Chapter 125: The King of Dice

Long Fei and Ichiro Uchida both remained aloof, while Dragon Lady offered a faint smile and a slight nod toward Hanako.

"How shall we wager?" Hanako dared not underestimate the Dragon Lady. She understood that no one in this world would be foolish enough to come to the Black Dragon Casino to mess around with 15 billion at stake; either the opponent was utterly fearless, or they were insane. Naturally, she didn't view the Dragon Lady as insane. Though they had never met, she was immediately struck by the woman's ethereal and stunning temperament.

Dragon Lady smiled. "Let's bet on high or low. Whoever rolls the higher or lower total wins. One round decides it all."

Hanako nodded. "Very well. I usually compete with others on who can roll the highest. Today, let's try something fresh—let's see who can roll the lowest. How does that sound?"

"The guest follows the host's lead. In your casino, it is only natural that you call the shots." The Dragon Lady was not the least bit nervous, appearing entirely confident.

Taking the dice cup from the dealer nearby, she opened it to reveal a sound-dampening sleeve and five dice. She sent them to the Dragon Lady’s table. Hanako said sternly, "Please inspect them."

Dragon Lady shook her head. "No need. Since we are in your casino, I will accept you as the dealer. You deal, and you roll first."

Hanako was stunned, then secretly delighted. She had played with dice since childhood and was the top dice master in Japan; she could naturally roll whatever value she desired. In her view, if the Dragon Lady had rolled first and managed a "leopard"—where all five dice showed a one—she might have had a chance. But by letting Hanako roll, the result would inevitably be a total of one. It was as good as handing her the victory.

Glancing at Ichiro Uchida, Hanako used an incredibly elegant technique to sweep the five dice into the cup. She began to shake it, starting slowly before building speed, moving it left, right, up, and down. She shook it for so long that even Long Fei grew impatient. Finally, Hanako slammed the cup onto the table, a smile blooming on her face as she nodded to Ichiro Uchida.

Ichiro Uchida suddenly spoke up. "I would like to clarify one thing: according to our casino rules, the dealer rolls first. If the guest rolls the same total as the dealer, the dealer wins. Do you have any objections?"

Long Fei felt annoyed. While he hadn't played this specific game often, he had seen it enough on television to know the rules. He said, feeling somewhat stifled, "That doesn't seem very fair!"

"Willing to bet, willing to lose. These are the casino's rules; no one forced you to play. Even now, you are free to back out." Ichiro Uchida frowned. He truly did not want to gamble with Long Fei—winning or losing both seemed problematic—but the situation forced his hand.

Receiving a telepathic message from the Dragon Lady, Long Fei suddenly laughed. "Fine, I’ll play by your rules. But if you try to welsh on the bet later, don't say I wasn't reasonable. There are plenty of people here who can serve as witnesses!"

"The Black Dragon Casino has been open for many years; we have never reneged on a debt. Rest assured, we can afford to lose 15 billion," Ichiro Uchida sneered.

"Alright, alright, let's open it up. Let's see what the total is!" Long Fei said impatiently.

Given the signal by Ichiro Uchida, Hanako smiled at Long Fei. "Don't say I played any tricks. You open the cup yourself!"

Long Fei felt a chill of disgust. *Damn, no need to flirt with me. I have no interest in you, you Japanese sow!*

He slowly lifted the cup, and his jaw dropped. The five dice were stacked perfectly on top of each other, the top one showing a one, making the total just one.

"No way! Damn, that counts?" Long Fei, a total novice, shouted in surprise. Everyone shot him a look of disdain, as if rolling a one were nothing special, though he could still see surprise and admiration in their eyes.

"Why wouldn't it count? So many people saw it. Even if you had the ability to roll a zero, we would still admit defeat!" Hanako laughed.

Ichiro Uchida chuckled as well. "I don't think we need to continue. Even if you could also roll a one, according to our rules, we would still win!"

