Chapter 227: The Gluttonous Witch: Detailed Breakdown of W Company and the Inside Agent's Arrangement

The elevator has been completely destroyed; above the massive hole is a sky of azure blue.

At this moment.

Louis and the female corpse are inside the pit.

Calming the Soul-Stilling Ruler that had been releasing the power of the Auxiliary Blood River Pearl, Louis looked at the female corpse lying beside the pit.

The female corpse, having had her final illusion shattered, seemed to have lost all capacity to resist; her faint psychic energy appeared laughable to Louis.

With a thought, a torrent of Yin Spirit power parted like Moses dividing the sea, isolating the last remnants of her psychic force.

Looking at the corpse with its gray-white eyes wide open, Louis opened his mouth, generating a powerful suction that drew out the soul trapped within.

“Aaaaaaah—”

The soul, charred like charcoal, was swallowed whole by Louis.

Louis frowned slightly, activating his magic power internally.

His five viscera transformed into grinding mills, locking, crushing, and pulverizing the witch’s soul, comparable to a demon’s.

Even so, it was not safe enough.

Louis closed his eyes.

He turned his gaze inward, observing his organs.

Within his internal cavities, each cavity housed a divine spirit.

Metal, wood, water, fire, earth—white, green, black, red, yellow.

The five colors flowed and flickered within Louis; each flicker sent a flash of spiritual light, aiding his five viscera in suppressing the evil spirit within.

Over the past two and a half years, with abundant resources at his disposal, Louis had already cultivated the Lesser Five Ghosts Art, though it was still in the nurturing phase.

Even so, it was already sufficient to assist his five viscera, strengthening the power of his Ghost-Eating Witchcraft.

The Lesser Five Ghosts Art requires finding five infant ghosts aligned with the Five Elements, refining them into the five viscera, and settling them into the cavities to become divine spirits within the body.

The main difficulty lies in finding suitable infant ghosts; in ancient times, this was exceedingly hard—but unfortunately, in modern times, any hospital can provide countless aborted fetuses.

With no shortage of infant ghosts, locating them became naturally easier.

Now, with the five ghosts aiding in suppression, Alice, trapped in the fire-element heart, lost all resistance, forced to be burned and worn down by the Fire Infant Ghost’s flames.

Louis opened his eyes.

Without delay, he glanced at the corpse, still unrotted, then used his Yin Spirit power to levitate it and vanished in a flash back to the underground morgue.

He saw Tang Mi and his son supporting each other as they walked toward the exit.

!!!

Seeing Louis suddenly appear, along with the floating female corpse beside him.

Austin nervously raised his knife to shield his father; Tang Mi shook his head, pushed Austin aside, and looked at Louis’s blurred face, pleading, “Sir, could you spare our lives?”

“Yes—but you must tell me everything that happened here.”

Alice was not trustworthy, but here were two “witnesses”—their accounts could at least serve as reference.

Tang Mi exhaled in relief and recounted everything he had experienced.

Witch trial… painful ritual…

“...The illusions of this corpse were truly terrifying; my son and I nearly died inside. Even now, I’m not sure if we’ve truly escaped.”

Tang Mi’s voice was filled with doubt.

Louis pondered; combining Tang Mi’s account with Alice’s, he formed a rough understanding of the truth.

“In the illusion, I remember the bishop calling her… the Gluttonous Witch—and that array…”

Louis turned his head and waved his hand.

Plos!

The corpse was truly disemboweled this time.

Inside was a rag wrapped around teeth, inscribed with an array pattern; within her flesh and skin, the same array was indeed drawn.

“Heh, of course—nine truths and one lie are hardest to discern.”

Louis now roughly confirmed that part of Alice’s story was true.

During the witch trials, many women were wrongly killed, but some truly deserved death—like her.

But what did “Gluttonous Witch” mean?

“Tch, theological knowledge is so tedious and troublesome.”

Louis shook his head and looked at the tense Tang Mi and his son. “You can call the police now.”

Saying this,

He walked out, carrying the corpse with him.

