Somewhere on an island in the Atlantic, in a luxurious private villa.
A man in his thirties lay lazily on a chair sunbathing, occasionally peeking through his sunglasses at the young women playing and splashing around in the pool.
They looked like they were only in their teens, at the beautiful age of youth.
Normally, they should be at school gossiping with their close friends about the most popular boys and girls, or wondering which fraternity party to attend at night.
But at this moment, they were here, happily splashing water around.
The shimmering light on the water’s surface under the sunlight rolled over their young, beautiful bodies. Their skin, tanned to a wheat color by the sun, was so smooth that it seemed even water droplets couldn’t cling to it.
The man watched this scene with satisfaction, occasionally letting out a whistle or two.
Just as he was enjoying the wonderful time of the tropical atmosphere, the phone placed under the sun umbrella rang.
Hearing the noise, the man’s expression became quite annoyed, but he still got up from the lounge chair and answered the phone.
“I remember telling you not to disturb me these past two days.”
His voice was gloomy, carrying a bit of irritation.
“You’d better give me a satisfactory reason within the next few seconds.”
“…Mr. Hunter, regarding the matter you asked to be investigated, the FBI has given feedback.”
“What did they say?”
“The investigation team over there said the evidence at the scene shows it was just a simple paranormal murder case, and has nothing to do with the person you specified…”
“Fuck that!!”
The man’s originally impatient expression suddenly turned ferocious.
“Was what I said not clear enough? Those spineless bastards at the FBI simply don’t want to provoke the other party!”
“What does the Mayfair family have to say?”
“This…”
“Stop wasting my damn time! Spit it out!”
“The Mayfair family has made it clear they’re standing on that person’s side. Ms. Lawrence told you that the Senate is not the old gentleman’s personal domain…”
Before the person on the other end of the phone could finish, the irritable man hung up heavily.
The noisy girls in the pool suddenly fell silent. The air itself seemed to grow oppressive from the man’s anger.
“A nouveau riche family from New Orleans, you’ve really got guts, daring to oppose me…”
“I swear I will make you all pay!”
The man gnashed his teeth, as if biting into something, squeezing these words out from between his teeth.
The Armitage family’s daughter had been in the most frequent contact with that antique shop owner. She must have set her sights on him.
But the antique shop owner was completely fine, while their entire family had been wiped out overnight. Even a fool would know it had something to do with that person.
Was this a matter of no evidence being found? This was simply the FBI being unwilling to dig deeper.
“Transcendent… huh…”
A transcendent was still human in the end. The real reason the FBI didn’t want to get more involved was the Mayfair family pulling strings from behind the scenes!
A single brain transplant surgery brought in a million dollars in profit. So far, it had already earned him about thirty million in gold.
There were plenty of old men who wanted young bodies, and the supply of bodies was even more countless. As long as the Armitage family was around, there would be an endless stream of money flowing into the ghost account he had opened.
But now, all of that was gone.
That damn antique shop owner had not only killed the hen that laid golden eggs for him endlessly.
He had also damaged his reputation.
If a protective umbrella couldn’t fulfill the duty of a protective umbrella, and lost its credibility, would anyone still trade power and money with him in the future?
“I swear I will make you pay.”
Now, only by retaliating ruthlessly and making them wish they were dead could he recover everything.
But just at that moment, the phone rang again.
“What the hell is it now?!”
The man was already furious. Without even looking at the caller ID, he was ready to curse the other party out thoroughly.
But a rather dignified voice came through instead.
“Hunter.”
Upon hearing the familiar tone, the man named Hunter’s violent expression froze, and his tone calmed a little.
“Brother, is there something you need calling now?”
“I heard recently that something happened on your end. Regarding that family’s matter, put it aside for now.”
“But…”
“If the commotion gets too big, it’ll attract people who shouldn’t be drawn in. You should know exactly what kind of business that is.”
Before Hunter could finish, the man on the other end raised his voice, drowning him out, carrying an unquestionable seriousness.
“The quadrennial election is about to begin. At a time like this, you’d best behave yourself. Understood?”
“…I understand.”
Hunter took a deep breath and gave his answer.
It was also at this moment that the man on the other end suddenly sighed.
“I know you’re not comfortable in your heart… I promise you, once the election is over, whatever you want to do, you can do as you please.”
After saying that, the man hung up.
However, his comfort didn’t seem to have any effect.
The moment Hunter heard the call end, he suddenly smashed the phone to pieces.
With nowhere to vent his rage, the man’s bloodshot eyes turned toward the girls in the pool not far away.
In that instant, they suddenly felt that the sunlight on this southern island had lost all warmth.
——
Fox Town was called a town, but its actual scale was not small.
Its economy was mainly supported by forestry, but non-renewable resources were, after all, non-renewable.
There weren’t many trees that could be harvested to begin with, and combined with environmental protection bans, the local economy quickly declined.
But as luck would have it, a certain film crew took a liking to the unique climate conditions here and chose it as a main filming location.
The film’s massive success brought a second spring to this gradually declining place.
Many tourists came here because of its fame, taking photos and checking in. Tourism thus became a new pillar industry.
To attract more tourists, they began distributing travel vouchers through various activities.
These included, but were not limited to, forest hunting experiences, food and lodging, dock cruises, and even thoughtfully included a hospital in the town.
Calling it a hospital wasn’t as accurate as calling it a private clinic.
After a five-hour flight to Seattle, one still had to take a bus to the small town.
After all, this wasn’t the China of his past life with high-speed rail everywhere. Places shrouded in mist, sparsely populated, with especially beautiful scenery, always had inconvenient transportation.
“You’re sure you want to get off here?”
The taxi driver was a bit puzzled and turned to look at the black-haired young man in the back seat.
Seeing that the latter had a refined face, an elegant and gentle demeanor, and didn’t look very strong, he hesitated for a moment before speaking up in warning.
“There’s still about a hundred-plus kilometers to the town ahead. Along the way, there’s only a motel at around the seventy-kilometer mark.”
“At night, brown bears might come out on the mountain roads. It’s very dangerous.”
“I’m not lying to you. I just want to tell you that risking your life to save a bit of money isn’t worth it.”
