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🕑 Added 2025-06-17 16:40:22 +0000 UTCChapter 134: Hush Money
"What the...? How could it be this fast?"
Just two more seconds and Roy could've picked the lock.
Should he just force it open and go in?
It felt kind of pointless, and it'd probably just attract the cops. It'd be better to come back later tonight when nobody's around and try to pick the lock then.
Once he figured that out, Roy immediately put away the wire and moved with Sultana.
Since they weren't too familiar with the layout of the meat processing plant, the two of them ended up in an unfamiliar hallway.
Walking towards them was a man with a blank expression and a face full of hard muscle.
"Mahogany!"
That guy actually works here!
Roy was becoming more and more convinced that something was wrong with this meat processing plant!
Mahogany, walking towards them, felt like Roy looked vaguely familiar, but since he was wearing a full set of work clothes, he didn't recognize him.
Roy nudged Sultana with his elbow, and she immediately caught on.
"Excuse me, sir! We're new here, and we can't find the locker room!"
Mahogany had his tongue cut out, so he couldn't speak, but he still pointed them in the direction of the locker room.
"Thank you, sir!"
Sultana pulled Roy along, and after Mahogany took a few steps, he suddenly remembered something and immediately started chasing after them towards the locker room.
Too bad for him, Roy and Sultana didn't stop in the locker room. Since it was close to the exit, they just went straight through it and left the meat processing plant.
After a quick run, the two of them got back into the Chevrolet Camaro. They drove the car away from the vicinity of the meat processing plant before taking off their work clothes.
"Whew! Roy, why didn't you say anything just now?"
"That guy just now, he's the butcher I saw on the subway!"
Sultana was shocked.
"He's the butcher? It's only been a few days, how is he already healed up?"
Sultana knew Roy's fighting ability. If an ordinary person took a beating from Roy, they'd be laid up for at least a few weeks.
"I don't think he's a normal human anymore!"
Roy still remembered the disgusting fleshy lumps and the mark of Beelzebub he saw on the butcher Mahogany that night.
This guy might not have completely turned into a demon like Kevin, but he wasn't far off.
"Alright, well at least this proves that there's definitely something wrong with this meat processing plant!"
As long as there's suspicion, the FEA can take action, but it's best to investigate further to avoid a repeat of what happened at the mental hospital last time.
Sultana's career couldn't handle another failure.
"Let's still investigate a bit more, but Sultana, you can report to Gerald first and give him a heads-up."
Sultana nodded.
"I will! Roy, are we going to do this again tonight?"
Investigating Joseph's Meat Processing Plant continuously might cause some problems. After all, their actions just now might have already tipped someone off.
But Roy didn't care about those problems; the main thing was Sultana.
"Sultana, if it doesn't affect you, I can go again."
Sultana thought for a moment, feeling that since she had just been reinstated, it was better to play it safe.
"I'll report to Gerald first and see what he says. I'll let you know then."
Sultana made a gesture like she was making a phone call.
"Should I take you back to the hotel?"
"No, just take me straight to the Dolphin Hotel."
Time flew by, and it was soon night. There were even more spectators tonight than yesterday, probably because the Santa Monica Cup's reputation had really taken off.
But the Santa Monica Cup was indeed intense, with back-to-back matches.
You know, even professional boxers don't fight like that, especially those championship-level boxers. They might only fight a few title defenses a year to keep their belts, and the rest of the time they can do whatever they want.
Then, they rake in hundreds of millions a year.
But professional boxers still have to keep training; that's part of their job.
However, compared to those NBA players who have to play 82 games a year and fly all over America, they definitely have a much more leisurely life.
That's why Roy chose this path.
"Mr. Black, I've already asked around. Your opponent tonight is a USC student. He's really good, so you need to be careful!"
Since he was acting as Roy's temporary coach, Allen had done his homework and found out who Roy's opponent was tonight.
Hmm, this work was better than nothing. Maybe if the opponent wasn't from USC, Allen wouldn't have even bothered to check.
"I got it, Mr. Berger. I'll definitely teach him a good lesson."
Roy was a bit absent-minded; he was still thinking about the meat processing plant and Mahogany.
It wasn't until the referee started calling his name that Roy snapped back to reality.
"Next up in the preliminary rounds: Roy Black and Blair Perez!"
Roy received a considerable cheer as he stepped onto the ring. More and more people were calling him the Grim Reaper now.
After all, just last night some poor guy had his teeth knocked out by Roy and was already on a liquid diet.
Looking around the ring, Roy waved to Heather, Penny, Sultana, and Mary, who were there to watch the match.