Leaving Tang Mi and his son staring at each other, they finally exhaled deeply, relieved to have survived.

…

Above ground.

Most armed personnel were dead.

Only one captain remained, struggling to survive by sheer willpower; on his body, a sapphire emitted light, helping him resist the illusions.

Looking at the captain’s twisted face and the sapphire, Louis stroked his chin.

“This gem… is interesting.”

He felt it resembled the red ruby ring the Indian High Priest Red had given him, which amplified fire.

He took the gem, and the Huang light of the Soul-Stilling Ruler flashed from his third eye.

The illusions were dispelled.

Thud!

The captain collapsed to the ground, gasping, drenched in sweat; the cold ground jolted him back to reality.

Fighting the dizziness in his mind, he forced himself to look up—grass, their vehicle, his dead comrades, and a strange man holding his sapphire artifact…

So…

“I escaped the illusion?”

He muttered to himself.

This was the horror of illusions—even after escaping, you still doubted whether you’d truly escaped!

Perhaps even this escape was fake!

Everything was just a deeper illusion!

“Stop thinking. You really escaped.”

Only when Louis spoke did the Huang light from his Soul-Stilling Ruler flicker and vanish.

That Huang light was sharp, carrying the awareness of soul protection.

Merely being illuminated for an instant, he instinctively felt he was being “protected”—this was reality!

“Sir, thank you so much.”

“Don’t thank me. If you can’t answer my questions, you’ll probably die.”

???

Captain Shi Misi stared in shock.

Louis toyed with the sapphire and smiled. “Now, tell me about your company—and the full story of this incident.”

Under Louis’s intimidation,

Despite his loyalty to the company, Shi Misi chose to confess everything.

After enduring ten years in the illusion, he had gained new insight into life—nothing mattered more than survival; without life, nothing existed!

Shi Misi was one of W Company’s private armed forces, a mid-level officer.

He had originally served in the Marine Corps but was discharged due to injury and internal conflicts, then faced the problem every American soldier encounters.

Money!

The military provided no job placement; aside from a generous benefits package, Shi Misi received nothing else.

Of course, the military owed him nothing—during service, their benefits were excellent.

Due to his ex-wife, his money, house, and assets were divided, and he had to pay child support; unemployed and desperate, he was recruited by W Company.

He joined without hesitation.

With his exceptional skills, he joined the special armed unit in just two years and became captain this year, reaching mid-level status.

Thus, his knowledge of W Company far surpassed that of the former CIA agent, the female staff member.

In his account,

W Company had grown rapidly over the past two years, gaining support across southern states and establishing ties with more Jewish financial magnates, leading to a certain transformation.

The original goal—to research methods of controlling humans and establishing class hierarchies—remained unchanged.

But a new objective was added: acquiring ways to cleanse sins and ascend to heaven, or to extend life and delay descent into hell.

This was primarily proposed by the Jewish magnates, but likely also approved by W Company’s original backers.

After all, no one wanted to go to hell.

As for why Shi Misi knew this, it was simply because as a frontline operative collecting difficult supernatural entities, he was most sensitive to shifts in company policy.

For example, this female corpse.

According to their intelligence, the most important item was the array inside her abdomen, linked to the Seven Sins Demon Lord—Gluttony, Beelzebub.

An array capable of resurrection—who wouldn’t be tempted?

Louis’s eyelid twitched. Beelzebub, the Demon Lord of Gluttony—the legendary Fly King, Ghost King, Gluttony Demon Lord…

This was probably the second demon lord he had learned about, after the Greed Lord Mamen.

Suppressing the strange emotions stirred by this revelation, Louis asked about other matters.

“What exactly is this array?”

Regarding this array, Louis felt it wasn’t merely about resurrection—there must be other reasons hidden within it.

Of course.

After careful thought, Smith revealed a rumor he had accidentally overheard at the company.

“This array…”

The array is a ritual called Devouring Suffering, originating from England and seemingly sharing roots with the Sin-Eater rituals known among a select few of the upper class.

