Chapter 201: Zombie Guardian: A Few Things from School and Future Visions

Raising a zombie requires blood, after all.

Especially when raising Jason, a zombie with immense potential, blood intake is even more essential.

Blood is the essence of a human, containing the person’s vital energy, spirit, and essence—exactly what zombies most need. The zombie-rearing coffin exploits this principle to accelerate absorption efficiency.

As the blood turned white, holes opened beneath the ground, channeling the flow downward.

The prison cell grew tidy once more.

But the stench of blood remained thick and nauseating.

Louis waved his hand.

The zombie-rearing coffin trembled slightly.

The coffin lid opened a fraction, revealing Jason’s head inside.

Jason’s head was a ruin, as if corroded by sulfuric acid—but after being nurtured in the coffin for so long, the decay had faded, replaced by cold, hard, bronze-like skin of blackish-blue, crimson eyes, and sharp fangs.

Just one glance confirmed it was a monstrous entity.

On its forehead, a faint gray light flickered, invisible to the naked eye, as if connected to something.

Louis’s spiritual eye shimmered slightly as he observed the gray light.

This gray light appeared when Jason was first transformed into a zombie, when Louis’s mark was implanted into his body by the zombie-rearing coffin.

From Louis’s observations, it likely relates to Jason’s source of power, and Jason grew increasingly strange after being revived by the Book of the Dead.

The Book of the Dead had pulled Jason up from Hell.

So, the gray light connects to…

Perhaps one layer of Hell?

Power transmitted from a layer of Hell.

Jason truly has extraordinary fortune—no wonder he keeps being resurrected, each time growing stronger.

He’s gained a portion of Hell’s power.

And perhaps each resurrection grants him more power—is it theft? Submission? Or some other path?

Louis’s spiritual eye couldn’t discern so many subtleties.

But there was no doubt: Jason was the best corpse material he had ever obtained!

A supreme-grade material capable of reaching the Ba realm!

Once refined, he would become the guardian of Louis’s future sect.

Louis licked his lips.

Glancing at Jason’s blackish-blue skin, Louis waved his hand, sealing the coffin once more.

He had only just reached the Black Corpse stage—far too early for it to emerge.

There was currently no need to use it.

Louis reached out, and a streak of light flew out from the prison cell.

It was a blood-red pearl shimmering with precious luminescence.

The Blood River Pearl.

Just to be safe, Louis had placed the Blood River Pearl before the zombie-rearing coffin—Jason was unique, and caution was never excessive until he was fully refined.

Now, Louis had full confidence the Blood River Pearl could suppress Jason.

After two and a half years of blood nourishment, the Blood River Pearl had been forcibly elevated to twelve sealing layers—lower-grade perfection.

Louis had estimated: with this Blood River Pearl, he could crush the Moth God in one strike, swiftly destroy high-rises, even pierce mountains and withstand concentrated bomb fire without issue.

His power had surged dramatically.

This was the power of a perfected magic treasure.

Compared to the Blood River Pearl, the other magic treasures had not been so fortunate.

The Illusion Robe was fine—it was his second crafted treasure and had now reached nine sealing layers, capable of housing the essences of nine monsters.

The other treasures, like the zombie-rearing coffin, remained at only three sealing layers.

Louis shook the centipede-wasp pouch at his waist, where countless fat-sucking leeches, the parasitic queen Beth, and alien queens were all under control.

But that wasn’t its primary ability—its true strength lay in cultivating centipede-wasp swarms; once grown, they would blot out the sky, their poison terrifying, even capable of mutation and manifesting miraculous effects.

Louis had already sent people to collect various centipedes, hornets, and similar insects.

He planned to carefully select the best for cultivation.

As for the Soul-Subduing Ruler and the Puppet Manipulator…

Louis shook his head and walked outside. Having seen the zombie-rearing coffin, it was time for him to take a walk.

Absentmindedly smoothing his hair, a flicker of light passed between his hands—a faint silver thread briefly flashed, capable of piercing straight into the soul.

The Puppet Manipulator, at three sealing layers, could control only four people.

It was both a puppet technique and a soul attack.

For soul defense, there was the Soul-Subduing Ruler.

In Louis’s mind, a bronze ruler floated slightly, like a mountain anchored there, radiating solemn divine authority.

