Spellcasting Gods

After offering a soft word of comfort, Zhang Cheng took out a key card, inserted it into the slot, and led the way into the private elevator that led directly to the top floor.

In the blink of an eye, the group arrived at this place, which was almost completely isolated from the lower floors.

Shortly after stepping out of the elevator, Tracy, dressed in a business suit, approached him and presented him with a financial statement: "Sir, this is the money laundered over the past two months. Please take a look. We currently have about 35 million US dollars in our vault, which should be fully utilized within three months at most."

After glancing at the cash flow and losses on the books, Zhang Cheng nodded in satisfaction: "Well done! You're becoming more and more professional, which makes me very happy. Also, you no longer need to worry about the demon mark; I've completely resolved that."

"Thank you so much! I promise that I will do my best to serve you in the future."

Hearing that the demon would no longer harass him, Tracy visibly breathed a sigh of relief, her face beaming with a smile of rebirth, while secretly observing the two unfamiliar faces beside her.

When she saw Zhang Cheng with one arm around Elizabeth's slender waist, her heart skipped a beat, and a barely perceptible hint of wariness and hostility flashed in her eyes.

Similarly, Elizabeth, with her keen sixth sense, also sensed this hostility and looked up to meet the other person's eyes.

Fortunately, they both remained very restrained, and after staring at each other for three seconds, they ended their first confrontation.

After Tracy turned and left, Elizabeth couldn't help but cautiously probe, "Who is she? Your lover?"

"A lover? Why would you have such a thought?" Zhang Cheng asked with a half-smile.

“Her eyes! When she looks at you, it’s definitely not just as a subordinate and boss, there’s also a hint of admiration. But don’t worry, I don’t mind if you have a few lovers outside, as long as you promise me I’m your official girlfriend.” Elizabeth winked, feigning nonchalance.

However, her little tricks were nothing compared to the cunning and scheming former.

Zhang Cheng shook his head and denied it, saying, "No, we are not lovers, at least not yet."

"Really?" Elizabeth was clearly a little skeptical.

"It's true! To be precise, Tracy was still a virgin, which is why her soul was targeted by the demon."

"Well, it seems you're a little more restrained than I thought."

"Oh? Can you tell me what kind of person you originally imagined me to be?"

"Well—even if he's not a sex maniac who recklessly indulges his desires, he's at least a womanizer. After all, few rich men aren't lustful; that's common knowledge in the United States."

The two chatted idly as they walked down the corridor and into the innermost room.

Aisa, led by Jesse, went to the bathroom to wash off the sticky, foul-smelling mixture of flesh and blood covering her body.

……

Meanwhile, on a huge cruise ship docked in New York Harbor, countless workers were busy moving items completely sealed in metal boxes into the lower decks.

As one of the members of North America's highest council, Lavern personally oversaw the operation to prevent any accidents involving some of the most valuable goods.

Because the annual auction will be held on this ship soon.

Not only will lords and members of parliament from North America attend, but high-ranking officials from other regional parliaments will also occasionally appear.

Especially since someone has already leaked the news that there will be dragon eggs at this auction, it is foreseeable that this will inevitably cause a lot of trouble. Perhaps even those ancient families that usually consider themselves superior will send representatives to bid.

Just as Lavern began to consider whether a bloody scene would unfold after the auction, the Shadow King Lauren Connie suddenly appeared before him, bowed, and whispered, "Master, the Marcus family has sent a direct descendant who wishes to meet with you immediately."

"The Marcus family? At this time?" Lavern's eyes gleamed.

"Yes! I think they're probably after..."

Before Lauren could finish speaking, Lavern waved his hand: "I know what these guys want. Bring them over, I happen to need their help with something..."

Chapter 0544 is highly anticipated.

A few minutes later, in the most luxuriously decorated cabin on the cruise ship, Lavern squinted as he looked up and down at the white man, around forty years old, standing in front of him.

A full minute passed before he pointed to the chair in front of him and said, "Sit down. I didn't expect that Virgil would actually send out his most beloved son and heir."

"Thank you very much! It is my honor to be received by you." The white man bowed deeply before sitting down gracefully.

It was obvious that he had received rigorous etiquette training, and his every move was textbook perfect, full of the reserve and gentlemanly spirit advocated by the British upper aristocracy.

“Tell me, Anthony, what is your father’s purpose in sending you here at this sensitive time?” Lavern didn’t bother beating around the bush and went straight to the point.

