America: The Cremator

Chapter 129 Gunpowder, Steel Balls, and Explosions!

Dania quickly checked the supplies in the trunk, making sure everything was there and securely fastened. She closed the tailgate with one hand, turned to the group standing nearby, and said, "Get in!"

Then, Dania deftly opened the driver's side door and got in, Hannah sat in the passenger seat, and Suron and Jesse sat in the back.

Dania gripped the steering wheel with both hands, turned to look at the three people in the car, and asked, "Everyone, are you all ready?"

Everyone nodded in response. Dania grinned and slammed her right foot on the accelerator. The Land Rover's engine roared, and the large tires screeched as they rubbed against the asphalt.

Then, the entire vehicle lurched forward, plunging headlong into the thick white fog like a ferocious beast.

After speeding out of the town, the scenery outside the car window was completely swallowed up by the thick fog, with only the headlights cutting through the short stretch of road ahead.

The Land Rover's formidable off-road capabilities were on full display at this moment, ignoring the potholed and broken country roads, speeding all the way to its destination.

Several tens of minutes later, the silhouette of a scarecrow vaguely appeared in the white fog ahead. Upon seeing this, Dania released the accelerator and gently applied the brakes, maneuvering the vehicle to a smooth stop on the side of the road.

After the car came to a stop, everyone got out of the car. A cold wind mixed with moisture hit them, causing them to shiver involuntarily.

Su Long tightened the zipper on his clothes, quietly activated his spiritual vision, and looked around. However, apart from the thick white fog, he did not find anything unusual.

Just to be on the safe side, he activated [Overlord Aura] twice more into the deep, dense forest on both sides of the road.

An invisible wave of fear swept out in a fan shape. After the shockwave subsided, the surrounding dense forest remained deathly silent. He then looked at the bushes and weeds on both sides and saw that they were not covered with frost, confirming that Wendigo was not lurking in the shadows.

Su Long then withdrew his gaze, turned to the three people waiting by the trunk, and instructed, "Jesse, you and Dania take everything out first, then hang up the meat as you usually do, and remember to leave me a piece of a suitable size."

Jesse nodded, opened the trunk, and together with Dania, moved all the supplies from the trunk to the roadside. Then, he carried the bowl of raw meat toward the scarecrow.

Hannah stood to the side with her handbag slung over her shoulder. Seeing that Su Long didn't seem inclined to ask for her help, she couldn't help but inquire, "Su Long, is there anything I can do to help?"

Upon hearing this, Surong looked at her and solemnly instructed, "You are responsible for keeping an eye on our surroundings. If the Wendigos rush out to ambush us, you must immediately deploy a barrier to buy us time to counterattack."

Hannah's expression hardened, and she immediately pulled a Bible from her purse, nodding vigorously, "Leave it to me!"

Su Long glanced around again, and after seeing that Jesse had already started hanging meat on the scarecrow, he also walked to the roadside and opened the plastic bucket lid.

The bucket contained not only C4 bombs, pull-type detonators, and fishing line, but also a PVC plastic pipe of suitable thickness, which was obviously a thoughtful gift from the bomb-making experts in the Yuri family.

He reeled in the fishing line, took out the C4 explosive, tore open the packaging, and then kneaded and stretched it with both hands, shaping it into a cylinder before stuffing it into the PVC pipe.

After confirming that the clay-like C4 filled all the gaps in the tube, he carefully took out the detonator, inserted it into the top of the explosive, and handed the assembled tube to Dania: "Stand the tube upright in the center of the bucket and hold it steady."

Dania reached out and grasped the PVC pipe, firmly standing it upright in the center of the plastic bucket. Su Long picked up the two large bags of high-carbon steel balls and nails, tore open the seals, and poured them all into the plastic bucket.

With a series of dense metallic clanging sounds, round steel balls and sharp iron nails quickly filled the gaps around the PVC pipe, completely encasing the central column of explosives.

