The dice clattered against the inner walls of the shaker, their sounds becoming a chaotic jumble as more were added.
It was precisely like shaking a hula hoop.
It all depended on that one breath held in anticipation.
As long as the breath was maintained, the longer one could hold on, the higher the chances of winning.
Of course, everyone had their limits.
Even though a seasoned gambler’s limit was more enduring than that of an ordinary person, it still had an end.
I couldn’t recall how long I had held my breath.
All I knew was that as my chest grew tighter and my head heavier, the frequency of my shaking the dice shaker began to become increasingly erratic…
*Clatter!*
*Clatter! Clatter!*
One die, two dice, three dice.
Three dice fell out of the shaker.
Seeing this, Feng Xihua, who was watching from the side, immediately burst into wild laughter.
"Hahahaha!"
"Chen Xiang, if you don't have the skills, don't take on the job!"
"Your technique is unstable, and you still dare to compete with our Han-jie in dice shaking?"
"Look at our Han-jie, she's still..."
Before Feng Xihua could finish her taunting words, Xu Qihan, as if unable to hold on any longer, also started dropping dice with a slight tremor of her hand.
*Clatter, clatter, clatter…*
As I was fully immersed in shaking the dice, I couldn't clearly hear how many dice had fallen from Xu Qihan's shaker.
However, there was one thing I could determine in advance.
That was, the number of dice that fell from Xu Qihan's shaker would absolutely, positively, not be less than three!
This was another drawback of the "Falling Leaves Swishing" technique.
The principle was the same as the hula hoop rule I mentioned earlier.
Even if you increased the stakes rhythmically, which could effectively consolidate your initial advantage, all of this was contingent on that single breath not dissipating!
Once the breath was gone, it was all in vain. When using the "Falling Leaves Swishing" to shake dice, before achieving perfect synchronization, there would be subtle differences in the frequency and rhythm of the dice added at different times.
In other words…
As long as the breath was lost, the dice would fall out in a predictable pattern.
Of course, the dice that had been shaken for the longest time had the lowest probability of falling.
As for the ones added one by one later, it depended on whether the person shaking the dice could reduce the probability of them falling by altering the rhythm and frequency of shaking the shaker…
From the dropping of the dice, I could infer that Xu Qihan was likely using the "Falling Leaves Swishing" technique for the first time with more than ten dice.
She might have subconsciously believed that the "Falling Leaves Swishing" technique offered a certain degree of assurance for the lower limit of the dice scores.
This thought was rather wishful.
Sensing that something was amiss, Xu Qihan's delicate brows immediately furrowed, and she stared intently at the dice shaker with a solemn expression.
It seemed she had guessed the consequences of not holding her breath until the very end.
Catching a glimpse of this, the tense expression on my face immediately eased.
As I secretly breathed a sigh of relief, I was inwardly grateful for how correct my decision had been to start with the "Whale Swallowing Myriad" technique.
This was also a dice-shaking method taught to me by Uncle Tuo.
He said that in the future, if I encountered gambling games where the number of dice was not limited, I should never be overconfident and take unconventional risks.
Clever tricks could lead to surprising victories, but the prerequisite was always thorough research and practice.
The facts proved that Uncle Tuo was indeed experienced in the ways of the world.
He was an old hand whose accumulated wisdom far surpassed my own journey.
His ability to climb to the pinnacle of the Thousand Doors Blue Path was the best evidence.
………………
Lost in thought, I suddenly saw Xu Qihan's hand begin to tremble uncontrollably.
As another die was about to slip from the shaker, a fleeting expression of panic crossed her face before Xu Qihan immediately made an adjustment.
She performed an extremely visually dazzling move, "Scooping the Moon from the Seabed," just before the die could hit the ground, and then…
*Bang!*
She slammed the dice shaker down onto the table.
The moment the shaker was inverted on the table, the dice inside continued to clatter against each other.
After about 2 to 3 seconds, they gradually settled down.
Clearly, this was a forced move by Xu Qihan.
Since I had only dropped three dice, and she had dropped more, upon seeing another die about to fall, the most stable and safest method was to prematurely end the shake.
If quality couldn't be guaranteed, then quantity would have to suffice…
After placing the shaker down, Xu Qihan gasped for air, her gaze fixed on the shaker with uncertainty, her expression extremely grim.
She likely hadn't expected to fail so quickly, not due to any other reason than excessive confidence and wishful thinking.
For a brief moment, unease and anxiety flickered in Xu Qihan's eyes.
She was afraid that I would surpass her.
Little did she know, I was also at my limit.
Just now, if Xu Qihan hadn't ended her shake first, I would have unhesitatingly slammed mine down.
*Bang!*
With another muffled thud, my dice shaker also landed on the table.
According to the rules, the person who ended their shake first had to reveal their dice first.
Taking a deep breath, Xu Qihan reached out and opened her shaker.
It was much as I had predicted.
Chaotic and jumbled.
Xu Qihan had dropped one more die than me, leaving her with only 16 dice. The scores, from highest to lowest, were: 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 5, 5, 4, 4, 3, 2, 2, 1.
It was evident that Xu Qihan's rhythm started to go awry from the ninth die onwards.
Just now, if she had chosen to ignore the falling die and focused on continuing to shake, that 5-point die might have become a 6.
But in reality, the difference wouldn't have been that significant.
Given the misjudgment in technique, shaking 16 dice to achieve a total of 74 points, with an average score of almost 5 points per die, was already quite impressive.
Now, it was my turn.
Just like Xu Qihan's initial reaction, I first took a deep breath, and then reached out to open my shaker.
17 dice.
At first glance… there were only seven 6s!
Furthermore, there was one more 1-point die than Xu Qihan had!
Missing one 6 and gaining one 1 meant a difference of a full 5 points.
If the 5-point difference were to be leveled with Xu Qihan, it would mean that my 4-point and 2-point dice would each have to be at least one higher than hers.
And the 3-point dice would have to be doubled.
Otherwise… I would surely lose!