Chapter 17: Jennifer Comes Over and Evil Spirit Extraction
It had been less than a day since Danny and the others were sent to town for rest.
The police had already closed the case at the cave, publicly declaring it a gas leak incident without mentioning the crawlers.
During this process, Danny learned a bit about various supernatural organizations because there was a priest in town who would say anything for money.
Not all priests and clergy were loyal to the church.
There were also fallen clergy. The difference was whether they acted openly or secretly.
According to the priest, unless it was impossible to conceal, they would generally hide things to avoid public panic.
Once confirmed, the church would dispatch an exorcist or demonologist to handle the situation.
Exorcists were usually hired externally—often hunters with experience dealing with supernatural threats.
Being able to learn so much information about the church was a pleasant surprise for Danny.
Afterward, Danny returned to Salem with Miss Beth.
Salem was as lively as ever.
Chief Pete managed it well. There were rarely any homicides, at least on the surface.
Behind the scenes was hard to say.
The town residents had quite a few complaints about certain local characters, including some of Pete's associates.
One was a corrupt deputy, and the other was a known troublemaker.
The former was tolerable, but the latter could be said to be quite a character—a prime example of someone with questionable morals, a carrier of various diseases, and his family situation was... complicated.
Oh, and Pete's kids were hopelessly dumb, not only ranking last in school but also into some weird stuff...
What others saw as red flags, for Danny, were full of advantages. He could feel a sense of security in Salem that he couldn't find elsewhere. The weirdness was familiar, predictable—like living in a horror movie he'd already watched.
As soon as he returned to his house and lay on the sofa, a Four of Diamonds appeared in Danny's hand.
The situation had concluded, and it was time to examine the abilities of the alpha crawler.
[Containment Object: Alpha Crawler (Evil Spirit Incarnate)]
[Extractable Abilities: Soul Devour, Bloodlust, Evil Spirit Possession, Constitution Enhancement, Bone Spurs]
Soul Devour was literal—the ability to consume a person's soul, a skill possessed by most demons and evil spirits.
He'd never seen the alpha use it. Perhaps it required certain conditions?
It seemed of little use to Danny. As for Bone Spurs, he'd already witnessed it, and the intimidation factor was strong, but it wasn't very suitable for ordinary life.
After all, the fact that bone spurs would pierce through your skin was problematic.
Bloodlust, as the alpha's version, was naturally stronger, and its side effects were more obvious.
Evil Spirit Possession was even more useless. If he could directly fuse with a containment object, why would he need possession? It was called an evil spirit—what good could it be? It would be lucky if it stayed in his body and didn't leave.
The alpha's second stage should have been a combination of Evil Spirit Possession and Bone Spurs.
The only difference was that the evil spirit and the crawler were already one entity.
Normally activating Evil Spirit Possession would most likely lead to being targeted by surrounding evil spirits, resulting in tragedy and then Soul Devour.
In comparison, Constitution Enhancement was the most suitable ability for Danny.
Unlike the previous strength and hearing enhancements, constitution was an all-around improvement, and the potential for amplification was far greater than the Hillickers.
[Extract.]
After understanding the functions of the several abilities, Danny didn't hesitate. There was no casting animation or rituals—he just extracted.
[Containment Object: Alpha Crawler (Evil Spirit Incarnate)]
[Fusible Ability: Evil Spirit Possession]
Well, the Constitution Enhancement Danny had been hoping for didn't appear. Instead, he got Evil Spirit Possession.
But this was normal—a one-in-five chance. How could he get exactly what he wanted?
Fortunately, this Evil Spirit Possession was an active ability, not passive.
Otherwise, Danny wouldn't dare fuse it. In this world, who knew if he might be targeted by an evil spirit and possessed one day? It wasn't impossible.
As an active ability, there was no problem. At least he could control it.
Perhaps it would even have a miraculous effect in certain situations.
He just didn't know what would happen if he was possessed by an evil spirit and then fused with the alpha crawler?
With the major issue resolved, Danny relaxed and prepared for a nice nap.
He'd just begun to feel drowsy when the doorbell rang insistently.
Danny didn't want to bother, just wanting a good sleep, but the doorbell kept ringing without stopping.
Who the hell is this?
Danny was already feeling sleepy. He hadn't slept in the cave and had only gotten a few hours at the hotel.
Now, with this disturbance, he was annoyed.
He opened the door, and there stood a beautiful woman with tanned skin—not naturally dark, but intentionally bronzed. It was obvious who it was.
Jennifer had been watching Danny's house, so she naturally came knocking as soon as he returned.
She'd even dressed up specially today.
Jennifer wore a white cropped shirt, loosely tied at the hem, perfectly outlining her slim waist and midriff, and denim shorts that made her legs look endless, exuding casual confidence through her relaxed outfit.
"What do you want?" Danny had to admit that although he was annoyed at having his nap disturbed, Jennifer's face and figure indeed made it hard to stay mad, especially since she had a valid excuse.
"Didn't I say I was going to pursue you? You hang up on me and don't answer my calls. You're breaking my heart."
The saying that women were dramatic was true, and Jennifer was a prime example. She had the face of a model but showed a pitiful little pout, which was quite the contrast.
Danny scratched his head and said flatly, "I was sleeping. You woke me up."
Jennifer was exasperated. If it were any other guy, he'd be eagerly inviting her inside by now.
But looking at Danny's half-asleep expression, she wondered, "Am I really that unappealing?"
"Since you're awake, won't you invite me in?"
Danny thought for a moment and then stepped aside.
"Alright, come in and sit, but you have to tell me if you've encountered anything strange recently."
If it had been before, he definitely wouldn't have let Jennifer in, but hadn't he contained the alpha crawler? He felt more confident facing so-called demons now.
Judging from the demon's performance in Jennifer's Body, the alpha seemed slightly superior in raw power.
He wasn't sure about their true demonic forms.
Anyway, let's talk inside.
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