Chapter 232: Encountering a Celebrity
"Hehe, I advise you not to meddle in other people's business, Priest."
The man pulled Grande towards his chest and then choked her neck.
Immediately after, he put his other hand into his pocket, and a cylindrical shape subsequently bulged on the clothes; the intention was very clear.
William raised his hands: "There is no problem with the threatening method of hiding a gun in your pocket."
"But you also have to consider the specific situation."
He said while slowly stepping back a few steps.
This made a flash of secret joy appear in the man's eyes opposite, but he was somewhat puzzled after hearing the priest's words.
"When there are many people around, it can indeed avoid causing a disturbance."
William was still stepping back slowly, and the despair in Grande's eyes opposite deepened.
"But in this kind of sparsely populated alleyway, doing so will only bind yourself in a cocoon."
The man narrowed his eyes: "Hmph, instead of having the time to talk tough in front of a woman, you'd better scram quickly, before I change my mind."
"Have you ever ridden a bicycle?" William suddenly stopped in his tracks and spoke up.
"What?"
William put his hands in his pockets: "When you choose to put your hands in your pockets while riding, there is a high probability of triggering a classic event—a suddenly appearing car."
"At this time, due to the emergency situation, you cannot pull your hands out of your pockets in time, and therefore cannot change direction."
"The final result, there is a high probability that you will proactively crash into the car and end up with a bruised and swollen face."
The man's expression became increasingly impatient: "Stinky bitch thing! What exactly are you trying to say?"
William smiled slightly, and his figure instantly disappeared from the spot.
The man opposite widened his eyes.
"So in a moment like this in an alleyway, you'd better take the gun out right from the beginning."
William's figure appeared behind the man.
The other party was suddenly startled and tried to turn around to draw the gun and shoot.
But sure enough, as William said, the gun body was stuck in the pocket for a moment, and the man's hand couldn't be pulled out at all.
Seeing this, William grabbed the other party's hand holding the gun and squeezed hard.
"Ahhh!"
The man let out a miserable howl of pain.
He let go of Grande, collapsed against the base of the wall, and then tightly gripped his arm; quite a few medicine bottles also fell around him.
William used a handkerchief to pinch a small handgun; the safety on it was still engaged.
It seemed this man was indeed bluffing just now, not intending to really make a scene here.
"You guy, I will... ugh..."
The man just raised his head wanting to say some harsh words, but the next second his neck suffered a heavy blow and he passed out.
William unloaded the bullets from the handgun, then threw it on the ground.
"I'll leave calling the police to you." He looked at the girl aside and said.
Grande curled her body up, not responding for a moment.
"Are you okay?" William frowned.
"N-no... nothing, thank you for saving me." Grande said with a weak voice.
"You wouldn't be high, right?"
Seeing this, William stepped back a few steps, closely watching the other party's movements.
People on drugs could do anything.
"Not cherishing life at such a young age, do you know how many people yearn for a healthy body."
Grande knew the other party misunderstood, and hurriedly looked up to explain: "No... I'm just not in a good state recently... often having hallucinations."
Just as she finished speaking, the priest opposite suddenly appeared in front of her eyes.
"What are you going to do!" Grande was startled.
William stared closely into her eyes: "Ask you a few questions."
"O-okay." Grande protected her chest with both hands.
"Did you, or your family, recently buy a luxury house at an extremely low price?"
She was stunned upon hearing this.
What kind of question is this?
But seeing the priest's serious look, Grande could only shake her head: "N-no, I did plan to spend some money to buy..."
She spoke halfway and only then realized she had accidentally revealed her financial status.
Fortunately, the priest opposite didn't seem to notice.
"Have you recently acquired some kind of bizarre object, like a statue, bloodstained remains..."
"This... is too scary, I never dare to collect those."
"What about games? Have you played some kind of mysterious summoning game?"
"...Summoning? This... only happens in movies, right."
After asking a few more questions, William breathed a sigh of relief.
He had already checked with [Holy Eye] earlier.
Just now he confirmed again that this guy hadn't proactively tainted herself with evil, so it could only be mental tension caused by excessive stress.
After all, except for those naturally born rich 2nd~Nth generations, other high-income groups all had to put in tremendous effort.
At this time, someone came to the alley again.
"Grande!"
Seeing the man lying on the ground and the scattered handgun parts, Braun was instantly startled.
Not long ago, in order to find Grande, he contacted the person in charge of the mall to retrieve the surveillance footage, and only then found her trail.
He raised his hands to signal that he meant no threat.
"This... Father? If you have any demands, you can say them. I already called 911 when I came just now, and the police should arrive soon."
Braun pointed to both sides; two bodyguards came with him.
"Conflict brings no benefit to either of us."
Seeing this, Grande hurriedly waved her hands, explaining what had just happened.