"Oh, so you had this setup ready to trap me? This round doesn't count!" Long Fei felt a surge of anger. *Damn it, 15 billion yen—that’s over 10 billion yuan!* He had just been thinking about how to spend the money, and now it was gone in an instant? He was usually a reasonable person and didn't value money more than life, but he had no intention of being reasonable with these Japanese. He had come to Japan with the clear intention of stuffing his pockets, and he wasn't going to leave empty-handed.

"Are you trying to cause trouble?" Ichiro Uchida frowned. "What does everyone think?"

The sorcerer Francis spoke impatiently, "Kid, why are you being so unreasonable? You clearly lost, so how can you act so shamelessly? Even with the Dragon Lady backing you, this shouldn't be allowed, right?"

Before Long Fei could speak, the Dragon Lady laughed. "Francis, no need to say more. This game isn't over yet."

Turning her head, she said to Hanako, "You just said that even if I rolled a zero, you would admit defeat, right?"

Hanako was startled and looked at Ichiro Uchida behind her. The latter frowned. "But there is one condition: you cannot shatter the dice!"

Dragon Lady smiled. "Very well, I shall give it a try. I deserve a chance to win or lose. If I’m not mistaken, this lady must be the top dice master of Japan, Miss Hanako, yes?"

Hanako nodded.

"A pleasure!" Having said this, the Dragon Lady grabbed the cup from the table, placed the five dice inside, and with a loud *bang*, slammed it down on the tabletop. "Done!"

Everyone stared in disbelief. This was too exaggerated—she hadn't shaken it at all, just covered the dice with the cup, and it was done? Was the Dragon Lady joking?

"That's it? Aren't you going to shake them?" Hanako was also stunned.

Dragon Lady smiled. "I've already finished shaking. Open it; let's not waste time!"

Hanako exchanged a glance with Ichiro Uchida, who gave a slight nod. Hanako slowly lifted the cup, then gasped in shock, followed by a chorus of gasps from everyone else.

Perhaps with the exception of John Paul, who maintained a calm expression, everyone stared at the dice on the table as if they had seen a ghost.

Ichiro Uchida stared at the dice in astonishment, unable to believe his eyes, and muttered, "Impossible. How is this possible?"

All five dice remained, but they were now entirely blank, as if they had never been carved at all. Since there were no pips, the total could only be calculated as zero. Although the dice were not stacked, the sum was still zero.

"Haha! Heaven has eyes! Miss Hanako, weren't you acting so arrogant? Haha, you lost! Come, come, Uchida, have your people transfer the money to my account. Haha, I’ve really struck it rich today!" Long Fei was the happiest of them all. He didn't look like a wealthy man at all, as if he had never seen so much money in his life. In reality, his savings were far more than this, but he simply loved the feeling of winning—especially winning money from the "little Japanese." It made him ecstatic.

Hanako stared at the five dice, stunned and unable to utter a word. Her face had turned deathly pale. This defeat didn't just break her unbeaten record since her debut; it meant her failure had cost the Black Dragon Society 15 billion. It was a staggering amount. Though she felt aggrieved and suspected the Dragon Lady had cheated, she had indeed lost. And for her, the consequences would be severe; Ichiro Uchida would certainly not let this go easily.

Seeing Hanako’s utter despair, Long Fei began to taunt Ichiro Uchida. "Heh heh, Uchida, don't think about welshing on the debt. Everyone is watching. Right, everyone?"

Jenny was the first to laugh. "That’s right, I can testify that you lost, Uchida!"

"Indeed, I can also testify!" Sid added with a nod.

Jack didn't speak, but he shrugged, his expression making his position clear.

The white American who had remained silent throughout also nodded. "Indeed, I can also testify! It’s only 15 billion; that’s small change!"

Long Fei glanced at him. *Damn, you’re rich, aren't you? Careful, or one day I’ll have Gouzi transfer all the money from your account. I’ll drive you crazy, you SOB American!*

Uchida finally regained his composure and instinctively blurted out, "You cheated."