Roy was also surprised to see Gerald standing next to Sultana.
Did the director of the FEA's Los Angeles branch really have time to watch an amateur boxing match like this?
Turning back around, Roy glanced at his opponent for today.
Still a black guy. There was a significant black population in Los Angeles due to historical reasons.
And the sports industry had always been a place where black people had an advantage. Black students who could get into college were mostly on sports scholarships.
"I heard you're a USC student?"
This well-built black guy was at least six and a half feet tall with a very long reach, like a gorilla.
"How do you know that?"
"Someone from UCLA told me."
As soon as he heard the word "UCLA," the black guy's expression turned a bit sour. He probably already guessed what Roy was going to say next.
"He told me to teach you a good lesson. Are you ready to get your butt kicked?"
The referee looked at Roy with a bit of a speechless expression. He was also the referee for Roy and Evans Dean's fight yesterday.
Yesterday, Roy's taunts made Evans Dean lose his cool, and today Roy was starting to taunt again.
However, although this Blair Perez was black, he was clearly much calmer than Evans Dean. He just looked a little darker in the face at Roy's taunts.
It was nighttime, so no one could really see the change.
Roy felt a bit bored. If he couldn't provoke his opponent, how was he supposed to put on a show?
He was just about to say a few more taunting words, but the referee, perhaps not wanting to see Roy taunt his opponent again, quickly finished explaining the rules and prohibitions and directly announced the start of the match.
Blair was very cautious and didn't attack immediately. Relying on his better physical stats than Roy, he took a step back and started observing.
Even though Roy stood there with his hands on his hips, Blair didn't attack.
This kind of opponent was really boring. The audience immediately started booing Blair. They wanted to see the kind of amazing dodging performance Roy put on last night again.
Blair was just a college student after all, and his mentality was a bit lacking. After being booed by the audience, he immediately got a little flustered and tentatively launched an attack on Roy.
With his super long reach, Blair could hit Roy while ensuring he wouldn't get hit himself.
Of course, this tentative attack naturally didn't hit Roy, which made Blair even more cautious.
The scene was quite awkward for a while!
Just as the referee was about to call it a passive match, Roy suddenly spoke up.
"Is this all the guts a USC student has?"
This was like kicking a hornet's nest, because Roy's voice was particularly loud, and many people in the audience heard him.
After all, only a few people could get into USC. Roy's area-of-effect attack didn't hit too many people, but it got the hecklers in the audience riled up.
Now Blair couldn't afford to be conservative anymore. If word of this got out, he wouldn't be able to show his face at USC.
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So, Blair suddenly took a quick step towards Roy and then, keeping a good distance, threw a combination of punches.
This combination of punches naturally still didn't hit Roy.
But Roy was too lazy to keep dodging. If he kept dodging, the first round would be over.
If he had to go to the second round for a preliminary match, what would happen to Roy's cool image?
Continuous V-shaped feints and rushes!
Since his reach wasn't as long as his opponent's, he had to get as close as possible.
A left hook dispersed one of Blair's hands. This guy was indeed good at defense, and his guard was quite solid.
But then Roy's right straight punch increased in power, hitting Blair's defending fist directly and causing him to hit himself in the cheek with his own fist.
With a crack, a crisp sound came from Blair's wrist, and at the same time, he was knocked down by his own punch.
The referee immediately stopped the match and arranged for the doctor to check Blair's wrist.
The result was as expected: Blair's wrist was fractured.
There was no need for a count; the referee directly announced Roy's TKO victory.
Under the ring, the audience once again chanted Roy's nickname, the Grim Reaper. Although tonight's match wasn't as flashy as yesterday's, it was violent enough.
After all, it was relatively rare for a boxer to get their hand fractured.
Allen was very satisfied with Roy's performance.
"Nice work, Mr. Black. I think the UCLA board of trustees will definitely hear about your performance tonight. Now go enjoy the fruits of your victory!"
After saying that, Allen left.
And Heather and Penny had already rushed over and jumped onto Roy.
Roy easily lifted the two girls with his arms, showing off his powerful strength, which made the audience even more excited.
Not far away, Mary looked at Heather and Penny with a hint of envy on her face.
Although she didn't want to admit it, Mary felt herself becoming more and more attracted to Roy.
She even dreamed about Roy at night.
This situation made the rather conservative Mary very shy, and she hadn't dared to say hello to Roy for the past two days.
Roy carried Heather and Penny out of the competition venue, ready to go back to the hotel and enjoy his victory.
However, the buzzkill arrived at this moment.
"Mr. Black, can we have a word?"
Gerald, leading a blank-faced Sultana, walked over and interrupted Roy's celebration.
