Chapter 202: Conversation, Hunting, Warren Sets in Motion

Creak—

The vehicle stopped at the entrance of Cano International; looking at the sea of job seekers before him, Louis gained a clear sense of the company’s current development.

Louis glanced at the floor department layout, then stepped into an elevator, swiped his ID card, and the elevator shot straight to the twentieth floor.

Click.

Watching the bustling staff and heightened security inside, Louis rubbed his chin and nodded silently—it looked properly organized.

Without disturbing his second uncle, Louis wandered through the building; when encountering soldiers checking IDs, he simply showed his card for verification.

After inspecting floors twenty-one through twenty-four, Louis took the elevator to the twenty-fifth floor.

Here was his second uncle’s domain—the storage area for all research products.

Louis examined everything carefully and found only ordinary mutated specimens; the derived products were mostly useless—like a serum from a great white shark that caused teeth to grow uncontrollably until they pierced the mouth.

After circling the area without finding anything valuable, Louis headed toward the center.

His second uncle, Asen , was on call after call.

“Good, start the publicity campaign—we must establish our brand as painless, side-effect-free weight loss. Ignore those weight-loss drug companies.”

“What? The Red Cross isn’t happy with our high-price blood donation offer? Says we’re disrupting the market? Go, contact the union—let them handle it.”

“The Mexican drug lord’s getting restless again? Understood. I’ll make a trip back.”

After five or six nonstop calls, Asen finally paused.

Since Cano International was founded, his phone had never been turned off—he was busy every day, just like his older brother Max, who was even busier, since this was only a branch; the headquarters was in Miami.

“Still, the family is thriving—but we’re short on heirs. Max’s sons still have no children. That won’t do.”

Asen was a traditional Italian; lineage mattered deeply to him. For a family to grow, it needed people who could be wholly trusted.

Like his father Karl had done—recruiting mostly cousins for battles, guarding the home, running businesses—all insiders. Sadly, too many were lost in the early days; the few remaining elders now mostly lived in retirement.

Their descendants held only idle positions in the company, incapable of handling real responsibilities.

Asen thought quickly: Max had two sons and a daughter, all married; his third brother had only one son, still unmarried.

The urge to push for marriage surged instantly.

Just then.

Louis approached. “Second uncle, done with the calls? Still busy, huh.”

Asen smiled. “Good boy, finally out. So, your seclusion’s over?”

“Yes, gained some progress. No need for further seclusion for now. How are Grandfather and Big Brother?”

“Fine. That coffin building is full. Your grandfather’s in great shape—he can eat two big steaks in one sitting…”

Asen stood and walked with Louis toward the floor-to-ceiling window as he spoke.

“Well?”

Louis looked down at the long line of people below, like ants, squinting—he knew what his second uncle was asking.

“Decent. But not enough.”

“Hm?”

Asen slightly stiffened.

In his view, the family’s growth was already extremely rapid and prosperous—was this not enough?

“I just checked: the internet industry still avoids investment after last year’s collective losses. The biotech sector too—only now, with the liposuction leeches, are they preparing to enter.”

“Too slow.”

“Second uncle, no need to tiptoe. Jordan’s liquidity isn’t for display.”

Asen ’s expression shifted—he hadn’t dared to act boldly here. Market volatility was one reason; lack of capital, another.

As for Jordan’s Cannibal Corp, though he could influence it to some degree, he must remember—it was his nephew’s own company.

Hence, for all these reasons, he’d refrained from heavily intervening in these two industries.

Louis glanced at his second uncle and smiled faintly—he could guess his thoughts, but it didn’t matter.

Because the entire Rebirth Prison base and this Cano International branch in Orlando were, in fact, prepared for him by Grandfather—though never stated outright, every trace confirmed it.

So using Jordan? In his view, it was nothing.

“Alright, you’re right. I’ll readjust the strategy.”

Then the two discussed the mutated creatures—this stemmed from Louis’s desire to produce Blood Elixirs.

Originally, he’d wanted to quickly make Blood Elixirs to aid the family, but the remaining monsters were too hard to find, so he’d asked the family for help.

Thus, a specialized capture team was formed—the elite unit from the prison—and the captured mutated creatures provided not only blood essence for Louis’s elixirs, but also had their own utility.

Hence the development of the building above the twentieth floor.

Yet over the past two and a half years, though many mutated creatures had been captured, few evil spirits or powerful supernatural beasts had been caught.

The Rebirth Prison still held only the few monsters Louis had contained.

“Mainly because they’re hard to find. Most ordinary evil spirits aren’t strong,” Asen said, sounding like he’d endured much—now he could speak such things without fear.

“By the way, since you’re out of seclusion, you should return to meet Grandfather and the others.”

“Alright.”

At this moment, Louis didn’t yet know he was about to step into a hell called “forced marriage.”

…

Miami.

Karl, muscular and imposing, watched Asen and Max pester Louis.

Louis sat in a chair, helplessly staring at his grandfather.

He never expected to face forced marriage so soon.

He’d been pressured enough in his last life—now again?

The voices continued in his ears.

“Little Louis, you’re grown now—you should marry early. If you don’t want to marry yet, just have a child first. Your grandfather’s in great health—he can raise the kid for you…”

“You’ve been close to Emma and Jiali, right? Take action—don’t hesitate. Don’t tell me you haven’t even slept with them yet.”

“...”

Louis simply manifested magic power into a barrier, blocking all sound—only removing it when their voices grew hoarse.

“Hahaha! Fine, since Little Louis isn’t ready, no rush. Come, go hunting with Grandfather.”

Soon.

The two reached a small forest, rifles in hand, searching for game.

