Chapter 331: Demon Lair (14/)
Rowan spent hours in his room trying to figure out what was happening.
Nighttime approached.
He checked the time: 7:33.
About an hour before the time he had agreed to meet with D'andre.
He hummed and then went to have a quick shower. He changed into a pair of casual clothes, a black hoodie over gray joggers. He then strolled outside his mansion.
Standing outside, he paused to observe it.
Although it was nighttime, the mansion still stood out.
It was big, spacious, and well-lit, with tall windows glowing softly from within.
The white walls shone faintly under the moonlight, and the carved pillars at the entrance added to its beauty.
Everything about it carried a quiet air of elegance and wealth.
Then his eyes shifted to the garden. It stretched wide, filled with trimmed hedges and neatly arranged flowers that swayed gently in the night breeze.
A stone path cut through the center, leading to a fountain that glimmered faintly under the soft light.
Even at night, the garden looked alive, calm, and welcoming. Rowan took a slow breath, his gaze lingering before he finally began to walk along the path.
Not far from the garden stood a large garage, its metal doors polished and gleaming.
He walked closer, glancing at the interior through the glass panels. Inside, the garage was neatly arranged and spacious, much like the mansion itself. Rows of sleek cars rested in perfect order, each shining under bright white lights.
"Master Rowan," a middle-aged man, his driver and also his car maintenance guy, rushed out of a small building beside the garage and greeted him. "Are you going out tonight?" he asked.
"Yes," Rowan nodded. "But I'll be going alone. I'll be back soon. Give me the key to the BMW."
"Okay, sir." The man rushed into his building and brought out the key. He gave it to Rowan respectfully.
Rowan took the key and strolled toward the latest BMW ALPINA B8 Gran Coupe.
It was black with a sleek and sophisticated design. He felt the familiar exterior of his favorite car.
"To think I'd feel so good from simply sitting inside a car," Rowan muttered with a calm smile. He ignited the car's engine and drove out of the compound.
===
Inside a quiet restaurant, two young men sat opposite one another.
Rowan and D'andre stared at each other in awkward silence for a long time. It was as though the two of them were quietly evaluating one another.
D'andre's white hair relaxed on his shoulder. "You're Rowan?" he asked.
"And you are D'andre?" Rowan returned the question.
Of course, even though the two of them had already spoken on the phone and agreed to meet to discuss the mysterious occurrences around them, now that they were sitting in front of each other, they couldn't help but question each other's appearance.
Following their first exchange of questions of identity, the two of them went on a series of more questions and then friendly roasting as they confirmed each other's identities.
"I thought you would be richer," Rowan taunted.
"I thought you would be taller," D'andre taunted back.
"I'm six feet tall," Rowan scoffed.
"And I am half a foot taller than you."
"Why are we bringing height into this conversation?"
"Because you brought up money."
"You started it. Anyway, enough of the back and forth. Let's discuss some serious issues."
D'andre nodded, a serious expression appearing on his face as he asked, "What do you think is happening?"
Rowan paused for a second. "I think we're under some kind of hallucination trap within the demon lair."
"Exactly my thoughts. But how can we break out of it?"
"That is the difficult part."
What could they actually do?
Kill themselves? That was the worst idea.
The death from his first hallucination had sent him to this timeline. If they killed themselves again, who knows where they might be sent? With no system to guide them, they had to pave a way out of their current situation by themselves.
"I think this has something to do with our heart demons," D'andre said.
Rowan's eyes squinted a little bit. "Explain."
D'andre nodded and began explaining why he made such a statement. "Maybe we have some kind of history in this present world that we always wish we could change. Like revenge, preventing a loved one from dying, something that changes the entire course of everything," he explained.
Rowan nodded softly. He got the point his buddy was trying to make, but he doubted it. "That would be the actual answer if the trap was triggered from a temple or some ancient holy domain. But it's different. It was triggered from a demon lair. If anything, they would want chaos."
Both of them paused for a moment. "But what kind of chaos can we cause in a world as ordinary as our own?"
Rowan could think of a few ways to break the peace of the entire world, but just as D'andre said, it would be impossible on his own.
"I think we should try my first suggestion. If it doesn't work, then we can try something else. I personally have some things I want to change." Then he turned to Rowan. "Do you have any?"
Rowan paused. He thought for a second if he had any. "I don't have any," he responded.
"Hmm, that's strange. Anyway, it's a good thing. We can focus on solving mine; it would make everything a lot faster."
Rowan agreed. D'andre opened up and told Rowan everything, his past—or rather, the future that he wanted to change. Rowan then brought up a suggestion.
"You said the guy she is cheating with is a rising star actor, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then consider him taken care of."
"So easily?"
"Of course. The actress in the current movie owes me a favor. That idol group currently trending? I have the contact of two members. With their help, we can destroy the bastard from within."
D'andre listened to Rowan, and his eyes widened. "Funny how our roles have reversed," he chuckled. "In the game world, I have more connections, but over here, you are the boss."
Rowan simply scoffed.
The two of them talked for a few more minutes.
Rowan sent D'andre half a million to take care of his little sister's health.
He also devised a plan to humiliate his ch
eating girlfriend, destroy her life and career, and then that of the boyfriend she relied on to advance her acting dreams.