A Four-Million-Dollar Hire

Johnny had not wanted to get involved at first, but when he heard that the woman he loved might be in danger, he could no longer worry about much else.

His current condition was far too unstable, and he could hurt the people around him at any moment. The man in front of him seemed to know a great deal, and he had pitched his services with such confidence that he probably had some real ability.

He asked, "How much do you want?"

Seeing that Johnny had taken the bait, Xiahou gave a faint, devilish smile. "That depends on how much you're willing to pay. I'll be helping you deal with two demons and looking after your ex-girlfriend!"

Johnny thought for a moment, then said, "I can only give you four million. That's everything I have! But you have to keep Roxanne safe!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a quest notification appeared for Xiahou.

Side quest triggered: Help Johnny Blaze

Quest objective: Keep Roxanne Simpson safe and assist Johnny Blaze in defeating or killing Blackheart and Mephisto's avatar.

Quest rewards: 10,000 energy points, 20 random draws.

The generous rewards were already comparable to what he had earned in the previous one or two months! And there was cash to be made, too! Wouldn't that give him the money to buy a house?

After accepting the quest, Xiahou assured Johnny, "All right! I'll take the job! You can put your mind at ease. I guarantee I'll take care of everything! I won't charge you a deposit this time. I trust your character! Just remember to transfer the money to me when it's done!"

Johnny nodded, then asked, "Do you have a plan?"

Xiahou had no intention of changing the plot. Wouldn't it be better to just wait for Blackheart and Mephisto to come to them?

Thinking he still needed to give his new employer some confidence, he said, "There's no need for a plan. Just go straight back and find your ex-girlfriend. I'll protect her, and then you go out and lure Blackheart in!"

At that, he patted Johnny on the shoulder and continued, "He'll come looking for you! After all, you're his father's number one enforcer! If he wants to stir up trouble, he has to kill you first! And..."

Xiahou paused and looked at Slade, who had been watching the show from the side. "Old man, give me your San Venganza Contract! You can't use it anyway! We might as well use it as bait!"

Slade hesitated only briefly before breaking open his shovel. He took out the contract hidden inside and handed it to Xiahou. "Then you keep it safe! Do you need my help?"

After taking the contract, Xiahou put it straight into his game inventory. As long as he didn't take it out, no one could get it.

He replied to Slade, "There's nothing I need your help with. Haven't you lost the ability to keep fighting? But if you want to come along and watch the show, that's fine!"

Slade wasn't offended by Xiahou's words. He really had lost the ability to keep fighting, and he had just overheard Xiahou's conversation with Ancient One. He was more than willing to come along and watch the show!

He quickly said, "I'm coming! I've been here for decades. It's time I went out and had a look! I might not get another chance!"

Johnny was a little bewildered. What kind of shady deal are you two making? And what was that contract just now?

Seeing his expression, Xiahou called him back to his senses. "Hey! Wake up! Stop spacing out. Let's go find your ex-girlfriend!"

But when the three were ready to set off, they ran into a problem. Slade only had a horse, and when he couldn't transform during the day, there was no way he could keep up with the two of them.

Xiahou looked at Slade, who was staring at him, clearly expecting him to solve the problem. "Why are you looking at me? Don't expect me to give you a ride! I won't let a man sit behind me, especially not an old man! Let Johnny take you!"

Johnny ←_← What's that supposed to mean? If you don't want to carry him, do you think I do? Though he was a million times unwilling, he didn't want to waste time, so he let Slade ride with him.

The three sped toward the city! Along the way, Slade, sitting behind Johnny and thinking he had nothing else to do anyway, shared a great deal of his experience with him and warned him about several things to watch out for when transforming.

Meanwhile, Xiahou pondered whether to kill Blackheart outright or wait until he had absorbed the souls, as in the original plot, before killing him.

He just didn't know whether he could beat him as he was now. The movie had shown too little in that regard, leaving him with no standard by which to measure their respective strength.

Although he could recklessly charge in, if he couldn't win and got killed, there would be a delay before he revived. It would be bad to miss an important part of the plot, so he decided to play it safe and observe first.

It took the three of them a full four hours to return to the city. Johnny hadn't refueled once along the way, while Xiahou alone had stopped for gas three times. It seemed Johnny's motorcycle remained modified even during the day!

Xiahou wanted an even better vehicle or mount now. He would get one that night!

At that moment, many people in the city were still gathered around the road Johnny had damaged the day before. Quite a few had come from elsewhere after hearing about it.

Even though the city's cops were doing their best to maintain order and keep people from getting close,

they had little success. Johnny's ex-girlfriend Roxanne was there as well, recording a news report in front of a camera.

When the three arrived nearby, Johnny spotted Roxanne at once and hurried over to greet her.

Roxanne, whom he had stood up again the day before, didn't give him a friendly look. Instead, she ignored everything he said.

But his persistence finally made her a little impatient, and she said to Johnny, "I don't want to hear any more of your explanations! And I'm planning to leave here tomorrow! Please stop bothering me!"

Johnny looked pained when he heard that. He turned to Xiahou, signaling for him to help explain.

Catching Johnny's look, Xiahou stepped up in front of Roxanne and said, "Hello, beautiful! You're right! He's a scumbag! I'm on your side! Just let him fend for himself!"

Johnny wore an expression that said, Are you messing with me? He wanted to make another attempt, but Roxanne got into the news van beside her and told the cameraman to drive away.

Slade patted Johnny on the shoulder. "All right, stop looking! She's gone far away, and it's a good thing for her to stay away from you right now. Besides, Xiahou has already followed her. Don't worry!"

Johnny looked around and saw that Xiahou really was nowhere in sight. He had been about to complain to Xiahou for kicking him while he was down!

In Roxanne's news van, she looked speechlessly at Xiahou, who was sitting beside her, and asked, "Who are you? And when did you get in?"

It turned out that Xiahou had quietly put his vehicle away and slipped into the van from the other side as Roxanne got in.

He introduced himself with a smile. "Hello, Roxanne! My name's Xiahou. Johnny hired me to protect you! He paid four million! Tsk, tsk! He may be a scumbag, but he really does love you! And he hasn't fooled around with any other women, either."

Roxanne let out a startled cry, then shouted in agitation, "What? Four million? Why would he spend so much money to have you protect me? What trouble has he gotten into now? Or is someone coming to hurt me?"

Xiahou pointed at the cameraman in front, who was actually eavesdropping. "We'd better discuss that in private. You wouldn't want to drag this eavesdropping gentleman into it, would you? His life could be in danger!"

Roxanne immediately fell silent. After suppressing her curiosity, she said to the cameraman, "Take us back to the hotel first, and then you can get off work."

The cameraman asked worriedly, "Are you sure you don't need me to stay with you? We still haven't confirmed who he is!"

Roxanne looked again at Xiahou sitting beside her. Seeing how harmless he looked, she couldn't understand why hiring him would cost four million.

But she still asked, "Mr. Xiahou, how can you prove what you're saying is true?"

Xiahou took out his phone and contacted Johnny directly. After explaining the situation, he handed it to Roxanne.

Roxanne took the phone, and Johnny's voice came through.

"Listen, Roxanne, I know you don't want to talk to me right now, but I really did hire Xiahou to protect you. And I really didn't mean to do that yesterday!"

Hearing that Johnny really had hired Xiahou, Roxanne hung up without listening to any more of Johnny's explanation.

She said to the cameraman, "All right, it's confirmed. Take us back to the hotel first!"