The Wicked System: Path of the Devourer Chapter 14 Midnight Ritual

In the slums of the bustling metropolis, a dilapidated and chaotic urban village housed people from all walks of life.

Since his parents passed away, Zhang Wenbin had been drifting from place to place. The room he currently rented cost 400 a month, which was considered the most run-down type even within the urban village, and he had to use a public toilet.

The 10-square-meter single room had nothing but a mattress on the floor and some messy clothes thrown around. The only electrical appliance was an old fan left by the landlord. There was neither a table nor a chair, so he had to sit on the floor to eat.

Closing the door, Zhang Wenbin set his alarm and lay down to rest.

At ten o'clock in the evening, the Godfather System issued instructions. Zhang Wenbin immediately ran out to buy the items needed for performing the ritual according to his godfather's requirements.

The yellow paper for drawing talismans was easy to find. For rooster blood, he just went to the vegetable market to have two roosters killed. Cinnabar was bought at a pharmacy and was extremely expensive. It was Zhang Wenbin's first time knowing that rabbit feces were actually a type of Chinese medicine, called moon-gazing sand.

"Cow tears…" Fortunately, Zhang Wenbin was a local. Although the requested item was weird, he ran to a slaughterhouse in the suburbs, spent a hundred yuan, and the people there agreed to his strange request. Having spent an hour or so, he barely managed to collect a few drops.

As for the eyes and nose of a dog, he just went to a dog meat restaurant to buy them. An incense burner made of red copper was relatively rare. He ran to the area around the funeral parlor and searched for a long time before he found one. It was very small but crucially cost him 200.

Having run across half of Binhai City, he bought a bunch of things in bags large and small. By the time he returned to his rented room, it was almost midnight.

With only a few dozen yuan left in his pocket, Zhang Wenbin said tearfully, "Godfather, if the skills you teach me can't make money, your son will have to go hungry tomorrow."

[Godfather System: Bullshit, which of the tens of thousands of wronged souls was not a hero of their time! The Vile Arts are not inferior to any orthodox Daoist methods. Casually teaching you some skills will definitely allow you to make a name for yourself.]

"Yes, yes, the godfathers are mighty." Zhang Wenbin thought to himself that the Godfather System should be more reliable; no matter what, it must be better than that Sunflower Manual from before.

Following the instructions of the Godfather System, Zhang Wenbin burned incense in the burner, lit a fire underneath it, and then put those weird objects into it in order, trying hard to control the heat.

After finally adding the cinnabar, he got half a burner of blood-red liquid. Then, according to his godfather's guidance, he began to draw talismans.

This was a technical job. Zhang Wenbin's hand was sore from writing, and after an hour, all the ones he drew were ruined. If he hadn't bought enough yellow paper, he would have had to make another trip.

He drew a full thousand talismans before the Godfather System finally picked one that looked pleasing to the eye. However, it sighed: [Godfather System: The materials nowadays are much inferior to those in the past, but it's fine for making do.]

"I didn't buy fakes, did I?" Zhang Wenbin was terrified when he heard this. If he had to redraw them, not to mention being tired as a dog, he wouldn't have any money left to buy raw materials.

[Godfather System: Some things are not very good, but they can be used to make do!]

Following its instructions, Zhang Wenbin chanted a scripture that even he himself didn't know what it meant, burned the talisman, and then drank the talisman ashes mixed with water.

The ring on his hand suddenly gave off a burst of golden light, and lines, like living creatures, drilled into Zhang Wenbin's mind. Zhang Wenbin lay down in pain, feeling as if his brain was about to burst.

When the pain subsided, he was covered in cold sweat. However, he was surprised to find that there were many more things in his mind, existing naturally as if he intuitively understood them.

[Godfather System: These are all the skills of your godfathers. As for how to use them, it depends on your own fortune. Remember, you cannot use them after dawn.]

After saying that, the Godfather System fell asleep. Zhang Wenbin sat cross-legged and closed his eyes. In his mind were various Heretical Dao methods, including well-known techniques like the Five Ghosts Moving Wealth.

The problem was that techniques like this required a lot of preparation. First of all, you needed to dig up a corpse and nourish its soul. Just this point alone made Zhang Wenbin feel it was too difficult, not to mention other messy and more impressive black magic, the preparation for which was ridiculously tedious.

"Forget it, I'll figure it out as I go."

Equipped with a body full of skills, yet not knowing how to use them to make money, and considering they couldn't be used after dawn, Zhang Wenbin sighed heavily. Carrying the few dozen yuan he had left, he went downstairs.

As an international metropolis, Binhai City was a sleepless city with too many places of luxury and indulgence. Even the urban village was still bustling with activity in the early hours of the morning.

For the Wicked System to make money, the methods naturally involved swindling and bluffing. Moreover, it only sought ill-gotten wealth and never cared about making money righteously.

Opposite the urban village was the glittering Tianlong Hotel, a famous five-star hotel in Binhai City. The people going in and out of here were either rich or noble. It was a place Zhang Wenbin could only look up to before but dared not approach.

Subconsciously taking a look, Zhang Wenbin suddenly found it very interesting. Previously, he only thought this hotel was beautiful, but now upon closer inspection, the architectural design of the hotel was quite unique.

