Encountering Lily Again Part 1

Blake's face suddenly dropped weakly, and his shoulder slumped, trying to look pitiful. "You know the mind can only be guided, not controlled. You can blame the mind but not me, the innocent fellow."

"Mr. innocent fellow, I don't care about that, or else you would have been a walking corpse and your soul in hell," Hecate said with a sinister smirk.

"Phew!" Blake wiped the sweat off his forehead. Everybody above his level tries to bully him. He's just biding his time.

"We were supposed to be enemies, right?" Blake suddenly blurted.

"Yeah. Friendly enemies," Hecate said lightly.

Blake asked after a moment of critical thinking without making any head or tail of her word. "Is that supposed to be an oxymoron? What you say is…" his voice trailed off.

He quickly dropped his speech and proceeded to the screen on the door to avoid any shocking thinking. He flashed his ID card to access the building.

Housing in this era just requires you to use your identification card for access. It will open the door, and you can check the house. If the money in your bank account linked to the ID is not up to the price of the house, it won't open. The virtual screen possesses all the descriptions. If you are satisfied with it, you may pay directly; otherwise, you have the option to seek assistance from estate agencies. This approach eliminates the need for estate agencies, although some people still prefer to use them. A beautiful female leading the way is pleasing to the eye.

|ACCESS DENIED!|

The reply jolted Blake, thinking he was low on cash. Until he looked below. It had a reason for the denial of accessing the residence. The reason made his face darken.

|REASON: A devil stays in hell. House is not for the devil.|

"Jasper, you son of a bitch!" Blake spat out an angry curse. Scarlett has already explained the power ranking of Ethan and Jasper to him. Ethan is just a rising genius in the Transcendent Force – the military of this era, while Jasper held control over Brooke City. 

Maybe Ethan started the plan of making him a devil of the city using Don's death, but Jasper has picked up the case. Blake doesn't need to guess. 

Although he guessed the same result for the other houses, he still tried. The reply was the same result as the previous house – |ACCESS DENIED!|

Blake scanned the quiet streets with a frown, wondering how he was going to find a place to rest. It was still early, and the estate agency company he had planned to visit was likely not open by now. 

He pulled out his Verse watch, a high-tech device that allowed him to access a range of functions with a simple touch. With a few deft movements of his fingers, a virtual screen shimmered into view, casting a blue glow on Blake's face. He tapped on the map function and began to search for nearby houses or apartments that might be available for rent. It was a long shot, but he figured it was better than wandering aimlessly through the dimly lit streets. As he scanned the map, he noticed a few promising listings, but most of them were far from the city center and didn't have any information about the owner or occupant. Frustrated, he muttered under his breath, 'I guess I would have to find a vacant house with a living person staying nearby. Maybe they could help me with my search.'

The light from the virtual, holographic screen irritated him. 

"So if I want to communicate, I would have to use a virtual screen even in public? No privacy! They must have a phone. That demoness must have lied to me," Blake grumbled, his mouth turned down in displeasure. Unknown to him, he would soon encounter the demoness.

He soon found different houses on Main Street. They were walkable, so he started with the first. However, what he didn't expect was that, as soon as the owner or the person in charge of the houses saw his face, they slammed the door in his face. No reply, just slamming the door in his face! He went to different houses using his map, but the actions were the same.

He had to ask Hecate.

"Do I have horns?"

"No."

"Scales?"

"No."

"Red eyes?"

"That's the color of my eyes"

"Did they see you?"

"No."

"Then why the fuck are they behaving like scared, deranged fellows?" Blake half-questioned, half-cursed while running his hand through his hair.

"There is a last house at the end of the street. Maybe the person might agree," Hecate said with a grin.

"If the person doesn't agree, I will go back to the school dorm. Jasper got me this time," Blake said lightly.

He walked to the last house and rang the electronic doorbell at the gate. 

A beautiful, glamorous woman in a nightgown opened the gate. She stared at him for a while, before asking, "What do you want?"

"I saw the sign of a vacancy on the signpost outside. So, how much is a year of rent?" Blake asked calmly. Although the woman had a hot figure; he had seen countless hot women in the entertainment industry, which made him indifferent to her charms. Unknown to him, Hecate's charms were strengthening his resistance to female charms.

"I only rent the house for a month so that I can throw the tenant that doesn't abide by the rules out," the woman said without a hint of warmth, which shocked Blake. 

'How could a glamorous woman be so cold?'

"Fair point," Blake replied with a nod. At least, she is normal, compared to the other people.

"Renting for a month costs twenty-thousand cosmic dollars," the woman said coldly, making the smiling Blake choke. He started wondering if she was using the price to scare him away politely to avoid behaving like a lunatic.

"Don't you think it's too expensive for a two-bedroom flat duplex?" Blake asked with raised eyebrows.

"Nobody will rent a house to you apart from me. You should be aware of that," the woman suddenly threw him a flirtatious smile that could shake the hearts of men, but it looked like an evil merchant in Blake's vision. She was ripping him off.

"She's aware of your plight. Just rent it," Hecate whispered to Blake.

"Alright. Your account number," Blake spoke through his gritted teeth. 

That was how he completed the rip-off deal.

"I will tell you the rules later," the woman, who Blake found to be Eliza Rivas, said.

Blake was too lazy to care about her. He just prayed that she doesn't throw him out like the hotel manager. It was already 7:00 A.M., but Brooke City still looked dark. He needed rest. Without checking the compound, he unlocked his door, climbed to the bed, and dozed off. 

———

A sharp bell jerked him up from his slumber.

"Can someone let me sleep in peace!" Blake yelled at the ceiling in frustration.

He walked drowsily to the door. However, the person he saw when he opened the door made him open his eyes fully. Sleep deserted his body.

"Hi, Blake. Remember me?" Lily, with her cascading, smooth silver hair and sapphire eyes, waved her hand. She was clad in a knee-length sleeveless gown and had a radiant smile on her face.

"Nope. I've never seen you. For your information, you are in the wrong house. My name is Blake Rivas. Eliza's younger cousin," Blake rapped without pause and slammed the door in her face. He couldn't forget the ruthless Lily.

"You resembled those people you called scared and deranged. Just that, you said rubbish, making you more deranged." Hecate giggled.