American Horror Story, Starting from Falls Town

Chapter 391 Being a Human Being
Dolphin Hotel, Manager's Office.

The same familiar decorations, the same familiar Black people.

“Mr. Black, it’s been a long time.”

Gerald looked at Roy with a weary expression, and you could see that the environment around his head was getting worse and worse, and his hair was becoming thinner and thinner.

However, at Gerald's age, having less hair isn't a big problem, so he didn't pay much attention to it.

“That’s not right, Mr. Orin. I remember we met in mid-August, which is only a month ago.”

Gerald rubbed his temples, his expression turning helpless.

“Yes! It was right here back then, and you and I were happy that Amacham had suffered a great loss, but we never expected that only a month later, Amacham would rise again.”

Roy shrugged.

"That's just how the world is. Some things, even if you hate them, will objectively exist. Besides, we made a fortune in the stock market, didn't we?"

Gerald managed a forced smile. Although he didn't have as much money to invest in the stock market as Roy, he had still made a considerable amount.

At least I'll have enough money for retirement.

Roy had already received Catherine's message. Through a series of short and long positions, he cashed out and left the market. His initial investment of 2 million was now almost 10 billion. He was making a killing.

Indeed, no matter how brilliant Buffett is, he can't compare to the stock market guru on Capitol Hill.

Roy's biggest worry now is that he will have to pay a huge capital gains tax once he gets the money.

America encourages long-term stock holding rather than buying low and selling high, so profits from holding stocks for less than a year are subject to nearly double the short-term capital gains tax, which can reach as high as 37%!

This is equivalent to Roy giving away around $2 million to the federal government for free, which infuriated Roy so much that he wanted to blow up the IRS headquarters.

Fortunately, the experienced Catherine told Roy that she had a way to reasonably reduce the tax to around 10%, which put Roy at ease.

Although paying nearly $1 million in taxes still pained Roy, it was two-thirds less than the original tax and was also legal and reasonable.

Yes, that's America for you. As long as you have money, you can always find loopholes in the law.

Then, Roy reinvested most of his earnings into the stock market, planning to buy at the bottom when the Nasdaq tech bubble was about to burst, and also acquire a well-equipped chemistry lab to produce leech serum.

This stuff can improve Black Widow's physical condition and keep her young. If its functions could be diluted and only the cosmetic effects retained, it could probably make a lot of money.

However, this is contingent on Roy being able to find a trustworthy scientist to help him research the leech serum formula.

Roy had already thought it through. If all else failed, he would find a scientist with a bad character, brand him, and make him work for him. That would be the safest option.

Roy planned to keep the remaining cash for future use. For example, if Nidi's Red Book was successful, it would require a lot of money to burn in the early stages, and this money could be used to operate the website.

Otherwise, it would be a huge loss to distribute the shares at this time.

“I understand what you mean… Never mind, let’s not talk about these unpleasant things! Mr. Black, can you tell me the details of the Elders’ invasion of the Shadow Hunter base? Don’t worry, there are no listening devices in this room, and I won’t reveal what you’re telling me.”

Gerald made assurances to Roy.

Roy actually trusted Gerald quite a bit; the two had long since gone beyond being collaborators and were already friends.

Therefore, Roy did not refuse Gerald's request.

“I arrived at the Shadow Hunter base later. You’ll have to ask Claire or Elise what happened before that.”

Gerald nodded, and then Roy recounted the details of the battle, including Cain's immortality and how he ultimately defeated Cain.

After hearing Roy's words, Gerald gave a helpless smile.

"These are truly turbulent times. None of the supernatural events that have occurred in the past decade have been as terrifying as those of the last year!"

What could be the reason? It's so hard to guess!
Roy coughed twice to change the subject.

"Mr. Orin, I have a favor to ask of you."

Roy has just answered Gerard's question, so he certainly won't refuse Roy.

"Please say."

"It's about the dark web."

Roy revealed the connection between the Dark Web and the Elders' Council.