Roy glanced at Sultana, then at Gerald, and finally nodded.
"Sure! You two go back to the hotel and get yourselves cleaned up and wait for me! I'll be back soon!"
Clap clap!
Two crisp sounds, the sound of Roy slapping Heather and Penny's taillights.
"Mr. Black, let's talk in my office."
The venue for the Santa Monica Cup wasn't too far from the Dolphin Hotel, about a five-minute walk.
Entering the office, Gerald once again took out the bottle of whiskey that wasn't finished yet.
"Mr. Black, would you like a drink?"
"Nah, I'll pass. There might be something important to do tonight."
Hearing this, Gerald put down the whiskey and the glass.
"You're right! Let's wait until the matter is resolved before we have this drink."
The three of them sat down, and Gerald got down to business.
"Sultana has already told me the details about the subway incident. I'm quite pleased that you were able to find out so much in a single day."
Roy's expression became a bit strange. Gerald's tone was really like a leader giving a speech, but the problem was, he wasn't an FEA agent!
"Mr. Orlin, please make it quick, I have important things to do!"
Sultana gave Roy a look, but didn't say anything, letting him figure it out himself.
"Ahem! You're right, Mr. Black, I should indeed make it quick! The subway incident involves a wide range of people, and a direct investigation might alert those behind it. So, to prevent the situation from worsening, I've decided to temporarily halt the investigation into this incident and continue it after things have been coordinated with higher-ups."
Roy raised an eyebrow, not expecting Gerald to make this choice.
But there was nothing to be done about it. The more they investigated the Midnight Cannibal Train incident, the more they realized how deep the water was behind it.
It was the kind of situation where pulling out one radish would bring out a towering tree. Gerald definitely wasn't willing to bet his career on it; it wasn't worth it!
However, judging from Gerald's expression, it seemed like he had made some other discovery, which was why he was suspending the investigation.
"Mr. Orlin, have you discovered something?"
Gerald looked at Sultana. It seemed it wasn't Gerald who had made a new discovery, but Sultana.
"At dusk, I paid a visit to Athena Dimitrescu and obtained this from her."
Sultana placed a brass ring on the desk. The brass ring had a circular symbol on it, which was the mark of Beelzebub that Roy had seen on Mahogany before.
"Rings and necklaces with this kind of pattern are widely found within the Los Angeles Police Department. If we continue to investigate, it might provoke a backlash from the LAPD."
You know, there were nearly ten thousand police officers in Los Angeles. If these police officers were all infiltrated by demons, it could cause major chaos.
Whether it was the FEA or other federal departments, their purpose was still to maintain federal stability. Gerald naturally wouldn't dare to mess around; he really couldn't take the blame for that.
"Alright then, I don't care anyway, as long as Sultana is okay with it."
Gerald breathed a slight sigh of relief, a smile appearing on his face.
"Oh, that's right, Mr. Black, there's some good news. Your intelligence fee has been approved. The total amount is two hundred thousand dollars!"
That much?
Roy immediately realized that such a large sum of money must also include hush money.
"Ha, Mr. Orlin, it's been a pleasure working with you!"
Chapter 135: Kidnapping
"Mr. Blake, before I transfer the money to your account, I need to remind you. If I transfer it directly to you, the taxes you'll have to pay could be crazy high!"
Roy hadn't previously thought his information fee would be this large, so he had Gerald just take care of the taxes for him.
But now it seemed that doing so wasn't the best idea. Los Angeles has a really high tax rate, and Roy definitely didn't want to just hand over a big chunk of his money to the IRS.
"How about this? Hold off on transferring the information fee for a few days. I'll go set up a studio first, and then you can transfer the money to the studio account."
Paying taxes through a studio is much less than paying individual income tax, and the tax rate also depends on where the studio is registered, so there's a lot of room to maneuver.
However, he still needed to consult with an accountant about the specifics. The tax system here in America is just too complicated.
"Of course, no problem! You can come to me to withdraw this information fee anytime."
"Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Orrin!"
"Pleasure doing business with you!"
After that, Roy left Gerald's office with Sultana.
Originally, Roy wanted to be a gentleman and offer Sultana a ride home, but Sultana drove herself, so there was no way.
"Sultana, you don't seem too disappointed?"
Roy walked side-by-side with the chocolate beauty, seeing her off to the parking lot.
"The subway case is complex, and Gerald's choice is the right one. We can't take risks."
Okay, Roy didn't know Sultana well enough. She's probably just more conservative when it comes to work.
But sometimes, even if the FEA wants to back off for a while, the enemy might not.
