People are scared in America, my uncle is Dante

Chapter 203 You'll Regret It

The North Island is the most desolate area on Crockett Island.

It is said that several decades ago, many fishermen lived there.

However, since the leak, North Island, the most severely polluted area, has been completely abandoned and turned into a garbage dump and a gathering place for many stray cats, rats and other wild animals.

Suren secretly memorized the information the fishermen had given him.

Only then did he notice that the burly men who had clashed with him on the boat were gathered in a corner of the dock, pointing at him and talking in hushed tones.

Suren shook his head. As long as these thugs didn't actively seek death, he really had no interest in dealing with them.

The intelligence Charlie had gathered mentioned that the gospels and miracles of healing and saving lives all pointed to the priests in the island's church.

Since that's the case, he decided to go to the church first to find out the truth about that priest.

Boarding the specially arranged shuttle bus, we saw vast stretches of abandoned and collapsed houses along the way, with waist-high weeds growing wildly on the ground.

The sea breeze blowing into the carriage carried not only a salty, fishy smell, but also the stench of rotting corpses.

Twenty minutes later, the bus stopped on the edge of the town.

Suren walked along the street for a while and soon found the town's church.

The church is a single-story, white building with a cross pointing straight to the sky.

Compared to the dilapidated houses in town, the white paint on the church's exterior walls was relatively clean, and the steps were swept clean.

This is probably the only building on the entire island that is relatively well-preserved.

However, despite it being daytime, the church doors were tightly shut.

Beside the steps in front of the door stands a notice board with a line of text written in chalk:

[Father Paul has been unwell recently and is unable to cope with the high-intensity work during the day.]

The church's daily worship services and Mass will be postponed until 8 p.m.

Suren raised an eyebrow as she looked at the few lines of text.

The Mass is the holiest religious ceremony in Catholicism. Although he didn't know much about it, he knew that the ceremony was usually held in the early morning or on a sunny morning.

What kind of legitimate church holds services at night? Does your church believe in Jesus or Satan?

Moreover, this was the first time he had ever heard of a priest being so busy during the day that he felt unwell.

Each sentence on its own seems fine, but when put together, they all have a somewhat eerie quality.

However, to Suren's surprise, there was neither the scent of demons nor the divine power of angels in the church.

If these two things had appeared in the church, he couldn't possibly have been unaware of them.

But there was also an inexplicable chill in the church.

However, the church doors were tightly closed, and the priest didn't seem to be there either, so Suren didn't intend to waste any more time there.

He decided to first check out the disabled girl mentioned in the intelligence report who had already recovered, hoping to find some clues from her.

In fact, money really can have magical powers.

After several setbacks, Suren spent a small amount of money to finally find out where the Gibbs family lived from a few islanders.

He stood outside the fence, in front of a classic bungalow.

The courtyard was filled with clothes, and in a corner not far away, there were several furtive figures hiding under the wall, looking this way. They seemed to be the group of people from the ship who came for treatment.

The girl who had been disabled for many years due to an accident is now standing in the yard, helping her mother hang out the laundry, her steps light and graceful.

Her complexion was rosy and her movements were agile; there was no indication that she had ever been a disabled person in a wheelchair.

Suren frowned. How could a disabled patient be able to walk as soon as they recover?

Being paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair for many years will cause the muscles in the legs to atrophy and degenerate rapidly, and the joints in the knees will become stiff and unable to straighten.

Even if a miracle occurs and the person's leg disability is cured, they will have long since lost their balance and coordination due to prolonged inactivity and physical degeneration.

Suren observed the girl carefully for a while longer; there were no signs of demonic possession within her, nor any unknown energy.

The girl looked very healthy, giving him the impression that she had taken some kind of magic pill and all her ailments had healed overnight.

At this moment, the girl in the courtyard also noticed Suren, this strange person.

The other person had been staring at her intently ever since the beginning.

Although she had long since grown accustomed to such gazes since the miracle occurred, the man's blatant scrutiny still made her feel a little afraid.

"Sir, is there anything I can help you with?"

The girl stopped what she was doing, backed away warily, and then turned to call out towards the half-open door, "Mom? There's a stranger outside."

"What's wrong, darling?"

A woman's voice came from inside the house asking a question.

Seeing this, Suren had no choice but to leave first; he didn't want to be seen as some kind of perverted scheming maniac.

After leaving Gibbs' house, Suren sat on an abandoned bench on a street corner in the town to rest for a while, and also took the opportunity to sort out the clues she had collected.

Animals dying mysteriously in the North Island, a church opening its doors at night, a girl being healed —

All the mysteries have come together, yet no clear thread can be found.

Just as he was deep in thought, a series of hurried footsteps interrupted his thoughts.

Suren looked up and saw Sarah, the female doctor he had met briefly on the passenger ship, hurrying past with a police sergeant in uniform.

With furrowed brows and wearing masks, the two hurried towards the seaside.

Suren's expression shifted, and he immediately got up and followed at a distance.

Before he could take more than a few steps, several burly figures emerged from behind the abandoned building next to him, blocking his way.

The one leading the group was the burly man who had a grudge against him on the passenger ship.

He was carrying a baseball bat, and behind him were four or five thugs with menacing expressions.

"Are you in such a hurry to leave, stranger?"

The burly man twirled the baseball bat in his hand. "I heard you were just in town, scattering money everywhere to gather information. Looks like you're quite wealthy."

He poked Suren with his baseball bat, his eyes gleaming greedily: "Since you're so generous, why don't you donate some toll money to the locals too?"

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"If you don't see the money today, you'll never leave Crockett Island for the rest of your life."

Surrounded by these people, Suren simply shrugged helplessly.

"Does it really have to be this way? Believe me, you will absolutely regret it."

"Regret? You think you're—uh!"

The burly man's contemptuous mockery was cut short as he spoke.

He curled up like a shrimp, while Suren, who had been standing a few steps away, was now right in front of him, punching him in the stomach.

The burly man opened his mouth wide and fell to the ground, dry heaving.

His accomplices behind him were stunned for a moment, and when they saw their boss fall to the ground, they immediately swung their crowbars and rushed forward.

Within a few breaths, several more people appeared on the road lying on the ground, faking their injuries.

Although these people survived, judging from their twisted limbs, they will probably spend the rest of their lives with crutches and wheelchairs.

"I told you, you'll regret this."

Suren walked forward with a normal expression, while taking a crumpled banknote out of his pocket and casually tossing it onto the face of the burly man in the lead.

"Consider this a tip for your sparring partner."