Returning home, Ace was relieved to find that everything was as he left it and everybody was sound asleep. Emi deactivated and removed the talismans she pasted around the house and returned to the toybox with Dame Wasp. As for Ace, he did not go to sleep but chose to practice his curse arts while having Dame Wasp keep him updated about the parasitic maggot curse slave.
By the early morning, Dame Wasp informed Ace that the curse slave had rushed to the nearest 9Ks's hideout and raided it as he had guessed. It appears the curse slave switched his body again, as Mark's brother's smartphone was in the same location for the past hour, and when Dame Wasp tried to eavesdrop on the phone's surroundings through its microphone she heard sounds of dogs tearing and chewing on flesh but there was no sign of a human presence.
Knowing some gangsters liked to keep savage dogs to gain rep and intimidate others, Ace assumed the worst. However, one thing was certain, the cruse slave would not rest until he had raided all the 9Ks's stash. The 9Ks will never be able to recover from this and mostly likely be made an example by the cartel they were dealing with. As for the beef between the cartel and the curse slave, Ace did not concern himself with it. He was just happy that the curse slave acted as his patsy.
"Ace, you up?" It was Danny, the last person Ace would expect to knock on his door as his lazy cousin would text him if he needed something rather than come find him.
"One moment," He answered, as he went through the status screen to see his progress.
> Curse art 'Body Reinforcement' mastery increased.
ii) +9 physical stats
i) Continued practice of curse art will increase its proficiency.
ii) Rigorous practice of curse art will increase related stats.]
Satisfied with gains, Ace opened the door welcoming a well-dressed and groomed Danny into his room, "Good morning."
Danny rushed into his cousin's room without greeting him back. Then began to pace around the room nervously. Seeing him Ace could not help but ask in concern, "Everything alright?"
Danny did not answer him, instead took out his phone and began to fiddle with it. Ace patiently waited giving his cousin his space and soon his phone rang with a message notification. Seeing it was from the bank, he went through it to learn that his cousin had transferred $10,000 to his account, "Danny, what the fuck? Didn't you promise Auntie to return the money to Uncle making an excuse that the online course was canceled?"
"Ace, Mandy told me that she has invested $30,000 in your trading venture, I want in. Hence, the $10,000," Danny's forehead was covered in sweat as he explained showing that it wasn't easy for him to make this decision. After all, he was already in hot water with his mother and his actions now were akin to pushing her limits.
"Do your parents know about this?" Ace asked having guessed the answer. So, he wasn't surprised to hear his cousin say, "What do you think? Of course not."
Shaking his head Ace prepared to persuade Danny otherwise but before he could get to it the latter spoke with a grave tone, "Ace, they will not understand even if I told them. Besides, I will pay them back once you give me my share of profits."
"Bro, I appreciate your trust and faith in me but there is a lot of risk involved in this. Even if I were lucky and did everything right it would take months for me to earn a decent profit let alone a 200 percent profit such that you can pay back your parents after I keep my share—" Before Ace could finish Danny interrupted him, "Dude, regardless of what happens I will take full responsibility. Just tell me you got my back on this one."
Listening to Danny, Ace stared at him wondering where his confidence in him came from. He too was confident thanks to Dame Wasp's ability to make bank but Danny did not know that. Besides, he didn't readily agree with Danny because he did not want to encourage such behavior as it could easily escalate into a bad habit that was hard to get rid of.
Therefore, he asked, "Danny, this isn't like you. What makes you so confident in my skills? Or are you just too desperate to gather enough money to buy the sex doll you wanted?"
"This is not about that but me trying to profit from Mandy's luck," Danny denied his cousin's accusations giving the reason behind his action.
"Say what now?" Ace exclaimed in bafflement.
"You see, Mandy has the midas touch. Anything she undertakes or bets on, regardless of how ordinary they seem ends up making a killing. Why else do you think a 21-year-old high school graduate has a net worth in the millions when her classmates are buried in college loans? If she trusts you enough to invest $30,000 in you, my only regret is that I do not have the money to match her investment in you," Danny explained in a hushed but deep voice as if he was sharing a top secret not to be shared with anyone. Showing he had a future as a conspiracy theorist.
"Danny, are you hearing yourself right now?" Ace remarked finding his cousin's reason for his actions retarded even though his speculation about Mandy making a killing by investing in him couldn't be more accurate.
"Bro, I know this sounds insane but did you know that our cattle were sold for a record high price the year Mandy had bought her ranch? My father has been running a ranch for several decades now but he never sold cattle for such high prices. I am telling you, man, some people are destined to make money without even trying and our Mandy is one of them," Danny stood by this superstitious theory despite the judgemental looks his cousin gave him.
"I agree Mandy did have a few lucky breaks but I don't think it's wise of you—" Ace was once again interrupted by his cousin who locked eyes with him and pleaded, "Dude, don't make me beg."
"Fuck it, I got you cus but my service ain't cheap. I take fifty percent of all profits," Ace agreed, seeing no point in trying to argue with Danny about Mandy having midas touch or not. Besides, Danny's $10,000 will bolster his initial investment making his earnings at the end of the week more believable. So, he did not see any point in continuing to reject Danny.