Chapter 3654

In the rental apartment in Queens, Danny was swiping on his phone while eating a sandwich. Seeing funny content, he slapped his thigh and laughed out loud, double-tapping the screen to like and save it.

"Don't say, this post actually makes quite a bit of sense." Danny said, "... Why didn't this blogger finish reposting? No, I have to go to the original website to see. Finally met someone who knows the ropes."

Danny went through a series of operations to open the forum interface, and the content inside made him nod frequently. He stretched his neck to swallow the sandwich in his mouth and said, "I just said, the final mastermind must be related to hell. The previous shots already hinted at it through the patterns on the stained glass windows. Cain might have been controlled by some more powerful evil force..."

Continuing to scroll down, Danny's hand suddenly paused. He brought his phone closer and stared at the name on the screen, saying, "Mephisto?! How is this possible! The mastermind is Mephisto?!"

"Wait a minute." Danny suddenly stood up and said, "Most people think the devil of hell is Satan. I've read several posts before that speculated the same, but how could this author point out Mephisto?"

Danny heard the response of the Spirit of Vengeance inside him in the dark. He nodded and said, "That's right, this guy is an insider; he's not one of those people who followed the trend to study magic after the movie became popular. He should be an insider. At least he has some understanding of those demon gods; otherwise, he would never say the name Mephisto for no reason."

Danny carefully read the article again, frowning more as he read. He said, "This guy's understanding of the magic world is not shallow. Many of the terms he uses are different from those enthusiasts. And there is no admiration or curiosity about magic in his words; instead, it seems a bit pessimistic. This is the attitude of a normal mage."

"He said the mastermind is Mephisto and also said this might be a movie Mephisto made to promote himself. Could he know some inside information?"

Danny's expression became more and more serious. He clicked on the other party's homepage but didn't find anything. He sat restlessly in the room, constantly refreshing the replies, wanting to see if the author of this post had any new replies.

A knock on the door startled him, pulling his consciousness out of his thoughts. Danny walked over and opened the door; Johnny appeared outside the door carrying a large pile of plastic bags.

"I brought you pizza," he said, "and your favorite blue-can beer. Put these frozen instant foods in the refrigerator first."

Danny acted a bit awkward, embarrassed as if he didn't know where to put his hands. Johnny didn't pay attention to him, walked in on his own, and started rummaging through the refrigerator.

"There is an electrician training course on the community street tomorrow; you can go take a look." Johnny said, "The salary for electricians is quite good now; it would be even better if you could work in space."

Danny's lips moved, seemingly wanting to say something, but in the end, he said nothing, because he knew he wasn't qualified to refute. He is now entirely dependent on his brother's relief.

Danny had long since discovered that his mental state was unstable. This was not influenced by the Spirit of Vengeance, but because of his own personality. He had tried to work several times before, but all ended in failure; he is currently an unemployed vagrant.

Without income, naturally, he couldn't pay the bills. It was Johnny who helped him rent the house, regularly came to see him with some food, and even wanted to help him pay for the psychologist's fees. But unfortunately, it was too expensive, so he could only give him some advice like "go outdoors more."

Danny naturally didn't like this kind of life, but he lacked the courage to take that step again. He couldn't stand others looking at him with eyes like he was a monster, and he also really wanted to know how Johnny endured this kind of life.

What Johnny does isn't a high-paying job either. He used to modify cars for people, but because he wasn't willing to steal parts or sell owner information to thieves, his income had never been very high. He usually has to deliver food to subsidize the expenses of other members of the motorcycle gang.

Danny knows he has been taking classes at the community college night school, seemingly wanting to learn a craft so he can earn more money. At the same time, he has to work for Mephisto, almost without any free time, busy to the point that he looks very haggard.

"How is he doing lately?" Danny asked tentatively.

"You mean Mephisto? He's been very quiet lately and hasn't sent any new work." Johnny sat down on his own, opened the pizza box, brought two more bottles of beer, and said, "I have more time to study now. Once I pass the maintenance qualification certificate for the flying shuttle, I'll go find a job at a station in the Bronx. You can also move there. If the two of us save up some money, we can open our own auto repair shop..."

Johnny isn't a very interesting person, nor does he love to joke that much; he always speaks in a flat, narrative way, and he looks a bit tired. But his words always make people feel hopeful. Danny was also encouraged. He said, "I think I can try. But it will have to wait for a while. You take a look at this."

Danny handed over his phone; the screen was exactly that post. Johnny took a casual look, not serious at first, until he saw Mephisto's name, and then he looked carefully. Obviously, like Danny, he realized where the problem lay.

