The ride back to the hotel went smoothly. It was as if the protesters and the "zero-dollar shopping" troops had mutually agreed to take a collective break, as the streets were unexpectedly harmonious.
"By the way, James." After getting out of the car, Chu Feng turned his head in confusion and looked at the taxi's driver seat. "Why didn't you recommend buying property in Manhattan earlier?"
Hearing this, James's expression became incredibly animated. "Chu, you should really look into the current prices of detached houses in Manhattan." Without waiting for Chu Feng's response, the yellow taxi drove off.
Back in his hotel room, Chu Feng immediately took out his laptop and started browsing real estate listings in New York. How can the prices be so high? The information online left him utterly astonished.
After more research, he discovered that ever since various ghosts and goblins had appeared, the whole of America had descended into chaos. Protests and demonstrations were rampant, accompanied by vandalism, theft, arson, and a ceaseless barrage of violent incidents. Compounding this was the American authorities' inaction, leading the elites and magnates of high society to gradually congregate in safer areas. Manhattan, a wealthy district of New York, was no exception. With a large influx of affluent individuals, real estate prices there had skyrocketed severalfold.
Feeling the sting of poverty once more, Chu Feng quickly reined in his inflated ambitions and, following James's advice, began searching for houses in Queens. After browsing for some time, his eyes lit up. This villa is nice! This is the one! He had instantly taken a liking to a detached villa displayed on his computer, located in northern Queens, relatively close to Manhattan.
The next morning, Chu Feng, having just gotten out of bed, received his permanent residency certificate, delivered by a special courier. Perfect timing! With a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, he headed straight for the detached villa he had chosen the previous day.
Half an hour later, the taxi stopped at the villa's main gate. A middle-aged real estate agent, who had clearly been waiting, immediately came forward to greet him. "Mr. Chu, hello. I am the owner's representative. You can call me John."
What a familiar name, Chu Feng thought with amusement.
"Hello, John. Please show me around."
"Certainly, please follow me!"
The villa occupied about 200 to 300 square meters and stood three stories tall. It had a somewhat retro appearance, but the interior decoration was quite exquisite. The entire villa was surrounded by a hundred-meter radius of grassland, which suggested that neighborhood disputes would be unlikely.
After touring the inside, Chu Feng was quite satisfied and decided to buy it on the spot. "Alright, this is it. It looks good. Let's proceed with the paperwork!"
John, momentarily startled, quickly recovered. "Ah...? Okay, Mr. Chu, please follow me!"
Two hours later, Chu Feng had finally completed all the paperwork. Once three million two hundred thousand dollars were transferred into the seller's account, the detached villa officially belonged to him.
(PS: The price is made up by the author.)
As Chu Feng was leaving the New York Land Management Bureau, he suddenly remembered he also needed a car. Another two hours passed, and he drove back to his new home in a brand-new Jeep Wrangler.
After purchasing a load of brand-new furniture and items from the System Store and placing them in the empty villa, it finally began to look lived-in.
After a busy day, Chu Feng finally had time to take out his computer, log in, and check his email. After reviewing over a hundred new messages in his inbox, he had to admit that sometimes, an agent's existence was indeed necessary. After deleting a pile of emails devoid of any real significance, only three solitary requests for help remained in his inbox.
The first email was from a man also named John. According to his account, his home was currently being harassed by an Evil Spirit. Every morning when they woke up, the house looked as if it had been ransacked, with all items chaotically strewn on the floor, yet no one in the house heard any sound.
No life threat? Seems like a relatively strong Bound Spirit. I'll put this one on hold for now. Chu Feng, who had lost much of his interest in Bound Spirits, moved on to the second email.
The second email was from a woman named Kelly. She wrote that her mother seemed to be possessed by an Evil Spirit. A few days prior, she had suddenly noticed that sometimes her mother's eyes would turn completely black. Her mother's behavior had also become increasingly bizarre, and she often uttered incomprehensible words. Furthermore, every night, her mother would open the refrigerator and gnaw on raw meat.
Chu Feng stroked his chin and muttered to himself, The phenomena described in this email... why does it sound so much like demonic possession as described in the Demon Hunter's Record?
I'd better call and ask about the situation first. Using the contact information from the email, Chu Feng dialed the number.
"Hello, may I speak with Ms. Kelly?"
"Yes, this is she. Who is this, please?" A cool female voice replied from the other end of the line.
"I'm an Exorcist. I just saw your email. You can call me Chu." Knowing that foreigners would likely struggle to pronounce his full name, Chu Feng reluctantly chose to use only his surname.
"Oh, it's you. Thank you for calling. However, I don't think I need your help anymore."
"Has something happened?"
"Not really. It's just that I've received a doctor's diagnosis. My mother merely has a brain lesion; it's not any kind of demonic possession! She's now been admitted to the hospital, and I believe she'll recover soon." Without waiting for Chu Feng to respond, she abruptly hung up.
Staring at the disconnected call, Chu Feng's lips curled into a sneer as he nodded repeatedly. A brain lesion? Right, right, right. Of course, one must believe in science! What could Chu Feng, who had already experienced rebirth once, say? Naturally, he chose to believe it!
After silently adding Kelly's number to his blacklist, Chu Feng moved on to the last email.
The third and final email was from someone claiming to be Mark. According to him, his wife was also possessed by an Evil Spirit. However, she didn't exhibit blackened eyes or consume raw meat. Instead, she seemed to have become a completely different person, having tried multiple times to kill their child. Fortunately, Mark discovered this in time and sent their child to his parents' house, allowing the child to narrowly escape harm. However, as time went on, the Strength his wife exhibited grew greater and greater, and Mark found it increasingly difficult to control her. Recently, his wife had even begun to defy gravity, scuttling around on the ceiling like a spider!
Hmm, this looks like an Evil Spirit that enjoys possessing someone and then killing them slowly. Unlike the one at the Valent Mansion, the Evil Spirit in Mark's house seemed to derive pleasure from tormenting humans. Once the Evil Spirit grew bored, Mark's entire family would be killed, including the child he had sent to his parents' home.
Realizing time was short, Chu Feng quickly dialed Mark's number.
"Hello, who is this?" A man's weary voice answered from the other end.
"Mr. Mark, I'm an Exorcist. You can call me Chu. I believe you remember the email you sent."