The track of dawn in the world of American manga

Chapter 43 43. The second customer on the opening day of Cooper’s store

Mason, who was fully armed, finally didn't wait for the naughty kid behind the background to demolish his shop. It felt like you had tried your best to prepare a table of dishes but were notified at short notice that all the customers had stopped coming.

Two words to describe it, disappointing.

One word to describe it, fuck!

Feeling the pressure in his heart, Mason turned his head and glanced at the time on the clock.

It's almost midnight.

Today's store opening was obviously a failure, so it's better to close early and go into the magic suitcase to continue improving your alchemy skills.

He stood up from the counter and was about to close the rolling shutter door, but when he was standing at the door, Mason suddenly saw a spark of light shining in the alley across the street.

Taking a closer look, a guy in a khaki trench coat was walking slowly along the dark alley with his hands in his trouser pockets.

Oh, isn't this Mr. Zha Kang, the master of black magic?

Mason didn't know what he was thinking of, but a welcoming smile appeared on his face. He waved to Zha Kang and asked him to come into his shop for a chat.

"It seems that your alchemy skills have improved, young man."

Zha Kang, who was as careless as last time, glanced around Mason's shop, his eyes stayed on the display cabinet of alchemy creations for a few seconds, and then he said sneeringly in a very annoying tone:

"I can see that you are very diligent, but your craftsmanship is a bit trendy. How dare you trade these low-quality rubbish for materials? Listen to me, kid, you may not be suitable for this industry.

The mysterious alchemy is not as simple as a child playing with urine in mud."

"You seem to be in a bad mood, and you even speak with resentment."

Mason just thought that Zha Kang was farting. He picked up the water glass and poured a glass of water for Zha Kang. Looking at his haggard face with stubble, he asked:

"Have you been having a bad time lately? My friend."

"Don't mention it."

The magic master leaned on Mason's counter, blew out smoke rings and complained:

"Xiao Zha and I had a complete falling out. She kicked me out of the mystery house. As you can see, I am homeless and in despair."

"How is this going?"

Mason asked curiously:

"Miss Zatanna discovered your research on Horcruxes?"

"That's not true."

Zha Kang shrugged and whispered:

"An evil succubus from the Nine Hells hid in the bathroom and shamelessly attacked me. In order to protect myself, I had to fight her for three hundred rounds in that narrow place.

The fierce battle is going on and we see the critical moment when this master is about to successfully perform a physical exorcism. Guess what?

Xiao Zha on the bed actually woke up!

I was kicked out that night and my pants almost burned off. Of course, I don’t think that was the main reason. I think it was the bastard who liked to mess around with bats who said bad things about me to Xiao Zha.”

Constantine stood on the ground of Gotham and arbitrarily scolded a certain gentleman who should not be offended in Gotham City.

He cursed:

"Isn't it just that I dug up some antiques that no one wanted in Gotham? That bastard Batboy actually accused me of using black magic of mass destruction in the city, causing Zuckerberg to call me a scumbag who doesn't care about human life.

I really died unjustly.

It’s just that I did the bad thing, that’s not the problem!

I took the blame for a bunch of bastards.

I’m so angry, for the sake of the Nine Hells, don’t let me find those bastards!”

Listening to Zha Kang's grievances, the expressionless Mason immediately looked like he shared the same hatred with the enemy, but in fact he felt a little guilty.

Zha Kang still doesn’t know that this seemingly loyal young man in front of him is the culprit who caused him to be kicked out of the house by Xiao Zha! Wait! Zha Kang was kicked out entirely because of his own fault!

With such a beautiful and well-educated white wizard girlfriend, he still wants to mess around with the succubus from hell. This scumbag deserves to be living on the street.

What does this have to do with yourself?

Putting aside the facts, even if he is 99% at fault, doesn’t Constantine not have the 1% problem?

This guy really needs to review his style.

"Okay, don't talk about these unhappy things."

Mason hurriedly changed the subject, patted Zha Kang on the shoulder and pointed to his shop and said:

"You won't have nowhere to go, friend. Although my place is not spacious, you are welcome to stay here for a long time. If you can't get used to living in this shabby place, my friend Charles has just taken over Gotham's most luxurious bar these days.

, I can reserve a private box for you there for a long time.

You're welcome, this is what friends should do.

Come!

Help me take a look at this first."

The young man pulled down the rolling shutter door and announced the end of Cooper's store's failed first day of business. Then he faced Kang under the light and opened the sleeve of his left arm.

Zha Kang, who was holding water in his hand and feeling sorry for himself, glanced over here. After seeing the drastically changed tattoo on Mason's arm, he spurted out a mouthful of water without holding back.

"You! What have you been doing these days?"

