Chapter 269: The Business Genius Midnight Dad

After finishing a cigarette, Constantine's mood finally calmed down; he patted Ma Ma Zhaodi beside him and smiled at him: "You did great just now, buddy. Uh, what was that sword you used? And that light..."

"A lightning-struck peach wood sword, combined with the Demon-Slaying Divine Ability. Both are ancestral formulas for suppressing evil from our side. If your cultivation is deep enough, it basically cures the disease as soon as the medicine is applied."

【Lightning-Struck Peach Wood Sword

Price: One hundred thousand US dollars

Note: A magical artifact of considerable age, said to be made from peach wood struck by a tribulation lightning in a minor world of declining magic, thus carrying a trace of red lightning.】

【One of the Earth Fiend's Seventy-Two Divine Abilities — Demon Slaying

Price: Six hundred thousand US dollars

Note: Ordinary iron is fine; divine weapons are better. It slays evil, breaks demons, and cuts down monsters.】

Ma Ma Zhaodi had bought these two items, originally wanting to try if he could instantly kill Namos by attaching the Demon-Slaying technique to the peach wood sword, but the facts proved that this evil spirit had already grown to an absurd degree in New York; even when he poured all his mana into it, the result was merely a severe injury.

"So what now?" he asked. "The Talisman can at most trap it for one night, but we need to find a way to kill it. We can't let it stay in the church forever."

"Now?" Hearing "one night," Constantine sighed in relief: "Now that the investigation is clear, we should rest and recuperate, find a place to get a good sleep."

"?"

"Come on, Old Ma, people aren't machines; we have to give them some rest time—I need to recover my energy properly too. By tomorrow, we'll go find Midnight and Lester and solve this demon together."

"Then tonight—"

"There's nothing else to do tonight. Midnight has cleared out two rooms for us in his building—here's the address. Go get a good sleep. As for me, I'll go find some fun first and meet you back at the building later. Don't worry, we'll handle this tomorrow."

"Is this what you call recovering energy?"

"What else? Keeping me in a boring little room would be the greatest torture for me—It's settled. See you tomorrow."

Constantine waved his hand and strolled away from the street.

Ma Ma Zhaodi helplessly looked at the note in his hand; this was the hotel Midnight had found for them. They could take a taxi to this destination, or just follow the New York map to get there.

"I feel like this guy's behavior is a bit strange..."

Constantine got into a taxi.

"Bro, to Midnight's Casino." He casually tossed the finished cigarette butt out the window and said to the driver: "Speed is key."

The driver immediately started the car, but upon hearing the London accent of this blonde passenger, he instinctively glanced a few more times in the rearview mirror.

"You know your stuff, bro," he said. "Most people from the UK don't even know about this kind of underground casino, let alone the name 'Midnight'."

"Don't bother, bro," Constantine replied. "Do you think I'm some sucker visiting for the first time? Just drive faster."

As the car sped through the streets of New York, Constantine silently thought about the matter of Namos in his heart.

"I need to speed up—find Midnight Dad quickly, discuss tomorrow's plan with him, and also Lester..."

Thinking of Lester, the fingers holding his cigarette trembled slightly.

"No matter what, this matter needs his help," he thought. "My mind is made up."

When Constantine entered that secret casino where fortunes were gambled away in a single throw, he did not see the person he wanted to meet.

The air inside was incredibly murky; chips clinked and clattered, gamblers with bloodshot eyes were everywhere; some lost everything, others became overnight millionaires. The scents of money, greed, and despair filled this den of iniquity.

Filthy and chaotic, I like it, Constantine thought, but unfortunately, I have other things to do tonight.

Otherwise, he might have really planned to play a couple of rounds here.

He walked out of the casino door and hailed another taxi on the roadside.

"Midnight Club."

"Want to dance?" The driver turned back and smiled at him: "You picked the right place, bro—five minutes to get there."

Ten minutes later, Constantine walked out of the crowded club.

Disco balls flashed with colorful lights, the crowd swayed wildly, the music was deafening; undoubtedly, this was a great place to get high, but Constantine didn't have time to dance for now.

He reached out and hailed another car: "Midnight Lounge, bro."

The driver gave him an understanding smile: "Oh, I get you, bro."

But Constantine still couldn't find the person he was looking for here; inside were only men and women clouded by desire, twisting together like snakes.

"I'm too lazy to spend money watching silver panties; I might as well find someone to my liking in a bar... Speaking of which, where the hell did that bird-man Midnight go?"

After thinking for a moment, Constantine suddenly had an idea. He went back to the roadside and hailed another taxi.

"Midnight Boxing Club," he said. "Faster."

"Alright."

The Boxing Club was Midnight Dad's turf; here, one only needed to go downstairs to see "Death."

Constantine walked down the stairs; when he entered that door, the frenzied cheers of the audience outside the octagonal cage made him feel like he had entered the ancient Roman Colosseum.

However, this was originally an underground boxing arena; the octagonal ring only allowed one person to walk out alive in the end, so calling it a colosseum wasn't much of a difference.

Bang!

The burly man on the stage held a metal bat and smashed another burly man to the ground with one swing; one of his legs was directly deformed and bent backward, exposing Bai Bai Sensen bone fragments and flesh and blood. This scene triggered a burst of cheers from the surrounding crowd.

Midnight, dressed in a suit, stood by the ring, calmly watching the two men on stage tear and fight each other like beasts; a smile occasionally appeared on his face.

"Constantine," he said to the back, "You don't like this entertainment? I thought you weren't some old stick-in-the-mud."

"Buddy, in my opinion, two men swinging bats to smash each other into minced meat—this isn't exactly arousing." After saying this, Constantine looked down and lit another cigarette.

Midnight smiled at him: "I think so too, but violence is merely a symbol, used to release the energy contained in bloodthirsty desires—but here, you can smell the scent and hear the sounds."

"Kill him! Kill him!"

"Smash his face!"

Constantine looked around the entire venue; the people around were both spectators and gamblers. There was almost no rationality here, only money betting and blood flying. The waves of sound in their ears were wildly praising slaughter and death; the tickets in their hands made every person placing a bet develop a murderous intent. The more bloody the scene on stage, the more excited they became.

"Busy while alive, and still having to act as fighters on stage after death; being your reanimated corpse must be hard work."

"Using the dead is better than using the living."

(End of Chapter)