Free Web NovelChapter 103: [103] Seed Capital, Aether-Roulette
Arthur stepped over the groaning, sparking bodies of the cybernetic trolls. He pushed the heavy gold-plated doors open.
The blast of cold, air-conditioned air hit him first. Then came the noise.
Sector 5 was an absolute assault on the senses. The Neon Exchange was not just a casino. It was a sprawling, multi-level monument to corporate greed.
Thousands of slot machines chimed and whistled in a chaotic symphony. Massive holographic screens floated in the air, flashing bright numbers and odds in a dozen different alien languages. The floor was covered in a ridiculously plush purple carpet that swallowed the sound of their footsteps.
The air smelled like expensive, synthetic perfume, spilled alcohol, and the sharp, sour tang of desperation. ƒrēewebnovel.com
Arthur adjusted his tailored charcoal suit. He walked onto the floor with the casual, bored confidence of a billionaire.
To his right, Cassia looped her arm through his. She played the part perfectly. She wore a stunning backless crimson evening gown that clung perfectly to her athletic frame. She leaned against his shoulder, her silver eyes scanning the room from beneath half-closed lids. She looked exactly like the lethal, high-maintenance arm candy of a cartel boss.
Behind them, Vane grunted.
The scarred frontiersman looked miserable. He was squeezed into a stiff, navy-blue tuxedo. He kept violently rolling his shoulders, trying to adjust the tight fabric.
"Stop pulling at your collar," Cassia muttered under her breath, flashing a brilliant, fake smile at a passing waiter. "You look like a farm boy going to his first prom."
"I look like an idiot," Vane growled back. "My broadsword is in my spatial ring. I feel naked."
"You look like a bodyguard," Arthur corrected smoothly without looking back. "Stand up straight. Look angry. Look like you want to hit someone."
"That will not be hard," Vane muttered, but he stopped tugging at his suit. He puffed out his massive chest and settled into a heavy, intimidating stalk right behind Arthur.
They walked past rows of blackjack tables and glowing card games. The patrons of the Neon Exchange were a wild mix of the universe’s worst elites.
Arthur saw four-armed aliens draped in jewels throwing away stacks of Merit Energy. He saw exiled Celestial nobles, their faces pale and desperate, betting the deeds to entire planets on a single roll of the dice. He saw cybernetic thugs laughing loudly over buckets of cheap ale.
"They are throwing away their life savings," Vane said quietly. His voice carried genuine disgust. "Look at them. The house always wins, and they just keep feeding it."
"Of course the house wins," Arthur said lazily. "That is why we are going to buy the house. Cassia. Where is the high-stakes section?"
"Dead ahead," Cassia whispered, pointing discreetly with a manicured finger. "The raised platform in the center. Aether-Roulette."
Arthur nodded. He walked straight toward the glowing, circular table.
It was surrounded by velvet ropes. Two heavily armed guards in sharp suits stood at the entrance. They took one look at Arthur’s cold, dead eyes, then looked at the massive, scarred brute standing behind him. They wisely unhooked the velvet rope and stepped aside.
Arthur walked up to the table and took the center seat.
The dealer was a sleek, silver-plated android with multiple glowing eyes. It stood behind a massive, hovering wheel of pure blue energy. The ’ball’ was a spark of condensed lightning that zipped around the rim.
Three other players were at the table. A fat, slug-like alien smoking a cigar. A veiled woman radiating a faint, icy aura. And a terrified-looking human merchant sweating through his shirt.
They all glared at Arthur as he sat down. He ignored them.
"Chips," Arthur ordered.
He tapped his system interface. He withdrew a fraction of the loose Merit Points they had looted from the street thugs earlier.
A heavy stack of glowing, platinum chips materialized on the table in front of him.
The dealer android beeped. "Place your bets, sir. The wheel spins in ten seconds."
Arthur did not reach for the chips. He just stared at the hovering blue wheel. He needed to draw out the floor manager. And the fastest way to do that in a casino was to break their bank.
"System," Arthur commanded in his mind. "Access his restricted interface."
[Ding!]
[Cosmic Ledger Online. System functions heavily restricted.]
"I don’t need a multiplier to play a game," Arthur thought. "Just run the math."
