Chapter 23: The Roulette Game
“What if Vulcan is really a fake?”
“What if? What can we do?”
“I’m asking you what we should do.”
“It’s not something I can control. Do whatever you want.”
Then there was a brief silence.
“The boss will kill you.”
“I know.”
“You’re really calm.”
“Because I’ve long understood that my life has never been in my own hands.”
Who is the boss?
Wen En stopped in his tracks, looking at the information transmitted from the listening device in Charles’s jacket to his smart glasses.
“What’s wrong?” Seeing Wen En stop, Romeo also stopped.
“Nothing. Keep going,” Wen En said.
This place, marked as a “warehouse,” was actually not a warehouse, but an entrance to an underground space. The entrance was connected to a corridor. The corridor was not long. The two of them walked to the end of the corridor, where there was another unmarked door.
Wen En blinked. His smart glasses told him that, according to the listening device’s location, Charles was not far away.
So, Pete, Pierre, Charles, what was the relationship between these three? Wen En thought for a long time but couldn’t come up with an answer. At least on the surface, Wen En couldn’t see any connection between the three of them.
The only connection might be that they all wanted to get their hands on Vulcan.
“Let’s go. We’re going in,” Wen En said, pushing open the door at the end of the corridor.
“Creak—”
What came into view was a translucent, strangely scented white smoke, like burning herbs mixed with the smell of soil. Along with the smoke came a cacophony of noise.
Wen En frowned.
“It’s hookah.”
Romeo’s voice came from behind him.
Wen En, who hated the smell of smoke, didn’t understand. He waved his hand, dispelling the smoke, and walked in.
Inside was a spacious place, an entertainment venue. A group of people were gathered around a table, holding chips and cards. A scantily clad dealer stood in the middle, dealing new cards.
Wen En’s face was cold. He knew that the laws of Capital Star prohibited gambling.
I really want to arrest all these gambling dogs and throw them in prison to do hard labor.
A dealer saw the two of them and walked over.
“Gentlemen.”
The dealer’s face wore a practiced, fawning smile. As he got closer, the strong scent of his Omega pheromones became more apparent.
“Is this your first time here?”
The dealer’s gaze swept past Wen En and finally landed on Romeo behind him. Wen En raised an eyebrow, turned sideways, and looked at Romeo.
“Me?”
Being stared at by two people, Romeo blinked and said:
“This is my first time here.”
“What’s your favorite game? Baccarat or blackjack? Shall I show you to a seat?” the dealer smiled faintly and reached out to take Romeo’s arm.
Romeo’s expression did not change, but he took a step back, tactfully refusing the dealer’s physical contact.
“I have to ask my boss first,” Romeo said, his eyes turning to Wen En.
Wen En also looked at him. Wen En’s gaze was as cold as ever, showing no fluctuation of emotion.
“Boss, what do you think? Blackjack or baccarat?”
The dealer’s gaze also shifted to Wen En, his eyes filled with unconcealable surprise.
“Neither,” Wen En said expressionlessly. “We’re here to find someone.” Wen En took out his communicator, opened the photos of Pete and Pierre, and showed them to the dealer. “Do you know where these two are now?”
The dealer stared at the photos of Pete and Pierre and said, “I don’t know, sir.”
“These two idiots owe me a lot of money in high-interest loans,” Wen En said in a low voice. “But don’t worry, I know my limits. I don’t want to cause you any trouble, and likewise, you’d better not cause me any trouble.” With that, Wen En lifted his flight jacket, briefly revealing the gun at his waist.
The dealer reacted in a second. In a place like this, where all sorts of people gathered, such things were not uncommon. Many guests lost everything after splurging here, but they were completely immersed in the spiritual stimulation of pursuing victory and couldn’t extricate themselves. To win, they could only resort to other means to add assets to their pockets, so they could get the qualification to continue rolling the dice at the table.
The dealer said, “Oh, sir, I really haven’t seen them, but…” he pointed in a direction and said, “That room is playing roulette. Sir, if you’re interested, you can go and try.”
Wen En, of course, understood what the dealer was saying.
“Thank you,” Wen En said.
“Let’s go, boss,” Romeo put his arm around Wen En’s shoulder. “Let’s go play some roulette.”
The direction the dealer pointed to was roughly the same as the direction Charles’s location was displayed.
Could this also be a coincidence? Wen En thought.
