Starting from scratch, Batman crushed my dream of getting rich

Chapter 256 Never Look Back
"The jungle guerrillas found him and sold him to slave traders in exchange for some tobacco—I didn't see this part."

“I’m an idiot. I should have stayed and watched him walk down the path to his death.”

The withered old man covered his face with his hands, reliving that cruel past again, which already caused him great pain, but the child's needless sacrifice made him feel even more desperate and ashamed.

Constantine patted him on the shoulder reassuringly: "Actually, in our line of work, never looking back is a golden rule."

Ma Zhaodi wiped away his tears, and seeing the priest wave wearily, signaling them to leave, he and Constantine walked out of the tent.

“I never want to experience that again,” he said to Constantine. “My body was out of control, my mind was scattered, I was completely defenseless against external threats, and I had to watch myself do this.”

Constantine gave a bitter smile and lit a cigarette: "Do you know why I said never to look back?"

".Why?"

"Because there are too many damn ghosts following behind me."

Under the blood-red sunset, the two black silhouettes stretched extremely long across the desolate Gobi Desert.

Constantine staggered down the path, the herbs still churning inside him, making his legs feel like two noodles.

"How did you do that?" He turned to look at Ma Zhaodi. If it weren't for the tears that had just flowed from the other man's eyes in the tent, he would have almost thought that the man was completely unaffected by the herbs, or that he hadn't even taken them.

"what?"

"Isn't your stomach upset? Aren't your legs weak?"

“I’m physically strong,” Ma Zhaodi replied. “You might think I’m rather thin, but actually, I’m stronger and faster than many people.”

"What, are you one of those superhumans from outer space? Or a super soldier who's been injected with military serum?"

"It's not that exaggerated, it's just enough to survive in Gotham—but putting that aside, what should we do next?"

"Next?" Constantine shrugged. "Next, you transfer the remaining balance to me."

"That's easy."

Ma Zhaodi had no objection to this; it was a clearly priced contract, and the money should naturally be paid after the matter was clarified.

After he finished transferring the money on his phone, he asked, "Now?"

"Now everyone go home."

"?"

"What's wrong? Is there a problem?" Constantine asked. "Your commission was to investigate the whole story. Now the truth has come out, and you've given candy to those children. Your curiosity and kindness have been satisfied. Isn't that enough?"

"But the key issue now is Namos. What should we do with him?"

Constantine shrugged. "If you want to deal with Him, that's a different price."

“Is it me who wants to deal with Him? It’s you who has to deal with Him. Gary Lester, as the first person to release Him, is probably already being targeted by Him, isn’t he? Moreover, back in Africa, He was already able to wreak havoc on a village, and now, His power is starting to grow—if He continues to grow, a town, or even a city, will suffer next.” Ma Zhaodi concluded, “So, you have to deal with this, and not only that, you have to act quickly enough, otherwise, Namos will eventually evolve into an unmanageable, powerful hungry spirit.”

“You’re right.” Constantine chuckled. “Since I was going to deal with it anyway, I can only charge you forty thousand dollars.”

Ma Zhaodi couldn't help but laugh in exasperation: "Byd Constantine, are you that short of money?"

“I’m not short of money,” Constantine sneered. “I just don’t like five-hundred-dollar cold drinks.”

"Very well, you better not fall into my hands again, the next drink will be five thousand dollars."

Flights leaving Africa streaked across the sky, where there was not a single cloud or moisture, only an endless expanse of blue.

Looking out the airplane window, Ma Zhaodi saw dark figures walking wearily across the dry, cracked earth. As the plane climbed higher, these figures gradually became tiny, insect-like dots.

"Humans are like insects, aren't they?"

Constantine sat beside him, his gaze calmly sweeping over the land: "But that's just how the world is; it never changes according to human will."

"What are you pretending to be so profound for, you charlatan? Go eat your airplane food."

The mention of airplane food immediately brought a look of pain to Constantine's face; he had left in such a hurry that he had forgotten to buy some sandwiches to take with him.

Ma Zhaodi ignored him, casually pulled a hamburger from his pocket, and started eating it right in front of him.

The two spent almost the entire day on the plane. After arriving in London, they went to a restaurant and learned that the fat man had actually woken up in the hospital and had already boarded a plane to New York the day before.

“I knew it.” Constantine sighed. “That’s why the same hungry ghost incidents are happening there, just like here.”

"But why did He go to New York?"

"The magic bottle that could trap Him has been sent."

"tsk"

Constantine sent Chase home, while he and Ma Zhaodi picked up Lester from the house. After a brief explanation to Mrs. M, the three of them boarded a flight to New York.

Ma Zhaodi noticed that no more flies appeared around Lester. He wondered if this was because Constantine's room had some kind of defensive magic array. In any case, the unfortunate fellow was indeed safe now.

He glanced at Constantine beside him, who was still absent-minded, probably still thinking about things in Africa. This struck him as odd, because according to his stereotypes, Constantine wasn't a very conscientious person—could he really be that compassionate?
Thirty-six hours later, on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City.

The taxi's radio crackled to life, the host's voice babbling incessantly as if he were telling a captivating supernatural story rather than some real news.

"Citizens, do you know what's happening outside? Just today, Bruce Parker, a jeweler on 57th Avenue, swallowed jewels alive in his shop window and died; another boss tried to devour his secretary alive in his office—friends, only in New York can you hear such bizarre stories. Don't change the channel! We'll bring you more detailed information right away!"

As news reports came over the radio, Ma Zhaodi's heart sank deeper and deeper. In just two short days, the amount of nourishment Namos had gained in this city was terrifying.

It won't be long before this city becomes its paradise, a veritable palace of demons.

(End of this chapter)