American variety show world begins with subduing Jason

His favorite shows now seemed incredibly noisy. He took a few deep breaths, rolled over, opened a safe under the table, and deftly began taking out banknotes.

"That old bastard whose daughter went missing probably won't accept my explanation. He'll have to go into hiding for a few months first..."

"Who is that old bastard? And why did he go into hiding for several months?"

A curious young voice suddenly rang out behind him.

The man's fat body trembled in fright, as if he was about to collapse to the ground. However, the next moment, he suddenly turned around, his jawbone under his fat protruding and elongating rapidly, his sharp front teeth gleaming with a metallic yellow light, and he bit down hard on the newcomer.

Pete was very confident in this underhanded move. He was able to establish himself in the semi-legal entertainment industry, not because of his harmless appearance.

Its sharp teeth are enough to pierce through steel plates. Back when it first started out, it must have bitten off the throats of countless gangsters who came to extort money.

However, as he closed his teeth, he didn't taste any warm flesh and blood; instead, a hard, cold mass crashed into him mercilessly.

"Ouch...cough." The elbow-length icicle went straight into his throat, causing the boss, who was already inhumanly choked, to roll his eyes back. If it weren't for his superhuman physique, he would have almost died on the spot.

"So he's a rat-man. No wonder his nickname is Gold Tooth. He's so open about it, don't you guys care?" Zhu Mingyao flicked the ice shards off his hands and asked with great curiosity.

The thin, long-faced man beside him scratched his messy brown hair and spread his hands, saying:

"The nearby states belong to the Northeastern Region of the United States. They are mountainous, densely forested, and have complex terrain. They are also far from the political and economic centers of the East Coast, making them the first choice for outcasts to live in seclusion. As long as they abide by the law, no one cares."

He gave him a knowing look and then added in a low voice, "After all, there are a few troublesome old guys inside. Since there's no conflict of interest, the authorities are too lazy to cause trouble."

As he spoke, Pete the Ratman barely managed to recover, his bull-like eyes glaring at the brown-haired man, and he launched into a tirade of curses:

"Eddie Monroe, you son of a bitch, who did you bring here? I gave you so many discounts when you watched the striptease for nothing!"

……

……

You can't judge a book by its cover. I never would have guessed that Eddie, this nerdy, tech-obsessed geek, had such a hobby in private...

A moment later, Zhu Mingyao and Nick sat on the sofa, watching the ratman boss passionately spewing saliva, making the werewolf mechanic smile sheepishly.

"Alright, now that the commotion is over, let's get down to business and talk about what happened," Nick said calmly, tapping the table with his knuckles.

Pete trembled at the sound and obediently sat down.

As current personnel of the official supernatural violence agency, they wield extraordinary power to deter those who infiltrate human society.

"It was originally just a very ordinary commercial performance..." he said dejectedly.

The matter is simple: the alien creatures currently hidden in the Federation, as long as they are willing to live peacefully, generally have a tradition of forming groups and contacting each other.

The so-called Miss Catherine was also an anomaly. She usually presented herself as a famous dancer in Las Vegas. Her superb dancing skills, combined with her youth and beauty, earned her a large number of fans and even a small reputation in the anomaly circle.

In order to attract business, the Rat Man boss spent a lot of money to invite him to perform at his club for seven days overdue.

However, on the morning of the second day after she checked in, Pete was horrified to discover that she had vanished without a trace.

At first, he thought they had left without saying goodbye, but the untouched luggage and the signs of a fight in the room made him realize with horror that this was clearly a kidnapping!

Chapter 441 Traces

"This is it. Since the accident, I've sealed off the scene completely and haven't dared to touch anything."

Leading the group to a secluded residence a few blocks from the club, Pete pulled out his keys with a grimace.

"I prepared the best house and the best food, fearing that I wouldn't be able to entertain you properly, but who would have thought..."

As he passed through the doorway, two faint ripples, one warm and one cool, swept past him. Feeling the tingling sensation on his skin, Zhu Mingyao nodded in agreement.

"You've also added an anti-bio-field to the outside of the warning barrier to repel insects. You've really put a lot of thought into this."

“No, that’s not it. The insect-repelling array was set up by Miss Catherine herself. Those things are quite expensive; she’s very particular about her quality of life.” Pete swayed his large body as he led the way, then turned back and grinned, revealing a few yellow teeth.

"You have to control costs when you're doing business. Even if you have important customers, you can't afford to lose money."

