Containing the Bat Person

The devastation at the scene was unbearable to look at.

The helicopter that had crashed in the field was still burning. Dozens of police cars were wrecked, and the estimated death toll was over ten.

Even the deputy chief found a case like this difficult to handle. After all, he had not even known what the murderer was before.

It was only after asking this exorcist that he learned it was called a Bat Person.

So one Bat Person had wrecked dozens of police cars, killed more than ten officers, and destroyed an armed helicopter.

The deputy chief truly could not contain this mess, so he could only call the chief.

Li Dan stood with his back to everyone, looking at the Four of Clubs in his hand.

"Name: Bat Person."
"Status: Restricted, can be contained."

The Bat Person did seem to have been restrained by the Evil Spirit Wendigo. However, its head could still move as it bared its teeth at Li Dan.

Its vitality was probably almost on par with the Evil Spirit Wendigo's. Without having to face firearms, it might have been even stronger.

"Contain."

The Evil Spirit Wendigo and the Bat Person scattered into black light and were absorbed into two cards. Just like that, the two enormous creatures vanished.

The officers were curious, but they did not dare ask questions.

Two female Detectives then dragged the Soul Severing Clown over together.

"Mr. Exorcist, what should we do with this person?"

They had personally seen the clown's head rotate three hundred and sixty degrees while he remained alive. One look was enough to tell them he was not human.

If the deputy chief had not ordered them to, they would not even have dared touch the clown.

"Just toss him over there."

Li Dan said it casually. He viewed the Soul Severing Clown as bait, a meat shield, and a tool for scouting.

Whenever there was danger, he could send the Soul Severing Clown in first to test it out.

Other than that, it was not particularly useful.

The Soul Severing Clown's combat ceiling was right there. He could not hold a candle to Pennywise from It.

"Hey, Li Dan, are you okay?"

Li Dan turned around and saw Daley, an awkward teenage boy who did not know what to do with his hands and feet.

"I'm fine. What's wrong, Daley?"

"Are you really an exorcist?" The title was unfamiliar to the general public, but it was certainly not unfamiliar to supernatural enthusiasts like Daley.

Some people were born able to see things ordinary people could not, and they possessed certain special abilities as well.

Daley had once fantasized that he might be one of those people, but reality had told him that he was merely an ordinary American from rural Texas with average grades.

Li Dan joked, "I am, but only a trainee. Actually, I'd rather become a priest."

Daley caught the teasing in Li Dan's words and shot back.

"Then you need to carry a holy book around and stick on a white beard. That would make you more appealing."

"Oh, come on. A Chinese priest?"

"Haha."

Daley was genuinely amused. He had never noticed before that Li Dan had such a dark sense of humor.

"Li Dan, let's head back together. I'll be your driver this time."

"Do I need to pay you?"

"Of course. Just tell me some things about exorcism as payment."

The two got into the car. Under normal circumstances, the deputy chief would definitely have taken them back for questioning, but he was too overwhelmed to worry about them now.

Even if he wanted to interfere, he could not.

The church held considerable power here. Not only local authorities, but even the state had no authority over them, even if Li Dan was merely an affiliated exorcist.

The reason was the endless stream of supernatural incidents happening these days.

At the motel.

When Trish saw the two return laughing and chatting, she looked astonished. They had seemed to dislike each other when they left.

Now, they appeared to be getting along very well. What had happened between them?

"Are you two okay? Did you catch the murderer?"

Daley answered with exaggerated flair.

"We caught it, but it wasn't a bad person. It was a terrifying Bat Person."

"A Bat Person? Could your lie be any more ridiculous? Don't even think about fooling me, Saint Daley."

"I'm not a saint!"

"You are."

The siblings faced off against each other.

Trish was mainly dissatisfied with Daley's string of reckless actions.

For an uncertain voice, he had risked so much by climbing in there. He was an even bigger saint than Saint Maria.

From Li Dan's perspective, he certainly hoped there would be more saints in the world. Selfish people often hoped the world had more good people.

Li Dan sometimes liked teammates like that. He interrupted the siblings' argument.

"All right, Trish. Daley is telling the truth. There really was a Bat Person, and the hundreds of corpses were real too. Daley did a great job. He did something very brave."

Daley said proudly, "Did you hear that, Sis? You probably never would have guessed Li Dan's true identity. He's actually an exorcist. He was the one who subdued the Bat Person, and the police can testify to that."

Trish was half-convinced. Mainly because she had not seen it herself; the only reason she believed any of it was because Li Dan had said so.

Was she supposed to call the police station and ask?

After everything that had happened, they were all hungry. The three sat down again and ordered three set meals, planning to talk while they ate.

Daley was especially excited and chattered nonstop even while eating.

Ignoring her brother, Trish looked at Li Dan and asked.

"Are we resting here for a day before leaving, or are we continuing on?"

Before Daley had even swallowed his hamburger, he mumbled.

"Of course... we're traveling through the night."

"Shut up and eat your food," Trish snapped at Daley.

Li Dan meant that they should rest at this little motel for a day and leave tomorrow. Leaving at night was not impossible, but he was mainly afraid of running into trouble on the road.

What if they accidentally encountered a Dead End? That would be truly disastrous.

It was never wrong to be cautious.

So resting for a day was safer.

Daley wanted to travel through the night because Li Dan had stopped halfway through his account of an exorcist's Midnight Game, leaving him feeling as if a cat were clawing at his heart. But Li Dan and Trish were on the same side.

He could only agree to stay at the motel.

While renting the rooms,

Daley intentionally or unintentionally suggested that he wanted to share a room with Li Dan so they could continue the unfinished Midnight Game.

How could Li Dan possibly agree? He did not have a habit of sleeping with men.

Sending his sister over would be more like it.

"Daley, this is not up for discussion."

"Then what if we bring my sister along? The three of us together?" The moment Daley finished speaking, Trish grabbed his ear.

"Daley, I'm telling Grandpa about this when we get back. You're finished."

Li Dan had not expected this kid to have such perverted ideas. He had even suggested the three of them together.

"Daley, you know I'm not that kind of person."

Daley truly had not meant it that way. He felt horribly wronged.

Night fell.

In the end, the three rented three rooms, one each, all right beside one another.

Li Dan leaned against the headboard and took out the Ghost Card.

"Containment: Bat Person."
"Abilities: Bat Wings, Radar, Sleep, High Temperature Tolerance, DNA Repair, Immune Regulation, Immortal Body (Incomplete)."
"Comment: This is a Bat Person that cannot be killed."

After reading it, Li Dan felt the comment was somewhat too crude. Moreover, Immortal Body seemed to overlap with the other abilities.

No matter how brief and crude the comment was, it could not change the fact that the Bat Person could tear apart an armed helicopter and ignore firearms.

Those two points alone were already quite impressive.

There were temporarily no shortcomings in the meat shield department. Next, Li Dan could begin searching for containment targets such as evil spirits and demons.

Those belonged to the realm of true supernatural phenomena and hauntings.

Li Dan had no particularly good method for now, so he placed his hopes on The Warrens. After all, the couple traveled all over the country and would eventually encounter something suitable.

Once he passed the review and became an exorcist, he could appear as outside support. That was quite good.

The Warrens generally investigated their target's origins first before asking the church's priests or exorcists to take action.

That was far safer than casually barging into an unknown supernatural incident.

After all, no one knew whether they would ultimately encounter a lesser Calami or a hidden great terror.