Curse Killing

"Jingle……"

"Welcome to Ximo Coffee, sir. What can I get for you?"

"A latte, with sugar."

"Certainly."

"Here is your latte. Have a pleasant day."

"Thank you!"

The man looked up. His chiseled face and well-defined physique gave him a sunny, handsome appearance. Even the girl behind the counter blushed, her face turning slightly red.

Taking his coffee, Guo Lingfei walked out of the cafe and stood on the street. After drinking half the coffee in his hand, he turned and entered the shop behind him.

He skillfully took a can of Red Bull from the refrigerator, scanned it for payment, and walked out of the shop. He opened the Red Bull and mixed it into his coffee.

"Buzz buzz……"

Just then, Guo Lingfei's phone vibrated a few times. He picked it up and saw a message on WeChat.

[Old Guo, hurry up! The girls we're meeting this time are top-notch.]

Below the message were two alluring photos.

Guo Lingfei smiled knowingly, finished the coffee in his hand in one gulp, and walked down the street.

"Clang, clang, clang……"

Under the night sky, the noise from the construction site on the roadside was particularly jarring. Occasionally, dump trucks could be seen driving out from within.

"Buzz buzz……"

After walking a few steps, Guo Lingfei's phone vibrated again. He picked it up and saw an unfamiliar phone number.

Guo Lingfei glanced at it and casually hung up.

However, just as he hung up the phone and before he could put it in his pocket, it rang again, the same unfamiliar number.

This time, Guo Lingfei didn't hang up. He chose to press the answer button.

"Who is it?"

"What, you forgot me after only a few days apart?"

The woman's voice on the phone was rich and deep, carrying an indescribable mature charm. Her tone was steady and rhythmic, as if every note had been carefully chosen, exuding both confidence and allure.

As she spoke, you could almost feel the smile hidden behind her red lips on the other end of the line.

Hearing the woman's voice, Guo Lingfei curled his lips. "Sis, we broke up. Aren't you afraid your husband will find out if you do this?"

"I'm scared. Three million in breakup fees, I'm afraid that won't even shut you up," the woman said with a smile. Then she continued, "It's just that, Lingfei, I feel so empty now that you're gone. I had a master calculate our compatibility, and I remember your birthday is on the eighth of the seventh month, right? I wanted to prepare a gift for you."

Guo Lingfei threw the coffee cup in his hand into the roadside trash can. He turned and straightened his clothes in the glass of the shop's storefront, saying unhurriedly, "Oh, sis, you've got the date wrong. My birthday is on the third of the sixth month. But if you're willing, I wouldn't mind receiving a gift anyway. Also, if you're calculating compatibility, please calculate my career for me. I'm planning to start a small business soon."

"Starting a business is great! Then tell me your birth time, and I'll have the master calculate it more accurately for you."

"Three sixteen in the afternoon."

After speaking, Guo Lingfei glanced at the time on his watch. "That's all for now. I'm meeting some friends for night fishing." He then hung up the phone directly.

"Tsk, you bitch!"

He spat coldly, put his phone in his pocket, and Guo Lingfei no longer delayed, quickening his pace towards the residential building with the words [Ascending Dragon] written on it.

"Jingle bells……"

Guo Lingfei's heart raced. The ringing seemed to echo in his ears, each sound like a heavy hammer striking his heart. His legs began to inexplicably go crooked.

At first, Guo Lingfei thought he had a cramp from walking too fast. But after a few more steps, his legs completely stopped obeying him, as if controlled by some invisible force, steadfastly dragging him towards the construction site.

"Three million hush money is too little. One hundred million… no, ten billion, I'll burn as much as you want for you."

In a daze, he heard that familiar voice. His face filled with terror as he tried to speak, but all that came out was a muffled sound, as if someone was covering his mouth.

He felt like a rag doll in a child's hand, wobbling and stumbling on the muddy ground of the construction site, his pace quickening as he ran forward.

Seeing a pile of rusted steel bars ahead, Guo Lingfei's head went numb. Fortunately, at this moment, his legs suddenly turned sharply in place, stopping him dead.

"Hoo……"

Looking at the steel bars inches away, Guo Lingfei swallowed. A cold sweat trickled down his forehead. He thought, One more step and I would have crashed into them, impaling myself.

Just as Guo Lingfei let out a long sigh, his legs suddenly began to walk slowly towards the concrete mixer in front of him. Guo Lingfei's gaze shifted, and his face turned pale.

"Old Zhang, want to grab a drink after work?"

"No, no, no. We drink every day. I won't today. I'm going home to get some good sleep after work."

