The lazy afternoon sun shines through the window, illuminating the three people at the desk.
Otis placed the list and photos in front of Dean and Adam with his left hand, and rolled a freshly boiled egg in his right hand on the bruised area on his face.
"These are the people who have visited William in recent years, including Uly Simon, a professor of history at the University of Chicago, the great collector Lionel Lassiter, the owner of Sandpiper House, and the well-known real estate developer Frankie Kurus. …”
The photos show a elegant middle-aged man in a yellow trench coat and tortoise shell glasses, an old man with silver hair slicked back, and a haggard, thin old man sitting on a chair.
"As far as I know, the first one has a good reputation in the academic world. He is here to exchange information about Leviathan with William."
"The second man made his fortune by hoarding large amounts of uranium during World War II. He loved collecting all kinds of strange items. I heard from somewhere that William had an antique Rubik's Cube that he wanted to buy."
"As for the third one, he is the richest man in Columbus, a philanthropist and a household name. He spends generously and has made large donations to Ohio University many times. The president accompanied him when he visited William. He is in his seventies and his physical condition is worrying."
Dean's heart moved when he heard this, and he took the third photo in his hand, "Is Frankie in bad health?"
Otis nodded, "This guy is paralyzed in a wheelchair and can't take care of himself."
Adam on the side woke up from his meditation, "I have talked with my friends about this rich man before. The organs in his body have been replaced several times, but he still can't maintain his health, and he doesn't have a son or a half to inherit the inheritance."
Otis continued, "When people are in desperate situations and cannot obtain salvation through scientific and realistic means, they may turn to occultism. This Frenchman may think that William's research can save his life, and he promised to invest Tens of millions, but William rejected him very decisively."
Dean's eyes showed thoughts. William's original intention of studying séances was to save his terminally ill wife and to transform her into a curse disciple.
This Frankie most likely got some inside information from somewhere and got wind of it.
"Rich people are extremely ambitious and lustful, and will never be willing to die. He will seize life-saving straws at any cost." Dean tapped his fingers on the table, "This Frenchman is most likely to have kidnapped William. I’m going to find him, do you want to come with me?”
Adam hugged the handbag tightly in his arms, "I have to confirm William's whereabouts."
"Please be sure to take me with you." Otis suddenly bit off half of the egg. "My lifelong wish is to witness the call of a séance, and now the opportunity is right in front of me."
"Okay, I'll make it happen for you." Dean held Frankie's photo, closed his eyes, and activated the Black Domain.
…
In the city center, on the top floor of a twenty-story building.
It is surrounded by transparent glass on all sides.
Frankie Kurus, who was wearing light golden silk pajamas, sat in a wheelchair with an infusion pole and slid to the high floor-to-ceiling window. Because he had just gotten off the operating table not long ago, there were still rings of white blood wrapped around his chest and abdomen. Yarn, with an infusion tube inserted into the back of her left hand.
Tick, tick, the cold liquid slowly poured into the vein.
His dull, large and small eyes looked down at the urban scene through the glass.
The high-rise buildings pointing to the sky are like steel jungles rising from the snowfield, with patches of golden light swimming around.
Below the building, neat and orderly streets and dense but not chaotic traffic and crowds form a prosperous scene.
Columbus, full of vitality and vigor, was moving forward rapidly.
"Teal."
Frankie shouted in a voice as hoarse as a throat cancer patient,
A man wearing a black tie, a tuxedo, and meticulously combed hair stopped his footsteps and walked to his side, bent his straight body, and respectfully lifted the old man's right hand that was resting on the armrest of the wheelchair.
The fingers covered with age spots were shaking like a fish float in the water, pointing at a certain area under the window.
"Forty years ago, there was still a stinking ditch. People lived in red brick houses that had lasted for more than a century. Tons of sewage and excrement were produced every day, which seeped into the road from the inferior sewers. The air was filled with The smell of feces and urine will make your shoes dirty if you are not careful when walking on the road. No company is willing to settle in a place like this."
Frankie's wet eyes shot out a ray of pride,
"I transformed it. My construction company, my guys, bags of cement, and excavators filled up its ugly and backward past, built churches, hospitals, and schools, and gave it new life. , helping it transform into the glamorous, decent and prosperous place it is today.”
"Mr. French," the butler said with respect, "you are the creator and master of this city."
Frankie sighed, "Yes, even you, an immigrant, understand my contribution to the local area, why is there a local who doesn't know how to be grateful... I invited him over and helped him save his wife at any cost, but in the end he... Just leave me a mess!”
