America: The Cremator

Suron and Hannah followed closely behind into the tent.

The two men's repeated opening and closing of the door did not release many flies; the vast majority of them continued to swarm around inside the tent, making crackling sounds as they hit the face shields of their protective suits.

Stella stood amidst the corpses and swarms of flies, her gaze sweeping over the twisted limbs and the filth covering the ground. Her eyes were calm and focused, and she didn't even furrow her brow.

"Professor, your composure in the face of such a scene suggests you are indeed an expert in collecting corpses."

Stella makes no secret of this: "My research requires a large number of samples, fresh, rotten, intact, and incomplete. Once you see enough, you get used to it."

She bent down and gently pressed her fingers against the corpse's stiff skin through her nitrile gloves.

"Today's trip, however, gave me a lot of inspiration."

"My lab currently only has a fixed cadaver supply agreement with the BG Anatomy Center, but most of the cadavers there are processed, and we miss a lot of crucial information."

"I think it's necessary to establish a more direct communication channel with the Seattle Department of Corpses."

Upon hearing this, Su Long shrugged: "That would be great. If this connection can be established, I hope the professor won't forget me, the matchmaker, and will occasionally patronize my private business."

Stella let out a soft laugh.

"Rest assured, Mr. Su Long, you will always be my core supplier."

Hannah stood at the back, her gaze shifting back and forth between Suron and Stella.

Her gaze, peering through her glasses, held an undisguised bewilderment.

How could a lowly cremator who deals with crematoriums all day long be able to chat and laugh with a top biology professor in Seattle, and even seem to have a very good relationship with him?

This was completely beyond her comprehension.

Stella studied the corpse on the ground for a moment, then walked straight to the wooden table in the center of the tent.

The obese deceased was still lying face down on the table, the inverted cross wound on his back looking particularly gruesome in the dim light.

Stella glanced briefly at the shape of the wound, then her gaze shifted to the palm-sized statue of the Virgin Mary on the table.

The strange smile on the statue's face appeared even more eerie in the dim light.

Stella tapped the table lightly with her knuckles, her tone confident: "I think I know who did this."

Hannah couldn't help but ask, "You can be so sure just by looking at it? Don't you need any equipment?"

Stella didn't answer, but instead opened the silver briefcase in her hand and waved to Suron.

"Hey Sue, could you please act as a table for me? There's really no room for my computer here."

Su Long stepped forward, lifted the heavy computer with both hands, and his gaze naturally fell on the screen.

Stella typed rapidly on the keyboard, and a complex authentication interface appeared on the screen. After a complicated password authentication, a detailed file appeared on the screen.

[Code Name: C-034]

【Name: The Smiling Virgin】

[Rank: Upper C]

[Description: The image depicts the Virgin Mary with a sinister smile, usually in plaster or wood, and is speculated to be a divine statue possessed by an evil spirit.]

[Environmental characteristics: When this entity appears, it is usually accompanied by phenomena such as a large amount of blood pooling, an inverted cross symbol, and abnormal blood gravity.]

[Ability Overview: Illusion manipulation, mental impact, physical distortion and reshaping.]

[Physical hazard level: Low; no large-scale environmental damage or object destruction has been observed.]

[Psychological harm: Extremely high. This entity possesses strong social dissemination capabilities and is adept at manipulating people and developing followers. To date, 174 cases of bloody sacrifices related to this entity have been observed.]

While holding the laptop, Su Long read every word on the screen at lightning speed.

Stella stood to the side, her fingers swiping across the touchpad, browsing through more detailed records about this strange entity.

"This is a top-secret internal file of the Federal Bureau of Paranormal Rescue. According to federal law, ordinary citizens are not allowed to view it, Mr. Suron."

Despite the warning, Su Long didn't look away: "Professor, I work in a high-risk industry. If I don't even know this basic survival information, you'd be heartbroken if I accidentally died in some corner one day, wouldn't you?"

Stella stopped what she was doing, lifted her eyelids, and glanced at Suron through her mask.

There was no blame in his eyes, but rather a hint of amusement: "What you said makes some sense."

"I will send the access account and password for this database to your phone later. It is for your personal use only. Don't let me know that you sold it to someone else."

Surong felt his heart skip a beat. This was exactly what he had been dreaming of.

With this database, he can find information about the "Rain Girl," perhaps find a way to lift the curse, and even predict various strange weaknesses in advance. Even if he uses it to farm stats, his efficiency will double!

"Thank you, Professor. I'm usually very tight-lipped."

Hannah, standing to the side, watched this scene with her mouth slightly agape and her eyes wide open.

Professor Stella just casually gave away an internal account of this level?

Could it be that Suron and the professor have some kind of secret affair...?

After reviewing the lengthy document, Stella closed her laptop, put it back in her suitcase, and locked it again.

Su Long pointed to the fat man slumped over the table: "Now that we know the details of this thing, what should we do with the corpse? Just burn it?"

"You can't burn it directly; you have to cut off its connection to the other side first."

"Cover the inverted cross wound that serves as a conduit with holy water or pure silver powder to block the transmission of power, and then pierce the center of the wound with a sharp instrument to physically destroy the core structure of the container."

As Stella spoke, she unscrewed the cap of the glass bottle.

"Do not touch the five corpses around you before this process is complete. They are like landmines. Once activated by supernatural power, they will cause the power of the Smiling Mother to go berserk."

After saying that, Stella walked behind the obese dead man and tilted the bottle.

Fine silver powder poured down like quicksand, landing precisely on the deep, bone-revealing inverted cross wound.

"Sizzle—"

A sickening corrosive sound rang out.

The moment the silver powder came into contact with the congealed black blood inside the wound, billowing blue smoke immediately rose up, emitting a burnt stench.

The previously lifeless corpse suddenly twitched, its back muscles spasming violently, as if something was trying to break out of its inferior plaster shell.

"Let's do it!"

Stella gave a low shout.

Without the slightest hesitation, Su Long drew his multi-functional dagger from his waist and stabbed it fiercely at the intersection of the inverted cross.

"Pfft."

The blade sank into flesh with a dull thud.

The obese corpse began to tremble violently again, its limbs even moving again, scratching wildly at the tabletop, making a harsh noise as its fingernails scraped against the wooden board.

Su Long gripped the hilt of the knife tightly, veins bulging on the back of his hand, trying to suppress the corpse's struggles.

A few seconds passed.

The corpse's trembling did not stop; instead, it became increasingly violent, causing the entire heavy wooden table to shake.

Suron frowned and looked at Stella.

"It's not over yet? Is there a problem with the procedure?"

Stella also noticed something was wrong. Her gaze was fixed on the wound, then she suddenly shifted to the area beneath the corpse.

Damn it.

Su Long followed her gaze.

A new trail of blood had appeared at the edge of the inverted cross wound. Instead of joining the previous inverted river of blood, it flowed along the dark corner of the tent's edge and eventually seeped into the body of the homeless man curled up on the far left.

"This cunning thing sensed the danger and deliberately abandoned the already damaged container, transferring its power to the 'lamb'!"

Su Long gripped the blade tightly, his body tense: "Is it too late to sprinkle silver powder now?"

Stella took a step back and threw the empty bottle on the ground: "It's too late."

"We have awakened it."

The voice just fell.

The body of the homeless man, who had been curled up in the corner, suddenly sat up straight, making a cracking sound as if his bones were breaking.

At the same time, the smiling Virgin Mary statue placed in the center of the table began to tremble violently.

A drop of viscous, dark red liquid was slowly seeping from the crooked left eye and sliding down the cheek.

The Virgin Mary shed tears.