Chapter 127: Watershed Company: Capital Background

Seeing this, the woman’s eyes flickered with a barely perceptible trace of despair.

She had just been testing, trying to see if there might be a sliver of hope—apparently, there truly wasn’t.

Then… my daughter…

Her eyes flickered with reluctance, but then hardened; she had already broken under torture and revealed those details—there was no turning back. For her daughter’s sake, she now had to trust this marked individual.

The fact that he was marked and immobilized could only mean he possessed power that made the company fear him—so he should be capable of hiding her daughter.

Now it came down to whether the information she gave was enough; as for whether Louis would honor those promises…

She had no choice. Fighting through the pain, she began to speak.

The so-called W Company’s full name was actually Watershed—meaning “watershed.”

This corporation held influence in many southern states, as all four or five missions she’d carried out over the past three years had been in southern states.

She was indeed only a peripheral member, albeit a somewhat special one; due to her professional expertise, she was nearly being recommended by the man who recruited her to become a full employee.

She had only one direct contact within the company; she knew nothing about its total personnel, location, research focus, or strength.

But as a former intelligence agent, over three years she had gathered some clues.

Because every mission bonus and monthly base salary was disbursed through a trust fund named Thomas; according to her investigation, this trust fund was backed by over a dozen capitalists—bankers, food conglomerates, factory owners…

Combining this with what her superiors had told her and the support and conveniences she received during missions, she believed the Watershed Company was a special entity backed by multiple capitalists, and those dozen or so behind the Thomas Trust Fund were likely only a portion of its members.

Moreover, the company was newly established; otherwise, it wouldn’t be so desperate as to rely heavily on outsiders like her with relatively high professional standards. And the reason these capitalists supported it must be tied to paranormal artifacts—otherwise, the company wouldn’t persistently collect such items.

Among these special items, some were collected, while others were processed and released into society for social experiments—and she was the supervisor.

Responsible for monitoring; if any incident occurred, she had to respond promptly.

As for the four gunmen, they were assigned to her as subordinates and knew even less.

“What does ‘marked individual’ mean…?”

“Full employees bear a W tattoo; each is a vital member of the company, having completed many missions, and is considered trustworthy.”

This company must have a physical presence, a headquarters, and financial flows—because of the IRS, there are no phantom corporations in America; all must pay taxes. The reason it can’t be found is simply because it hides well.

Though currently hidden behind the scenes, I believe that given this company’s ambition, it will eventually step into the spotlight.”

Clearly, she was confident on the IRS point—and even used it to extrapolate some of the company’s future trajectory.

After hearing her, Louis furrowed his brow deeply.

What is this?

A coalition of capitalists?

That makes sense. This is America—once capitalists learned of the paranormal, how could they not act? This W Company might be exactly such a product.

But I don’t know what exactly the W Company is researching to gain so much capitalist backing.

Regardless, this is definitely a formidable enemy.

But I became a marked individual before she even moved against me?

That means I’ve been exposed to the W Company before?

When?

And why would they fear me? Because of my family?

Would a company with considerable influence in southern states and at least a dozen capitalist backers fear a gang family just transitioning into capitalism?

That doesn’t make sense.

There must be other reasons involved.

Thus, this W Company is troublesome—because as the nation’s true masters, capitalists banding together inherently means trouble.

“What’s this company’s modus operandi?”

“Typical merchant style: exploitation, manipulation, decent pay, sometimes ruthless, sometimes conciliatory—like… a head without a unified thought, only a multitude of shifting, ever-changing ideas.”

Hearing this, Louis roughly guessed why they hadn’t acted against him yet; though tenuous, it was likely one reason.

Indeed, compared to centralized authority, decentralized systems are easier to exploit.

“Since you were a CIA agent, do you know of any American agencies dealing with the paranormal?”

“This is tightly controlled—there are no official public agencies. I only know of a few possible ones; they’re all highly secretive, not high-ranking, but all can mobilize police forces at will…”

“….”

He asked further questions: where her daughter was, her name, how to contact her superior, etc.

Though she revealed everything, she believed they wouldn’t find her superior—since she’d been captured, he’d almost certainly relocated.