"There are two things I need. First, the Marcus family needs at least two dragon eggs, and I hope you can help us. Second, I would like to meet with that recently rising Eastern wizard to see if we can reach some cooperation agreement." The white man, referred to as Anthony, didn't waste any words and quickly stated his purpose.

After all, as a direct descendant of Rudolf Marcus, the second leader of the North American Supreme Council—the Grim Reaper—he had enough leverage to get what he wanted through exchange and bargaining.

In fact, although the United States of America has been promoting so-called "freedom," "equality," and "democracy" to the outside world, it has been practicing a strict hierarchical system internally.

No matter how wealthy outsiders are, they cannot enter those tightly guarded little circles.

The same principle applies to the underworld.

Through marriage, several families most deeply rooted in this land have united closely. Although they are not yet in a position to affect the Supreme Council, they can certainly control the Secondary Council.

Lavern was undoubtedly well aware of the immense influence behind the Marcus family. He subconsciously frowned and pondered for a moment before gently tapping the table in response, "All the members of the Supreme Council know the number of dragon eggs, so I can't help with that. But I can arrange a meeting with Zhang. However, if I remember correctly, your family doesn't have any eligible female members for marriage, right?"

“No, there’s also an illegitimate daughter.” Anthony gave an awkward smile.

"Oh? An illegitimate daughter! Whose?" Lavern rarely showed a gossipy expression.

As far as he knew, those large families would deliberately choose their marriage and childbearing partners in order to preserve the magical talents of their offspring.

As for illegitimate children, they usually don't exist. Even if they are born by accident, they are carefully hidden away, neither recognized nor known to the outside world.

“Mine! That was a mistake I made when I was young. She’s seventeen this year and is studying magic at a wizarding academy. Although her talent is a little lacking, it’s enough for a marriage alliance.” Anthony didn’t try to hide anything and readily admitted it.

Although he felt a little ashamed of his daughter, since she was going to be used for a marriage alliance, the truth would be revealed sooner or later, so he might as well act a little more nonchalant.

"Unbelievable! But it sounds like a good story. We can talk about this beautiful mistake another time. Besides, don't blame me for not warning you, Zhang is not the kind of small fry who can be easily manipulated. On the contrary, he has wisdom and ambition far beyond his years, and he is extremely dangerous. You never know what crazy decisions he might make in a crisis."

When he said this, Lavern's tone was full of seriousness and warning.

"Rest assured. You should know the Marcus family's consistent strategy: they would never easily offend any rising star. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now. Consider this a favor we owe you." Anthony stood up, intending to take his leave.

Before he could even bow, Lavern interrupted him, saying, "Wait! I also have something I need your help with."

“Of course! Please go ahead!” Anthony paused for a moment, then nodded without hesitation.

“I have a stone tablet here that was once enshrined in the Temple of Poseidon in ancient Greece. It is said to record the location of the sinking of Atlantis. It seems that your family has quite a few people who are experts in this field. Could you help me translate it?” As he spoke, Lavern took out an ancient stone tablet covered with strange characters and symbols from the briefcase beside him.

Due to the passage of time, most of the writing on the surface has become blurred, but the image of Poseidon holding a trident in the center remains lifelike.

"This...this is!!!!!!!!!" Anthony clearly recognized the origin of the stone slab and stared in shock.

"That's right! It's the legendary last will and testament left by the last survivor of Atlantis before his death. Don't ask me where I got it, I won't tell you. And don't try to take it for yourself, because you and your family can't afford the price."

“I understand! But translating something so ancient will probably take a very long time.”

"No need to rush, I have plenty of time."

……

Just as Anthony stepped off the cruise ship deck, in the principal's office of the Wizarding Academy—the Magical Realm—an elderly man with white hair and beard was reviewing documents brought to him by his subordinates.

After about two or three minutes, he adjusted his glasses and asked, "Are you sure this Easterner has mastered a magical system that we don't understand?"

“Yes, Great Wizard. I’ve been observing him for a long time, and the magical runes and spells he uses are completely different from ours. And not long ago, he cut off Brenda’s arm in a conflict, without any visible movement; the whole process seemed to happen suddenly,” Venus explained calmly.

After personally experiencing Zhang Cheng's terrifying abilities, she took the initiative to come to this place where she had once studied and lived, hoping to use the power of the Wizard Association to unravel its mysteries.

