The Blue Diamond Royal Hotel is the kind of hotel that old money on the East Coast would never choose on vacation – it's too new and flashy. It's always full of nouveau riche, spenders of foreign tourists and influencers with no background.

But it's still as glamorous, luxurious and expensive, with gold-leafed chocolates and gold-leaf sushi and equally glittering ice cream in the cafeteria, a sky-high swimming pool on the rooftop, and a room here that has been hard to book even during the off-season since a popular fried chicken rapper filmed his most famous V in the presidential suite on the rooftop a year ago.

Calvin didn't think that Reed's "finding a place to settle down" was referring to booking a luxury suite at the Blue Diamond Royal Hotel — each occupying two floors, with a large enough parlor for a cocktail party below, and a living room on the second floor with two bedrooms and an outdoor jacuzzi, connected by an indoor elevator.

And if he wants, he can open up an entire glass curtain wall and enjoy the unobstructed view of the sea outside. The designer cleverly chose the location to make his room perfectly sheltered from the noisy crowds on the beach.

Basically, every nook and cranny of this suite is a testament to the privilege and privilege of piling up money.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Vivien said to the two men in the room with a well-designed smile.

She has beautiful blonde hair and a beautiful face, and her body is hot wrapped tightly under a black uniform.

But as one of the top hotel stewards at the Blue Diamond Royal Hotel, she knew the moment she saw those two people that this time she didn't need to show any superfluous femininity, she just needed to carry out the most basic service with a working smile.

Vivien didn't know the real names of the two men – when you work in such a high-end hotel, you're bound to encounter such pseudonymous guests.

She only knew that the person she needed to serve was pseudonymous "Mr. R" and that his partner was named "Mr. A".

"Mr. R" has a rather attractive pair of green eyes, and in the hotel's internal system, his name is followed by a staggering five stars, indicating his status as a rich or noble person. However, despite her mental preparation, Vivien still felt that the other person she actually met was surprisingly young.

And his partner, "Mr. A", is even more shockingly beautiful - there is no shortage of celebrity singers staying in the hotel, but Vivien swears that "Mr. A" is the most beautiful human person she has ever seen.

Yes, beautiful human being—that's the only phrase you can use to describe him, not a "beautiful woman" or a "handsome man," just because the charm he exudes is transcendent of gender.

When Vivien saw him, she even felt that the world had gone blank, and she was in a trance for a moment before she came back to her senses, which was the first time in her career.

However, heart-wrenchingly, "Mr. A" appears to be rather frail when he enters the hotel, and Vivien suspects that he is suffering from illness.

That's probably why "Mr. R" is so careful about it, right?

According to the level of "Mr. R", he only needs to drive the car into the underground garage and go directly to the reserved suite from the dedicated elevator. And after getting out of the car, he refused everyone's help, and hugged "Mr. A" in the passenger seat alone, until he entered the room, he always hugged each other. He covered Mr. A's face with a coat, which Vivien guessed was because he didn't want outsiders to get a glimpse of Mr. A's face.

There is a very special and close relationship between these two people, sick, dangerous, but inseparable. In fact, Vivien is probably the only hotel staff member who has ever seen the face of "Mr. A". But she could feel that, even so, "Mr. R" was still dissatisfied.

What a terrible desire for exclusivity.

Vivien complained to herself, and in order to divert her attention, she began to carefully introduce the special amenities in the suite.

The glass curtain wall is one thing, and the rotating massage water bed on the second floor is another.

"No more introduction. ”

"Mr. R" interrupted Vivien's introduction very softly.

"My partner and I will take some breaks and I will let you know if the service is needed. ”

"Mr. R" said to Vivien with the polite and nonchalant manner characteristic of members of high society.

As he spoke, he glanced at Vivien, seemingly inadvertently, and for some reason, she gave a cold shiver.

