America: The Cremator

Chapter 165: There's something wrong with the cards, I need to verify them! (200 more monthly votes needed to reach 3000!)

Forty minutes later, the coastline of St. Thomas Island came into view. Hannah slowly slowed down the boat and eventually steered it into a secluded private pier.

After everyone disembarked, Hedley casually swiped an hour's worth of parking fees on the POS machine handed to her by the dock owner, then led everyone quickly away from the dock and headed straight for the airport.

Nobody cares who will take the four-million-dollar speedboat an hour later.

When the group left the island, Hedley had already mobilized the Campbell family's resources.

So when everyone arrived at the airport, a Gulfstream G650 business jet with a full tank of fuel was already waiting on the tarmac.

Only when everyone stepped into the cabin, which was covered with thick carpets, and as the plane accelerated down the runway and took off, leaving the azure blue of the Caribbean Sea behind the clouds, did their nerves, which had been tense for a day and a night, finally relax.

Evan threw himself into the large leather sofa and started snoring loudly in less than two minutes. Leah, sitting next to him, also quickly fell asleep.

Isaac ordered a shot of liquor and sat down in the front seat to rest with his eyes closed, while Hedley went straight to the private lounge at the stern. She needed to contact her family as soon as possible to deal with the mess that followed.

In a relatively quiet area at the rear of the cabin, Surong and Hannah sat side by side. Surong reclined the large airline seat, adjusted it to a comfortable angle, closed his eyes, and prepared to catch up on sleep. The continuous high-intensity battles, even with the replenishment of spiritual wine, still brought on a wave of mental fatigue.

No sooner had Su Long closed his eyes than he keenly sensed a gaze falling on his profile. It seemed that after his mental attribute broke through the 50-point mark, his perception had also undergone a qualitative leap, and he could feel that the gaze carried an indescribable complex emotion.

Su Long slowly opened his eyes, turned his head to meet Hannah's gaze, and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong? Can't sleep?"

Hannah hesitated for a few seconds, then whispered, "I just—I just feel a little unreal when I think about how your head was smashed by that monster and then grew back."

Upon hearing this, Su Long chuckled and turned his body slightly toward Hannah, patiently explaining, "Don't think of me as some kind of god. It's only in my domain, where I control the rules, that I can achieve that level of physical reconstruction."

"If this were in the real world, or in Baphomet's Crimson Plains, I would have been dead long ago if that disintegrating thread had blown my head off."

Hannah frowned slightly as she listened to Su Long's explanation, and pressed for more information: "Then—during the reconstruction, did it hurt?"

She held up her index finger and gestured near her temple: "And—with my brain shattered like that, even if it grew back, wouldn't I have lost any memories?"

Looking at her serious and worried expression, Su Long couldn't help but find it a little funny, and said in a relaxed tone, "It won't hurt, it'll only last for a moment."

He moved his face closer to Hannah and teased, "As for whether any parts are missing—why don't you want to touch them yourself and check?"

Hannah looked at the handsome face so close to hers, hesitated for two seconds, and finally slowly raised her right hand, her fingertips gently touching the side of Sulong's face.

Following his jawline, Hannah's fingers slowly moved upwards, touching his high nose bridge and feeling the warm, elastic skin; her fingertips gently swept across his deep-set eyes and brow bone, finally resting on his forehead.

The realistic touch and the steady, powerful pulse all proved to her that the man before her was a living, breathing person, belonging to the real world.

Su Long quietly let her touch him, gazing at her with deep eyes.

Hannah's breathing grew heavier and heavier. Suddenly, she reached out her other hand and cupped both of her hands in front of Surong's cheeks. Then she leaned forward and pressed her soft lips to Surong's lips.

Their lips touched briefly before parting. Hannah gracefully retreated to her seat and whispered, "I'm sure now."

Su Long remained seated, raised his hand, and gently rubbed his lips with his thumb, a slight upward curve appearing at the corners of his mouth.

Hannah's worries dissipated, and she quickly fell into a deep sleep. After covering her with a blanket, Su Long reclined the chair, closed his eyes, and soon fell asleep as well.

The long ten-hour flight passed quietly as everyone rested. When the Gulfstream G650 landed smoothly at Seattle International Airport, the sleeping passengers woke up one by one.

After disembarking, the group, surrounded by their greeters, boarded three black, full-size, bulletproof SUVs parked on the edge of the runway. The convoy then quickly drove away from the airport and merged into Seattle's busy traffic.

An hour later, the tall iron gates of the Exorcist Association headquarters opened to both sides, and the convoy slowly drove into the courtyard.

The night air in Seattle carried a slight chill. The headquarters of the Exorcists' Association was brightly lit, but the 24-hour service hall was sparsely populated.

As Su Long and his group entered, the staff member on duty at the front desk immediately stood up, glanced at them, and asked with a puzzled look, "Are you the assessment team from Little St. James Island? Why are you back early? Where is Inspector Zena? We haven't been able to contact her."

Su Long smirked and let out a cold laugh. The exam was canceled, and the inspector had completely disappeared. This mess involving high-level corruption and sacrificial scandals would certainly not be easily resolved anytime soon.

