Entering the manager's office, Wang Chao was not seated in the office chair as I had secretly imagined.
Instead, he was standing respectfully beside the chair.
Because someone was already seated in the chair, with their back to me.
Without needing to guess, I knew that the only person who could be sitting in the manager's office of Tianci Tower, besides Xiao Tianyu, who was secretly called "Mad Dog" by the casino bosses of Longxi… was no one else!
When Wang Chao's subordinates escorted me to the desk, Xiao Tianyu slowly turned his chair to face me.
However, he didn't even lift his eyelids, continuing to smoke his cigar as if I weren't there, exuding the demeanor of a mob boss from a gangster film.
"Second Master, the person is here."
After the bodyguard reported, he wisely retreated outside the door.
The next second, only I, Han Jinlun, Wang Chao, and Xiao Tianyu remained in the office.
As Xiao Tianyu looked up to assess me, I also turned my gaze towards him.
However, my intention wasn't to scrutinize him, but rather to use it as a cover to rack my brain for a way to escape…
The first thought that surfaced in my mind was to team up with Han Jinlun for a 2v2, quickly subdue Wang Chao and Xiao Tianyu, and then use them to break free.
But as soon as this thought arose, I suppressed it.
While this approach could reverse the situation in the shortest possible time, the consequences would be severe.
Unless I no longer intended to stay in Longxi to investigate Xiao Tianci, doing so would undoubtedly be digging my own grave.
Before I could think of any other methods, I heard Xiao Tianyu speak.
After exhaling a thick cloud of cigar smoke, he directly took a dice cup and ten dice from under his desk and said coldly, "Wang Chao told me your dice-listening skill is excellent, capable of defeating him three times in a row!"
"I have always been eager to recruit talent and enjoy associating with heroes from all walks of life. How about this…"
At this point, Xiao Tianyu deliberately paused, then placed six of the ten dice into the dice cup.
He picked up the dice cup, shook it casually a few times, and then made an extremely amateurish gesture of placing a bet, signaling me.
"I'll give you a chance to prove yourself in a gamble. According to the rules of Sic Bo, if you can guess the total points and whether it's big or small, I'll release your friend!"
"Conversely, if you lose, you can either leave a hand behind or come work for me, and then our grievances can be settled."
"Let me remind you, if you make any decision other than the ones I've offered… Heh heh heh~"
With that, Xiao Tianyu directly took out a black handgun from a drawer beneath the desk and placed it on the table, the muzzle pointed at me.
This was the first time since I started my career that I had seen someone so openly display a firearm when showing their hand.
In peacetime, our country's control over firearms is very strict.
I had to admit that Xiao Tianyu's actions were incredibly arrogant, outrageously so!
I knew very well that his arrogance had a basis and capital.
Because throughout history, there has never been a shortage of collusion between officials and merchants.
Merchants contribute to society and generate revenue for cities. In return, officials provide them with timely convenience.
This convenience can be bought and sold.
To put it bluntly, once a merchant's created value has an immeasurable impact on a city…
As long as it's not a world-shattering event, no matter what kind of trouble they stir up behind the scenes, officials can turn a blind eye!
Therefore, I had every reason to believe that Mad Dog Xiao Tianyu dared to show me a gun in public because he felt secure and backed by something.
Seeing me frozen there without a word, Xiao Tianyu's expression faltered slightly.
"What? You don't want to guess, or you're afraid to guess?"
"If you don't guess, I'll have to consider it a forfeiture."
"And the consequence of forfeiture is that all of you… will die!!!"
Upon hearing this, my eyebrows twitched uncontrollably.
I never expected that Mad Dog Xiao Tianyu would be even more unpredictable and unconventional than me.
Fortunately, I had dismissed Han Jinlun's idea of borrowing troops from Su Liuli to force our way out. Otherwise, tonight would have been very difficult to resolve.
With this thought, having no other choice, I stopped thinking and hesitating. I walked directly to the desk and stood there, asking Xiao Tianyu, "How do we gamble? Is it one round to decide the winner, or…"
Before I could finish, Xiao Tianyu waved his hand impatiently and replied, "Let's see if you can guess this round first!"
"If you don't guess correctly, there's no need to continue gambling."
After hearing Xiao Tianyu's words, I immediately realized that this scoundrel would likely not easily admit defeat even if I guessed correctly.
To put it more bluntly, he had already prepared to renege unilaterally!
Damn Xiao Tianyu!
If Cheng Minglang and Zhu Wenjing weren't in his hands, given his stubborn and unreasonable nature of being willing to gamble but unwilling to admit defeat, I wouldn't have gambled with him for anything!
………………
Pointing to the dice cup in front of him, Xiao Tianyu said, "Come on! Tell me your answer. What's the total? Big or small?"
Upon hearing this, I blurted out without hesitation, "Double fives, a four, and three threes. Twenty-three, big!"
Hearing my answer, Xiao Tianyu decisively opened the dice cup.
554333, 23 points, big.
It was exactly as I had reported!
Seeing this result, a look of surprise flashed across Xiao Tianyu's face, but he quickly regained his composure.
Compared to Xiao Tianyu's surprise, Wang Chao's eyes showed undisguised jealousy and surging anger.
It was clear that Wang Chao believed my dice-listening ability far exceeded his expectations, to the point of being a complete victory.
Seeing this, Han Jinlun immediately applauded from the side, "Awesome, Brother Xiang!"
"Hey! How about it? Are you going to admit defeat now that you've lost the bet?"
However, Xiao Tianyu shook his head dismissively, "What's the hurry? Did I say we were only betting one round?"
After the host spoke, Wang Chao, acting as his lackey, immediately chimed in, "That's right! Second Boss only said to get past this hurdle, he didn't say we were only betting one round!"
Even though I knew clearly that Xiao Tianyu was openly reneging, I still had no way to deal with him.
It couldn't be helped! I was at his mercy.