America: The Cremator

Chapter 127 How about feeding it some C4?

The heavy barbed wire gate screeched against the metal rails as the three of them walked out of the makeshift barrier and into the deeper fog.

Several high-powered searchlights were installed on the barbed wire fence behind us, casting strong yellow beams that made the surrounding fog appear murky and milky white.

The fog was extremely cold and damp, and the moisture quickly condensed into tiny water droplets on their coats.

Hunter Cole tightened his windproof jacket and muttered under his breath, "Ever since that thing appeared, this fog has been floating around regardless of wind or rain. It's really unbelievable."

He paused, looking at the wooden houses still lit up inside the walls, and sighed, "This used to be a very prosperous town—"

"Back then, the streets were always crowded with people, children were running around in the yards or on the lawns, and there were vast blueberry fields outside the town. During the harvest season, there were workers busy picking blueberries and dispatched workers from purchasing companies everywhere."

Jesse, carrying a Glock pistol, walked on the other side of the group. He sighed and echoed Cole's words: "Yes, but ever since that monster appeared, the situation in the town has completely changed. Many residents have moved away from here to survive, and some young adults have gone to Bellingham to find new jobs and have never come back."

"Now only some farmers with their families are left in the town. They have nowhere to go and can't give up their land. They can only watch helplessly as the blueberries in the fields slowly turn black and rot, clinging to these fields that they depend on for survival."

Su Long did not participate in their chatter. His eyes gleamed as he quietly activated his spiritual vision, carefully surveying his surroundings and checking his surroundings. However, apart from the flowing gray-white water vapor, there were no unusual colors in his field of vision.

After getting used to it for a while, the three of them began to patrol slowly along the barbed wire fence, their boots making a dull sound as they stepped on the soft, damp grass.

Cole and Jesse would stop every now and then, bend down, and use the butts of their rifles to push aside the knee-high weeds, carefully examining the bottom of the barbed wire for signs of damage or digging.

Su Long walked between the two, constantly looking around, focusing on the direction of the forest, trying to find any trace of the eerie remnants in the surging white mist.

As they moved further away from the town's entrance, the surrounding fog grew thicker without them noticing, and visibility decreased further.

Just as they stopped again to conduct the inspection, an extremely unnatural chill quietly descended. Su Long felt the temperature around him dropping rapidly, but when he looked around, everything seemed perfectly normal.

Jesse shivered, tightened the collar of his brown police uniform, and complained, "Why is it suddenly getting cold? This temperature drop is too abnormal."

Cole, who was walking ahead, was crouching down, preparing to part a clump of weeds to inspect the barbed wire, when he suddenly stopped and his brows furrowed.

"What's going on?" Suron noticed Cole's unusual behavior and asked.

Cole didn't answer directly. Instead, he stretched out his gloved fingers, broke off a large blade of grass, stood up, and handed it to Suron. Suron looked down at the blade of grass in the light of the flashlight. The once emerald green surface of the grass was now densely covered with a layer of fine frost crystals.

Seeing the frost crystals spreading rapidly across the surface of the vegetation, Surong immediately realized that Wendigo was likely already nearby. He turned his head sharply, activating his spiritual vision to its maximum, scanning the surroundings with lightning speed, but there was still no spiritual light indicating pollution in the thick white fog, and he found nothing.

His mind raced through files about the Wendigo: dense fog, darkness, and bitter cold—these three conditions perfectly matched the Wendigo's stealthy nature. Perhaps it had completely blended into the environment.

"Back up against the barbed wire! Quickly!"

Su Long gave a low shout and quickly retreated, his back pressed tightly against the cold barbed wire.

Although Jesse and Cole didn't understand, they trusted him and quickly did as he said, raising their guns, leaning against the barbed wire, and warily staring at the thick fog ahead.

Su Long looked around and saw that the white mist was even denser than before. He realized that he could no longer defend passively. So he activated the effect of the [Overlord Aura] attribute with a slight thought.

A wide-ranging, fan-shaped shockwave of terror swept outwards from him, engulfing the dense fog ahead, and an invisible mental fluctuation instantly spread outwards.

Accompanied by a low-frequency humming sound, the white mist at a certain point on the edge of the distant dense forest seemed to be squeezed by some invisible force, instantly rippling in distinct circles.

Without hesitation, Su Long drew "Sirius" and fired three shots at the white mist.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The deafening gunshots ripped through the deathly silence of the night sky. As the bullets shot out, a section of the eerie white mist that seemed to be obscuring the view in front of us instantly dissipated, and a glaring red weak point box suddenly appeared in the shadows of the forest.

Seeing that familiar weak point box, Su Long didn't stop moving. His thumb flicked the hammer repeatedly, he pulled the trigger, and fired continuously. The muzzle spat out dazzling tongues of fire, and the bullets poured precisely towards that red box.

Although Jesse and Cole saw nothing, upon hearing the gunshot, they did not hesitate to raise their weapons and pull the trigger in the direction Suron was firing.

The crisp sound of the M1 Garand rifle and the continuous firing of the Glock pistol intertwined, the three men's firepower forming a dense network as the ruthless wolf pressed towards that area.

