Demons Beside You

“Chen Zhao, someone used the spell Bloodline Blend to forcibly attach his relatives’ souls to his body.”

“Can you pull these three souls out?”

“They’re definitely his close relatives. If I pull their souls out, I’ll be killing them. Are you sure you want that?” Blackie asked.

Movich Tutas looked at Chen Zhao anxiously. “Chen, you have a solution, right?”

Chen Zhao looked at Movich. “Do you find the three faces familiar?”

“Familiar? What do you mean?”

“Have you not observed the three faces carefully?”

“How do you expect me to observe such frightening faces? Also, whenever they appear, they’ll scream.”

“Bring up your shirt… slowly… Perhaps they’re still asleep.” Chen Zhao was still scared.

Movich slowly lifted his shirt, exposing the three fearsome faces.

Chen Zhao extended his hand and rubbed Movich’s chest. A woman’s face gradually appeared.

Movich shouted in surprise, “Mom?”

“She’s your mom?”

“I… I… I don’t know…”

Little had Movich expected the strange face to be his mother’s.

“How about this one?”

“He’s my dad…”

“And this?”

“My grandmother… She raised me during my childhood.”

“Here’s the situation. Someone has placed them in your body. I can remove them, but it’ll kill them.”

“But… they’re already dead, right?”

“Yes, they’ll die again.”

“Then how?”

“Stop asking me. What do you want to do?”

“Is there no other way?”

“Dunno. It’s also the first time I’ve encountered such a situation. I need to think about it.”

“Please, you must think of a solution!”

“I’ll try my best.”

“Here’s your pay. Please take it.”

Movich gave Chen Zhao a two hundred thousand check.

Chen Zhao pushed the check away. “I won’t take the money until your problem is solved.”

“Please take it. It’s the deposit.” Movich had been in desperation. Now, he could finally see some hope.

He was afraid that Chen Zhao would never return after leaving.

He would only be relieved if Chen Zhao took the money.

“Are you very rich?”

In Chen Zhao’s opinion, Movich’s house was very ordinary. However, he did not hesitate to give Chen Zhao the two hundred thousand dollar check. He even took it to be the deposit only.

“This is my maternal grandmother’s house. I hid here to avoid my servants.”

“I still won’t take the money. Wait for me to think of a solution first.”

“Then give me your number,” Movich said, uneasy.

After giving Movich his number, Chen Zhao left.

Chen Zhao could feel Movich’s helpless and anticipating look as he left the house.

Then, he went to Ethan’s place for free lunch.

“Chen, how is it?”

“The client’s condition is rather complicated. I can’t heal him for now,” Chen Zhao sighed.

Ethan also sighed in disappointment.

“But there’s still a chance. I need to think about it. It seems that he’s only taking the two hundred thousand as the deposit.”

Hearing Chen Zhao’s words, Ethan’s face was filled with delight. “Really?”

“Anyway, it won’t be less than two hundred thousand, provided I can heal him.”

“Then what are you waiting for? Quickly think of a solution!”

“I’m hungry. Get me some food first.”

“So you’re just here for the free food.” Displeased, Ethan threw Chen Zhao a packed sandwich. Chen Zhao took a can of coke himself.

Just then, Chen Zhao received a call from Steven.

“Chen, are you free?”

“Why? Are you unwell?”

“No, just want to have a meal with you.”

“Fine. Where do I go?”

“Silver Building, 23rd floor.”

“I’ll be right there.”

When Chen Zhao exited from the elevator, he turned left and saw a restaurant before him. There were two men in black jackets at the door. The restaurant was very empty.

Chen Zhao called Steven, “Steven, I’m at the door.”

One of the men seemed to have received a message through his earphones. He walked up and asked, “Sir, are you Mr. Chen?”

“Yes.”

“Please come in. Mr. Steven is waiting for you inside.”

When Chen Zhao walked into the restaurant, he realized that Steven was the only customer. He was sitting by the window.

Chen Zhao approached him. Steven called the waiter, “You can start serving the dishes now.”

“Chen, I accepted the PLM film about you and your friends.”

“Huh? Why? Do you want me to act?” Chen Zhao did not even believe this himself.

After all, Chen Zhao was an Asian. In most American movies, the main characters were not Asians.

As far as he knew, there was already a preliminary script for the movie he had sold, and he was only a secondary character.

Of course, Chen Zhao did not really mind it. PLM had bought the copyright to earn money in the first place.

If he insisted that the protagonist had to be an Asian, the box office might collapse. It would be bad for both him and PLM.

“If you really want to act, I won’t mind,” Steven said, smiling.

“Forget it. Just tell me what you want.”

“I want to borrow Amon for filming.”

“Err…” Chen Zhao did not know if the lazy Amon would be able to tolerate it.

Would it be too difficult a task for him?

“I’m paying him at the highest rate for Hollywood animal actors.”

“Hollywood CG can be very realistic, right?”

“Do you know how much one minute of CG costs? For most Hollywood films, as long as the time and money needed do not cost more than CG, CG will not be used. No matter how realistic CG is, it cannot be compared with filming the actual thing,” Steven said.

Chen Zhao thought about it. “How much are you paying exactly?”

“I need to know how well Amon can cooperate.”

“You can ask him to do anything that he can physically do, provided I’m around. If you want him to fly, you probably need to find a helicopter first.”

“So as long as you’re present, you can ask him to do anything, right?”

“Kind of.”

“Then I’ll pay you fifteen thousand per hour.”

“How long do you need him for?”

“About three to four days. We’ll be filming for about thirty hours,” Steven said. “The exact time depends on the actual effects.”

“Can you make the pay higher?”

“Chen… I’m just the director, not the investor.” Steven gave a dry laugh.