Grandpa hadn't given me Christoph's address. Since I was new here, I had to ask Chloe—she'd been living in Vervecity for a few years, so she should be familiar with the place.
Chloe seemed a little strange and asked why I was looking for the crematorium. Isn't it to give her a tattoo?
Of course, I didn't dare tell her the truth. The pigments used in that tattoo could scare an ordinary person to death. So I lied and said I was looking for the crematorium's owner, a man named Christoph, and that it was urgent. As for her tattoo, I'd have to do it at noon instead.
Chloe didn't give me a hard time and gave me directions. She said there was a crematorium about a dozen kilometers to the west, though she wasn't sure if the owner was named Christoph.
Good grief, the crematorium had to be built in such a special location. Heading west like this—wasn't that where the dead were supposed to go?
I thanked Chloe and reminded her to come back at noon. After she left, I took a car there. About ten kilometers later, I spotted the crematorium.
The place was quite large but located in a desolate area—more rural than suburban. Then again, crematoriums should be built in places like this.
Once I got out of the car, the driver turned around and sped off—much faster than when we'd arrived.
Inside the crematorium, three men were moving corpses, but they were all mute. When I asked who Christoph was, they pointed to a room deeper inside.
I knocked on the door and called out, "Is Christoph here?"
A weak, wheezing old man's voice answered from inside, telling me to wait—he'd be quick.
From the sounds and commotion, he was clearly conducting business. This Christoph was a real weirdo—doing that in a crematorium? Wasn't he afraid of bad luck? How much could a hotel room possibly cost?
About eight minutes later, a small, elderly man stepped out. His face was fierce, with two scars on his forehead. He looked about ten years younger than my grandfather and wasn't very tall.
He was drenched in sweat and panting heavily when he emerged. I glanced past him into the room and realized it wasn't a living person lying inside—it was a female corpse. The sight horrified me, and I quickly looked away.
This old man was truly disgusting. I never expected him to be into that. How could Grandpa have introduced me to someone like this?
"Kid, what do you want?" Christoph asked, lighting a post-coital cigarette and taking a drag.
I cut to the chase. "I need cadaver blood, cremains, and corpse oil."
Christoph bared his yellowed smoker's teeth and grinned at me. "Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts? Rhett's grandson, right?"
I nodded. It seemed this old man knew my grandfather and was familiar with Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts. Since he ran a crematorium here, these materials would be easy for him to obtain. Maybe he'd been working with my grandfather for years.
Christoph didn't waste time. Within minutes, he brought out three bamboo tubes identical to the ones my grandfather had given me.
"Four thousand for the cadaver blood, three thousand each for the other two—ten thousand total!" Christoph said.
Damn, that's expensive. And why was the cadaver blood a thousand more?
Christoph scoffed. "Expensive, my ass. These three tubes of pigment can tattoo at least five Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts. If you're frugal, you could even stretch it to seven. Even at 10,000, that's still 70,000—a 60,000 profit after costs."
As for the cadaver blood being pricier, he explained that blood coagulates after death, making it harder to collect.
Since Christoph seemed well-versed in our craft, I figured haggling was pointless. I bought them anyway. I'd made 30,000 yesterday, but now 10,000 was already gone.
With the pigments in hand, I prepared to leave. Staying in a place like this too long felt unlucky and unsettling.
But before I'd taken more than a few steps, Christoph called me back. Smirking, he asked, "You wanna make real money?"
I nodded desperately. "I do. I dream of it. I need to earn a hundred million to save my grandfather."
Christoph said if I wanted big money, I should do Yin-inspired Tattoos. Yang-themed Tattoos were just small-time peacekeeping work.
I shook my head. "No way. Yin-inspired Tattoos are taboo. I can't do them!"
Christoph laughed again. "Taboo, my ass. I know the rules of Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts. Sure, you can't tattoo ghosts, but where's the real taboo? Your grandfather did plenty back in the day."
