"Look around as you please. If you truly believe I want Redmond dead, why would I close my Styx Domain? Heh, after all, all I want is money."
I stopped releasing my ghostly threads, drawing them back in. King Hollowbelly didn't seem to be lying, and he had no reason to deceive me. Still, Redmond entering the underworld—even with King Hollowbelly sealing off his domain—was far too risky.
"How's the situation in Ethan Zhang's sector?"
I shook my head and turned to look at Ray Lin. He stared at me in confusion, then glanced at King Hollowbelly, who was slowly fading from sight.
"He probably wouldn't lie to us."
I nodded. Maybe Vivian Maple had already figured that out, which explained why she was just sitting quietly here, doing nothing. But doubts still lingered in my mind—especially about the sudden surge of troops at Styx Gate, the only passage in and out of the underworld.
Suddenly, I glanced up and saw that the underworld was still sending reinforcements to Styx Gate.
Just as King Hollowbelly could never abandon his greed for money, Lucas Dao and Victor Wei were not unjust men—they each had their own beliefs.
"Let's find Jerry Li first."
I muttered, then dropped down with a swoosh. The ghosts in the city looked at me in alarm and quickly stepped aside. I floated up, searching every street for Jerry Li, but it was as if he'd vanished from Hollowbelly City—no trace at all. Maybe he knew something.
"I'm planning to cooperate with Redmane Entertainment, providing labor. There are countless ghosts here, and your company needs a lot of manpower, right? After all, your company is already consolidating those small ghost-run businesses, offering them protection. Heh, the future economic lifeblood of the ghost realm might be in your hands, Miss Maple. Naturally, I want to contribute."
I roughly understood, but what puzzled me was that the skyscrapers in the Hall of Malice, which were empty at first, were now filled with ghosts. Redmond hadn't set up a private hell.
Redmond's companies seemed to have operated secretly for centuries, amassing a fortune and now forming a business empire.
"Is the boss really coming in person?"
King Hollowbelly grinned so wide his mouth couldn't close, nodding.
"Of course it's true. This deal isn't just about your cooperation—there are things I can only tell Redmond personally. It's intel he's desperate to know."
Suddenly, I realized—it might be about how, centuries ago, the seven of them were tricked by Three-Eyed and thrown into Avici Hell. Things were getting more complicated.
In a daze, I saw a pale face, panic written all over it. I stopped immediately.
It was the pale scholar I met yesterday. He looked at me in alarm.
"Sorry, I..."
"I didn't expect you to be so formidable, brother. My name is Wang Cheng—I'm truly impressed."
I grunted, eyeing the pale scholar named Wang Cheng. He seemed like just another dispirited ghost, but he looked like he wanted to say something to me.
"Sorry, Mr. Wang, I have urgent business."
With a swoosh, I flew forward, but suddenly a pair of crimson eyes appeared in my mind, staring at me with chilling intensity. I quickly turned; Wang Cheng looked at me with envy.
I studied Wang Cheng closely; there was nothing special about him. To be safe, I wrapped ghostly threads around his feet, but he was oblivious and kept inching closer.
I glanced around, searching for the owner of those terrifying eyes. The look was so chilling and intimidating, I couldn't forget it, but I was sure I'd felt it.
"Brother, I still haven't learned your esteemed name!"
"I'm Ethan Zhang. Sorry, let's talk when I have time."
With a swoosh, I flew up and headed toward a brothel. Laughter echoed inside. I landed on the third floor, startling the female ghosts into fleeing. Jerry Li glanced at me.
"When did you get here?"
I asked. Jerry Li chuckled and shook his head.
"I was going to leave, but after thinking it over, I decided to stay and watch the show."
"What do you mean?"
Jerry Li took a sip of wine and looked at me, then started laughing.
"Isn't there going to be a spectacular deal tomorrow? I'll leave after I see it. It doesn't concern me, but it does have something to do with me."
I stared at Jerry Li, confused. He definitely knew something, but clearly wasn't going to tell me. He came over and patted my shoulder.
"What?"
A streak of red flashed before my eyes—it was a ghostly thread, and I recognized it immediately. But what shocked me was that I couldn't sense any ghostly aura from it, and it had attached itself to me without anyone noticing. Even King Hollowbelly couldn't do that.
This guy is even more formidable than King Hollowbelly.
I swallowed, unable to guess who it was. Jerry Li looked at the ghostly thread, then blew on it, and it slowly dissipated.
"Things were getting more and more interesting."
After a while, Jerry Li kept playing around, refusing to say anything. I left, planning to meet with Vivian Maple and the others to discuss, and to ask King Hollowbelly about tomorrow's deal.
Just as I floated over Hollowbelly City, I heard a commotion nearby. I quickly drifted over—it was Wang Cheng, being grabbed by several fierce-looking ghosts.
"Brothers, I'm so hungry I'm seeing stars."
Turns out Wang Cheng had dined and dashed, so he was caught. Helpless, I paid his bill. Wang Cheng was extremely grateful, bowing and thanking me profusely.
Find a job—it's easy here, and with a job, you'll have money. But how did you get in without any?
I muttered in confusion. Wang Cheng just laughed.
"I snuck in."
Alarmed, I shot Wang Cheng a wary look. No way—he was lying. To get in, you have to pass strict checks by the ghost officers and pay a fee.
Wang Cheng leaned in and whispered in my ear.
"Come find me at the city edge tonight when there are fewer people, Brother Zhang."
I nodded. Wang Cheng raised his hand, pointing toward the east gate.
Back at the main hall of Hollowbelly Manor, Vivian Maple and King Hollowbelly seemed to be having a heated discussion.
"Miss Maple, let's wait for your boss to arrive before discussing this further. You said..."
"I can fully represent Redmane Entertainment, so offering you 0.5% is already generous. Those companies tied to us by interests won't even get 0.01%. You're getting fifty times what they do—what's there to complain about?"
King Hollowbelly looked pained, then put on his classic money-grubbing face.
"How about 1%, Miss Maple? Since you can represent the company, I'll be direct—I'm greedy, money is everything to me. So, for better cooperation, right? If we can't settle now, we'll have to wait for your boss."
Vivian Maple didn't say more, just stood up and muttered.
"0.5% is the limit."
"Where's Ray Lin?"
I asked, but King Hollowbelly suddenly looked terrified, glancing outside and muttering in confusion.
"No, that kid is capable and his ghost aura is convenient, but leaving my domain without a sound is impossible. He's not in the city anymore."
I gasped. No matter how much King Hollowbelly searched, he couldn't find where Ray Lin had gone.
"Maybe he..."
"Absolutely not."
I immediately retorted. Ray Lin would never leave us without a word.
"I'm not saying he left—maybe he discovered something, or for some reason, got taken out."
I swallowed and immediately floated up.
"No way. In my territory, nothing can happen without me knowing."
"You guard your money all day—maybe you got careless?"
Vivian Maple retorted sarcastically. King Hollowbelly immediately put on a bitter face.
"Miss Maple, since we're cooperating, we should show sincerity. I would never hide anything."
By nightfall, there was still no progress. If King Hollowbelly couldn't find Ray Lin, neither could I. But I had an appointment with Wang Cheng, so after informing them, I flew out of Hollowbelly Manor.
Suddenly, King Hollowbelly blocked my path.
"You said he came in three days ago. What was the number on his entry tag?"
I thought carefully. It was 3,800,001.
"Impossible—the tags only go up to 3,799,547."
Suddenly, I felt something was off—a part of my mind blurred. Why was I looking for Ray Lin? The question surfaced in my mind.