Chapter 96: Come, Let Me Take You to Meet a Renowned Director—Boom! (22/26)

While chatting with the policewoman named Hannah, Ou Xiaolu’s mind never rested for even a moment. He slipped on the mantle of [Role: Detective], analyzing the situation before him. That detective card he’d always looked down on, calling it the easiest to be brainwashed, truly had no talent for combat, but when it came to unraveling cases, it was sharper than anything.

Very quickly, the clues in Ou Xiaolu’s hands pointed to one man: Mr. Dory, the investor of this film.

Word had it that the reason the film’s production moved from Los Angeles to Xinxiang was because Mr. Dory held some influence there and could secure certain benefits. Otherwise, with Steven’s standing in the film world, especially in Hollywood, Los Angeles could have provided him with a much larger team.

The choice of subject for this movie was also made by Mr. Dory—it was supposedly a story set near Xinxiang, about a Native American tribe’s resistance and migration. Of course, the tale was steeped in mythology, filled with legendary weapons, all designed by Mr. Dory himself. He had even brought out an antique from his own home to serve as a prop.

This was no longer a movie made for profit; it had become a fervent obsession.

Anyone else hearing such a story would have dismissed Mr. Dory as a fanatical artist, but Ou Xiaolu saw it differently. He detected a trace of the Sacred Blood Council’s shadow in Dory’s actions.

“This Dory, more likely than not, has obtained some Native American relic or treasure. But the legend surrounding this Native American isn’t well-known enough to meet the Council’s threshold for intervention, so Dory is using the film to boost the legend’s notoriety. But then, why target Steven? Clearly, all he needs to do is wait for the film to be completed and released.”

With these doubts in mind, Ou Xiaolu left the police station. The nameless duo’s lawyer informed him that everything had been settled; before long, Dory would receive a court summons. If Dory wished to avoid going to trial, an out-of-court settlement could provide Ou Xiaolu with about three hundred thousand dollars in cash.

At this point, the lawyer seemed a little embarrassed, thinking the compensation was too low. Ou Xiaolu, however, was quite satisfied—three hundred thousand dollars went a long way toward solving his problems.

The lawyer was delighted by Ou Xiaolu’s satisfaction and handed him a business card, hoping he’d remember his name next time. But Ou Xiaolu’s attention was entirely on Hannah; he had no time for the still-unnamed lawyer.

Just then, Hannah and her partner were about to head out on patrol. After all, it wasn’t yet noon, and as patrol officers, they couldn’t stay in the station all day.

Ou Xiaolu stepped forward to stop them. The male officer, somewhat annoyed, barked, “What more do you want?”

“I mean no harm. Since I’m already out, I thought I’d visit Director Steven. Would you two like to come with me?”

“What for?” Hannah shot him a glare.

“Isn’t his crew working in your district? What if he suddenly remembers something important?”

The male officer was about to refuse, but Hannah interjected, “Are you sure you can see Steven? Last time our people went, they didn’t see him.”

“I should be able to. I know Cameron pretty well—I’ve seen his car flip three times already.”

“What kind of metaphor is that?”

“It’s not a metaphor, it’s the truth. You don’t know his nickname: Prince of Rollovers. He used to drive big rigs. When his container truck flipped, it could flatten a whole street of cars.”

As he spoke, Ou Xiaolu led Hannah to the hospital where Steven was being treated. The reason he brought only Hannah was simple—his car had only one passenger seat. The male officer wasn’t like Charles, who’d had the nerve to squeeze into the back with Arrow.

Seated in the front, Hannah was full of curiosity about Arrow, peppering Ou Xiaolu with questions. It was clear Arrow was more attractive to her than either Ou Xiaolu or his self-driving car.

When they arrived at the hospital, Ou Xiaolu leapt out, ran around to open Hannah’s door, and realized that even if a charming girl was as talkative as Charles, she was still endearing. Had Charles chattered on like this the whole trip, Ou Xiaolu would have thrown him to the tigers long ago.

Arrow rolled his eyes in silence.

“Ou, are you sure you can take me to see Steven?”

“If I say I can, I can. You’ve already asked me thirty times on the way.”

“I can’t help it, I’m nervous. What if Steven likes me and asks me to act? I haven’t even decided if I want to be famous yet.”

“You sound a lot like my roommate. Only, he thinks even further ahead. He’s already worried about being recognized on the street after becoming famous, which would ruin his dream of becoming a superhero.”

“Your roommate sounds interesting.”

“He is, though I sometimes suspect something’s wrong with his head. He always acts in a way that makes you want to feed him to the tigers.”

“Have you ever tried?”

“No. Arrow never eats people—human flesh just isn’t tasty to him.”

“So what does he eat?”

“Fresh beef. I usually order it directly from the ranch.”

Arrow, who was parking the car, didn’t hear this. If he had, he would surely have protested. Since becoming Ou Xiaolu’s avatar, he’d only had beef once. The rest of the time, he had to fend for himself.

But Hannah knew nothing of this, and her gaze toward Ou Xiaolu softened—wealthy pet owners who treated their animals well were becoming exceedingly rare.

At that moment, Ou Xiaolu spotted Cameron coming out of the hospital’s inpatient building. Perhaps due to the hectic days, Cameron looked thinner.

Seeing Ou Xiaolu, Cameron paused in surprise, but still waved in greeting.

Just then, Ou Xiaolu suddenly shouted, “Watch out!”

He shot forward like lightning, dragging Cameron into the main hall of the medical building.

Cameron hadn’t even realized what was happening when, with a thunderous crash, an ambulance slammed into the spot where he had just been standing.

The explosion shattered all the glass around the inpatient building, sending shards flying toward the bystanders.

In the midst of the blast, Ou Xiaolu darted from the relatively safe lobby, unfurled the full power of his purple gauze cloak, and shielded Hannah with his body.