Starbound: A Space Odyssey 31 Hangover 3

From there, John was able to see the scenario in front of him pretty clearly.

The Underworld was extremely big. It was at least thrice as big as the Shopping Complex. Even though a lot of places were empty, the center of the Underworld was crowded with buildings.

The elevator slowly descended for about 2 minutes.

Once the door opened, some people rushed in before John could even realize what happened. He squeezed through the crowd and was able to exit the elevator.

The moment he left the elevator he saw the narrow roads illuminated by the dim light coming from street lights at the side.

People from all the 7 races and Penguins walked back and forth.

The majority of the people there emitted killing intent, and some were strong enough that the pedestrians open up the pa.s.sage for these guys to pa.s.s through.

John looked around and realized that the building was all made of different materials, but they were glued together, on the two sides of the street, forming the long and narrow road.

The was j.a.panese, Chinese, modern, Victorian age, types of building.

Looking up, John was able to see some Hovercars drifting through the closed 'sky'.

It was a lot more boisterous than the Shopping Complex.

John looked around and saw that there were guards that were that black colored armor from the entrance securities, all around the place. On the building's ceilings, the dark alleys, and even some Hovercars in the air.

John walked forward and from time to time he would be able to sense that there was a lot of people curiously glancing at him.

The was no evil intent, so John just let it be.

John walked until he saw a bar that was extremely boisterous, with loud laughs and shouts coming from it.

He looked at the sign and saw that the bar was called Beakeasy Saloon.

He entered the bar and soon spotted a yellow beacon that was on a table playing some kind of card game.

John approached and when he saw the Omega 'Brand' on the yellow Novakid, he realized that he was correct. It was indeed Lenny.

He silently walked forward and curiously looked over to what kind of game would make Lenny so concentrated.

Lenny was playing poker against two Penguins and a Human.

The banker was also a Penguin, but he was wearing some expensive tuxedo different from Lenny and the other that wearing some kind of armor or nothing at all, like the penguins.

Penguins usually don't wear clothes. They mostly use only armors, when is necessary.

John never played gambling games before, so he started to focus on the game.

He easily blended into the crowd and started to closely watch the game.

After the round was over, the banker took the cards. Lenny had just lost 1k of pixels in that round to the Penguin that was wearing some kind of red wig.

John's eyes shifted toward the banker that had started to shuffle the cards.

As his concentration was getting deeper he suddenly felt like the world was slowing down, [This sensation... Again?]

He looked at the banker's hands, or 'wings'. He wasn't able to see before because the banker shuffled very quickly and skillfully, but now that the world slowed down he was able to see clearly all the movements of the banker.

He watched as the Penguin swiftly and stealthily took a card from the middle of the deck and placed it on the top. The penguin repeated the process 7 times.

John glance at the players and the audience, no one had noticed the strange motions of the Penguin.

The moment he shifted his eyes the world returned to normal, "Heh..." John slightly exclaimed, [Why it returned to normal?]

He tried to focus again, but it didn't work. All that he got was a splitting headache.

He lowered his head and his the expression twisted in pain.

Once he lifted his head again he saw that Lenny has lost 200 pixels to the other Penguin, the one with a giant black wig.

John took this opportunity that the banker was shuffling the cards and approached toward Lenny.

"Lenny..." John called out with a low tone.

"Connor?" Lenny looked behind him and saw John, "What are doing here?"

"Didn't you said for me to find you in the underground facilities?"

"Oh, right... I forgot" Lenny screeched his head.

From the stench of alcohol coming from Lenny and his awkward movements, John was able to determine that Lenny was a little tipsy, if not drunk.

"I think the banker is helping someone cheat." John whispered in a very low voice by Lenny's ear.

"What!?" Lenny exclaimed but soon calmed down.

He threw a quick glance at the players and then said, "Ahhhh... I think I lost enough for a day. I will be taking my leave." He stood up, took his poker tokens and left with John.

The banker curiously glanced at John for a moment and then started to shuffle once again.

Lenny took John to the bar, he looked at the Penguin barman that was by the counter, and ordered a Martini for himself, "What do you want to drink?"

"I... Don't know any drink." John embarra.s.sedly said.

"What!?" Lenny loudly exclaimed.

"I never drank alcoholic drinks in my entire life"

"Then you never had a life, to begin with." Lenny looked with eyes filled with pity toward John.

"It was against the regulations of the academy, and I had read on the Internet that alcohol is extremely bad to Human brain."

"Humans are so fragile..." Lenny sighed.

The Penguin barman was very small and he had to jump on a chair to reach the top of the wooden counter. The Penguin barman jumped at approached Lenny while carrying the tray that had Lenny's Martini.

"First time here?" The Penguin barman asked John while he served Lenny.

"Yes... How do you guessed?" John curiously asked.

"Well... I would have remembered you if I had seen you before."

"What do you mean?"

"Simple, you are different from everyone else here. Just feel around, the thick killing intent and the faint stench of blood. Most of the customers here are mercenaries, outlaws and bounty hunters, the types that had their fair share of deaths in their hands. They come here relief their stress from their life that is always hanging between dead and alive, or they come here to find possible patrons and service. But you... You are different. You are so young and have neither the killing intent or smell of blood, in other words, you are a greenhorn." The Penguin casually said.