Chapter 156: Passing By, Seeing Hailey Again, Strange Dollhouse

The next day.

David went to see his business partner, or to be precise, the consignee of a big business.

And Louis and Carrie found a car at random and took it all the way to Calabasas.

According to the driver, he is a small town farmer. The town is near Calabasas. Because his wife had cancer before, he had to borrow a lot of money. In order to pay off the debt, he drove to pick up some work related to the entertainment industry, which could earn more.

This time it was also because he heard from his family that the child was sick, so he chose to return temporarily.

Sitting in the sedan, looking at the signatures, light signs, etc. behind, Louis probably understood what the driver's part-time job was usually doing.

In the conversation, Louis learned that he also

"Oh, God, please bless my child so that it is only a minor illness, and that she does not suffer as much as her mother."

Perhaps because the conversation touched upon family, Switz felt some grief; he couldn't help but take out a cross, press it against his brow, and mutter a prayer.

Louis, behind him, remained noncommittal. Although he was certain that God existed here, praying to God was unlikely to be effective; after all, that guy was like someone dead asleep, never actively showing His power, let alone saving these believers.

Most of the time, it was as if He didn't exist at all.

Otherwise, why would there be more and more fake believers and non-believers?

And why would all kinds of heretical sects and demon worship be so rampant?

He felt that if things continued like this, one day demons might even dare to openly impersonate Him and act in the world with impunity.

In short, praying to God was probably the most useless method, but that didn't stop believers from seeking psychological comfort.

Beside him, Jiali looked at the cross with indifference. Because of her mother, she had actually longed to believe in religion, feeling it was a form of recognition, but now?

She only found it noisy.

Because Calabasas was forty or fifty kilometers outside of Los Angeles, they arrived in about an hour by car. After dropping Louis and Jiali off, Switz continued driving; he was already very close to his home—the small town of Ivanhoe.

On the side of the road, another car quickly drove over. A girl with short black hair poked her head out of the car window, looked at Louis, and called out tentatively, "Louis?"

"Hailey?"

Hearing the other person's voice, a slight smile appeared on Hailey's face, and she opened the car door and stepped out.

"Louis, long time no see."

"You too. What have you been doing lately?"

"School. Although I feel this knowledge is already a bit outdated for me, my father doesn't allow me to skip grades. I'll probably have to spend another two years before I can get out of high school."

"What about you? You didn't go into detail on the phone before."

"Me? I'm also in school, but I skipped a grade."

"..."

The two chatted like adults while stuffing their things into the car.

At the same time, Louis had Jiali and Hailey introduce themselves to each other. However, Hailey was too deep in thought; during the introduction, she made a judgment in her heart: although the other person wasn't Emma or Mary, since Louis brought her along, she must be someone trustworthy, or at least someone who could help—well, if Louis hadn't changed.

Soon, Hailey drove Louis all the way to the city, heading straight toward a two-story house with a yard.

It had a British-style decoration, and the yard even included a swimming pool and a garden. Although it wasn't large, a sense of inexplicable luxury emerged.

Listening to Hailey in the car, her father had been promoted from a professor at the Calabasas Medical School to the dean of the college, which was a formal crossing of class lines into the world of academic elites.

At this level, having a house that looked luxurious was normal. This was just after the promotion; given more time, a detached villa wouldn't be out of the question.

Walking into the house, she said, "My father just got promoted and is often busy with work, so he usually doesn't come back these days."

"I asked you to come mainly for this."

As she spoke, she went into her room, took out a large box from under the bed, and placed it on the living room coffee table.

She opened the box.

Inside was an exquisitely crafted dollhouse.

Various models were made vividly, and the lawn looked very bright, just like the real thing.

"Coffee? Water? Or a drink?"

"Green tea, please."

"Water."

Hailey nodded, pouring water for the two of them while saying, "I got this dollhouse from a little girl selling old items. She told me..."

"I tried it after I got back, and everything she said was true."

