Chapter 156: The Evil Ritual

Inside the conference room of the Investigation Bureau.

All the agents were seated in front of the giant screen, utterly shocked!

Everyone stared with wide-open mouths, their eyes fixed immovably on the display, hair standing on end.

What was playing on the screen was a video recorded by the Debang family.

In the footage, the members of the Debang family stood neatly lined up facing the camera, looking as though they were posing for a family portrait.

Radiant, happy smiles adorned each of their faces.

They looked entirely like a normal, harmonious, and loving family.

Seated right in the middle of the front row, the head of the family spoke calmly:

"We, the Debang family, hereby make a public declaration to the world! We hope you will all bear witness together to this sacred moment."

"We are believers of the Sun Society, and our lives burn for the light."

"Today, we have decided to offer ourselves as martyrs, defending our faith with our lives."

Every member of the Debang family stood up.

They joined hands, forming a circle with the family head enclosed in the center.

The head of the family shouted, "Long live the Sun Society!"

The family members echoed in unison, "Long live the Sun Society!"

Some agents in the room had already begun to whisper among themselves.

This "Sun Society" was notoriously famous on a global scale.

Its membership comprised prominent politicians, super-wealthy tycoons, top-tier celebrities, and ambitious masterminds, effectively controlling the politics and economy of the United States.

Without exception, the dozen or so top-ranking families in the world were all esteemed members of this mysterious organization, the Sun Society.

Given that the Debang family was one of them, the unfolding events suddenly made a twisted kind of sense.

Within the Sun Society, an ancient and cruel blood sacrifice ritual was passed down.

This ritual used the blood of living humans as a medium to offer the highest reverence to the deity they worshipped—Lucifer.

In Western mythology, Lucifer is one of the seven princes of hell, Satan.

At designated times, the Sun Society would select prominent figures as sacrificial offerings for blood rituals to demonstrate their piety and awe toward Lucifer.

On the screen, the chanting ceased.

"Who shall go first?" the family head asked with a beaming smile, glancing around.

"Me!"

The head's eldest son, in his fifties, stepped into the circle with a smile.

Gazing at his son with tender eyes, the father said,

"My child, Father will grant you eternal life."

With that, he had his eldest son turn around, facing away from him.

He produced a dagger and slit his throat.

"Slash!"

Blood gushed forth in a torrent!

It splattered across the faces of the other family members.

It was piping hot and sticky.

Yet his own kin burst into crazed laughter!

They seemed to be celebrating a momentous, joyous occasion.

"Long live the Sun Society!"

"Long live the Sun Society!!"

The family head continued, "Who is next?"

"Father, let the baby do it!"

The family head's granddaughter-in-law stepped forward, handing the five-month-old infant she was cradling directly into his arms.

"Hiss~~"

A sharp intake of breath echoed through the conference room.

"Oh, no!"

A female agent instinctively covered her mouth.

Everyone could already foresee the infant's fate.

However, cradling the swaddled baby in his arms, the family head walked away from the camera's view.

An infant among the victims?

Taking advantage of this brief intermission, the Director of the Investigation Bureau picked up the case files to review them.

He flipped back and forth through the pages, asking in puzzlement, "Why is there no record of this infant on the casualty list?"

The agent who had processed the crime scene broke out in a cold sweat of anxiety:

"Reporting to the chief! No infant remains were found at the scene!"

At that moment, the head of the Debang family returned to the frame.

In one hand, he held a high-speed blender, and in the other, he carried his great-grandson.

He placed the blender on the floor and opened the lid.

"No! Stop it!"

A female agent lost her composure and burst into tears.

In the video, the family head kissed the baby's chubby, rosy little feet.

The baby was amused and giggled incessantly.

The very next second, he was placed inside the blender.

"Whirrr!"

The family head flipped the switch.

"Ah~ Ah~"

The infant let out a heartbreaking, blood-curdling scream, struggling with all his might!

As if deaf to the cries, the family head pressed firmly downward.

A mist of blood sprayed from inside the blender, splashing across his face, yet he did not even blink.

In the end, the baby was reduced to a pool of dark red liquid.

"Ugh—"

An agent threw up on the spot.

Female agents rushed out of the room one after another.

Suffering from severe psychological trauma, they immediately requested psychological counseling.

The remainder of the video recorded how the head of the Debang family proceeded to sacrifice every single member of his own clan.

When the video ended.

Absolute silence reigned!

Every single agent felt a chill run down their spine!

After a long while, the Director of the Investigation Bureau finally spoke:

"Let's discuss this, everyone."

"The facts are already crystal clear. This is a cult ritual!"

A young agent spoke up first, his body still trembling slightly.

Another seasoned, veteran agent added:

"Nearly a hundred members of the Debang family were murdered by the head of the family, who then committed suicide out of guilt. This case can be closed!"

With the evidence conclusive, there was truly nothing more to debate.

Time rolled back to the previous night.

After Taoyao took control of the Debang family, she stirred the inner demons of the family head, driving him to act in accordance with his darkest impulses.

Even Taoyao had no idea what specific actions he would take.

Never could she have imagined what lurked in the deepest recesses of their hearts.

For the sake of wealth and power, they were willing to sell their souls.

They were even prepared to sacrifice the flesh and blood of their closest kin.

As they performed the ritual, Gu Xiangnan and his two companions stood by, watching coldly as indifferent bystanders.

Frowning with disgust as she looked at the family, Taoyao asked Gu Xiangnan,

"Master, all of them are dead. Would you like me to transfer their massive estate into your name?"

"Absolutely not!"

Aiseli immediately objected: "The wealth of the Debang family rivals that of a nation. Since their entire family is dead, take a guess at where their fortune will ultimately end up?"

"It should all go to the President of the United States, shouldn't it?"

A cold smirk played at the corner of Gu Xiangnan's mouth.

Aiseli nodded:

"Gu, you are too smart!"

"Men die for wealth, and birds for food. If you were to touch a sum of money this large, even if you weren't the one who committed the murders, that President would still make damn sure you became the murderer!"

"The flow of money can always be tracked. However..."

Aiseli smiled faintly.

"What cannot be traced can always be partially taken."

"A family this massive should have quite a collection of valuables. If there are any jewels you like, you can simply take them."

Hearing this, Taoyao grew immensely excited.

Being a young woman after all, she had a fondness for glittering ornaments.

Consequently, she searched through the rooms and walked away with a considerable stash of jewelry and accessories.

As for Aiseli, she discovered a wealth of evidence related to her own investigative cases tucked away in a drawer inside the family head's study.

Before leaving, Gu Xiangnan knocked over the candles used during their sacrificial ritual.

With carpets covering the floors of every room, the fire spread rapidly.

It burned away an entire house of evil.

Emerging from the villa, Aiseli had to rush back to the FBI to report on her mission.

"Where to? I'll give you a ride."

Wanting to find his Third Senior Sister, Gu Xiangnan sent a message to Luoxue.

Luoxue replied with a location pin.

Aiseli dropped him off on the street indicated by the coordinates.

Realizing they might never see each other again after this, the two shared a lingering, affectionate moment inside the car before parting with heavy hearts.

Following the navigation system, Gu Xiangnan arrived in front of a youth apartment building.

He tilted his head to inspect the structure.

"Thud!"

Someone bumped into him.

It was a dark-skinned man.

"Sorry!"

Apologizing, the individual hurried away.

Gu Xiangnan saw it clearly—the man's unzipped jacket had momentarily revealed a handgun tucked inside.