After being attacked, the red frame representing the strange weakness moved at an extremely terrifying speed into the depths of the forest. Its movements were so swift and agile that it didn't seem like a behemoth at all. In just a few leaps, it completely disappeared into the depths of the dense forest, escaping the range of the spiritual vision's perception.

Once the target was confirmed to have left, Suron stopped firing and slowly lowered his gun. Cole and Jesse also stopped firing, panting heavily as they nervously looked around, their fingers still tightly gripping the trigger.

Jesse choked on the smell of gunpowder and asked in a trembling voice, "Hey, buddy, what did you just see?"

Sulong stared at the direction where the red frame disappeared, flicked open the magazine with his thumb, ejected the empty cartridge case, and replied as he reloaded, "Wendigo—it was observing us from the fog the whole time."

Upon hearing this, the two gasped. Cole, holding his M1 Garand with the muzzle pointed intently into the depths of the fog, asked, "What should we do? Should we retreat back to town immediately? This damn weather is too advantageous for it."

Suron closed the magazine, holstered the "Sirius" back on his waist, turned to look at Cole, and calmly said, "No need. The previous exchange should have taught it a lesson."

Jesse's hand, gripping the Glock pistol, was still trembling slightly. He looked at Suron: "A lesson? Was it injured?"

Su Long glanced at the swirling white mist ahead and shook his head, saying, "It's hard to say, but its purpose in appearing this time is to test us."

"The sudden drop in temperature just now is proof that it's getting close. It's assessing our combat capabilities and observing me, this newcomer—"

"Clearly, this thing is quite intelligent. It's not just a wild beast that kills on instinct. Now that I've found its tracks, it shouldn't be appearing again anytime soon."

Just as Jesse was about to speak, the walkie-talkie on his chest suddenly emitted a piercing electrical sound.

Mayor Dale's anxious voice came through the loudspeaker: "Jesse! Cole! Respond! What's going on? We heard a barrage of gunfire outside!"

Jesse immediately pressed the call button and spoke rapidly: "Dale, we're fine. Suron just spotted the Wendigo. That guy was hiding in the fog in the distance watching us. We fired and drove it away."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the walkie-talkie, followed by Dell's horrified voice: "My God, it's so close!"

Immediately afterward, Dania's anxious voice cut in: "Suron! How's the situation on your end? Do you need backup?"

Hannah and I will pack our gear and head over to you right now!

Surong reached out and took the walkie-talkie from Jesse, pressing the call button: "No need to trouble yourself, Dania, the monster has been driven away."

"That guy is cunning and won't come back. Besides, it's not time for a formal battle yet. You guys stay in town, we'll be back soon after our patrol."

"Understood, please be careful."

Sulong returned the walkie-talkie to Jesse. Just as he turned around, a series of hurried and chaotic footsteps came from the thick fog behind him. The three of them turned around at the same time. Jesse and Cole raised their guns again and aimed them at the fog from which the sound came.

A few seconds later, two blurry figures emerged from the white mist. When Jesse and Cole saw that the newcomers were two militiamen guarding the gate, their tense expressions relaxed, and their gun barrels lowered back to the ground.

The two town militiamen were out of breath, their eyes wide open and bloodshot.

The two men were hunched over, trying their best to keep their center of gravity low. They gripped their Remington shotgun and semi-automatic rifle tightly with both hands, and their legs were shaking. They were obviously terrified, but they still gritted their teeth and rushed here.

Seeing the three men unharmed, the two men breathed a sigh of relief. The older militiaman swallowed hard, his voice trembling slightly as he asked, "Jesse, Cole, what happened? We heard continuous gunfire. Is that monster attacking?"

Another militiaman nervously looked around, his gun barrel twitching uneasily in response to his gaze.

Looking at the two ordinary people who had come to help despite their fear, Su Long's expression softened, and he reassured them, "It's alright, gentlemen. That monster approached us using the fog to observe our defensive setup, but we've already fired and driven it away."

Finally, he added, "It's safe here for now, but the gate can't be left unguarded. You'd better hurry back; leave this place to us."

The older militiaman nodded vigorously, straightened up, and said earnestly, "Okay! If needed, remember to fire a warning shot! We'll come right away as soon as we hear a gunshot!"

After saying that, the two men, guns in hand, covered each other as they rushed toward the gate.

After the militiamen had gone some distance, Suron turned to Jesse and Cole: "Let's go, finish checking the rest of the area."

Upon hearing this, the two nodded and continued patrolling along the barbed wire fence. Su Long was on high alert, his eyes constantly scanning the bottom of the barbed wire fence and the edge of the forest.

Cole and Jesse would stop every now and then, bend down and check the connection points and anchors to see if there were any signs of damage or digging.

During the subsequent patrol, the three men remained silent, completing the routine inspection of the defense line. After confirming that all the fortifications were intact, they retraced their steps, passed through the heavy sliding barbed wire gate, and returned to the town.

