America: The Cremator

Chapter 109 You admit this is yours?

The night wind rustled the fallen leaves on the ground.

The group of four walked through the courtyard, circled around to the side of the main church, and headed towards the two-story building that was still lit up.

The small building has a similar overall style to the main church, but is much smaller in scale.

The exterior walls are painted with a simple gray-white paint, and some of the paint on the edges has peeled off. The dark brown wooden door looks like it has been used for a long time, and the paint has become somewhat dull due to years of sun and rain.

Su Long walked to the old wooden door, raised his hand and pressed the doorbell. A short, muffled ringing sound came from behind the door.

A few seconds later, the wooden door in front of them opened inward, and Reverend Samuel peeked out from behind it.

His tired face had been wearing a gentle smile, but when he saw Su Long and his group standing outside the door, his smile froze for a moment.

This surprise lasted only a moment, quickly masked by a warm smile that trembled with joy: "Mr. Su--Su Long, have you dealt with the demons below?"

Surrender looked at Samuel behind the door and chuckled, asking in return, "Mr. Samuel, you're surprised we're all still alive, aren't you?"

Upon hearing Su Long's question, Samuel's body stiffened abruptly, his eyes twitched incessantly, and his slightly open mouth seemed to want to say something, but he trembled for a long time without uttering a single word.

Su Long glanced over his shoulder and down into the dimly lit living room, saying casually, "What, aren't you going to invite us exorcist heroes in for a chat?"

Samuel then came to his senses. He nodded subconsciously and stepped aside to make way for the doorway: "No, no, please come in."

The four of them entered the small building one after another. Samuel closed the door and turned on the light in the living room on the first floor. He said politely, "Please sit here for a while. I'll go get you some coffee. Unfortunately, we don't have many desserts at home. I apologize for any inconvenience caused."

Su Long pointed to the stairs beside him and asked, "No need. I see the light is still on on your second floor. Is it your bedroom or study? You wouldn't mind if we went up and took a look, would you?"

Samuel stopped abruptly. He looked at the young Asian man in the center of the living room and said with a troubled expression, "Mr. Suron, the second floor is my private space, and it's a bit messy—I'm afraid it's not suitable for a visit."

However, Surong ignored his objections and led the three women straight up the stairs. Samuel's face turned pale instantly. He hurriedly chased after them, shouting, "Stop! That's my private space! You're violating my privacy! Stop immediately, or I'll call the police!"

His voice became shrill with panic, but the four completely ignored his warning. Samuel could only grit his teeth and hurriedly chase after them.

Su Long pushed open the slightly ajar door and looked around the room on the second floor.

The room was very large, with a large black walnut wood desk placed in the central rear area, and a leather sofa in front of it.

An expensive Persian carpet was laid on the floor, and the walls on both sides were floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and cabinets, filled with all kinds of finely bound religious books—all new.

The entire room was luxurious and exquisite, which seemed out of place with the simplicity of the first floor and even the whole building.

Su Long walked behind the desk as if he were in his own home, sat down in the large, high-backed chair, and casually propped his legs up on the desk.

He looked at Samuel, who had followed him in, with a mocking expression and said, "Reverend Samuel, I think you have a lot to explain."

"What exactly do you want?" Samuel demanded angrily from Sulong, but his eyes darted around, and he never dared to meet Sulong's gaze.

Surong put his hands behind his head, shifting to a slightly more comfortable position, and said to himself, "Not long after we went down the well, the climbing rope was cut from above, and the hemp rope was also taken away. Mr. Samuel, do you have any clues about this?"

He paused for a moment, then added meaningfully, "There seem to be bad people in this Cedar Church."

Beads of cold sweat trickled down Samuel's forehead as he tried to feign surprise: "How could such a terrible thing happen? Who did this?"

Suron looked at him scrutinizingly and echoed, "Yes, we'd like to know too. So, Reverend Samuel, why don't you want us to come up?"

Samuel, his face contorted with anger, said, "Mr. Suron, I know this is a serious matter, and you are very angry, but I have nothing to do with it! This is not a reason for you to trespass on my private space! Now, please leave!"

Surong leaned forward slightly and sneered, "Samuel, are you really alright?"

"I really don't understand you. If you're a good person, why did you tamper with our ropes? But if you're a bad person, why did you go to such lengths to borrow sacred objects to suppress the demon in the well? Why did you do this?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a pale blue light screen suddenly appeared in front of Su Long.

[Intelligence Insight effect triggered!]

[New information obtained: 1. This person is not Reverend Samuel; his real name is Ashton Gilbert, and he is B]

1. One of the four fanatical followers of Valak, a figure of extreme mystery. 2. His purpose in lurking here is to break the seal placed on Valak's avatar a hundred years ago. 3. Traces of his true faith are hidden in the brass box beneath his desk.