"If the dark web hadn't tricked my friend that day, leading me to the underground, I wouldn't have missed FEA's plea for help, and Elise wouldn't have been so badly injured."

Upon hearing this, Gerald frowned deeply.

"The dark web actually did this?"

Gerald felt it was a bit of a problem, after all, the dark web was deeply involved with those powerful and wealthy people.

Think back to that escape room game, which actually generated a cash prize pool of 1500 billion US dollars!
Therefore, relying on official forces to deal with the dark web is actually very inconvenient.

Seeing that Gerald was somewhat embarrassed, Roy spoke up again.

“Mr. Orin, you just need to help me find them, and I’ll take care of the rest.”

Upon hearing this, Gerald breathed a sigh of relief.

"If it's just about finding their location, I can manage that; I have connections with both the FBI and the CIA. But Mr. Blake, the dark web can't be eradicated."

Where there is demand, a market will emerge.

Roy had realized this long ago: the dark web was created because a group of rich people with nothing better to do wanted excitement.

Even if Roy takes down Henry and Claire, a white net and a green net will still be created.

You don't think that just because Love Live! Island is gone, the America elites will stop playing Love Live!?

This kind of thing can only be controlled from the top down. If the top is corrupt, then dismantling any dark web will be useless.

“I understand. I just want to get rid of the puzzle maker. How dare he lay a hand on my girlfriend! Mr. Orin, if we get any loot, I can donate some money to the FEA, FBI, and CIA.”

Gerald's eyes lit up. If that were the case, the FBI and CIA would definitely be much more motivated.

"No problem, leave it to me."

After finishing his discussion about the dark web, Roy prepared to say goodbye to Gerald and then go check on Saltana's situation.

Saltana had been working overtime for several days because of the Elders' Council incident, and only today did she finally have a little time to rest.

Seeing how tired Saltana was, Roy didn't disturb her rest and left the Dolphin Hotel to return to UCLA.

As soon as Roy returned to UCLA, he received a call that surprised him; it was from Claire.

This Claire is not the daughter of the jigsaw puzzle maker Henry, but rather the female psychiatrist Claire Sheffield, who has not appeared in a long time.

"Roy, guess where I am right now?"

When a woman says this, it usually means she's already nearby.

So Roy observed for a moment at the UCLA gate and spotted Claire secretly making a phone call from the guardhouse.

However, Roy didn't expose Claire. Since she wanted to play a little game, he might as well go along with it.

"How am I supposed to know where you are? It's so hard to guess!"

"Hehe! I'm here!" Claire suddenly jumped out of the guardhouse, rushed to Roy's side and hugged him.

"Roy, I missed you so much!"

Roy could feel Claire's longing, a longing so intense it seemed she wanted to merge into his body.

Of course, it should also work if Roy merges into Claire's body.

"Claire, what brings you to UCLA all of a sudden?"

Upon hearing this, Claire wore a resentful expression.

"If someone hasn't contacted me for over a month, then I'll just have to take the initiative to reach out to them!"

Roy's expression turned awkward, because a series of events during the summer meant he hadn't seen Reclam since the Sydney Olympics ended.

Roy could only apologize.

"This is my fault. I've been quite busy lately with some things... um!"

Before Roy could finish his apology, Claire had already kissed him on the lips.

The kiss was as intense as a collision of planets, as if Claire wanted to release all the longing she had felt over the past few days.

After a while, Claire finally released Roy, panting heavily.

"Phew! So I've decided to move the mental health clinic to Los Angeles, so I can see you more often!"

Roy was very touched. Claire's clinic in Austin had been operating for several years and had many long-term clients.

Moving to Los Angeles now would mean starting all over again.

"Claire, I..."

Claire covered Roy's mouth, stopping him from continuing.

“Roy, it’s okay! If it weren’t for you, I might have died in a plane crash in New York! I cherish the time I spend with you! Besides, my advisor is at UCLA, and he can introduce me to some jobs!”

Since Claire said so, Roy could only let it go.

