American variety show world begins with subduing Jason

As one of the most primal fears in the human heart, legends of monsters that devour human flesh are widely circulated in various countries. East Asia has mandrills, South Asia has rakshasas, the Middle East and Africa have ghouls, and in North America, the corresponding ecological niche is occupied by monsters like the Wendigo.

Unlike the vague oral traditions passed down among early Native American tribes, today both federal officials and various organizations have a very deep understanding of this most famous dark monster in the New World.

Although Zhu Mingyao had never personally witnessed such monsters, his monster-hunting guide contained detailed information.

Wendigos are formed from the fusion of animal spirits wandering the wilderness and the remains of villains who, despite consuming human flesh and blood in hunger and cold, still could not escape starvation and death. Therefore, on its 5 to 3-meter-tall mummified body, one can clearly see animal limbs, usually deer antlers, with wolf or bear skulls replacing human heads.

According to the classification of supernatural creatures, strictly speaking, this thing should be classified as a half-dead, half-monster, similar to the evil creature Renzhou in Chinese legends. Because of its fear of fire and heat, it mainly appears in the cold winter wilderness and forests of the north, and spends most of its time hiding in caves and burrows.

It's early summer now, and in the warm southern Jinzhou, the chances of encountering this kind of monster are like winning the lottery, which is why Zhu Mingyao has such a lament about off-season vegetables.

……

The car headed diagonally northwest, and the once straight road ahead gradually became winding and twisting. The lonely low shrubs and ryegrass on both sides were replaced by a coniferous forest composed of tall yellow fir and sugar pine trees.

Night always seems to fall earlier in the mountains than in the outside world. It was only five or six o'clock when the sky was almost completely dark. Under the timely illumination of the streetlights, the surrounding dark forest appeared somewhat eerie and unsettling.

In these turbulent times, and knowing that monsters are lurking in this area, Zhu Mingyao sensed the faint yin energy rising from the deep mountains and casually released two yin soldiers to attach to the outside of the vehicle in case of any unexpected situations.

However, his caution seemed somewhat unnecessary, as no unexpected incidents occurred until they reached their destination.

After honking the horn twice, the car approached a large forest farm enclosed by a wire fence. A door of a large house in the middle opened, and several figures carefully came out to greet them. They then opened the metal gate and let the car in.

"You guys are very vigilant!"

After exchanging a few words and verifying their identities, Zhu Mingyao noticed several temporary searchlights installed on the forest farm's watchtower. These lights, operated by two young men holding hunting rifles, shone brightly and continuously swept across the surroundings. He couldn't help but praise them.

"There's nothing we can do about it. Those... bastards don't seem to rely on their eyes to see things. After we sent out a distress signal last night, another young man got scratched..."

"A middle-aged police officer wearing a khaki cowboy hat and sporting a mustache said angrily."

From the introduction just now, Zhu Mingyao knew that this place was remote in the mountains and lacked official armed forces. After receiving the report from the residents, it was Sheriff Anthony from the town at the foot of the mountain who led the forest rangers to form the initial support team.

"They're not that big. Old Andrew chopped one down with his logging axe. If they dared to come out during the day, we would have riddled them with holes by now."

“There are very few residents nearby, only three or four households. Taking advantage of the daytime today, the forest rangers and I brought everyone here for protection.”

He suddenly said somewhat hesitantly:

"The forest has sufficient medical first-aid supplies. Those who were scratched are not in life-threatening danger, except for some symptoms of infection and inflammation. They are just a little upset, as they seem worried that they will turn into monsters like in the legends. May I ask..."

Zhu Mingyao suddenly understood, and he smiled calmly.

"Relax, Sheriff. The idea that Wendigo can convert victims is just a rumor."

Seeing that the other person still looked worried, he smiled and shook his head.

"Well then, I happen to know a little about healing spells. I can go and check on the injured. If they're willing, I can perform a purification and healing ritual for them."

Recently, after activating [Liver God Dragon Smoke], he not only comprehended a divine power that can restore vitality, detoxify, and heal injuries, [Yi Wood Long Life], but also gained a much deeper understanding of healing spells. He learned several healing methods other than [Golden Wound Hemostasis Curse], and now he can easily serve as a part-time healer priest.

"Thank you so much!" Sheriff Anthony's eyes lit up as he eagerly led him and his accompanying agents toward a row of connected red brick bungalows.

The original furniture and clutter in the room had been cleared to a corner. On a row of simple wooden beds that had been moved from other places, five or six men and women, wrapped in bandages of varying degrees, were groaning and sobbing softly. A group of family members surrounded the beds, secretly shedding tears.

