America: The Cremator

"What do you mean by this?" Su Long stopped what he was doing and looked at the other person with icy eyes.

The Mexican-American man's smile faded, and his tone hardened: "Even though you're from the Yurievich family, we have our own rules."

"Any new face who buys 'Dream' for the first time must use it in front of me."

He pointed to the row of closed doors at the end of the corridor and laughed: "Anyway, you came here to experience the thrill of 'Dream'."

"We have private rooms on the third floor, which customers can use at any time. Of course, if you prefer a more adventurous experience, you can go directly to the dance floor on the first floor."

With a cold face, Su Long slapped the man's hand away, picked up the two white pills on the coffee table, and handed one of them to Hannah beside him.

In front of the man, the two tore open the transparent plastic wrapping and put it in their mouths.

Then, following the method they had practiced several times, the two first hid the pills in the storage membrane inside their mouths, then picked up their glasses and took a big gulp, making a swallowing motion.

The Mexican man watched their movements and smiled with satisfaction. "Very good. Now, you can choose your battleground. Upstairs or downstairs?"

Just then, a pale blue light suddenly shone on Su Long's retina.

[Intelligence Insight Triggered!]

[Key intelligence: The surveillance equipment in room 316 has been damaged; currently, only the pinhole camera inside the TV set-top box remains operational.]

Sulong abruptly stood up, ignoring the Mexican man's mocking and expectant gaze, and scooped up Hannah sitting next to him, striding towards the stairs.

Seeing this, the Mexican man jokingly followed behind, asking, "Hey bro, want some sildenafil?"

Without turning his head, Su Long said, "No need, I'm incredibly strong."

Upon reaching the top of the stairs, Su Long headed straight for room 316, deep in the corridor, and pushed open the wooden door, which had extremely poor sound insulation.

The room was sparsely furnished, containing only an old CRT television and a roughly welded iron bed frame with suspicious stains on the sheets.

Su Long locked the door behind him, carried Hannah to the bedside, and as soon as he put her down, he quickly took off his loose hoodie.

He casually tossed his clothes toward the television, the black fabric spreading out in mid-air and precisely covering the TV cabinet, completely concealing the set-top box containing the pinhole camera.

"Take the pills out and put them away," Su Long said in a low voice. "We're safe for now. They can only listen to us; they don't know what we're doing."

Hannah nodded, and the two of them simultaneously took out the Dream Pills from their mouths, put them in a small waterproof bag, and then Sulong stuffed them into the hidden pocket inside his pants.

Then, Su Long looked at Hannah, hesitated for a moment, and said with a slightly embarrassed tone, "Hannah, we... need to make some noise."

Hannah paused for a moment upon hearing this, then naturally understood what Su Long meant by "sound" and replied in a low voice, "What kind of sound? I have no idea how to make that."

"Don't you often sing hymns in church? It's similar to that."

"Sing it a little higher, then hum it intermittently, without reciting the lyrics."

"Start low, then rise, then drop again, and add some swear words in the middle, and it will look very similar."

Upon hearing this, Hannah hesitated for a moment before replying, "Hmm... I'll give it a try."

After saying that, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and began to recall the melody of the church choir, trying to squeeze out a few syllables from the depths of her throat. The intermittent humming echoed in the small room.

As time went on, she gradually mastered the rhythm.

Su Long also grabbed the two rusty metal posts at the head of the bed, tensed his arm muscles, and began to rhythmically shake the entire iron bed.

The clanging of metal parts echoed violently in the small room, producing a loud "bang, bang" noise.

The intermittent, off-key melody, sometimes high and sometimes low, mixed with the shaking of the iron bunk bed, creating an extremely strange sound combination.

Meanwhile, inside booth A12, the Mexican man was wearing headphones and staring at his phone screen.

In the scene, the view of room 316 is completely obscured by a gray cloth, leaving only darkness.

He frowned in annoyance and muttered under his breath, "Damn it, the main camera on the ceiling broke down a few days ago, and this backup set-top box is blocked by clothes. That son of a bitch really knows how to put his clothes somewhere."

"What a pity. I thought that little vixen was quite pretty, and I was going to have a feast for the eyes this time."

Just as he was sighing with admiration, another customer arrived, so he reluctantly took off his headphones and began discussing new business.

Half an hour later, the noise in room 316 gradually subsided. Su Long glanced at his watch: "Hmm, it should be about time now."

Then, he reached out and gently pressed Hannah onto her head, ruffling her hair: "Pay attention to the details, try to make it look like it's after a fierce battle."

Upon hearing this, Hannah seemed thoughtful: "After the great battle... the details?"

Then, her eyes lit up, and she beckoned to Su Long: "Come closer~"

Just as Surong leaned closer, Hannah suddenly hugged him.

She buried her head in Su Long's shoulder, pressed her lips to the side of his neck, and sucked out a hickey.

Surong touched his neck, nodded approvingly at Hannah, and whispered in praise, "A genius idea! I didn't even consider such an obvious detail."

Having just finished doing all that, Hannah nodded shyly, "Let's go then."

Upon hearing this, Su Long checked the room and the two of them one last time. After confirming that everything was in order, he picked up the clothes covering the set-top box and helped Hannah out of the room.

The two went down the stairs to the first floor, passed through the still noisy dance floor, and walked towards the door.

The Mexican man stood by the second-floor railing, looking down at the two figures from behind.

He noticed their slightly unsteady steps and tired expressions, and his doubts vanished. He then checked the time on his phone.

"My God, it's been over half an hour! Is he really that strong?"

……

The next day, at dawn.

A crowd had gathered at the entrance of the Harbourview Medical Centre. Some were there for medical treatment, but the vast majority were there to sell their blood.

Su Long led Elena to the top floor of the main building, past armed security guards, and knocked on the laboratory door.

"Please come in."

Stella's voice rang out.

Su Long reached out and pushed open the door, leading Elena into the laboratory.

"Long time no see, Professor Stella. You are as beautiful as ever today."

Stella smiled slightly upon hearing this: "Thank you, Surong. I knew that without you saying it."

Then, she looked at the woman behind Su Long, frowned, and quickly recalled.

This is the mysterious police captain who came to handle the situation after we encountered the Smiling Mother in Green River and called the police. She is an impressive and strong woman, and she seems to have some unknown connection with Su Long.

Elena spoke first: "Hello, Professor Stella, it's nice to see you again."

Stella nodded and replied, "Hello."

"Professor Stella, I've heard that you're a leading expert in the field of the supernatural. So, on behalf of the Supernatural Response Bureau, I'd like to ask you to help us research the same thing. I wonder if you have the time?"

"Rest assured, all expenses incurred during your research will be fully reimbursed by our Bureau of Mysteries, and we will also pay you a commission fee based on market prices."

Stella smiled slightly upon hearing this: "Of course, my research topic is lacking such special samples."

"Bring out the sample, let me see what it is."