Crowley rubbed his hands beside him, with a smile on his face, "That's why we have to take a long-term view. Don't worry, I will also contribute. I have a few informants in Chicago, who can get internal employee passes, and can also find out the distribution of demons in the building. After all, the fall of Lucifer will benefit me the most. We are now a grasshopper on a rope."
"Bobby Is there any news over there?" Bai Haorui raised his eyes and asked Dean, without answering Crowley's words.
"Just finished the phone call." Dean nodded, "He is looking up the final activation spell of Horsemen's Rings, as well as the complete ritual of opening Hell's Cage. It seems to be a bit vague, and he needs to check the ancient books again. In addition, the two rings of War and Famine have been safely locked in the rune box in the cellar, and they are foolproof."
"Then our next step is very clear." Crowley knocked on the map and smiled with a shrewd look on his face, "Chicago, the big one, grab Pestilence's ring. When the four rings are gathered, open the cage and kick Lucifer back. There will be world peace and everyone will be happy."
"That's easy to say." Dean snorted, folding his arms and leaning on the table, "Horseman of War almost overturned us, Pestilence is more sinister than him, a colorless and odorless virus, how can you get close? If you get close, you will be infected."
"That's why we need to take a long-term view." Crowley spread his hands with an "I've thought about it a long time ago" expression on his face, "Don't worry, I have a way to prevent the virus. Let's take it step by step, first find out the situation of the building, and then make a plan."
Bai Haorui raised his eyes and looked at him with unabashed scrutiny, as if he wanted to see through his inner calculations. "You'd better not think about the ring."
"Oh, what Daoist Master Bai said, do I look like that kind of person?" Crowley clutched his chest with a hurt expression on his face, acting perfectly, "I am a staunch member of the anti-Lucifer alliance, and we are comrades-in-arms."
"If you are a comrade, let's go and see." Bai Haorui looked away lightly and said no more.
He knew in his heart that a demon like Crowley, who had lived for hundreds of years, could not get up early without any benefit, and he must have his own agenda hidden in his belly.
But now the two sides have the same goal and can cooperate for the time being. As long as they keep an eye on it, he won't be able to make any big waves.
When it was almost dawn, Sam couldn't sleep.
Dean was sleeping deeply in the room, snoring one after another. He stood up gently, walked to the balcony, and pushed open the rusty iron door.
The night breeze carried the coolness of the early morning, blowing his shirt against his back, which slightly dispelled the depression in his heart.
He leaned on the railing, looking at the little bit of fish belly white on the distant skyline, and his mind was in a mess. The death of Brady, the crisis of Pestilence, and the plan hidden in his heart came up again and again.
There were gentle footsteps behind me.
Bai Haorui came over and leaned on the railing next to him without saying a word.
He didn't sleep either. He meditated and adjusted his breathing for half the night. The wound on his back had been stabilized with True Gang.
Sensing Sam coming out, he followed him out.
"You can't sleep either?" Sam spoke first, his voice a little hoarse.
"You have something on your mind." Bai Haorui turned to look at him, his tone was very calm, and he pointed it out directly, "It's still the same plan, right? Let Lucifer possess you, then grab control and jump into the cage."
Sam paused with his fingers, neither denying nor admitting, he just turned his head in silence and continued to look at the distant skyline.
"Sam." Bai Haorui's tone was more solemn, "I know you feel guilty and feel that all this happened because of you. But Apocalypse is not your fault alone. Lucifer's conspiracy has been brewing for thousands of years. Even without you, there will be other containers. You don't need to carry all the sins on yourself."
"But it was me who opened the seal after all." Sam smiled bitterly, with fatigue in his voice, "I got here step by step. Haorui, tell me, if there is really no other way in the end..."
"There are no ifs." Bai Haorui interrupted him directly, his tone unquestionable, "There must be other ways. Even if the end is reached, it is not your turn to sacrifice."
Sam turned to look at him, with a bit of confusion in his eyes. "Why?"
"Because you, Dean, and Bobby are all my few friends in this world." Bai Haorui looked at the morning light slowly lighting up the skyline in the distance, and said in a calm tone, but with heavy power, "I will not watch any of you die."
