America: The Cremator

Looking at the gentle smile on Sergei's face, Sulong inserted the silver-tungsten alloy dagger, which now belonged to him, back into the slot on the wall.

"Mr. Sergei, are you sure this isn't a joke you made up on the spot?"

"When I first stepped into the tavern upstairs, you didn't even know me. And now, in just a few minutes, Miss Dania is going to condescend to invite me to dinner?"

Sergei bowed slightly: "I apologize, Mr. Suron, I only just received the news myself."

"I do not know you, but Miss Dania has been watching you for a long time."

"She called me immediately when your name appeared on our store's internal transaction list."

Sergei paused, looking at Suron with an undisguised sincerity in his deep gray eyes: "Mr. Suron, believe me, Miss Dania has absolutely no ill intentions towards you."

"Not only that, she's the most beautiful woman in all of Seattle. You should really consider this opportunity to get top-notch weapons for free and have dinner with such a beauty."

Surong narrowed his eyes. He didn't answer immediately, but turned to Hannah, who had remained silent, and asked, "Hannah, this Miss Dania wants to invite me to dinner. Do you have any leads?"

Hannah shook her head, a hint of confusion on her face. "I don't know either. Miss Dania didn't mention it to me... but she's a very nice person. You won't be in any danger if you go to see her."

Upon hearing Hannah's assurance, Suron nodded and looked back at Sergei: "Then I'll go take a look."

He then pointed to the complete set of tactical equipment that Sergei had brought out: "Can I carry these weapons with me?"

"Of course," Sergei replied immediately, then gestured for him to enter. "Your car is waiting for you outside."

Surong put the dagger and the entire armor belt into his equipment bag, said a brief goodbye to Hannah and Sergei, and then turned and walked up the steps he had come from.

When he pushed open the heavy wooden door of the tavern, a black Range Rover was quietly parked on the side of the road. A driver wearing a black suit and white gloves saw Su Long come out and immediately went forward to open the back door for him, welcoming Su Long into the car with great respect.

The car started smoothly and soon merged into the crowded and noisy traffic of Chinatown, eventually heading towards downtown Seattle.

The vehicle eventually stopped in front of the main entrance of the Fairmont Olympic Hotel, which features a gilded revolving door.

Following the lead of another waiter who was already waiting there, Surong walked through the hotel lobby, which was covered with expensive Persian carpets and had huge crystal chandeliers hanging from the dome, and took the private elevator all the way to the top floor of the hotel.

Pushing open a heavy oak double door, one finds an extremely luxurious private room behind it. Outside the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, the bustling cityscape of Seattle unfolds before one's eyes, with Pike Place Market nearby and Puget Sound in the distance.

In the center of the room, a long dining table large enough to seat twelve people was now set with only two sets of exquisite silver cutlery.

Every dish on the table is a signature dish of a top-tier restaurant.

The meal includes black cod marinated in sake and miso and then grilled until the skin is slightly charred; a rich soup made with plenty of Dungeness crab meat and cream; smoked salmon made from only the fattest cuts; top-quality American Wagyu beef that has been dry-aged for four weeks; venison that has been slow-cooked in red wine and spices for over eight hours; and a complete set of English afternoon tea.

Even Su Long, who lived a relatively affluent life before his transmigration, rarely attended banquets of this caliber.

Across the table, a young girl sat quietly.

She looked to be only about twenty years old, with a head of brilliant golden hair casually draped over her shoulders, and skin that was as white as fine porcelain.

Compared to typical Western Europeans with high noses and deep-set eyes, her facial features are much softer, yet more three-dimensional than those of Asians with gentle features. Her eye sockets are not as deep-set as those of ordinary white people, and her eyebrows are just the right amount of thin.

With just one glance, Surong realized that Sergei's statement, "the most beautiful woman in Seattle," seemed to be no exaggeration at all.

Just as Su Long was sizing her up, the woman also raised her head, her bright blue eyes looking at him. Then, she kicked the empty chair next to her away and patted the velvet cushion on the chair surface.

"Come and sit down."

She spoke in a clear, crisp voice, with a carefree and straightforward quality.

These actions and words gave Su Long a sense of absurdity, as if he were not in the most luxurious hotel suite in Seattle, but in a roadside barbecue stall in Northeast China, where a kind-hearted Northeastern woman was patting a plastic stool and warmly inviting him to come over for a couple of drinks.

He walked forward silently and sat down in the chair she had photographed.

He had barely settled in when the blonde woman next to him pressed herself against him, and a cool, refreshing scent, like that of pine trees on a winter morning, filled his nostrils.

"You're Su Long?"

She was very close, so close that Su Long could clearly see his reflection in her bright blue eyes.

Surong subtly leaned back, creating some distance, and then nodded: "Yes, Miss Dania."

Dania smiled, reached out and picked up a glass of purified water from the table, and handed it to Suron.

She didn't speak, but simply stared at Su Long with her clear blue eyes, as if anticipating his next reaction.

Su Long shook his head: "Sorry, I don't really like drinking purified water."

Upon hearing this answer, Dania's face instantly lit up with a smile, as if the rainy Seattle had suddenly cleared up, so bright it was almost dazzling: "Looks like I've found the right person."

As she spoke, she took out a folded A4 sheet of paper from the expensive leather handbag beside her and placed it in front of Su Long.

It was a photocopy of a paper report, and when Su Long's gaze fell on it, his pupils involuntarily contracted.

The report contained the investigation transcript personally recorded by Elena after he encountered the "Rain Girl".

Dania took in Su Long's reaction and slowly said, "My family obtained this report through some channels."

"So it seems you really have been cursed by the 'Rain Girl,' haven't you?"

Su Long shifted his gaze from the report back to her unrealistically beautiful face: "Also?"

“Yes,” Dania’s expression turned serious, “my father, the current head of the Yurievich family, has also been suffering from this strange torment.”

"Unfortunately, the 'Rain Lady' only appears randomly on rainy nights, or actively hunts down those she has cursed. I can't let my father risk his life as bait, so we can only wait for the next cursed one to appear."

Su Long picked up where she left off: "Now, you've got your chance."

“Yes, Mr. Suron,” Dania nodded, leaning forward slightly, her blue eyes fixed on him. “I have a plan to ambush ‘The Rain Lady.’ Would you be willing to join us as bait?”

Su Long raised an eyebrow: "Miss Dania, you're not even willing to embellish your purpose."

A self-deprecating smile played on Dania's lips: "I suppose you yourself are troubled by this curse, aren't you?"

"If you're willing to join our plan, we're very confident we can lure out the 'Rain Girl' and completely resolve the situation."

She paused for a moment, then gave her price: "I can pay you a lump sum of $50,000 after it's done."

"And from that moment on, you will be a friend of the Yurievich family."

Fifty thousand dollars.

And the friendship with an arms family that holds significant influence throughout Seattle's underworld.

Su Long looked at her; he had no reason to refuse this offer.

This will not only allow him to completely get rid of the ever-present curse and obtain the complete blood control attribute, but will also provide him with an unimaginable and powerful boost to his future development.

He nodded and gave his answer.

"Okay, I'll join."