"Do you think it's possible that Mephisto is behind the scenes?" Danny opened the beer and asked.

"It's hard to say, but he has indeed been unusually quiet lately." Johnny rarely didn't refute; he said, "If he really intends to make a movie to promote himself, then perhaps he might have controlled some people in the crew."

Danny perked up and said, "I think the author of this post must have investigated something. I'm preparing to contact him so that we can stop Mephisto's conspiracy."

Johnny took a sip of beer and didn't refuse. He said, "Mephisto cannot come to Earth in person; he must have found some agent. If it's not me, perhaps it's that guy in Las Vegas. It's also possible he has other believers; it's hard to say."

Danny didn't listen; he was already typing a message to the author of the post. Not long after, the author of the post replied to him.

"All Souls College, Oxford? What kind of place is that?" Danny muttered to himself.

Johnny suddenly raised his eyes and said, "The author of the post is a researcher at All Souls College, Oxford? Are you sure?"

"He said he is, and even showed me an honorary degree certificate."

"It seems things are indeed a bit troublesome." Johnny said, pushing his tongue against his upper jaw, "That place is a very authoritative occult college. It has research on all occult disciplines generally recognized by the public and often deals with mages. If this is their conclusion, the possibility of it being true is very high."

"He said he is in the United States now and wants to meet me. Should I go?"

"Aren't you worried it's Mephisto's trap?"

"I'm not without the power to protect myself. Besides, if he really dares to appear in front of me, I will definitely beat him to a pulp."

Johnny didn't answer, just drank beer sip by sip. He seemed to be thinking, or perhaps he didn't care.

Danny hurriedly ate a few bites of pizza, finished another can of beer, put on his jacket, and ran out the door like he was flying.

He took a flying shuttle to the front of a coffee shop in Manhattan. Just as he wanted to walk in, he looked down at his slightly shabby attire and then looked at the elites in suits and leather shoes around him, feeling even more embarrassed.

He rubbed his nose, slowed his pace, slowly walked into the coffee shop, and scanned the surroundings with his eyes. Finally, he found the man described in the information the other party replied with: "wearing a turtleneck sweater, glasses, and a metal badge pinned to his chest."

Danny walked over and sat down, first sizing up the other party. The other party is not a complete white person; he should be of mixed race, and has more Eastern ancestry, with a pair of brown eyes, looking very gentle, very much in line with the scholar image in Danny's heart.

"Hello, I am Cage, the person who contacted you on the forum..."

"Hello, Nyarlathotep." Schiller handed over his business card, pushed his glasses, and said, "I have already explained the cause and effect to you. In short, I suspect Mephisto may have controlled someone in the crew, forcing him to shoot a movie about him, which would allow him to quickly recruit believers. I don't want such a thing to happen, what about you?"

"Of course! I am the same as you!" Danny said, "We must never let Mephisto's conspiracy succeed. But my brother said he might have possessed a new believer. Do you know who the other party is? How are we going to deal with him?"

"There is no news yet. However, I have already contacted some friends in the industry, and they will investigate all members of the crew. The person possessed by him will definitely have some anomalies. As long as we find the target, we might be able to use an exorcism ritual to send him back to hell."

Danny nodded vigorously and said, "Let's do it that way. But what can I do?"

"Since you can find me, it means you must have dealt with Mephisto. Now I want to know everything you know, about Mephisto." Schiller stood up, took the tray from the waiter, placed two cups of coffee in front of the two of them, and then said, "Don't rush, we can talk slowly."

Danny indeed knows quite a bit; he spoke intermittently, mainly about some of Mephisto's activities in the human world. Schiller listened while recording, thinking about the weaknesses Mephisto might have.

During the recording process, he glanced at his phone and found that his phone, which he had set to silent, had several missed calls, all from Stark.

"Hello? What's wrong?" Schiller asked.

"Schiller!!! Just now a long-haired guy impersonated you!!!" Stark's terrified roar came from the other end of the phone, "He ran into my laboratory!!! He looks exactly like you!!! I thought I saw a ghost!!!!"

Schiller said with some surprise, "How did you know it wasn't me?"

He was indeed a bit surprised that Stark could actually tell the difference. He thought everyone would just think it was another personality trait he suddenly logged on to.

"I also thought it was your other personality trait at first. But you know, little Morgan has a cold lately, and I'm anxious to death. He actually comforted me for a full 12 minutes and 26 seconds, but didn't ask me for a penny! I knew that damn thing absolutely couldn't be you!!!"

Schiller hung up the phone with a "snap."

(End of chapter)