"Claire, if you have any trouble, you can come to me. I have some connections in Los Angeles."

Claire nodded happily.

"I won't be polite! By the way, Roy, would you like to meet my advisor? He's been a professor at UCLA for ten years, so he should know all the professors at the school. If you don't pass your finals, you can ask him for help."

Roy smiled. His current professor was Elizabeth, so it was impossible for him to fail. In fact, he had only attended one class so far and nothing had happened.

As for Claire's mentor, he probably doesn't know Elizabeth. After all, the King of Sloth just entered UCLA this year, and the film school is far from the liberal arts college, so they probably haven't even met.

However, Roy did not refuse Claire's offer, who probably wanted to introduce him to her social circle.

"Okay, but I've never been to a liberal arts college before."

"I know the way, I'll take you there!"

Claire happily pulled Roy along as they walked towards the liberal arts college.

Along the way, Claire would also tell Roy about the school and some interesting things that happened when she was a student there.

Although Roy had already heard many of these stories from Mary, he still listened to Claire finish telling them with a smile.

"We've arrived! I completed my undergraduate and doctoral degrees in this building!"

It was lunchtime when school let out, and many students came out of the building. They looked at Claire and Roy with surprise, thinking that some celebrities were filming a movie.

There's no way around it; handsome men and beautiful women are all together, and Los Angeles has Hollywood, so it's normal for students to think this way.

UCLA and USC have both been filmed by Hollywood multiple times, and you're likely to encounter them several times during your four years of university.

"Perfect timing! I think Professor Lecter should be done with his classes by now. I'll take you to him!"

Claire led Roy to the door of an office and then knocked.

"Come in!"

A middle-aged man's voice came from inside the door.

Claire pushed open the door and led Roy into the office.

This is a separate office, and it's quite spacious, which shows that UCLA values ​​this Professor Lecter quite a bit.

This kind of treatment is not something that ordinary professors receive.

Roy remembered seeing a news story in his past life about a physics lecturer at a university in Los Angeles who was so poor that he couldn't afford to rent a house and was about to become homeless.

Another lecturer does nothing but can live in Dahouse, while a lecturer who teaches students at a university can't afford to rent a house.

Therefore, there are also differences among university professors.

A skilled individual can handle several projects, negotiate with the federal government, and easily earn millions a year.

Some are as bad as that physics lecturer, who can only earn a meager salary and might not even be able to afford rent.

"Professor Lecter, I've come to see you!"

Claire walked over to the desk and greeted the middle-aged man who was writing at his desk.

Lecter looked up and smiled when he saw Claire.

"Oh, it's you, Sheffield! What brings you here?"

This is a middle-aged man with a refined appearance. Although he is not particularly handsome, he has an extraordinary temperament.

However, Roy's pupils dilated in shock after seeing that face.

What the hell! This middle-aged man is Hannibal Lecter!
(Bandit is here! Can you guess what his real identity is?)

The character Hannibal first appeared in the 1986 suspense novel "Red Dragon". Author Thomas Harris then used this character as the core of his subsequent works, including "The Silence of the Lambs" and "Hannibal".

However, what truly made this character famous was the 1991 thriller "The Silence of the Lambs." The film was both critically acclaimed and commercially successful, and Anthony Hopkins' brilliant performance successfully transformed Hannibal Lecter into a classic figure in film history.

The character of Hannibal has since been adapted into numerous films and television series.

What Roy is seeing now is the middle-aged Hannibal Lecter from the American TV series. He had a deep impression of Hannibal Lecter's image from his previous life.

There's no way around it, Hannibal is just too good at dealing with people.

However, Roy didn't actually know that Hannibal's last name was Lecter.

Seemingly sensing Roy's unusual gaze, Hannibal turned his attention to Roy.

"Who is this……"

Claire introduced Roy somewhat shyly.

"Roy Black, he's my boyfriend, and he's a freshman at UCLA!"

Upon hearing this, Hannibal revealed his signature smirk.

This feels like picking out ingredients!
(End of this chapter)