The group looked in the direction he pointed, and indeed, there was a gas station.
The surroundings were dead silent; not a single person was in sight.
Peeling exterior walls, piles of junk accumulated on the ground... looking through the windows, they could only see pitch-black darkness inside.
All signs indicated that this place had been abandoned for a long ti.
"Good thing we listened to William," Jules said, pressing her face against the RV window.
"Otherwise, we might not have had enough gas for the trip back!"
"Since that's the case..." Curt started the engine again. "Let's keep moving."
"Wait!" William suddenly spoke up.
Seeing everyone looking at him, he pointed across the street.
"The dense forest we are heading to is quite remote. There might be large animals or other risky elents there. This gas station is very close to the woods. Perhaps there is so relevant information left inside. It would be even better if we could find maps, tools, or similar items. Having fun on a trip is important, of course, but protecting your own safety is just as crucial."
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone looked at William in surprise.
"Mr. Priest, aren't you being a bit too timid!" Curt laughed loudly. "If there really are animals, we'll just have extra at for dinner!"
He flexed his biceps as he spoke.
Jules circled around William: "I didn't expect our priest friend to be a wilderness survival expert."
Marty blew out a smoke ring: "Only with this level of awareness can you escape electronic surveillance. Aricans should really take notes!"
Dana didn't speak. She just sized William up with curiosity again, feeling that this guy was quite different from the other boys her age she had t.
After all, in the eyes of most boys this age, acting this cautious in front of girls was considered embarrassing.
"How about... we go take a look?" Dana shrugged. "It won't take too much ti anyway."
With another person agreeing, the proposal was quickly passed.
Thus, Curt drove the RV over.
"Alright then... guys." He jumped out of the driver's seat, rolling his shoulders.
"The gas station expedition is about to begin. Captain Curt will be your escort!"
"Let's hope there's so good stuff hidden here," Marty said, his eyes glazed, a hint of innuendo in his tone.
Jules and Dana also excitedly hopped off the RV.
William was the last to step out.
He glanced at a specific corner of the gas station, his gaze thoughtful.
"These people are rely innocent victims dragged into this. I hope these reminders will make them vigilant a little sooner..." he thought to himself.
He then closed the RV door and followed them.
At the sa ti, in the corner William had just glanced at, a miniature cara popped up from the ground.
Following the cara's wiring downward led to a basent. Currently, two black-robed n were hiding there.
"Why is one of our people with them? Didn't the order say all Holy Clergy mbers are forbidden from contacting the sacrifices!" one of them exclaid.
"He's so young, probably just an intern from so university. He shouldn't be qualified to access a mission of this level," the other offered a plausible guess.
"We still need to report this, lest the higher-ups hold us accountable later." The first black-robed man pondered for a mont before deciding.
"Also, hide that cooler of blood bags better! Lord Kalvis specifically ordered that they absolutely must not be discovered by the sacrifices!"
"Understood!"
Outside the gas station.
Bang!
Curt forcefully slamd the gas nozzle back into place: "It really doesn't work. What a dump!"
Marty and the others also walked around the side of the gas station to take a look.
Earlier, because they were far away, everyone just thought the place was rundown. Now that they were close, they realized it was not only old and desolate but also reeked of a heavy, musty odor.
Consequently, the group lost their interest in exploring.
Just as they were about to get back into the RV, they saw Mr. Priest walking into the gas station.
"Hey! Are you really planning to dig through the trash?" Curt looked baffled. "The RV is going to reek later!"
William didn't answer. After secretly placing a crucifix in a corner, he stepped up to the gas station door.
Creak—
The light behind the door was very dim, and the floor was similarly piled with junk.
In addition to that, there were transparent glass jars on the shelves, containing various specins preserved in liquid.
William swept his gaze across the room and quickly raised an eyebrow.
Before long, a few more figures appeared at the doorway.
"Hey! This sll is suffocating!" Curt wrinkled his nose.
"Did you find anything?" Jules leaned against her boyfriend, looking at the man in the black cassock a short distance away.
"Even if there was good stuff, it's probably moldy by now," Marty looked disappointed.
Dana also examined the surroundings but didn't find anything special about the place.
At this mont, William spoke up: "Soone was living here not long ago."
He gestured around the room.
"The corners of the floor are covered in dust, but the pathway is very clean. This indicates that soone frequently walked through here."
Hearing this, the group crouched down and indeed found a stark contrast between the middle of the pathway and the surrounding areas.
"And these animal pelts..."
William walked over to the window, where several pelts of unknown animals hung.
"Goods like these have high requirents for their storage environnt. The surfaces of these pelts are dry and intact, with no mold spots or insect eggs. Therefore, it's impossible that they've been stored here for a long ti."
