.
However, for masters like Uncle Tuo and Lin Zhenbei, the meaning of Qiang Shi… is truly about snatching ten!
They both start by shaking nine dice, and then, halfway through, they add the crucial tenth die!
………………
Although he was using his less accustomed left hand to shake the dice, Uncle Tuo's starting movements and speed were no less than Lin Zhenbei's.
Clearly, to avenge his severed fingers, Uncle Tuo had changed his dominant hand over the past ten years.
Lin Zhenbei and Uncle Tuo, the former used the "Whale Swallowing the Myriad" technique to collect dice, while the latter employed a move called "Eagle Soaring Through the Sky."
Both of these are renowned top-tier techniques in dice shaking.
Whale Swallowing the Myriad utilizes the length of one's arm, while Eagle Soaring Through the Sky emphasizes surprising speed. Although their starting movements differ, both involve pulling straight up from the bottom of the dice.
Approximately two minutes later, the moment the dice were revealed… the outcome was clear!
I recall Uncle Tuo once saying that at his peak, he could only manage to control the numbers and sizes of nine dice with his right hand.
But the scene of the dice landing in the surveillance footage truly shocked me!
A pillar of 6s!!!
In the Qiang Shi battle, every single one of the ten dice Uncle Tuo shook with his left hand was a 6!
In other words, Uncle Tuo, who had lost three fingers on his right hand, had spent ten years diligently training his left hand!
And it had even surpassed his original dominant right hand!
In contrast, Lin Zhenbei, the Dice Demon, also had a pillar of dice, but one of the dice in the middle had a face that was inconsistent with the others.
A hero's twilight.
Undoubtedly, Lin Zhenbei had lost!
Upon reaching this point in the surveillance footage, I had initially assumed that the final outcome of the severed finger battle might have been something like this.
In front of everyone, Lin Zhenbei would cheat, and although Uncle Tuo would argue his case, he was outnumbered and outmatched, ultimately being severely injured and succumbing.
After all, this was a revenge battle spanning a decade.
Lin Zhenbei, who was the victor ten years ago, had become a complete loser ten years later.
Such a reversal and blow would be difficult for the long-established Lin Zhenbei to accept.
But the footage that played next made my entire being tremble…