Devouring Evil Spirits

Drake's eyes widened. Even with his extensive experience in Gotham City, he had never seen such a heavyweight, super-iron coffin. "So, at least five people have died in this car?"

"Not necessarily."

"Be straight with me, what's the deal with this car?" Drake pressed. "I've been working for you for so long, and I've never even seen this car once."

The boss probably knew this killing machine wouldn't sell, so he sighed. "Don't tell anyone, okay? This car used to belong to a low-level boss in the Falcone gang. After he had an accident driving it, the car was sold off. It had been sold through their family's gang businesses, and every time someone bought it, something went wrong. The worst time, the four people in the car had their heads blown off by two shotgun blasts."

"I bought it three times in total, and the car's buyers ended up dead, six people in all, from car accidents to gang wars, you name it. The most extreme case was when a car dealer found a deserted spot and abandoned this car. That same afternoon, he got into a car accident, was sent to Wayne Hospital, and by the afternoon, he was in the morgue."

"Even the Falcone family thought this car was evil. They gave me two thousand dollars and dumped it on me. I renovated this car, even spent over five hundred dollars of my own money, and finally got the car sorted inside and out. The bullets I dug out weighed almost half a pound."

"What could I do? I sold it again, and the car was returned. Fortunately, only the glass was broken and the tires were damaged, with a few minor bumps. In the end, two more lives were lost in the car."

"All in all, there have been nine lives on this car. I really don't want to be the tenth. If you know anyone who isn't afraid of death and wants to buy a car, introduce them to me. I'll give this car away for free."

"No."

?

The interrupted car dealer looked around in confusion, his movements almost perfectly synchronized with Drake's head-shaking.

"No," Ma Zhaodi, standing nearby, repeated. "Three thousand at least."

"WTF, what are you doing, bro!" Drake's eyes widened like copper bells as he looked at Ma Zhaodi, who remained calm and composed. "There are nine lives on this car, bro, not nine lives for yourself!"

"Damn! That's great! It's a deal!" The car dealer was overjoyed. "Nobody goes back on their word! I'll get you the keys right now!"

"Don't forget to take the money too."

"Huh?"

Ma Zhaodi repeated, "I said, don't forget to take the three thousand dollars too, or I don't want the car."

"Huh???"

"Holy crap, you're a real talent!" Drake exclaimed again. "You're taking his car and asking him for three thousand dollars?"

"I'm saving his life with my life, and asking for three thousand dollars," Ma Zhaodi corrected. "For something this dangerous, three thousand dollars isn't expensive at all."

"Are you sure your ancestors don't have Ashkenazi Jewish blood?"

"Just tell me if you're selling it or not," Ma Zhaodi flicked a pocky from his cigarette pack and put it in his mouth. "Hurry up, if you don't agree, I'm leaving. When this car finds the next dealer, I'll use today's recording to extort five thousand dollars from him."

"."

The car dealer's expression flickered. After a long while, he turned to get three thousand dollars in cash and a car key.

"You better pray, you bastard."

"Watch your mouth. If I die, the car will just come back here."

"You better have a long and prosperous life, like the East Sea and flowing water, like an immortal pine that never ages, have this day every year and this year every year, live as long as heaven and earth, shine as bright as the sun and moon, live in the twelve floors above the immortal dwelling, have a great birthday of eight thousand years, and be like spring."

Ma Zhaodi shrugged. "What I admire most about Gotham is places like this. The citizens are very stable and polite. They're willing to talk things out when problems arise."

"That's truly awesome."

After spending two hundred dollars on new tires for the car from the dealer, Ma Zhaodi sat in the car, while Drake stood outside, the two staring at each other.

"Aren't you going back? Get in the car?"

"I'll take a taxi back."

"?"

"What are you looking at me for? Drive it back yourself," Drake said, pulling Ma Zhaodi's phone from his pocket and showing it to him. "Remember this speed dial. It's for Wayne Hospital."

Ma Zhaodi let out a cold laugh, took his phone back, and then casually took out a shiny car key to start the engine, leaving Drake far behind with a stomp of the accelerator.

[One-time Soul-trapping Car Key]
[Price: $300]
[Description: Evil spirit, get out of its body!
Evil Spirit: You get out of its body first... How strange, I feel like I've had this conversation before when possessing little boys.
Description 2: Which genius thought of making a car key into a holy artifact?]

As the silver key was inserted into the car, Ma Zhaodi seemed to faintly hear a shrill and venomous scream from within the car. Within seconds, the cold atmosphere inside the car vanished completely.

"Beep, beep, you son of a bitch!"

The way he cursed sounded like he was throwing a tantrum.

Ma Zhaodi ignored it, and casually turned on the car's air conditioning again. This time, only warm air blew out. The icy mist of blood that had previously assaulted him seemed to have vanished like an illusion.

He stopped the car by the roadside and pulled out the silver car key. In just a few seconds, it had completely turned a dark, grayish-black.

He opened the system interface again, and the text description had changed.

[Side Quest: Keeping Up With The Times]
[Synopsis: Still using traditional methods of possession? That's too outdated. How can a person who can possess be as good as a car that can possess?
Our Mr. Evil Spirit has already been wreaking havoc in this car, and it looks like he's looking for his tenth victim.
The priest in the church might not be willing to take on the task of exorcising a car, but you, my friend, you know what it means to keep up with the times, don't you?]

Status: Completed

Reward: After capturing an Evil Spirit, it can be traded for an Amulet with nine uses.

Ma Zhaodi casually chose to trade. The black key vanished into thin air, and a shining cross necklace appeared in his hand. Though made of iron, it didn't feel cold to the touch, but rather emanated a faint warmth.

After a brief look, he hung the necklace around his neck and continued driving home.

This cross was valued at five thousand dollars in asset points in the System Mall. Ma Zhaodi still clearly remembered the Consecrated Car Key from the mall, which was why he had unhesitatingly accepted this quest, making a small profit.

As for exchanging the necklace for asset points, he had no such intention for now. When living in Gotham, luck was clearly very important.