Even Stark, who helped her with the paperwork, didn't know the specifics, so how could Justin Hammer, a complete outsider, possibly find out Bayonetta's identity?
Due to his subordinates' incompetence, Hammer went mad with rage again, smashing a pile of random things, and incidentally, shifted his gaze of revenge to Shi Xiaolei, who had appeared before him at the same time as Bayonetta.
He had personally seen Bayonetta constantly gravitating towards Shi Xiaolei, concluding that they were a couple. He thought that bothering Shi Xiaolei would cause Bayonetta some embarrassment, but that was only part of it.
He was also used to the 'pick on the weak' strategy from his daily dealings in the business world.
There were four people who appeared together at the time.
Among them, Happy was Stark's confidant, and disturbing him would easily alert Stark.
As for Rhode, besides being Stark's close friend, he was also an army colonel, making him even more untouchable.
Comparing them all, only Shi Xiaolei, whose background had been investigated and who wasn't as close to Stark, was someone they could target.
Well, in a sense, Hammer wasn't entirely wrong to be angry—given the frequency of Shi Xiaolei and Stark's interactions, and the resources and channels those people had after being affiliated with Hammer Industries... Honestly, their failure to discover Shi Xiaolei's close friendship with Stark was indeed their dereliction of duty.
In fact, it was precisely because of this oversight in intelligence gathering that led to Hammer... never mind, that's a story for later, so I won't mention it now.
Arriving in Las Vegas meant that at least three-quarters of the journey was complete.
"We've endured a lot of hardship before this, and I want to take it easy for the remaining part of the journey." The next morning, while everyone was gathered for morning tea, Stark asked, "Is there anyone else who wants to rest for an extra day like me?"
"I don't care." Pepper and Happy, without needing to be asked, would definitely follow Stark's lead.
Rhode looked at Shi Xiaolei's family on the left side of the round table and was the first to state his opinion.
"As for me..." He himself didn't care, and he figured 2B and Bayonetta wouldn't object either.
Shi Xiaolei replied and turned his gaze to Conna.
The little girl was holding chopsticks, clumsily trying to pick up a slippery shrimp dumpling.
He casually helped her, picking up the shrimp dumpling and placing it in a small dish with dipping sauce.
Shi Xiaolei dotingly asked, "Conna, Stark plans to rest here for an extra day, what do you think?"
"Eh?" Not understanding why her opinion was being asked, Conna had just popped the shrimp dumpling into her mouth, her cheeks puffed out, and she looked up, her eyes full of confusion.
"If we stay here for an extra day, the trip to Disney will be postponed by a day, you know." Shi Xiaolei patiently explained, "However, as an alternative, you can play here for an extra day.
Which arrangement do you think is better?"
Going to Disneyland was a wish Conna had cherished since the day they set off, and the acrobatics, circus, and magic shows she had seen yesterday had left a very deep impression on her.
"Hmm..." After much deliberation, she still couldn't make a decision.
Conna's small face was crumpled, as if she wasn't eating a delicious shrimp dumpling but had a mouthful of traditional Chinese medicine.
It was Stark who spoke up to solve the little girl's dilemma: "Conna, you don't know yet, do you? There's a cooking competition tonight.
If we stay an extra day and leave tomorrow morning... Hehe, let me tell you, every chef participating in the competition is very skilled and can make a lot of delicious food.
Don't you like to eat delicious food? Don't you want to try the skills of these master chefs?"
As Stark spoke, Conna's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
The wavering scales finally lost their balance, and the little girl excitedly raised her small hand, happily shouting, "I want to eat delicious food~!"
"Done~." Stark snapped his fingers triumphantly, looking at Shi Xiaolei.
'How come I haven't heard about a cooking competition today?'
'If I say there is, there is.
Having money means being this willful.'
Through eye contact, Shi Xiaolei understood what was going on.
Obviously, this so-called cooking competition was an idea Stark came up with on the fly.
What else could he say?
Shi Xiaolei could only give a helpless smile and a 'whatever makes you happy' eye-roll to Stark.
The decision to postpone their departure by a day was thus made.
He had thought there would be no other matters, but to Shi Xiaolei's surprise, on the way back to their rooms after breakfast, Bayonetta suddenly expressed an idea.
"Huh?" Thinking he had misheard, Shi Xiaolei turned his head in surprise.
Meeting Shi Xiaolei's gaze, Bayonetta shrugged: "I spend money very quickly, so if I don't earn more, it's not enough."
So, she planned to stay a few extra days in Las Vegas to earn more money?
Are you really determined to use your supernatural abilities to rob the casinos...
Recalling the opening CG of Bayonetta 2, Shi Xiaolei's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly abandoned the thought of refusing.
"Alright then, if you want to stay, stay." Shi Xiaolei scratched his head, not forgetting to remind her, "Go buy a phone later and keep in touch.
Oh, right, there's one more thing..."
"Don't make your move in this hotel, go to others, right?" Without Shi Xiaolei having to say it explicitly, Bayonetta already understood his meaning.
"Hehe, you know, this hotel belongs to Stark." Shi Xiaolei gave an awkward smile and nodded, "If we meet other suckers like yesterday, it's fine.
But if we gamble against the dealer, the winnings are actually Stark's money... We have a good relationship with him, so it's not appropriate."
"Understood, I'll be careful."
She said she would 'be careful,' but when it came to actually doing it... she didn't amass wealth in the Golden Coin, which was keeping her promise.
However, when she went to the casinos in other hotels, she wasn't so polite.
Two days later, the day the group left Las Vegas and set off again.
At 9:30 AM, after seeing off Shi Xiaolei and the others, Bayonetta appeared in another hotel's casino half an hour later.
Then, from 10 AM to 6 PM... from the gambling tables in the main hall to the high-stakes games in VIP rooms.
From slot machines, lottery machines, and roulette, to blackjack and Texas Hold'em.
She played everything for an entire day, and in the end, her winnings once again exceeded one hundred million.
And that wasn't all.
In the following days, before flying to Los Angeles to meet up with Shi Xiaolei and the others who had just arrived at their destination by car, Bayonetta, at a rate of one to two casinos per day, swept through seven more casinos like a Japanese invasion.
Let's just say that among the top casinos in Las Vegas, known as the 'Eight Giants,' only Stark's Golden Coin was spared.
As a result, the owners of the other seven casinos naturally misunderstood, thinking that Bayonetta was a 'hitman' specially hired by Stark to steal business.
They hated it immensely, but were also intimidated by Stark's ruthlessness... The former owner of Golden Coin was a living example; although he made a lot of money selling the hotel, it was a one-time deal.
Conversely, if he hadn't sold the hotel and continued to hold onto the gambling license, he might not have earned less than the money Stark gave him, and it would have been for much longer.
In short, fearing that disturbing Bayonetta would lead to Stark's hostile takeover, the owners of these casinos dared not act rashly.
What kind of thoughts would such a reaction evoke in the eyes of ordinary gamblers?
After continuously sweeping through so many top casinos, no one dared to step out and cause trouble.
Coupled with her superb gambling skills and luck that seemed like the goddess of fortune herself had descended... within a few short days, a new urban legend emerged in Las Vegas, and Bayonetta was crowned with the title of 'Queen' by the gamblers who loved to watch a good show.