[Chapter 116: Another Soul Transfer?]
"Mr. Cross, I've consulted with my grandfather, and now I know exactly which medicinal ingredients you need," Marcus Hale said. "However, some of these ingredients are extremely rare, and we don't have them in stock. I'm already checking with suppliers in the local circles to see if I can find them for you."
He attached another list below, carefully matching the ancient names to their modern equivalents.
Daniel was impressed by Marcus's professional approach. He reviewed the list; the ingredients were sufficient to synthesize quite a few formulas. Most, however, were Grade 1 or Grade 2 elixirs, with only one Grade 3 elixir type.
The Soul Condensing Elixir, which Daniel needed most, was still missing more than ten ingredients, including the crucial soul-nurturing flower. As for the Grade 4 Spirit Nurturing Elixir, only a handful of ingredients were available. That elixir required over a hundred types of medicinal components.
Still, Daniel wasn't terribly disappointed. After all, the Grade 1 Spirit Transformation Elixir already produced miraculous effects. The higher-grade elixirs would only be better.
How could such rare ingredients be easily obtained? They were fundamentally different from common ones.
Daniel considered for a moment and replied to Marcus: "Please send these ingredients to me first, whatever you have."
He then listed the items.
Before long, Marcus responded, "Alright, Mr. Cross, let me calculate the cost of these ingredients."
Ten minutes later, Marcus sent over a price list.
The total for this large batch exceeded one million dollars.
Some of the rare ingredients were sold by the gram. These medicinal ingredients, especially high quality, were never cheap.
Daniel didn't haggle, after all, he wasn't spending his own money.
"Fine. Let's make it one million dollars. Send me an account number, and I'll wire a 30% deposit now. I'll pay the rest upon receipt. Include shipping and packaging costs; I'll cover everything."
Since he was using Frank Douglas's money, Daniel didn't mind being generous.
Marcus replied happily, "Thank you for your generosity, Mr. Cross. Please hold on a moment."
Soon, an account number arrived.
...
Daniel called Frank Douglas first, telling him his funds were short.
Without hesitation, Frank Douglas transferred five million dollars.
Seeing the money, Daniel felt both relieved and a bit ready to curse.
He went to the bank and wired Marcus a $300,000 deposit.
While urging them to ship the goods promptly, he also asked them to keep searching for the remaining ingredients.
Marcus already saw Daniel as a high-quality partner and readily agreed.
...
Daniel tallied his current funds.
Between Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson, they'd spent over one million dollars with him recently.
Combined with previous earnings and Frank Douglas's five million, Daniel now had nearly ten million on hand.
This was a fortune by any standard.
But Daniel felt it still wasn't enough.
Investing this money in the stock market wouldn't buy many of the stocks he wanted, and it was far from enough to finance major movies.
'Since Frank Douglas is a sheep I can shear, I might as well shear him a bit more,' Daniel thought.
He was preparing to sell Frank Douglas more Spirit Transformation Elixirs when his phone rang.
...
"Mr. Cross, it's Sheriff Ford," came the voice on the other end. Daniel hadn't heard from him in a while.
Sheriff Ford's tone was low and serious. "Mr. Cross, I've recently come across another case of Soul Transfer."
"Oh?" Daniel was surprised. "Are you sure?"
"Although I lack concrete evidence, I'm certain."
"How did you find out?"
"It involved another somewhat famous female star, active in the last century. She was over seventy this year. She passed a few days ago. I attended her funeral and saw her daughter, only in her twenties. But those eyes... they were eyes weathered by time, yet belonging to a young body."
Daniel immediately understood.
"I've only seen such a stark contrast once before, with Katherine. If it weren't for that incident, I wouldn't have suspected anything." Sheriff Ford sighed, distressed. "How can someone be so selfish as to seize their own daughter's body?"
"Don't forget what the initiation ritual in their cult requires," Daniel reminded him.
"Yes. Thinking about that, it makes sense."
"What do you plan to do now?"
"I plan to do nothing. Not only do I have no proof, but even if I did, it wouldn't hold up in court. Who would believe me? I called you just to talk it out. Otherwise, I might go crazy."
"And now?"
"I'm doing better, thanks for listening, Mr. Cross."
"You should pay me a psychological consultation fee."
"You're not a psychologist."
"But what they do isn't all that different from what I do."
Ford laughed. "True, but you're missing the license."
"We'll see the dawn soon, Ford," Daniel said.
"I look forward to that day," Ford replied before hanging up.
...
After finishing the call, Daniel was about to dial Frank Douglas when his phone rang again.
"What's going on today?" he muttered and answered.
"Hello, may I please speak to Mr. Cross?" a female voice asked.
Daniel immediately knew this was likely a new client.
"That's me."
"Mr. Cross, I'm outside your shop, but it's locked. How can I find you?"
"You've already found me. If you don't mind waiting a moment, I'll be there right now."
After she agreed, Daniel hung up, changed clothes, and got into his Cadillac.
He headed toward Cross Hall.
Before long, he spotted a red Mercedes parked outside his shop.
He parked, got out, and approached the driver's side.
Inside sat a beautiful young woman.
One look was enough, Daniel recognized her immediately.
Rachel McAdams, the Hollywood actress who had just broken out this year.
*****
https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.
https://discord.gg/HjHHhUXPn7.