A few forest rangers a short distance away, carrying guns, looked at them with awkward expressions, unsure whether to sit or stand.

When Zhu Mingyao and the others entered, they were met with this awkward scene.

"Uncle Dak, will I turn into a monster? Will you kill me?" A round-faced boy of about ten years old hugged his injured arm and asked the forest ranger in front of him, his voice choked with sobs, tears welling up in his eyes.

"No... don't think nonsense..." The young ranger named Dark felt as if he were being pricked by needles all over his body by the boy's pleading eyes. His face turned red and even beads of sweat appeared on the tip of his nose.

His eyes darted left and right, and he happened to spot the group of people who had just entered. He immediately ran over with a sigh of relief.

"Oh, Sheriff, you're finally back! Are these the experts sent by the higher-ups? Could you let them take a look at everyone's injuries? What exactly is going on...?"

"Don't worry! Everyone can rest assured!" Sheriff Anthony raised his hands in a gesture for silence, straightened his chest with a solemn expression, and said in a loud voice.

"The exorcist sent by the government has confirmed that the thing is not contagious, you are perfectly safe! And—"

He stepped to the side and gestured with his hand, "Just in case, he will also perform an exorcism ritual for all the wounded, so that we can stay away from the threat of evil forces!"

Zhu Mingyao smiled slightly and stepped forward amidst the anxious and expectant gazes of the crowd. He gently unwrapped the bandage on the round-faced boy's arm and examined the wound, which was already somewhat red, swollen, and hot.

Then he took off the wooden cane from the buckle of his belt, held the cane and prayed silently, then touched the glass water jug ​​on the table next to him with the tip of the cane.

In an instant, the clear water in the kettle began to glow with wisps of white light, a strange sight that immediately drew gasps of surprise from the room.

He poured a glass of water and sprinkled a little on the wound. In just a moment, the boy saw the redness and swelling gradually subside. After drinking the remaining water, he felt the pain was greatly reduced, and the injured area felt numb and itchy. In a short time, it seemed to show signs of healing.

After the boy excitedly recounted the miraculous healing effects of the "holy water," the remaining doubts of the other wounded vanished instantly, and they all accepted Zhu Mingyao's treatment with profuse thanks.

While the family members were gathered around the hospital bed, offering words of comfort, Zhu Mingyao quietly pulled Anthony outside the door.

Chapter 124 The Weakest Monster in Horror Movies

"Sheriff, the people here are very accepting of all sorts of supernatural things! I thought I'd have to use a lot of persuasion to convince them before they'd let me treat them."

The residents in the countryside are inevitably somewhat superstitious and conservative. Before Zhu Mingyao performed the spell, he was prepared to spout nonsense about the relationship between the talisman water and the holy water. To his slight surprise, no one present questioned or objected.

"That's because no amount of persuasion can compare to seeing it with your own eyes."

Sheriff Anthony gave a wry smile, his ten fingers unconsciously tightening, almost crumpling the stiff cloth cowboy hat in his palm into a ball, revealing that he was not as calm as he had appeared in the house.

"Reality is the best teacher. Even the most stubborn person will have to change their worldview after being punched in the face by the ironclad facts."

"After all, over the past two days, including the wounded, we've all looked at those two monster corpses countless times..."

Now, let alone an exorcist who can conjure wondrous holy water, even a long-nosed witch who flies around on a broomstick would be welcomed with applause if she were on their side.

It's clear that Sheriff Anthony has been under immense psychological pressure these past two days. As the de facto leader of the area and the sole official representative, he can't easily confide in anyone, which is really making him feel incredibly stifled.

"It all started the afternoon before yesterday. Old Andrew called the town's police station and said that his grandson... that kid just now, was attacked by a monster that rushed out of the forest. I thought he was drunk..."

But then, two other families living near Old Ander's house also made similar emergency calls. I thought it might be a black bear or something similar, so I called the local rangers to go check it out.

Sheriff Anthony swallowed hard, his facial muscles twitching involuntarily.

"When I saw the monster's corpse that Old Ander had cleaved in two with one axe, I wondered if I was the one who was drunk today..."

It was already late when a large group of these creatures suddenly rushed out of the darkness. Fortunately, we had brought enough shotguns and managed to kill one of them, temporarily repelling their attack. Several people were injured in the melee, but thankfully no one lost their lives.

I tried leading a group of injured residents down the mountain twice, but each time we were blocked by the monster and had to retreat to the forest to call for help.

He glanced at Zhu Mingyao with a mixture of relief and confusion.

"Somewhat unexpectedly, the higher-ups readily believed my fantastical description, saying that backup would arrive soon..."