Cough cough cough…
Frankie coughed emotionally, and his chest, which was so thin that it was only a skeleton, swelled like a bellows and then retracted.
The housekeeper patted his back gently, put a towel to his mouth, and collected a piece of bloody phlegm.
"You still have a chance. As long as you find another mourning box, you can continue the ritual. The séance, the five-pointed star circle, and the blood are all ready."
"That damn box is playing hide-and-seek with me. I searched all over the world for more than ten years before I found one from William. How long do I have to wait for the next one? Even God can't give me the answer." Frankie bark-like There was a trace of helplessness on his face, and he touched his chest and felt the lifeless and slow snail's heartbeat, "Did you hear that, how can this rotten heart allow me to persist until the next ten years? I will immediately choose a young heart." Heart, I’m going to have a transplant tomorrow.”
"Yes, the hospital you funded has saved countless families. Many good children are grateful for your kindness and are willing to sacrifice their lives for you."
The butler bowed to him, turned around and left.
Frankie was the only one left in the living room on the rooftop. He continued to stare at the high-rise buildings outside the window, "The old building on the west side of the Irish District should be demolished and a brand new commercial street should be built... Talk to their boss first and spend some time." Take it for a small amount of money.”
Suddenly, a clear dinging sound came from in front of the wheelchair, which disrupted the grand blueprint in his mind.
A half-palm-sized brass badge flew into the crack of the window, fell to the tiles on the ground, rolled past his soft feet, and suddenly jumped onto his shoulders, letting out a weird chuckle.
Frankie was horrified for a moment, so horrified that his legs, which had been paralyzed for many years, shook.
He tried to turn his head to look at the badge, but it turned out to be like a naughty kid, spinning around the back of his neck.
"Teal! Someone! Get this damn thing off me!"
Frankie panicked and pressed the button on the wheelchair but couldn't. Instead, his body turned backwards uncontrollably with the wheelchair, and three figures suddenly appeared in his sight.
A Mexican, a young man as thin as a ghost, and a fat man with a bald head and a broom mustache.
They stood side by side like ghosts, with three pairs of eyes staring at him, like police interrogating prisoners.
Frankie couldn't remember that he hadn't seen such a rude look in twenty or thirty years, and anger suddenly ignited in his heart.
But many years of life experience allowed him to instantly understand the situation in front of him. These three guys wore the professional bodyguard team he hired through a sieve, and then silently reached the 20th floor under hundreds of surveillance cameras in the building. behind him.
Not an ordinary person.
At the thought of this, Frankie swallowed down his anger and those stupid ideas that were deceiving others, released his finger on the button, and spoke first, his voice hoarse as if he was stuck with a mouthful of phlegm.
"Three of you, please don't do anything. I'm very ill. If I get a few blows, I'll die. You won't get anything by then. Why don't you make a deal? I'll pay for my life, and you can set a price. , U.S. dollars, bearer bonds, gold, or transfers?”
"There is a helicopter on the roof...ahem...After the transaction is completed, I will send a driver to fly you away? It's guaranteed to be foolproof."
"Don't like airplanes? There is the latest armored Rolls-Royce parked in the parking lot on the first floor. You can drive it as you like. I guarantee that the entire Columbus Police Department will not be able to mobilize any armed force that can threaten this car within two hours."
"Evil capitalist! Don't insult our character with your stinky money!" Adam in the middle spat at his wrinkled face, and then looked at Dean next to him for permission.
His eyes were filled with respect and fear.
He felt more and more that this "Kenny" was unfathomable, so he led himself and Otis to the Saarinen Building, casually snapped his fingers, and their eyes dimmed, and they walked through a dark door and entered the building. Top floor.
Faced with the ugliness of the richest man in Columbus.
When Dean nodded, Adam stared at the old man with angry eyes,
"What, you don't know me? You kidnapped William White, but you don't even recognize his son?"
Frankie's heart trembled, and he squinted his swollen eyes. Thinking of the comments of a gangster who was living on the streets that his subordinates had found out, he secretly scolded them bloody.
What gangster could sneak up on me without anyone noticing?
His deep and calm eyes showed an apologetic look, "Adam, I'm sorry for taking your father away without your permission, but I promise not to hurt him."
"Where is he?"
"Please listen to my explanation. I invited William into this building half a year ago." Frankie glanced at the faces of the three men, especially the Mexican face in the middle, which made him inexplicably frightened. "I and I He signed a partnership agreement, which is in the second drawer of the desk behind you.”
