A priest in North America, what the hell is the Demon Gate system?

People gradually arrived outside the church.

The first to arrive was Thomas, the elder of the Payne family, dressed in a sharp old-fashioned suit and leaning on a fine cane, followed by his wife and two grandsons.

Upon seeing Li Ang, the old man warmly stepped forward to shake hands:

"Father Lee, as the first Catholic family to settle here, our Payne family has a responsibility to support the church's work. We have been dedicating ourselves to the Lord since Father Andrew was here."

As he spoke, he waved his hand, pulled out a bulging envelope, and stuffed it into the donation box.

"This is just a small token of our appreciation. I heard there's a special fundraising event later, right? We'll be donating again then."

Li Ang scanned the envelopes in the box with his divine sense. Good heavens, they contained 50 one-dollar bills.

"Thank you for your generosity." Li Ang thought to himself, cursing Old Deng, but kept smiling on his face.

"That's only right!" Old Thomas straightened his back and led his family to sit in the middle of the first row.

Then came the shop owners from all walks of life, including a few Chinese, who came in in twos and threes with their families. After exchanging brief greetings with Li Ang, they sat in the middle.

Next came a lot of people wearing work clothes, who looked like they mainly did manual labor. They found a secluded spot and sat down.

Li Ang noticed that most of these people came from the textile factory cluster area in the north.

He spotted Mrs. Wells immediately in the crowd; after all, it's hard to go unnoticed when your car's headlights are on. She was holding little Jack's hand and bowing slightly to Li Ang. Jack looked to be in good spirits and was holding a small national flag.

"Father," Mrs. Wells said softly as she approached.

"Thank you for last time... Jack is much better now."

"It's the Lord's grace." Li Ang patted Jack's head.

Little Jack suddenly tugged at Leon's sleeve and stood on tiptoe.

Li Ang bent down and heard the boy say in a voice only the two of them could hear:

"Father...someone in my classmates' group posted photos of the square today."

"Um?"

"That person..." Jack bit his lip.

"I think he looks a bit like Uncle James."

Li Ang's eyes flickered slightly: "Uncle James?"

"He was my dad's comrade-in-arms. He came back last year, but soon said he was going to Philadelphia, and then we haven't heard from him since," Jack said softly.

"Mom said he made a fortune in Philadelphia... but the person in the photo really looks like him."

Mrs. Weil noticed her son whispering to Leon, and came over to gently pat Jack on the shoulder: "Jack, don't disturb the priest."

"Mom, I really feel..."

"Alright," Mrs. Weil said gently.

"Uncle James has his own life in Philadelphia. That guy just looks a bit like him. There are plenty of people in this world who look alike."

She smiled apologetically at Li Ang and led Jack to their seats.

Jack glanced back at Li Ang, as if he wanted to say something.

Li Ang nodded at him and said nothing more.

At 3:00 sharp, the Mass officially began. There was nothing particularly special about it, except that some Americanist hymns and eulogies were added.

Li Ang noticed that the mayor had been sitting in his car in the parking lot the whole time. Indeed, as a Protestant, he naturally wouldn't come back to attend Catholic Mass; it was already quite remarkable that he was able to give a fundraising speech.

Mass ended quickly, and people flocked to the special donation area in front of the church. Under a simple donation sign was a long table with snacks and drinks.

To Li Ang's surprise, all the chairs in front of the door were full, and some people were even standing. He thought that not many people would come, but he didn't expect everyone to be so accommodating. Upon closer inspection, he found that most of them were people from the textile factory, probably due to the reputation they had built up from the previous exorcism.

Mayor Joel climbed out of the car; he had changed into a clean suit and had his hair combed again.

Pastor Salak didn't follow, after all, this was Catholic territory, and besides, the pastor had slipped away faster than anyone else that morning, so the mayor was probably still holding a grudge.

Li Ang stepped forward and said, "Mayor, welcome! Everyone has been waiting for you."

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Father." Joel cleared his throat, seemingly having recovered from what happened that morning.

Seeing that most of the people had arrived, Li Ang raised his voice and said:

"May the Lord bless the town of Uldum, bless all those in need, and bless our valiant Mayor Joel, who has shown extraordinary courage in the face of this crisis. Now, let us welcome the Mayor to say a few words."

The applause rang out, not enthusiastic, but polite enough.

Mayor Joel walked to the fundraising banner and cleared his throat.

"Dear residents of Uldum," the mayor began, his voice a little dry, and he coughed again.

"Today, we experienced an unexpected test."

The people in the audience were whispering and seemed to be discussing it as well.

"But, as you can see, the town of Uldum has not yielded! Our community spirit has not been broken!" The mayor's tone gradually became more impassioned.

"The radicals and dissidents want you to abandon years of peace and prosperity at the first sound of gunfire. They lack the courage and ability to lead us through a dangerous era!"

"And this church, St. Michael's Church, is an important spiritual pillar for our community," Joel said, changing the subject.

"But look, everyone, this century-old building is decaying. The roof leaks, the walls crack—this is not what a church should look like!"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd:

"Therefore, I appeal to everyone to generously donate to the Roof Maintenance Fund for the sake of our religious diversity and our community! Every penny will go towards restoring this historic building that belongs to all of us!"

The speech went well. Li Ang saw several believers nodding, and old Thomas from the Payne family even took out a handkerchief to wipe the corner of his eye.

"In order to spread the gospel of the Lord, I hope everyone will contribute their own strength," Li Ang said at the opportune moment.

"We have prepared simple refreshments so that everyone can chat and contribute to charity at the same time."

People gradually got up and took the snacks from the table in front of them, while Nia carried the donation box and wandered around in the crowd.

Mayor Joel walked over, beads of sweat on his forehead.

He looked at Li Ang and lowered his voice, "Father Li, is it alright if I say it this way?"

"Very good. I believe you will gain more support in the year-end election," Li Ang said with a smile.

Mayor Joel breathed a sigh of relief, a hint of smugness on his face. He straightened his suit and prepared to shake hands with a few more important voters.

Suddenly, Li Ang's phone rang. He picked it up nonchalantly and put it to his ear.

Joel turned his head and saw that Leon's expression suddenly changed. He seemed to glance at him intentionally or unintentionally and said in a low voice, "Detective Jones? What's the matter... umm, he's here."

It sounded like someone said something on the other end of the phone, followed by a soft exclamation from Li Ang: "What did you say? That guy is nearby?!"

Joel felt a chill run down his spine and unconsciously turned to look around. He then saw Leon nodding for a long time before saying, "Don't worry, Detective Jones, I'll take care of it," and hanging up the phone.

"Um, Father Li, what was that just now...?" Joel felt a little guilty. He thought about the look Li Ang had given him earlier, and it didn't seem like anything good.

"It's nothing, Mayor. It's just Detective Jones from earlier in the day." Li Ang put away his phone and smiled at the mayor.

"Oh, okay, if there's nothing else, I'll be going now." Joel smiled awkwardly and turned to leave.

"Clatter—"

Suddenly, Li Ang placed his hand on Mayor Joel's shoulder. Joel instinctively tried to move away, but found that an invisible force was pressing down on him, making it impossible for him to move at all. Then he heard Li Ang's soft, magnetic voice in his ear.

"Don't go, Mayor, the detective asked me to pass on a message to you."