After a restless night, Zatanna, with dark circles under her eyes, called Luke.
"Hello, where are we going on this adventure? What kind of magical creatures are there? I need a list."
"The stuff is under your pillow."
Zatanna quickly lifted her pillow and saw the thick envelope, completely dumbfounded. She felt like a clown making her debut, thoroughly played by him.
Bastard!
Zatanna wanted to tear the documents to shreds and beat that immature kid to a pulp, but she ultimately held back and whispered, "When are we leaving? What's the exact location?"
"Tomorrow morning at five. A Cadillac will appear at the circus entrance. Get in the car; you don't need to worry about the rest."
"Got it."
Zatanna mumbled, hung up the phone, and collapsed onto the bed like a fish with its bones removed. She picked up the business card, glanced at it, then tossed it aside like trash. Then she picked up her bank card, thought for a moment, and carefully put it away.
One hundred thousand dollars was no small sum; it could buy a lot of magical materials. With this money, her financial situation would improve considerably.
"Luke Shaw!"
Zatanna muttered to herself, recalling the online comments, and felt a shiver of fear. He had a background in the underworld, held high prestige in Coast City, and at a young age, went to the metropolis to create a social networking platform, becoming a billionaire in less than half a year.
Such a guy was terrifying just to think about.
Zatanna sighed deeply. She had already been targeted, so what good would fear do? Fortunately, the other party was just an ordinary person, and with her magical abilities, she could definitely take him down.
Forget it, I should prepare first!
For her own life, Zatanna spent a day making magical items, filling a large bag with various bottles and jars.
Early the next morning, before dawn, Zatanna, dressed in camping gear and carrying a backpack, appeared at the circus entrance.
At 4:55 AM, a black Cadillac drove up from the intersection ahead. The car stopped in front of Zatanna, the door opened, and a very muscular middle-aged white man stepped out.
The middle-aged man's eyes were cold, chillingly so. Just one look sent a wave of goosebumps down Zatanna's back.
"He's not human, he's not human!"
The girl screamed in her heart, instinctively backing away. That Luke Shaw actually used a corpse puppet as a servant.
Adam seemed to realize something too, a flicker of an odd emotion in his eyes, but he said nothing. He opened the car door, gesturing for her to get in.
How could Zatanna dare to get into a corpse puppet's car? The books stated that corpse puppets were products of soul magic and dark witchcraft, cruel, bloodthirsty, and ruthless. They needed to constantly devour the flesh and blood of living people to maintain their sanity. Moreover, every corpse puppet would spray a large amount of perfume to cover its own stench.
Zatanna wrinkled her nose, a hint of confusion in her eyes.
No perfume smell, no corpse stench!
What's going on?
Could it be that he wasn't a corpse puppet? But those eyes and the magical fluctuations emanating from him were definitely correct; only a corpse puppet would exhibit such characteristics.
"Who are you? Who created you?"
Adam pointed to the car door, "The young master said if we don't reach the airport by 5:30, he'll have me kill you."
"You… are you kidding me? I won't get into a corpse puppet's car."
Adam glanced at his watch, "It's 5:03 now."
His calm words were as indifferent as ever, but they made Zatanna's body stiffen. After a long hesitation, she still sat in the back seat.
The Cadillac started, and twenty minutes later, arrived at Keystone City Airport.
Adam got out and walked into the private jet ahead. Zatanna looked around, gritted her teeth, and followed him in. The plane's interior was luxurious, clearly a high-end model.
The girl placed her backpack on the counter and couldn't help but say to Luke, who was feigning sleep in his seat,
"That corpse puppet, did you create him?"
"Corpse puppet?"
Luke opened his eyes, puzzled, "What corpse puppet?"
"The big guy who brought me here. Don't tell me you don't know who he is."
Luke shook his head, "He's not a corpse puppet; he's a cyborg. He lost his human emotions due to certain reasons."
Zatanna angrily retorted, "Do you think I'm stupid? The magical fluctuations from him are so obvious; only a corpse puppet possessed by a soul would emit such energy."
Luke raised an eyebrow, quite surprised. As expected of a descendant of a magical family, she saw through Adam's identity at a glance. However, he would never admit to such a thing, even if it killed him. Dark witchcraft was taboo in the magical world; once it spread, it would bring endless trouble.
"Miss Magician, don't treat me like a magic idiot. Corpse puppets maintain their sanity by devouring human blood, and their bodies emit a foul odor. Did you smell any stench from Adam?"
Zatanna froze for a moment. She had observed him several times in the car, and the big guy indeed had no odor. His skin was also very elastic, not like a corpse.
Did I misinterpret it?
The girl mumbled to herself, her expression full of doubt.
Luke put on his eye mask and ignored her.
The plane took off, heading towards the Mississippi River basin. After an hour of flight, it landed at a private airport. The three got off the plane and into a BMW that was waiting nearby.
Adam acted as the driver, Luke continued to sleep, and Zatanna carefully observed the big guy in front.
No corpse spots, no corpse odor, normal heartbeat, normal breathing, and elastic skin with no signs of swelling. Did I really misinterpret it?
But what about that unique magical fluctuation?
Zatanna became increasingly unsure, her head pounding. Unable to figure it out, she simply stopped thinking about it and, imitating Luke, closed her eyes and lay back in the seat to sleep.
The car left the airport, traversed the scenic Mississippi River, and sped along a sparsely populated forest road. After an hour and a half of driving, a road sign appeared ahead, reading "Greenland Town."
The road to the town was very bad, bumpy and covered with puddles. The three could only park the car in a nearby parking lot and proceed on foot.
Zatanna looked at the road sign and couldn't help but say, "I didn't expect your destination to be here!"
"You know about it?"
Zatanna nodded, her expression somewhat serious.
"Greenland Town, the entrance to the Swamp Forest, is very famous in the American magical world."
"Is that so?"
Luke smiled indifferently, thinking that a wilderness like this wasn't even on the map, so how could it be famous? Zatanna snorted and explained,
"The town itself is nothing, but the key is the adjacent Swamp Forest. It's said that the forest has strong magical power, and places where magic gathers often give birth to powerful magical creatures. No magical creature has goodwill towards humans, so the Swamp Forest is also known as a human forbidden zone."
"I don't know what your purpose is for going in, but I warn you, you'd better be careful."
The three left the road, and the deeper they went, the denser the vegetation became. They could even see traces of wild animals.
After passing through a patch of woods, the scene ahead suddenly opened up. A stone bridge stood over a stream, and looking beyond the bridge, a cluster of medieval-style buildings abruptly came into view.
Greenland Town, they had arrived.
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