Xu Yi woke up and instinctively turned his head. The Annabelle doll was quietly sitting on the bedside cabinet, and he slowly exhaled.
"Good morning," Xu Yi greeted.
Annabelle's eyes moved slightly, which counted as a response.
Having the Annabelle doll had another benefit: it served as a "bodyguard" during rest, allowing him to sleep peacefully.
After all, as a different soul, Annabelle did not need to sleep.
Xu Yi stood at the window, looking out as police cars sped past on the highway, their sirens blaring piercingly.
What had happened?
As he wondered, the door was knocked. Xu Yi opened it to find Ailent standing outside, his eyes bloodshot.
"Boss, if I gave you a chance to obtain 3% of Ernst Pharmaceuticals' shares, what would you do?" Ailent asked softly.
"Are you sure you're talking about the Ernst Pharmaceuticals in New York, not so obscure local business with the sa na?" Xu Yi suspected Ailent was still half-asleep.
As the cornerstone of the New York-based wealthy Ernst family, even a fraction of a percent would yield a dividend of over a hundred thousand dollars every month, let alone 3%.
An ordinary person owning shares in Ernst Pharmaceuticals could basically declare that they'd made it.
"Then do you know who the current head of the Ernst family is?" Ailent asked.
"Cain!" Xu Yi was aware of this.
"And do you know that Cain has two sons and a daughter? That his oldest son is nad William? Do you know... that William has gone missing?" Ailent rattled off his questions.
"You an to say..." Xu Yi suddenly sat up straight, beginning to guess sothing.
"The massive police deploynt outside is for Cain!" Ailent continued to explain.
"Cain has been kidnapped?" Xu Yi speculated.
Indeed, the influence of the Ernst family could mobilize so many police officers.
"I'm not clear on that," Ailent shook his head. He then changed his tone, "But I do know one thing, if we can find William, we could get 3% of the shares of Ernst Pharmaceuticals."
"Has the Ernst family offered a reward?"
Xu Yi felt tempted, but quickly thought of a new question, "Is William so important that a missing person's report would be worth 3% of the shares?"
After all, the Ernst family was not a one-person operation, even if William was the son of the head.
"If it were an ordinary second-generation, it wouldn't be worth it, but William is different; he is a true business prodigy!"
Ailent spoke with admiration, "William, at 27, beca a doctor at Harvard Business School. After completing his doctorate, he took over the family business and in just one year, he increased the stock price of Ernst Pharmaceuticals by 5%."
Xu Yi was equally amazed. Five percent might not seem like much, but for a behemoth like the Ernst family, it equated to well over a billion dollars.
"So, boss! Here's our chance! This is about 3% of the shares of Ernst Pharmaceuticals!" Ailent was excited.
Xu Yi rolled his eyes, "What makes you think we can find William?"
......
The lobby of the Holy Fla Exorcism Studio on the first floor.
A French toast sandwich was placed on the glass coffee table, which Maria had made for breakfast.
Xu Yi was eating the sandwich, Maria gazed at him while Ailent sulkily hid in a corner, fed up with the lovey-dovey scene early in the morning.
Xu Yi swallowed the last bite of the sandwich and took a sip of the floral tea.
At that mont, an unexpected figure appeared in his line of sight, heading straight toward him.
"Mr. Hardy, what brings you to our humble abode out of the blue?" Xu Yi teased.
Usually, Hardy would have a retort, but not this ti. Hardy's lips twitched as if he tried to give a smile but failed to do so.
"What's happened?" Xu Yi frowned, seeing Hardy so unusually downcast for the first ti.
"Xu Yi, I've co to ask for your help!" Hardy's voice was hoarse; his lips were very dry, evidently, he hadn't drunk water for a long while.
"Sit down, have so tea, and tell all about it," Xu Yi pulled Hardy down onto the sofa.
Hardy didn't drink the tea, but started narrating instead.
After Hardy finished speaking, everyone fell silent. Xu Yi and Maria exchanged glances, both sowhat surprised.
"So you're saying William is your brother, and you're the second young master of the Ernst family."
Hardy had hidden it too well; even his close friend didn't know his true identity.
He knew Hardy's family was wealthy; he just hadn't realized they were wealthy to this extent.
"Why did your brother William disappear? Was it because of kidnappers?" Xu Yi asked out loud.
"If only it were kidnappers!" Hardy sighed deeply.
Xu Yi thought it made sense; the Ernst family was willing to offer a reward of 3% of their pillar industry's shares, what kidnapper with a big appetite couldn't be satisfied?
"At first, we also thought it was kidnappers. We hired many people to investigate privately, but after three days, we still hadn't received a notification from any kidnappers."
Hardy spoke urgently, "At that point, we realized sothing was wrong and we urgently issued a city-wide reward, asking the police to conduct a large-scale search."
Hardy looked up at Xu Yi, "This is why I need your help — To find my brother William!"
Xu Yi frowned, saying nothing.
Given the power of the Ernst family, they had surely mobilized many people to look for him. With so many people unable to find him, what made him think he could?
He was just an exorcist. When it ca to finding people, whether police or private detectives, they would be more suited than him.
But he knew Hardy wasn't foolish. If Hardy had co to him, there must be a reason.
"Do you have any leads?" Xu Yi was prepared to learn more about the situation.
"Through police and private detective investigations, we've found all clues pointing to one place — the sewers," Hardy replied.
"Haven't you searched there?" Xu Yi's frown deepened.
New York's sewers were labyrinthine, but with the Ernst family's capability, a thorough search shouldn't be difficult, right?
"We organized two major searches, and you could say we left no stone unturned. We indeed found quite a few skeletons, but none of them were my brother," Hardy said gravely.
"So... you suspect William's disappearance is related to the sewer Ratn?" Xu Yi finally grasped the gist of Hardy's implication.
"Exactly!" Hardy's response was firm, "Not just , the family also realized this and has been seeking a large number of exorcists to join the investigation."
Sewers? Missing people?
Xu Yi lowered his head in thought, a sudden insight flashing in his mind. He rembered a scene he had seen in the Psychic Illusion Realm.
Under the Cat Spirit Holy Tree, he had seen a group of sleeping humans.
If the Cat Spirit Holy Tree really existed, then those people must be real too. Could William be among them?
"Why, have you found sothing?" Hardy noticed Xu Yi's unusual behavior.
"Not sure yet, do you have a photo of your brother?" Xu Yi asked.
Since Hardy had co to look for William, he naturally carried photos with him.
William in the photo seed very young, not yet 30, full of youthful vigor.
Xu Yi stared at the photo, recalling carefully. After a mont, he shook his head.
Hardy's spirits dropped, and the flicker of hope that had just risen in his heart was extinguished.
Xu Yi remained silent as he watched Hardy, his head shake wasn't to indicate he had not discovered anything.
On the contrary, among those sleeping people, there was one in a corner who resembled William to a great extent.
But he had decided not to tell Hardy.
The cruelest thing in the world is to be given hope, only to end up with despair.
If William could be saved, that was the best outco. If not, at least Hardy wouldn't be too saddened when the ti ca.
"Don't worry, I will find a way to find your brother!" Xu Yi patted Hardy on the shoulder.
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