Zhu Mingyao understood immediately. With strange phenomena occurring in various places recently, relevant departments had already been on high alert. They must have coordinated with the police leadership beforehand, and after confirming the authenticity of the incident, they immediately arranged for personnel to handle it.

As Anthony recounted the events in a rambling manner, he led Zhu Mingyao to a storage room in the corner of the forest farm.

Pushing open the dilapidated wooden door, a few plump greenbottle flies flew out with a "buzz!" accompanied by a faint stench of decay.

The boy covered his nose in disgust, and with a slight movement of his finger, a wisp of metal energy, barely visible to the naked eye, swept over. The flies immediately stiffened and wobbled as they fell to the ground.

As an ordinary citizen, Sheriff Anthony was completely unaware of Zhu Mingyao's tricks. He bent down and lifted a white cloth on the ground, revealing two strangely shaped corpses underneath.

It is now early summer, and even though the temperature in the mountains and forests is slightly lower than outside, the corpses of the two monsters are still beginning to rot and stink. Fortunately, they have only been dead for two days, and their physical characteristics are still very clear.

Whether it's the rough, grayish-white skin with a rock-like texture, the bat-like pointed ears and flat nose, or the sharp fangs in its mouth and the claws on its hands and feet, all these indicate that this being is definitely not human.

But it's not Wendigo either...

Zhu Mingyao made a judgment at first glance: although there are many legends about Wendigo, in any relevant records, its most distinctive features are its tall stature and the combination of an animal head and a human body.

Even if the head of the corpse in front of us is ugly and grotesque, it still retains some human features and is far removed from animals such as deer and brown bears. As for its physique, it is completely different.

Even if this thing stands on tiptoe, it's only about 1.5 meters tall at most, which is less than the average height of an adult in the Federation. In the matchmaking market of the Celestial Empire in my previous life, it would be automatically considered a second-class disabled person.

No wonder he was hacked to death by a nearby resident with an axe; he was just a lowly goblin...

...Goblin?

Zhu Mingyao's heart stirred, and he lightly tapped his finger. A bright white light flew out and hovered above the corpse's forehead. He then carefully examined it again under the light.

Pale skin, sunken and shrunken eyes that seem to have degenerated, ferocious at night, with keen hearing...

Zhu Mingyao extracted fragments of information from Sheriff Anthony's description, gradually piecing together the monster's characteristics.

They must have lived in dark environments like caves for a long time, relying on auditory blindness to perceive the outside world, which is why they exhibit the habit of being active at night and hiding during the day.

It is neither an undead nor a spirit, but rather a kind of subhuman monster mutated from humans.

Knowing to launch a night attack, yet still lingering around after the failure, shows a certain level of intelligence, but is at a level of idiocy.

—In this day and age, even the wild beasts have become cunning. If they encounter a terrifying upright ape wielding a fire stick, they will immediately retreat, fearing that the ape will attract more of its kind.

Wait, this image seems vaguely familiar...

Zhu Mingyao glanced at the monster, then suddenly looked up and asked Sheriff Anthony a seemingly unrelated question:

Are there any underground caves or similar structures in the nearby mountains?

After receiving an affirmative answer, he turned his back and walked a few steps away, took out a small booklet from his pocket, flipped through it quickly, and found a page.

cave…

Climbing team...

Cave dwellers? Goblins? Goblins?

Zhu Mingyao stared at the monster-hunting guide he had written, based on his memories of his past life and the clues he had gathered in this life. His gaze fell on the bottom line.

The Descent!

Unlike other movies and TV shows that he had seen but had long forgotten, Zhu Mingyao still had a relatively deep memory of this B-movie.

The main problem is that the cave monsters inside are just too weak!

Its eyes are just for show; it relies entirely on its sense of smell and hearing to find prey. Its height and strength are actually outmatched by several female rock climbers in the original story. Even if you search through all the horror movie collections, it would be hard to find one weaker than it. It is simply a disgrace to the monster world.

If it weren't for the advantageous terrain inside the dark cave, the group of women in the movie, armed with climbing axes, might not have lost to them.

Just like the current situation, after all that, they only managed to scratch a few elderly, weak, sick, and disabled people. A policeman and a forest ranger were enough to keep the other side from showing their faces. If it weren't for the safety of the injured, everyone would have already rushed back to the town at the foot of the mountain.

They're such cowards once they leave the underground cave, how come they suddenly have the guts to come out here?

He glanced at the keywords written in the booklet again and continued to ask Anthony questions.

Chapter 125 The Simple Truth

"Sheriff Anthony, are you sure?"