Su Long looked at the full bucket of "ingredients" and a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

He could easily imagine that once the barrel of explosives was detonated, the terrifying kinetic energy generated by the one-kilogram column of C4 in the center would hurle thousands of steel balls and nails at high speed in all directions.

At such close range, this thing is a super-large Claymore mine with no blind spots, enough to turn any carbon-based life in the vicinity into a sieve.

Even if Wendigo is tough and resilient, he will still suffer a lot.

Thinking this, he closed the lid of the bucket, carried the heavy barrel of explosives to the foot of the scarecrow, placed it steadily in the weeds, and instructed, "Danya, keep an eye on the explosives, I'll go get some more."

As he spoke, he turned and walked to the bushes in the distance. He activated his spiritual vision again to look around and, after confirming that Wendigo still hadn't appeared, he bent down and picked a large handful of fresh broadleaf weeds.

He folded the grass leaves, piled them on the flat road, and crushed them completely with the soles of his boots. The green juice mixed with the soil and quickly turned into a puddle of grassy mud that smelled strongly of grass.

Su Long squatted down, rolled the mud into a ball, held it in his hand, and quickly walked back to the scarecrow.

By this time, Jesse had already hung up all the pieces of meat and stepped aside. Su Long walked to the explosive barrel and used both hands to evenly smear the sticky grass mud on the outside of the black plastic barrel. The green grass juice flowed down the barrel, covering the industrial luster of the plastic itself.

"Danya, could you please go to the roadside and dig up some wet mud to apply over this layer of grass mud?" Suron ordered without looking up.

Dania immediately did as she was told, using the broad blade of her machete to scoop up a pile of damp soil. She then came over to help Suron, layering the soil around the outermost part of the explosive barrel.

Soon, this originally conspicuous plastic bucket was transformed into a mound covered in weeds and mud, perfectly blending into the surrounding wilderness.

Jesse, looking on in bewilderment, asked, "Suron, what are you doing? Why don't you just leave the explosives there?"

Surong brushed the dirt off his hands, stood up and explained, "Monsters of the Wendigo level lurk in the deep mountains and forests year-round. Their sense of smell and intuition are probably quite keen. Although the C4 explosive itself doesn't have a strong odor, this plastic bucket and the metal parts inside have an extremely obvious modern industrial smell."

He pointed to the mound on the ground and continued, "If we just leave it here like this, that guy will definitely notice something is wrong once he gets close, and he might even give up eating and run away."

"Applying this grass mud and soil can mask the unusual smell of the explosive barrel to the greatest extent, making it completely lower its guard and obediently walk into our kill radius."

After hearing Su Long's explanation, Jesse suddenly understood, and his eyes showed a deep sense of awe towards Su Long. This exorcist from Seattle was not only powerful, but also extremely meticulous.

After confirming that the disguise of the explosive barrel was flawless, Su Long took out a fishing line from his pocket, unsealed it, tied one end tightly to the metal ring of the pull-type detonator, made a knot, then turned to Jesse standing to the side and gestured, "Give me the last piece of meat."

Jesse immediately stepped forward and handed over the piece of raw meat that he had reserved in advance.

Su Long took the piece of meat with one hand, weighed it up and down a couple of times, and nodded in satisfaction: "This piece of meat is well-chosen, with a good balance of fat and lean, and the size is just right."

He walked up to the scarecrow, hung the piece of meat in a very conspicuous spot on the scarecrow's chest, and pulled it several times to make sure the meat was firmly stuck and wouldn't come loose easily. Then he took out the fishhook that came with the fishing line and tied it to the other end of the line.

He carefully plunged the hook deep into the inside of the raw meat, then slowly tightened the line until it was taut and under maximum tension. Only then did he nod in satisfaction and retreat to a safe distance.

"The trap is set. As long as that beast tries to tear this piece of meat off, it will inevitably trigger the detonator. One kilogram of C4 plus thousands of steel balls and nails will be enough to give it a hard time."

As they walked back to the roadside, Surong pulled three dark-colored onesie raincoats from his briefcase and handed them to Dania and Hannah: "Put these on, then stand still and wait for me."