The well-informed black magic master's eyes almost popped out of his head, and he exclaimed:

"I've only been away for less than a week! How did this curse grow to this level? Did you complete the blasphemous sacrifice of 999 pure souls as sacrifices to the evil god in the past few days?

young people!

You are only one step away from becoming the 'son of the devil'!"

"Actually, it's not that fast. There are still two levels left."

Mason sighed and said something in his mind.

He glanced at the black tattoo on his arm that already looked quite eerie and ferocious under the light. The flame-like twisted lines seemed to be spinning after looking at them for a long time.

Zha Kang, who had always been idle, did not dare to neglect when he saw this situation.

He took off the cigarette from his mouth and used it as a spell-casting medium, silently reciting the incantation and letting embers-like ashes fly and hover over Mason's arm tattoo.

First, he formed a barrier to isolate the magic power, and then he took out a teardrop-shaped gem pendant from his pocket and cautiously approached the tattoo body.

The closer the pendant is, the brighter the sacred luster emitted by its teardrop crystal. The moment it touches Mason's skin, the light emitted by the small crystal even overwhelms the light tube above his head.

"boom"

In the midst of Zha Kang's extremely distressed exclamation, this magical weapon, which looked very valuable at first glance, was broken into pieces, and Constantine's forehead was instantly covered with sweat.

"This is not a problem I can solve, Mason."

A rare serious expression appeared on Zha Kang's face.

He seemed to feel a certain chill coming over him. After taking two steps back, he stared at the dark tattoo on Mason's arm and said:

"This time when I come to Gotham, in addition to giving a good lesson to the Bat boy who bewitched my girlfriend, I also brought you good news. I have found a spell in Xiao Zha's family library.

But obviously I'm late.

You are already terminally ill, and this curse is entangled in your soul and coexisting with you. If I forcibly dispel it, it means that your soul will also suffer heavy damage."

"But there must be a way, right?"

mason said:

"I don't ask for it to be completely dispelled, and I can even accept long-term symbiosis, but I must protect my soul from being eroded before the curse occurs.

If you lower the requirements, you must have a way, right?"

"Um"

Zha Kang reluctantly pursed his lips.

It can be seen that he may indeed have a way, but it will definitely cost him.

This time it's no longer a matter of selling for a price. This scumbag didn't take the initiative to ask for payment, which shows that he is really giving up.

Zha Kang doesn't want to play anymore.

"boom"

Mason took Voldemort's remaining Horcrux grimoire out of his bag and slapped it on the counter in front of Zha Kang. The young man put his hand on the grimoire and said to the black magician:

"Help me! I can give you this right now. You want it, Constantine, I can feel it."

"I really want it."

Zha Kang glanced at the grimoire on the counter, pursed his lips and said:

"But this situation has grown beyond my capabilities, Mason.

My knowledge of soul cutting can indeed save me a lot of trouble, but if I continue to intervene, it is not certain whether I can survive for three days.

You are not from our circle, so you cannot understand where my fear comes from."

The black magician lit up a cigarette again.

He stared at Mason with a look of pity and said:

"I also have a lot of curses on my body that represent the mess in my life's past. I have a lot of creditors 'above' and 'below', but together they are probably not as troublesome as that thing on you.

So sorry, friend.

Your offer makes me excited, but I can't help you."

"boom"

Mason did not pray, but took out Grindelwald's Encyclopedia of Dark Arts and slapped it next to Voldemort's Horcrux research. Zha Kang's eyes immediately jumped.

The young man glanced at him.

Open the suitcase at hand, pick up the elder wand broken into three sections, and place it next to the two magic books.

Even though the Deathly Hallows was broken, the stern aura it exuded as the most powerful weapon in the world of witchcraft still made Zha Kang's heart skip a beat.

Mason put his hand into the suitcase again with a faint look in his eyes.

What I took out this time was a piece of blood-colored crystal the size of my little finger.

"That's enough! Stop tempting me!"

Constantine covered his eyes and shouted:

"Believe it or not, I'm robbing you right here! I'm a dark wizard with no bottom line!"

"Batman will be patrolling seven blocks away at night. The location of my store was not chosen randomly, my friend."

Mason waved the Batphone in his hand, and the emergency dial had popped up.

He pushed the dazzling array of things on the counter forward and said:

"Of course you can rob it. I can't resist a magic master, but I can guarantee that the Batboy you hate has a hundred ways to beat you up and send you to Arkham Asylum.

But these things can be yours.

As long as you help me.

Didn’t you say you brought me useful news?”

"I stress again, I cannot break that curse!"

Zha Kang raised his hands, took a long drag on the cigarette and blew out a thick ring of smoke. He walked forward and took Voldemort's Horcrux research book in his hand politely.