Suron raised an eyebrow slightly, leaned back in his chair, and slowly said, "Samuel, when I was down in the well, I received an unexpected revelation from God. He told me that you are not one of his followers."

Upon hearing this, Samuel's eyes widened instantly, and he roared as if he had been greatly insulted: "You insolent wretch! How dare you defile my faith and fabricate God's will! I curse you to go to hell after you die!"

"But God also told me that you are actually a follower of Varak, right, Mr. Ashton Gilbert?"

When the name "Ashton Gilbert" came out of Suron's mouth, Samuel's anger froze instantly, his body suddenly trembled, his legs went weak, and he almost lost his balance.

Surrender stopped looking at him, instead bending down and searching under the desk for a moment before lifting the rather heavy brass box onto the table and tapping his fingers lightly on the lid. "Samuel, no, Mr. Ashton, what's in here?"

Ashton's eyes darted around as he hurriedly stammered, "Inside there's just some trivial stuff, and besides—I accidentally lost the key."

Surong chuckled at Ashton's clumsy acting, "Lost it? That's really unfortunate. Dania, could you let your chainsaw work a little overtime?"

Dania's eyes lit up instantly. She skillfully tossed the box on her back to the front, pulled out a chainsaw, and excitedly replied, "Of course!"

Dania took the chainsaw out of the alloy case, skillfully disassembled it, replaced the chain with a tungsten steel chain, and then pulled the starter rope.

"Buzz—"

—

A deafening roar instantly filled the entire study, and under Ashton's horrified gaze, the rapidly spinning saw teeth slowly approached the lock on the brass box.

Sparks flew everywhere as the sturdy copper latches and hinges softened and crumbled quickly under the cutting of the tungsten steel saw chain, easily being sawed off.

Su Long thanked him and reached out to lift the lid of the box.

The box contained no miscellaneous items, only a small notebook, three mithril coins, and an obsidian statue about thirty centimeters tall.

The statue was clearly modeled after Valak, with two horns on its head and bat wings on its back. Every scale and every muscle texture was sculpted with lifelike detail. Its eyes seemed to contain some kind of evil power, and just one glance was enough to send chills down one's spine.

Upon seeing the statue in the box, the three women's expressions instantly turned extremely ugly, their eyes fixed on Ashton.

Surong picked up the cold statue, weighed it in his hand, and then held it up in front of Ashton, whose face was pale.

"Ashton Gilbert, this is the Lord you believe in, isn't he?"

Cold sweat had soaked Ashton's robes. Upon hearing Suron's question, he frantically shook his head and waved his hands, saying, "No—this isn't mine! Who—who put this in my trunk?"

Su Long's eyes widened suddenly, his voice turning serious as he sternly asked, "So you admit this is your box?"

Upon hearing this, Ashton shuddered violently and fell silent instantly.

The next moment, Surong had already pulled the "Sirius" out of its holster, loaded it with a copper bullet, and then casually flicked it, causing the cylinder to spin rapidly. He then gave it a sharp flick, and the cylinder clicked back into place before pressing it against Ashton's forehead: "From now on, I'll ask questions, and you'll answer. Every time you lie, I'll pull the trigger."

Ashton's Adam's apple bobbed, his body trembled, and his lips quivered as he said, "I—I don't know what you're talking about."

With a blank expression, Suron pulled the trigger. The sound of the firing pin hitting empty air was crystal clear in the silent study, like a heavy hammer striking the priest's heart. He was so frightened that his legs went weak and he almost collapsed to the ground.

He said coldly, "Now I'm going to formally ask you: when did you sneak into this church?"

"I—I am the pastor of this church, there is no—no infiltration," Ashton insisted.

"Click".

The sound of the trigger being pulled rang out once again, and the priest's body shuddered violently, his crotch quickly becoming wet.

"Tell the truth, Ashton."

Ashton pleaded, his voice trembling with tears, "Please—stop it, people will die—"

Click.

Sulong pulled the trigger again.

"What's your name?"

"Samuel—"

Click. Click.

Suron pulled the trigger twice in quick succession. The incessant clicking of the death roulette wheel drained all color from Ashton's face, and he cried out in panic, "Stop! Stop!"

"I'll talk! I'll talk!"

Su Long smirked: "Only one last shot left. This is your last chance."

The pastor took a deep breath and slowly began to speak: "My name is—my name is Ashton. Fifteen years ago, I killed the original pastor, Samuel, took his identity, and came here."

Surong frowned and said, "The seal on the Bible began to loosen more than a decade ago, and you happened to be here at that time. It seems that the problem with the Bible's seal was caused by you tampering with it."

He stared into the other man's eyes and continued, "So, you are indeed a follower of Valak, right?"

Ashton's lips moved for a long time before he finally admitted, "Yes."

Surong nodded, gently pressing the muzzle of his gun against Ashton's forehead: "So—what is your purpose in borrowing those holy relics from all over the place?"