America: The Cremator

Chapter 144 New Skill: Mental Barrier!

"That time during Truth or Dare, I was just saying it for fun!"

Hannah hurriedly looked away, biting her lower lip hard. Her legs unconsciously pressed tightly together, her inner thighs rubbing gently against each other through the tactical stockings. Her hands gripped the sheets beneath her so tightly that they created deep wrinkles in the smooth fabric.

Seeing her extremely embarrassed state, Su Long knew that the time was almost right. If he continued to tease her, the girl would probably explode on the spot. So he chuckled.

"Okay, okay, I'm not teasing you anymore."

Surong pointed to the tactical box on the carpet: "Let's quickly take stock of the remaining items and see what other good stuff Dania has prepared for you."

Hannah felt like she had been granted a pardon. She quickly jumped out of bed, walked briskly to the tactical box, and bent down to rummage through the contents, trying to calm her wildly beating heart.

Su Long stood by the bed, the light sweeping across the spot where Hannah had just sat. On the smooth, light-colored sheet, there was a small water stain the size of a soybean, faintly gleaming under the light.

"Whoa!"

He raised an eyebrow, a meaningful smile curving his lips.

Hannah had already taken out a few remaining items from the bottom of the box: a pair of special tactical gloves, a crossbody bag, and a small folding dagger made of silver-tungsten alloy.

She picked up the gloves and examined them closely, noticing that the fabric was the same as the nun's habit she was wearing, and that they were full-finger designs. She put the gloves on, and the size fit her small hands perfectly. The most ingenious part was the clever circular cutout design on the palm of the gloves.

"This way, my holy marks can be revealed perfectly without affecting my ability to mix holy water or use my powers." Hannah clenched her fist, very satisfied with the design.

She then picked up the sturdy black crossbody bag, took out the Bible, and put it inside. It was the perfect size, clearly something Dania had specifically arranged for her to carry the Bible.

Su Long then picked up a palm-sized folding dagger from the side, played with it in his hand for a moment, and noticed that the blade was extremely sharp.

"It seems Dania has really put her heart into this; these are the combat equipment you need most right now."

After checking everything, Hannah carefully put everything away, then immediately stood up and pointed outside the door.

"Let's go out first, and I'll show you the detailed assessment information."

After saying that, she took the lead and walked out of the room without looking back, her steps so hurried that it seemed she was afraid Su Long would bring up the mirror again.

Su Long smiled and shook his head, then followed her out of the bedroom.

The two returned to the living room on the first floor, and Hannah immediately ran to the TV cabinet, opened the drawer and began to rummage through it. The scene inside the cabinet was exactly the same as on the sofa, with all sorts of miscellaneous items, game discs, and snack wrappers piled up in a mess.

Hannah rummaged through a pile of clutter for a while before finally pulling out a stack of slightly wrinkled A4 printed documents from the bottom. She handed them to Su Long, smoothing her hair as she did so: "Found it. This is the internal information for the B-level assessment. You can take a look, but there's not much useful information. After all, with your abilities, you're sure to pass."

Su Long walked to the sofa that had finally been cleaned and sat down. He took the document and flipped through it. The document was divided into three parts, and the writing was extremely official and verbose. He quickly skipped over the useless nonsense and extracted the core information.

The first part introduces the American Exorcist Association (AEA), the most authoritative paranormal response organization in the United States, responsible for regulating the industry and handling paranormal disturbances.

The second part is about the role of B-level exorcists. As the backbone of the association, they are required to have the ability to suppress C-level strange disasters on their own and to take on the task of guarding the core area of ​​the city.

The third part is the main event: the rules for the B-level exorcist assessment. The assessment is based on a pass/fail system and is held four times a year. The assessment sites are all located in areas where strange phenomena are rampant, simulating real-life scenarios. The assessment is supervised by an assessment team composed of senior exorcists.

Su Long closed the file and tossed it onto the coffee table: "So, all we have to do is go to the exam hall, perform well, and try to kill as many monsters as possible to get the credentials, right?"

"To put it simply, it's like this." Hannah walked over to the sofa and sat down, nodding in agreement.

Surong leaned forward slightly, getting closer to Hannah, and asked, "Do you know anything specific about Little St. James Island, the place we're going to take the exam? I'm very interested in that place."

Hannah shook her head, looking somewhat puzzled: "I don't know much about it either. In the past, the assessments were usually held in abandoned towns or forests in the continental United States where strange things often happen. They are rarely arranged on private islands."

She recalled the bits and pieces she had heard before: "It's said to be a private island bought by a super-rich tycoon, with some extremely luxurious mansions built on it, and very tight security all the time."

Su Long took out his phone and opened the browser: "Let me look up the island owner's name and see if I can find any useful information."

He typed "Little St. James Island" into the search box, pressed the search button, and soon a line of entries appeared.

The island's owner's name was prominently displayed in the center of the screen—Epstein.

Su Long frowned instantly upon seeing the name; it was all too familiar.