“Have you been happy these days?”

Karl asked, raising his rifle.

“Fine. My power has grown, nothing troubling me—except some worry about the future.”

Louis scanned the surroundings as he told his grandfather about Hell, Darkness, and other matters.

“I see. That does warrant concern—but no need to over-worry.”

“After all, it’s none of our business. Let the Bureau and the Church handle it—that’s their problem.”

“But Grandfather, can they be trusted?” Louis asked the soul question.

Could they be trusted?

The answer was undeniable.

“We can’t place our hopes on others. I still prefer to control everything myself.”

Bang!

The bullet struck a deer.

Louis and the old man walked into the woods to retrieve the kill.

The grandfather gave no clear reaction to Louis’s reasoning, instead shifting topic.

“You’ve graduated—planning to keep studying or take over the company?”

“I’ll get a degree, just enough to build connections. Mostly, I’ll take over the company—there are things I need the company to handle.”

As they cleaned the deer, they continued talking.

Then.

Louis frowned slightly, gazing into the forest’s depths.

“What is it?”

Karl instantly chambered a round.

“Nothing. Someone’s coming.”

Louis and Karl walked forward—a small hill lay ahead.

A man stumbled toward them, hollow-eyed and disheveled, as if cursed by misfortune.

He stared blankly at a deer nearby, his rifle lowered, eyes filled with indescribable emotion.

Then.

Bang!

A shot rang out, striking the man’s side.

He collapsed to the ground, terrified, staring at the shooter—the setting sun blazed over the hilltop, blurring the shooter’s form.

The gun fired.

“Did you see who shot?”

Louis had appeared beside him, helping Lucas to his feet.

Lucas shook his head, his gaze fixed on the figure gradually fading away.

“No, I couldn’t make him out—he was standing in the sunlight.”

Louis looked at the man with deep pity.

The scene had been eerily familiar; he recognized the man. It was a movie—a drama titled The Hunt. Though a drama, in a certain sense, it was no different from a psychological horror.

It was essentially the story of how a little girl’s offhand lie destroyed a teacher’s life.

It was a satire targeting those who stood on moral high ground, foolish and blind.

Even when the law had provided evidence proving his innocence, people preferred to believe their own assumptions, refusing to admit their mistakes, doubling down on error—even after everything was resolved, only the surface changed; the rifts and hatred had taken deep root, impossible to heal…

Louis brushed the dust off Lucas’s clothes and, moved by pity from his past life, said, “How about a change of scenery? Interested in a new job?”

“Uh, I—I don’t quite understand what you mean.” Lucas snapped back, stepping two paces away, tense as he stared at Louis and Karl, the two strangers.

“Don’t worry. I’ve heard a little about your situation. Staying in this town probably won’t bring you peace. Why not change your environment?”

Lucas fell silent. A change of environment?

He thought of the townspeople’s awkward smiles, the heavy silence, the unbridgeable chasm in their hearts…

“You’re right. Maybe I really should leave. This place no longer welcomes me.”

After saying just a few words, Lucas did not accept the offer. He bid farewell to Louis, planning to seek out a distant cousin rumored to be wealthy, to begin a new life.

Watching him depart.

Karl, who had remained silent until now, asked, “Little Louis, are you interested in this man?”

Louis shook his head and briefly recounted the events.

Karl showed no change in expression. Decades of life had shown him too much of humanity’s beauty and ugliness—this was ordinary.

But Louis clearly saw it differently.

“If he had power over his own fate, what if he were falsely accused? Would he still fall into the trap of self-justification?”

“In other words, even if he really did it, so what?”

“Would those townspeople dare lay hands on him? Vigilante justice? Cold violence?”

“Grandfather, I don’t want to be powerless like him one day.”

Karl looked at Louis and sighed inwardly. Some people are born with firm convictions—they need no one’s interference.

Finally, Karl patted his shoulder. “Good boy. Go ahead and do as you wish. Grandfather supports you.”

The Hunt ended early.

The grandfather and grandson returned home with their game.

After lightly preparing the deer heart, Arsen personally sliced it and served it on the table.

“I learned this way of preparing venison from a friend of mine.”

He looked at the raw slices of meat—nearly bloodless, sprinkled with salt and seasonings.

Louis ate the slices without flinching, chewing slowly. Though raw, the meat wasn’t inedible; a trace of blood oozed in his mouth, sliding down with the meat.

Hmm. Not bad. A strange sensation.

There was no choice—cultivating the Five Qi Art required this. The fire of the heart.

Fortunately, he was no longer an ordinary person. An ordinary person would have been killed by parasites.

At that moment.

The phone rang.

Louis picked up, his expression shifting slightly. “The couple has finally moved.”

He hung up and turned to Karl. “Grandfather, I need to leave for a while.”

“Go. Stay safe.”

Louis rushed out.

Watching Louis depart, Karl coughed twice and turned to Arsen and Max. “Whatever Little Louis does from now on, you must support him fully. Don’t ask why. Understood?”

The two exchanged glances, then nodded.

Karl continued eating his steak slowly, his mind racing with Louis’s words about hell and darkness.

Should he build a sanctuary?

…

Meanwhile.

Louis immediately got into his car—but not toward Orlando. He headed for the airport.

Just now, a family member monitoring the Warrens had called to say they’d intercepted the couple’s latest assignment: a doll.

What kind of doll could it be?

The infamous Annabelle had finally arrived.

The two powerful demons from the Conjuring series, along with a string of malevolent spirits, had finally surfaced.

The Warrens’ destination this time: Pasadena, northeast of Los Angeles, California.

Not far from where Louis had once met the Red High Priest.

(End of Chapter)