CH49

Ian looked down at the photo left by the private detective. No matter how much he looked, there was only one thing that came to mind.

"A match made in heaven."

Could there be something that unordinary people understand among themselves? It's not a world he particularly wants to know about.

He tapped on the photo.

"It can't be that you fell in love at first sight and are aiming for a beautiful love. Maybe your understandings just clicked."

Carter must have had a vision in Theranos. Ian wasn't sure if Carter had realized it was a scam company, but he must have known it was profitable.

Then why would Alice, who is busy expanding her business, date Carter?

'It's obvious. Because she can use Carter's entertainment industry connections.'

What would a scammer want? To attract money.

There's no better marketing than being known as a company invested in by a famous star. It was enough to make anyone greedy.

"Let's see how proactive Carter is."

That's necessary to set a trap.

Ian called Carter.

-This is Carter Baldwin, WBE agent.

"Hello, this is Ian Pryce. I'm calling about the favor I asked for last time."

-I was just about to call you. I checked, and it turns out it's a decent company. They're not only dealing with Greenwill but also about to sign a contract with a chain of convenience stores.

"Is that so?"

-Yes. They're planning to fundraise, shall I reserve a spot for you?

Are you out of your mind to invest there?

Ian sounded depressed.

"Sorry, I actually got caught by my parents while I was looking it up on the internet. So, I guess I can't do it."

-Oh, that's a shame. It's a good opportunity. Shall I persuade them for you?

"No, thank you. Anyway, thank you for finding this. I won't forget your help."

-Understood. Then, we'll meet some other time.

Ian was satisfied with the ended call.

Especially Carter's proactive attitude like a salesperson. It seemed obvious he would propose investments to other stars as well.

"I wonder if they can handle the lawsuits."

If it's revealed to be a scam company, the stars will hire expensive lawyers to sue. It's uncertain if they can handle it.

'Losing money on investments and then on lawsuits would be just perfect.'

The important thing is to ensure that ordinary people don't get hurt and to catch Carter before he makes a big profit and escapes.

This was hard to do with the body of an elementary school student, so help was needed.

Ian made a call.

"Lotti, it's me."

***

"Hey! Why do you keep getting involved in strange things, huh?!"

"Ugh."

Charlotte ruthlessly mushed Ian's cheeks with her palms.

After tormenting him to her satisfaction, Charlotte sighed deeply.

"I don't understand how an elementary school student can be so fearless. How do you have the guts to keep getting into such big trouble?"

"Because the heroine of justice is helping me?"

"I'd rather you call me a party animal. That suits me better."

Charlotte laughed, saying he was truly incorrigible, and sat down next to Ian.

She had already heard about the situation and understood why it was infuriating.

"I'm jealous. Is this person named Nick that important to you?"

"Ah, Lotti would have done the same. How much I trust and rely on you. There's no one else I could ask for this kind of favor."

"Oh my, are you trying to seduce me now?"

"How could I send Lotti to prison? Of course not."

Both of them burst into laughter.

Charlotte, thinking they had exchanged enough jokes, asked the main question.

"So, what do you want to do? Surely, you're not asking me to expose them again, are you?"

"Of course not. How could I entrust such a menial task to someone as esteemed as you? I was wondering if you knew any good journalists to pass this on to."

"Journalists are a dime a dozen. If it's as you say, and stars are investing, there will be more than a few willing to jump on it."

A famous star investing in what turns out to be a scam company? It was a story any journalist would drool over.

"I'll ask a journalist friend of mine if they can help."

"Thank you! Should I give you tickets to the premiere of the upcoming animation as a thank you?"

At the mention of inviting her to the premiere of Dragon Village, Charlotte snorted.

"That's not really my thing."

"What about Director Gavin's next project? It's about to start shooting."

"Oh, that would be nice. I'll definitely go if you invite me."

"But I might not be able to go see it myself."

They would try to keep the rating as low as possible for the box office, but until it went through review, they wouldn't know.

Charlotte pinched Ian's cheek mockingly.

"Always the teaser. Anyway, don't worry about the task you've asked of me."

"You've handled much tougher situations before, why would I worry? Thank you, Lotti."

"Of course, I have to help with this kind of thing. See you next time."

After Charlotte, who had made time to come over despite her busy schedule, left, Ian stretched comfortably.

Finally, the matter with Carter was somewhat settled.

Carter, walking down a path not knowing it was not a bed of roses but a firewalk, would have time to solve everything.

'Besides, I intentionally used the private detective Austin introduced, so he'll pick up on the hints himself.'

The more Austin realizes and pressures Carter, the better. That way, Carter, with no other options, would cling more desperately to Theranos.

"Goodbye."

The time bomb had been set off.

***

"Gavin, buddy. You're not passed out with your eyes open, are you?"

"…Who's passed out? And I told you to stop bringing weird stuff into my office, Landon!"

Landon, who had placed a realistically made zombie model on the desk, burst into laughter.

"Why? Isn't it well made? It's a character from a popular zombie game."

"Ah, I should never have listened to Isaac."

Confessing honestly to Landon, as Isaac had suggested, did clear up the misunderstanding.

But when Landon became overly familiar, like a long-lost childhood friend, Gavin realized something was wrong too late.

"Please stop bringing me these 'gifts.'"

"Doesn't this kind of thing inspire you?"

Not inspiration, but nightmares.