After seeing the older sister off, Roy was about to head back to his suite to enjoy the fruits of their victory with Heather and Penny when his phone suddenly rang.
He picked up his phone and saw it was Dalia calling.
This was a bit strange. Dalia hadn't been answering her phone or replying to messages for the past two days. Why would she suddenly call him?
Could something have happened?
Roy immediately answered the phone.
"Hello, this is Roy."
"Roy, something bad happened! I noticed some strange people snooping around my house. Could it be those things from the subway tunnel that night?"
Hmm? Those guys made a move?
Roy thought for a moment. It's possible their actions at noon had stirred things up, prompting Butcher's side to take action.
But Roy was strong, and the two women with him, Heather and Penny, were resting in the hotel these past two days because they were too tired from having fun the previous days, so the enemy had no way to get to them.
The Dolphin Hotel was the FEA's stronghold. Butcher would have to be crazy to enter there and try to grab someone.
But why would they go after Dalia?
If they were looking for someone, it should be him, right?
Back then, neither the subway driver nor Butcher should have seen Dalia.
Thinking about what Gerald had mentioned earlier about the Los Angeles police, Roy thought of a possibility.
"Dalia, did you call the police after that day?"
Dalia didn't hesitate and immediately answered Roy.
"After getting home that night, I was scared all night. The next day, when I was reading the newspaper, I saw a missing person notice and thought about going to the police station to provide some clues, but the police ignored me."
Okay, Dalia had good intentions, but good intentions led to bad results.
Butcher and his people must have targeted Dalia that way.
"Dalia, lock your doors and windows right now. I'm coming to you immediately! Remember, don't trust anyone!"
After hanging up, Roy called Heather and Penny, telling them he might be back late, and then drove his second-hand yellow Chevrolet Camaro straight to Dalia's apartment.
On the other side, after Roy hung up, Dalia immediately closed all the windows and drew the curtains.
Then, she pushed a cabinet against the front door before hugging her daughter Ceci and huddling together on the headboard.
Her daughter Ceci, who was only six years old, didn't understand why her mother was doing this, but she could sense her mother's fear.
"Mommy, why are we doing this?"
Looking at her innocent and lovely daughter, Dalia could only force an explanation.
"Shh, Ceci, we're playing hide-and-seek with someone. It's best not to talk right now."
Hearing that it was a game, Ceci immediately became quiet.
But it's actually quite difficult to keep a young child quiet in one place for a long time. Being noisy is in their nature.
After holding it in for about five minutes, Ceci started talking again.
"Mommy, hasn't that person found us yet?"
Dalia desperately hoped the stranger outside wouldn't find her and her daughter, but the lack of any sound made her hesitate.
"Mommy's going to take a look now."
Dalia went to the window, pulled back a part of the curtain, and looked out at the street.
It was the weekend, and Dalia had taken her daughter out to play all day. On the way home, she felt like someone was following her.
But at first, Dalia thought it was her ex-husband sending people to tail her.
Dalia and her ex-husband were in a critical stage of fighting for custody of their daughter, and she had encountered similar situations before.
However, when she went to pick up her daughter Ceci from kindergarten, Dalia unexpectedly saw the face of the person following her. It was Butcher Mahogany, who had appeared in the subway that day.
This terrified Dalia. After quickly taking her daughter home, she saw through the window that Mahogany was still standing on the street corner, watching.
Dalia's first instinct was to call Roy for help, but what she saw at the Santa Monica Cup last night made her hesitate. In the end, she chose to call the police.
Unfortunately, after making several calls to the police, the operators just gave her some perfunctory responses.
This is also where Dalia was too naive. In America, the police are only responsible for arresting criminals and maintaining social order after a crime has occurred. They have no obligation to protect potential victims before a crime happens.
That's the job of security, and you have to pay extra for that.
No joke, there are real cases of this!
Two girls heard strange noises and a woman screaming from next door, so they called the police. The police operator said they would send someone to check.
Hearing that the police would come, the two righteous girls chose to help the woman next door, and as expected, both of them were caught and raped by the criminals.
During this time, three waves of police came, but they just knocked on the door, asked a few casual questions, and left.
Afterwards, the two girls sued the local police, but they lost the case.
The court's reasoning was:
"The duty to provide public services is a duty owed to the general public, and in the absence of a special relationship between the police and an individual, there is no specific legal duty."
In other words, even if the Los Angeles police weren't corrupt, they still wouldn't necessarily send someone to rescue Dalia and her daughter.
After several hours, the police still hadn't shown up, and Mahogany hadn't disappeared. Utterly terrified, Dalia finally chose to call Roy for help.
