A priest in North America, what the hell is the Demon Gate system?

At seven o'clock in the morning, the church radio started playing on time.

Good morning, America! Today is Memorial Day. May God bless America and the heroes who fought for our freedom!

Li Ang was putting the last blessing on the donation box when he heard this and, without looking up, retorted, "May I also receive more money today."

Sister Nia carried a stack of old folding chairs out of the warehouse, the sleeves of her black nun's habit rolled up to her forearms, revealing her fair, jade-like skin.

She took a breath and placed the chair on the open ground in front of the church. There was a small cemetery opposite the church, where most of the town's residents were buried. After the Memorial Day parade, she could use it to raise funds.

"Father, is this enough?"

Li Ang glanced at it: "Let's set out twenty tables first, no one will sit down if we set out more."

The weather was lovely; Pennsylvania was sunny in late May. The old oak tree in the churchyard cast dappled shadows, its leaves rustling in the wind, mingling with the faint sound of music drifting from the town center in the distance.

The morning news on the radio continued.

"We have an urgent message to announce." Host Kate's voice suddenly turned serious.

Philadelphia police report a vicious assault that occurred in downtown Philadelphia a few days ago. A Black man, suspected of being under the influence of an addiction, attacked several patrol officers, injuring three. The suspect is now believed to be in the vicinity of Lancaster County, where he allegedly brutally mauled a cow to death. Let's connect with our reporter Donnie on the scene.

Li Ang paused for a moment.

"Thank you, Kate. What I saw on the ground was heartbreaking. Philadelphia's addictive substance problem has become so serious that it's affecting public safety, entirely due to a dysfunctional control system—"

"Thank you, Donnie." The female host Kate's voice quickly switched back, her tone becoming enthusiastic again.

"But we must point out that the source of these addictive substances flowing into our country is certain irresponsible major powers! They are destroying our communities and corrupting our youth! And our great President is working hard to fight them! MAGA!"

Li Ang twitched the corner of his mouth and straightened the donation box.

It all boils down to just a few words. Aren't you about to say that nobody knows more about demolition than me?

He turned and walked towards the white RAV4. Nia had just gotten into the passenger seat and was adjusting the edge of her headscarf. Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating her profile and making her golden bangs stand out.

"The fugitive they mentioned on the radio..." Nia asked somewhat uneasily.

"It's still far from here." Li Ang started the car, marveling at the convenience of the automatic transmission, and muttered to himself, "Besides, if we really run into it, the one who should be worried is that guy. My Constitution 2 is already itching for a fight."

-----------------

The town center was bustling today, with American and Pennsylvania flags hanging along the streets, and some shops displaying photos of veterans and flowers in front of them.

Several children were chasing each other along the roadside, holding small national flags, while their parents laughed and called out to them to slow down.

The parade floats will meet at the town square, which is only a ten-minute drive from the church.

Li Ang parked the car a block away and walked over with Nia. The closer they got to the square, the more people there were.

The air was filled with the savory aroma of salty cheese sausages and hot dogs, and the sweet smell of popcorn. The stalls sold colorful, oversized cups of overly sweet drinks, and there were also free, overly sour fruit candies to take away.

But Li Ang wouldn't buy it. After all, looking at the customers in line, their butts were almost a meter wide. Who knows how high the energy content is? According to the sugar intake of the Chinese, one bite would take them to march from the East Coast to the West Coast.

"Father Li".

A loud voice came from the right.

Li Ang turned his head and saw a middle-aged man in a dark blue suit waving in their direction. The man was about fifty years old, with neatly combed hair, and his belly made the suit buttons taut. He wore a red baseball cap with white embroidery that read:

"Make America Great Again"

Standing next to him was a tall, thin man dressed in a priest's grey robe with a conspicuous cross hanging on his chest.

"Mayor Joel." Li Ang had seen his photo when he was working at the town government, and his divine sense allowed him to remember many details, so he walked over and extended his hand.

"I've heard so much about you." Mayor Joel's hand was firm, and he then looked at the man beside him and said, "This is Pastor Salak, the head of our town's evangelical church."

Reverend Salak looked to be in his early forties, with a long midface and a somewhat harsh appearance. He was a very typical white man, the kind of guy who puts pressure on you during the IELTS speaking test.

He nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over Li Ang and Nia, his eyes carrying the Protestant sense of superiority and rejection that is unique to Catholicism.

"I've heard your donations aren't going very well. May God bless you," Salak said, his tone slightly sarcastic.

"And may you be blessed as well. Is Pastor Salak considering donating something for the Lord?" Leon replied with a standard smile.

The mayor quickly came over and coughed twice to smooth things over: "Pastor, the event is about to start, I need to prepare my speech, come with me."

After he finished speaking, he turned and walked towards the podium, with Pastor Salak following beside him. The two were quickly surrounded by other townspeople.