Though only at three sealing layers, Louis had multiple layers of protection—three was sufficient for now.

Thus, all six magic treasures had now been fully refined.

…

Louis first met David.

Seeing David’s ruddy complexion and vigorous health, Louis felt reassured—David had lived well these past years.

Changes in American policies hadn’t affected him; he had maintained his wealth and even achieved financial freedom, and now working was merely a hobby.

At this moment, David removed the God of the Stove talisman from his person and carefully put it away.

“Come, Louis, eat.”

“Why are you only eating beef heart? Try some of this too.”

The two sat in the courtyard, sipping wine and eating skewers, while Jenny grilled nearby. For some reason, Louis unconsciously ate the most beef heart skewers.

Soon, David and Louis were both flushed from drink, their eyes filled with joy as they looked at each other.

This boy had barely shown up these past two years except during holidays—he had gathered rumors about Voodoo, alchemists, and other occult circles, and found such beings, though powerful, often met misfortune.

Some turned themselves into dolls; others poisoned themselves collecting materials; worse still, some blew themselves up while brewing potions.

Clearly, Louis’s line of work was no easy path!

How could one not worry?

Now that he saw Louis safe, he felt relieved and happy.

“Louis, be careful when you act—otherwise, if something happens, Emma will be heartbroken, and we all will be,” David said, slightly drunk.

Louis nodded instinctively, then froze, staring at David in surprise—did he know about him and Emma?

David chuckled. “Don’t underestimate old people’s wisdom. I saw through your little secret at a glance.”

“Don’t worry—I approve. After all, you’re both people I’ve watched grow up. Your marriage is a good thing. You’ll always be family.”

He raised another cup of wine.

Louis drank it down with him.

Seeing Louis say nothing but drink straight away, David’s smile widened. Suddenly he said:

“Alright, Louis. Come on. Call me Dad.”

???

“….”

Damn, still holding onto this?

Louis stared blankly.

Sneak attack, right?

“Hehe, come on, call me Dad,” David grinned like a weasel who’d stolen a chicken.

Seeing David’s expression, Louis’s lips suddenly curled.

“Alright, fine—I’ll say it. After all, David Uncle, you’re Yulunca’s father. It’s only right.”

“That’s great—I’ve been waiting to hear you say ‘Dad’ for… for… Yulunca?!”

!!!

David’s eyes widened.

Jenny, still grilling nearby, dropped her skewer in shock, staring at Louis.

Holy hell.

You’re collecting both?

How can you be so brazen?

Seeing David about to lunge, Louis leapt up and bolted.

“You bastard! Fuck! Stop and explain yourself!”

David kicked over a chair and chased after him in three strides.

He chased, he fled…

A chase erupted.

After a brief shock, Jenny calmed down, methodically sprinkled seasoning on several skewers, and sat back in her lounger, watching the two with slow amusement.

Hmm, these skewers taste good.

…

After fooling around with David, Louis gained David’s approval.

More accurately, David grudgingly accepted it, pinching his nose.

There was no helping it—he should’ve known long ago. Given Louis’s excellence and their early maturity, mutual attraction once they learned they shared no blood tie was perfectly natural.

It was too late now, but it wasn’t a bad thing.

It just made him want to punch the guy in the face.

In the end, David simply kicked Louis out.

Watching David walk away, Louis shook his head. “Still got a temper. But good—his body’s in great shape.”

Saying that, he walked toward a luxury car that had been waiting by the curb.

Just before David threw him out, he mentioned something: Louis hadn’t attended school in ages. Though he’d used his money to smooth things over, there were still documents needed for his advancement that required his signature—he should go by when he had time.

Perfect. He’d handle it now, on the way, then check in on the company and his second uncle, before returning to Miami to see his grandfather and the others.

He stepped into the luxury car.

It was the same driver.

He hadn’t seen him in a long time—he missed him a little.

“Long time no see. How’ve you been? You look like you’ve already used the serum.”

“Thank you, Young Master. I’ve used it. The effect is excellent—I can take on three men at the bar now, no problem.”

“Damn, don’t wear yourself out.”

“Don’t worry, Young Master. I only play once a month. Someone on our team can take on five—that’s what I call impressive.”

“Tsk. You’ve got fancy tastes… Any interesting things happen lately?”

Louis changed the subject.