Sam looked at his side face and felt mixed emotions in his heart. He was moved, guilty, and a little bit unspeakably sour. He didn't speak anymore and silently said sorry in his heart.
If it comes to the last moment, he will still choose that path.
He cannot let those around him bear the consequences for him.
At this moment, Dean's shout came from the room, with a bit of sleepy urgency. "Sam! Haorui! Bobby is calling! There is important news from Death Horseman!"
The two looked at each other, turned around and walked back into the house.
The pungent smell of the disinfectant was mixed with a strong musty smell, like a piece of rag soaked for half a month covering your mouth and nose.
The single ward at the deepest level on the third floor had no lights on, only the pale light coming from the corridor, which reflected the peeling wall mottled.
The old-fashioned fluorescent tube was hidden in the ceiling and had poor contact. It would flicker every few seconds, making the shadow of the hospital bed on the wall grow longer and shorter.
Mrs. Celeste was sunk in the white cotton sheets, with the quilt covering her chest.
Her cheeks were severely sunken, her skin was like wrinkled kraft paper, and the back of her hands was covered with brown age spots and pinhole bruises. The infusion needle was buried in the raised veins, and the transparent potion fell very slowly drop by drop.
Her cloudy eyes were staring blankly at the ceiling, and her breathing had a muddy phlegm sound, and every inhalation was like a broken bellows. Two old friends had passed away this week, both with "unknown causes", and she knew that she was probably going to die soon.
The door was pushed open almost silently, and a tall and thin shadow walked in against the light.
The person who came was Dr. Green, who looked to be in his forties. His white coat was ironed without any wrinkles, and his face was an almost deathly blue-gray color.
His eye sockets were as deep as two dry wells, the whites of his eyes were turbid and yellow, the corners of his mouth were always slightly curved with a hint of a smile, his fingers were long and cold, and his fingernails glowed with a faint bluish-purple color.
He closed the door with his backhand, his steps were as light as floating, and he walked straight to the bedside and stood there.
"Good evening, Mrs. Celeste, my favorite patient." His voice was hoarse and low, with a deliberately soft tone, like a cat teasing a mouse that couldn't run away under its paws.
The cold fingertips gently touched the old lady's forehead, "The nurse said you can't sleep?"
Celeste made a huffing sound in his throat, and turned his eyes hard to look at him. His voice was as thin as silk. "I just... feel more and more uncomfortable. My whole body hurts, Bones feels like there are needles stuck in my seams."
Dr. Green chuckled, and his fingertips slid along her sagging cheeks to her jaw. The force was not heavy, but it was like a snake rubbing against the skin, making people's hair stand on end. "Of course. You have the common cold, dengue fever, and the very troublesome Japan encephalitis at the same time."
Celeste's chest heaved violently, and fear instantly filled her face with wrinkles. She struggled to sit up, but she didn't even have the strength to raise her hands. "What did you say... I don't... this is impossible..."
"Oh, you heard that right, ma'am." He leaned down and brushed her ears with his breath that smelled of disinfectant and putrefaction. His tone was as relaxed as if he was talking about tomorrow's weather. "And you see, you never had chickenpox when you were a child. Now there is something exciting to watch."
"How is it possible... how could I get so many diseases at the same time?" Her voice was trembling, and her skinny hands tightly grasped the cuffs of his white coat.
"This is my exclusive formula." He straightened up, spread his hands, and said with a bit of pride in his tone, "It was prepared in a petri dish - and you are that petri dish."
Celeste groaned in pain, her body twitched uncontrollably, and she scratched the sheets into deep folds.
"Relax, it's okay." He patted her shoulder, his eyes without any warmth, as if he were observing the colonies multiplying in a petri dish.
"You... you will cure me, right?" She held on to the last glimmer of hope, her voice wrapped in attachment to life, like grasping the last straw.
Dr. Green shook his head, his smile getting deeper, "No. You will die. Four... three... two..."
After the last word was pronounced, Celeste suddenly arched his body and retched, then fell back onto the pillow hard. His cloudy eyes instantly became blurred, black and red blood foam overflowed from the corners of his mouth, and his chest no longer heaved.
