In the following days, Victor took Enid and Wednesday to explore every hidden corner of the Hotel Transylvania, places even Dracula might not know about.
This ancient castle was like a giant maze, with secret doors and passages everywhere. According to Uncle Dracula, it was supposedly remodeled by letting the monsters take reference from some magic school.
Some passages were hidden behind revolving bookshelves, while others required tapping specific wall bricks in a certain sequence to open.
There was even a shortcut like a slide, going directly from the spice cabinet in the kitchen to the cellar where Dracula stored his finest wines.
This discovery made Victor feel smug for a long time.
Happy times always fly by.
The day for the academy's reopening was also approaching.
On the morning of their departure, a faint sense of melancholy hung over the entrance of the inn.
Dracula embraced Victor elegantly and whispered, "Take care of them, and take care of yourself too, my child."
Mavis pulled Victor aside, wearing the unique, teasing yet concerned smile of an older sister, and shoved a rectangular object carefully wrapped in soft leather into his hand.
As soon as Victor felt its shape, his heart skipped a beat—it was that book, "the succubus cultivation guide (Great Han Orthodox Edition)."
"Silly little brother~"
Mavis blinked, lowering her voice with a meaningful smile.
"The content in the latter half... remember to'study it well' when you get back. No more game nights."
She deliberately drew out her words, her eyes glancing towards Enid and Winnie, who were saying goodbye to Dennis and Winnie not far away.
Victor's face flushed bright red. Damn you, Mavis! So you *did* use your super hearing that night, didn't you?
The helicopter blades began to rotate, and a loud roar filled the air. Victor, Enid, and Wednesday boarded the aircraft, waving through the windows to the "family" seeing them off below.
The inn gradually shrank in their view, eventually disappearing among the mountains and clouds.
Victor scratched his perpetually messy black hair, looked left and right, and suddenly felt something was a bit off.
"Huh? Wait..."
He counted on his fingers, muttering with a confused look.
"When we came, it was me, Enid, Wednesday, Tyler... clearly four people, a lively bunch. How come there are only three of us on the return flight?"
He suddenly slapped his thigh and exclaimed as if realizing something, "Where the heck is that kid Tyler?!"
Wednesday glanced expressionlessly at Victor and stated flatly.
"He volunteered to stay at the Hotel Transylvania to 'help,' claiming to have a strong interest in the inn's operations and 'cross-species cultural exchange.'"
"'Help'? 'Cross-species cultural exchange'?"
Victor's voice rose an octave.
"Is that really helping? That's clearly... clearly him being too happy to think of home! He's not even trying to hide it! His little scheme is obvious to every monster in the inn!"
Victor could easily picture that guy Tyler, buzzing around the graceful, enchantingly-voiced Miss Siren, running errands, fetching tea and water, fixing pipes and unclogging drains, all with a silly grin on his face.
This isn't 'helping'! His intentions are clearly elsewhere!
A realistic and thorny problem surfaced in Victor's mind, making his face instantly fall.
"Oh—damn it! How am I supposed to explain this to Mr. Donovan?!"
He began nervously muttering to himself, simulating possible conversation scenarios.
Victor cleared his throat, trying to put on a serious and reliable demeanor.
"Respected Mr. Donovan, hello! Your son Tyler is doing very well..."
Then he instantly switched to a bitter expression, mumbling rapidly:
"He is currently 'deeply captivated' by a deep-sea siren who is at least a hundred and eighty years old and is in a state of 'immersive enjoyment' with no plans to return in the short term."
Victor imagined the reaction of Tyler's ex-detective father upon hearing this "report."
"Oh no, no, no!" Victor covered his face in agony. "Mr. Donovan is definitely going to faint on the spot!"
...The helicopter landed steadily on the rooftop helipad of the Dark Hand headquarters building.
The wind from the blades whipped the hem of Valmont's expensive suit.
He had already brought his core subordinates—Afan, Rasu, Nathan, and others—to stand respectfully in a line, waiting.
Valmont's face broke into a professional, enthusiastic smile. He was just about to step forward and say some formal words like "Welcome back, Mr. Victor"—
"Catch."
Victor didn't give him a chance to speak. He casually pulled out a bulging, seemingly heavy small bag from behind and tossed it over as if throwing away trash.
Valmont instinctively reached out and caught it. The sudden weight almost made him drop it.
This weight... His heart involuntarily started beating faster.
He cautiously glanced up at Victor, who wore an expression that seemed to say, "Hurry up and open it."
With tacit permission, Valmont took a deep breath and, with slightly trembling fingers, carefully untied the drawstring at the bag's opening.
Whoosh—!
A dazzling golden light instantly burst from the bag's opening, almost blinding everyone present! Inside were perfectly cut, high-purity gold bars and huge gemstones of various colors!
Afan, Rasu, and the others stared wide-eyed, their mouths practically watering.
But Valmont paid no mind to the blinding light. Instead, he greedily took a deep breath, as if the scent of gold was the sweetest air in the world!
He was screaming internally: Shine! Shine brighter! I wish this golden light could illuminate the entire San Francisco Bay Area!
"Mr. Victor! This... this..."
Valmont was so excited he became incoherent. He clutched the money bag tightly with both hands, as if grabbing a lifeline, his voice even trembling with emotion.
"Good heavens! Finally... finally seeing a return on investment! Following you, Mr. Victor, is truly promising and hopeful!"
He recalled the days working under that stingy old dragon, Holy Lord, toiling to find the talismans.
They had to fund themselves, bear the risks, and almost lost everything in the end. It was a history of blood and tears!
In comparison, Young Master Victor is like a wealth-spreading child... no, he's the God of Wealth descended to earth!
Victor looked at Valmont's pathetic state, waved his hand dismissively, and spoke as casually as if discussing the weather:
"It's nothing. Just made a detour to Atlantis, accidentally found a treasure vault lying around there, and oh, picked up a talisman along the way. Consider this gold a souvenir for you. You guys have worked hard too."
He said it so lightly, as if he'd just gone to the convenience store downstairs to buy a soda.
"At...Atlantis?! A treasure vault?! And...and a talisman?!"
Valmont's eyes almost popped out of their sockets, and his jaw nearly hit the floor.
He could hardly believe his ears!
This is what you call 'accidentally'? This is like the heavens chasing you to feed you... no, chasing you to hit you on the head with gold bricks! Are you sure you're not the Goddess of Luck's favorite child?
After the immense surprise and unbelievable shock, Valmont rubbed his hands together, his face full of an obsequious yet slightly embarrassed smile:
"Mr. Victor, this... this is too much... You're too generous... How can we possibly accept this..."
He said this, but his hands clutched the gold bag even tighter, fearing Victor might change his mind.
He could already see the beautiful blueprint of a future living the high life and reaching the pinnacle of success by following Victor.
Victor nodded with satisfaction, called Enid and Wednesday, and headed straight for the elevator.
Valmont, like a child who'd gotten a treasure, hugged the gold bag and trotted happily behind, a huge grin on his face, already planning how to renovate the headquarters and give bonuses to the crew.
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