Dania and Hannah put on their oversized raincoats as instructed. Surong walked to the roadside, scooped up the remaining mud mixed with soil, and slapped it directly onto Hannah's raincoat. Then, through the raincoat, he quickly ran his hands over Hannah's body, spreading the mud, which smelled strongly of grass, evenly.

Hannah's body stiffened instantly, her hands gripping the hem of her clothes tightly, her expression extremely awkward, and she lowered her head, not daring to look Su Long in the eye.

Ignoring her embarrassment, Surong turned and walked towards Dania, grabbing a handful of mud and slapping it on her as well.

Dania flinched as he applied the ointment, giggling, "Hey, Sue, slow down, it tickles!"

Su Long continued working, smearing the last bit of mud on her back: "Bear with it, the smell of this grass and soil will perfectly mask our body odor."

After dealing with the two men, Su Long put on his raincoat, grabbed some mud and smeared it all over himself, then looked at Jesse beside him and solemnly instructed, "Jesse, the trap is set. You should get back as soon as possible. Remember, from now on, the entire town is under martial law. Bring out everyone who can shoot and have them patrol in shifts. Don't let your guard down until you receive our message."

Jesse nodded solemnly, gripping the walkie-talkie tightly: "Understood. Please be careful. We—we await your good news."

After saying that, he opened the car door, got into the driver's seat, started the engine, and drove away into the thick fog he had come from.

Silence fell again, broken only by the rustling of leaves in the wind.

Su Long stood still, closed his eyes, and felt the direction of the cold wind blowing on his face. A few seconds later, he opened his eyes and pointed to a place deep in the woods.

"That's downwind. Let's go, let's hide in the woods and get some distance from here."

The three of them trudged through the deep forest, their feet sinking into damp fallen leaves. Mist drifted between the trees, obstructing their vision, and the two women could only follow closely behind Su Long.

After walking about 300 meters, Su Long, who was searching for terrain, suddenly stopped and locked his gaze on the bushes beside him.

Behind the bushes was a sunken natural depression surrounded by several extremely thick century-old fir trees. Dense weeds over a meter high grew at the bottom and edges of the depression, forming a natural hiding place.

Su Long nodded in satisfaction and threw the tent he was holding on the ground: "Let's camp here."

Dania surveyed the surroundings, her brow furrowing slightly: "Suron, if we're here to camp, choosing such a low-lying spot with a completely blocked view is practically suicide."

Su Long drew his machete from his waist and began clearing the weeds from the bottom of the pit. Without turning his head, he replied, "You're right, but our primary objective right now is to hide ourselves, not to observe the enemy. This place is perfect for us."

Dania was still puzzled and pressed on, "But even hiding here, we can't see the Wendigo's movements. What if it comes? We don't know what to do."

Su Long stopped what he was doing, turned around and walked to Dania, gently touching her forehead with his index finger.

"You're silly. We don't need to watch it. We just need to listen to the sound of the explosion. As soon as the explosives go off, it means it's taken the bait."

Dania touched her forehead where she had been poked, then suddenly realized, "Oh yeah! How come I didn't think of that!"

Hannah was amused by Dania's question, but she didn't stop setting up the tent.

Working together, the three quickly set up the woodland camouflage tent at the bottom of the pit. The tent's color blended perfectly with the surrounding weeds, making it difficult to spot even when you got close.

Su Long crawled into the tent, laid out a moisture-proof and heat-insulating mat on the ground, then poked his head out and beckoned the two of them to come in.

"Come in and rest, conserve your energy. We don't know exactly when this guy will take the bait, so we can only wait."

Dania and Hannah crawled into the tent one after the other. Surong zipped up the tent to keep out the cold wind and thick fog, leaving only a small window open to observe the outside.

The tent was not very spacious, and the three of them, wearing heavy raincoats, sat together, making it feel somewhat cramped.

Time passed second by second, and the dim light gradually pierced through the thick white fog, turning the originally dark forest grayish-white.

Su Long sat on the outermost side, his gaze fixed on the thick fog outside through the narrow observation window.