[Analyzing algorithmic patterns of ’Aether-Roulette’ wheel.]
[Scanning localized physics. Evaluating dealer android’s throw velocity. Calculating friction of the energy rim.]
Arthur’s vision shifted. The bright lights of the casino faded into the background. The spinning blue wheel became a matrix of mathematical probabilities.
[Exploiting localized probability flaws. The wheel is rigged to favor the house by 14.6%.]
"Of course it is," Arthur smirked. "Tell me where it lands."
[Prediction secured: Black 14.]
Arthur casually shoved his entire stack of platinum chips onto Black 14.
The fat slug-alien across the table laughed a wet, bubbling sound. "All on one number? You humans are so impatient to lose your money."
Arthur just leaned back in his chair. Cassia rested her hands on his shoulders, leaning down so her face was near his ear. "Make it look good, Boss," she whispered playfully.
"No more bets," the android dealer droned.
The spark of lightning was released. It buzzed rapidly around the wheel. The sound was a high-pitched whine. It bounced over red numbers. It skipped over gold numbers.
It hit a localized micro-fracture in the energy field that the system had detected.
"Bzzzt."
The spark dropped perfectly into the slot for Black 14.
The slug-alien choked on his cigar. The veiled woman sat up straight. The android dealer’s eyes flashed a confused yellow.
"Winner: Black 14," the android announced mechanically.
A massive pile of chips was pushed across the table toward Arthur. He didn’t even smile. He didn’t celebrate. He just stared at the wheel.
"Again," Arthur ordered.
[Predicting next outcome: Red 7.]
Arthur shoved the massive, doubled pile of chips onto Red 7.
The dealer spun the wheel. The spark dropped. Red 7.
"Winner: Red 7," the android buzzed, its voice sounding slightly strained.
The crowd around the velvet ropes began to grow. People stopped playing at the nearby tables to watch the man in the charcoal suit. Winning two exact numbers in a row on Aether-Roulette was a statistical anomaly.
Arthur did not blink.
[Predicting next outcome: Gold 00.]
Arthur shoved the towering mountain of chips onto Gold 00.
Vane shifted uncomfortably behind him. The scarred hero could feel the eyes of the casino security locking onto their table. "Arthur," Vane warned softly.
"Let him play, Vane," Cassia laughed smoothly, playing the part of the greedy girlfriend perfectly.
The spark dropped. Gold 00.
The crowd erupted into loud gasps and cheers. The slug-alien slammed his fists on the table, cursing loudly and storming away. The veiled woman grabbed her remaining chips and fled.
"Winner: Gold 00," the android dealer said. Its metallic hands actually trembled as it pushed an absolutely absurd amount of chips across the table.
Arthur won his fourth hand. Then his fifth.
The cheers of the crowd grew deafening. They loved a winner. They loved seeing the house bleed.
By the eighth hand, the android dealer had to call for a reserve vault transfer just to pay Arthur out. The mountain of glowing platinum chips in front of Arthur was the size of a small boulder.
"He’s cheating!" someone yelled from the crowd.
"He hasn’t even touched the wheel!" another patron argued.
Arthur just sat there, looking intensely bored. He took a slow sip of the champagne a waitress had nervously brought him.
[Predicting next outcome: Black 22.]
Arthur shoved the entire fortune onto Black 22. It was a bet so massive it exceeded the table’s standard limits.
The android dealer froze. "Sir. That bet exceeds the house limit."
"Call your manager, then," Arthur said coldly. "Or spin the wheel."
The android’s eyes flashed red. It reached for its earpiece, communicating with the back rooms. A second later, the android nodded stiffly. It spun the wheel.
The spark bounced. It hovered. It dropped.
Black 22.
The crowd completely lost their minds. Mortals were screaming in shock. It was ten consecutive wins in five minutes.
The table went completely bankrupt.
The hovering blue wheel sputtered and instantly shut off. The glowing lights of the platform died.
At the exact same moment, the loud, thumping ambient music of the casino abruptly cut off.
The sudden silence was heavy and suffocating.
The cheering crowd froze. They looked around nervously. Then, like a school of frightened fish, the patrons immediately scattered, backing away from the high-stakes platform.
They knew what happened when the Neon Exchange lost this much money.
