Chapter 155: Departure: Fear of Flying, Arrival in Los Angeles

Originally, because they couldn't leave any witnesses, Andre directly dragged Tang Mi into the car.

Now it seemed Tang Mi had been left behind, but was this Tang Mi really from a mental hospital? He didn't look mentally unstable.

At this moment, Finley seemed to have made up his mind—he suddenly thrust his small dagger forward. Tang Mi saw it, casually grabbed it, and held it out, "Hey, Finley, still not giving up? Come on, go ahead, stab me, come on, stab."

Pfft!

Dark red blood trickled from his fingertip, dripping onto the shiny steel floor.

Both of them froze.

Finley clapped his hands in delight, pushing the knife harder, urging himself to stab two more times.

Tang Mi, meanwhile, licked his lips and actually hesitated whether to really stab himself twice!

No one knew what he was thinking.

Alright, now I'm sure he's mentally ill.

Louis, speechless, walked away to the side, picked up a newspaper, stepped into the elevator, sat on the balcony soaking in the sunlight, and ate snacks.

The newspaper's front page was dominated by entertainment gossip, but other news still occupied some sections—for instance, the recent case where the Warrens solved another supernatural incident and received commendation from the local city government.

"The Warrens? I heard they're invited to lecture at universities? This world doesn't hide such things much."

"But hasn't the Annabelle 1 plotline started yet?"

Louis rubbed his chin, thinking.

The Conjuring is a series with interconnected plots—like Conjuring and The Nun. The strongest, highest-ranking demon in this series is likely Valak, one of the Seventy-Two Demons of Solomon from The Nun.

A demon lord level—even if not as powerful as Mammon, the Hell King, it still belongs to Hell's top tier.

This is a big prize.

Louis had already decided to get involved in The Conjuring series—he'd seen most of it, and he'd naturally use his foreknowledge advantage.

Besides, the Warrens solved more than just these supernatural cases. If he could compete with them for business…

He closed the newspaper, reignited his determination, and decided to immediately resume cultivation—first, he needed to understand the issue of the Evil Body.

…

Time slipped by, and ten days passed—it was now March, and spring break had begun.

Since they were going to California, far from Florida, though both were coastal, one was southern and the other western. Driving would be exhausting and take far too long.

So the airplane became the best travel option now.

David gathered all the items and packed them into the suitcase. "Louis, ready?"

Louis slung a shoulder bag over his shoulder and walked out of the house.

"Ready, Uncle."

Inside the car, Jiali was already seated. When she saw Louis get in, she awkwardly shifted aside.

Yes, Louis had brought Jiali along—her combat strength was formidable and she could be a real help.

"Louis, you're sure you'll go alone first to Calabasas?"

"Yes, we can't waste time."

"Alright, then we'll split up after we arrive. I need to visit that company in Los Angeles first, then I'll head to Calabasas soon—wait for me."

"No problem. Jiali and I will wait for you in Calabasas."

"Good, let's go."

The car was just about to start.

But Louis suddenly tapped the backseat. "Come out. Don't make me angry."

A head popped up—it was Emma.

She looked exasperated. "You noticed that?"

"Louis, give me a chance."

"Dad? Can you take me too?"

Then both men simultaneously shook their heads.

"Go back. Go away."

"Then why can Jiali go?"

Emma glanced at Jiali, her eyes filled with malice. Jiali remained motionless, utterly unafraid.

"Jiali's going because she has actual business to handle with Louis. What would you do? Listen, stay home," David explained soothingly.

Emma pouted, ignoring his surface excuse, staring fixedly at Louis.

In her view, the one most qualified to accompany Louis and David was herself—yet now he was taking Jiali and not her.

What was this?

Open favoritism?

A thickening tide of malice brewed within her.

Louis said nothing, only glanced at Jiali. Jiali nodded, turned to Emma, and said, "Come on. Get out."

?

Emma narrowed her eyes, smiling with hidden meaning. "Fine. I'll get out."

David frowned—he sensed these two girls were about to clash. He was about to intervene, but Louis shook his head.

The two girls moved with unspoken coordination to the back of the house.

Then.

A sound like wind rustling through leaves rose up. Soon after, Jiali and Emma walked out.

Their expressions differed sharply.