The rustling sound of the wind blowing through the coniferous forest echoed above the low-lying area. The sky outside was getting brighter, but the forest remained deathly silent.

Just as the thick fog outside turned completely milky white, an extremely terrifying loud noise suddenly shattered the silence of dawn.

"boom-!!!"

The sound was ridiculously loud, like a thunderclap from the heavens exploding right next to your ears, making your eardrums ache.

Immediately afterwards, a violent and incomparable shockwave, mixed with the angry roar of some kind of monster, swept in from the direction of the scarecrow.

Even from a distance of several hundred meters, the shockwave still carried an overwhelming force, causing the surrounding century-old fir trees to shake violently, and countless withered branches and leaves to be forcibly torn off and fly everywhere.

Even the camouflage tent they were hiding in was violently deformed by the wind, creaking under the strain.

Su Long instantly unzipped the tent and darted out like a cheetah.

"It's fallen into a trap! Chase after it, quick!"

Dania and Hannah reacted quickly, rushing out of the tent right behind them.

The three of them ran at full speed through the dense forest, the dry branches under their feet crunching loudly.

Before even reaching the explosion site, an extremely complex and pungent smell wafted over on the cold wind.

The complex, sweet and fishy smell contained not only the pungent, burnt smell of charred plastic, but also the heavy smell of gunpowder residue from a C4 explosion, and even a hint of burnt flesh and a slight bitterness. The combination of these smells was extremely pungent, causing the three of them to cough repeatedly.

Soon, the three of them rushed out of the edge of the dense forest and arrived at the country road.

The sight before her made Hannah, who was the last to emerge, gasp in shock.

The menacing scarecrow that once stood by the roadside has completely vanished, leaving not even a large piece of wood behind. All that remains is a charred pit more than two meters in diameter and half a meter deep, from which wisps of pungent smoke rise.

The bushes and weeds within a radius of several dozen meters were leveled, and the tree trunks were densely covered with high-carbon steel balls and threaded iron nails that had been blown away.

At the edge of that charred crater stood an extremely pitiful behemoth, none other than the C-rank superior anomaly that had plunged Caster Town into despair—Wendigo.

At this moment, it completely lacked the agility and ferocity described in the files.

One kilogram of C4 plastic explosive, along with thousands of steel balls and nails, blasted at point-blank range, inflicted unimaginable devastation.

The skin, which was described in the archives as clinging tightly to the bones and appearing as a pale, frozen corpse, was now riddled with holes from the explosion. Large patches of charred, blackened flesh hung on the skeleton like tattered rags, swaying slightly in the cold wind and dripping thick, black blood.

The left side of the body was the most severely injured. On the entire deformed and slender left arm, the flesh was almost completely stripped away, leaving only pale bones.

A huge bloody hole was blown open in his chest and abdomen, several thick ribs were broken and turned outwards, and a huge heart that was slowly beating and emitting an eerie black aura could even be seen inside.

The iconic giant deer head was also severely damaged. Its huge right eyeball was shattered by several steel balls, leaving a bloody, black hole. Half of its gaping maw, which split from the base of its ears to its chin, was also blown away, and its sharp fangs were nowhere to be seen.

However, even after suffering such a horrific and fatal wound, the beast did not fall down at all.

Its hunched, broken body stared intently at the three Su Longs who rushed out, its throat emitting low, hoarse roars that sounded like leaking air.

What's even more terrifying is that its injuries are slowly healing!

The ruptured muscle fibers and blood vessels wriggled and intertwined wildly as if they were alive, trying to stitch up the huge wound in the chest. The shattered bones made a teeth-grinding "crackling" sound as they slowly reassembled and grew back together.

As it healed itself, the surrounding air temperature began to drop sharply again, and a thick layer of white frost quickly condensed on the scorched earth and the surface of the surrounding trees.

"Want to recover? Dream on!"

Surong sneered and, without any hesitation, raised his right hand, instantly locking the muzzle of the "Sirius" gun onto Wendigo.

"Let's do it!"