Chapter 365 - 362 The Old Devil, I Had Beaten.
Southern Nevada, Lincoln county.
It was a top-secret U.S. military base, which was ostensibly used for secretly developing and testing Air Force aircrafts, while carrying out other research projects behind the scenes.
Because of the air traffic control and the fact that it was a restricted area, the outside world often made up all kinds of strange anecdotes.
For example, many people claid to have seen UFOs.
It was also believed that an alien corpse was kept in this military base.
Every newly elected President of the United States would co and visit.
Yes, this was the place that would later be known as 'Area 51'.
"General, the soldiers are very happy to see you. They regard you as an idol, just like a celebrity in Hollywood! They want to take a picture with you and shake your hand!"
A military official said with excitent.
"I'll be in Las Vegas for a while, and when I get a chance, I'll be … participating in these fun events."
With his standard business smile, Luke took a special tour of the military base with a sense of curiosity.
As a result, no alien remains were found, and no frozen Cybertronians were detected.
He had to say; this was sowhat disappointing.
The mysterious 'Area 51' was really used as a bomb and artillery test area.
After the end of World War II, it was abandoned and later selected by Lockheed's Skunk Works as a test site for the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft, with a 7,000-ter runway built specifically for it.
After the veil of mystery was lifted, Area 51, which had caused so much controversy, appeared to be so plain and ordinary.
"According to Nick Fury's habit of building safe houses all over the world, this is a good place."
Luke looked around and finalized his ideas.
Then, he was in the midst of a crowd of either adoring or admiring eyes.
The tall and straight figure rose to the sky, causing a great burst of air in the atmosphere.
"Superman!"
Below were the excited Arican soldiers.
'Area 51' was only 130 kiloters away from downtown Las Vegas. With Luke's speed, he could be there in a matter of seconds.
Bang!
There was a shadow passing over the clouds; the rolling wave of air emitted an explosive sound.
The dark red cape whipped up with the strong gust of wind, and Luke landed steadily on the tarmac of the Flamingo Hotel.
"Alessandro, you look a little nervous. What happened?"
Luke pushed open the tempered glass door and saw Alessandro, the hotel owner, city council mber, and mafia boss, with a slightly uncomfortable expression.
The Italian man's forehead was dripping with sweat, his eyes were wary, and there was a hint of worry.
"General, you're finally back."
Alessandro looked like he had seen a savior. He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his face, wiping away the oily sweat.
"Mr. Stark, who ca with you, has been missing for two days."
Luke raised an eyebrow. It was a bit of a surprise to him that sothing would happen to Howard, that kind of guy.
As a result of the last Essex Biotech assassination, the latter beca even more vigilant and took his portable armor with him wherever he went.
As for the Mark 1 armor, it was kept in the basent of the Stark mansion.
If soone wanted to attack Howard, whether it was a sneak attack or a personal visit, the process wouldn't be easy.
"Is it kidnapping or sothing else?"
Luke's calm voice quickly cald Alessandro's anxious mood.
"Neither."
The Mafia boss struggled to organize the words, and he looked like he had so doubts about what to say.
"2 days ago, Mr. Stark entered a newly opened hotel and never ca out again."
"I was worried that sothing had happened to Mr. Stark, so I sent a few people to look for him."
"However, after they stepped through the doors of the hotel, it was as if they had disappeared."
Luke listened patiently and took the elevator to his room.
"What's the na of the hotel?"
He raised the key question.
"Hotel Inferno."
Alessandro replied.
Luke thought about it and approached the sofa.
He was just suspicious before, but now he was basically sure.
Howard's disappearance must have been caused by the old Lord of Hell, phisto.
It's just that, why was that old devil after Iron Man's father?
Although it's said that Howard was an uncompromising capitalist…
In order to gain wealth, his hands were covered in blood -- after all, arms dealers were selling death.
But the soul of a person didn't carry a lot of weight just because he did good or evil.
The weight of the soul depended on the firmness of one's will, a strong spirit, or so kind of passionate belief.
"When did this hotel appear?"
Luke collected his thoughts and calmly asked.
This wasn't the first ti he had dealt with the old devil.
In other universes, in order to help Stephen Strange win the Sorcerer Supre position, he fought with phisto.
The old devil was still no match for Superman in hell, let alone now, in the human world.
"Uh, I don't rember exactly. I think … it was a week ago, or two weeks ago."