"Also, the chopped firewood outside... it should be for the winter..."
Listening to William's explanation, Dana and the others finally realized there were so many detailed clues.
The group looked utterly amazed, re-evaluating this newly acquainted friend.
"You're practically a detective!" Jules's eyes went wide.
"Familiar with wilderness survival, possess incredible observational skills..." Marty couldn't help but light up another "cigarette."
"To think the Church even teaches these things. It seems it's about ti I went for so advanced studies."
Curt also couldn't help but scrutinize the surroundings: "Now that you ntion it, this place really doesn't look like it's been abandoned for a long ti."
At the sa ti, in the gas station's cellar.
One black-robed man glared at his partner sideways.
"What are you looking at for!" The other man spread his hands.
"That heretic old man was the one who insisted I clean it up! He said he was rely bewitched and didn't worship any Old Gods at all. I thought maybe the guy would be released and sent back..."
"Idiot!" The first black-robed man smacked his partner's head. "You just said the man is a heretic!"
Inside the gas station.
Under William's lead, the group actually managed to find quite a few things.
A map, flashlights and spare batteries, and a few logging axes...
"Is it really okay for us to do this?" Dana looked hesitant. "If the owner suddenly cos back..."
"That would actually make things easier," William said, holding the map.
"But the front door wasn't locked, there are no defensive asures around, and the items inside are completely left out for anyone to take..."
He shook his head.
"You guys should be able to guess what this implies, right?"
Marty frowned: "You're saying... sothing might have happened to the owner here?"
"That is one possibility," William shrugged.
"That's exactly why we need to explore thoroughly. If we find any clues, we can notify the police in ti. After all, we might be the only ones who can save them."
He then comforted the group.
"Even if we ultimately find out it was a misunderstanding, no harm done. We can just leave so money behind, so it won't count as stealing."
Everyone present felt this made sense, so they all began searching the place in earnest.
Inside the gas station's basent.
"Hey! Is this guy a private eye? How is he observing everything so ticulously!"
"This won't do! If we let them keep searching, it's highly likely we'll be discovered!"
"Then what should we do..."
"Throw the blood bags out, and make up so excuse to get them to leave."
"But Lord Kalvis said..."
"Hmph, if the blood bags truly couldn't be given to these sacrifices, why did the higher-ups specifically send them over? My guess is it's just upper managent failing to reach a consensus again."
Before long, a section of the floorboards suddenly opened, and a black tal box was pushed up.
Dana happened to be nearby. Hearing the strange noise, she followed the sound and found it.
"Hey! Guys, co over here..."
Soon, the group gathered around the box. A sticky note was attached to the top.
"Prop Group 6 Blood Bags, Use-by date is..." Curt read the contents of the note. "It seems the owner here works on a movie set."
Jules also leaned in close to the box: "The use-by date is today. It looks like the person left this behind. What a careless guy."
"I've heard that the ti of actors on a film set is very expensive. This kid is probably going to get chewed out," Marty shook his head.
Dana examined the note: "Why don't we help deliver it for him? It's right on our way."
She pointed to the back of the note, where an address was written: Please deliver to Teleman Road, near the Buckman Cabin.
"Hey, the Buckman Cabin!" Curt sounded surprised. "I didn't expect soone to be filming a movie at my cousin's place."
Knowing there were no sinister surprises at the gas station, the tension in the group visibly eased.
Click... clack.
Curt opened the tal box, and a blast of cold air instantly rushed out.
"They make prop blood bags this realistic nowadays?"
He picked one up. Whether it was the packaging or the state of the liquid inside, it looked identical to the real thing.
Dana and the others clicked their tongues in amazent as well.
"Mr. Priest, what do you think?" Curt turned his head.
"I think Dana's suggestion is excellent," William smiled faintly. "Being able to help others conveniently while on a trip is a truly joyous thing."
The mont he saw the blood bags, he instantly understood the purpose of this box of items.
Hearing his response, Dana lowered her head, reaching up to brush her hair back, the corners of her mouth curling up involuntarily.
The others also agreed with the idea, so Curt imdiately carried the tal box onto the RV.
The rest of the journey was uneventful.
After driving through a long tunnel, the RV soon parked beside a clearing in the woods.
Fallen leaves piled thick on the ground, and a wooden cabin sat right in the middle.
Aged wooden planks, a slightly bulging roof... from any angle, this place did not look like it was regularly inhabited.
However, under the porch eaves outside, there was a stack of freshly chopped firewood.
Everyone, including Dana, curiously inspected the cabin.
