BXBX NOVEL Chapter 146 A Skeptical Bet
They followed the scavenger lady to a small tent setup. Lee Seng hadn't noticed the tent before and wondered if they just set it up. The tent had some workers milling about and storing shifter blood into containers.
"Kid apparently killed this female shifter and wants to be compensated for it since its going to AA." The scavenger lady spoke. She set the female scavengers body on the raised metal platform bed and set the head on the platform.
"He managed to kill a shifter?" One of the tent workers pointed at him. They all started to chuckle. "Yeah, right. The Creator's son couldn't have killed the shifter especially sever its head off like that. Y'know how hard that is?"
"Whether or not you believe it, I still killed it. You want me to cut more of it apart and waste the precious blood you're trying to collect?" Lee Seng asked. "That one's already lost quite a bit of blood, so..."
"C'mon, Fox boy. We all know you're just getting a free ride through school because your daddy feels bad for you." Another worker spoke up. "You didn't kill the shifter, so stop lying and trying to take credit for someone else's work."
"So you're telling me someone else with exceptional beheading katana skills, cut this female shifters head off?" Lee Seng pointed at the head. The tent workers nodded. "Okay. I can show you that I cut the head off with one clean strike."
"Pssh, you're just flaunting some fake strength. It ain't gonna work with us." The tent worker snarkily brushed off.
"Then you shouldn't be too scared if I bet on it, right?" Lee Seng took a step forward.
"Lee Seng, don't get cocky." Ritsuka grabbed Lee Seng's arm and whispered. Lee Seng turned and smiled.
"When I'm right, I'm right." Lee Seng pulled his hand away and looked at the tent workers. They were all whispering amongst each other whether or not they should take the bet.
"He couldn't do it. We could get something off of him for this." One worker spoke.
"I think you guys should be careful." The scavenger lady heeded. "I saw this guy in action and he's the real deal."
"He's a phony. You're probably lying." The second worker spoke.
"What do we get out of it?" The third worker asked the group.
"Well..." The first worker looked at the others and then they all pulled away from their huddle. They turned to face Lee Seng and the first worker cleared their throat. "Fine, if we win, which we are, we want 3 billion creds each."
"And if I win..." Lee Seng cheekily smiled. "I want forty times the value of what the blood sells at from your pockets." The group looked at each other.
"Each body typically gets about 3 to 5 liters of blood. 3 liters of shifter blood goes for 40,000 creds." The second worker began to calculate out.
"Forty times is about... 1.6 million creds. He's asking for a lot for something that isn't that pricey." The third worker spat out the calculation.
"You guys are asking for more." The scavenger lady pointed out.
"Do we take the bet or not?" The first worker asked.
"Just do it. It's not like he can do it." The second worker motioned.
"So we have a deal or not?" Lee Seng smiled. The workers looked at each other and pushed the second worker out.
"F-fine. Deal." The second worker nodded. Lee Seng moved over and stuck his hand out.
"Shake on it." Lee Seng's smile faded. The second worker hesitantly lifted their hand and shook Lee Seng's. Lee Seng turned to look at the bodies of the shifters. There were about six total, including the one Lee Seng had brought in. "Which one can I take?"
"Grab one from the floor. Where are you gonna cut it? If you end up wasting blood, it's coming out of your pocket." The third worker spoke.
"I won't, trust me." Lee Seng grabbed a male shifter's body and lifted it up with ease. He moved out of the tent, passing Ritsuka.
"Dude, I get you have money to flaunt but this is a risky bet." Ritsuka whispered. They moved ten feet and Lee Seng set the male shifter's body on the floor.
"I'm gonna win." Lee Seng confidently said. He turned to look at Ritsuka who seemed worried.
"Is this the time to really be playing around? We're here to learn, not make bets." Ritsuka's good nature was kicking in. He was genuinely worried about what would happen. "Not to mention, if Mr. Luis finds out--"
"Boys, what're you guys doing?" Luis' voice boomed. Lee Seng turned and saw the workers standing at the edge of the tent with their arms folded before he saw Luis marching over to them. "Why did you lay a shifter here? They're supposed to be in the tent for blood extraction."
