North America Gunman Detective

Chapter 1380 - 746: Harvest (Part 2)

This purification ceremony is somewhat like the one Jimmy performed at St. Andrew's Church, just not as grand. However, with the Church's Holy Relic blessing, the energy was obviously much stronger than their temporarily set-up purification ceremony. After finally cleansing the wounds with Holy Water, they were bandaged. As for Jimmy, his scratches didn't really affect him, no need for bandaging, just a simple cleaning and disinfection.

The blood-stained Dagger was also arranged by the Priest to be cleaned with Holy Water, though it's uncertain whether it had been thoroughly purified, so it was left there temporarily.

After completing his work, Jimmy and his assistants had someone drive them back to where they parked earlier. Fortunately, the car hadn't been taken away. They drove back, and Jimmy returned directly to his Dallas office. Lambert needed an explanation, as the unexpected incident was too big, and Jimmy hadn't anticipated the energy corruption from the Shadow Beast to be so strong. He even thought about Horton on the way back, wondering why Horton hadn't been corrupted.

Lambert wasn't one of the paranormal side; Jimmy just briefly explained the situation. When he mentioned that the monster could corrupt the Church's Exorcism Priests, Lambert was visibly surprised, furrowing his brow as he looked at Jimmy: "That so-called Shadow Beast, where's its corpse?"

Jimmy: "It's still in that warehouse. We had to evacuate in a hurry and didn't have time to deal with the corpse. Should we bring it back, or leave it to the Church to handle?"

Lambert's expression changed a bit, hesitated for a while, then tapped his finger on the table, "Let them handle it. I can't be sure if sending our people to deal with it would lead to more severe consequences. If even they can't avoid corruption, my young men certainly couldn't withstand it. It's a terrible situation."

Jimmy nodded: "Alright, I understand. So, I'll contact Horton at the hospital now and have them arrange people to clean up the scene as soon as possible. If the scene gets discovered, we may face more trouble later."

Jimmy turned to leave, but Lambert suddenly called out to him: "Jimmy, wait, Horton the Priest… does he have…"

Jimmy took a deep breath, turned to look at Lambert: "That's what worries me. I need to go to the hospital to check."

Lambert: "Inspect carefully, and also get involved in processing the scene. Inform me immediately if there are any issues."

Jimmy nodded: "Is there anything else?"

Lambert waved his hand, only then did Jimmy leave his office.

Jimmy could understand Lambert's dilemma; people in high positions always are accustomed to controlling everything. But matters of the paranormal side are too dangerous for ordinary people. Even if they want to recover the Shadow Beast's corpse for research, they have to worry whether the people handling it might have issues. Besides, if something goes wrong, the Church would surely bite off a chunk from them mercilessly. Lambert wasn't like those movie characters who want to control everything at any cost, even when big problems arise. That's commendable.

Back at the hospital, Horton the Priest anxiously inquired about the details of Jimmy and their operation. There hadn't been time to talk much over the phone earlier, so it was definitely better to ask face-to-face.

Jimmy didn't hide anything either; after explaining the entire process, he asked: "Horton the Priest, I have a question. Having fought the same Shadow Beast, why do you show no signs of infection?"

Horton frowned, contemplating. This question wasn't easy to answer. He carefully recollected his battle with the Shadow Beast and finally recalled a detail: in the cavern, they only lured the Shadow Beast out and weren't injured, while the Shadow Beast got drenched in Holy Water from their Holy Water Bomb as soon as it came out. Could it be related to that?

Horton shared his speculation with Jimmy and mentioned he'd communicate with other Priests. This definitely needs attention. Horton the Priest also needs to undergo a purification to prevent that evil energy from lurking within him.

The Church will handle the subsequent processing. Jimmy just stated he needed to observe, which Horton didn't refuse, as Jimmy was evidently the key player this time and seemed to have good rapport with the New York Archdiocese. After Jimmy left, Horton the Priest contacted the Church and also called Rodney the Priest in New York to inquire about Jimmy's performance there.

Soon, three Exorcism Priests rearranged personnel to head to the Shadow Beast's site. Recovering this potentially contaminating corpse was certainly not an easy task. Thus, upon obtaining permission, they planned to directly destroy the Shadow Beast's corpse and purify and burn the warehouse to ensure its corpse wouldn't cause other issues. As for incidental damage at the farm, this couldn't be addressed for now. If necessary, let the farm owner negotiate with the Church.

Once everything was cleaned up at the farm, the group proceeded to the Shadow Beast's cavern, where it was first discovered. There were surely some unusual areas inside, still the Church's personnel ventured inside for cleanup. This time, they brought ample Holy Water, ensuring every strange spot inside the cavern could be sprayed with Holy Water.

Jimmy stood outside the cavern; the cleaning process inside didn't require his involvement. As per Lambert's request, he engaged, but only as an observer.

While he idly decided to walk to an open field outside to smoke and wait, two Priests emerged from the cavern, "Agent Yang, we need you to come in. There are things inside that need your confirmation."

Jimmy shrugged and walked into the cavern with the Priests. The cavern was large, not one of those caves where you needed to crawl inside. Beyond the entrance, one could walk upright. On the cavern walls, one could even see plenty of tree roots. Judging by the scale of the cavern and the appearance of the roots, this cavern had existed for a considerable time.

They walked to a split path; the Priest indicated a direction to Jimmy, and the two arrived at the end of the split path. Here, they found several decayed corpses and skeletons. It seems these people were captured by the Shadow Beast, and this was where it imprisoned its food.

Identifying these corpses wasn't easy; Jimmy merely glanced at them and nodded at the Priest. They returned to the main path and walked down until reaching a large space at the end.

In a corner here was a platform one could pile up, showing many black marks and some remnants like snakeskin. If one speculates reasonably, could the Shadow Beast have a habit of shedding skin like snakes?

The Priest used a stick to poke around beside the platform, let's call it a garbage heap. There were many items here, but due to their age and the damp, cold, underground environment, they gradually decayed, and a lot of these things fused together.

"This is it." The Priest pointed out a revolver for Jimmy to examine. He was astonished to find this gun looked very similar to his own revolver. "We just discovered it; your revolvers are quite unique, so upon seeing this one, I thought perhaps you could identify their origin?"

"Wait a moment." Jimmy took out two pairs of gloves, wearing one pair himself, and used the other pair to observe the revolver more carefully. He could confirm this gun was basically the same as his own; despite the environment, it hadn't corroded, and the cylinder could still rotate freely, which ordinary handguns couldn't achieve.

"Priest, please help find if there's a second gun."

Jimmy placed the gun on the ground and also approached the garbage heap nearby. The Priest used a stick to poke around other items, but ultimately, they didn't find a second revolver.

Jimmy looked at the Priest: "Priest, this gun is very important to me, I would like to…"

The Priest waved his hand: "Keep it, as a token of our joint battle…"

Jimmy thanked the Priest again, then returned and climbed out of the cavern. This revolver needed proper cleaning; afterward, he could communicate with Roland when there's an opportunity.