But now, when Dalia looked at the street corner, she noticed that Mahogany's figure was gone. Had he given up?
"Mommy, did you see anything?"
"No, Mommy didn't see anything."
Slightly relieved, Dalia went back to the bedside and hugged her daughter Ceci, praying in her heart that Roy would arrive quickly.
"Mommy, I made a new friend these past few days!"
Dalia tried hard to control the fear in her heart, not wanting to affect her daughter.
"A new friend? Did you meet them at kindergarten?"
Ceci shook her head.
"No! I met them when I was waiting for Mommy after school!"
Dalia was taken aback. Because she didn't have much education or any specialized skills, she could only choose odd jobs or labor-intensive work.
The problem with these jobs was that her finishing time wasn't very stable, so she was often late picking up her daughter from school.
Dalia patted Ceci's head, feeling somewhat worried about her daughter.
"Ceci, can you tell me about this new friend?"
"Yeah! Mommy, I drew a picture for him. I'll go get it to show you!"
Ceci left Dalia's arms, walked over to her little backpack, and took out a crayon drawing from inside.
Seeing Ceci's old backpack made Dalia feel a pang. She had bought that little backpack before her divorce, and it had been used for several years, but because of financial difficulties, she hadn't bought a new one.
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Now, seeing this old backpack, Dalia felt very guilty and didn't even notice when Ceci had returned to her.
"Mommy, look quickly! This is the friend I drew!"
Shaken a few times by her daughter, Dalia finally came back to her senses and looked at the crayon drawing in Ceci's hand.
It showed a tall man in a suit holding the hand of a little girl. Strangely, the little girl in the picture had a big smile, but the tall man's face was completely blank.
"Ceci, why didn't you draw a face on your friend?"
"But Slender Man doesn't have a face!"
This sentence startled Dalia. How could a person not have a face?
Looking closely at Ceci's expression, the little girl had a matter-of-fact look on her face, as if the Slender Man she was talking about really didn't have a face.
"Ceci, tell me, does your new friend really not have a face?"
Having experienced the subway monster incident, Dalia already knew that there were many supernatural things in this world. There were man-eating monsters in the subway tunnels, so it didn't seem strange that someone might not have facial features. Maybe he practiced some kind of 'Faceless Divine Skill'?
Ceci nodded emphatically.
"Yeah! Slender Man doesn't have a face, and he's really tall! Taller than Daddy, as tall as two Mommies!"
Dalia was five foot nine. Two of her would be about eleven and a half feet! Even if Ceci's description was a bit exaggerated, it should still be around ten feet. Could there really be someone that tall?
Alcina Dimitrescu: Yes, there is!
Dalia hesitated for a moment, wondering if Ceci was dreaming. If there really was someone that tall appearing at the kindergarten, the teachers there couldn't possibly have missed it.
But these past few days, the kindergarten teachers hadn't mentioned anything about a ten-foot-tall person. Instead, they told Dalia that Ceci's mood had been fluctuating a lot lately, and she didn't like playing games with the other children anymore.
Dalia knew that this was because the divorce and the broken family had caused a change in Ceci's mental state.
Many parents think that young children don't understand anything, but they don't realize that even though children might not understand everything, they can sense changes in emotions.
These emotional changes can subtly alter a child's psychology.
Dalia hugged Ceci, feeling a pang of heartache. She believed that it was because she had been too busy with work and hadn't paid enough attention to Ceci recently that her child had created an imaginary friend.
"I'm sorry, Ceci. Mommy was wrong!"
Ceci looked at her mother strangely, not understanding why her mother was apologizing, but she could feel her mother's concern at that moment, so she happily hugged her back.
The brief moment of warmth was interrupted by a rapid knocking on the door.
Dalia was plunged back into terror. She released her daughter Ceci and pushed her under the bed.
"Ceci, hide under the bed and don't make a sound!"
"Mommy, are we still playing hide-and-seek?"
"Yes, it's still hide-and-seek! If Ceci can hide without being found, I'll take you to McDonald's tomorrow!"
Hearing that she could have McDonald's, Ceci's eyes lit up immediately.
"Okay! I'll definitely hide well and won't make a single sound!"
As she said this, Ceci even covered her own mouth.
Seeing how obedient her daughter was, Dalia then left the bedroom and went to the front door, grabbing a rolling pin from the kitchen for protection.
"Who's there?"
A woman's voice came from outside the door.
"LAPD! Did you call the police?"
Looking through the peephole, Dalia saw two people in police uniforms standing outside, a man and a woman, which seemed to fit the standard for a police call.