As she spoke, she put down the water glass, then took an eight- or nine-centimeter-tall priest doll from her pocket and stuffed it into the house.

Louis activated his Spiritual Eye Art to observe carefully, and Jiali, beside him, was also attracted.

"These dolls will come to life."

The dolls in the house began to move. The priest doll appeared in front of a corpse the next moment, seemingly in shock.

"But no matter what kind of doll it is, it cannot escape the ravages of that ghost head."

The priest doll took out a cross and went to the bedroom, where the bloody ghost head gradually twisted and looked at the priest doll.

Swish!

The next second.

The ghost head replaced the priest doll's head with incredible speed, jamming it onto its neck. Blood flowed down the body, staining the floor red, and the priest doll's head rolled into a corner.

"According to that girl, when this ghost head is taken out, it will turn into its real-life size, which means..."

"The ghost head will carry out the killings from the dollhouse in reality," Louis continued.

His gaze was fixed tightly on the ghost head.

As if it could sense it, the ghost head's gaze stared straight in Louis's direction.

Hailey nodded upon hearing this, "That's what I thought too."

At the same time, she glanced at Louis and Jiali; neither of them had been shocked by the scene just now, only interested, which made Hailey even more curious.

What exactly had Louis been doing in the years they were apart?

"So, what do you want to do with it?" Louis asked suddenly.

He hadn't forgotten what Hailey said on the phone; it was obvious she needed to use this thing for something.

Hailey was silent, her expression becoming somewhat gloomy, "Kill someone."

"I had a friend named Tang Na who was only 14 this year. She was raped and murdered a few months ago. The police haven't found the specific person, but through Tang Na's daily routines and preferences, I found a suspect."

"Of course, it's just a suspicion, so I've been confirming it for the past few months and found that this person likes to tease little girls, and I've also confirmed some of his other criminal evidence."

"Now, I'm very sure that he is the murderer who killed Tang Na."

Speaking of this, she subconsciously glanced at Louis, seemingly wanting to see his reaction to her wanting to kill someone, but she saw Louis's expression remain unchanged, even slightly bored, as he rubbed his cup and asked.

"So?"

Hailey smiled, "So I want to use this house to make him feel the fear of being haunted. After all, the unknown is the most terrifying thing, right?"

"No, no, no."

?

Hailey looked at him in surprise but didn't rush to speak.

"The ghost head in this dollhouse is very fierce, but its operability is too weak. I feel that before he can feel anything, that person will have his head taken directly."

Louis said, "So, I suggest changing the method."

"Why not let him experience the feeling of being raped himself? You know, there are many men in prison who like that kind of taste."

"Wait until his self-esteem is destroyed, then give him some hope, and then crush that hope."

"Believe me, this will make you feel incomparably pleasant."

Louis smiled and drank the green tea in his cup in one gulp.

Hailey's expression changed. She hadn't thought of the method Louis proposed. Her original second plan was to toy with this man, then obtain evidence of his crimes, and threaten him with the prospect of spreading this evidence to his friends and family, causing him to commit suicide through social death.

By comparison, Louis's plan was a bit more disgusting, but it was simpler, cruder, and also more violent, straightforward, and desperate!

"Perhaps, you are right."

Louis smiled, "I will help you, but I think it's better to seal this dollhouse away."

Hailey understood what Louis meant, "Okay, you can take it away. I hope you can keep it safe; I don't want to hear news of your death one day."

"Thank you very much, but don't worry. I'm a professional in this area now. Also, do you know where that little girl bought it?"

"Oh, at the end of this street, there's a newly opened doll shop. She begged her parents to buy it from that shop, but I've been there, and the things there are all normal."

Louis nodded, "Okay, I see. Now let's talk about this person and the specific circumstances of your friend's murder."

Next, Hailey told a very cliché murder story, basically a star-struck girl being deceived and raped/murdered by a perverted photographer using photos of celebrities as bait.