The bedroom door opened, and slightly stale air drifted out, proving that no one had visited in the past few days.

Zhu Mingyao casually pointed, and the heavy velvet curtains moved without wind, blocking the outside view. Then, a clear white light shone, illuminating the darkness.

The bedroom has been carefully renovated, making it spacious and comfortable, with a simple and elegant furnishing. The reddish-brown oak flooring is pieced together in a beautiful geometric pattern, two large suitcases are placed side by side in the corner, and several stylish and gorgeous summer clothes are casually scattered on the sofa, adding a touch of casualness and vitality to the room.

A spacious double bed sits in the center of the room, with a linen bath towel casually draped on the bedside table. The white and soft quilt is slightly bulging in the center, as if the owner is still sound asleep in bed.

A sliver of golden light peeked out from the edge of the latex pillow. Zhu Mingyao reached out and grabbed it, and a dozen or so glittering little ring-shaped objects floated up.

These plain gold rings, smoothed and shiny from years of handling, seem to have been more of a toy than a piece of jewelry, according to their original owners.

"It seems that this Miss Catherine, who is known as the 'Dragon Girl,' is quite wealthy. She even sleeps with gold in her arms." He raised an eyebrow, thinking about how she paid for the magic array herself just to sleep more comfortably.

“That’s only natural.” Nick carefully observed his surroundings, trying to find some clues.

"Although you Asians have always thought that the [Zhuaigen] is incomparable to that kind of Eastern mythical beast, in the taxonomy of extraordinary organisms, it is still at the top of the sequence."

“Even if Miss Dragon Girl only inherited a trace of bloodline, her strength is far above that of ordinary anomalies. Money is of course a piece of cake for her. As for her little collecting quirks that come with it, they are just harmless hobbies.” He activated a reconnaissance magic device and carefully looked around.

"Moreover, he has a father who is a [Lord-level], so even if he wanted to be like his ancient ancestors who lived in caves and have his bed covered with gold coins, it wouldn't be impossible if he put in some effort."

"Oh, that's where things went wrong!"

The rat-man boss looked grief-stricken, his deep resentment almost radiating from his forehead.

"Her father found out about the news and came to Portland today to ask me for her. If it weren't for the fact that she's an outsider and he's worried about interference from official institutions, he would have come over in a big way long ago."

There were no signs of damage to the room, the outer security barrier proved that no one had left, and the person in question did not possess any spatial abilities, so it was almost certain that they had disappeared from this location. The two of them each used their own methods to examine the room and reached the same conclusion.

"Where are the signs of battle you mentioned?" Nick looked around and asked, frowning.

“This is it!” Pete pointed to the seemingly blank area on the sheet. Seeing that he still looked a little confused, he simply circled a part of it with his palm.

Nick then noticed that the fabric was slightly darker than the surrounding color, displaying a very pale red, as if it had been dampened by some kind of liquid.

Zhu Mingyao gently twirled his fingers, and in a moment of calm and concentration, a subtle and faint elemental agitation danced at his fingertips, its characteristics fiery, like flames.

"Is it saliva?" A guess flashed through his mind, and he blurted it out.

The dampness was on the chest near the pillow, not between the legs, so it couldn't possibly be menstruation.

"You have excellent insight," Pete said nervously, shrinking his thick neck.

"The saliva of dragon vein sorcerers has a combustion-enhancing effect. They like to use it as a material for their fire breath spells to increase their lethality. Fortunately, we ratmen have a keen sense of smell, otherwise it would be difficult for someone else to detect it."

A hazy, clear light shone down, and the floor began to tremble slightly. As the viscous, water-like, invisible earth energy surged, the golden robes of the celestial child, symbolizing the central yellow earth, fluttered and appeared intermittently.

From the gaps in the wooden planks surrounding the bed, tiny dust particles, almost invisible to the naked eye, slowly rose, bobbing up and down in the air with a strange rhythm, as if silently conveying some kind of message.

“Apart from Miss Catherine, no living creature has approached this bed since that day.” Zhu Mingyao organized his thoughts and, using the information he had gathered, immersed himself in the scene at that time.

...After checking in, she first took off her clothes to wash away the dust of her journey, and then went straight to bed to rest.

However, just as she was deep in her sweet dream, a mysterious attack suddenly struck! The dragon girl, who was about to breathe fire in protest when she suddenly vanished into thin air, without even changing the shape of the bed.

"So it really is through dream travel?" Zhu Mingyao pondered silently, Freddy's hideous and ugly face reappearing in his mind.