'It really is the police,' Dalia thought, feeling a sense of relief. She was just about to push away the cabinet blocking the door and open it when she suddenly remembered Roy's last words:
Don't trust anyone!
Not even the police?
Dalia hesitated for a moment, and then the female police officer outside started knocking again.
"Open the door now, or we'll have to break it down!"
Hearing this, Dalia had no choice but to push away the cabinet and prepare to open the door. However, she was still cautious and kept the security chain on, opening the door just a crack, which could still be considered opening it.
"Ma'am, why did it take you so long to open the door?"
The female police officer looked a bit annoyed, probably because Dalia had been too slow.
"I'm sorry, I was a bit scared just now and had blocked the door with a cabinet. It took some time to move it."
This explanation was actually quite reasonable, but the female police officer's face was still full of impatience.
"Alright, just open the door all the way first, and we'll talk inside."
Dalia nodded and was just about to remove the security chain when she inadvertently caught sight of a necklace hanging around the female police officer's neck. The pattern on it looked familiar.
It was the same pattern as the one on Mahogany's chest!
Dalia had seen that pattern the night of the Midnight Meat Train when Roy kicked Mahogany away!
Dalia's expression changed. She immediately realized that there was something wrong with these two police officers and quickly tried to close the door.
However, the two police officers at the door reacted very quickly, immediately sticking their feet into the gap to prevent Dalia from closing it.
Failing to close the door, Dalia could only try to move the cabinet back to block the door, but unfortunately, as a weak woman, she was no match in strength for an adult man and an adult woman working together outside.
The two of them forced the door open, and Dalia was quickly subdued.
The female police officer quickly checked the apartment.
"Didn't the file say she had a daughter?"
The male police officer knocked Dalia unconscious, hoisted her onto his shoulder, and walked towards the door.
"Who cares about that? We were only told to bring this woman!"
The female police officer shook her head and followed the male officer.
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Chapter 136: Inverted Cross
When Roy got to Dahlia's apartment, he saw the door wide open, the deadbolt broken, and overturned furniture.
"Dahlia?"
There was no response from inside. Looking at the still-swinging door, Roy realized something was wrong.
Had Mahogany already gotten to her?
The door was still moving, so those guys probably hadn't gone far yet.
Roy was about to run out when he heard some movement coming from the bedroom.
Someone else was there?
Roy immediately thought of Dahlia's daughter.
"Ceci, is that you?"
Sensing fear, Roy quickly found Dahlia's daughter, Ceci, under the bed.
The little girl was clutching a doll, her face full of terror.
It seemed like the little girl must have just seen something that scared her so badly.
"Ceci, I'm a friend of your mom's. Don't you remember me? Your mom even brought you to watch my fight last night!"
When Roy said that, Ceci finally remembered.
"You're that handsome big brother who boxes... no, uncle!"
Yeah, being good-looking has its perks. People always remember you more easily.
Now that Ceci remembered, the fear in her heart instantly dissipated.
Roy reached out and pulled the little girl out from under the bed.
"Oops, if Uncle found me, does that mean I don't get McDonald's?"
What McDonald's?
Roy was taken aback for a moment, but he knew kids' thoughts were always all over the place, so he just went along with what she said.
"Of course not! If Ceci wants McDonald's, Uncle will take you to get all you want!"
"Yay!"
Ceci cheered, but her mood quickly turned somber again.
"Uncle, Mommy just got taken away by two policemen. Aren't the police supposed to catch bad guys? Why did they take Mommy?"
So it was the LAPD who did it!
"Ceci, can you tell me when this happened?"
"Just now!"
"How long ago is 'just now'?"
"Just now!"
Roy smacked his forehead, feeling a bit silly for trying to discuss time with a five or six-year-old.
With no other choice, Roy reached down and picked Ceci up. It was a bit dangerous to leave this little girl at home; it was better to take her with him.
"Ceci, I'm going to take you to find your mommy right now."
"Uncle, are you going to beat up those two policemen like you beat up that black guy?"
"I will!"
Carrying Ceci back to his car, Roy planned to take Ceci to a safer place first before going to the subway tunnels to find Dahlia.
So, the question was, where in Los Angeles was the safest place right now?
The Dolphin Hotel, of course!
"Mr. Black, why are you back?"
Gerald in the office looked at Roy strangely, because Roy was carrying a cute little girl in his arms.
"Mr. Orlin, some things you might want to stop, but the other side doesn't want to!"
Gerald didn't get to his position by being an idiot. He looked at Ceci and a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.
"So, Mr. Black, what are you planning to do?"
"Since they dared to mess with my friend, they better be ready to face my retaliation. This is personal! Texas cowboy, always settles the score!"