Besides, he added, why was I so hung up on morals now? As long as it wasn't illegal, Yin-inspired Tattoos paid way more than Yang-themed ones.
He wasn't wrong. Yang-themed Tattoos usually cost 10,000 to 30,000, but Yin-inspired ones could fetch 100,000 to a million—their effects were far more potent, though undeniably darker.
But Grandpa had explicitly forbidden Yin-inspired Tattoos. How could Christoph claim otherwise? He even insisted Grandpa had done them before. Since it was my first time meeting him, I didn't know whether to believe him.
As I left, Christoph kept pushing. "Think about Yin-inspired Tattoos. I've got plenty of pigments for those too!" He handed me his number, saying I wouldn't need to come back—he'd deliver straight to my door.
Yin-inspired Tattoos use ghosts as pigments—does that mean this old man sells ghosts too?
Looking at his crematorium, I felt a chill down my spine and hurried away.
On the way back, I kept calculating. Whether Christoph was telling the truth or not, if I only did Yang-themed Tattoos, earning a hundred million in three years would be nearly impossible.
Even at an average of 20,000 per Tattoo of Gods and Ghosts, I'd need to complete 5,000 orders. That's an unrealistic amount of business. But if I did Yin-inspired Tattoos, I could make money ten times faster.
Suddenly, my resolve wavered. Maybe I should try Yin-inspired Tattoos after all?
When I got home, Chloe hadn't arrived yet, but Olivia showed up early. Her greed was unbelievable—she claimed one Tattoo of Gods and Ghosts wasn't enough and demanded more.
As I'd mentioned before, these tattoos have various effects, one of which is enhancing romantic appeal.
Olivia wanted every boss, every director—no, every man—to be mesmerized by her. She wanted all wealthy men to fall at her feet, obedient as dogs.
I nearly laughed out loud. This woman's obsession with money has driven her mad, hasn't it?
Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts aren't magic. The so-called "peach blossom attraction" only slightly boosts your charm. If she wanted to enslave every rich man, I didn't have that kind of power.
Besides, Olivia was already doing well—she had money and drove a BMW. Why such insatiable greed?
Olivia scoffed. What do I know? She was trading on her youth. Did I think those men supporting her actually loved her? In a few years, they'd discard her, and she'd lose everything—no more designer bags, no more luxury clothes. She ate bird's nest and abalone daily—how could she ever return to cheap food?
Everyone knew her as high society now. If she fell from grace, she'd rather die. So she had to exploit her youth, amassing wealth and securing powerful backers.
She wanted to reign supreme. She wanted endless money. She wanted all men to worship her.
What a shallow, gold-digging woman! What could I say? May you find happiness soon.
Olivia wouldn't leave until she got her way. She was convinced my tattoos could fulfill her fantasy, insisting money was no object—she'd pay any price if it worked.
Truthfully, Yang-themed Tattoos couldn't achieve that. But... Yin-inspired ones could.
There is a Yin-inspired Tattoo called Nine-Tailed Fox Demon that can infinitely enhance a woman's charm and romantic appeal. At its peak effect, it can even make a woman become adored by millions. Just...
Yin-inspired Tattoos are sinister, and Grandfather explicitly forbade them. For now, I hadn't decided whether to do it or not.
Olivia noticed my hesitation—she saw money alone wasn't enough to sway me, so she raised the stakes.
"Roger," she said, "if you tattoo another Tattoo of Gods and Ghosts on me, not only will I pay you well, but tonight...I can be yours too. Don't tell me you've never wanted my body?"
It was true—I felt nothing for Olivia as a person. If anything, I found her somewhat repulsive. But her body? I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about it.
I never expected Olivia to make such an offer. Now I was torn—should I do the tattoo or not?
If I did it, I'd get both money and her. But what if something went wrong? If I refused, I'd be letting a fortune slip away—and Olivia clearly had plenty to spend.