He had no connections in the association, nor did he understand how it operated. He had no desire to get involved in these matters. Mrs. Hedley was the most suitable person to deal with these bureaucrats.

Hedley stepped forward, her expression serious, and said, "A major problem arose during the assessment. Before reporting the details to higher-ups, I need to go through some procedures."

The staff member paused for a moment, then quickly recovered and asked, "What procedure do you need to follow?"

Hedley pulled a document from inside her coat, slammed it on the table, and pointed to the bottom of the document, explaining, "These five candidates collaborated during the assessment period to complete the temporary rescue commission I personally issued."

"Here are the joint signatures of all five of them, as well as the official seal of the Campbell family. Following the association's special approval process, I can immediately apply for B-level exorcist certifications for them."

The staff member looked at the dark gold family seal, swallowed hard, and hesitated before saying, "But what about Inspector Zena—"

"I'll discuss Zena's matter with the president myself," Hedley interrupted him. "Now, enter their information."

The staff member immediately shut up. The Campbell family held immense influence in the exorcist community, and he, a mere clerk, couldn't afford to offend them. So he quickly went through the motions: "Yes, Mrs. Hedley, their information has been entered into the file, B..."

The privileges of a Level 1 Exorcist are effective immediately.

He then looked at Su Long and the others and explained, "However, the physical IDs need to be made in a standardized manner, which will take about three days. Please leave a mailing address for the five of you."

Su Long stepped forward, picked up a pen, and wrote down his Seattle address in the register. Then Hannah, Evan, and the others followed suit and filled in their information.

After completing the formalities, Hedley led the five people out of the service hall. She opened her briefcase, took out five coins that shimmered with a silvery light from a hidden compartment, and handed them to everyone in turn.

"This is the promised reward. In addition to this mithril coin, each of you will receive an extra $30,000 as a bonus for participating in the temporary commission. The funds will be deposited into the bank account number linked to your file within 24 hours."

Hedley looked at everyone and said earnestly, "I will handle the rest. You may leave now."

"If the Association's Investigation Department or the Bureau of Mysterious Support comes knocking on your door later and interrogates you about what happened on Little St. James Island, you have the right to remain silent or simply refuse to answer. Just pin all the questions on the Campbell family."

"Understood." Evan waved. "Then we'll be going now, Suron, see you later."

Isaac and Thorne turned and walked out of the hall.

Hannah glanced at Suron, seemingly waiting for him to leave together. Just as Suron was about to set off, Hedley suddenly spoke up and stopped him.

"Su Long, stay behind for a moment, I have something to say to you privately."

Suron nodded, took the Cadillac's car keys out of his pocket, and tossed them to Hannah.

"Go wait for me in the car, I'll be right there."

Hannah nodded, took the keys, and turned to leave.

Soon only Surong and Hedley remained in the corridor. Hedley looked at Surong and smiled, "Surong, both your performance on the island and the terrifying talent you displayed deserve a better reward."

As she spoke, she took out a glass tube, no bigger than a thumb, from the deepest part of her suitcase.

The top of the glass tube was tightly sealed with a cork, and the tube was filled with clear holy water. At the bottom of the holy water, a piece of bright, colorful crystal, like glass, lay quietly.

Su Long looked at the colorful crystal and asked, "What is this?"

"You can call it a Soul Crystal," Hedley said, handing the glass tube to Suron.

"The strange things in this world can be roughly divided into two categories. The first category is species-based strange things, such as Wendigos and ghouls. Like wild animals, they are distributed in many places around the world, with hundreds or thousands of different individuals."

"As for the second type, it's the single-unit anomaly. For example, Baphomet, which we encountered on the island. There's only one of this type in the real world. They are the embodiment of some kind of rule or extreme malice, and they are very difficult to kill."

"Even if you kill it, it will be reborn in the Otherworld."

Hedley pointed to the glass tube in Suron's hand and said, "Each time one of these individual anomalies is killed in the real world, the power of their collapsing rules will solidify and drop these broken soul crystal fragments. As long as you accumulate a certain number of fragments and then use them to melt mithril at high temperatures, you can obtain a complete soul crystal."

Hedley's tone suddenly became serious: "Soul crystals are very useful. If a contract-based or bloodline-based exorcist consumes a complete soul crystal, it can greatly enhance their spiritual foundation and even have a chance to awaken new abilities."

"If it's an artifact-type exorcist, fusing it into their own sacred relic can also cause a qualitative leap in the relic's power."

0

"Soul Crystal—" Su Long stared at the dazzling, colorful crystal at the bottom of the glass tube, his heart skipping a beat.

He had thought that Soul Crystals were a special, super-specific resource provided by the system, and could not be obtained through conventional means. But now, after hearing what Hedley said, he realized that Soul Crystals, like Mithril Coins, had a certain amount in reserve in the real world.

He received the Soul Crystal before because he completely annihilated the Rain Girl. He only received one Soul Crystal for annihilating a C-level being. So, if he annihilates a higher-level anomaly, will the system give him more Soul Crystals?

