Chapter 69

Late at Night.

The busy sports field was filled with a cacophony of voices.

A girl with a birthmark on her face was starting to feel drowsy, but unfortunately, her brother was still in the middle of the game, so she couldn't leave just yet.

However, after she yawned again, a firefly suddenly emerged from her mouth.

She widened her eyes in surprise.

"Mom, a firefly!"

"Don't disturb me while I'm watching the game."

But sadly, her mother didn't respond.

The little girl wasn't angry; she focused intently on the firefly, watching it land on her clothes before drifting away into the distance.

In the dark of night, the firefly sparkled like a tiny star, and the girl was captivated. She ran to the aisle and followed the firefly's flight path towards the iron frame below the audience seats.

Several times, she almost caught it, but it was always just out of reach.

The area beneath the audience seats was quite dark, and even the cheers from the field became distant and faint.

The girl suddenly felt a pang of fear but didn't want to let the firefly escape. She gathered her courage and moved forward a few more steps.

Suddenly, a pair of eerie gloves appeared from the darkness and enclosed the firefly.

Then a faint light revealed a strange clown face.

"Hello, Vicky, is that how your friends call you? Vicky?"

The clown mimicked a child's tone, which sounded somewhat familiar to Vicky.

The clown's pupils were unfocused, but its gaze was strangely bright, reminiscent of her family's dog.

"Can you guess why I know your name? I'm also your friend, hehe."

Pennywise shook its head and made a particularly comical appearance.

"I don't know you. You're not my friend. You make me scared."

Vicky didn't know how to describe this bizarre scene. She felt uneasy and turned to leave, but just as she turned, she heard a whimpering sound.

"Wuwuwu."

This made her stop again and look back.

The clown was crying with tears streaming down its face, its voice making listeners weep and feel sorrow.

"Everyone hates me. They laugh at me for being a freak. The seven, oh, six friends I had years ago are still trying to torment me, and one friend was even worse; he broke his promise and betrayed me."

The clown cried pitifully: "Forget it. Pennywise, the kindest and most trustworthy in the town, will never have a child as a friend. Wuwuwu."

Vicky touched the birthmark on her face, also affected by the clown's tears: "My friends also laugh at me because of the red birthmark on my face."

"Really?"

The clown's eyes brightened even more: "Just because of that? That's so foolish. I can remove it right away, just like magic. Come closer, and I'll help you get rid of that red birthmark."

"Can you really help me remove it?"

"Of course, because we're friends now, right?"

Pennywise emitted a chilling laugh.

"Hmm."

Vicky nodded in acknowledgment but still felt uneasy. The temptation to remove the birthmark was too strong for her, so she cautiously moved forward, maintaining a safe distance.

"That distance isn't enough, Vicky. You need to come a bit closer. I want to see exactly how big the birthmark is. Never mind, I understand now. You hate me, so you don't want to come close. You must laugh at my face too."

"No, I won't laugh at you. I'm a good child."

Vicky mustered her courage and moved closer, but the nearer she got, the clearer she could see the clown's face: its grim skin, scar-like red marks, and eyes like a wild beast's.

"Is this distance okay?"

"Of course. Let me count to three."

"Three."

"Two."

The clown's mouth was already starting to froth with saliva.

Vicky waited for a long time for the third count, feeling puzzled. "You haven't…"

Before she could finish her sentence, a gaping maw suddenly bit into her face, and her body was quickly dragged away.

It was like a gust of wind swept through, leaving no trace behind, not even a red balloon.

...

That night, Randy Xue was also busy. After leaving Carrie's house, he spent half the night searching for traces of the clown in the eastern suburbs and even visited the three places where the incidents had occurred, but unfortunately, found no clues.

Of course, finding the clown was secondary; setting up the formation was the key.

With fewer patrol officers at night, Randy Xue could run more boldly.

His main target was in the eastern suburbs. He worked until three or four in the morning, finally setting up the seeds in the eastern suburbs and the forest.

He then returned home to rest for a while.

His body wasn't tired, but setting up the formation and planting the seeds consumed a lot of mental energy.

When he woke up again, it was already approaching noon the next day.

Randy Xue prepared some simple food and, after eating, was ready to head to the western city.

Just as he reached the door, he encountered the same young nun from before.

She was anxiously standing at the door.

"You, you're Catherine, right?"

"Yes."

Seeing the door open, Catherine quickly stood up straight.

Regarding this evangelistic mission, after returning the day before, she had reported to the dean and wanted the dean to accompany her to persuade Randy Xue. With the dean, who had witnessed miracles, present, surely Randy Xue would repent.

But unfortunately, when the dean heard it was just an Asian orphan, he lost interest.

"Don't come to me with every little issue. Can't you solve this minor problem on your own? How can you prove your devotion if you turn to God for help with every difficulty? Catherine, I think your practice is still lacking."

These words made Catherine feel deeply ashamed, and she hardly slept that night.

The next day, she diligently read the Bible, hoping to find ways to refute Randy Xue.

However, she was soon called away by a monk because the Abbot wanted to see her.

Catherine was puzzled because the previous night, the Abbot had been very unfriendly, making Catherine think they were looking for trouble.

However, upon meeting, the Abbot was in tears and apologizing profusely.

"We were wrong about you. God truly exists. We witnessed the power of the cross. Last night, the monster came again. We saw clearly that it was a terrifying werewolf, impervious to bullets! It toyed with us like a cat playing with a mouse."

"We tried using a silver cross from the room, and it turned out to be very effective. The werewolf was immediately scared away!"

"Oh God, forgive our doubts. We will atone with even more devotion for the rest of our lives!"

Following Catherine's shock, the two of them donated a large sum of atonement money to the church and apologized profusely before leaving.

A werewolf?

Catherine was skeptical. She even wondered if it was just a particularly large gray wolf, and the Abbot might have exaggerated.

But God protected them, that was for sure!

Her friend, Evely, also advised her: "That obstinate Randy… Never mind. Now that you have evidence before you, you can talk to him again. I'm sure he will repent and might even beg you to strengthen the church!"

Encouraged by her friend, Catherine felt fully prepared and decided to visit Randy Xue again today.