The Fire

When the flames finally died out, all the staff had returned to their offices. The water sprinkling fire extinguishing device had also stopped. Professor Aethenitis shook his head as he looked at the burnt catfish bodies, realizing that it was now impossible to conduct any valuable research on the remains.

But on the bright side, they had samples, enough to extract DNA, and perhaps they would be able to cultivate the same species of catfish through the DNA. That was the only comforting thought.

"Professor..." His assistant looked sorrowfully at the scene before him and said to Professor Aethenitis in a dejected tone, "What should we do now? And...that sudden fire..."

Professor Aethenitis just shook his head and said, "It's fine, we kept samples!" With that, he put on gloves, walked towards the ashes of the burnt catfish, and gently squeezed. The ashes suddenly turned into dust in his hand and quickly flew up, becoming specks of light that twinkled for a moment before disappearing.

Not only the piece that the professor squeezed turned into light specks, but the entire body of the catfish did as well. They twinkled slightly, then flew into the air and disappeared. The massive metal plate that held the catfish was now spotless, with no traces of being scorched or having held anything.

"Good Lord–" someone couldn't help but cross themselves.

"Do you believe in God?" Professor Aethenitis asked his assistant. However, his voice trembled uncontrollably as he spoke.

"I don't know... maybe he's watching us." The assistant carefully responded. "Everyone hopes for a God, and I've thought too, maybe there is one..." His words were somewhat incoherent.

"I don't know if I still want there to be a God because if there is a God, there must be a devil too. God might sometimes ignore you, but when the devil finds you... you end up like this..." Professor Aethenitis pointed to the massive, now empty, plate.

The assistant fell silent, wanting to say something but ending up not.

If there is a God, there must be a devil too. The peculiar fire left everyone feeling a chill, as if what was burning was not fire but cold snow.

The lab fell into silence. Nobody spoke.

A car sped down the highway. The drive from Austin to Harold would take over four hours of high-speed driving. Along the way, one could see the typical landscapes of the West.

"That thing's definitely burnt now, right?" On the way, Officer Patton couldn't help but ask again, "Just like that... we could burn that catfish and leave them with nothing valuable to research. Don't you find it astounding?"

"This is the sixth time you've asked that question." Chief Louise said somewhat impatiently as she drove, "Patton, stop obsessing over this. If Mr. Jason said it's possible, then it is. As for the outcome, it's not our concern. We should trust Mr. Jason."

"Why not give him a call?" Eventually, Chief Louise couldn't bear it anymore and suggested, "Call Mr. Jason and express your doubts!"

Officer Patton actually did call Jason.

It seemed that Jason had anticipated their call. "I thought you'd call a bit earlier. You're on the road now, aren't you?" He asked on picking up.

Officer Patton responded with a shocked expression, "Yes, Mr. Jason, we're on the road. God, can you predict the future? How did you know we were on the road?"

"Haha– Officer Patton, you do have a sense of humor." Jason's hearty laughter came through from the other end. "Yes, I heard the sound of a car and the honking. And of course... based on the time I predicted, you should be on your way back now. So... what did you want to say?"

And so, Officer Patton relayed what happened at the lab. Jason reassured him, "Don't worry, everything will be fine. Head back without worry, this matter no longer involves you!"

Of course, there was nothing to worry about. The charm could sense and find its target on its own, and once it started burning, nothing could extinguish it until its target was completely burnt to ashes.

Yes, completely to ashes, without leaving any traces.

Jason was confident about this. The Samadhi True Fire from Taoism was not something any fire extinguisher in this world could put out. It could silently kill and erase someone from this world without leaving any traces. However, as this Samadhi True Fire was too intense, Jason rarely used it against humans.

But upon thinking this, a blue flame suddenly appeared in Jason's hand, dancing in his palm. The Samadhi True Fire of Taoism, the most rigid, the most intense, and the most positive, could indeed burn everything in this world.

Chief Louise didn't go to Jason's house. She felt a bit awkward about it, still conflicted about her previous actions towards him. She worried that Jason might still hold negative thoughts about her. Her own thoughts made Chief Louise feel uncomfortable.

Moreover, the events of the past few days had completely upended her understanding of things. Right now, she just wanted to go back to the police station and process everything that had happened and the impact it had on her.

So far, Jason hadn't been able to deduce any information about the escaped spirit creature. While he felt a bit regretful about it, he also sensed that the creature could appear anytime and anywhere in the town. Or perhaps somewhere else, but not too far away, as it was injured.

As he was lost in thought, Jason suddenly heard someone calling his name outside. He recognized the voice as Lisa's. He pushed open the door and stepped onto the balcony. Lisa and Elizabeth were in the front yard, waving at him.

"Hi, Jason!" Lisa didn't have any reverence towards Jason, just a pure desire to get closer to him.

"Hello, Mr. Jason!" Elizabeth was more respectful and proper, showing more deference.

Jason looked at the two of them, but didn't invite them inside. He stood on the balcony, looking at them from a distance and asked, "Is there something you need?"

Lisa was taken aback by Jason's response. Normally, Jason was much friendlier and would invite her inside to sit and chat. Feeling a bit awkward, she shook her head and said, "No, Mr. Jason. I just... suddenly realized that I still have a lot of things to do. If I wait until Monday to go back to school, I might not be able to finish them. Goodbye..." With that, she waved her hand, turned around, and walked away with an awkward smile on her face.

Elizabeth also gave Jason an awkward smile, then got into the car and said to Lisa in the passenger seat, "Are you crazy? Why didn't you go inside when we arrived here? Are you okay?"

The car started and drove onto the highway. Lisa's face was filled with disappointment. Her fair face, adorned with a few freckles and a slightly wrinkled nose, looked cute.

"He didn't invite us inside... Did you see that? He stood so far away and talked to us. I mean... he didn't want us to come in at all!" Lisa complained, feeling upset. "What's wrong with me? What's happening to me? I should slap myself and wake up."

"Well, you should indeed slap yourself. Do you need my help?" Elizabeth retorted, rolling her eyes at her. "If I were you, I wouldn't fall for someone like Jason because it's destined to be painful."

"Shut up, Elizabeth!" Lisa couldn't help but complain, "You, you'll never find a boyfriend with your attitude."

"Fine, maybe I won't find one because my race will never allow me to have a normal boyfriend." Elizabeth replied, feeling a bit lost.

A moment of silence followed, and then Lisa reached out and gently patted Elizabeth's leg. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean it. You know I didn't mean it..."

Elizabeth gave a nonchalant smile. "No need to apologize. It's the truth. But I was wondering, when do you plan to tell Mr. Jason about the person we encountered?"

Yes, they had encountered a man last night while watching a movie. He was elegant and gentlemanly.