Chapter 111
After all, capability has never been the most important thing to the Master. Attitude determines everything! If a disciple cannot handle overtime work, what use does the church have for them? How can divine powers be refined? When will the Master finally ascend to godhood?
However, Randy paid a bit more attention to Max and the others' encounters.
Of course, he knew there were other monsters in Derry Town. He just hadn't had time to deal with them yet. Once the grand array was in place, whatever needed to be recruited would be recruited, and those that needed to be sent underground would be sent underground.
Once the foundation of Derry Town was solidified, he would need to expand outward.
Randy's intuition told him that the nearby towns might hold some surprises.
Randy spread a map out on the table.
Derry Town was the largest city within a radius of several dozen kilometers.
To the north of Derry Town was Collins Town, where the Bee and her people originated.
It was a prosperous place with booming fishing and gemstone industries and beautiful coastal scenery. It was a favorite vacation spot for many wealthy merchants.
Randy looked into the situation in Collins Town. It had a population of over ten thousand, making it the third-largest city in the area. However, crime was rare, and there weren't even any local strange legends.
That wasn't normal.
Based on what Randy knew, there was a powerful witch in the town. She used Satan's name to gather sacrifices by exploiting human greed.
For a town to be this peaceful, either all the evil entities had been subdued by her or hidden by her.
It seemed this witch was someone with real abilities, and Randy decided to take extra caution.
He marked Collins Town as an orange threat—Level 3: there were entities in the town at Carrie's level or possibly stronger.
Next, he looked at another town.
To the east was the coast, and beyond it was Crockett Island.
The island had once been prosperous, but environmental pollution from oil extraction had caused most of the residents to leave. Now, only a few dozen people remained.
"With such a small population, there probably isn't anything too evil lurking there, and monsters usually dislike polluted environments."
Randy marked this place in green, a Level 1 threat with no significant danger. With just a gun, one could easily dominate that town.
Further inland, to the west, was the famous Silent Hill. This place needed no introduction—whether in games or movies, it was known as a dangerous location.
"But it's also a great place."
Randy was thrilled, feeling particularly excited. Compared to Silent Hill, Derry Town seemed downright wholesome.
The boundary between the real world and the otherworld? In Silent Hill, it seemed there were probably more monsters than living people—Pyramid Head, insane nurses, the Bound Man, and even the Mother of all these entities.
Randy thought it was definitely worth visiting in person.
He marked Silent Hill, like Collins Town, with an orange threat level.
Randy continued studying the map and soon noticed something unusual. Northwest of the town, there should have been another town, but the latest map only marked it with a question mark.
"Could it be a highly dangerous area?"
Randy pulled out his phone and searched for an older map, quickly finding one from ten years ago. That version had a name for the missing town.
"Dream Town?"
Randy looked up news about Dream Town and discovered that a few years ago, over a thousand people had mysteriously disappeared, leading authorities to seal off the area.
The entire population vanished without a trace, which was clearly tied to something supernatural.
Dream Town? More like Nightmare Town by now.
After thinking for a moment, Randy marked it with an orange threat level as well.
He would have to explore it at some point to understand what was going on inside. After all, it could eventually impact Derry Town if left unchecked.
Moving on, Randy looked at a town south of Derry, called Madison.
The population wasn't large, just over a thousand people, but the town was famous for an infamous serial killer named John who had murdered 33 people 33 years ago, only to vanish without a trace afterward. The case had caused quite a stir in Maine at the time.
Recently, though, there hadn't been any significant news from the town.
"With such a notorious case and a population of over a thousand, there must be something evil brewing there."
Randy marked Madison with a yellow tag, indicating a Level 2 threat. There could be supernatural forces at play.
When he had free time, he planned to sweep through the town.
Next, Randy looked at a town southeast of Derry, called Odd Town. Despite its intriguing name, upon closer inspection, he found that the place was completely ordinary.
In the last few decades, there hadn't been any significant incidents or mysterious events, making it a perfectly peaceful place.
However, the population was still large, with around two to three thousand people.
Randy marked the town in green, meaning no real threat.
Evil doesn't always spawn based on population size but on the nature of the soil.
If a place had a history steeped in evil, like Derry Town, even a small population could still give birth to many evil entities.
Randy continued to study the map, focusing on Mandela County in the southwest of Derry Town.
It was the second-largest city in the region, after Derry Town, with a population of over 20,000.
Mandela County was far from peaceful, with crime rates rising steadily over the past few years. Randy wondered how many of those cases might involve the supernatural.
Given the large population, Randy marked it in orange.
These were the key towns surrounding Derry.
Further away, there were places like Twin Peaks to the north, Salem to the west, and Hawkins to the south, but Randy didn't focus much on them for now.
Once he solidified control over the surrounding areas, he would look to expand further.
But the first step was to establish a strong foundation in Derry Town.
Randy took a deep breath, found the right tools, and began meditating. He wouldn't be resting tonight; he had to extract enough essence blood to power the grand array he was setting up.
He was going to call upon wind and rain, turning Derry Town into a blooming lotus.
(Note: This is a story with multiple worlds merging, so there will be adaptations. Don't dwell too much on specific details like the timeline or geography. Many original plots will be significantly altered to prevent the collapse of the world setting)
(Collins town is from dark shadows)