Chapter 33: Halloween Odd Jobs

Two days later, Ma Zhaodi returned to work at the restaurant. This time, however, he followed his supervisor's advice and brought a second, modified wheelchair to work.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, he could tell that his colleagues were collectively relieved to see he hadn't driven that car to work.

When Santos and the others saw him, they immediately waved him over. "Ma Zhaodi, have you seen the news?"

Glancing at the newspaper in Santos's hand, he asked instinctively, "What's wrong? Did Richard Daniel get exposed?"

Santos’s previously animated expression instantly slumped. "Huh? You already knew?"

"On my way home from target practice this weekend, I ran into some poor devil who got riddled with bullets. I ended up spending half the night at the Gotham Police Department giving a statement, and I happened to learn the name of that poor soul—the president of the Gotham Bank."

"Wow, that's so like you," Santos said, his interest piqued again. "You managed to stumble upon something like that? Did you see anything?"

"I wish I hadn't... No, other than a gun barrel sticking out of a window and a black car with no plates and reflective tint, I didn't see a thing." Ma Zhaodi shook his head. "Those people are ruthless enough to kill in broad daylight. Curiosity kills the cat, and I don't have nine lives."

"Oh, I suppose that’s true..."

Castro joined the conversation. "Instead of thinking about that, why not consider something else? Like how you're going to spend Halloween?"

"Oh, speaking of that..." Rick chimed in, excited. "Does anyone want to come to my Halloween party? The kind without the supervisor or Donald there."

Castro immediately responded, "Heck yeah!"

Ma Zhaodi had never attended an American-style party, but he knew well enough that a gathering of gangsters likely wouldn't be filled with upstanding citizens, and the refreshments probably wouldn't be limited to just beer and pizza—likely involving debauchery and drugs.

"I’ll pass," he said, shaking his head. "As you can see, I'm dirt poor, so I've got work to do on Halloween night."

"Hey, don't be such a buzzkill!" Rick protested. "It’s hard enough to get a holiday; why would anyone choose to pick up extra shifts at a time like this?"

"I have to make a living," Ma Zhaodi sighed. "You guys know I just bought that car recently..."

"Alright, alright." Castro surrendered immediately. Ma Zhaodi was certain that all three of them had shivered in unison the moment he mentioned the car.

It was hilarious—they had been discussing the Halloween party, but the moment he brought up showing up in his "death car," they all lost their nerve. A classic case of people claiming to love dragons until they actually see one.

Though, saying he had work wasn't entirely a lie. The system had actually given him three part-time jobs.

***

**Halloween Pumpkin Lantern**
Task Description: Don't overthink it; a customer simply needs a pumpkin lantern. There is a reward for doing it well, and no penalty for doing it poorly.
Note: Low risk, high reward. This job was specifically left for you.
Status: Pending (0/1)
Reward: A small, portable pumpkin lantern that never goes out. Carrying it can scare away some weak demons—don't worry, it's not a magical item from this world and requires no price to be paid.

**Halloween Heart-Arsonist**
Task Description: Mr. Harvey has some unplanned work to do tonight, which means he has no time to accompany his family. Perhaps you could take over this job for him?
Note: In Gotham City, some jobs are done for the sake of guts. Mr. Ma, do you want to be a nobody? Or do you want to be world-famous?
Status: Incomplete (0%)
Reward: Settled based on task completion; every 1% is converted into 200 dollars of asset points.

**Halloween Takeout Service**
Task Description: You might not believe it, but in Gotham City, there are indeed people who have it worse than Gordon, Harvey, or even Batman. For such poor souls, an extra-large Burger King takeout is like a holiday feast.
Note: Born on Monday, christened on Tuesday, wed on Wednesday, took ill on Thursday, grew worse on Friday, died on Saturday, buried on Sunday—that’s the end of the life. Remember to bring a gas mask.
Status: Incomplete (0/1)
Reward: Intermediate Cooking Mastery and the customer's friendship.

***

Three jobs in one night—even the King of Hell would praise my stamina.

The rewards were excellent: a demon-repelling pumpkin lantern that never goes out, up to twenty thousand dollars in asset points, and Intermediate Cooking Mastery—which costs three thousand asset points in the store, five hundred more than Intermediate Car Driving.

"One takeout mission is worth half a month of hard labor. Sigh, there are differences even among the working class."

Better get to it. Only a saint could resist not taking this deal.

***

During his break, his colleagues noticed him busy measuring and carving a pumpkin with a utility knife.

"Hey, Ma Zhaodi, where did you get that pumpkin?" Santos sat down next to him with an apple. "You didn't take it from the kitchen, did you?"

"It's my own. Aren't there rules against taking ingredients from the kitchen?" Ma Zhaodi replied casually, his knife darting up and down, shaving away pieces of skin and pulp from the small pumpkin.

"Are you making a jack-o'-lantern?"

"Yeah, it's Halloween. Maybe someone will buy them if I make a few."

"Uh..."

"What?"

Rick, passing by, glanced at the pumpkin in Ma Zhaodi's hands. As the knife carved away, a twisted, grimacing face slowly emerged.

"Is this... your first time carving a pumpkin?"

"Does it look bad? I think I'm doing pretty well."

Ma Zhaodi looked at the small pumpkin in his hands. The twisted, painful expression seemed to possess a unique artistic flair—a touch of Millet's classicism, a hint of Monet’s impressionism, traces of Matisse’s fauvism, Munch’s expressionism, Balla’s futurism, Picasso’s cubism, and Dali’s surrealism all seemed embodied in this tiny pumpkin. In a word...

"That is one ugly jack-o'-lantern," Rick said ruthlessly. "That is literally the ugliest pumpkin I have ever seen in my life."

Ma Zhaodi shrugged. "It’s just a pumpkin lantern anyway. Carving it to look funny might attract more buyers. There are so many 'pretty' ones out there, but hardly any that are this ugly. You have to take an unconventional path to be memorable."

"Fair enough. Gotham isn't short on weirdos; maybe there really is someone who likes this kind of thing... Come to think of it, have you considered carving a giant pumpkin? A head this ugly would be terrifying."

"Good idea. When the time comes, I'll wear this pumpkin head and steal candy from the kids."