American variety show world begins with subduing Jason

In an instant, strange lights flashed and giant waves surged. The man and the monster fought and moved further and further away from the shore. The splashing water mist obscured the battle and made the figures of the onlookers on the mudflats increasingly blurry.

"A clever little girl..." Queenie smiled faintly.

"It's so much easier to talk to a smart person. If she doesn't understand the implied meaning and still stays by your side, even if you admire her a little, you'll have no choice but to ruthlessly destroy her."

Silently, a thought crossed her mind, and her large body took a step forward. The surrounding scenery changed, with reefs standing in the distance and blue waves rippling beneath her feet. Her figure appeared on a large lagoon that connected to the vast ocean outside the island.

Lagoons are landforms formed by the partial or periodic isolation of seawater. After being flooded by tides year-round, their shapes are mostly bizarre and varied, but few have the neat appearance of eight waterways surrounding a large circle like this one.

A soft song drifted from the woman's lips, the ancient syllables rising and falling like the ebb and flow of ocean waves, making the entire lake seem to tremble slightly.

This is not an illusion!

The entire lake, the eight waterways connecting to the sea, and even the surrounding mudflats were trembling. The water-saturated mud and sand gradually rose, as if something was wriggling beneath them...

"Boom!" A waterway exploded, and a muffled, loud noise rose up.

At the same time, a black shadow as thick as a thousand-year-old tree also rose up.

A dark shadow emerged from the lagoon, twisting and waving in the air, shaking off the silt covering its surface and revealing its fleshy interior.

That was a tentacle of a cephalopod covered with suckers the size of washbasins!

"Boom! Boom! Boom..." One after another, huge tentacles stretched out from the remaining seven waterways, waving wildly.

Then a reddish-brown "hill" slowly rose up, and hundreds of tons of salt water mixed with silt slid down from it, piling up on the mudflats to form a small hill.

The lagoon has disappeared, replaced by a nearly 200-meter-long eight-clawed behemoth!

"Little one...you're still as adorable as you were over three hundred years ago. What happened to the things I gave you back then?"

Saying things that made people seriously question her aesthetic views, the woman reached out and made a grabbing motion.

Sensing the presence of its former master, the giant beast, which had just awakened from its slumber, twitched and, displaying its natural abilities as a mollusk, transformed into a twisted, reddish-brown carpet. It fawned over the woman's feet, its petal-like maw splitting open, revealing layers of sharp, meat-grinding fangs that swirled and turned outwards. A patina-green box floated out.

The woman grinned with satisfaction, a blush of pleasure spreading across her face. She flicked her finger, and "click!" the mechanism clicked, and the lid of the bronze box, carved with waves and flying fish, automatically rose.

"Very good, my little darling, be patient. To repay your loyal protection over the past hundreds of years, I will soon take you out into the world for a good feast—"

The cheerful promises came to an abrupt halt.

His dark, bloated face twitched morbidly, and his ten short, thick fingers mustered the courage to reach into the bronze box, trembling as he lifted a large piece...

……Stone!

There's even an abstract smiley face painted on the large, round pebble!

"You—fuck—this beast whose head is stuffed with whale dung!"

For over three hundred years, is this the piece of junk you've been protecting?

Where is my divine essence?

A hurricane-like rage, accompanied by a torrent of curses, swept in, carrying with it a powerful, untamed magical force that transformed into wind blades, frost swords, rain needles, and thunder whips, striking down relentlessly. The octopus-like monster was tormented, rolling wildly on the ground, and the earth shook violently. If it weren't for an invisible barrier isolating the surrounding area, the sound would have been heard for miles around.

……

In the shadows of a temple within a distant stone fortress, a hand with visible white bones reaches out, holding an ancient Spanish double-column silver coin that shimmers with an eerie light, and slams it heavily onto the wooden chessboard in front of it.

"Aha! My lucky silver coin strikes, checkmate!"

Just like the long years before, after the figure danced and amused himself for a while, he put away the coins and gems that had served as chess pieces.

Suddenly he tilted his head, as if listening intently, and scratched his dry, taut scalp in confusion. After a while, he shrugged, flicked a silver coin that shimmered with an odd light with his thumb, turned and disappeared into the darkness, leaving only a few muttered words echoing in the air.