“Interesting things? Recently, a scandal broke out about the government conducting long-term nuclear tests in a desert in New Mexico, causing massive contamination—even the clouds turned toxic, making nearby plants and animals wither.”

“Many people are protesting, especially the environmental activists—they’re practically ready to storm the New Mexico state government.”

“It had some effect. Now the government has publicly declared the area closed, but denied any nuclear testing. Worse, the governor kicked them out.”

“Is that interesting?”

“Young Master, the real point is this: the activists changed their appearance—dressed up as cows and sheep—and returned to protest outside the state government. You wouldn’t believe it—the reporters who ignored them before suddenly showed up.”

“Even when they stormed the government building, hardly any newspapers covered it. But now? Half of America’s media rushed over!”

“Here, Young Master. Take a look.”

Louis took the newspaper and immediately saw the photo: people dressed as cows and sheep. Women, naked, posed as cows; men, kneeling, posed as goats.

It was as absurd as clowns.

Louis burst out laughing, shook his head, and put the paper down.

This was… surreal.

Looks like LGBT is about to take off.

The next few years will probably be America’s last golden age.

The car sped forward.

It arrived at the school.

Looking at the school, at the vibrant teenagers, Louis felt a momentary daze.

It felt like just yesterday.

No—I’m still young myself, same age as them. It’s just a mindset issue.

He entered the campus.

Louis headed straight for the administration office.

As expected, money still worked. After a brief explanation,

the school immediately issued him a recommendation letter filled with glowing praise, along with his diploma and transcript—all perfect student standards.

Even though he hadn’t set foot on campus in over two years.

“Waste of time.”

Louis scowled and walked out.

But at the school gate, he spotted someone familiar.

A fat, dark-skinned figure with a mysterious aura—it was Gilmore del Toro, former head of the Paranormal Club, now holding a compass and muttering Chinese phrases about feng shui and locating dragons.

“Hey!”

Thwack!

The compass fell to the ground. Gilmore jumped, startled, staring at Louis.

“Pant… pant…”

“Is… is Louis? You’re back?”

“Yeah. Finished my business and came back. What are you doing?”

“Nothing. Just bought this ancient Chinese compass. Wanted to try out feng shui.”

Louis glanced at the compass and shook his head. “Fake. You got scammed.”

“Ah? Oh.”

Gilmore wore an expression of “I knew it”—he’d been scammed enough times to recognize the signs.

“How’s the Paranormal Club doing now?”

“It’s disbanded. Everyone except our group got drawn into the Adventure Club. I’m graduating soon, so we had to shut it down.”

Louis looked at Gilmore, seeing he still held to his original passion, and suddenly said, “Interested in doing something after graduation?”

“Huh? You mean?”

“Yeah.”

Louis nodded.

Gilmore’s face lit up. “Sure! Whatever you say, I’ll do it.”

“Don’t rush. I’ll start a company soon. You can join then. By the way, what major are you signing up for?”

“Photography and directing, with archaeology as a minor.”

Photography… directing… archaeology?

What kind of combo is that?

Hard to judge.

“Alright. Study hard. I’ll contact you later.”

“Yeah, yeah, boss, let me tell you—”

“….”

After eating lunch together at the school cafeteria, they parted ways. Louis got back in the car.

Heading toward the Cano International Orlando branch.

Starting a company wasn’t empty talk.

The Devourer Company would be part of the future enterprise. Reborn into this life, besides power and immortality, he’d claim influence, wealth, and beauty too.

And in America,

money was power.

He could enter every sector: the future internet, biomedicine, defense, consumer goods, water resources—all of it.

He would secure a dominant position in the secular world.

Not just that—he’d also launch a supernatural division.

Who says exorcism services can’t be corporate?

People like the Warrens or Elise rely on word-of-mouth, waiting passively for clients—too slow, too petty. What’s the difference between them and ancient shamans who only operated in one village?

No vision for growth at all.

Darkness is returning. Future strange events will only increase. Seize this chance—corporate it, systematize it, standardize it.

Only then can you seize the initiative and claim the greatest benefits.

And once I establish my sect, these will become natural peripheral forces.

Step by step, steady and sure, aligning with heaven’s timing—I refuse to believe I can’t become a sovereign here in America, even ascend to immortality.

(End of Chapter)