Through a thin layer of smoke, he said to Mason:

"But I told you last time that the emergence of this curse is not all bad. The spell I found can take effect on ordinary people and allow you to feel the flow of energy in a short period of time.

This 'super sense' is useless in most cases except to make some exciting things more exciting, but it is very suitable for your situation."

Constantine's eyes wandered over the good things on the counter, and an undisguised light of greed shone. The master of black magic licked his lips like a big bad wolf who saw a white rabbit.

He said to Mason:

"As the curse grows on you, it also means that the evil god from another dimension is pouring more and more energy into you.

The 'attention' of those supernatural creatures is a symbolic level. It is difficult to explain in one or two sentences. You can understand that you have established a deeper and deeper connection with them.

This means that you can actively draw some ‘power’ from the evil god by relying on the tattoo on your arm.”

Zha Kang's statement flashed through Mason's heart like a bolt of lightning.

He immediately remembered Old K's weird "flickering swordsmanship". After confirming that Old K was a demon hunter, Mason had been curious about where that "flickering" ability came from.

As far as he knew, demon hunters who passed the Green Grass Trial could indeed gain superhuman physique and magical power, but unless they were of ancient bloodline, they would not have the ridiculously powerful ability of passive space flickering.

Now, Zha Kang has solved the mystery for Mason.

Old K’s passive flicker definitely does not come from the inheritance of the demon hunter!

That is the "blessing" of the evil god that the stars believe in. Even the ability similar to "force drag" that Mr. Hunter showed at a glance came from this.

"So, this is the real 'employee benefit'."

Mason blinked and whispered something. He stroked the evil tattoo on his arm and said to Zha Kang:

“What can I do to feel that hidden power?”

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

Zha Kang was flipping through Voldemort's grimoire, glanced at Mason and said faintly:

"I'm just telling you that you can do this, but it doesn't mean that I encourage you to do it. For the sake of this reward, I want to remind you one more thing, Mason, young man!

When your curse has grown rapidly, actively calling on the power of the evil god may make you 'fall' faster.

You may think that you are determined, but I can tell you responsibly that I have seen everyone who actively deals with dark forces end up very badly.

You should follow Batboy's teachings and stay away from the darkness that tempts people."

"But don't you do the same?"

mason said:

"I see you are living a happy life."

"Well, look at this little angel in front of me. You actually think that your friend John will have a good ending when he reaches the end of his life. Oh, this is really the most heart-warming thing I have heard this year."

Zha Kang covered his heart and said angrily:

"It's a luxury for me to go to hell intact after death. You actually use me as an example. It's really an ignorant person who is fearless. OK, since you want it, I'll give it to you.

Dear John never stops others from actively seeking death. This is the professional ethics of dark wizards.

But that's it.

This 'handling fee' has to be settled in advance, so just use this as payment."

Constantine waved his hand and picked up the Elder Wand, which was broken into three sections, and put it in his arms.

Mason could see clearly that when he reached out, he actually wanted to take the pieces of the Sorcerer's Stone, but he didn't know why this guy actually gave up this real treasure.

"Don't be shy, John, take it all."

The young man generously pushed everything in front of him to Zha Kang. He said:

"Anyway, I may not have the life to keep them. It's a good choice to give them to your good friend. Take them. Take them all."

"So generous?"

Zha Kang looked at Mason suspiciously.

After confirming that Mason was not joking, he grinned and put everything into his windbreaker pocket that never seemed to be full.

It's not Zha Kang's style to take advantage without taking advantage of it.

After Mason saw that Zha Kang had swept away everything he had taken out, a gentle and satisfied smile appeared on his face.

He took it!

Everyone watched it!

John Constantine received these priceless items!

Although he did not explicitly say that these treasures represented an invitation to join Team K, since Zha Kang had taken these treasures that clearly exceeded his reward, he should have been mentally prepared to pay more.

In this way, you no longer have to feel guilty when inviting Zha Kang to have an exciting and fun trip to another world.

Mr. Hunter reminded himself to strengthen Team K as much as possible within two months to face the future development mission. Although Zha Kang has a poor character, he is strong and has no bottom line. He is definitely a good player in other world exploration.

In addition to Catwoman, who has verbally agreed, and Kite Man, who has no ability but is loyal enough, isn't the skeleton of Team K now established?

"I'm just making sure, we are friends, right? John."

Mason looked at Zha Kang who looked as happy as a fox who stole a chicken, and suddenly asked.

The master of black magic stretched out his hand and held Mason's hand with a "sincere" expression on his face, as if he was touched by seeing a long-lost half-brother.

This drama queen even put on a tearful tone and said:

"Of course, Mason, don't use the word 'friend' to insult our relationship. In my heart, you are as close to me as a brother. Come on, get ready.

Let your brother John help you cast spells to gain strength."

(End of chapter)