"I know, sir." Lee Seng smiled and pointed at the tent workers. "They didn't believe me when I said I cut off a shifter's head off." Luis looked passed the two boys and towards the workers. They shrank and Luis looked back at Lee Seng.
"And so you're doing what now?" Luis asked with his authoritative tone. People were turning to look.
"Well, a bet." Lee Seng truthfully answered. "If I can cut a shifters head off and not get a lot of blood loss, I get about 1.6 million creds from those three." Lee Seng pointed.
"And if they win?" Luis' eyes narrowed onto Lee Seng.
"3 million creds each."
"3 million!?!" Luis' furious eyes moved over to the tent workers who moved further back into the tent. "You four! Come over here now!" Luis motioned. The three tent workers and the scavenger lady moved over. Everyone was staring now. "What is the meaning of this bet? Just because shifter blood is a bit more expensive doesn't mean you can make bets like this!"
"Well, sir..." The first worker started.
"Sir," the scavenger lady spoke up. "These three made the bet. I told them not to do it. I had directed the Creator's son, Student Chang, over to this tent so the female shifter's severed head and body could be extracted for blood."
"Hold up," Luis threw a hand up. "He cut a female shifter's head?" The scavenger lady began to nod.
"Y-yes, sir, he did. I-I saw it in the chaos while I was helping those trapped in the ea-earth." The scavenger lady stuttered. Luis nodded and pointed at the three workers.
"Fine," the huge leader spoke. "Continue with the bet. We will all watch." Luis motioned for everyone to move away and the group pulled away from Lee Seng and Ritsuka.
"D-dude... Are you su-sure you can do this? Mr. Luis is w-watching." Ritsuka stuttered as he whispered and bumped Lee Seng.
"Yeah, I'll be fine." Lee Seng nodded. Ritsuka nodded and pulled away from Lee Seng. He moved to position himself next to Felicia and Jason, who had moved closer to see what was happening.
"What's happening?" Jason asked as Ritsuka moved to stand next to him and Felicia.
"He made a bet that he could cleanly cut off a shifters head." Ritsuka pointed at Lee Seng then at the workers.
"What was the bet?" Felicia asked.
"The workers pay forty times the value of the blood. Which comes out to 1.6 million creds versus 3 million creds each for the three workers."
"1.6 million creds versus 9 million creds?!?" Felicia jabbed Jason.
"Ouch!' Jason rubbed his side. "Why're you jabbing me and not him?!?" Jason pointed at Lee Seng. Lee Seng pulled his katana out and readied himself.
"Whenever you're ready, Student Chang." Luis' voice bellowed out. Lee Seng took a sigh and adjusted his grip.
'There's one thing the workers don't know about shifters.' Luis thought. Lee Seng heard the katana hum and in one swift motion, he slashed downwards. The blade easily went through the male shifters neck and crushed the ground below. Everyone began to gasp and point. Lee Seng pulled the sword out and watched as the workers were stunned.
"Scavenger, check it." Luis motioned. The scavenger lady moved over and kneeled down.
"He..." The scavenger woman's voice trailed off. "He cut it clean and managed to delay bleeding? How's that possible?" She moved her hand over to the neck and felt a subtle difference.
"It's a gravity bubble. Once I connected with it, I slightly let a gravity bubble out so it would hold the blood in place but allow the blade to cut cleanly." Lee Seng explained.
"Precise work that cannot be done by a newbie." Luis praised. Luis moved forward and looked at the adventurers all watching. "I'm sure those who have been around long enough know the huge difference between male and female shifters." His eyes landed on the tent workers who lowered their heads.
"Female shifters have denser bone structures." Lee Seng spoke. "I'm surprised you allowed the bet to go through, Mr. Luis."
"Well, some people should learn from their mistakes. If you can successfully sever a female shifter's head, you can do sever a male's head like butter." Luis chuckled. "Well, since that's done with, continue your work. Don't slack off!"