Fragmented images flashed through his mind, as if he had just before he transmigrated, while on a plane back to China, he had idly browsed news about this name.

But the closer he got to the point of crossing, the more blurred his memories became. He only vaguely remembered that behind this name was a scandal that shocked the world.

Seeing that he still couldn't recall the specific details, Su Long simply turned off his phone screen, too lazy to dwell on it anymore: "Forget it, no matter who the island owner is, for us it's just a matter of changing the location to kill monsters."

Su Long stood up and picked up his coat from the back of the chair: "Now that I have a good understanding of the exam information, and it's getting late, I'll take my leave."

Hannah glanced out the window; it was completely dark now, and the streetlights in the distance looked somewhat hazy in the drizzle. "It's dark now, and it's raining outside. Why don't you just sleep here?"

Seemingly afraid that Su Long would misunderstand, she quickly added, "Anyway, we need to gather at the association building at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. Since we live together, it will be more convenient for us to go to report together tomorrow morning."

After thinking about it, Su Long realized there was no need to go through the trouble of returning to Elena's place in the rain, so he nodded.

"Alright, then I'll take my leave."

Hannah's face lit up with a happy smile when she saw he had agreed, and she ran briskly up the stairs: "Then sit in the living room for a while, I'll go upstairs and help you set up the guest room!"

Su Long sat back down on the sofa, took out his phone, opened Elena's chat window, and sent her a text message.

"I have something to do tonight, so I won't be going back."

Less than ten seconds later, the screen lit up, and Elena's reply popped up: "Who has it?"

Surong replied truthfully: "As for Hannah, we'll just go to the association building together with her tomorrow morning to report for duty."

This time, there was silence on the other side for a full minute.

Just when Surong thought Elena was busy with work and wouldn't reply, his phone vibrated, and the screen displayed only a single word: "Fine."

Su Long looked at the lone word, raised an eyebrow, and casually tossed his phone onto the coffee table.

Hearing that Hannah was still busy in the guest room on the second floor, he simply lay down on the sofa, adjusted to a comfortable position, and with a slight thought, the light blue system screen instantly unfolded on his retina.

Today, the butterfly's clone was burned, allowing him to successfully gain 30 experience points.

Although I don't have enough mithril coins to upgrade another two-star attribute, I'm about to take the B-rank exorcist exam, so converting this experience into immediate combat power is undoubtedly the safest option.

Su Long's gaze swept across the list of entries and landed directly on the basic attribute panel.

[Constitution: 30 (Strong!)]

Agility: 30 (Swift!)

[Spiritual Vision: 40 (The Eye of Death!)]

[Charm: 30 (Handsome!)]

[Spirit: 30 (Stable!)]

Aside from a commanding 40 points in Vision, the other four attributes are all hovering around 30 points. Moreover, Charisma provides very limited assistance in combat. The current stats are more than enough for daily interpersonal interactions and intelligence gathering. On the contrary, Constitution, Agility, and Spirit are extremely crucial.

After a moment's thought, Su Long decided to divide his experience points equally among his three attributes: Constitution, Agility, and Spirit.

As he did this, the experience points balance in the upper right corner instantly reached zero, and the data on the panel began to fluctuate wildly.

[Constitution: 40 (Powerful physique!)]

Agility: 40 (Instant reaction time!)

[Spiritual Vision: 40 (The Eye of Death!)]

[Charm: 30 (Handsome!)]

[Mental State: 40 (Calm and composed under pressure!)]

The moment the data froze, a series of dense system prompts popped up.

[Physical condition has entered a new stage! Muscle and bone strength have significantly improved, height has slightly increased to 182cm, and all hidden ailments and minor illnesses have been eliminated!]

Agile enters a new phase! Overall reaction speed improved to 100 milliseconds, with significant increases in both thinking and learning speeds!

(Note: The average adult's neural reaction time is about 250 milliseconds, top athletes and race car drivers can reach 150 milliseconds, and the human limit is about 120 milliseconds.)

[Entering a new stage of spiritual development! Gained the active skill: Mental Barrier!]

[Mental Barrier: The host can pre-emptively draw upon a large amount of mental energy to construct a mental barrier deep within their consciousness, temporarily blocking the impact of large-scale mental pollution.]

Suron focused his attention on the newly acquired skill—the mental barrier.

This is the first time I've obtained a mental defense skill. Although each activation requires a significant drain on mental energy, the protective effect it provides is absolutely invaluable.

In this bizarre world filled with all sorts of mental pollution and hallucination attacks, having such a trump card is equivalent to having an extra life.

"Those 30 experience points were totally worth it."

Just as he was secretly sensing the changes in his body, he heard light footsteps on the stairs. He turned his head and saw that Hannah had come downstairs and said, "The guest room has been completely cleaned up. I've changed the duvet cover and sheets to brand new ones."

Su Long nodded and casually replied, "Thank you for your hard work."

Seeing his listless expression, Hannah's eyes flickered slightly. She put her hands behind her back and leaned forward slightly. "It's still early, how about we play something exciting?"