Jiali's face remained cold, her steps crisp with wind as she returned directly to the back seat. Emma, however, became expressionless, silent, and walked straight back into the house.

In the car, David stared in astonishment, then looked at Jiali. "Sorry, Emma might be a bit emotional about this. But what just happened between you two?"

Jiali forced a smile. "It's fine. She's still young. I just talked some sense into her. Emma's a good girl—she listens."

Beside her, Louis let out a snort.

"Louis, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just remembered something funny."

David shook his head. As long as they didn't fight, it was fine. Everyone had conflicts when they were young.

The car slowly started, heading toward the airport.

Soon.

They boarded the plane. The flight took off on time.

Sitting on the plane, Louis felt for the first time in both his past and present lives the sensation of flying through the sky via machinery. The plane's speed was indeed fast—looking down from the window, everything became tiny black dots. Once fully at altitude, even the dots vanished, replaced by endless green and occasional white clouds blocking the view.

But beyond the initial novelty, the plane brought Louis far more than anything else—an inexplicable panic.

The fear of having no ground beneath his feet, of surrendering his life entirely to a machine.

Plane accidents differed from car or train crashes. With his own abilities, even in a car crash he could react in time and escape. But here, ten thousand meters up, what good would reaction do?

There was nowhere to flee.

Air disasters were always the deadliest, most hopeless of transportation accidents.

At this moment, Louis sincerely hoped he'd never encounter a horror film involving an air crash.

After taking a deep breath and watching the plane fly steadily, Louis gradually calmed down.

But he resolved in his heart: until he gained flight ability, he would never fly again. This feeling of helplessness over life and death was simply too awful.

Especially with a snoring Warden beside him.

For a moment, Louis even felt regret.

Whatever. I chose this. I deserve it.

Warden slept soundly. Louis couldn't sleep, so he picked up the newspaper on the plane.

Perhaps because they were heading to Los Angeles, the newspaper was full of exposés about Hollywood stars.

"So many celebrities. Regina got a front-page headline just because she's sick? This much space? Wow, truly the era of dying for entertainment."

"But San Fernando Valley seems to be thriving too? Hmm, I definitely need to check it out."

"Los Angeles is truly the epicenter of the entertainment industry—all the good and bad are piled up here."

"Whoa, these actresses are really pushing it for attention. Can they really show that? And it's not fake?"

"…"

Time passed as Louis browsed through newspapers, gossip, and exposés.

Fortunately, though Warden had bad luck, he didn't seem destined to die—the plane crash never happened.

The plane landed smoothly in Los Angeles.

As America's second-largest city, it was wildly prosperous. Hollywood was here, still holding its status as the global center of film and television, with only a handful of places capable of challenging it.

Countless people dreamed of coming to Hollywood to become stars or singers, achieving overnight fame. The very word "Hollywood" had become synonymous with "celebrity"—an exaggeration, yet true.

Thus, the pedestrian traffic here was immense, with every race and ethnicity present.

Correspondingly, racial discrimination was extremely severe, second only to New York in intensity.

Louis and David stepped off the plane onto the streets and immediately noticed it was a completely different vibe from Orlando. Posters plastered everywhere, neon lights flashing in all colors, names and faces of actors and singers lining every street.

The shops along the street mostly sold DVDs, records, and videotapes.

Americans here were on the absolute cutting edge of fashion—earrings, piercings, dyed hair in rainbow colors, leather jackets and pants, black sunglasses; miniskirts, hot pants, three-piece outfits, fishnets pulled over heads; hippies, long or short hair, hip-thrusting rockers shouting on the street…

Everything imaginable was here—nothing you couldn't find.

David was unfazed. Louis quickly adapted too. Though different from quiet, tourist-friendly Orlando, it was still unmistakably American—just more intense, more avant-garde. Nothing strange about it.

But for a very conservative Jiali, the scenes before her were enough to shatter her worldview; her eyelids twitched, and her gaze remained fixed on the ground, daring not to look at those flamboyant people.

She was certain that if her mother had come here, she would have gone mad immediately and been dragged off.

Even she had nearly had an immediate stress reaction and wanted to strike back at these people, but thanks to practice, her abilities were now somewhat controlled—otherwise…

Since it was already dusk, David, Louis, and Jiali checked into a hotel, planning to stay overnight in Los Angeles before attending to their business the next day.

(End of Chapter)