338 Entrapment.
Shi Lang watched the battle, and as he predicted, Holmes lost. Theodore asked him, “Brother, please tell me that you did not bet on the loser?”
Shi Lang smiled and said, “Luckily I bet on the winner. Hahaha, I placed a bet on my entire saving, one million credits. I earned back seven million.”
He laughed loudly and watched Theodore’s shocked face. The fat man said, “Brother, you are too bold.”
Shi Lang laughed, and said, “Since I had to stake it all on my luck, then why not stake it all at once? If I had lost and tried to win back the money, it would have been even more agonizing. Would it not?”
Theodore nodded and said, “Indeed, you are correct. Now that you have seven million, you can bet a small amount in the next match and get the rest of the amount. This way your problems will be solved and you might even get more money to get by in the future.”
The suggestion was nice, but Shi Lang could not do that. He shook his head and said, “Brother Theodore, if my luck was good, then would I have been born in such conditions where I could not even buy a gene enhancement serum and stake my life for it? I will not take such a risk now.”
Theodore nodded but then with a thoughtful look, he asked, “Brother, what you say is correct and that was also the reason why I did not bet the second time. I only come here to watch the matches. However, what will you do about the rest of the money?”
Shi Lang stopped laughing all of a sudden and then scratched his head as he replied, “Brother, I did not think that far. This seven million might not be able to pay it all completely, but it might give me an extension on life. No?”
Theodore sighed and nodded to the man. He said, “Well, since you have made up your mind, I will not push you, Let’s leave this place.”
Shi Lang nodded and cast a gaze a feiry gaze at the woman in the ring. Then he sighed as he left, Theodore looked at his action and said, “You better not have ideas about her. She is the red widow. Countless men have died under her skirt.”
Shi Lang asked in confusion. “What sort of name is this? Red Widow.”
Theodore sighed and said, “She earned this name, as an orphan with not-so-good cultivation talent she was trafficked and pushed into the flesh trade. However, she was a witty girl, she managed to kill all the people in the villa they arranged. When she came out, she was drenched in blood from head to toe.
Later she was adopted by the racket head, groomed, and trained in skills like assassination and seduction. That old man died because he lusted after her. Later on, it is said that she fell in love but then something twisted happened, her lover died on their wedding night.
Since then she became the red widow. A poison that can kill anyone who gets too close.”
Shi Lang pretended to be shocked and shivered as he followed Theodore. He looked at the lady again and mumbled, “Thankfully, you woke me up.”
Theodore patted his shoulder and the two came to the betting counter and queued up. Shi Lang turned his head back towards the observation area and locked onto Red Widow. He channeled his thoughts to her mind.
The lady was amidst an announcement when she froze. The crowd was stunned and then they started booing. Red Widow woke up from her stupor and continued hosting matches. Shi Lang collected the money in his account and then walked out of the place with Theodore. On the way back they collected their belongings and Shi Lang asked, “Brother Theodore, what is that lady even doing here given her tough background?”
Theodore was surprised and then he said, “Look at me, I forgot to tell you. She is the boss of this Arena. One of the ten fingers in the syndicate. Although I do not know much, when I was a beggar, and the syndicate had just sprouted into being, the information about them was leaked frequently.”
Shi Lang nodded, he knew about the inner structure of the syndicate, but the names of these people were different and their faces were not available in the record, this made Shi Lang surprised. He asked, “Brother, how do you know all this? I came here this time because an old comrade in the investigative team tipped me, but even they do not know so much.”
Theodore smiled and said, “They know it, but they did not believe it without evidence. The federal government always says, without evidence, none is a criminal. Thus, no information is available to them.”
Shi Lang nodded and realized another loophole in the federal system. The philosophical loophole was causing them to act blind. He put things aside and decided to focus on the next step of his investigation. He asked, “Brother, which is the best restaurant in this city?”
Theodore smirked and said, “The best restaurant is probably The Almanac, yeah, you earned good today, one meal won’t hurt you.”
Shi Lang nodded and said, “I want to order some food from there for my daughter.”
He put up th emotional front and Theodore nodded with appreciation. The two reached back to the smoke shop and Shi Lang invited the fat guy for a meal, but the man shook his head and blessed Shi Lang to have a good time with his family.
Shi Lang bowed to him for his ‘help’ and then left the place. He headed to the mentioned Restaurant and ordered a few dishes to be packed. The waiter obliged and asked Shi Lang to wait in the lobby area. The young general sat down and began using his communicator.
The meal would take at least half an hour, that time was enough for him to complete his work. Shi Lang had researched the best restaurant in the city already on his way back with Theodore before he asked him the question. He told the lady in the ring, “I will wait for you in the best restaurant in the city. If you came, then I will give you the solution to your worries. But if you did not, then I will have everyone know, what you just did. Do not worry, I have proof to validate my claim, I hope you do not intend to test them for your good.”
That was what made the lady shock in the middle of her presentation. The young man did not have to wait for long when a lady came in from the front door. She was wearing a black windbreaker and a red hat. The staff led her directly to the sitting area. The lady began to look around, searching for the man who had contacted her.
She was looking around like an anxious fly, when suddenly, a voice echoed in her brain again, “Stop pretending to be anxious.”
The lady froze and looked around, but this place was high end and the sound isolation barriers were erected. Everyone was simply busy enjoying the food or talking amongst themselves. Red Widow did not spot anyone even remotely looking at her.
Shi Lang was sitting in a different area completely, but it was thanks to his spirit sense that he was able to do such things without getting spotted. He said, “You can communicate with me by speaking your thoughts. Do not worry, I can hear them loud and clear.”
The lady found it hard to believe, but then she asked, “Who are you?”
Shi Lang could not hear a single word she said, but he could read her lips with his spirit sense, and replied, “Although it is not important for you to know who I am, allow me to be courteous to you, I am Asura.”
He decided to pass on the name from his cultivation sutra. This way the enemy will be occupied by searching for a target that did not exist. The lady asked, “Where are you? Why don’t you show yourself and hide like a coward?”
Shi Lang replied in a calm tone, “Why shall I show myself so that I die like your poor husband?”
He was not afraid of stabbing the nerve of this woman. As he expected, Red Widow replied, “Fucking swine, dare you to say that again? I will kill you and your entire family.”
Shi Lang replied, “You cannot, well forget it, consider yourself ignorant. Now, allow me to tell you something. The secret behind the deaths of men, who tried to get into bed with you is nothing else but you, yourself.”
Red Widow clenched her fists and said, “How dare you say that? How dare you fucking bastard.”
She had lost her calm and stepped inside the vivid web of Shi Lang.