Roy looked at Gerald firmly, making his attitude clear.
Gerald nodded, indicating he understood.
"I understand! But as the director of the FEA's Los Angeles branch, I can't offer you any help. At most, I can only help you clean up afterwards."
"That's enough, Mr. Orlin. By the way, could you help me take care of little Ceci?"
"Of course, no problem."
Roy put Ceci down and then knelt down to talk to the little girl.
"Ceci, why don't you sleep here for the night? Your mommy will be back with you by morning."
It was actually already very late, way past a child's bedtime. Ceci was already very sleepy and had been yawning constantly in the car.
But in an unfamiliar environment, a child would definitely be scared.
The current situation was that Ceci was pulling on Roy's clothes, not wanting him to leave.
Then Gerald walked over, wearing what he probably thought was a very kind smile.
"You're little Ceci, right? Don't be afraid, Uncle's place is very safe!"
As a result, Ceci saw the smile on Gerald's face and immediately burst into tears, which made him very awkward.
Roy looked at Gerald sideways.
"Do you have any idea what you look like? Hurry up and get a female agent to take Ceci!"
Gerald coughed awkwardly twice.
"Actually, I'm considered a handsome guy among black people, especially when I was younger."
Roy was too lazy to pay attention to Gerald's self-boasting. He handed Ceci over to a female agent and then left the hotel.
Watching Roy's departing figure, the expression on Gerald's face gradually disappeared. He then walked to his desk and picked up the phone, dialing a number.
"Immediately order all members of the First Response Assault Reconnaissance Team (F.E.A.R.) to standby! Remember, this is not a drill!"
When Roy got to the parking lot, his phone rang again. He took it out and saw an unfamiliar number.
"Hello, who is this?"
"Hehe, Mr. Black, have you forgotten so quickly?"
Roy certainly wouldn't forget that emotionless, cold tone.
"Are you the subway driver?"
"Yes, I'm glad you still remember me, Mr. Black."
Roy took a deep breath, suppressing the anger in his heart.
"Did you guys grab Dahlia?!"
"Are you referring to Ms. O'Connor? She is indeed in our hands."
Roy didn't want to waste any more words with the subway driver and directly questioned him.
"You're looking for me, right? Tell me where Dahlia is, and I'll be there right now!"
"Ha! Although we are enemies, I must admire your courage, Mr. Black! Alright, since you asked so nicely, I'll tell you. Go take the last subway train right now, and it will bring you to us. Remember, only you! Otherwise..."
Dahlia's voice suddenly came from the other end of the phone.
"Roy, don't come! There are so many monsters here!"
Judging by her voice, Dahlia was scared, but she didn't seem to be hurt.
This made Roy breathe a sigh of relief.
"Okay, I'll be right there! Before I arrive, you better not hurt Dahlia!"
"Or what?"
"You'll find out!"
After coldly saying the last sentence, Roy drove his Chevrolet Camaro to the nearest subway station entrance.
Luckily, Roy managed to catch the last subway train and saw the butcher, Mahogany.
Mahogany was still wearing the same suit as that day, carrying a large black leather bag. If you just looked at his clothes, it would be hard to imagine that this guy was a murderous demon.
When he saw Roy appear, Mahogany's eyes twitched. The beating he took that day seemed to be starting to ache again.
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Roy ignored Mahogany and started roughly driving the last subway train's passengers off the train, forcing everyone to get off.
Because they feared Roy's strength, Mahogany's eyes twitched wildly, but he didn't stop Roy's actions.
Finally, after all the passengers on the subway were forced out, the last train finally started moving.
The subway roared through the tunnel, and before long, it arrived at an old, dilapidated section of the tunnel.
The walls of this section of the tunnel were covered in fungus and seemed to have never been maintained by any staff.
Soon after, the subway slowly stopped. Mahogany took the lead and got off the subway, and Roy followed.
The tunnel was very dark. Roy could only see his surroundings by the light of the subway car, but Mahogany didn't seem to be affected and led Roy forward.
There were no more tracks ahead, and no signs of an artificial tunnel. It was completely a natural cave.
The ground here was covered in human skeletons. It seemed that for the past ten years, the butcher had been transporting the people he killed here to feed those monsters.
However, the subway driver this time wasn't the same one as before, which indicated that the subway company also had big problems.
Mahogany couldn't speak, which made Roy a bit bored. He silently walked through the dark cave for more than ten minutes before arriving at a huge underground cavern.
There was finally some light here. Someone had lit many torches in the underground cavern.
Roy saw a small mountain made of skulls in the center of the underground cavern. An inverted cross was erected on the mountain, and Dahlia was hanging upside down on this inverted cross.