Dr. Green leaned over and looked at it for a few seconds, then let out a light tut, as if commenting on an imperfect experiment. "Interesting. The drug resistance is a bit worse than the last one."
He turned around and walked out of the ward, and the nurse guarding the door immediately bowed his head.
This is the skin of a young woman. Her nurse's uniform is straight, her hair is neatly tied, and her eyes are so cold that she is not even remotely popular. She is a possessed demon.
"Sir, Winchester Brothers and the Eastern Daoist priest Bai Haorui are coming this way and have already passed the security booth." Her voice was very low, "Satan has an order not to hurt the two containers. We should leave."
Dr. Green sneered, paused, and anger surged in his eyes. "Are you kidding me? Do you think I want to avoid them?"
"We have received strict orders..." the nurse wanted to persuade again.
"Satan If he treasures them so much, let him put them back together by himself." Dr. Green's eyes turned cold, and he turned and walked straight to the office at the end of the corridor. He said, "If the one in the back ward is about to die, just call me. I would like to know these two boys, and that Bai Haorui."
"Yes, doctor." The nurse bowed her head respectfully and didn't straighten up until his figure disappeared around the corner of the corridor.
The light tube in the corridor flickered again, and the rotten smell in the air became stronger.
In the living room of South Dakota, Bobby's house, the dull air pressure almost crushed the ceiling.
The dusty blinds were drawn sideways, and the afternoon sunlight was cut into mottled strips, falling on the wooden table piled with things.
Spread out on the table were curled ancient books, a yellowed United States map, a crushed empty beer bottle, and a glass ashtray filled with cigarette butts.
The smell of tobacco, the musty paper of old books, and the bitterness of cold coffee lingered in the air.
Dean stood in front of the table with his back to the door, clutching the brass-colored Horseman of War ring with his knuckles so hard that his knuckles turned white.
There was also a Horseman Famine ring in front of him. The two metal rings glowed with a cold light, like two reminders, which were so heavy that it made people breathless.
His back was as tight as a fully drawn bow, and his shoulders were stiff. He had hardly spoken since he received the news in the morning.
Sam was sitting on the sofa, his jeans were worn white at the knees, and his fingertips were caressing the fabric unconsciously. His Adam's apple moved, and he broke the deathly silence first.
"Do you think Adam is okay?"
Dean didn't look back, and his voice was as cold as ice. "It's not good. It's definitely not good." He exhaled heavily, his shoulders slumped for a moment, and then tightened immediately, "Cass is the same. Heaven Those bastards will not let him go."
Bai Haorui was leaning against the fireplace, spinning a Five Emperor Coins with a red string on his fingertips. The copper coins flew between his slender fingers, making a subtle collision sound.
The broken hair hangs down in front of his forehead, covering a little bit of pale golden Lotus Seal between his eyebrows. Only when the breeze brought by the turning of the copper coins blows away the broken hair, can you catch a glimpse of the faint golden light.
He just finished giving Bobby his weekly leg physiotherapy.
Hearing the name Adam, the copper coins on his fingertips paused for a moment, and his heart sank.
Heaven captured Adam and made it clear that he was keeping it as a backup container. As long as Dean relents and says "yes", Michael can be possessed by someone else immediately, leaving no room for negotiation.
In the eyes of Heaven, they are just replaceable containers.
Sam was silent for a few seconds, looked up at Dean's back, and said in a calm tone, "Lucifer was released from the cage, so we can put him back in."
Dean turned around suddenly, his brows knitted into a tight knot, and the anger in his eyes suddenly jumped up. "We have already obtained the war and Famine, but there are still two pieces left. We have said this eight hundred times. Sam, I know you are anxious, but it is useless to be anxious."
"I know." Sam stood up and took two steps forward, looking straight into his eyes without any dodge, "But even if you collect the rings and open the cage, what then?" He took a deep breath and said the thoughts he had thought about countless times word by word, "If you lead the devil to the edge of the cage, I will jump in."
"Are you fucking crazy?!"
Dean's face instantly darkened, shock and anger welling up, he stepped almost in front of him, pointed at his nose, his hands were shaking.