William, however, only took one glance before focusing his attention on the surroundings.
He walked over to the edge of the woods bordering the clearing, crouching down every so often.
"What are you looking for?" Dana walked over. "Curt and the others have already gone to pick their bedrooms."
"Observing the surrounding terrain," William smiled faintly. "This way, if we encounter danger, we can evacuate safely at the first possible mont."
Hearing this, Dana looked him up and down, then smiled helplessly: "I've truly never t a priest like you."
"I used to do a lot of fieldwork for the Church, so it's a professional habit now," William shrugged.
"Alright..." Dana nodded. "Having you here really makes ... makes us feel very safe."
She brushed her hair back again.
"Then... if I run into danger, I'm coming to find you!"
With that, Dana jogged toward the cabin.
After she turned around, William dropped his smile.
At this mont, from his perspective, the surrounding dense forest was overflowing with evil auras.
Intermingled within were also traces of Holy Light power, though they were currently very faint.
After placing down another holy statue, William also headed toward the cabin.
Pushing open the door, the unique, waxy scent of old wood in a dry environnt rushed into his nose.
William looked around. The house was quite fully furnished.
Lamps, a refrigerator, sofas...
Besides these everyday items, the walls were decorated with animal taxidermy and paintings depicting slaughterhouse scenes.
William turned on a desk lamp and tilted his head to look at the filant inside.
Subsequently, he unfolded the map he had taken from the gas station.
Following the landmarks, he quickly located the position of the cabin.
According to the map, the cabin was surrounded by a dense forest, and it was several miles away before reaching the nearest town.
William put away the map expressionlessly, then walked to the room the group had saved for him.
It was equally clean, and the bedding had clearly been prepared in advance. On the wall directly facing the bed hung a bloody painting.
He pondered for a mont, then took the painting down.
Imdiately, a window was revealed on the wall. Looking through the glass, he could see the scene in the adjacent room. At this mont, Dana was standing in front of the window, changing her clothes.
She had just undone the final button of her top, exposing a large expanse of skin on her chest. Even the texture of her bra was clearly visible.
But Dana was completely oblivious to this, seemingly unaware of the anomaly with the window.
William perford a respectful, silent observation, and just as she reached behind her back to unhook her bra, he tapped on the glass.
Shortly after, the group stood in front of the two-way mirror.
"Why would there be sothing like this here!" Jules looked baffled and disturbed.
"Maybe the loggers built it back during the developnt days," Marty offered a potential guess.
"We'd better check the other rooms to make sure this doesn't happen again," Curt suggested.
At this ti, William spoke up again: "Didn't you guys notice sothing strange."
He pointed at the two-way mirror.
"There was a painting hanging over this the whole ti, yet there is no dust underneath it. It looks like it's been cleaned regularly."
"Could it be... your cousin is a peeping tom?" Marty rubbed his chin.
"Hey! Don't talk nonsense!" Curt frowned. "He hasn't been back here since he bought the place."
"If that's the case..." William rubbed his chin. "For the house to be kept this clean, and for everything to be set up in advance, your cousin is certainly very considerate."
Hearing this, Curt looked around, his eyes also filling with confusion.
"Strange... my cousin never bothers with this kind of stuff."
William took out the map again, pointing to the spot in the middle of the green expanse.
"The cabin is several miles from the nearest town, yet the electricity here works perfectly. Running a power line out here in North Arica couldn't have been cheap."
"My cousin does have so money. Maybe he had it renovated after he bought it," Curt thought about it and said.
"That is indeed a possibility," William smiled faintly.
"However, this place doesn't look like a movie set."
He brought up the matter from the gas station earlier.
"Since that note used the Buckman Cabin as a landmark, it ans the film crew is using our current location as their base camp."
William then led the group to the front door.
"But the clearing only shows traces of our activity, and the chopped firewood hasn't been used. You should know that the temperature difference between day and night in a dense forest is usually quite drastic."
Prompted by his reminders, the group's eyes also began to show signs of incomprehension and suspicion.
William watched this scene calmly.
He had successfully planted the seeds of doubt in their minds. This way, if they truly encountered danger, they should be able to make more rational decisions.
Perhaps they might even survive this ritual.
At the sa ti, dozens of ters beneath the cabin.
There was a massive reinforced concrete structure here, filled with advanced instrunts and equipnt.
Inside a large conference room, the conversation between William and the group was playing on a wall-mounted screen.
Two groups of people sat below. One side wore tailored suits, while the other wore robes.
Smack!
At this mont, an elderly man in a white robe slamd his hand onto the table, his face incredibly dark.
"Mr. Underwood, shouldn't you give an explanation?"
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