The upright cross represents Christ, while the inverted cross represents the Antichrist, which is to say, the devil.
The symbolism of this thing was similar to the inverted pentagram, generally a symbol of evil cults.
"You've finally arrived, Mr. Black! We've been waiting for you for a long time!"
The subway driver walked out of the darkness. He looked at Roy with a blank expression, his eyes devoid of any emotion.
Roy glanced at Dahlia. Her head was a bit congested from hanging upside down for a while, but she was still struggling desperately.
Dahlia's mouth was bound with cloth, so she couldn't speak.
"Is it just you? Then you can't stop me."
The subway driver showed a stiff smile, very much like an impersonator trying to imitate a real person smiling.
Along with this harsh laughter, a large number of monsters appeared from the darkness, the same kind he had seen in the subway tunnel that day, at least a hundred of them.
It seemed that the subway driver felt like he had victory in his grasp.
"I'm curious, how did you guys create such a large cavern underground in Los Angeles?"
Roy had many doubts in his mind. It just so happened that the subway driver had the upper hand on the surface, so maybe he could get some information out of him.
The smile on the subway driver's face stopped, and his expression returned to calmness.
"There's no harm in telling you. Our kind migrated here hundreds of years ago and lived in this underground area. About a hundred years ago, someone contacted us and made a deal with us. They are responsible for concealing our existence, and we just need to provide them with blood every once in a while."
Sure enough, there was a large organization concealing these monsters. Roy really wanted to know what this organization was called.
"Which organization are you talking about?"
"You'll know the answer soon enough. That organization happens to be interested in you as well. They will come to take you away personally. But your friend won't be so lucky; she will become our food!"
As soon as the subway driver finished speaking, Roy heard footsteps coming from behind him. It should be the people from the organization he was talking about.
Then, a team of mercenaries walked in from the tunnel. These mercenaries' outfits looked very familiar.
Looking closely, they were actually mercenaries from the Wooden House!
So, the Wooden House was cooperating with these monsters?
"Mr. Shapeshifter, we have brought the food as agreed. Can we take this person away now?"
The mercenaries brought in ten bound people. Judging by their orange jumpsuits, they should be some kind of hardened criminals.
"Of course, you can take the people away."
Roy looked at the surrounding mercenaries, feeling like he probably wouldn't be able to get any information out of them, so he prepared to make a move.
"Excuse me, did anyone ask for my opinion?"
Two mercenaries walked up, wanting to escort Roy away, but Roy pulled out his cursed dual daggers and stabbed them through the heart.
Roy used his Eyes of Judgment and saw that these mercenaries were all heinous criminals, so he could kill them without any hesitation.
The mercenary captain realized that Roy dared to resist and immediately ordered them to open fire.
These people clearly wanted to capture Roy alive, and the weapons they used were tranquilizer guns.
Unfortunately for them, Roy's reaction was very fast. He quickly grabbed the two people he had just stabbed and used them as shields to block the surrounding tranquilizer darts.
A constitution of 46 meant that Roy was basically immune to bullets as long as they didn't hit vital points.
But it didn't necessarily make him immune to tranquilizers. With so many tranquilizer darts hitting him, even if he didn't immediately fall unconscious, it could still affect his nerve reactions.
"Use tear gas!"
The mercenary captain continued to give orders, still using non-lethal weapons. But after giving the order, he suddenly noticed a faint shadow of a woman in white appearing before him.
Where did this woman come from?
The woman in white got closer and closer. Her face was completely covered by long hair, and the chill emanating from her body made the mercenary captain feel like he was suffocating.
Then, many mercenary members also screamed. They seemed to have seen similar terrifying images.
It's a hallucination! It must be a hallucination!
The mercenary captain bit his tongue, trying to clear his head, but the woman in white in front of him didn't disappear. Instead, she got closer and closer, so close that he could already see her large, bloodshot eyes.
"Ah—"
The mercenary captain finally couldn't help but scream.
The emotion of fear spread rapidly through the scene like a virus. Although the tear gas had been thrown out, the mercenary team was clearly in chaos.
The group of monsters in the distance looked at the mercenary team strangely, not knowing why they were in disarray, but the monsters didn't offer any help.
The agreement between the monsters and the Wooden House only involved Roy; other matters were not part of their deal.
Amidst the chaos, a powerful shockwave suddenly erupted from within the tear gas, instantly blowing the tear gas away.
Then, a tall man covered in black gas walked out. In his hand, he held a large, serrated sword burning with raging flames.
"Are you ready to face true fear?"
Ghoul Monster
(End of this chapter)