"I cheated your mother! Listen, Uchida, don't try to bully me. If you push me, I’ll tear this casino down single-handedly, you hear me?" Upon hearing Uchida try to renege, Long Fei grew agitated and immediately issued a threat.

Ichiro Uchida already knew that Long Fei had killed dozens of the Black Dragon Society’s elites and had instantly dispatched three Koga ninjas. Even the old man from the Koga clan couldn't handle him, so he certainly stood no chance. Seeing that everyone present was not to be trifled with, he no longer dared to resist Long Fei’s words.

Though his face was dark enough to crack, he managed a forced, bitter smile. "Fine, your skills are superior. We concede!"

Ichiro Uchida said to the still-dazed Hanako, "Hanako, go down immediately and have someone come up to transfer the money to them!"

As if granted a reprieve, Hanako shouted an acknowledgment and hurried off. During the interval, Long Fei and the Dragon Lady exchanged a few quiet words. He realized that the Dragon Lady’s trick was a form of illusion, though different from Abe Hiroaki’s. To put it simply, Abe’s illusions were offensive, while the Dragon Lady’s only served to deceive the senses for a time. In a while, everyone would see that the pips on the dice had never been erased.

"Brilliant. The Dragon Lady is truly brilliant," Francis praised, still in awe.

After a short while, several staff members in black suits arrived with a laptop. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Ichiro Uchida didn't dare pull any tricks and obediently transferred the 15 billion yen—at the USD exchange rate—into Long Fei’s Swiss bank account.

Seeing the transfer succeed, Long Fei nodded, his grin widening. It seemed that Ye Wentian hadn't shortchanged him by sending him to Japan. Not only had he learned a method to cultivate his spiritual power, but he had also pocketed over a billion. This trip was truly worth it.

Just as he was feeling good, his Swiss bank called to confirm the transaction. They valued a big client like Long Fei highly and informed him that a manager would personally visit him before long.

"Alright, everything is done. Let's wrap it up!" Long Fei stood up breezily and left with a chuckle, taking the Dragon Lady and Jenny’s group with him.

The lobby outside was already empty of Koga Tanida, but dozens of men in black stood guard, eyeing Long Fei’s group warily. Just before entering the elevator, Jack, without warning, struck down two men in black who displeased him with a single blow, then followed the others into the elevator with a cold face.

Jenny had been hired by the British royal family for this mission. It had been agreed beforehand that because the mission was special, she would receive 20% of the commission even if they didn't get the disc, and the sum was staggering.

Therefore, when Long Fei called her away, she felt no resentment. Besides, she already belonged to Long Fei, and whatever money she earned would eventually be his anyway. She didn't care. However, Jack and Sid were a bit frustrated. Both had a slight penchant for killing, and being called away without getting to do anything left them feeling pent up. Given their lack of affection for the Japanese, it was no surprise that Jack had lashed out before leaving.

Not long after the group left the Black Dragon Hotel, Ichiro Uchida, who was upstairs explaining that the disc was not in his possession, gasped along with everyone else. The five dice on the table had finally returned to their original state. They were never blank; they clearly showed 2, 3, 6, 5, 6. But no matter how angry he was, it was useless. The money had already been paid.

"Uchida, I can tell you quite frankly that the Vatican is very interested in this item because we are conducting a similar experiment. I hope you can cooperate. I only need a copy; I don't need your actual disc. How about it? But you must think carefully. Do not try to deceive me, or the Holy See will not let you off!" John Paul had begun to lay his cards on the table.

Ichiro Uchida sighed in despair, nearly on the verge of tears. "Gentlemen, I know the Black Dragon Society cannot afford to offend any of you, but think about it: this item was stolen by the Huaxia nation long ago, and they even blew up our experimental base. This is merely a counter-espionage tactic of theirs. Why won't you believe me!"