Exorcism in Los Angeles? Just talk it out!

[The Smiling Man]

A fake business war, full of schemes and tricks, a battle of courage and wit.

Real business warfare is about physically defeating your opponent—it's straightforward and unpretentious.

For example, there was a king who knew everything, who almost got shot in the head during his election campaign, but luckily he was naturally fond of shaking his head and swaying, so he escaped unscathed.

No human being can commit the perfect crime. On the contrary, the most perfect crime is murder committed by evil spirits. They leave no trace, and even if they are caught, they will not reveal who their employer is...

Even Sherlock Holmes would be baffled.

We arrived at the study that Smith had mentioned.

Grasp the doorknob and twist to open.

Click!

The door opened, and a blast of cold air from the air conditioner hit me.

There was none of the chilling coldness I had imagined, nor any fear that would make me tremble.

Everything seemed unchanged; it was just a normal study.

But as soon as Li Ang entered, he smelled a strong scent of evil spirits in the air, and the little white flower petals trembled slightly.

Even the chipped copper bell at Li Ang's waist was trembling slightly, but it didn't ring, indicating that an evil spirit had indeed been there.

Li Ang pondered for a moment and said, "Mr. Smith, you mean that every time you close the door, you hear a knock, but when you open it, you don't see anyone?"

"Then you call out loudly to the servants outside, but they can't hear you, right?"

Representative Smith said, "Yes, it's like there's an invisible evil spirit that keeps tormenting me, whether I'm at the city hall or at home, it basically appears whenever I'm alone late at night."

"Although I'm quite brave, I can't withstand its harassment."

"Once, I couldn't stand it anymore, so I put my face right up to the peephole to see what the other person looked like..."

"But I suddenly remembered the time my father went to your grandfather to have his fortune told..."

He said, "Never tempt the evil spirits, and never look them in the eye."

"That's why I asked my housekeeper to call Chinatown and invite you..."

only……

Congressman Smith glanced at Li Ang. Li Ang was too young. His meaning was clear: inexperienced and unreliable. He wanted to invite Li Ang's grandfather.

"Mr. Smith, you were right not to be reckless and look through the peephole."

Li Ang laughed, "The moment you see ghosts and gods, they can also see you. You've triggered the rules, and they might very well attack you because of it, if I'm not mistaken..."

Li Ang took out his tablet, swiped through it, and finally found two files that matched the criteria. He then opened them and showed them to Smith.

"If I'm not mistaken, the evil spirit that's harassing you is one of these two."

Congressman Smith leaned over for a look, a hint of curiosity on his face.

"[The Smiling Man]?"

"[Black-Eyed Kids]?"

The tablet's files contain two file descriptions, but the people in the pictures are blurred out.

Li Ang nodded. "That's right, it's Black-Eyed Kids and The Smiling Man."

"The Smiling Man, a kind of evil spirit that likes to knock on the door late at night and stand close to it."

"His smile stretched from ear to ear, full of malice. He would scratch the door with his long fingers, walk around the house, and peek through the windows."

"Its rule is that you must never look directly into its eyes, or you will die. Even if you don't open the door, it will still break in and kill you."

"The second possibility is Black-Eyed Kids, also known as children with black eyes."

"Its rule is also to knock on the door at night. It looks like a child aged 6-12 with no whites in its eyes. But unlike the former, which cannot speak, it will lower its head and use pitiful words to trick you into opening the door."

"Once you soften your heart and say 'come in,' or open the door, it will come in and kill you."

Li Ang said, "From your description, the other person doesn't seem to be able to speak. I'm more inclined to believe the first possibility, which is 'The Smiling Man'..."

Even a seasoned politician with acting skills comparable to Hollywood stars, Congressman Smith broke out in a cold sweat. He couldn't help but wipe the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. "What should we do?"

Li Ang smiled and said, "It's very simple. Although I don't know exactly how your competitors controlled these evil spirits, they all share one characteristic: they have no brains..."

"No brain?" Congressman Smith looked puzzled. Yes, evil spirits don't have brain cells, but so what?

"Having no brain means being unable to think. Since you can't think, things become much simpler..."

"Once you die, their mission is complete, and they will naturally leave."

Congressman Smith's butler couldn't help but glare at him and said, "Young man, do you know what you're saying?"

But Smith stopped him, smiling at Li Ang, and said casually, "I guess it's a fake death? Right? You wouldn't really let me die, would you? Murder is illegal."

Li Ang smiled and pointed to the paper figure he had brought. "That's right, it's a fake death. This paper figure will take your place, wear your clothes, and be killed by them. They can't tell the difference between the real and fake. In this way, their mission will be completed, and they will naturally stop bothering you."

"I see..." Congressman Smith nodded. "But what if my opponents discover I'm still alive and continue to send evil spirits to kill me?"

"Can't you just destroy the evil spirit directly?"

Li Ang blinked. Destroy evil spirits? Of course...

Aside from the haunted spirits born from urban legends, any evil spirit can be destroyed, even demons from other worlds.

But what good would that do him?

Instead, they offended the witch or wizard on the other side who commanded the evil spirits.

Every profession has its rules. Those who control evil spirits must pay a heavy price, such as shortening their lifespan or other aspects. Exorcists often reach a tacit understanding with their adversaries.

That is, you are hired to control evil spirits to harass or kill rich people, and I am hired to protect them and exorcise demons, and everyone makes money.

But I will only exorcise evil spirits; I won't kill the evil spirits you control. Let's all keep this in mind and maintain a steady flow of business...

Is it a scam to fleece capitalists and the rich?

That was to reclaim the wages earned by workers who worked 16 hours a day 100 years ago.

Well, those unclaimed, individual evil spirits are an exception.

"That's right, Mr. Smith. Destroying the evil spirit is only treating the symptoms, not the root cause. Since your nemesis can command one evil spirit, he can command a second one."

"Even if I spend a huge amount of money to eliminate it, it will just keep coming back..."

"Moreover, evil spirits can never be completely eradicated."

Li Ang paused for a moment, then said, half-jokingly, "Especially these urban legends of evil spirits; even if you kill them, they'll come back to life..."

Urban legends about "spirits" are indeed unkillable, but they also have different levels. If a spirit is not yet powerful enough, it may take decades for it to revive after being killed once.

Congressman Smith took a deep breath. "I never imagined my opponent would be so insidious, trying to manipulate evil spirits to kill me in order to win the election..."

"Heh, he never dreamed that I also know some exorcists."

Li Ang smiled and said, "It's normal. The most basic and unpretentious business war is to destroy your competitors physically. In reality, even the most perfect assassination by hired killers can be caught by the FBI. But killing by evil spirits is different. It can be called the most perfect crime."

Smith nodded. "I understand. Thank you, Master Li. I'll cooperate fully with whatever you need..."

"At the same time, I have decided to increase your compensation to ten thousand US dollars."

[P.S. I created photos of a smiling person and a child with black eyes using AI, but I can't upload them yet because I haven't signed a contract. I'll upload them on Monday after I do. You can also upload your own creations.]