The town was even quieter late at night, and the wooden houses on both sides of the road looked particularly oppressive in the darkness. The three of them walked through the empty main road and finally returned to Dale's small building.

As soon as the barricades in front of the gate were moved aside, two yellow beams of flashlight light shone from the fog at the other end of the street. The three of them looked over and saw Mayor Dale leading Dania and Hannah out of the fog, having obviously completed their patrol of the town.

Jesse stepped forward and reported the situation first: "Dale, the barbed wire and fortifications outside the town are all intact. Apart from the Wendigo's probing attack at the edge of the eastern forest just now, we found nothing else unusual."

Dale nodded, his tense expression relaxing slightly. He glanced at his watch; the hands pointed to late at night. He said, "Everything is fine in town—it's getting late, and the fog outside is too thick. Let's go inside and talk."

The group went up the wooden stairs to the second-floor living room. The firelight from the fireplace dispelled the chill from their bodies. Mrs. Susan came out of the kitchen carrying a wooden tray with several cups of steaming black tea on it: "Have some hot tea to warm yourselves up."

Everyone took their seats. Dale, holding his teacup with both hands, looked at Suron expectantly: "Mr. Suron, you went out on patrol and even encountered that monster. Do you have any leads on how to deal with it?"

Su Long picked up his teacup, took a sip to moisten his dry throat, then glanced at the people around the table and said calmly, "Based on the files we have and our recent encounter, we can confirm that this monster is very powerful and extremely adept at hiding in dense fog and darkness."

"What's even more troublesome is that this guy is quite intelligent and knows how to test our strength."

"What should we do? It's hiding in the shadows, we can't even catch a glimpse of it." Jesse frowned, picked up a cigarette and put it in his mouth in frustration.

Su Long leaned back in his chair and emphasized, "No matter how we plan to deal with this guy, we can't go into the mine, and we certainly can't fight it in the mine."

Upon hearing this, Cole looked up at Suron: "Why? We always thought that as long as we found its lair and threw explosives in, we could solve the problem."

Su Long shook his head and explained, "Conventional explosives won't work on it; they might even anger it. We need the assistance of spiritual power to kill it completely. Besides, even if we had explosives that could kill it, we couldn't go deep into the mine!"

"Don't forget, that abandoned mine is its home turf. The terrain inside is complex, the space is narrow, and it's difficult to use firearms. Moreover, we are completely unfamiliar with the internal structure. If we rush in, it will easily take advantage of the terrain to pick us off one by one, and then we won't even have a chance to escape."

After hearing this analysis, Dale's expression turned even more grim: "But if we fight outside, this thick fog will also provide it with cover. If it wants to run away, we won't be able to find it at all, and then we won't have a chance to fight it."

In the silence, Su Long caught a glimpse of a large iron basin in the corner of the living room. It contained several pieces of raw meat, still bloody, emitting a faint, fishy smell. He pointed to the basin, turned to Dale, and asked, "Dale, what's that meat for?"

Dale followed Sulong's finger, sighed, and replied, "This meat is the last bit of food that everyone in town can scrape together. Tomorrow morning, Cole will hang it on the scarecrow outside town to feed it."

Surong frowned, recalling the horrifying scarecrow with raw meat hanging from it they had seen on the way there: "Why did you feed it?"

Dale covered his face with his hands, his voice filled with a deep sense of helplessness: "We placed that scarecrow far away from the village in the hope that it would be as far away from the residential area as possible. We provided it with food on time and prayed that after it was full, it wouldn't attack us out of hunger."

Looking at the haggard old mayor, Su Long frowned and said, "What you're doing will only make its appetite grow bigger and bigger. Once the meat you can gather is no longer enough to satisfy it, or the town can't produce any more meat, it will only become more frantic than before and tear your defenses apart."

Dell suddenly raised his voice, lowered his hands, and his eyes were red-rimmed: "I know! Of course I know! How could I not know! But we have no other choice! If we don't feed it, it might tear through the fence tonight and kill a few people to eat! We just want to survive!"

Silence fell in the living room again. Su Long stared at the pot of meat, his brows furrowed even more deeply than before. Dale covered his face again, and Jesse kept smoking his cigarette, his face full of melancholy.

"So, every time you hang meat there, it goes to eat it on time?" Surong suddenly turned to look at Dale and asked.

Dale paused for a moment, then nodded: "Yes, once it's hung up, the meat will definitely disappear the next day, and its huge footprints will remain at the scene. It's gotten used to going there to feed."

Upon hearing Dale's words, Surong turned to look at the bowl of meat and chuckled, "You really enjoy free lunches, huh?"

"Guys, I have a plan."

"Now that we have a place where people often dine, we can make the most of this location."

""

"You've been feeding it for a long time, haven't you?"

The mayor nodded: "We started feeding them a week ago."

Upon hearing this, Su Long clapped his hands and said, "That's perfect. No matter how smart and vigilant this beast is, it won't be wary of the food it's fed next time."

"6

When do you usually feed them?

Deputy Sheriff Jesse began, "Six o'clock in the morning."

Su Long nodded: "Okay, let's choose 6 a.m. today and feed it all at once!"