Vivien quickly left the luxurious suite, and although she still had a little curiosity about "Mr. A" in her heart, her years of experience in providing personal service to high-level guests, and a hint of a woman's instinct, made her know that she should stay as far away from the two as possible.

Reed relaxed as he watched the unsightly blonde woman disappear behind the door.

He turned to Calvin.

"How's it going?"

Reid asked with concern.

Calvin sat on the couch that seemed to sink his whole body in, a little surprise on his face.

He raised an eyebrow when he heard Reed's question.

"Hmm...... 'Mr. R'?"

His gaze wandered over the empty hall. The chandelier of slender crystals hangs from the second floor to the first floor like a waterfall, and the brilliant light of the seaside is reflected by the crystal facets that are colorful and brilliant.

Then he slowly returned his gaze to Reed's face.

"I've heard that the suites in this hotel are basically not open to booking. ”

"For some people, they can come whenever they want—" Reed said as he picked out a bottle of whiskey from the freezer next to the bar, "and my friend happens to be one of them." ”

"I thought you'd pick a ...... A little more secluded. ”

Calvin whispered.

Reed smiled slightly: "A place that is too secluded is not suitable for the two of us, people in that kind of place usually care more about newcomers, and I don't want to encounter that kind of situation where the police come to the door and investigate our affairs clearly." ”

He's talking about the police officer named Joyce and his partner coming to the door.

“…… Sapphire attaches great importance to its guests. Add to that my friend's relationship and that kind of thing won't happen again. Reid continued, "What's more, the wine here is pretty good. Except for ice. ”

As he spoke, Reed raised the bottle and shook it towards Calvin.

Calvin's eyelids jumped when he saw the label on the bottle, well, as an unemployed ex-third-rate bartender, he could still recognize it, Reed's bottle of wine in his hand paid attention to buying the entire Redbeard bar, including the parking lot in front of the bar.

It was at this moment that Calvin suddenly felt that the man in front of him had a trace of ...... Unfamiliar.

When I'm alone with Calvin somewhere, like the bar filled with the drunkards, the run-down apartment...... There is also the luxurious but dusty house of Virgilli, the seaside villa that does not have a fixed owner......

The green-eyed man standing in front of Calvin didn't shine too brightly.

To put it simply, when he was busy in Calvin's kitchen in a ridiculous apron, Calvin didn't find anything too obtrusive. But when, as he is now, he calmly pours himself a glass of expensive whisky in a luxurious suite that can cost many people a year's annual salary in a day...... There is something about him that shows.

Calvin didn't know how to describe that feeling in his own poor language (perhaps he really should have taken it more seriously in grammar lessons), but he could sense the change. For example, the body of Vicchi, Fugg, Heathtu and Moser was now like a diamond taken out of the marble box of an old toy, wiped clean and sparkling, and then placed on the Queen's tiara.

Reed became more handsome.

Even though he seemed more arrogant and cold than Calvin had thought, his charm deepened.

Calvin suddenly realized—maybe this was the real Reed.

This man was born for such an occasion, he was born of money and power.

"Who the hell are you?"

Calvin spoke suddenly.

Reed's movements froze, and he turned his head with his glass and looked at Calvin with some surprise.

"What's wrong? Why do you ask that?"

Calvin stared blankly at Reed, and after a few seconds, he relaxed and let the couch beneath him slowly envelop him.

"I hate admitting this, but this suite is great," Calvin wondered if he looked like a redneck now, "what the hell did you do to book a place like this." ”

He didn't notice that his companion's muscles were trembling slightly under the fabric.

"Thanks to my nasty dad who forced me to go to that damn disgusting private school in England. At the time, he claimed that I could only find the right playmate in that kind of place......" Reed sneered, "and then he fucking was right. The son of the biggest shareholder of this hotel is a good friend of mine, and you can stay here until you don't want to, if you want. ”

"Oh, please, don't. This kind of place will keep me from. ”

Calvin pretended to be careless, and gave a caustic taunt.