Grunting, Gavin put the zombie model back in the box and looked at the character sketches spread out on the table.

Making this movie, the key issue was how to deliver horror through aliens.

It wasn't enough to simply make them look disgusting and scary.

'The fear of zombies is not just that they are walking corpses but the horror that you too could become one through infection.'

After much contemplation, he decided on the theme of everyday discomfort that ordinary people experience at least once.

'The Leather-clad.'

Based on the experience of someone familiar suddenly feeling unfamiliar, these aliens are masters of disguise.

They eat the insides of other creatures and wear their skin to approach their prey as if they are of the same kind, a species that has come to hunt humans using traditional methods.

They enjoy fighting with hunters.

'The Great Will.'

He created it based on a cult that normal people can't understand why others believe in.

It has the characteristic of spreading special waves to seduce others, making even family members willingly sacrifice themselves to these aliens.

Gavin quickly flipped through the concept art and notes. Though the monster's setting might have appeared in some form or another elsewhere, its uniquely grotesque appearance and the requirement for a strategy to defeat it made the concept stand out.

"You seem to like it, given the frown on your face."

"You know it's not the setting but how well it's brought to life in the movie that matters." The acting, sound, CG—if any of these were lacking, the movie wouldn't be successful.

Gavin glanced at a stack of documents to one side, the topmost featuring the face of an Asian boy. The casting list was almost finalized.

"At least I'm happy with the actors."

Gavin looked forward to the shooting day eagerly. The script for Alien Hunter had been distributed to the actors, and the news of Gavin's upcoming film shooting was circulating.

***

The premiere of Dragon Village began in LA. In a village inhabited by dragons, a dragon's egg suddenly dropped, and from it, a small dragon named Orv hatched. Orv, treated like an outcast while growing up, was voiced by Ian, who played Raul.

"Orv! I found your friend!" Raul, fluttering his golden body, tossed a worm onto Orv's head. Orv twisted in disgust, while Raul laughed mischievously.

"Wow, that's mean."

"Tell me about it. Ian, you're really mean."

…say I did a good job acting.

The trio from Beverly Hills Moms and Rachel murmured among themselves at the premiere. Raul's mischief peaked during the song "Let's Jump."

-Let's jump! bi bi bi bing~

As the long-released song played, the audience showed their pleasure, though parents tired of hearing it at home weren't as thrilled.

The film's early scenes were comedic tales of Orv's growth, but as it progressed, a crisis emerged—diminishing dragon fires and strange objects washed ashore. The breadcrumbs led to humans attacking in skyships.

During an attack, Orv, while fleeing, received a telepathic message from dragons used as power sources for airships, realizing his kind was captured. Orv and the dragons set out to rescue their kin, with Raul sacrificing himself in their stead.

Splash!

As Raul, bloodied, disappeared into the sea, children gasped.

"Surely he doesn't die, right?" Rachel whispered.

"Watch and see."

As if dead.

While not typical for Disney to not safeguard a character's innocence, Ian appreciated Raul's ending. It seemed to convey that wrongdoings can't easily be forgiven.

"…He really dies?"

Unlike the satisfied Ian, the children were shocked by Raul's grand funeral after all battles ended. As the lights came on, Rachel looked at Ian with blame in her eyes.

"I didn't kill him."

"Then who did?"

"Probably the director? Ask her why later."

That question was inevitable.

This prediction hit the mark, as Melody, the director, faced the accusatory stares of children, sweating profusely.

As the event concluded, Nick, who had been invited to the screening by Ian, approached.

"Nick! How was it?"

"Of course, it was great! Whoever did the dubbing, especially Raul's voice, was good."

"Whoever did the dubbing did really well."

Nick laughed heartily as Ian played along with feigned ignorance.

While they were chatting, Larry, the most curious, approached and asked, "Who's this?"

"A former agent, now a corndog shop employee? Or maybe a job-seeking agent."

"What's that?"

Nick received a puzzled look but snapped his fingers in response.

"Job-seeking? I'm still doing agent work. I'm earnestly searching for promising new talents."

"Did you find anyone?"

"I did find someone really amazing, but it won't be easy. They're quite the mystery."

"Mystery?"

Nick nodded at the question, intrigued.

"Rai, a singer on YouTube. I stumbled upon Rai through the radio and just can't seem to uncover the identity."

"…Rai?"

"Yes."

As Nick mentioned Rai, a girl's eyes sparkled, and she jumped into the conversation.

"Rai! You know Rai!"

"Oh? You know her too?"

"Ha, know her? I've been a fan since the first upload. Do you even realize how amazing Rai is?"

Dorothy boasted, raising her nose high, and Ian turned to look at Rachel, whose face had turned beet red, her head hung low.

As Dorothy spoke about the speculative posts circulating among fans, Rachel's head seemed to inch closer to the floor.

Just as Ian thought Rachel might actually bury her head in the ground and was about to interject, someone else stepped forward.

"Hehehe, I didn't expect to meet such a knowledgeable young lady about Rai here."

An elderly man with white hair, dressed neatly, approached with a pleasant laugh, causing Dorothy to become wary.

Realizing his mistake, the man offered his business card.

"I'm not a stranger. Just a man running a small record label."

A small record label?

Ian was shocked upon seeing the card. It was anything but small.

Regardless of Ian's reaction, the man continued.

"And one of the huge fans looking for Rai."

His words carried a strong determination.