With a square layout, the structure on the roof looked weird but was actually a golden knob. The overall shape of the hotel resembled a golden seal pressing on paper, symbolizing authority and also proving that something unclean was suppressed underneath.

Interesting, a Golden Seal on Paper. This is the work of an expert in Daoism.

Zhang Wenbin saw through the mystery at a glance and was immediately excited in his heart. With the Golden Seal on Paper layout, there must be a collection of golden talismans hidden. Finding that gold could probably sell for a lot of money.

As for destroying the other party's Fengshui layout, it didn't matter. It was purely bad luck for them to encounter him.

Just as Zhang Wenbin approached the entrance of the Tianlong Hotel, a tall security guard came over, glanced at him, and asked, "Sir, do you need anything?"

The words were polite, but the tone was extremely stiff. Coupled with that condescending look as if interrogating a prisoner, it was a typical case of a snob looking down on someone.

After all, Zhang Wenbin's outfit was really shabby. Anyone could tell at a glance that these were cheap clothes from a street stall, completely out of place in this area.

Zhang Wenbin felt somewhat annoyed, but he still smiled and said, "Big brother, my friend and I were enjoying the cool breeze at the intersection, and my stomach hurts a bit. I want to borrow the toilet."

"Borrow the toilet?? What kind of place do you think this is?"

The security guard snorted disdainfully, "Our toilets here are cleaner than your home. The toilets are imported; do you think someone like you can afford to use them? Get lost."

"Young man, you don't know the immensity of heaven and earth to dare speak to your grandfather like that."

Zhang Wenbin's face showed an eerie anger. His voice instantly became extremely strange, hoarse with a hint of what sounded like bones rubbing together. This kind of voice made people's hair stand on end just from hearing it.

The security guard was startled. The pupils of the poor ghost in front of him had turned red. As he opened his palm, a cloud of what seemed like black mist floated. The mist exuded a gloomy chill, as if it were a living creature.

"Little bastard, have you ever been possessed by a ghost?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the black shadow on Zhang Wenbin's palm vanished. The tall security guard seemed to have been frozen by someone; his eyes were hollow and lifeless, and he stood motionless like a mannequin.

When he shivered and woke up, his face was filled with fear and a bit of panic: "Immortal, you are so powerful."

Zhang Wenbin snorted coldly, "No need to brag. Start working for me now. After my business is done, this guy can be taken as your scapegoat."

The security guard's expression completely changed. Full of pleasant surprise, he said respectfully, "It is my fortune that you look highly upon me, Immortal. Speaking of which, this little security guard deserves to die for being a snob. He even dared to provoke you, Immortal; he must be tired of living."

When passing through the intersection, Zhang Wenbin had noticed this guy—a lonely ghost lingering at the crossroad. He had only been dead for a few years and his cultivation wasn't deep enough. Let alone looking for a scapegoat, it was impossible for him to even possess someone.

Demons, monsters, ghosts, and fiends were also divided into levels. For a guy like this, Zhang Wenbin could make his soul dissipate with a single finger.

"Yes, yes, please follow me first, Immortal!"

The security guard said stealthily. He took Zhang Wenbin to a side door nearby, brought out a set of security uniforms, and said, "Please change into this first, Immortal. There are many people inside and it's complicated, with other security guards around. It's more convenient to do things wearing the uniform."

"You're very familiar with this place?" Zhang Wenbin, having changed into the security uniform, couldn't help but ask seeing this guy's familiar demeanor.

"To be honest with you, Immortal, I used to do a little business. I lost all my money in the casino of this hotel and was heavily in debt. With no way out, I committed suicide."

Zhang Wenbin took out a compass and said, "Go southwest, the Gen position."

"This, I don't really understand." The security guard hesitated and said in a difficult position, "I know the direction, but I can't quite get the exact spot right, so please bear with me, Immortal."

"It's fine, just keep walking towards the southwest."

The Gen position in the southwest direction was found, but Zhang Wenbin was a little dumbfounded because this was a green area enclosed by huge bulletproof glass, about ten square meters in size.

Zhang Wenbin gritted his teeth, because he was 100% sure this was one of the burial spots of the golden talismans: "Is there any way to get in?"

The one possessing the body read the security guard's memory and shook his head, saying, "This is bulletproof glass. It is said that the green plants inside are very expensive and are Fengshui ornaments. You can only go in through that small door to take care of it, but the key is in the general manager's hands. He has always handled this matter personally."

"Fuck, then let's go to the Kun position."

The Kun position was between the main building and the annex. It was a huge fish pond for sightseeing. Although it wasn't enclosed, there were railings around it, making it difficult to approach.

There were quite a few people coming and going in the hotel. It would be very difficult to get the golden talismans out unnoticed under the watchful eyes of the public. Zhang Wenbin gritted his teeth and said, "Damn it, the person who set this up has a strong sense of security and is keeping up with the times. When is this pool cleaned?"

"This is living water, rarely cleaned. If it is cleaned, the general manager or the chairman will usually be here watching."

Looking at the other locations, the general manager's office and the finance room were also highly guarded, crowded places where it was not easy to strike.

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