In the real world, exorcists collect fragments of a single monster by repeatedly killing it, like collecting puzzle pieces. They then use mithril to smelt these fragments at high temperatures to synthesize a complete soul crystal.

Although the acquisition process is complicated in its own way, it is surprisingly reasonable in terms of resource input and output.

"Thank you for your generosity, Mrs. Hedley." Surong did not pretend to refuse, but directly took the glass tube and put it away carefully. He couldn't bear to pretend to be high-minded and refuse such a top-level resource that could directly enhance one's strength.

Hedley nodded in satisfaction at Su Long's decisive action and urged him again, "I hope you will seriously reconsider the invitation to join the Campbell family."

She paused briefly, then added gently, "Of course, your final decision has nothing to do with this soul crystal; it's what you deserve."

"Also, I hope you can take care of Elena a little. That girl always seems strong on the surface and has a stubborn temper, but she is actually very fragile inside."

The image of Elena's somewhat arrogant expression flashed through Su Long's mind, and he nodded in agreement: "No problem, I'll keep an eye out."

After a brief farewell, Surong turned and left the hall, walking quickly towards Cadillac outside.

Walking to the car, Surong saw that Hannah was already sitting in the driver's seat, so he walked to the other side, opened the passenger door, and got in: "Perfect, if you're driving, I'll take a break."

"it is good."

Hannah nodded and was about to drive off when Suron's stomach suddenly growled.

"I'm a little hungry," Su Long said bluntly, rubbing his stomach.

After all, he had been engaged in high-intensity combat work non-stop for some time, coupled with more than ten hours of flying, and his stomach was now starting to protest severely.

Hannah glanced at him and suggested softly, "There's not much food left in the apartment's fridge. What would you like to eat? We can stop by the supermarket on the way and buy some groceries, then I'll cook for you when we get back."

Surong replied without hesitation, "Sure. I want pizza, with extra meat and cheese."

Hannah nodded, turned the steering wheel, and the Escalade smoothly drove out of the underground parking garage and into the bustling Seattle nightscape.

Inside the carriage, Su Long adjusted the back of his seat, then closed his eyes, his mind completely immersed in the system space.

His first glance was at the resource bar in the upper right corner.

Experience points: 130.

Mithril: 1 piece.

Soul Crystal: 1.

Looking at these three numbers, Su Long breathed a long sigh of relief. Before, he was always meticulous about allocating a few experience points, afraid of making a mistake. Now, he finally felt a bit like a tycoon.

He moved his gaze downwards, scanning the list of terms he currently possessed.

【World-Destroying Flames☆☆☆☆】

【Flesh and Blood Dominator☆☆☆】

【Lucas's Contract☆☆☆】

【Flame Fist and Flame Bullet☆☆☆】

【Overlord Aura☆☆】

【The Contract of Sirius☆☆】

【Raphael's Contract☆☆】

The American Dream☆☆☆

[Intelligence Expert☆☆]

【Night Hunter☆☆】

【Elena's Clay Sculpture☆】

Dance in Fire★

Rows of entries emitting a faint glow formed the foundation of his confidence in surviving in this crazy world.

Surong's gaze immediately locked onto the "Intelligence Expert ☆☆" entry. He had already made up his mind on the speedboat that he would use the mithril coin that Hedley had given him to target this entry.

Now that I've got it, of course I need to upgrade it as soon as possible.

As soon as he confirmed the upgrade, the Mithril Coins in his resource bar vanished instantly, and his experience points were reduced by 30, leaving him with 10.

0 points.

Immediately afterwards, the [Intelligence Master☆☆] on the panel burst forth with a dazzling golden light, quickly condensing into a new line of gold-embossed text.

【Intelligence Master☆☆☆】

Category: Blessing.

Introduction: The host becomes the controller of intelligence, able to acquire various high-level intelligence through conversations with others and battles with mysterious entities (the probability of acquisition is positively correlated with charisma and mental attributes). The host gains the active skill "Insight," which allows them to directly obtain relevant intelligence by activating the skill on the target in front of them; the cooldown time is three days.

Assessment: There's something wrong with the cards! I need to verify them!

Looking at the new entry description, Su Long felt incredibly happy; the resources he had spent were well worth it!

[Intelligence Master] The original passive trigger mechanism has been transformed into an all-round strength. As long as his charm and spirit attributes are high enough, he can almost take the absolute initiative in war and negotiation.

What surprised him even more was the new active skill "Insight".

It can directly target the objective and forcibly obtain relevant intelligence. In the future, if he encounters disgusting creatures like Baphomet who like to hide their true nature and disguise themselves as background figures, or old foxes like Aprilton who are full of scheming tricks, he will no longer need to go to great lengths to test them.

With a single "spot the difference," the opponent's cards and weaknesses can be clearly seen.

Although it has a three-day cooldown period, this is definitely a strategic-level divine skill that can turn the tide of battle in an instant and even determine life and death.

"Sulong, we've arrived."

""

Hearing Hannah's soft call, Surong closed the system panel with satisfaction, opened his eyes, and saw "7—" outside the car window.

He nodded at the huge "Eleven" sign and opened the car door.

"Let's go in and do a big shopping spree!"