Demons Beside You

Chen Zhao walked out of the airport with his luggage.

He had heard that many foreign people were living in misery. With the zealous intent of rescuing the world, he had to come and save them.

There were two women standing at the exit, one of whom was Chen Zhao’s mother. The other person, a white lady, was her assistant whose name Chen Zhao recalled to be Sally.

Chen Zhao was a doctor who had been involved in a medical accident in China. Thus, he could no longer be employed in a related profession back there.

Hence, his mother had found a way for him to come to America. This task was straightforward for the CEO of a pharmaceutical company.

Of course, in return, Chen Zhao must donate his bone marrow to her daughter, who was Chen Zhao’s half-sister, if she needed it.

Chen Zhao’s mother had divorced his father long ago, after which she went to make a living in a foreign country. At the moment, she was the CEO of a pharmaceutical company.

Nevertheless, Chen Zhao was not concerned with all of this. The two of them were more like two acquaintances.

Over the years, they had only contacted each other a few times.

The help that Chen Zhao’s mother was offering him was more like a trade.

Of course, their relationship was also not too awful.

Nobody was in the wrong when Chen Zhao’s parents had decided to divorce. It was just because they were unable to get along with each other, and nothing more.

It was not because they wanted a wealthier spouse, or that they were compelled by reality.

After the divorce, Chen Zhao had chosen to live with his father, and it was as simple as that.

Chen Zhao was also not the kind of person who was lacking maternal love.

“Here’s your green card and bank card, with ten thousand dollars inside.”

“Thanks.” Chen Zhao took the items.

“Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“Nope… When she needs it, call me.”

Chen Zhao’s mother nodded. “What kind of job are you going to get?”

“You don’t have to worry about that. I have my own plans.”

How the hell do I know? Chen Zhao did not even know where he was going to stay.

“If you plan to return to your old profession, I suggest you get a medical license. If you practice medicine illegally, you’ll be deported and go to jail.”

“Got it.”

After bidding his mother goodbye, Chen Zhao carried his luggage to a taxi.

“Where to?” The driver was a black man.

“Find a motel for me. Thanks.” Chen Zhao’s English pronunciation was not very native yet.

“Korean? Japanese? Chinese?”

“Chinese.”

“Hello. Name’s Vincent. What are you here for?”

“Escaping.”

“Oh no. Is China that dangerous?”

“No. I was involved in something there, so I could only leave.”

“Hmm… Gangster?”

“Alright… I was a doctor,” Chen Zhao answered helplessly.

Just as Chen Zhao had expected, Vincent was a typical talkaholic.

“Hey buddy, can you tell me what happened?”

“I performed surgery on a patient before his family members signed the consent form. Unfortunately, he died, so I became the murderer.”

“Okay. It’s a sad story. Why didn’t his family sign the form?”

Chen Zhao really did not want to talk about this topic. Should he tell this driver that this was a common trick of hospital violators so that they could criticize those cold-blooded people together?

“Do you have any requirements for your accommodation?”

“Simple. Good environment, clean and tidy, nice food, cheap prices, preferably with a lot of sexy ladies.”

“Okay. I know a motel that only costs ten dollars per night.” Vincent automatically omitted all the requirements apart from the cost.

Chen Zhao sighed, but then he happily accepted the suggestion.

The motel which Vincent had recommended was located in the suburb of Los Angeles. As for the environment… The place was surrounded by desolate sands.

It seemed like Vincent knew the owner of the motel, who was a dumpy white old man with a large beard. Perhaps because the place was so remote, there were no customers around. The owner had dozed off at the counter.

“Hi, Ethan, I’ve brought you a customer, a cute Asian.”

Ethan slowly opened his eyes, his reaction somewhat obtuse. He glanced at Vincent, and then at Chen Zhao. “Great. Fifteen dollars per night.”

“Hey, Ethan, don’t do that. He’s my buddy.”

“Fine. If you pay cash, it’ll be ten dollars per night, plus free breakfast.”

Before Chen Zhao came here, he had exchanged some cash. Therefore, he readily paid for ten nights.

“You have any document? Driving license works, too.”

Chen Zhao took out his green card. After checking him in, Ethan brought Chen Zhao to a room.

The room was not as dirty, messy, and shabby as Chen Zhao had imagined. At the very least, he could accept it. There was a bathroom and a bedroom with windows on one side, so the room was well lit.

“Vincent, can you give me your number? If I need a car, I’ll find you.”

“Sure, happy to.”

Before leaving, Vincent gave Chen Zhao a big hug. Chen Zhao was still not very used to the American etiquette that was overly enthusiastic to him.

Nevertheless, Vincent was a very sociable man. Chen Zhao had a really good impression of him.

This would be his home for now, at least for a very long time in the future. He would be staying here until he could earn enough money, or could no longer survive.

Chen Zhao took out his belongings from his luggage. When he was taking out a particular metallic box, he seemed to be especially solemn.

The metallic box was passed down many generations in his family. When his father was still alive, he had been a physiognomist.

Chen Zhao was curious how his almost illiterate father had managed to woo his genius mother.

He had been told that when he opened this metallic box, he would have to inherit his family business.

However, Chen Zhao had always been unable to do so, for which he felt fortunate.

After all, even a third-tier doctor was much better than a physiognomist. At least this was Chen Zhao’s opinion.

Suddenly, the front door opened fiercely, staggering Chen Zhao who was right behind it. He lost his grip on the metallic box which subsequently fell onto the ground.

Then, the metallic box which Chen Zhao had failed to open countless times popped open in such an informal way.

“I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t hurt you.” Ethan was standing outside the door, holding a burger and some fries in his hands.

“Err… Don’t worry. Are these for me?”

“Nope. I’m only upstairs to see if you need my help. Seems like a no. Bye.”

Ethan’s answer caused Chen Zhao’s hands to freeze in the air. He felt very awkward and upset, especially since he was quite hungry.

Chen Zhao closed the door again and picked up the metallic box from the floor.

He had originally thought that the box at least contained something, perhaps a secret scripture or some treasures.

However, there was nothing inside. This greatly intensified Chen Zhao’s disappointment.

It was twice as bad as the fact that he did not get any food…

Chen Zhao was about to put the metallic box back onto the table when he kicked something with his foot.

“Where did this dog come from?” Chen Zhao realized that a Shar Pei had appeared beside his feet.

“Hey, you better be more polite.” The Shar Pei turned around and spoke in a way that Chen Zhao could not comprehend. “I’m Beelzebub Vito, the lord of hell.”