"Has the body decayed to the point of hallucination? Heh, I can almost hear that capricious woman going crazy again."

It seems the time has finally come for me to return to dust... and the sea. Ah... I really want to drink one last hearty rum…

……

……

No matter what sacred or grand title is bestowed upon a certain secret realm, it cannot change its essence. It is always just a miniature world hidden in the cracks of space, like a drop in the ocean compared to the real world.

So no matter how things change inside, the hands on the dial will keep moving as usual, and the calendar pages will keep being torn as usual.

As the eternal fireball in the sky fell, night fell fairly over the vast land and sea of ​​the Western Hemisphere.

The sun sets and the moon rises, the sun rises and the moon sets—this is the natural order that has lasted for billions of years. Even the most sentimental and melancholic artsy types are too lazy to shed a single tear for it.

—Anyway, it's just a short farewell, and we'll see each other again tomorrow morning.

However, for some special regions, this brief farewell will last a little... a bit too long.

Leaving Golden State, we travel north along the Rocky Mountains that traverse the New World. At the foot of the mountains, the range makes a sharp northeast turn, following a large river downstream. After traversing thousands of miles of frozen wasteland, we arrive at the shores of the Arctic Ocean, where, across the sea, lies one of the northernmost territories of the Maple Leaf Republic.

—The Elizabethan Islands.

The town of Barrow is located on one of the islands. Calling it a town is just an exaggeration. With a permanent population of only two hundred, it would be considered a village even in Maple Leaf Country, let alone in Seris.

But who knew that a mysterious wealthy man from the Federation bought a piece of land here more than ten years ago, built a vacation villa, and spent a lot of money to invest and donate to build a series of public facilities such as gas stations, supermarkets, and police stations, which brought the basic infrastructure level down to that of a small town.

Since someone was willing to take the fall, the higher-level administrative department simply changed a few letters on the map, and from then on, Baro Village became Baro Town.

Why isn't this month over yet? I'm out of drafts...

Chapter 205 The Town Before the Polar Night

The local residents naturally welcomed the windfall of improved living conditions without having to spend their own money.

Along with the wealthy federal tycoon who built the villa but never showed his face, he also received countless prayers and blessings. Even after more than a decade, elderly people still often wish him a long and healthy life during holiday gatherings.

Although the latter, upon learning this, would probably only swirl the "red wine" in their glass and mock the short-lived species' lack of imagination.

Perhaps they'll even add a famous quote to appear cultured.

—Every gift of fate comes with a hidden price tag...

Of course, things in the world can never satisfy everyone; some people are happy, while others are not.

Stella was one of them.

"Bang!" The young woman with golden wavy hair grimaced, threw her luggage into the trunk, got into a black Ford Explorer, and slammed the door shut.

"Ibn, I'm asking you one last time, are you willing to leave with me!"

She rolled down the car window, brushed away a few glistening snowflakes from the rearview mirror, and, speaking slowly and deliberately, issued an ultimatum to the brown-haired, dark-eyed young man beside her.

The young man in the khaki down-filled police uniform shook his head, giving a helpless, bitter smile as he tried to persuade his angry lover.

"Stella, darling, you know I can't leave my post..."

Actually, the polar night isn't as scary as you might imagine. You see, the vast majority of people choose to stay. It's only thirty days, and there's not much work. In a semi-vacation state, they can spend half a day in a bar, then go home and play a few rounds of cards, and the day will pass quickly.

Stella's high chest heaved as she exhaled a mouthful of carbon dioxide mixed with her grumbling, which turned into a white mist in the cold air.

"I'm starting to regret coming back to this godforsaken place with you. There were so many more job opportunities in Wencheng. Was a rural sheriff's position really that tempting?"

Iben turned up his collar to block the cold wind that was blowing straight down his neck, his face embarrassed as he clung to the car window, forcing a smile in a humble tone:

"Although my hometown is relatively remote, the countryside has its advantages. Think about it, in a big city, how could a police academy freshman without connections possibly skip several grades and directly become a police sergeant?"

He forced a smile and tried his best to comfort his girlfriend.

"Even if it's just a nominal title, the salary and benefits offered by the higher authorities to retain people in the countryside are not much different from those of people with real positions. If we try our best to persevere for a few years, we can save up for a down payment on a house, and then we can move out..."

