New Gods of North America.

Chapter 699 Diving
Although the idea of ​​"sneaking into the river in the middle of the night to look for ghosts" sounds incredibly far-fetched,

Furthermore, even if the bullets could be fired normally underwater, the bullets wouldn't travel very far in a river, and their power would be severely reduced, essentially rendering one's most frequently used weapon useless.

However, after a moment's thought, Wayne decided to go down and take a look first.

This is mainly because the information about Jason provided by the church so far is mostly reliable. According to Brother Merlin and the fake bearded man, Jason is almost completely unresponsive to external changes while in his "cocoon" state.

Furthermore, the minimalist lines enhance the view, and with Inessa and Lina watching from the shore, Peter the Spider can even go into the water with them.
Wayne figured that keeping a safe distance from Jason and diving into the river, which was about 2 meters deep on average and where you could probably raise your hand above the water if you stood on the riverbed, shouldn't be a problem.

"Even if you're going to go into the water, are you really not planning to wait until it's light before trying? Visibility should be better during the day."

Although Inessa did not stop her, just to be on the safe side, she took out a rope from the carriage, one end already tied to a low tree on the riverbank, and the other end she was tying around Wayne's waist.

But she clearly felt it wasn't safe enough, so she stood on tiptoe, raised her hand, and gestured slightly, saying, "Based on my observation, the river in this section is about this deep on average."

Wayne's idea was simpler and more direct: "Day and night make little difference to me, and I won't get too close to it. I mainly want to see its specific situation with my own eyes, so that I can save time in dealing with it later."

The river in this relatively undeveloped area has not yet undergone formal development, unlike the section that flows through residential areas where the river's width is restricted; the water surface is approximately 4 meters wide.
The volume of water in this river is not a small project to dam it. If it is not dammed, the agents may need to go into the water to fish, which would be too big a commotion and could easily attract the attention of the church or other people.

Wayne's minimalist design enhances his field of vision, making him practically an extra eye underwater. Furthermore, his explosive abilities seem largely unrestricted in the water, making him one of the best choices for the detective agency.
Since we'll have to go down there sooner or later anyway, we might as well just get started—if Wayne can work underwater, we can save a lot of unnecessary work.

Peter the Spider had already gotten ahead of Wayne, using Lena's outstretched hand as a diving platform. His eight long legs leaped lightly, tracing an arc in the night, before disappearing with a splash.
Lina stood on the riverbank with her eyes closed, looking somewhat like a beautiful witch conversing with spirits.
“Jason is on the riverbed, lying down, half-submerged in the silt… Hmm, he doesn’t seem to be reacting. Wayne, you might need to be more careful; the silt at the bottom of the river doesn’t look shallow, and it’s easy to get your feet stuck.”

"I see."

Wayne was also ready. Since there were ladies present, he was still wearing a shirt with his trousers rolled up. He would change into the spare clothes provided for the agents in the carriage later.
He wasn't as graceful as Peter the Spider when he got into the water. He found a spot a little further away from the shore, glided into the water barefoot, and used the dog paddle he had learned while fishing in the western wilderness.

Water holds a strange place in mysticism; some believe it can serve as a bridge to communicate with the soul, while others use it for exorcism.

These explanations may all make sense. In a minimalist perspective, the area that can be observed underwater is limited, but it is still clearer than looking directly from the shore, which may be related to the change in the medium.

Peter the Spider was easy to find in the water now; he looked like a crab with stripes all over his body on the riverbed.

Wayne took a deep breath on the surface of the water, observed the surroundings repeatedly for a while, and then pushed off with his legs to move closer.

At this moment, his hands were already in a ready-to-charge and explode state, and his belt still had the "thermos" that Inessa had given him earlier, which contained syringes made of extraordinary materials as an emergency replenishment of spiritual power.
The clean lines of the landscape became clearer as he drew closer, and then Wayne began to think that the church's records might not be so accurate after all...

Who exactly came up with the idea of ​​using "cocoon" to describe Jason's condition?

If this were in our village, it would be called a "glass coffin".

Peter the Spider was strolling back and forth on a large crystal exposed in the silt at the bottom of the river. The crystal was not completely transparent in the simple lines of the view, and you could vaguely see that Jason was probably in his dwarf form inside.

I reached out and poked this thing, but there was no reaction. It felt like I could touch it.
I tried to put my hand into the mud, but I couldn't lift it. I wasn't sure if it was heavy or if something was holding it in place.

I hate these kinds of unorthodox evil spirits.

Instead of being a proper ghost, he's creating physical entities and wielding machetes, needlessly causing trouble for others. Wayne surfaced for air: "He's quite large now, and the 'cocoon' shell is a hard, solid entity, probably composed of similar materials to the knives he conjured before. I'll try to blow it open later; it'll probably make quite a commotion."

Inesa's hand was on the small bag at her waist. She nodded upon hearing this: "Be careful. Stop immediately if you feel anything unusual. Theoretically, we should still have a few days."

Lina was squatting on the riverbank, eating something wrapped in a handkerchief. She said, "Be careful. Evil spirits and the like are the easiest to cause trouble. If you're really in trouble, just float to the surface or blow a big bubble. I'll call for backup for you."

"It's best not to..."

Wayne tilted his head back, took a deep breath, and then plunged back into the water.

After confirming that Jason was indeed unresponsive, Wayne became bolder, tentatively channeling his spiritual energy into the somewhat irregularly shaped "glass coffin" with his finger.

It seemed to encounter no resistance at all, and instead swam quite smoothly. Before detonating, it quickly swam back a short distance to avoid any accidents.

Peter the Spider was still swimming around Wayne like a jellyfish, watching the show, so it seemed like there shouldn't be any major problems.

"Click——"

The outer shell, like tempered glass, cracked at the point of impact, creating a spiderweb-like pattern that extended outwards.

It floated to the surface and took another breath; this time, it would try a larger yield.

"Click——"

"Click——"

"Click——"

The "glass coffin" was not peeled open piece by piece as Wayne had imagined.

Instead, during several localized explosions, the spiderweb-like cracks expanded and became denser, eventually disintegrating completely.

What should we do next?
When they encountered Freddy the "Grey Wolf" before, he transformed into a wisp of black smoke.

Jason hasn't reacted yet, so I guess we'll have to try blowing up his main body?
After taking a breath, Wayne tried to really go for a "big" one, but he didn't dare to touch Jason's head directly. Instead, he reached out from a distance and placed his hand on Jason's ankle.

The infusion of spiritual power is still going very smoothly...

wrong!

Wayne immediately stepped on the ground and pushed himself backward.

Although Jason's body appears unresponsive, it is actually actively "drawing in"!
Just blow it up.

(End of this chapter)