“Boss,” Romeo’s arm was around Wen En’s shoulder, his lips almost touching Wen En’s ear. “Do you know how to play roulette?”
“I’m not interested in these things,” Wen En said.
“That’s a shame,” Romeo said.
“Are you a gambler too?” Wen En looked at him and asked.
“I’m not,” Romeo said. “Like you, I never do things I’m not sure about.”
The two of them pushed open the door and walked into another room.
This room was very large, with two tables. On the tables were two red, blue, and green roulette wheels. A few people were sitting around the tables, occasionally picking up the dice in their hands and throwing them onto the roulette wheel.
And Pete and Pierre were standing on either side of a person sitting at the table.
The person was wearing a black suit, with a black metal mask covering most of his face. He had a cigar in his mouth, and thick white smoke billowed from his nostrils.
Wen En looked at the black mask. The person’s appearance was transmitted through Wen En’s eyes to Della’s computer. Soon, the computer’s AI identified the person.
It was him, Peter Hobart.
The ruler of the lower district.
Pete and Pierre had their heads down, their faces grim. Seeing the movement, Pete looked up. His gaze landed on Romeo’s face, and his expression froze. He made some kind of gesture to Pierre.
Pierre followed Pete’s gaze and met Romeo’s eyes.
“I think they’ve spotted me,” Romeo said.
“Oh, that’s great,” Wen En said expressionlessly. “I remember I made it very clear to you to stay in room 206 and protect yourself.”
Romeo hooked his arm around Wen En’s and said, “Darling, where is it safer than by your side in that dilapidated hotel?”
Wen En couldn’t be bothered to answer him.
Just then, Peter stood up and walked up to Wen En and Romeo.
“I haven’t seen you before,” the eyes, surrounded by skin covered by the black mask, looked like nesting dolls as they stared at Romeo. “No, I remember now. I’ve seen you, Romeo Solstice.”
“Hello,” Romeo said. Although he still couldn’t remember who this person was. Could he be a former client?
“You seem to be quite controversial lately,” Peter said, sizing up Wen En. After a moment, he said, “So, is he your bodyguard?”
Wen En was expressionless, but Romeo, with his arm around his, could clearly feel his tense arm muscles.
Oops.
Romeo leaned on Wen En’s shoulder and said, “Darling, you should say something. It’s not good to be misunderstood all the time.”
Wen En: …
A little bit of goosebumps.
“Ah, so that’s how it is. Congratulations, congratulations,” the black mask said with a look of understanding. “Romeo, I wish you happiness.”
“Thank you,” Romeo nodded.
Wen En: …
Something feels wrong.
He quickly thought for a few seconds and finally realized what was wrong.
Wen En frowned. The listening device in Charles’s jacket had been silent for a while.
Wen En pushed up his glasses. His glasses showed that Charles’s location was not far from here.
“Let me introduce myself. My name is Peter Hobart,” Peter said, extending a friendly hand to Wen En.
“Ethan,” Wen En extended his hand in response to his greeting.
But just as he was about to withdraw his hand, he found that Peter was not letting go so quickly.
Wen En noticed something else was wrong. Peter’s hand looked no different from an ordinary person’s, but only Wen En knew that this hand was as hard as a stone.
This hand was a prosthetic limb made of machinery.
“My apologies,” Peter released his hand and said apologetically, “This is a new prosthetic hand. I’m still getting used to it. Sometimes it doesn’t respond.”
“It’s alright,” Wen En said with an understanding expression.
At that moment, a hidden door behind Peter suddenly opened.
Then, a strong smell of disinfectant mixed with a faint scent of Omega pheromones wafted over.
A slender Omega man walked out, dragging a wide, black suitcase that reached his upper abdomen.
The man was wearing a long white coat, which was out of place with the exquisitely dressed and made-up people around him. He looked more like a student who had stayed up all night doing experiments in a lab.
The people around him seemed to be used to him. They continued to lower their heads, cheering and rolling the dice.
Something’s wrong, Wen En thought. His glasses told him that Charles was not far in front of him.
The Omega man greeted Peter and was about to leave, dragging his suitcase.
As he passed by Wen En, Wen En suddenly grabbed his hand.
“What’s in this suitcase?”
Hearing Wen En’s words, the Omega man’s body stiffened. But soon, he reacted. He shook off Wen En’s hand and gave him a displeased look.
“What’s it to you, sir? This is my privacy.”