Old Zhang waved his hand, refusing his colleague's request. But inwardly, he felt a pang of bitterness. He wanted to drink too, but he had no money in his pocket.

"Sigh, this life. I really wish I could find a quiet place to rest properly."

Saying this, Old Zhang walked to the concrete mixer and picked up his shovel, ready to start working.

He didn't expect that after throwing in a shovel full of mud and sand, Old Zhang subconsciously glanced at the concrete mixer. In that instant, he saw fragments of clothing and indistinct human tissue tangled on the rotating mixing plate. As the plate turned, a head emerged from the mud, mud and sand oozing from its mouth and nose, its eyes wide open, staring directly at him…

"You repaired Guo Lingfei's corpse, rated E-class, and gained 5 energy points."

This repair only received an E-class rating. While Xiao Ran was disappointed, he also understood why. After all, he had broken Guo Lingfei's left hand, and during their earlier confrontation, he had unintentionally pulled at the stitched areas.

Although it wasn't visible on the outside, the effect was greatly diminished compared to before.

"Calamity Suppressing Token privilege, Spirit Seizing successful. You have obtained Guo Lingfei's ability [Master Angler]."

As the notification sounded, all of Guo Lingfei's memories and insights related to fishing appeared before Xiao Ran.

These memory fragments were far less extensive than Li Shang's Tiger Fist. Within a few breaths, Xiao Ran had fully absorbed them.

Looking at the corpse before him, Xiao Ran propped his chin.

"So, how exactly did this guy die?"

He was certain that Guo Lingfei had died from a Cursed Object. Only a Cursed Object could possess such a bizarre ability.

Although he had heard his grandfather mention it, there were indeed some dark arts in the martial world that could harm people. However, those dark arts sounded nothing compared to Guo Lingfei's situation.

The perpetrator had effortlessly held Guo Lingfei's life and death in their palm. Recalling Guo Lingfei's despair before his death sent a shiver down Xiao Ran's spine.

Truly killing without a trace.

"Hmm, such a killing ability must have many restrictions, too."

Just as his [Calamity Suppressing Token] could strip the deceased of their abilities, it was also powerful but had a clear restriction: he needed to stitch the corpse first.

This meant that if he wanted to seize someone's ability, they either had to be a corpse, or he had to find a way to turn them into one.

Therefore, for a similar ability, the other party must also have similar limitations.

"Besides the birth date and time, there must be other restrictions, otherwise, wouldn't it be too easy to kill anyone?"

After tidying up, Xiao Ran covered the corpse with a white cloth.

At this point, the process was far from over. There were still steps like applying makeup and dressing the body, but Xiao Ran stopped here.

Going further...

Would cost extra money!!

He pulled open the door and saw Uncle Li, Old Zhou, and the boisterous girl waiting outside.

Upon seeing Xiao Ran emerge, Uncle Li hurried over, "It's done."

"Yes, the remaining part is the cosmetic restoration."

"Good, good, good. The rest is simple."

Uncle Li nodded repeatedly. As long as the corpse was repaired, he could consider his job done.

Old Zhou, not entirely at ease, went in to take a look. He then came out and praised, "Good lad, your craftsmanship is superb. In all these years, I've never seen such beautiful work."

Uncle Li, standing nearby, immediately puffed up with pride, as if Old Zhou's words were a compliment to him. "He's not just any random person from outside. He's from the second gate in the alley on North Street. He's got pedigree."

Xiao Ran, standing behind, heard this and his brow twitched. This was some kind of slang.

"Kuan" outside meant an amateur. "Second gate on North Street alley" – "North Street" sounded like "back street" (背街, bèi jiē), implying the underworld, and "second gate" meant he was a second-rate craftsman.

The girl beside them, hearing this, narrowed her eyes into crescent moons and asked with a grin, "Such a big job, there must have been quite a few 'first-tier poles', right?"

The girl's words were one thing, but mentioning this made Old Zhou's face darken as he glanced sideways at the guilty-looking Uncle Li.

"I left an imprint for you on the window paper. You kept the poles waiting to smash the kiln, right? Pay the 'pole-smashing fee' as you should, even the 'second-tier poles' behind will be enough for you to earn."

At these words, Uncle Li's face turned ashen. He glanced nervously at Xiao Ran. Seeing that Xiao Ran still looked bewildered, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Old Zhou was saving him face by using "spring talk" to hint at it. If the truth were revealed, his livelihood as a middleman would be in jeopardy. He then took out his phone and transferred money to Xiao Ran.

"Ding-a-ling!"

The notification of income sounded on Xiao Ran's phone. He clicked on it and gasped, a whopping thirty thousand!!!