"Hey! Father Li, you've finally arrived."

A familiar voice came from behind him. Li Ang turned around and saw it was Sheriff Bob.

At this moment, the sheriff strolled over, holding a hot dog covered in mustard and mayonnaise in one hand and a cup of smoothie topped with thick cream and M&Ms in the other.

"Sheriff, it's been a long time."

Li Ang replied politely.

"Father Li, I see you just met with the mayor and the others. You're new here, so many people probably don't know you."

Bob devoured half a hot dog in one bite, not caring that the sauce stuck to his beard. He then glanced at the shaved ice in his hand and pointed to the side.

"I'll introduce you to the guys in charge of things in town."

"Never mind, I..." Li Ang was about to refuse when the system's voice suddenly sounded.

[Ding! Sect quest triggered: Social Interactions]

Maintaining contact with mortals who are affiliated with a sect is an essential task for every steward. Stewards are requested to be familiar with all the mortal forces in the area.

[Quest Reward: One Low-Grade Spirit Herb Seed]

"I've been wanting to talk to them for a long time!"

Li Ang's expression changed, and he smiled broadly, while Sister Nia beside him twitched at the corner of her mouth.

The first people Bob met were a family dressed in suits, very old-fashioned, whom Bob called the Payne family.

"Father Li! I've heard so much about you!" Old Payne, who was probably in his sixties or seventies, had a well-groomed mustache. He shook Li Ang's hand up and down.

"I am Thomas Payne, a direct descendant of William Payne, and my whole family are devout Catholics! Last month we went to Philadelphia to attend Mass presided over by the Archbishop, and it was truly..."

He talked on and on for more than three minutes about his family history, how his ancestors founded Pennsylvania, and so on. Li Ang could only maintain a smile and nod occasionally.

After finally waiting for the Payne family to finish speaking and leave, Li Ang felt like his face was about to freeze from smiling.

"Haha, that's how old Payne and his gang are. By the way, that's the Hawthorne family over there." Bob had finished his hot dog and bought a corn on the cob with lots of sauce. He then gestured with his eyes to the other side of the square.

The Hawthorne family stood under a large tree, away from the crowd.

The man in charge was a thin man around sixty years old, wearing a hunting jacket and leaning on a cane.

He coldly observed everything in the square, as if he were observing animals in a zoo. When his gaze met Li Ang's, he curled his lips and turned his head away.

"Our ancestors made their fortune through land speculation and... well, some less-than-legal means." Bob slurped up a shaved ice, which made his head spin from the cold.

"They now run the largest agricultural machinery dealership in the county. Their family isn't religious; old Mr. Hawthorne publicly stated that religion is... well, never mind."

Li Ang nodded, memorized the face, and sighed inwardly.

"It's quite rare to see an entire American family in prison who are not religious."

Li Ang and his companions continued forward and encountered several Black people setting up stalls, selling items with a strong ethnic flavor. They didn't seem very interested in the parade, and lowered their heads as Li Ang passed by.

"The Cajit family kids, they believe in that Haitian voodoo cult, it seems more orthodox than Protestantism, haha," Bob laughed.

Li Ang noticed that several carriages were parked at the edge of the square. Several men wearing black hats and with long beards stood beside the carriages, while the women wore plain-colored long dresses, and the children stayed quietly beside their parents.

"Those people are Amish. They farm and weave. They don't participate in the parade; they just come to sell their homemade jam and bread." Bob glanced at them and threw the corn cob he had finished into the huge trash can.

"Father Li, the mayor's speech is about to start, I have to go take charge of security, I'll be going now!"

Watching Bob stagger away, Li Ang couldn't help but feel a little worried about the so-called security.

[Ding! Sect mission completed: Social obligations]

[Reward: One seed of the Desire Grass]

"What the heck? 'Aphrodisiac'? That sounds so indecent, I really want to plant it right away!"

Li Ang felt something suddenly appear in his pocket, and gently touched it with his hand, feeling a slight itch.

Suddenly, Li Ang felt a warmth in his chest!

His expression remained unchanged as his right hand naturally reached into his suit's inner pocket and touched the leather notebook. Ever since that night, he had carried the notebook and revolver with him.

After all, this is America, it's normal for priests to carry revolvers.

The cover was slightly warm, and Li Ang felt his heart racing. Taking advantage of the movement of adjusting his collar, he quickly flipped open a corner of the notebook.

On the blank page, the writing reappeared:

"Familiar energy, so close, right here..."

The writing appeared for three seconds, then quickly faded and disappeared.

Li Ang closed the notebook and, without changing his expression, stuffed it back into his inner pocket.

He raised his head, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the square once more.

The mayor, the Protestant pastor, the enthusiastic Payne family, the aloof Hawthorne family, the very principled Cajit family, the peaceful Amish, and hundreds of ordinary townspeople from the surrounding area.

Who is it?