He knew very well that the so-called "live until you don't want to live" was just a word of relief. No amount of luxury can escape the reality he's facing: he, Calvin, a man who has wreaked havoc in Angel Town, a fugitive and, of course, possibly an additional identity, a psychopath who has already become ill.

"I mean, if you want, you can have as much fun as you want until you ascend to heaven, and I'll do it for you. ”

Calvin heard Reed whisper.

His tone was too serious, but it only deepened the level of ridiculousness.

"Oh, don't do that, you know, that thing last night almost dragged me to hell-"

And after this sentence, he and Reed fell silent at the same time.

There was a brief silence between the two of them, piercing the relaxed atmosphere that Calvin and Reed had tried to create like the tip of a freshly sharpened chef's knife.

Poof-

You can hear the bubbles popping.

After a while, of course, maybe only for a moment, Reed sighed, and he surrendered first in this invisible and delicate tug-of-war.

"I think you'll need this later. ”

Reed returned to Calvin with the cup.

He then placed one of the glasses filled with whiskey in Calvin's hand.

Calvin stared at the ice in the cup for a moment, and he was somewhat surprised to find that even the ice in this luxury hotel looked more transparent than he had thought—there was not a trace of white, and it was crystal clear like handmade glass.

Reed noticed his gaze, "Well, it's a shame that the ice cubes are made from molds - I thought they would at least have hand-chiseled ice cubes." ”

"It's all the same for me. ”

Calvin muttered indifferently, then he grabbed the glass, tilted his head, and drank the cold golden liquor.

Under the influence of alcohol, his unusually pale face was finally stained with a little blood.

Immediately afterward, he met Reed's gaze and said word by word, "Let's get straight to the point - what happened last night?"

Reed's pupils shrank, the wine glass in his hand trembled slightly, and the ice made a crisp sound against the wall of the glass.

"Actually......"

"I want to hear the truth. Calvin interrupted Reed's hesitant beginning, "Reed, tell me, what the hell is that." I know it's not a nightmare or a hallucination, though I'd rather it be my imagination. ”

Reed also drank the wine in one gulp, as Calvin did, and he seemed very embarrassed, but he was still willing to explain everything to Calvin as Calvin asked.

"I usually call that thing a 'door.'" ”

The green-eyed man said.

He dipped his hand in the droplets of water from the outer wall of the wine glass, and gently sketched a rectangle on the coffee table.

"You know, for people like us, the real world isn't the only world...... There's another world here, Netherworld, Chaos, or whatever, and you can call it by whatever you like. Of course, you can say it's hell, and that's right, because that world is really that bad, maybe even worse than the popular perception of 'hell'. You see, in those bullshit legends and classics, there are demon kings in hell, Lucifer, and seventy-two demon god pillars...... But in fact......"

Reed paused.

"What actually?"

Calvin asked.

"Actually, there's nothing there, well, I'm wrong, I should say, in that world, there's nothing but malice and darkness - there's no order and no logic, so normal humans can't understand that world at all. ”

"But at least you seem to know a little bit about that place?"

Calvin hardly wanted to go any further, wondering if it was his delusion, but Reed had a peculiar aura about him when he spoke of the other world.

Reed lowered his eyes and stared intently at the cup on the coffee table.

The ice is melting.

But the chill didn't seem to be dissipated into the air but absorbed into Reed's eyes, and the emerald green eyes that could easily indulge people became deep and cold, like a craft, or the eyes of a cold-blooded reptile.

The smell gave Calvin goosebumps all over his body.

He thought Reed would stop talking, but the other party didn't.

"I've had some minor accidents...... Reed said vaguely.

The sound of electricity –

Zizi –

The bright and dark death chamber -

Behind the opaque glass curtain wall, a neatly seated crowd was looking at him coldly—

Icy air......

……

Visions churned in Reed's mind.

