Ghost Exorciser: The Oust Fake Heiress Strikes-Chapter 234: Blake Rivers
For a brief moment, Lana remained seated on the bag, staring at them with faint confusion lingering in her eyes.
The villa felt strangely quiet, broken only by shallow breathing and the soft rustle of clothes as the group shifted nervously.
Then realization dawned on her.
Almost all of them stepped forward at once, their movements hesitant yet desperate. One of them finally spoke, his voice trembling with hope,
"Did you... did you bring any food with you?"
Lana blinked.
She was just about to shake her head when her gaze drifted to the bag resting beneath her palm. Her fingers paused midair.
’The bag...’
After a moment of thought, she pulled it closer and opened it. The zipper slid apart with a soft sound, and the next second, she froze.
It was filled.
Various kinds of food were neatly packed inside, warm steam faintly rising as rich aromas spilled into the air. Bread, preserved meals, nutrient packs, far more than she had expected.
Understanding struck her instantly.
Without hesitation, Lana began handing out the food, her movements calm and efficient. She calculated quietly in her head, distributing portions evenly.
’This should be enough for everyone here.’
As she handed out the last few packs, the bag suddenly felt lighter.
It trembled slightly before settling, its contents reduced by more than half. Lana didn’t bother looking inside again. She zipped it up and slung it back over her shoulder.
The relief from the reduced weight was immediate.
She straightened and looked at the group. "Since everyone’s here," she said calmly, "we can leave now." 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞
The reaction was instant.
Faces drained of color. Fear flashed across their eyes as if she had just said something unthinkable. One by one, they shook their heads.
"We... we can’t leave," someone whispered.
Lana frowned. "What do you mean you can’t?"
Only then did one of the men slowly lift his arm and point toward a closed room down the corridor. His voice shook.
"Someone’s been possessed. He’s inside... unconscious."
A chill crept up Lana’s spine.
"As long as we don’t take him with us," he continued hoarsely, "there’s a high chance that even if we leave the villa unharmed, we’ll still die soon."
Lana’s brows knitted together. "Explain everything," she said firmly. "What’s going on here?"
After a brief hesitation, a girl stepped forward. Her name, Lana later learned, was Jimmy. She looked at Lana with clear caution in her eyes.
"We can explain," Jimmy said carefully. "But you have to promise... you won’t leave us here."
Lana smiled faintly, though there was no warmth in it.
"That depends," she replied calmly. "On how much you hid in the mission post."
The room fell silent.
"If you hid too much," Lana continued, her voice steady, "I’ll leave immediately."
Faces turned pale.
Then she added, "I won’t hold it against you if you hid minor details. As long as they’re ignorable, I’ll ignore them."
The group exchanged uneasy glances. Finally, Jimmy swallowed and spoke again.
"We... hid about fifty percent of it."
Lana gestured lightly. "Go on."
Jimmy motioned toward a chair. "Please, sit."
Lana did so without hesitation, her posture relaxed. She had more than enough confidence in her strength to protect herself.
Once she sat down, Jimmy began.
"We all," she said slowly, "belong to a prestigious college. We came here for a party."
Her voice trembled as memories resurfaced.
"We arrived, partied through the night, and around three in the morning, someone suggested playing a game."
Lana listened quietly.
"It was... a strange game," Jimmy continued. "We had to draw a diagram and write the name of the person we admired the most. Someone we wanted to become friends with. Whoever got the most votes would have to treat everyone to a meal."
A bitter smile tugged at her lips. "Everyone understood what that meant. A free meal."
They all laughed weakly.
"So almost everyone wrote the same name," Jimmy said. "Blake Rivers."
Lana’s eyes flickered.
"Blake Rivers," Jimmy repeated. "One of the richest second-generation heirs. We thought... since he had money, it would be a good chance to get closer to him."
Almost everyone voted for him.
"Blake seemed happy," she continued. "But he acted calm, like he didn’t care."
They finished writing the names and handed the papers to the person in charge. After checking them, he announced the result proudly.
"It was Blake Rivers."
Blake had simply nodded. "I’ll treat everyone."
Jimmy’s hands clenched. "And then... he started foaming at the mouth."
The room seemed colder as she spoke.
"The next second, he collapsed. Everyone panicked. But before they could even react properly, Blake’s skin began to change. Black veins surfaced beneath his flesh, crawling visibly like twisted roots."
Fear took over. People instinctively backed away. Then Blake opened his eyes.
"They were completely black," Jimmy whispered. "He looked at us... like we were food."
The air grew heavy.
"At that moment, one of us, a spiritual cultivator, reacted. There were also two mystic cultivators, a few dream wardens, and even ten Exoray user."
They had all attacked Blake together, pouring their powers into restraining him. Spiritual bindings wrapped around his body, barely holding him in place.
"In the end," Jimmy said softly, "twenty-two of us had to stay beside him. We constantly fed him spiritual power just to keep the ghost possessing him restrained."
It had been chaos.
"We contacted Blake’s family," she continued, her voice hollow. "But... they were in even deeper trouble. They didn’t have anyone to spare. Not even time."
Their last hope had been desperation.
"So we posted a rescue mission," Jimmy said quietly. "At ShadowRidge University."
She looked up at Lana, eyes filled with pleading.
"We set the reward high... because we didn’t have any other choice."
After hearing everything, Lana narrowed her eyes.
"There’s still something missing," she said slowly, her voice low and sharp.
The room seemed to hold its breath.
"Even if you’re helpless," she continued, her gaze sweeping across their pale faces.
