Li Dan and the others had been sent back to town to rest for less than a day.
The police at the cave had already closed the case, publicly claiming it was the work of terrorists without mentioning the Wendigo.
During that time,
Li Dan learned a little about the Vatican. There was a priest in town, the sort who would tell you anything as long as you paid him.
Not all priests and nuns of the Holy See were loyal to the church.
There were fallen priests and nuns too. The only difference was whether they did it openly or in secret.
According to the priest, unless it could no longer be hidden, they would conceal such matters whenever possible to avoid causing public panic.
Once confirmed, the church would send exorcists or priests to the scene to perform an exorcism.
Exorcists were generally hired from outside.
Learning so much about the church was a pleasant little surprise for Li Dan.
Afterward,
Li Dan returned to Round Clam Town with Teacher Beth.
Round Clam Town was as lively as ever.
Chief Pete kept the place in excellent order. Murder cases were rare, at least on the surface.
What happened behind the scenes was harder to say.
The townspeople had plenty to say about Sheriff Joe and Brother Q. Both were Pete's good buddies.
One was a sheriff in a wheelchair, and the other was a walking sex machine.
The former was tolerable, but the latter was a real piece of work—a man who slept with both men and women, carried all kinds of diseases, and whose father was transgender. Rumor had it he had even fucked a dog.
Oh, right. Pete's son and daughter were both stupid beyond saving. Not only did they rank at the bottom of the school, they also liked...
What others saw as flaws,
were nothing but strengths in Li Dan's eyes. In Round Clam Town, he felt a sense of security he could not find anywhere else.
The moment he returned to his detached little villa and lay down on the sofa,
a Diamond Four appeared in Li Dan's hand. Now that things had settled down, it was time to examine Evil Spirit Wendigo's abilities.
"Containment: Evil Spirit Wendigo." "Abilities available for extraction: Soul Devour, Bloodlust, Evil Spirit Possession, Physique Enhancement, Thorn Bone Spikes."
Soul Devour was exactly what it sounded like: the ability to consume a person's soul. It was a skill possessed by most demons and evil spirits.
He had not seen Evil Spirit Wendigo use it, though. Perhaps it required certain conditions?
It did not seem particularly useful to Li Dan. As for Thorn Bone Spikes, he had already witnessed them. They were undeniably intimidating, but not well suited for ordinary people.
After all, having bone spikes burst through the skin all over his body would be difficult to deal with.
Bloodlust was naturally stronger when used by Evil Spirit Wendigo, but its side effects were also more obvious.
Evil Spirit Possession was even more useless. He could already merge directly with contained objects, so why the hell would he need an evil spirit to possess him? An evil spirit was called an evil spirit for a reason. If it refused to leave his body afterward, that would be fun.
Evil Spirit Wendigo's second phase from before was probably a combination of Evil Spirit Possession and Thorn Bone Spikes.
The difference was that the evil spirit and the Wendigo had already become one.
Normally, activating Evil Spirit Possession would most likely attract the attention of nearby evil spirits, leading to a chain of tragedies before his soul was devoured.
By comparison, Physique Enhancement was the ability best suited for Li Dan.
Unlike the Strength Enhancement and Hearing Enhancement from before, physique enhancement improved every aspect of the body, and the odds of a boost were much higher than with the Deformed Person.
"Extract."
After figuring out what the abilities did, Li Dan did not hesitate. There was no casting windup or elaborate ritual—he simply extracted it.
"Containment: Evil Spirit Wendigo." "Ability available for fusion: Evil Spirit Possession."
Well, there went the Physique Enhancement Li Dan had been hoping for. Instead, he got Evil Spirit Possession.
Still, that was normal. With a one-in-five chance, how could he possibly get whatever he wanted every time?
Fortunately, this Evil Spirit Possession was an active talent rather than a passive one.
Otherwise, Li Dan would not have dared to fuse with it. In this world, who knew when he might pass by somewhere and get targeted and possessed by an evil spirit?
An active talent was fine. At the very least, he could control it.
It might even prove surprisingly effective in certain situations.
He just did not know what would happen if he merged with Evil Spirit Wendigo after being possessed by an evil spirit.
With the major problem resolved, Li Dan relaxed and prepared to enjoy a nice afternoon nap.
He had only just begun to feel sleepy
when the doorbell started ringing incessantly.
Li Dan did not want to answer it. He only wanted to take a proper nap for once, but the ringing went on without stopping.
Who the hell was that?
Li Dan had already been a little tired. He had not slept at all in the cave, and even at the hotel, he had only slept for a few hours.
Now that someone was making such a racket, he was getting a little irritated.
When he opened the door,
he found a gorgeous yellow-skinned woman. Not naturally yellow-skinned—she had clearly tanned herself on purpose. Her identity was obvious.
Jennifer had been watching Li Dan's little villa the whole time, so naturally she came knocking as soon as he returned.
She had even dressed up specially today.
Jennifer wore only a white shirt on top, the hem loosely tied in a knot that perfectly outlined the slender curve of her waist and abdomen. Her denim shorts made her legs look long, and her casual outfit radiated easygoing vitality.
"What do you want?" Li Dan had to admit that although he was annoyed at having his nap interrupted, Jennifer's face and figure made it hard to blame her. Besides, she had a perfectly valid reason for coming.
"Didn't I say I was going to pursue you? You hung up on me and won't answer your phone. You're making me very sad."
It was true that women were born actresses, and Jennifer was among the best of them. She clearly had the face of a mature beauty, yet she put on a pitiful little expression. The contrast was rather striking.
Li Dan scratched his head and said helplessly, "I was taking a nap. You interrupted my afternoon rest."
Jennifer was speechless. If it had been any other man, he would have been impatiently inviting her inside by now so they could study human anatomy together.
But looking at Li Dan's half-awake expression, was I really that unattractive?
"Since you're already awake, aren't you going to invite me in to sit for a while?"
Li Dan thought about it, then stepped aside.
"Fine, come in and sit. But you have to tell me whether you've encountered anything strange lately."
Before this, he definitely would not have let Jennifer inside. But now that he had contained Evil Spirit Wendigo, he felt a little more confident when facing so-called demons.
Judging from the demon possession scenes in that show, Jennifer's Body, Evil Spirit Wendigo seemed slightly superior.
As for their true forms, he had no idea.
In any case, they could talk once she was inside.
Before you continue