I know you want to settle down in the south, but housing prices in Vancouver and Dorrenburg are just too expensive. An apartment there is equivalent to a two-story detached house in Barrow…

Stella glared at him angrily and snorted heavily through her nose:

"And then what? Are the two comparable? Even if the houses in town are cheap, are they suitable for living?"

She swept her blonde hair back, zipped up her coat, tucked it in, and casually pointed to a cluster of red-brick villas enclosed by an iron fence in the distance, saying dismissively:

"Just like that tycoon, he spent money to build a villa, sent people to live there for two days and found it unreliable, so he simply abandoned it for more than ten years! The rich can throw money down the drain, but we don't have the capital to make mistakes!"

The newly appointed sheriff turned his head and looked in the direction his girlfriend pointed. There, in the wasteland far from the center of Barrow town, stood a two-story, classical-style building covered with a thin layer of snow, as silent as it had been for the past ten years.

Suffocated by his lover's words, he paused for a moment, his lips trembling as he tried to make one last desperate attempt:

"Darling, how can you... just leave me here all alone? Enjoying coffee, hot tea, and parties by myself in the gentle southern sunshine?"

"Heh, didn't you just say you'd find something to do and the day would pass quickly?" Stella softened her tone a little when she saw her boyfriend's dejected expression.

"I'm just going to escape the dull and boring polar night. I'll be back in a month. Don't worry, I won't run off with a handsome guy. I'll call you every day, okay?" A charming blush rose on her face, and she gave a mischievous and strange smile.

"We can make the call at night, even though I won't be there, we can still use our voices... hmm?"

Stella started making suggestive remarks with both her mouth and hands, quickly kissing her boyfriend on the cheek, giving him a flirty wink, and waving goodbye.

"Alright, I have to catch the last flight before the polar night begins. See you next month!"

Somewhat amused and exasperated by her bold teasing, the young sheriff knew that what was done was done and further persuasion would be useless. He could only gently return the kiss and watch as the wheels rolled on, kicking up silvery-white frost on the ground and leaving two black tracks, carrying her toward the makeshift airport on the neighboring island.

With a long sigh, his frustration dissipated, and Ibn turned up his woolen hat to shield himself from the falling snowflakes before turning and walking toward the tiny police station with only three people.

It's not just his girlfriend who finds it unbearable; given the means, who would want to live in a place so close to the Arctic Circle where it snows as early as October, enduring the annual polar day and polar night?

If you can simply draw the curtains and sleep through the midnight sun in spring and summer, you might be able to get through it.

The thirty-day-long polar night in autumn and winter is simply challenging the physiological limits of the human species. After all, who can watch the wind and snow outside and happily stay in the darkness all day, losing the warmth and vitality of the sunlight?

Unless it's a legendary vampire, okay!

Fortunately, thanks to that mysterious rich man from back then, Barrow Town, though small, has everything it needs. The bar and library, though cramped and dreadful, are always places to pass the time. Should we go for a drink first, or go to the library and get a few people to play board games?

Iben looked up at the darkening sky, chuckled to himself, and ended his daydreaming.

Let's talk about it after I finish my shift!

Having graduated from police academy not long ago, he had not yet had his passion worn down by the dull life and become a seasoned procrastinator.

The colorful lights at the bar entrance shone on him, and as he smelled the aroma of alcohol and roasted peanuts wafting through the air, and listened to the hearty laughter of the proprietress, Eva, the sheriff secretly thanked his former investor.

Thank you for everything you've done for the town...

A chilling wind blew, stirring up clusters of six-pointed sprites that had fallen from the sky. They swept over buildings of all sizes, drifting all the way to the red-brick villa outside the town before finally leaving it behind.

Contrary to the apparent silence that had lasted for more than a decade, the hidden space dozens of meters underground in the villa was now bustling with noise and people.

Sturdy iron bars stood up, dividing the walls into cells. Hundreds of young men and women of various skin colors huddled in the corners with vacant, lifeless eyes, like dolls.

Outside the cell, twenty or thirty men dressed in black leather trench coats hurried back and forth, carrying various magical materials.

Since there were no outsiders present, they no longer bothered to conceal their identities. As they moved, their canine teeth protruded and their sharp claws were revealed, making their identities obvious.