[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-becoming-a-god-through-horror":3,"chapter-becoming-a-god-through-horror-becoming-a-god-through-horror-chapter-54":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Becoming a God Through Horror",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2273597,4441,"Chapter 54: Naughty Child","becoming-a-god-through-horror-chapter-54",54,"\u003Cp>Jiali said those words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed extremely cowardly, even foolish, but in truth, it was also kindness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Louis watched clearly from the side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She clearly said it just to spare Emma from embarrassment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet this kind of kindness and behavior…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Louis still felt there was more cowardice and foolishness than anything else—truly inadvisable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he was too lazy to argue further with Emma; after all, it was a trivial matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, come in.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He took a sip of ice cola, then turned and walked back inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Emma glanced at Jiali, making the girl nervous and trembling, then the two of them followed one after the other into the house.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Jiali, how have you been lately?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Very well.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Has Yulunka been bullying you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No no, Big Sister helped me a lot.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They exchanged words back and forth, all initiated by Louis; Jiali also wanted to converse freely with Louis, but with few friends and little social experience, she clearly struggled to do so.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a while, Jiali chose to take her leave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before leaving, she stole several glances at Louis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gate closed. Jiali pulled out the empty cola bottle in her hand, stared blankly for a moment, then happily walked home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With this, she was happy all day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Jiali left, Emma glanced at Louis. Seeing him look over, she quickly said, “I’ve already apologized.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I know, but I’m not talking about that. David said we’d travel during summer—better think ahead about how you’ll deal with Yulunka then. Let me be clear: I don’t want to see you two come to blows.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Louis acted like a referee, setting rules for them in advance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Emma sighed in relief. “That? No problem.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Now, bring me a chicken leg.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Emma obediently walked toward the kitchen; faintly, her muffled curses could be heard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Again ordering me around… sooner or later… damn it…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Louis smiled, unconcerned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was Emma.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If she were a well-behaved child who never even cursed behind someone’s back, that’d be weird—no, it’d only mean she was holding back something worse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stretched, watching various late-night shows and supernatural programs on TV while sketching talismans on his hand—unfortunately, most of them failed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, a stack of discarded paper piled up beside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And as Louis practiced…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>David, at the factory, received a phone call. Soon, he was beaming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Good luck—the previous deal had succeeded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had acquired a batch of machines from Mao Xiong at an extremely low price. Undoubtedly, Mao Xiong’s industrial strength was truly impressive; every model shipped over was a premium product. How could they possibly be short on food and clothing?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>David gave it a moment’s thought, then dismissed it—it had nothing to do with him. With these machines, his production capacity could expand. Though the Guoshui Bureau’s tax collectors were ruthless, expanding production meant he earned far more than before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he’d have money to support Emma and Yulunka attending university in the big city—yes, if possible, even send them to MIT.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That little girl Mary was doing quite well there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for Louis, though he also wanted to support Louis’s future attendance at MIT, Louis’s future was beyond his interference.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even now, he’d never gotten Louis to call him “Dad.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of this, David felt gloomy and took a sip of coffee.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ding ding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The phone rang again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, the caller was his sister Angela. David remembered she and Olivier had gone on some… Eden Lake… trip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hello, Angela, why are you calling so soon? I don’t want to interrupt you two.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His sister and brother-in-law had been married for years; this trip likely meant they wanted another child—he couldn’t disturb them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, Olivier and I haven’t left yet—we’re planning to go in a couple days. I’m just asking: should we bring Emma and the others? We checked the map—Eden Lake isn’t far from here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The scenery there should be nice, and the neighborhood’s getting renovated soon—then it won’t be easy to visit.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>David paused, thought it over, then chose to decline.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew how long Olivier had wanted a second child, and his own family planned to travel during summer anyway—they could stop by then. No need to intrude.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright then. By the way, Emma…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After chatting two more minutes with his sister, David hung up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He immediately called Olivier, earning the man’s praise and a promise of drinks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several days passed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Eden Lake region, Orlando direction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A young couple arrived there, bypassed the iron gate, took a footpath to the lakeside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eden Lake truly was beautiful—the water rippled, shimmering under sunlight, a gentle breeze brushing their faces, refreshingly cool; for the young couple, it was pure romance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What would happen next seemed obvious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unfortunately, the loud chatter of teenagers and booming speakers shattered it all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom boom… boom boom…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang wang wang!!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Noise, dog barks, music…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Steve, the man, couldn’t take it anymore—he walked over and turned off the speaker. “Hey, boys, control your dogs and music.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Are we disturbing your love? Is this your house? Outsiders!” a girl sneered. The other teens ignored him entirely, standing there as if nothing happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing they were outnumbered and the speaker was off, Steve held his tongue, cursed under his breath, then returned to his playful time with Jennie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The teens laughed and left, making mock bear-humping gestures as they went—every motion dripping with sexual humiliation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, at that moment, rustling sounds came from the woods, interrupting them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Angela and Olivier walked in carrying supplies, saw Jennie and Steve in their lakeside camping setup, and waved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey, you’re camping too?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Buddy, I…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After some conversation, Olivier set up his tent nearby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Night fell, darkness enveloped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From both tents came sounds that stirred desire and heartbeats.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside, several shadowy figures quietly opened their backpacks and began stealing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After stealing, they didn’t leave—they hid in the woods, peering secretly, whispering and giggling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One bold teen even crept to Angela’s tent to spy, prompting Olivier to hurl something at him—nearly chasing him out to teach him a lesson.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the two couples emerged from their tents, they exchanged glances, faces flushed, smiling shyly, then quickly recovered and began packing up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was then that both sides noticed something missing!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under Steve’s account, the four quickly pinned the blame on the uneducated little brats.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, Louis sat in David’s car, heading north toward Orlando.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>David was going to pick up Yulunka; Louis was going to buy cinnabar and ink, and just wander around—he’d been cooped up at home too long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the car, Louis played with a slender dagger, performing intricate maneuvers in his hand—its gleam sharp, dazzling to the eye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ding ding!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The phone rang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Click.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Bro, help… call the police…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The signal must’ve been poor—the call abruptly cut off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1134,"2026-06-19T23:34:28.869Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","19479df06106869ba4f7e489ccb111eeea53a08535407d28cee125497d876599","becoming-a-god-through-horror-chapter-55","becoming-a-god-through-horror-chapter-53",253,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fbecoming-a-god-through-horror-cover.jpg"]