Zuo Dao Becomes a God Starting from American Horror

Chapter 317 Family (Transitional Chapter)

Arsen put down his knife and fork. "Dad, Louis has been in Japan for a while now. He has some things to take care of."

Upon hearing this, Karl understood and asked no further questions.

They changed the subject.

“You two are my pride, and I believe the family will continue to shine in your hands, but there are some things I must warn you about.”

"I had a chat with an old friend recently, and we both felt that this era is becoming increasingly unfamiliar."

“In the past, I thought violence was the most effective. You had to be daring and hard-working to make money. It turned out I was right. I successfully established the Cano family in America. But it wasn’t right either, because the Ansar people soon taught me a lesson. What can you plan to do when you’re out in the world? If you want to get ahead, you need connections and power.”

"So I changed my approach again and started bribing officials with cash, even sending our young men to join the army and politics, and trying to do legitimate business. This slowed down our development and prevented us from becoming one of the top gangs."

"But it also brought other benefits. We became deeply integrated with Miami and became local bigwigs. Even if laws targeting gangs came out, those top gangs would either be wiped out or severely weakened. While we were also targeted, we were far from being crippled."

"Both incidents proved my judgment."

"But just when I thought the next third era would be the era of laundered capitalists, Louis the Younger appeared."

"All the things that have happened, especially the increasingly frequent mysterious events, are telling me that the coming era will be an era of mystery!"

Karl made this unconventional deduction based on his own perspective and experience.

But neither Max nor Arsen refuted it; instead, they nodded in agreement.

“My old friend has some connection with the mysterious because of his investments. According to him, although America is relatively stable now, with only some gunfights, the disappearance rate caused by the mysterious is soaring and will become increasingly dangerous in the future.”

“So, Max, if little Louis needs anything, remember to help him out and warn your own little ones not to get any stupid ideas!” Carl said, his tone becoming more serious.

Upon hearing this, Max's expression turned serious. Of the two of them, Max had several children, while Arsen had never started a family.

It's obvious who they're talking about.

Moreover, after all that his father said, the real key points were just two sentences: one was to help young Louis, and the other was to warn his children not to cause trouble.

It seems that my children did something...

Despite his burly, gorilla-like appearance, Max was very perceptive and immediately realized what was going on, replying, "I understand, Dad."

"Okay, let's go eat."

Carl picked up his knife and fork and began cutting the steak.

He had indeed just warned Max because he had noticed that some of Max's children had been acting strangely lately, probably because they were unhappy about the Cano Group in Orlando being given to Louis.

After all, in family-run gangs like this, the eldest son usually has the greatest advantage in inheritance. Incidentally, the eldest son's children also become more advantageous. Some family gangs even follow the primogeniture system, just like the powerful families in Dongguo.

Even with the family-uniting education in place, the elderly Karl clearly couldn't manage his grandchildren much in the past. Coupled with the allure of self-interest, it wasn't that no one in the family felt he was helping young Louis too much; it was just that Karl's authority prevented him from doing certain things.

It wasn't until he recovered that he noticed this situation and took steps to stop and warn others.

They didn't understand that it wasn't Louis who needed them, but rather they who needed Louis...

In fact, there is nothing that can be done about this situation. Just like family businesses, once they grow and expand, the once close relatives may become obstacles due to interests. Gangs are no exception.

According to statistics, family businesses account for a very small percentage of the Fortune Global 500.

……

The family's internal celebration banquet was quite extravagant, featuring ivory cutlery, sterling silver trays, gilded tablecloths, and a brand-new red carpet that covered the entire villa...

In addition, there are many frivolous ornaments displayed around the room, serving as a kind of "cultural foundation" or "pretentious elegance." Even a painting imitating the Mona Lisa is displayed openly, which only highlights the eagerness of nouveau riche to show off.

As for the food at the banquet, it was rather ordinary, just the same old dishes. Although it was expensive, that was all it was; the taste was nothing special.