Luke looked at Alessandro, who seed to have been affected by so strange power, and his mory was all ssed up.
Obviously, this was also phisto's doing.
'Did this guy move Hell to Las Vegas?'
Luke lifted up his eyes, looked through many obstacles, and saw the dark tower towering into the clouds.
The shape was obviously so peculiar, with smoke and flas billowing out.
But the pedestrians passing by were oblivious, and instead, were unwittingly attracted to join the long queue.
'The more we et, the more we get to know each other.'
Luke's mouth curled up in a small arc, and he smiled lightly, "If you've been beaten once, there would always be a second ti."
…
…
phisto, with a silver cane, stood at the top of Hotel Inferno.
With a condescending gaze that looked down on all beings, he looked down at the crowd of beings below.
The long queue outside had blocked the traffic along the street.
But people kept joining in as if they were possessed.
"Too tempting, too satisfying!"
phisto took a deep breath. The city that lied beneath his feet was ho to 1.7 million people.
To the old devil, this was 1.7 million delicious souls, and it also had a huge and incalculable value.
'They all voluntarily offered their souls to .'
phisto's lips smiled in triumph. He didn't get those human souls by ans of coercion or extortion.
Every guest who walked into Hotel Inferno exchanged their souls for chips and signed a contract.
'I didn't violate the Sorcerer Supre's rules. Even if the Ancient One ca here, their souls would be marked and will fall into Hell, sooner or later.'
Thinking of that, the smile on phisto's face grew wider and wider.
He felt a little annoyed that he didn't think of this thod earlier.
In the old devil's long lifeti, he kept looking for people who had a hard ti fulfilling their desires, who were ambitious, or were extrely desperate and easily fooled.
Then, he sold Hell's insurance to them.
The devil had to use a lot of words to persuade the person to sign the contract.
Describing how slow the process was and how long it took was unspeakable.
In the past, the old devil liked to play such gas- watching those human beings getting seduced by their own greed, tyranny, and malice with his own eyes.
Watching them kill each other for money, power, or won, and finally falling into Hell with regret, resentnt, and fear.
phisto enjoyed tasting the complexity and distortion of human nature and regarded it as a glass of richly flavored wine.
However, playing the sa ga for so long would inevitably feel boring.
'It's ti to change the ga.'
phistopheles poured himself a glass of red wine. The scarlet liquid rippled in circles.
Ring ring! Ring ring!
The ear-splitting phone call interrupted the old devil's personal ti.
"Mundus, I hope it's really an ergency. Otherwise, I will throw you into the ninth level of Hell, where you will be eaten by evil spirits that have been starving for thousands of years."
In the gentlest tone, phisto spoke of the worst possible punishnt.
The casino manager, Mundus, shuddered, and a heavy dose of fear appeared on his flesh-covered face.
The demons in hell knew that phisto had always been rciless to those who didn't do their jobs properly.
"There's a human! He's winning all the ti! He won a lot of chips!"
There was a hint of panic in Mundus's voice.
"Hachem can't keep up!"
phisto frowned slightly. Hachem was the champion of the World Poker Competition in his lifeti, especially in Texas Hold'em. He could be called the King of Gambling.
Of course, he was able to possess such a high level of skill because of his contract with the old devil.
The young gambling king, Hachem, who was on the rise, died in a car accident, and his soul smoothly fell into phisto's hands.
Now the enslaved Hachem's soul was put to good use by the old devil in the poker area of the casino as a stabilizing presence.
There were many human souls like Hashem's in phisto's hands.
In his casino, it was impossible for anyone to win all the ti.
"Trash! You guy's let a human act cocky in Hotel Inferno?!"
phisto cursed and directly hung up the phone.
Then, a dark fla rose up and revealed the scene of the casino on the 12th floor --
At the Texas Hold'em table, two n sat opposite each other, surrounded by a large group of semi-transparent shadows.
'Hachem is actually the best in Texas Hold'em.'
phisto's brow furrowed even more.
He couldn't figure out how Hachem could have lost in the ga he had pride in.
The old devil caught a glimpse of his opponent's chips, which had piled up into several small hills.
Obviously, he had been winning and never lost.
"I'm sorry, my cards are still better than yours."
The young man sitting across the table from Hachem spread his cards and once again won a pile of chips of various colors, branded with a picture of a ram-horned devil.
"It looks like you're having a bad day… Lady Luck lifted her skirt for and raised her middle finger for you."
Reviews
All reviews (0)