He was clearly in the most luxurious suite of the Sapphire Royal Hotel with his most beloved being, but at this moment, the red deer seemed to smell the stench of leather, as well as the smell of burnt on his own body.

He almost wanted to reach out and reach for his ankle, and he felt the natural sponge soaked in salt water still in his shackles.

"Reed. ”

Calvin's voice came from afar.

Red Deer came to his senses, and Calvin looked at him with some hesitation and some concern.

"If that's really hard to explain...... I mean, if you tell me that this will cause you pain, you can pretend to ignore my inquiry. All you have to do is tell me what to do if I run into that damn 'thing' next time. ”

He heard Calvin whisper.

There was a deep sweetness in his heart, and even the vivid memories brought to him by the execution seemed warm and nostalgic.

"It's okay, I'm just a little bit hard at summarizing my past. I did accidentally glimpse that world, but I can't help it, if you have this special constitution like me, there are some things that can't be avoided. In short, you just need to know that the world is very bad and very dangerous, do humans have souls? Yes, the human soul is an important part of that world. But most of the time, that world has nothing to do with the real world we live in, and I think in scientific terms, we are two completely different dimensions from them. But ......"

Reed tapped his fingertips on the rectangle he had drawn with droplets of water on the coffee table.

"But there are also surprises. In some particular place, in some particular mechanism, the world will collide with reality, and a crack will be created between them that is difficult to summarize, in the form of what we call a 'door'. Most of the time, the cracks will disappear quickly, perhaps because of the world's own inherent repair function. But once in a while, the 'door' exists for a longer period of time, and at that time, something in that world, negative energy, ghosts, demons, darkness...... You can pick a word to describe them, in short, those disgusting things will follow the door into the real world, and some people with special constitutions happen to be near the door......"

"It's going to happen to me yesterday, right?"

Calvin added.

Reed nodded.

"From the fact that you can see ghosts, your luck is really bad. ”

Calvin rubbed his eyebrows, still a little confused.

"I thought it was my sin—" he muttered, "I killed so many people, so I should go to hell......"

"Oh, please," Reed interrupted him rather exaggeratedly, "according to that argument, the first person to go to hell should be our dear president, God knows how many people he killed in the Middle East, those hapless Iraqis, and our soldiers. ”

He suddenly came to Calvin's side and pulled him into his arms.

"I'll repeat to you, it's not the 'hell' you know, there is no good and evil in that world, there is no logic, there is no rule that good people go to heaven and evil people go to hell - not to mention, what you do in Angel Town is not evil, you know what happened in that place, you know what those people did, they deserve it. ”

"But—"

"No, but, those people, all of them are big people, and they don't have to worry about the federal government and the law at all. No one will be able to sanction them, except you......"

Reed's voice was hoarse and deep, unusually persuasive.

I have to say, he made Calvin feel so much better.

"Isn't there any way to deal with that thing? salt, amulet, oh, yes, and light...... Wait, how did you save me yesterday?"

"Neither salt nor amulets are useful, but for someone of my constitution, hand-to-hand combat is somewhat useful. ”

Reed lowered his head and kissed Calvin by the hair.

Calvin accepted Reed's intimacy, and he allowed himself to lean into Reed's arms, his face pressed against the latter's chest, and the man's body temperature was transmitted to him through the fabric.

The gesture seemed a little too intimate, but Calvin still couldn't resist the rare and rare sense of security.

"I'm still scared. ”

He said to Reed, his voice muffled.

"What happened last night...... I don't think I'll ever be able to forget. It was horrible, and if one day I really went crazy it must be because of it. ”

"No, you're not going crazy. Reed cupped Calvin's face and forced the latter to look at him, his heart tightening at the pale, fragile appearance, "You won't go crazy, because the next time that thing finds you again, I'll tear it to shreds and throw it back into the damn nether." I'll protect you, Calvin, and I'm here to protect you. ”

Reed said slowly to Calvin, word for word.

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