Chapter 239: The Fish Has Taken the Bait

I’m Mina, a girl from an ordinary family in Texas.

If nothing unusual happened, I’d probably finish high school, enter society, find a job to support myself—something like a waitress or dishwasher.

Then, after a few years, marry some average guy, worry together about insurance and loans, maybe one day expenses outstrip income, leaving us broke, forced to sell blood just to make ends meet.

Just barely scraping by.

Life stretched out ahead, utterly predictable.

But maybe I was just a little luckier—I discovered my special ability in a nightmare, and met someone—yes, my boss, a mysterious, powerful man.

He signed a contract with me; it might’ve looked like a soul-selling deal, but the pay was truly generous.

So, to change my fate, I signed this “devil’s” contract and was sent to live with an old woman as an undercover agent, learning her skills and experience.

I stayed like that for years.

She transformed from an eighteen-year-old high school graduate into a mature adult.

Recently, my boss—who had seemed to forget her—finally remembered her and issued a summons; unable to refuse, she had to go, bound by her voluntary contract and the “Loyalty Assurance Pill” she’d taken.

She arrived at a place called the Sanitation Company.

There, she met another old woman, whose aura resembled her master Elise—her name was Alma, and she became Mina’s new partner.

The boss assigned a mission: Mina and Alma would form a team to exorcise demons for the elite.

Exorcism?

That should be easy enough—demons aren’t that common.

Soon, I realized I was wrong.

……

“A request has come from the Hall family in the Boston district of Cambridge City. Based on the scout’s survey, it’s preliminarily identified as a medium-level demon. Mr. Fu has issued the order—both of you depart immediately.”

The white woman with round glasses spoke in a sweet, high-pitched voice, but to Mina, it sounded grating, not charming.

“Aaaahhhhh, got it!”

Mina grabbed her tool box and headed out, meeting her partner Alma—the old woman polishing her gold-rimmed glasses—right in front of the Hummer.

They got into the car.

“Mina, you seem in a bad mood.”

“Ugh, Ms. Alma, don’t you find this annoying? How many times is this this week? Back when I did exorcisms alone, it was never this insane.” Mina complained, yet kept rifling through her tool box, checking every item was present.

“Why are there so many damn demons now!”

Alma smiled mysteriously; through divination, she’d uncovered a small secret, and with life experience, she’d already guessed why demons kept appearing in the homes of the elite.

But there was no need to say it—better to avoid trouble. Don’t forget who you are now.

“Mina, you forgot one thing.”

Alma pulled out a small peachwood cross pendant and a peachwood pendant of the Kitchen God.

“Every exorcism pays us, and selling these items earns us commissions—even regular intervals grant us points.”

“You’ve seen what those points can be exchanged for, right?”

“So, in essence, this is just a regular job—and compared to people who sell their time and labor for pennies, this is an incredibly generous deal. Why are you so annoyed?”

Mina froze, fell silent for a moment, then sighed. “Alright, Ms. Alma, you’re right. I just haven’t adjusted yet—I’ll correct myself from now on.”

“Good girl. Now, let’s get to work.”

The car stopped.

The two walked toward a villa.

In front of it, a man surrounded by servants looked panicked; a woman clutched a child, quietly weeping.

After a brief exchange of words,

Mina and Alma entered, accompanied by a man holding a camera.

Soon,

Amid a shrill wail, a black, smoke-like entity vanished into nothing.

Whether intentional or not, the demon was finally cornered by the window—Mina held two talismans, her expression stern.

This scene was witnessed by the villa’s owner.

Moments later, Mina and Alma stepped out.

Alma bowed slightly. “Ladies and gentlemen, the demon inside has been completely eradicated. If you would be so kind, please leave a good review.”

“Also, these talismans have exorcising power… this one? This is the Kitchen God, a deity who protects households…”

“Mr. and Mrs., the Sanitation Company serves you with utmost dedication.”

……

“Excellent. If we keep this up, their reputation will rise quickly—soon, they won’t even need to put on this show to earn the elite’s trust.”

“Let’s also polish up our soldiers, start taking jobs, and begin containment.”

Then he hung up.

The Sanitation Company’s initial strategy was to build a duo, gain the wealthy’s trust, and use that to infiltrate their circles.

What came next was a different strategy entirely.

Of course, none of this currently concerned Louis.

After dividing departments, assigning leaders, and outlining next steps, Louis handed the company over to Fu Bo and went to MIT.

Amid the bald director’s helpless stare, he finally enrolled.

Honestly, MIT’s coursework was surprisingly light—management was relaxed, most classes weren’t mandatory, heavily dependent on self-discipline; yet exams were brutally strict.

But that wasn’t a problem for Louis—not because he was a genius, but because he hadn’t come here just to study.

Connections, certificates, three girls—those were his real reasons.

As for classes? Just pay someone to do them. Every school has students like that—gold-plating, everyone understands, everyone’s done it.

So Louis lived a leisurely life: occasional classes, most days spent lounging in his villa.

In Boston, in a location neither remote nor central—quiet but not isolated—stood a luxurious villa.

Louis slumped in his chair, basking in the sun, holding a fishing rod lightly, the line floating in the pond before him. A breeze stirred the blue surface, rippling gently.

Behind Louis,

Yulenc dressed in a white suit, smiling confidently as he practiced his speech in the mirror.

