Ding!
"Kill Reward: 1 Point."
The sudden notification made Shane freeze. The system actually had a "Kill Reward" mechanic?
Why didn't the shapeshifter trigger one earlier?
The mission was marked complete, so the kill was definitely confirmed. Why was there no kill reward?
Was it because the shapeshifter wasn't classified as a kill target? Or was it because mission targets and kill targets couldn't be double-counted?
"You..." Dean started to speak but trailed off.
Partly because Shane had just killed a Wendigo with a sword that then vanished into thin air, and partly because he didn't know how to act around Shane anymore.
A week ago, he and Sam had mistaken Shane for a demon, the killer of their mother and Sam's girlfriend. Shane had taught them a lesson with Shadow Possession and the Temple of Nirvana Technique, and even showed them the Byakugan.
Shane claimed he wanted to be friends, warned them about the yellow-eyed demon, and mentioned... Sam's girlfriend might have a chance to be resurrected.
Though skeptical, Sam had kept some of Jessica's DNA.
Throughout their journey, they'd speculated endlessly about Shane's identity and motives. But they knew nothing about him, so they couldn't reach a conclusion.
Then, Shane mysteriously appeared again and saved them.
It was too coincidental.
Like he knew exactly where Sam and Dean would be.
"How did you do that? I mean, the sword. I saw it just now, but where did it go?"
"Ninjutsu."
"Like, ninja ninjutsu?"
"Yeah."
"The thing you used to control Sam and put us to sleep was also ninjutsu? And your eyes—you said they were a bloodline limit, one of the three great dojutsu. Also ninjutsu?"
"You remember well."
Shane smiled and gestured for Dean to leave first, walking alongside him. "My ninjutsu is different from ordinary ninjutsu. It's released by forming seals with an energy called chakra. To distinguish myself, you can call me a Chakra Ninja."
"Chakra is an energy produced by the perfect fusion of physical energy from body cells and spiritual energy. Not everyone has chakra, and not everyone can become a Chakra Ninja."
If given the chance, Shane actually wanted to test if he could cultivate vampires, werewolves, or other physical supernatural creatures into ninjas. If successful, would that count as a bloodline limit?
What is a bloodline limit?
A technique inherited through genes via blood relations.
Key word: Genes!
When vampires or werewolves turned, their genes underwent a complete change. This change was fixed and mostly irreversible. So vampires and werewolves technically counted as having bloodline limits—just not the kind recognized by Naruto ninjas.
"Who exactly are you?" Dean was curious about chakra and Chakra Ninjas, but he was more interested in figuring out Shane's identity.
"I know what you want to ask. I have nothing to do with your family's business. I just happen to know a lot, and I'm interested in your future experiences. That's why I approached you."
Shane suddenly stopped walking. "This is far enough."
"Wh-what do you mean?" Dean blinked.
"See you next time."
Shane smiled meaningfully. The ground beneath his feet turned into quicksand, and under Dean's stunned gaze, he slowly sank and vanished.
"Go... Gone?!"
Dean stared at the now-solid ground. He tentatively stomped on it. Solid. Impossible for anyone to fall through.
Slap!
He reflexively slapped his own face. "Not a dream. Not a hallucination. He really... really disappeared!"
Underground, Shane noticed Dean's reaction and shook his head with a laugh. That guy was a bit of a goofball.
The coincidental meeting was a success, but Shane didn't plan to travel with them for now. They didn't know where their next stop was or what they'd encounter, but Shane did.
Dead in the Water. A water spirit. Bullied by peers as a kid and drowned in the lake, body sunk to the bottom. Years later, it started taking revenge. One of the bullies' swimming champion daughter, then son, and then the bully himself were drowned one after another.
Another bully's son had drowned earlier. His daughter-in-law and grandson were almost killed too. In the end, the grandfather sacrificed himself, jumping into the river to trade his life for his grandson's, appeasing the spirit's rage.
Throughout the whole ordeal, the Winchester brothers' biggest contribution was figuring out why the spirit was killing people and saving a mother and son. As for solving the spirit problem?
Sorry, no corpse to burn. Can't do it!
Shane was more interested in the Winchesters' adventure after the next one. That one involved a demon and a face he recognized.
"Still need to hurry up and get stronger."
"Spend money, get stronger. That... is my nindo, my ninja way!"
Using Underground Voyage to return to the hotel, Shane took a shower and lay in bed, pondering how to spend money more rationally and efficiently.
Before transmigrating, he'd read a few tycoon novels. But the environment was different, the national conditions were different, and currency values were different. Many spending methods couldn't be applied here. Take buying cars, for instance. An Audi A8 in China cost around a million RMB.
Here?
He could buy one a day, even without using shadow clones.
He'd definitely keep buying cars, but the main thrust of his spending should be real estate.
Buying houses in the most luxurious areas of major cities.
In the US, even if you bought a house in full, you still had to pay property tax every year. The better the location and the higher the value, the more tax you paid. Tax rates varied by state but generally didn't exceed 3%.
If he bought a house for ten million, he'd pay three hundred thousand in taxes annually. Ten houses meant three million. A hundred houses meant thirty million. That was a significant fixed expense.
Plus HOA fees, management fees, and all sorts of miscellaneous costs. Even if the house sat empty, he still had to pay.
Shane had heard a rumor: if an unoccupied house was squatted in for more than five years, the squatter could claim ownership through adverse possession. Basically, the house would belong to them.
So he'd have to hire people to regularly check on the properties, right? If he had many houses, that would also be a substantial expense.
This was looking very nice!