Dean gave Otis a look, and the latter immediately walked over and started rummaging through the boxes.
"So, the fire that burned down the house that night and the bodies inside were all your work?" Dean looked down at the richest man in Columbus with a net worth of billions. The cold light in his eyes made him tremble uncontrollably.
"Um."
Adam choked angrily, "Don't say anything to please William, you obviously took him away by force, and you even killed someone and faked it as his body!"
"It was my lack of consideration that offended Sir William, but in the months since then, we have been getting along very happily." Frankie endured the huge humiliation and twisted his neck in the wheelchair like a rotten maggot, "As for The body also came from a patient who died in the hospital. The forgery process did not harm anyone. If you still feel it is inappropriate, I am willing to compensate."
"I don't care about compensation." Adam patted Frankie's old face with disdain, "Continue talking about William."
"I helped him perfect every step of the séance and collected all the materials needed. And I asked for payment. After the event was completed, I asked him to use his knowledge to help me tailor a 'reincarnation' so that I could get rid of this body. Restore youth and health to the sickly body.”
Escape from hell and return to the human world is quite appropriate to be called reincarnation.
Dean put down the contract handed over by Otis and glanced at the life of this rich man, which was less than one-fifth of an ordinary person's. "You have lived the life of a master for more than seventy years, and you haven't enjoyed enough?"
Frankie took a deep breath and showed a compassionate smile, "Who would think that he lives too long? Besides, there are hundreds of patients who rely on my donations to survive. Without me, their subsequent treatment will be interrupted. "
"Those poor people who haven't received my support...ahem...will never be able to escape their tragic fate."
After Frankie made this statement, Adam, who came to question him, looked at him with slightly less sharp eyes.
However, Qiantan sent a message to Dean, "This old man is lying. I don't feel any sympathy for the world."
He pretends to be good, he looks like a kind person.
Dean didn't reveal the other person's lie, he stretched out his hand like lightning and sucked out a drop of blood from the back of his neck, stuffed it into his mouth and licked the memory.
French continued,
"Maybe I saved too many people from 'hell' and offended Satan, so hell started to trouble me, making me sick and tormenting me with all kinds of accidents."
"Half a month ago, William White held a séance in this hall."
"With my support, his research on séances has reached its pinnacle and cannot be improved. He has always believed that he can succeed, and I have high hopes for him."
Frankie paused, "But an accident happened at the ceremony. His call for 'Aurora' caused a thick fog to fill the hall."
"A large amount of dark light radiated from the fog, there was the sound of metal cutting through the air, and William's desperate scream."
"The whole process lasted less than half a minute."
"The thick smoke dissipated and all abnormal movements disappeared."
“William and the Mourning Box were also missing, leaving only a blood-stained séance in the hall.”
Dean confirmed from the blood memory that the other party was not lying, and then looked at Adam, "Did this situation be mentioned in the letter?"
"No." Adam shook his head hard and looked at the old man again, "Where did William go?"
"The dozens of surveillance cameras I laid around all malfunctioned and failed to capture any images." French said hesitantly, "So I can't determine his whereabouts, but I think he entered the Leviathan Hell. ?”
Dean walked to the glass window and looked at the beautiful scenery below, and nodded, "Opening the space channel will cause the surrounding magnetic field to change and damage electronic equipment. The channel between hell and the world must have been opened at that time, and William may indeed enter hell."
When Adam heard this, his face changed from gloomy to bright, and every muscle began to tremble, "William just used a séance to summon Aurora, so how could he bring the mourning box into hell? What happened in the meantime?"
Dean shook his head, "Sorry, I can't figure it out right now."
"I want to rescue him and ask him face to face."
"Just go ahead and do it, I will help you." Dean looked at the 85% progress. In order to follow up the incident, he also had to summon William.
Adam strode over and grabbed Frankie by the collar, making him quack like a choked duck.
"The séance he left behind will be given to me. I'm going to hold a ritual again. I'm going to summon William back!"
"In the safe, the password is 3265... let go... let go..."
"Great, guys, let's start!" Otis, who had been silent next to him, excitedly walked towards the safe. The opportunity to realize his lifelong wish was right in front of him. "I'll help you seance!"
Dean looked at Monopoly and ordered, "Tell your people to prepare blood and don't play tricks, otherwise you will suffer more than going to hell."
"Don't worry, I will never dare to mess around..." Frankie stroked his broken bellows-like chest, and a hint of excitement surged in his eyes, "I also want to see a successful summons."
(End of chapter)