"You mean—teleportation?" The old man, known as the Great Wizard, looked up, a hint of curiosity showing on his wrinkled face.

“No! It’s not just teleportation! It’s more like… more like…” Venus desperately searched her brain, trying to find the right adjective.

But before she could find it, the great wizard added with a smile, "It's more like time has stopped, isn't it?"

Upon hearing this word, Venus's eyes lit up instantly, and she nodded frantically: "Yes! Time stopped! It's as if he manipulated time! He cut off Brenda's arm when everyone was unable to move or perceive anything. Do you think this kind of power or magic really exists?"

"I don't know, at least I've never seen him. Maybe I should take some time to go to New York and meet this young man from the mysterious East..."

Chapter 0545 Annual Meeting

As the Christmas holidays drew closer, the relationship between Zhang Cheng and Elizabeth rapidly warmed up, even progressing to the point of living together.

However, in order to ensure that they could absorb enough magical energy on the first night, the two of them were very restrained and did not break through the last line of defense. But apart from the last step, they did everything they could.

Because the power in a witch's bloodline is easily affected by the moon's gravity, it is best to complete the transformation from girl to woman during a full moon.

In addition, Elsa, having completed her revenge, returned to the Catherine's Kiss restaurant and continued working as a bartender in the underground bar as a temporary manager, responsible for maintaining basic order and tax collection in the territory before the new lord took office.

The salary is also good, with a surface income of over eight thousand dollars per month, plus an extra ten thousand dollars in cash.

Keep in mind that it was only the end of 2003, and the United States was still enjoying unprecedented prosperity brought about by the fact that it was the only superpower after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Although the 9/11 attacks cast a shadow over the future of this superpower, the US dollar remains the world's only settlement currency, and its purchasing power is far from the state of severe inflation that it will be in a decade or so later.

Elsa was extremely happy with the job, and she also got to talk face-to-face with some strange creatures that only appear in fairy tales and folk legends, such as vampires, werewolves, elves, and fairies.

As for safety, she didn't care at all, since it couldn't possibly be worse than the black neighborhood she used to live in.

Despite the unimaginable suffering and torment they endured in their childhood, these two unrelated young sisters still managed to embark on a good path in life. They did not degenerate into prostitutes who made a living by selling their bodies, nor did they indulge in hallucinogens to numb themselves.

Just as Zhang Cheng was beginning to get used to enjoying this ordinary life, a phone call disrupted his peace.

The person making the call was none other than a nominal "mother".

The content was simple: attend the company's annual meeting and celebrate the huge profits generated after the two new products were launched into the market.

After the first batch of artificially cultivated Ning Shen flowers were harvested, the ambitious Zhang Zhi immediately ordered the company's R&D department to produce a beverage and a skin cream in less than three days.

The former, when consumed, can not only soothe emotions and help people quickly enter deep sleep, but also relieve depression, lower blood pressure and blood lipids. The effects are very obvious and cannot be compared with those health products that are just a sham.

The latter has a stronger repairing effect than any other skin cream on the market. Whether it is scars, blemishes, or acne, as long as it is applied continuously for three to four days, they will disappear completely, allowing the skin to temporarily return to its youthful state.

Because a certain amount of advertising was invested in advance, both of the above products experienced severe stockouts just one and a half months after they went on sale.

I estimate that her request to meet this time is most likely to discuss the issue of expanding the planting area.

After all, the patent rights to this magical white flower are held by a biological laboratory called "Starlight," but this laboratory has never actually existed.

Even the name of the other partner on the contract was fake; his real identity was a shapeshifter from the underworld who returned directly to a primitive tribe in Africa after completing his work.

Left with no other choice, Zhang Cheng changed into an expensive handmade suit and left home three days before Christmas Eve, driving his sports car alone to the annual meeting.

As soon as the car door opened, Maggie, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately stepped forward and said with a stern face, "Sir, please come with me. The boss is waiting for you inside."

"Ok."

Zhang Cheng ignored his ex-girlfriend's rude attitude and nodded with a smile.

Maggie wore a black low-cut backless evening gown and ten-centimeter high heels. She looked radiant, and her long, slender legs, encased in black stockings, were sometimes visible and sometimes hidden by the hem of her dress. As soon as she entered the hall, she attracted the burning gazes of countless men.

Unfortunately, they could only feast their eyes at best and dared not take any further action.