America: The Cremator

"The thing looked like a woman, wearing an old-fashioned black nun's robe, like something from the last century or even earlier. You couldn't hear her footsteps when she moved in the dark, only the 'splashing' sound of her long skirt dragging through the puddles."

"But I'm sure she's not human. No woman can maintain a height of 2.5 meters while being as thin as a dry piece of firewood."

"When she turned to look at me, I saw her face."

Lucas's breathing became rapid, and his chest heaved violently.

"That thing had no facial features at all, just a layer of pale skin tightly stuck to the bone. The mouth was sewn shut with thick hemp rope, and black, gooey liquid seeped out through the gaps."

Elena immediately started working on the tablet, searching the internal database.

"Ancient nun's attire... 2.5 meters tall... facial stitching..."

A few minutes later, Elena slumped down on her tablet, her face unusually pale: "There are no records matching these characteristics in the Bureau of Oddity Support's database."

"This is an unknown and bizarre creature that has never been officially registered."

Dania looked at Lucas, a hint of doubt in her blue eyes.

"Lucas, I remember when you left the tavern a year ago, Sergei personally settled a considerable sum of money for you."

"That money is enough for you to support yourself until you find your next stable job."

"How did you end up building a plastic shelter in the woods, unable to even afford a decent meal?"

Lucas remained silent for a long time before slowly reaching out and pulling a heavy object from the large pocket of his sweatshirt.

Those were two pure white knuckle dusters, their surfaces reflecting a metallic sheen under the light.

The knuckles are engraved with exquisite crucifixes at the knuckles, while the inside of the rings is densely covered with Latin inscriptions.

Lucas looked at the silver brass knuckles in his hand and slowly said, "I exchanged all my money, including the money from selling my championship trophy and gold belt, for this."

"I knew ordinary weapons wouldn't be enough to deal with what was in that well, so I bought these brass knuckles. My original plan was to use them to smash the monster's head and bring Amy back."

Lucas's fingers trembled slightly from the force he exerted, and the brass knuckles made a faint metallic clanging sound in his palm.

"Thanks to these brass knuckles, I was able to crawl out alive."

"Do you remember the battle with it? How did you escape from it?" Su Long pressed.

Lucas rubbed his cheeks vigorously, as if trying to squeeze something useful out of his jumbled memories.

"I can't remember... I only remember that I was thinking about Amy the whole time, and I kept punching her with those brass knuckles."

His voice became intermittent, and his eyes became unfocused again.

"It was all water, sticky and cold... I don't know how long I struggled until... until I saw light above my head, and I just kept climbing."

Su Long nodded thoughtfully and speculated, "The fact that Lucas was able to escape alive means that the monster below isn't very powerful. At its strongest, it might only be at the peak of C-rank. It might be difficult to deal with, but it's not invincible."

"So, you're really planning to go down?" Dania asked, smoothing her long blonde hair.

Elena leaned against the door, arms crossed, her eyes sharp: "Of course. We can't let an unknown, highly dangerous anomaly continue to lurk beneath Seattle."

Surong turned to Elena and asked, "As the captain of the Black Chess Task Force, can't you mobilize the task force?"

She paused, a hint of helplessness in her voice: "The procedures are very complicated. Without a clear report of casualties and physical evidence, I don't have the authority to bypass higher-ups and directly mobilize the 'Black Chess' team to carry out this level of cleanup mission without going through the official reporting process."

Su Long comforted her, saying, "Elena, you don't need to blame yourself. The environment underground is complex, and the passages are narrow. A large-scale advance would only hinder your operations."

"Streamlining the team and forming an elite squad is a good option."

Dania raised her hand without hesitation, her blue eyes sparkling with excitement: "Count me in, I'm an experienced exorcist too."

Su Long looked at Elena, who did not object, which was taken as tacit agreement.

He turned to Dania and said, "Okay, but how will you be paid?"

"We're friends, Sue. Helping each other doesn't require talking about money." Dania raised an eyebrow.

Su Long shook his head and said seriously, "No. Business is business, and friends are friends."

He smiled and said, "In that case, I'll have Reverend Samuel issue a formal commission to your exorcism society in the name of Cedar Ridge Church."

"This way, you can not only help out, but also add a respectable achievement to your exorcism club, which will make you sound better in the industry in the future."

Dania was stunned for a moment, then her eyes lit up, and she looked at Su Long with surprise and gratitude in her eyes.

"Su, you're a true genius!"

"After all, I'm an employee of the exorcism club too," Su Long shrugged.

Just then, Lucas, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up: "Please take me there, okay?"

Su Long met his gaze.

What kind of eyes were those?

It's a mix of a father's despair at losing everything, a beast driven to the brink of madness in its final moments, and a drowning man's plea for his last straw.

Su Long was silent for a few seconds, then finally nodded.

"Even if we don't take you, you'll find your own way to keep up, right?"

He stood up, walked over to Lucas, and said in a serious tone, "I can take you down there, but you must agree to one condition. Once down there, you will be under my command."

Lucas nodded heavily, as if he had used all his strength.

Su Long patted him on the shoulder and instructed, "Alright. You have a day to rest and replenish your strength. We'll go down the well tomorrow at midnight."

Lucas jumped to his feet, his voice trembling with emotion, "No, today! I'm in great shape right now, better than ever before!"

He suddenly pleaded, "Please... this is the closest I've ever been to Amy, please... give me this chance."

Sulong's tone suddenly hardened: "Listen to me, Lucas. You need rest, and we need to prepare more equipment and contingency plans. An impulsive father can't save his daughter."

The light in Lucas's eyes dimmed, and he slumped back onto the sofa, ceasing his argument.

Su Long was right; going down without any preparation was tantamount to suicide.

Just as the atmosphere in the room had begun to ease, a cell phone suddenly rang urgently.

Elena took out her phone, glanced at the caller ID, frowned slightly, and pressed the speakerphone button immediately after the call connected.

"Ms. Elena?" Reverend Samuel's aged and weary voice came from the other end of the phone.

"It's me, Reverend Samuel. What can I do for you?"

Samuel sighed with relief and said, "Oh, thank God. Ms. Elena, I think... perhaps we don't need to trouble you anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"Just now, St. James's Cathedral in the city center finally responded to our request for help. They take this matter very seriously and have sent... a nun who is said to be very capable of exorcising demons. She is going down the well to investigate the situation first."

Su Long's pupils contracted sharply, and an ominous premonition instantly rose in his heart.

He stepped forward and demanded sharply into the phone, "What's that nun's name?"

Samuel, taken aback by the sudden question, hesitated before replying, "She...she said her name is Hannah."

"Don't let her go down!"

Surong's voice suddenly rose, and he shouted sharply, "Listen, Samuel, stop her no matter what! Wait for us to get there!"

"But... St. James's Cathedral said she's a very experienced exorcist..."

Hearing Samuel still trying to explain, Surong's anger finally reached its peak, and he roared into the phone, "Shut the fuck up! I told you not to let her go down!"

Samuel was silenced for a moment after being yelled at, followed by the sound of his hurried footsteps and muffled conversation.

A few seconds later, Samuel's trembling voice rang out again:

"Oh... God..."

"It seems she... has already gone downstairs."