"I found a lot of videos related to Lei Lei Jina at Tang Na's place, which confirmed this."

Lei Lei Jina? That sounds familiar.

Hiss, I remember now. I saw it in a newspaper on the plane; she's a big star, and it seems she's sick too.

"... Finally, this photographer's movements are very secretive, and the number of underage girls he has harmed is probably not small." Speaking of this, a cold light flashed in Hailey's eyes; she had clearly developed the intent to kill.

Afterward, the two discussed some details of the plan, with Louis appearing calm and composed from beginning to end.

Even Jiali only frowned, showing disgust for that pervert, and seemed indifferent about whether to kill or not.

This made Hailey even more curious about what Louis had been doing all these years.

Half an hour later, after dinner, Hailey arranged rooms for Louis and Jiali.

Staying in the room, Louis looked at the dollhouse, a complex rune faintly flickering in his eyes.

Regarding Hailey's matter this time, Louis really didn't take it to heart. A pervert threatening minors—in Orlando, he wouldn't even need to take action; his subordinates would automatically send this guy to his Blood Curse room.

Even those hardened criminals were just white mice wailing in his laboratory; what was a mere molester?

So when discussing it with Hailey, everything was very casual.

By comparison, the dollhouse in front of him attracted more of his attention and interest.

From the first moment he activated his Spiritual Eye Art and saw this thing, Louis felt that it was somewhat like a magic treasure. Of course, this was just a description; specifically, it was actually a special artifact.

The material of this dollhouse seemed to contain something like a magic array. He couldn't see it clearly, but he could infer a thing or two.

As for that ghost head...

A defense mechanism? A power supply mechanism?

What was this thing made for?

Playing an ultra-realistic family game?

In any case, this thing couldn't have formed naturally; it must have been man-made. So what kind of existence could create such a special artifact?

"Strange."

Louis touched his chin, still unable to see through the operating mechanism of this thing.

As for that ghost head, he had figured out some things: it had spirituality or rules, but it didn't possess true intelligence. It only knew how to stare blankly at the person watching it. After using something to block its line of sight, it stopped looking, and after taking the object away, it continued to stare. It completely lacked flexibility.

Besides that.

Various conjectures popped up in Louis's mind: if he stuffed a god or demon doll inside, would it come to life? Would it have special abilities? Would it be killed by this ghost head?

And other things put inside—would seeds grow? Could animals eat? Would the dolls continue to grow or even age? Could it be like some kind of low-dimensional world?

All sorts of conjectures and fantasies flooded in, and Louis was suddenly full of curiosity about this thing.

"It actually feels like playing house or having a secret base when I was a kid. Not bad. I must try it when I get back."

Although Louis said this, he didn't lower his guard. Who knew if the ghost head would have the same instant-kill combat power outside as it did in the dollhouse? It was best to seal it up well.

Tomorrow, he would find someone to make an iron box to put this thing in, and he also had to go see the doll shop that sold this thing to confirm it personally.

After closing it up with a cardboard box, Louis sat cross-legged. Reaching his realm, he didn't need sleep to a certain extent; meditation was enough to keep his spirit full.

A sleepless night, the next day.

Louis took Jiali to find the doll shop, while Hailey carried out her plan, conducting a fishing operation by leaving her phone number and hanging around the area.

Walking down the street, Louis reached the end and turned a corner. What came into view was an old shopping street. The decoration of this street was very old, and the shops inside also looked lifeless.

And the doll shop Hailey mentioned was also very eye-catching; one could see it at a glance. However, the moment he saw it.

Jiali, who had been following Louis step by step, suddenly froze, then grabbed Louis's hand, "Don't go."

???

Louis frowned and stopped immediately, "What's wrong?"

"I've been to that doll shop."

Jiali stared fixedly at the doll shop, seemingly identifying and recalling.

"In Orlando, the doll shop that opened in our neighborhood, Finley."

"That's where it was bought."

(End of chapter)