A line of servants, heads bowed and trays in hand, streamed dishes from the kitchen like cloned robots. The butler watched from the sidelines, directing and controlling the entire banquet. The lighting, the molecular gastronomy demonstrations, the renowned classical orchestras playing music all around, the famous movie stars, the famous singers, and so on...

The entire banquet had a strong nouveau riche vibe, unlike what one would expect from a truly wealthy family.

Even so, such a banquet is not something that ordinary wealthy people can afford to host.

It's only because the Cano family has now cleaned up their image and become a major corporation that they are qualified to host such extravagant events.

Soon, the banquet was drawing to a close.

The family members who were holding another event in the backyard also entered the venue, ready to start dancing.

At this time.

A green light flickered slightly on the ground.

Louis and Emma suddenly appeared, raising an eyebrow at the dazzling, neon-lit scene before them. "Looks like I've come at the wrong time?"

Because they were in the dark, not many people noticed Louis and Emma, ​​but there were a few. They all stared at Louis in disbelief. One of them, a handsome middle-aged man who looked somewhat dejected, suddenly trembled and immediately turned around to squeeze into the crowd.

Louis, however, seemed oblivious and led Emma toward the head of the table.

In the dimly lit environment, it would be difficult for a normal person to be spotted, but when Louis approached the head of the table, he still attracted a lot of attention.

Karl, who was sitting at the head of the table, was startled, sat up abruptly, and walked downstairs with a face full of excitement.

“Grandpa,” Louis greeted with a smile.

Carl grabbed Louis's hand. "Good lad, you've been gone so long and you finally came back. Come here and have a few drinks with me."

"Yasen, go and bring me my wine."

Louis did not refuse. After greeting the two brothers, André and his uncle, the old man and the young man sat down and began to drink together.

Emma sat next to Louis, curiously looking down, a slight smile playing on her lips.

She discovered something interesting.

The scene below remains completely silent; no one speaks, and everyone is quietly observing what's happening above.

Especially a few of the younger men in suits, who seemed to belong to the core group, looked at Louis with a hint of hostility, even though they tried to hide it. Wasn't this a family dinner?
Oh ~
I see.

Emma smiled instantly, her eyes crinkling, and then disappeared from above in a short while.

Louis ignored where Emma had gone and drank one glass after another with his grandfather. Before long, a bottle of wine was gone. Fortunately, Arsène had brought a few extra bottles beforehand and brought them up in time. He also pulled Max and the Andre and Anderson brothers to the table, and the six of them sat around drinking together.

Alcohol is mostly not a good thing, but it is indeed a great tool for bringing men together.

They were all hearty and straightforward men; after a few bottles, they all let loose.

Anderson had already wrapped his arms around Louis's neck and started bragging about how he found Louis in his car back then. Andrei, not to be outdone, said that he was leading a large group of people to capture the serial killer Jason with Louis...

"Heh, that killer is nothing special. Although bullets can't kill him, one RPG shot will turn him into a dead dog! Oh right, on the way back, I also grabbed a little extra, named Tommy. I even trained him for a while later."

"Tommy? That bald guy?" The second uncle, Yassen, who had been silent and seemed a bit aloof, spoke up. "I know him. He's the captain of the base now, and he's pretty strong. You probably can't beat him right now."

"Huh? What did you say?!" Andrei's eyes widened, and he glared at them.

“Really, he should be a mystery by now, you can’t beat him,” Arsen said mercilessly.

"Tch, me too..."

"..."

The group of them were comparing and boasting to each other, while Karl pulled Louis aside to chat about things in the entertainment industry and the financial world. After all, Louis was of a certain age, and even if he was very strong in the mystical world, his experience might not be that great, so Karl naturally had some concerns.

She instilled some wisdom in her grandson, such as that women in brothels are just for show, don't take them seriously, and definitely don't bring them home...

Although it was of little use to him, Louis still listened attentively to the whole thing.

However, these were all secondary matters, and Carl soon began to talk about other things.