Upon hearing this, Su Long raised an eyebrow: "An exciting game? What game? A game where you fight in front of a mirror?"

Hannah paused for a moment, then stomped her foot in embarrassment and annoyance: "It's the PS5!"

As she spoke, she strode to the television, pressed the power button on the main unit, and the large LCD screen on the wall instantly lit up, displaying the familiar startup interface of the main unit.

She opened the TV cabinet drawer, pulled out two pure white wireless controllers, casually tossed them onto the sofa next to Su Long, and turned to walk towards the bedroom on the second floor.

"You can choose a game first; there are many two-player co-op games. I'll go change my clothes first."

Su Long picked up a handle and casually replied, "Okay, go ahead."

A few minutes later, Hannah came down the stairs.

She had changed into a casual home outfit: a loose white tank top and grey cotton shorts. The outfit perfectly accentuated her petite yet well-proportioned figure.

Two fair and straight legs were exposed to the air without any cover, and as she walked, you could even vaguely see the fleshy feel of the shorts being squeezed out of the edge.

Surong stopped fiddling with the joystick, his gaze sweeping over Hannah without any attempt to hide it, and casually remarked, "You changed your clothes pretty quickly, even your inner layer?"

Upon hearing the question, Hannah almost instinctively replied, "Um, I accidentally got it dirty—"

As soon as she finished speaking, she froze on the spot, her eyes widening instantly, and her hands reflexively covered her thighs.

"How—how did you know?!"

Seeing Hannah's tense expression, Surong's smile widened. He placed the controller on his lap, leaned back slightly, and said casually, "I guessed."

With that, he picked up the controller again, his gaze falling on the TV screen. He flicked the joystick a few times and pressed the confirm button: "Let's play this two-player mode."

Surong then looked at Hannah, who was still in a daze, patted the sofa next to her, and chuckled, "Don't just stand there like an idiot, come over here."

Hannah's gaming setup was truly top-of-the-line, featuring a large, high-refresh-rate LCD TV, a wireless controller with excellent tactile feedback, and the highly cooperative game "Two-Player Team," which demanded exceptional teamwork. The two of them were completely hooked from the start, and it wasn't until 1 a.m. that they reluctantly turned off the PS5.

Su Long leaned back on the sofa, gripping the controller, a smile involuntarily creeping onto his face. He couldn't remember the last time he had played a game so carefree and exhilaratingly.

In his previous life, he was busy with his studies, and after transmigrating, he dealt with corpses and the supernatural every day, his nerves were always on edge. Tonight's few hours of pure entertainment gave him an unprecedented feeling of relaxation.

Hannah's cheeks were flushed. She was the type of person who easily got absorbed and excited when playing games. Each death made her scream and shout, and she was sweating a lot on her nose and forehead. Her cheeks were also turned red from shouting.

She tossed the controller onto the coffee table, hurriedly stood up, and urged, "We really can't continue playing. We have to meet at the association headquarters at eight o'clock tomorrow morning!"

"It's time to rest." Su Long put down the controller, stood up, and stretched.

The next morning, the sky over Seattle remained overcast, and a continuous drizzle shrouded the city like a gray veil.

"Knock knock knock".

""

There was a gentle knock on the guest room door, and Hannah's voice came from outside: "Sue, it's time to get up, breakfast is ready."

Su Long opened his eyes, rolled over in bed and sat up. His physique, which was as high as 40 points, meant that he did not need much sleep. After just a few hours of rest, he had already recovered to his peak condition.

After going downstairs, Hannah had already prepared breakfast. The two quickly finished eating, grabbed their gear, pushed open the door, walked out of the house, got into the Cadillac, and headed towards downtown Seattle.

More than half an hour later, the Cadillac Escalade came to a steady stop in front of a very unique building.

This building stands out from the modern glass-walled skyscrapers of downtown Seattle; it is a typical Gothic Revival building that perfectly blends the old and new characteristics of Seattle.

The main body of the building is made of dark limestone, and the exterior walls are covered with dark green ivy, giving people a heavy and ancient sense of oppression.

Several towering spires pointed straight at the gloomy sky, and above the pointed arched gate was a huge stained glass window. Even on a rainy day without sunshine, the window still exuded a sense of majestic holiness.

The two quickly got out of the car and walked side by side into the spacious courtyard, eventually arriving at the building's huge arched gate.

Two people were standing under the porch outside the main gate.

One of them was a middle-aged woman wearing a dark gray business suit. She wore black-rimmed glasses, held a folder in her hand, and had a serious expression as if everyone present owed her money.

A well-dressed lady stood beside her.

She was wearing a well-tailored, custom-made wool coat and carrying that familiar vintage leather suitcase, looking at the sculptures in the courtyard with great interest.

Hearing footsteps, the lady turned around, and when she saw Suron and Hannah walking up the steps, an elegant smile immediately appeared in her well-maintained eyes.

"Mr. Suron, we meet again. Welcome to the headquarters of the American Exorcists Association."