134 The Bullet Shell Bar (1/2)
Chapter 134: The Bullet Shell Bar
Translator: _Min_Editor: Lis_
Off to the side of a store was a door, and on it hung a rotten slat of wood. A few crooked words were carved into it with a dagger—The Bullet Shell Bar.
This was the place Zhou Guoping had talked about. According to him, it was an entertainment hub of Sixth Street.
After arranging for Zhou Guoping to handle the renovations, Jiang Chen personally came here to do some market research since he didn't know the tastes of the people. The best way to find out was to personally have a drink or two.
While the renovations weren't the best, there was a surprising number of customers.
Strange individuals covered in large trench coats sat alone at a table near the door, drinking alcohol that stung the nose. A young man with a red headscarf had a cigarette in his mouth and one foot on a chair as he dealt cards. There were lone travelers, bandits, and those of the profession that recently came into popularity—hunters. Women in exposed clothing leaned against the bar under the flickering lights and waited for tonight's prey to take the bait. And among the shadows, a black market merchant hid, selling ”harmless” products....
The air in the bar was shrouded, and the noise cluttered the already limited room. This was Jiang Chen's first impression upon stepping into this space.
It was not an illusion that when he took a step onto the dry wooden floor, at least ten pairs of eyes flicked over at him.
Some were friendly, most were not.
After a second's pause, Jiang Chen continued to walk and directly approached the bar counter.
”Are you not going to buy me a drink? Handsome.” A woman in heavy makeup leaned against the counter and displayed a charming smile.
Jiang Chen ignored her with a smile and looked beyond the counter at the bartender who was silently wiping a cup.
White shirt, black pants—a relatively clean appearance. But the slight beer belly turned what should have been suave movements into rather comical motions.
”What do you have here?” Jiang Chen sat on the chair and asked casually.
Hearing Jiang Chen's words, the bartender stopped and glanced at Jiang Chen.
”Your first time here?”
”Mhmm.”
”Lots of things. Alcohol, Nut Coke, eOrange, Kaka Tea.” The chubby bartender resumed wiping the glass cup that had been cleaned countless times.
”Also, hamster milk tea and cockroaches smoothie.” A young man whistled and laughed.
”I won't sell those things to newcomers.” The bartender kept his head down.
”Looks like I don't have the opportunity to experience those.” Jiang Chen shrugged as he joked, then said, ”Give me one of each.”
The bartender's hands stopped. He turned around to open the fridge and placed odd glass bottles on the counter.
”2, 1, 2, 3. A total of 8 crystals.”
Jiang Chen reached into his pockets and took out eight crystals from the storage dimension. He casually slapped it onto the table. His ostentatious moves led to a wave of whistle-blowing and looks of avarice.
The bartender quietly took the crystals and didn't say a word as he continued to work.
He looked over the four bottles of ”drink.” Jiang Chen's eyebrows twitched. These things looked as suspicious as they could get.
The alcohol seemed relatively normal—should be like Baijiu? The Nut Coke was the oddest; its fluorescence did not seem potable at all. The eOrange was similar to orange juice, and the Kaka Tea was green like seaweed, its cloudy liquid interspersed with questionable fragments.
”These things are drinkable?” Jiang Chen couldn't resist asking.
Howls of laughter erupted from behind him. A giant of a man walked up with a smirk on his face before planting his foot on the chair beside him to roughly ask, ”Yo noob. These drinks are too much for you. Why don't you play with us? If you're lucky, one crystal could become ten.”
His tone and expression assumed Jiang Chen was already in the bag, and the play he referred to was obviously gambling.
Jiang Chen glanced at him and instead of showing anger, smiled.
”Then why don't we play a game as well?”
As he said this, Jiang Chen didn't allow the man a chance to say yes or no. He slowly withdrew a crystal worth fifty energy crystals from his pocket and waved it in front of the giant who was showing off.
”Two crystals per turn. Guess which hand the crystal's in. If you're right, then it's yours.”
The giant was at a loss at Jiang Chen's abrupt actions, but his expression soon became ecstatic. He thought, [This dumba*s. If I guess ten times, regardless of how you trick me, I'm guaranteed to be correct at least once.]
But he wasn't a dunce. If Jiang Chen left after two turns, his crystals would have gone to waste.
”Twenty crystals and I guess ten times.” The giant smiled viciously and slammed the crystals onto the table.
The people standing around all gave sympathetic looks at Jiang Chen.
”Unfortunate that he was targeted by Liu Mang.”
”Hehe, this noob is really unlucky.”
The ones who were gloating were mainly the giant's comrades.
[Liu Mang? That's a good name.] (Liu Mang is homonym for the word thug.)
His lips moved as he muttered in his mind. Jiang Chen didn't seem bothered as he took the twenty crystals on the table.
”No problem. It'd be fine even if you wanted to guess one hundred times.” Jiang Chen yawned as he threw the energy crystal into the air with nimble hands.
Liu Mang's vision blurred, and the crystal seemed to disappear from his sight. Upon seeing Jiang Chen's movements, the gloating expressions of the people suddenly twisted while those who were compassionate rejoiced.
It was going to be a good show.
Cold sweat rolled down Liu Mang's forehead. He wasn't able to see where the crystals went. He estimated that the reflex of this person was at least 25. And though he was also injected with the genetic vaccine, it had been the standard E-grade.
”Take a guess.” Jiang Chen placed his hands before Liu Mang with a bored expression.
Since he hadn't been able to see it clearly, Liu Mang took a wild guess.
”Right hand.”
Jiang Chen laughed.
”Congratulations.... you're wrong.”
There was nothing in his right hand.
”You're a fraud!” Liu Mang was immediately unhappy. His eyes bulged, and his companions inched closer with unfriendly expressions. So what if he had the genetic vaccine—who hadn't? Even if it was a lower-quality version, they had an advantage in numbers.
Jiang Chen rolled his eyes and opened his left hand; on his palm was a bright purple crystal.
”There are nine more chances. Are you still going to guess?” He did not seem afraid at all.
Liu Mang was surprised. He originally thought that since Jiang Chen hadn't immediately revealed his left hand, the crystal must have been hidden away, but it was actually in the left hand.
Under everyone's watch, although he had always acted recklessly, he didn't dare to start a fight. After further thought, there were still nine more chances.
Liu Mang signaled his pawns away and let up on his act. He glared at Jiang Chen.
”Yes, start.”
A hint of mockery appeared in Jiang Chen's smile as the crystal was thrown into the air again.
He must be joking. Was he the type to use fraud?