According to the think tank's analysis, if both arrays are assembled, one can become a favored servant of Gluttony Beelzebub and live eternally on Earth, no longer fearing descent into hell due to sin.

This is also why this special armed unit was directly dispatched—not only that, but he could call for support at any time.

Had the think tank's analysis not failed and the female corpse's illusion not been so absurd, he wouldn't have been wiped out without even a chance to call for backup.

At this, Louis’s hand froze.

So that’s how it is.

He hadn’t expected these wealthy people to share the same fears as his grandfather.

He hadn’t imagined that combining these two rituals could possibly achieve such an effect.

Still, he felt something was off.

Could the mighty Gluttony Lord really be so easily satisfied? Become a demon lord’s favored servant just by completing two rituals? Is it really that simple?

Hah.

Nonsense!

There’s definitely a trap here!

Based on his Yiguan impression of demons, Louis made this prediction.

Moreover, in horror films, the plot of human elites acting foolishly due to desire is common—and in this world fused with multiple American horror tropes, it’s even more plausible.

Tsk.

Louis increased his vigilance.

Then, looking at Smith, Louis asked another question.

“Where are W Company’s outposts located?”

Since he had already angered W Company, he might as well strike hard.

This faction, backed by new capitalists and certain Jewish financial clans, had always made him wary—but with his own strength growing, and now seeing their actual power, he realized it was not nearly as formidable as he thought.

Under such shifting conditions, isn’t it natural to consider action?

If he could find their headquarters…

Wouldn’t it be perfect to wipe them out in one blow?

As if sensing Louis’s thoughts, Smith hurriedly said, “My lord, I only know some of the outposts—they are…”

“No one except the upper echelons knows where the headquarters is, and the company itself is not weak.”

“Most of their strength has been diverted to the side of these wealthy patrons.”

At this, Smith’s expression turned somewhat helpless.

?

Louis was stunned. Wow, W Company really fits the profile of a capitalist corporation.

Looking at Smith, Louis suddenly changed his mind.

W Company cannot be killed off in one strike—kill one, and more will rise, because it is not merely a company, but a shared, unspoken expression of desire among many human elites.

Unless he infiltrated from within, seized control like a cuckoo in another’s nest, or at the very least planted his own mole.

Then, whether he seized control or wiped them out entirely, the initiative would be in his hands.

So.

“Smith, do you want to live?” Louis asked softly.

Smith immediately dropped to his knees, “My lord, tell me what I must do to survive—I’ll obey you completely!”

Wow, he’s awfully cooperative.

Louis smiled, producing a tiny blood-red pill, the size of a thumbtip, in his palm.

This new type of blood parasite, undetectable by conventional technology, was the best means of controlling people like him.

Under the lure of survival, Smith willingly submitted to control.

He became Louis’s mole inside W Company.

Smith rubbed his now-healed neck, wondering if it was a psychological illusion—he always felt a worm crawling inside his neck toward his brain.

Fine, dense threads of blood-red worms writhed around his brain; if he disobeyed orders, they would devour his mind.

He even thought of a terrifying creature called the Brain-Eating Worm.

He shuddered violently.

He glanced at Smith, who seemed lost in thought.

Louis looked at the array in his hand, memorized it, then tossed it back to Smith.

“My lord, uh… Boss?” Smith asked, puzzled.

“Take this back to report. I’ll help you rise within W Company. Don’t disappoint me.”

“Yes, Boss!”

Smith straightened his back and gave Louis a military salute.

“As for this incident, figure out your own explanation. That’s all.”

“Call for backup.”

With that, Louis vanished with the female corpse.

Looking at his boss, who had disappeared in an instant, and the contact details still in his palm, Smith fell silent.

Everything that happened today was truly surreal.

He had just been assigned a routine emergency mission—how did it turn into this?

Finally,

He sighed, touched his neck, as if sensing the bloodthirsty worm.

Shivering, he picked up his pager.

Soon,

Local police forces and another special armed unit arrived.

Correct.

They even interfered with the police force.

(End of Chapter)