After finishing, the woman suddenly burst into sobs, pleading with Louis—she wanted to live, she wanted to survive.

Her entire facade of strength shattered.

Louis shook his head—he had already given her a chance. He’d said: one chance, life or death.

Too bad—she chose death.

Louis wouldn’t soften. If he spared someone merely because they were pitiful, because they cried, because they’d attacked him and nearly left him humiliated and gravely wounded—what would that make him?

It’s a pity—her value wasn’t high enough. If she’d been truly unique, Louis might have tolerated her.

But clearly, she wasn’t.

In Louis’s cold gaze,

the driver dragged the woman out; with a gunshot, her life ended swiftly—merely granting her a merciful death.

In truth, given how much intelligence she had shown, Louis had already been lenient—he hadn’t taken her soul to make a Soul Stone, after all, her sins were numerous…

After ending the woman’s life, Louis sat in his chair and began to think.

“W Company… capitalists…”

Beside him, Yulencar, seeing Louis troubled, suddenly said, “Actually, you don’t need to worry about this company yet. Since they marked you, there must be a reason.”

“And since they operate so secretly, it’s because they’re currently invisible—either suppressed by powerful forces or too weak to show themselves. In such a state, they couldn’t possibly act openly—it contradicts their act of marking you.”

Louis nodded. Yulencar was right—this company certainly couldn’t dominate alone; America as a whole remained the ultimate authority.

“I know. I’m just wondering what exactly this company is doing—what these billionaires plan to use the paranormal for: longevity? Money? Power?”

“And have you considered this: since this company is newly established, what about the older capitalists? Could they have similar operations too?”

Yulencar froze, then fell into deep thought.

Louis’s question struck at the core—these capitalists were never passive. If this W Company is backed by new-money elites, what about the old ones?

And what about similar agencies established by the American state?

The other side of this world, Yulencar realized, is deeper than I imagined.

“Enough. Don’t think about this anymore—it’s too abstract. Focus on the present.”

Louis stretched. “Go back. Intensify your cultivation. I’m going into seclusion—I aim to fully complete Qi Gong and break through to Yin Spirit.”

“Mm, alright.”

After Yulencar left, Louis first called his grandfather, then resumed his cycle of Ghost-Eating cultivation.

…

Miami.

The Carino family received a mysterious phone call.

Karl answered, his expression shifting. After a while, he hung up.

“W Company… Wilson, Wilson… I never expected that after all these years, you’ve gone so far down the path of the paranormal—I owe you one.”

Louis probably never guessed that his grandfather’s connection was part of why he was marked.

“Little Louis… still restless, as always.”

Karl shook his head—he’d expected this. After all, talented people rarely stay quiet.

But now he’s tangled with the W Company…

Wilson’s voice echoed in his ear: the W Company rose after WWII, backed by a new generation of capitalists. Wilson didn’t say its purpose, only that it aimed for something grand.

And now, according to him, the W Company is still expanding.

This power is beyond the Carino family’s capacity to resist.

Even without violence, mere economic sanctions could reduce the Carino family back to its gangster roots.

No—must warn Little Louis to behave.

Karl picked up the phone, then paused. After a long silence, “Forget it. Send him the information—let him decide for himself.”

“Old… so old…”

In fact, Wilson, his old friend from youth, had invited him to join—promising to use the network’s power to help the Carino family fully launder its reputation. But after decades of storms, Karl had seen too much.

First, trust: Wilson was indeed an old friend and had helped sincerely—but capitalists are capitalists at their core, fundamentally untrustworthy. This favor might just be Wilson using borrowed flowers to offer incense, riding the current. And after decades of silence, Karl wouldn’t gamble.

Second, such an expanding corporate web—if it’s not exaggerated—will inevitably face suppression from higher American authorities. Even if one gains temporary advantage by joining now, one will have to give it all back later, and might even suffer accidents due to the danger of the paranormal.

Here, America remains supreme!

Of course, he didn’t deny that this was mainly because he was old, lacking drive—if he were twenty years younger, he’d gamble with Wilson.

Karl shook his head, edited the message, and sent it.

Afterward, he lay back in his chair, quietly basking in the sun. Old men like the sun.

(End of Chapter)