"But there's still no trace of evil power left. How did it manage that...?"

Regardless of whether Freddy is classified as a demon or an undead, the nature of his power is extremely distinct. Given his current level of cultivation, it's impossible for him to miss any trace of the corrupt aura unique to dark monsters.

"Gentlemen! Gentlemen!" Just as he was deep in thought, the ratman boss suddenly cried out in panic.

A crystal rune on his hand flickered on and off, and a panicked pleas for mercy came from its source.

“Miss Catherine’s father has seized all my club’s employees and property, and I have only one hour to see him. Please, you must save me.”

Pete's fat face trembled, and he almost cried on the spot. If things got out of hand, even if he escaped with his life, his entire career would be ruined.

Zhu Mingyao and Nick exchanged a glance and tacitly shared their opinions.

"It's a good opportunity to go see him and ask him about any relevant clues," Zhu Mingyao said with a calm smile.

Nick's attitude was more direct:

"While I can fully understand how anxious a father would be if he lost his daughter, Portland is, after all, under my jurisdiction. Not to mention a dragon vein sorcerer, even a real fire dragon cannot kill people indiscriminately."

Chapter 442 Meeting

Portland Forest Park is located on the Tualatin Mountains west of downtown and stretches for more than 13 kilometers. From its highest point, one can overlook the magnificent Willamette River. It is one of the largest urban forest reserves in the New World.

Its area is a mix of primary and secondary forests, with a mixture of trees and shrubs. The vegetation is lush and the terrain is rugged, so serious crimes occasionally occur. Some particularly remote corners are not even visited by experienced hikers.

Somewhere in the northeast corner of the park, a rusty old railway track is hidden among the lush weeds, stubbornly crawling forward despite the bending and twisting of many shrub roots, extending into an undeveloped mountain valley and wild forest.

The track spacing is narrower than that of modern railways, and the tracks underneath are old-fashioned oil-soaked sleepers that have long been obsolete and weathered by wind and rain, clearly having been scrapped for many years.

Under the dim starlight, two figures quietly walked along this road forgotten by time. Their steps were light and casual, as if they were just taking a leisurely stroll after a meal, but in just a few steps, they had already covered dozens of meters.

"Almost there!" A strange energy covered his body, making him glide into the water like a fish, his body as smooth as if coated with oil, easily deflecting the strong winds on his face. Nick quickly glanced at the atlas in his hand.

"Following this freight track for less than a kilometer, there is the abandoned small copper mine that the other side is hiding."

He took the long sword off his back and put it on his belt, then sent out several text messages using his communicator.

Nick knew that his arrival represented the state's violent apparatus. Although he didn't think the other party would dare to act recklessly, he still secretly notified his colleagues to make preparations, adhering to the principle of caution.

The dense forest, stretching for hundreds of meters, vanished in an instant. Ahead, beneath a low cliff, a tunnel entrance sealed tightly with wooden planks suddenly came into view.

As if sensing someone approaching, the moldy, rotten, and blackened wooden planks gently collapsed, revealing that they had only been loosely covering the area.

"Good evening, Mr. [Red Dragon] Rain, I am Nick Green, captain of the Special Investigations Team. I am here today to investigate the case of your daughter's disappearance."

Nick's calm words echoed and reverberated through the cave walls, reaching deeper into the cave.

However, the mine remained silent for a long time, as if no one was there at all, or perhaps they simply didn't bother to respond.

Just as they were starting to get a little impatient, a deep male voice slowly came out.

"Hmph, come in and talk." The voice was deep and authoritative, booming like muffled thunder, carrying an unquestionable tone.

...Ha, what a boastful tone, what an arrogant attitude. Zhu Mingyao curled his lip in disdain. Just a mere [Lord-level] aberration sorcerer, relying on his dragon blood to think he's a fire dragon.

However, when he caught a glimpse of his companion's solemn expression, he immediately realized that it was because they were only in this mountain.

Although the number of extraordinary individuals has increased compared to ancient times due to the population explosion and the crackdown on knowledge monopolies, high-level powerhouses are still extremely rare.

He felt that the [Lord Rank] was insignificant because his strength had increased too quickly, he had encountered too many experts, and he had even clashed with legendary ancient demon gods.

In reality, this level is sufficient to be the leader of a small to medium-sized organization, so it's perfectly normal for him to display such arrogance.

The two nodded to each other, maintaining a basic level of vigilance, and disappeared side by side into the darkness of the mine.