Shi Lang passed down the commands and Darcx fulfilled them with excellent efficiency. The two people cooperated seamlessly and worked for the whole noon. Then Shi Lang stood up to leave the room. Darcx asked him, “Boss, where are you going?”
Shi Lang said, “The underground boxing arena I want to visit one of them to see what they are playing at.”
Darcx stood up and said, “Should I accompany you?”
Shi Lang shook his head and said, “No need, I just want to confirm if there is a mole behind us or if the people behind the syndicate are really clairvoyant.”
Darcx did not get to say the next thing when Shi Lang came out of the room and closed the door. He moved at a calm pace. His actions were in line with an average man who would rather spend his daydreaming about quick cash and getting rich. He was a school teacher by profession. Such thoughts were in line with his profile.
The young man moved around the city, randomly window shopping, and then he went to a cigarette retailer, bought a packet of smokes, and asked the retailer, “Yo! brother, do you know where can I find one of those fighting arenas?”
The cigarette retailer was a young guy with dyed hair and a lot of fat on his chin. The fat guy was stunned and began to look around. When he found no one around, he narrowed his gaze and looked at Shi Lang as he asked, “Are you new in the city?”
Shi Lang was ‘surprised’ and asked with a cautious expression, “Brother, how do you know?”
The fat guy said, “Is it not obvious by the way you are asking such a sensitive question so loudly that the entire city might find out?”
Shi Lang looked stunned and the fat guy continued, “Now, the reason those arenas are called underground it is because they are operated in secret. Do you think the government is just for show?”
Shi Lang nodded as he received enlightenment. The fat guy taught this poor guy and had a smile of satisfaction as he asked, “Why do you ask me about this though?”
Shi Lang sighed and said, “Brother, I do not know what to say. I am a teacher at the federal star academy, but my class is filled with problem students. I do not have much hope to earn big. I need to earn some big money to pay off my debt or the people will sell my organs in the black market.”
This was the second time Shi Lang had passed this shop on, and earlier he saw the fat guy giving a few credits to a beggar. Thus, he asked Darcx to investigate this guy, and when he got the result, he decided to use this guy as his fishing stick.
He revealed an expression so dreadful that the fat man was shocked and his eyes were glistening. It was as if he would cry at any given moment. He still did not let down his guard and asked, “What debt did you incur?”
Shi Lang sighed and said, “I was weak in terms of cultivation, and the only good way to earn a decent living is to get into the army. I took a loan of ten million credits for a gene enhancement serum. The effect was good, and I joined the army, but my rank was not good enough and last year, I got injured on duty and they posted me to the academy.”
The fat guy sighed and said, “What a fool you were, sorry brother. You have my condolences.”
Shi Lang took out a cigarette and set it on fire with an electric lighter. He took a deep puff and then exhaled the smoke in the void. The fat guy caught a look of lamentation in his eyes and said, “Well, since you want to push your luck to the end. Come with me.”
Shi Lang was surprised and looked at the fat guy, who came out from behind his counter and then he closed the shop. The fat guy said, “My name is Theodore Socrates. I used to be weak in strength as well, and till the last few months, I was even homeless.”
The young general was shocked, he looked at the fat guy and the person said, “Yes, your guess is correct, I made all this money from one correct bet in the arena. Just one bet.”
Theodore said, “This shop and the house behind are worth ten thousand credits. It is small but big enough to shelter, at least, I do not have to shrink under some shed when it rains.”
Shi Lang nodded and said, “You are indeed correct brother. Can you take me to the arena, maybe, my pitiful life still has a chance for salvation?”
Theodore nodded and led the way through the bustling streets of Elton city, after a few minutes, the fat guy stopped and said, “Brother, your identity card does not mention your army status correct? I am telling you it is really difficult for on-duty soldiers to get in the arena.”
Shi Lang waved his hands hurriedly, and said, “No brother, I am medically discharged. Also, I have a different card for the school teacher. It does not show my military status at all.”
Theodore nodded and asked, “What was your rank in the military?”
The young general said, “I used to deal with things in the background.”
And the fat man exclaimed, “You were in the technical department, and I was wondering if you were injured on the frontline.”
Shi Lang chuckled and said, “How can that be? I was injured by an explosion in the server room, my brain heats up rather quickly when I pay attention to my work.”
Theodore nodded in realization, and patting Shi Lang’s back he said, “It is fate that we met, brother. Come on, let us see what your fate holds.”
Shi Lang nodded, and then he followed behind the fat guy. He was manipulating his communicator and asking Darcx to create a fake ID for him inside the military system as well as a profile. He mentioned the key points that were to be included in the profile. The commands were precise and the reply was ‘okay, boss.’
Ten minutes later, Shi Lang received a profile and ID on his communicator. His communicator looked like a normal one but the software inside could control the entire federation. So, to keep things from leaking, he simply entered a restricted mode, where only the normal features were available, and then he sent a few messages to the people close to him, reminding them to stay calm in case he was out of reach.
Theseus was included in this list as the class will be headed to the Elton City Military academy and dram lots for the initial group rounds. Shi Lang had promised them to be present and now that he decided to venture deep inside the tiger’s den, if he was occupied and missed the event, the students should not get affected because of him.
Theodore told him a lot of things about the arena, such as the rules and betting system. Of this Shi Lang found out that the syndicate had set up a lot of shell accounts. Shi Lang intended to make a gamble and try to investigate these accounts as well. If the money flow led him to the mastermind behind all this, then he will be able to nab the guy as well.
It took them half an hour more before they reached a disco, this place was called Arabian Nights. Shi Lang followed Theodore through the door and passed the security check. They did not frisk him much and let them in. They entered the club and a loud bass greeted Shi Lang. The place was echoing with high-tempo music with neon lights painting the faces of the people inside.
Some were intoxicated, and some were pretending to be intoxicated. Shi Lang caught the subtle changes in the metabolism of these people and knew that they were all men from the syndicate. He was impressed by the strict security. Shi Lang caught sight of a place where the people were asked to take off their communicators and jewelry before passing, with his spirit sense.
His weapons were placed in his space ring, but if he was asked to take it off, it will be useless. So, he said, “Brother, is there a washroom here?”
Theodore nodded and pointed at a corner he told Shi Lang. The young general went inside the washroom and searched the place when he found nothing that could monitor him. He sneakily placed his handgun and his sword in his spirit tattoo. As he did that, he said, “To think that I will be using you again, old vault.”
Then he came out of the washroom, and Theodore led him to the secure corridor, only scarce people were seen coming in or out. The guards here were all stronger, they seemed to be above four-star level. Shi Lang was surprised to see this. To think the such talent was here. However, when he scanned them with his spirit sense, he found that the people were all carrying scars of forced promotion.
He was intrigued even more, to find who was the boss of this syndicate.
