Secret World: I Became a God Through Lies

Chapter 85: Dice of the Dead: Sima Ming's Gamble
"A pirate's gamble is never just about money."

"At the dice table aboard the Whale Grave, you win not only wealth, but perhaps also... a gift from fate."

The night on the Whale Grave is still bustling. The lights in the Whale Bale Bar flicker, illuminating faces that are either drunk or ambitious.

The air was filled with the aroma of sea salt and liquor, and the crisp sound of dice hitting the wooden table mixed with rude laughter and roars of gambling became the most common melody in this pirate capital.

Siming leaned lazily against a gambling table, his fingertips gently turning the wine glass in his hand, and the transparent liquid swayed slightly with his movements.

He glanced indifferently at the table, which was piled with gold coins and chips stained with sweat, cigarette ash and blood.

There was a slight smell of rust in the air. Obviously, this was not only a battlefield for gamblers, but also a battleground of life and death.

"Hey, new here, do you want to try your luck?" A one-eyed pirate with a black scarf grinned.
A few yellowed and broken teeth were exposed, and the voice was rough and hoarse, like sand rubbing against an iron plate.

Siming glanced up at him, tapping the wine glass with his fingertips, his eyes devoid of any extraneous emotion: "What are you playing?"

"Nightmare dice, bet on the size of the sea monster." The black-turbaned pirate chuckled and nimbly turned an exquisitely carved dice in his hand.

In the middle of the gambling table, a few bone-white dice lay quietly, emitting a faint luster. Those dice were not ordinary wooden dice.

Instead, it is carved from the bones of sea beasts, with complex patterns carved on the surface. Each side has a pattern of a deep-sea monster.
It was as if those horrible creatures still retained some kind of undying malice.

"Look here, kid, there are six legendary creatures from the Sea of ​​Dreams."

The black-turbaned pirate tapped the dice and grinned as he introduced, "In order of size, they are—"

The smallest creatures, the Soul-Eating Ghost Crabs, hide in the shadows of ships and feed on the remains of the undead.

The Flying Winged Scale is a predator that can briefly glide out of the water. It attacks quickly and is difficult to catch.

The demon bat is a terrifying creature that floats to the surface of the sea at night and uses its singing to lure sailors into the water.

The boat-eating shark, acting alone, can easily tear apart a small boat when attacking.

The nightmare octopus has a very high IQ and can imitate the voices of sailors to lure them into the deep sea.

The deep-sleeping grave whale, the overlord of the sea of ​​dreams, the dead behemoth, sails on the tide of death.

The black-turbaned pirate greedily glanced at the gold coins on the gambling table, licked the corner of his mouth, and lowered his voice:

"The game is simple. Roll the highest sea monster and you win the bet."

He waved his hand in the air, and the gamblers around him burst into laughter.

"Of course, we also have some special games, such as consecutive pairs or doubling the minimum value - but since you're new here, let's start with the big/small bet, right?"

Siming sneered softly and took out a gold coin from his waist pocket.
With a flick of his fingertips, the gold coins fell accurately onto the table, making a crisp sound.

"Okay, let's try our luck." His voice was filled with a hint of indifference.

The dice cup was suddenly opened, and the dice bounced and rolled on the wooden table with a crisp sound. Everyone held their breath.
My eyes were fixed on their final landing point, and even the originally noisy background sound in the bar seemed to be pulled away a little.

The first pirate's dice finally stopped, and the pattern of the demon bat sleeping fish slowly appeared. He frowned, obviously not satisfied with this medium-sized result.

The second pirate shook the dice cup, stared at the dice rolling inside, and flicked his wrist.
The bone-white dice rolled out, finally landing firmly on the symbol of the boat-swallowing shark. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, revealing a smug smile. He was clearly very satisfied with the result.

The black-turbaned pirate narrowed his single eye slightly, and flexed his wrist to turn the dice cup. The dice clashed with the sound of the dice.
He flipped the dice hard, and they rolled over the table for a few rounds before finally coming to a stop.

Nightmare octopus.

The gamblers around gasped and whispered to each other that this result was already quite good and a very competitive score in this game.

The black-turbaned pirate raised his lips slightly, looking at Siming confidently, his tone tinged with frivolous provocation: "Your turn."

Siming did not respond immediately. He picked up the dice and twirled it casually with his fingertips.
As if he was playing with something insignificant, he then raised his wrist slightly and the dice flew out of his hand.

Everyone stared at the dice on the table. They rolled and jumped under the light, and finally slowly stopped.

The sleeping whale. For a moment, the air seemed to freeze.

After a moment of silence, the gamblers around began to exclaim and whisper, and the noise in the bar instantly rose in volume.

"This guy is lucky..."

"I got the biggest sea monster in the first round. Damn it."

The black-turbaned pirate frowned slightly, his gaze lingering on the faces of Die and Siming for a moment.
Then he knocked on the table and a meaningful smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"Interesting." He said slowly, his eyes deep and tentative.

"You seem like a lucky guy... So, how about a more exciting bet?"

After saying that, he took out a yellowed card from his pocket, flicked his fingertips lightly, and the card spun in the air and finally landed on the table.

A faint blue luster emerged from the surface of the card, revealing a massive deep-sea creature with a thick shell. Its eyes shone ominously under the dim bar lights.

The black-turbaned pirate raised his lips slightly and chuckled softly:

"Ironclad Phantom Shrimp. This is a pretty good mid-level Life-type card. Have you seen it?"

Sima Ming glanced at the card indifferently, raised his eyebrows slightly, and didn't seem to show much interest.

The black-turbaned pirate stared at his reaction and said in a casual tone, "Since you're so lucky, why not bet on something more valuable?"

Sima Ming lowered his head and thought for a moment, then took out an old card with worn edges from his arms and threw it on the table.

The pattern on the card slowly emerged - it was a figure wearing a tattered traveler's robe, his face covered by thick pages, and in his hands he held a faintly glowing ancient book.

A lost scholar.

The gamblers around gasped when they saw the card.

"This guy is really brave. He actually dared to throw cards on the table..."

A hint of surprise flashed across the eyes of the black-turbaned pirate. He looked at Siming again, as if he had not expected that this seemingly lazy guy would be willing to use a card to bet.

Then he smiled, a smile that held a hint of danger.

"Very good." He tapped the cards lightly with his fingers, licked the corner of his mouth, and a hint of excitement flashed in his eyes, "Let's get started."

He knocked on the table, signaling the gamblers around him to quiet down, and then said in a low voice: "Since the stakes have been raised, the rules must also be raised."

He tapped his knuckles on the table and said slowly, "This time, we'll roll three dice. The one with the highest total wins."

There was an indescribable tension in the air. The gamblers held their breath, their eyes shifting back and forth between Sima Ming and the Black Scarf Pirates.

Siming smiled slightly, tapping the table with his fingers, his eyes calm as if he was watching an insignificant drama.

The black-turbaned pirate licked the corner of his mouth, placed his palm on the dice cup, and shook it gently.

The dice inside the dice cup are rolling and colliding, making crisp sounds, as if the gears of fate are turning quietly.

The atmosphere at the table was so tense that it seemed suffocating. Even the original noise of the Whale Baleen Bar was slightly calmed down by this gambling game.

This gamble is no longer just a battle of money, but a battle of fate.

The dice rolls, lands, tumbles, and finally comes to rest.

Everyone stared at the table, waiting for the results to be announced.

The gambling has just begun.

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(End of this chapter)