Starting from scratch, Batman crushed my dream of getting rich

Chapter 252 Basic Special Energy Affinity
After explaining the situation, Constantine looked at Ma Zhaodi: "What do you say? We have to leave tomorrow morning. Do you have a place to stay?"

“I have money.” Ma Zhaodi waved his hand and said, “Do you know where there’s a hotel nearby? I’ll stay there.”

"Okay, I'll take you there."

Downstairs at the hotel, Ma Zhaodi declined Constantine's invitation to have a meal together. He had long heard of the legendary figure's uninhibited nature; according to his understanding, Constantine's narrow sexual fetishes were limited to three categories: men, women, and non-humans.

Ma Zhaodi defines him as someone who is capable of sleeping with any living, human being with eyes—of course, even one with a penis but no eyes is acceptable, as long as it is good-looking, there is no one Constantine wouldn't dare to sleep with.

If this guy were reincarnated into the Warhammer universe, he'd definitely be chosen as one of Slaanesh's chosen gods.

“Alright.” Seeing that his invitation had been rejected, Constantine sighed with regret: “Could I borrow your hat to study it? It’s the first time I’ve seen this type of magical artifact.”

“Once something is in your hands, how could it possibly run away?” Ma Zhaodi laughed. “Given your reputation, I wouldn’t even dare to consider a transaction based on an equal exchange, because you are a first-rate expert at deceiving people.”

"Can't you give me a little trust?"

"Oh, I absolutely believe that your style of doing things is exactly the same as the rumors in the martial arts world, or even more so."

After bidding farewell to Constantine, Ma Zhaodi looked up information about "Namos," but it seemed that he was not a recorded demon god with a name in occult texts. This made Ma Zhaodi basically certain that the other party was an indigenous evil spirit born in the human world—meaning that he could use all his power to wreak havoc on the human world.

This is bad, very bad.

Constantine did not sleep that night after returning home.

He sat quietly by the window, lit another Guinsoo's Crush cigarette, and gazed at the twilight-shrouded streets and the bustling crowds and traffic. The dim streetlights illuminated his profile, revealing his dazed expression.

He saw a pretty girl holding a spray can on the street, so Constantine kept staring at her graffiti outside the window.

The intertwining of memories and the present reality reminded him of his girlfriend Emma, ​​who was on the other side of the world.

Lester thought she was in America, but she wasn't actually there.

She is dead.

Constantine stared at the street and sat there all night, the glow of his cigarettes flickering like fireflies, one after another, until dawn broke.

The next morning, Ma Zhaodi received a call from Constantine—he was coming to pick him up to leave.

It was already past nine in the morning, and Ma Zhaodi was still browsing the online store. After learning what kind of thing he was going to deal with this time, he naturally had to find the corresponding props. After all, there are some slight differences between fighting ordinary people, fighting superhumans and fighting ghosts.

"Where are we going?"

“Find an expert—an anthropologist, though he also has some knowledge of the occult.” Constantine drove leisurely, flicking ash from his cigarette out the window. “He might be a little eccentric, but his knowledge is reliable.”

“Sounds good.” Ma Zhaodi flipped through the book on mysticism in his hand.

Constantine glanced at the book in his hand and let out a disdainful laugh: "Don't look at that stuff, it's useless, just something to fool newbies. If you actually try to use this stuff to deal with evil spirits, you can just wait to collect your corpse."

“I know.” Ma Zhaodi continued flipping through the book. “I want to see if there’s any correct information in it at all. After all, it cost me several hundred dollars a long time ago.” “Damn, you make money so easily.”

In fact, after hearing Lester explain the whole story yesterday, the "Starving Glutton" mission was already complete. Ma Zhaodi had already mastered the basics of mysticism, including some basic mystical knowledge and the simplest rituals. At this moment, he just wanted to find out how much of a rip-off those three books he had bought were.

After speaking for a while, Constantine suddenly spoke again.

"Actually, buying counterfeit goods isn't all bad. You might not know, but people in the industry know how dangerous these things are—these aren't children's toys. If a toy is of poor quality, at most you'll lose some money, but people outside the magic circle better pray they never come across a real magic book in their lifetime."

“Your advice is probably too late,” Ma Zhaodi replied. “I already know a lot of real occult knowledge, and I can’t forget it even if I wanted to.”

After a pause, he continued, "But I know very well that people should maintain awe in the face of mystery, and I never intend to accept gifts with an undisclosed price."

Constantine gave Ma Zhaodi a deep look.

“Clever,” he said. “Magic and miracles are never free—but if it’s not magic, then what’s the point of your hood and candy?”

“Oh, they’re less like magic and more like rules,” Ma Zhaodi replied. “In other words, they’re ‘magic with a price tag.’”

"The magic of transparent pricing—I've been in this industry for so many years and I've never heard of anything like this."

Constantine stopped there, but he was thinking to himself that those who made contracts with the devil all thought the contracts were clearly priced, but in reality, the devil's parchment was never just one layer.

He had a vague feeling that the man in front of him seemed unharmed, but perhaps he hadn't paid the real price yet—just like Constantine's old friend with magical abilities, Zatana, who was known as the master of irony.

Ma Zhaodi was oblivious to Constantine's thoughts; he was looking at his own mission panel.

【Ding】

You have a new part-time job available. Please check your inbox.

Tracing the Roots

Mission Introduction: No one expected that this disaster spreading across London would originate from a scoundrel friend in Tangier. Having such a five-star citizen who always thinks of his motherland is truly a blessing for me in England.

Note: The standard formula for suspense dramas is that one question leads to another. Although the answer to the first question is clear, more questions arise—where did this boy come from? And who used this method to infuse an evil spirit into his body? And what was the reason for doing so?
Status: Pending (0%)

Reward: Basic Special Energy Affinity - Single Energy Type Limited

The system's reward was indeed substantial, and Ma Zhaodi looked at it with satisfaction. If he wasn't mistaken, once he finished this part-time job, he would unlock his blue bar.

[Basic Special Energy Affinity - Single Energy Limitation]

Price: $10

Note: The source of energy is bloodline, so don't ask why you unlock mana instead of magic power—on the bright side, at least you can be the first demigod in DC.

(End of this chapter)