He looked every bit the polished elite—yet his smile radiated warmth, almost like a promising politician.

Beside him, Haley was buried in studying the earth vein node survey method Louis had taught her.

She’d already memorized the formulas, but as a true learner, she kept trying to dig deeper—yet this chess-like system was beyond her grasp.

She’d already smashed her third sand table.

Finally, Mary—absolute genius—had nearly mastered the earth vein node survey method, so now she was relaxed: she braided Louis’s hair with her fingers.

Louis slept with half-closed eyes, completely unaware of what Mary was doing.

Mary giggled silently, weaving his hair into tiny braids, then shaping them into little figures—trying to build a “doll kingdom” atop his head.

This was the current state of everyone in the villa. As for the maids Fu Bo had arranged, they hadn’t arrived yet—still being organized.

Of course, for Louis, this was perfect—peaceful.

Then,

“Ding-dong…”

The phone rang abruptly.

Mary flinched, darting behind Haley like a startled rabbit.

Louis opened his eyes; the phone floated up and answered itself. “Boss, the Warrens have moved.”

Moments later,

The call ended. Louis pondered.

The Warrens had arrived in Rhode Island—a small state south of Massachusetts, near New York, and close to Massachusetts.

The Warrens came here because they received an exorcism request, and according to our intelligence, this one might actually be a real demon incident.

Yes, a real demon incident.

Though the couple had resolved many demon cases over the years, those spanned decades—most “demon incidents” were fake.

Either murders, mass hysteria, or mental illness—each case had different causes.

Only rarely were they real; only in recent years had the number of genuine cases begun to rise.

The Warrens were someone Louis had been watching closely. This case was nearby and highly likely to be real—perhaps worth a trip?

Hmm, when will the nun-demon storyline begin?

Too bad this is a hybrid world—if it weren’t, I might’ve actively hunted them down instead of waiting.

He shook his head and decided to go—after all, it was close.

Just then,

The phone rang again.

Simultaneously, the fishing hook twitched—fish had bitten.

Click.

The call connected.

“Master, the company has made a major move—both arrays have been fully repaired. The chairman has personally ordered their activation.”

“The timing is half a month from now—in Rhode Island…”

“The scale will be massive—heavy armed forces deployed, and the number of sacrifices is enormous. I can tell the chairman and the upper echelons are taking this offering very seriously.”

“That’s all, Master. Please be careful.”

The call ended.

The caller was Shi Misi, a survivor of Company W whom Louis had recruited during the unnamed female corpse case, and who had been turned into a spy under the idea of wiping them all out.

He had even been credited with a meritorious achievement.

Now, the man had called, reporting Company W’s upcoming actions.

“The Gluttony Array, the Sin-Eater Array—combine the two, and you get the complete Gluttony Array, which can resurrect a person and turn them into a Gluttony Follower...”

“Also in Rhode Island. Quite a coincidence.”

“Looks like we have no choice but to go to Rhode Island this time.”

“I hope it’s not all show and no substance.”

Louis suddenly lifted his fishing rod; a large fish thrashed in the sunlight, shimmering with golden light.

…

Rhode Island.

A certain city.

The power of capital is immense.

With just an excuse, they had local officials cooperate, approved the land, and sent several construction teams overnight to begin work on the site.

For days on end, the area roared nonstop, day and night.

The surrounding residents grew weary of the noise, but with the compensation offered, no one caused trouble.

In fact, the strict lockdown posture was so intimidating that few dared to approach and demand answers.

Inside a building covered entirely in black cloth.

Shi Misi stood at the front, fully armed, facing his soldiers; farther off, more soldiers stood fully equipped, on guard.

After their previous total annihilation, though he had failed, he had also succeeded—he had retrieved the Gluttony Array, so he remained one of the Chairman’s direct units.

In this short time, he had reorganized his team.

And now, for this core mission, he had been called upon again, tasked with guarding and protecting this place, ensuring no one interfered with the sacrifice.

The engineer in charge here was a senior executive of the company; if successful, even top company executives would come.

After all, resurrection was too tempting.

Not arriving immediately was already their way of preserving their lives.

“Master, this time… it’s really dangerous… Please don’t come, don’t come, don’t take risks—I don’t want my life to be on the line...”

He stared at the black cloth-covered structure, at the five-pointed star array spanning over a hundred meters, built from blocks of black stone.

And the various bloody offerings placed atop it.

For example, homeless men slaughtered like pigs, their bodies dismembered, blood pooling across the ground.

In the deep trenches carved into the earth, severed limbs and blood had filled them completely, reeking of foul stench.

It looked exactly like a slaughterhouse.

Looking down from above, it was a bloody pentagram, surrounded by intricate crosses and circles—all filled to the brim with blood.

Terror, dread, and bloodshed defined the atmosphere here.

Shi Misi’s gaze never wavered.

As captain, he must fulfill his duty!

He silently prayed inside: please, let nothing go wrong this time. Let the Master not come. Let the ritual fail—that would be best!

…

Meanwhile.

The Warrens had already purchased tickets to Rhode Island.

This case involved a family who claimed a haunted house still affected them even after they had left.

They had contacted the Warrens through certain channels and provided evidence, which, though lacking credibility, prompted the Warrens to go due to their sense of responsibility.

(End of Chapter)