"You remember Ellis, right?"

Louis nodded.

Ellis was the first mystic he came into contact with besides that old woman Emilia. Later, he even sent Minnie, the medium who had shown precognitive abilities during the terrifying cannibal incident, to Ellis as an apprentice.

Not long ago, he recruited Minnie, who had completed her studies, and placed her in the Cleaner Company, where she and the fortune teller Alma became the main force of the Cleaner Company's mystical side.

“She’s been in some trouble lately. Although she didn’t ask me for help, I felt it was necessary to check on her. After all, their line of work is quite dangerous, and you might never see her again if something goes wrong,” Karl said with some emotion.

Having gone from being frail and old to being reborn, his mindset has indeed changed.

“I’m planning to send some people over there. What do you think of the people in our family? I don’t really understand the power divisions in the mystical world.”

As Louis's family, the Cano family naturally had a group of people trained by Louis.

During that period, they made many outstanding achievements. They even sent this unit to establish a foothold in Mexico, which shows how powerful they are. But as mentioned before, although Karl is knowledgeable and experienced, he is not a mystic. He is separated from the mystic world and is not clear about the details.

So, since we weren't sure, and Louis happened to be back, we decided to ask him, which was a safer bet.

Louis pondered for a moment, then explained the mystical hierarchy he used to classify things by demonic levels: Evil Spirit Level, Demon Level, Grand Demon Level...

Generally speaking, the most troublesome are evil spirits, which vary in strength, but most evil spirits are actually not that bad and can only bully ordinary people.

Louis's modified Black Armored Squad consists of individual soldiers who are among the best of the Evil Spirit level, and when they work together, they can even fight against Demon level enemies. The mere Evil Spirit level is no match for them.

He then gave his grandfather a general overview of the current state of the mystical side, as well as the events he had personally experienced along the way.

Including the return of darkness, demons, great demons, demon gods, demon kings, angels, undead killers, nightmare kings, grudges, information memes and curses...

Gradually, the sound of drinking stopped.

They all listened intently to Louis's narration: the demon cult, the great demon devouring souls, the demon god descending upon London, the unkillable serial killer...

When they heard the most exciting part, they all held their breath and listened intently.

"...The Nightmare King has split in two. I have one half now, while the other half is still on the run. But if I can find it, it will probably bring me some other surprises, so I'm not in a hurry to catch it."

"In short, the world is becoming more and more dangerous. It's not impossible that one day we'll wake up to find that God has turned evil and is about to destroy the world, or that a demon is impersonating God and absorbing faith."

Max and the others looked at each other in bewilderment.

They certainly hadn't expected Louis's experiences to be so rich, or that the mysterious side of the world to be so colorful, dangerous, and terrifying. They also thought of the old man's previous speculations.

I couldn't help but feel a surge of admiration; experience truly matters.

Karl, deep in thought, looked at Louis. “The family won’t hold you back. Whatever you want to do, just do it. The family will listen to you.”

Clearly, Carl is preparing to go all in.

His keen intuition told him that times were truly changing. Since the Cano family already had a leader like Louis the Younger who had gained an advantage, they should not hold them back, but rather become their support. Only in this way could they secure a foothold in the future.

Louis put down his wine glass and chuckled, "Don't worry, Grandpa, these are all minor matters. As for the family, we'll take care of things as they come."

Karl shook his head; his mind was made up.

At this moment.

A scream suddenly rang out from the backyard.

Louis glanced at the scene and immediately curled his lip.

Carl stood up and yelled, "What's wrong!"

Before anyone could report, Emma reappeared beside Louis. When Louis looked over, she gave him a sweet smile, as if to say, "I didn't do anything wrong!"

Soon, the butler rushed over, "Master, on the lawn in the backyard..."

The incident involved a minor accident involving some of Louis's cousins ​​on the lawn. They were all fine, except for a broken leg, which will likely require them to stay in the hospital for a while.

(End of this chapter)