I created the Old Gods and Outer Gods in America.

In Los Angeles, at the end of Sunset Boulevard West, a narrow alley leads to the "Big Bird Spin" bar, which is hidden between two old brick buildings. A parrot-shaped wall lamp at the entrance serves as its sign.

The bar's entire space is designed as a sunken structure, with an arched staircase at the entrance leading down to the main hall.

Dark red velvet upholstery covered most of the walls, and dozens of brass chandeliers of various shapes hung from the ceiling, each emitting only a very restrained warm light. The bar was cut from a single piece of black marble and was a full twelve meters long. The liquor rack behind it extended from the floor to the ceiling and was densely filled with whiskies and bourbons of various years.

Tonight's event is private.

About forty people were scattered around the room. The investors occupied the largest circular sofa, and several middle-aged men in suits were toasting each other with whiskey.

The producers and distributors were whispering to each other at the bar, while two editors-in-chief from mainstream media stood by the second-floor railing, holding champagne and looking down at the crowd. In the corner, a federal senator was clinking glasses with a hedge fund partner, smiling professionally.

The air was filled with the smells of cigars, perfume, and some kind of expensive room fragrance.

Then, the door opened.

Adrian Vaughn walked in.

He wore a thin black trench coat over a simple white T-shirt, and his dark brown hair was unkempt, with slight curls falling over his forehead.

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name: 10 ...

The atmosphere in the entire bar instantly rose by half a note.

"Hey! Our leading man is here!"

Director Martin Perez was the first to greet him, opening his arms wide and giving him an exaggerated hug.

With the director's opening remarks, the surrounding crowd immediately surged forward.

"My God, this child looks less and less like a real person."

"I'm from Universal's distribution department..."

"Honey, I also have a movie in development. If you're interested, you can contact me privately after this party."

Adrian felt extremely uncomfortable at that moment, not only because he was not used to being around so many strangers, but mainly because of the various hands reaching out to him, patting his shoulder, shaking his hand, and putting their arms around his waist. This kind of physical contact made him very embarrassed, but he still tried his best to maintain a smile on his face.

Finally, when Adrian felt he could no longer maintain his smile, he quickly made up an excuse to try and escape temporarily.

I'm going to the restroom.

He spoke softly, but gave them no time to react. He turned and walked through the crowd, then immediately locked the door after entering the restroom.

The moment the door closed, music and voices were shut out, and the world immediately became quiet.

Adrian leaned against the sink, letting out a long breath. Getting away from those people had made him feel much more relaxed.

He turned on the tap, and cold water washed over his palms.

Then he lifted the hem of his hoodie, revealing the skin on his waist in the mirror.

Three hours later, it was just a normal red rash. He initially thought it was an allergy, probably from contact with something unclean while filming on location. He took a quick look at the doctor, got some medicine, and then left it alone.

But what he saw now sent a chill down his spine.

Red meat chunks.

It's not an adjective; it really is a bunch of dark red fleshy bumps protruding from the skin's surface, moist and shiny, densely spreading from the waist down to below the ribs.

Adrian abruptly pulled down his shirt hem and turned his head away.

It took him a full ten seconds to get his breathing back to normal.

It cannot be detected.

This thought took hold of his mind before fear even began.

Although he is very young and doesn't understand many things, he still understands some obvious logic. He owes all the resources he has now to his good looks.

If someone is found to have this on their body...

Adrian straightened his hoodie, the high collar covering his neck and the hem covering his waistline. He checked himself in the mirror to make sure there was nothing wrong.

He held the bathroom doorknob in his hand, but didn't turn it immediately.

After taking a few deep breaths and mentally preparing himself, he finally opened the door.

The corridor was empty.

He walked back to the bar area and found that the atmosphere had completely changed.

The once enthusiastic crowd now looked panicked, as if they had seen something terrifying.

"The water pipes in my house are leaking."

"I forgot to feed the cat."

"I have a very urgent document to deal with."

Each person's reason for leaving was completely nonsensical, certainly not something that someone of their status should be considering. Adrian could tell that this group was truly desperate and trying to escape.

But Adrian didn't ask any further questions. He was surprised by the rapid dispersal of the crowd, but more than that, he felt a sense of unexpected relief.

At least I don't have to be bothered by these people anymore, which is a good thing.

In the end, only he and director Martin remained in the entire bar.

Martin approached Adrian with a smile and touched his face: "Your grandmother asked me to take good care of you, so why don't you come and sit with me for a while?"

Adrian felt a chill, but he couldn't refuse.

While in the car, Adrian noticed that Martin's expression was also off and he seemed very nervous. However, when Martin looked at Adrian in the rearview mirror, a disgusting possessiveness would suppress his nervousness.

Soon, the two arrived at a high-end villa area in the west of the city.

Martin hung his coat on the hanger: "Help yourself with whatever you want to drink. You rest here for a bit, I'm going to take a shower."

The bathroom door closed, and the sound of water began to run.

Adrian sat on the sofa, staring at the script cover spread out on the coffee table. He didn't open it. The area on his side started to itch again, and it was worse than before, as if something was wriggling under his skin.

He raised his hand and touched it...

The area is incorrect!

The meat chunks were growing too fast; they were already larger than the ones I'd seen in the bathroom before!

Less than forty minutes have passed!

The sound of water in the bathroom stopped.

The door opened.

Martin emerged, wrapped in a bathrobe, drying his hair with a lewd grin on his face. "Honey, I've got some rashes on my body. I hope you don't mind. I..."

The sound stopped abruptly.

He saw Adrian's current state—no, he could no longer be called Adrian.

A layer of dark red flesh covered his body, as if growing out of his skin, enveloping him completely. The surface of the flesh was covered with patterns, and liquid kept seeping out from the gaps. His clothes were torn, and fragments were embedded between the pieces of flesh.

Fear instantly gripped Martin's body; his hands began to tremble, and the towel fell to the ground.

The extremely disgusting and nauseating scene was so visually impactful that he wanted to scream, but no sound came out of his throat. He even forgot to run away, and his mind went completely blank.

Then, the lump of flesh slowly stood up.

Two "legs" made of red muscle tissue support the ground, the torso stands upright, and a crooked, spherical object resembling a head grows out of the top.

It has no eyes, no mouth, and no facial features.