"So that's how it is." Braun breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Priest."
William sized up the few people.
People who could afford bodyguards of this physique obviously had unusual identities.
Plus a premiere was happening nearby; William roughly guessed the identities of these people.
"Speaking of which, this girl is indeed quite pretty."
To sneak out and buy medicine, Grande wasn't wearing makeup right now.
But her exquisite and beautiful facial features were still very outstanding.
Seeing the other party vaguely blocking in front of Grande, and the two bodyguards also keeping an eye on him from front and back, William knew these people hadn't relaxed their vigilance.
However, since the misunderstanding was cleared up, he didn't plan to tangle with the other party anymore.
William took out a business card from his pocket.
"Hallucinations generally belong to mental problems, but sometimes, the things you see might also truly exist," he spoke up.
"If you have doubts in this regard, you can come find me here."
Grande's heart trembled upon hearing this.
These past few days, whenever she mentioned hallucinations, the people around her would stare at her with the eyes of looking at a "Patient."
And the priest's words made her feel understood for the first time.
Grande's lips moved; she suddenly wanted to pour out her inner pain to the other party.
But Braun took it a step ahead: "Thank you, Mr. Priest. After we finish this period's announcements, we will consider doing some religious activities."
William smiled and nodded.
He had fulfilled his obligation; if something really happened to the other party, the subsequent matters would have nothing to do with him either.
After saying goodbye to the two, William quickly disappeared into the alley.
A moment later.
"Do you know what you are doing?" Braun roared angrily.
"Running out alone to buy medicine? What if you are caught on camera? What about the movie promotion? What about the new album...?"
Grande buried her head: "Sorry... I'm just in a bit of a bad state recently."
Braun sighed: "Alright, let's go back quickly; the fans have been waiting for you for a long time."
The four quickly left the alley.
Not long after they left, two kilometers away.
A dense shadow coiled on the roof of a building, looking towards the alley from a distance.
In the next moment, it appeared in the alley.
A dense evil aura permeated, even making the floor somewhat corroded.
It stared at Grande not far away and quietly followed.
House of Rest.
"Will! Are you okay."
Judy hopped in front of William, lifting his arm for a moment, then staring at his face.
"What could be wrong with me?" William looked strange.
Judy pointed to the newspaper news: "It says the middle school has been completely sealed off."
William glanced at it.
It turned out that after Freddy dragged them into the dream back then, Sheriff Roberto expanded the cordon once again, and this matter caused quite an impact in Philadelphia.
"Small problem, the commission has already been solved."
He remembered that glove; he would have to study it later.
"Right! Do you know about the other accident?" Judy said.
William shook his head.
She flipped to the front page of the newspaper, and he saw it written in large characters—"Shocking! Famous Singer Returns, Actually Commits Suicide in Public at Concert!"
William narrowed his eyes and quickly looked at the main text.
"Philadelphia Herald Express! Recently, famous singer Skye Riley held her comeback concert at the sports center..."
"Previously, she encountered a car accident while rushing to an announcement. Her boyfriend died in public, and Skye also announced the suspension of all commercial activities..."
"According to rumors, during the preparation for her comeback, Skye had been relying on medication to sustain herself..."
"On the day of the concert, Skye first fell on the stage. When she got up again, she revealed an unusually bizarre smile, and then smashed her own head with the microphone..."
"...Skye was pronounced dead at the scene. This incident had over ten thousand witnessing audiences, causing a sensation and panic in the community and on the internet..."
"The City Central Hospital has received over five hundred psychotherapy applications. According to a hospital official, this number is rising further..."
"The authorities have set up a special task force, but the cause of Skye Riley's death is still under investigation, and no suspicious persons were found at the scene..."
"We appeal to the citizens, for the sake of your mental health, please do not spread the bloody footage of the scene..."
Next to this text, there was also an image occupying half the page.
It was exactly the last smile famous singer Skye Riley left on the stage.
Bizarre eyes, the corners of the mouth stretched to an exaggerated angle to both sides.
This familiar expression...
Smile Entity!
William frowned tightly.
What is going on?
He should have completely purified this guy back then, and after it was over, he also investigated the surrounding residential buildings, and no other similar cases appeared.
At this time, Judy also spoke with a serious face: "It's the evil spirit from last time, right?"
William rubbed his chin: "I can't be sure yet, but the characteristics are somewhat similar."
But he cared more about another matter.
The transmission method of the Smile Entity was—committing suicide witnessed by others.
If Skye Riley was really possessed by it, then at the concert at that time, everyone would become transmitters of the curse.
Plus television broadcasts...
I'm afraid the "Smile Curse" had long spread like a plague.
If left unchecked, the whole of North America would likely be completely paralyzed within two weeks.
William immediately took his things and rushed towards the church.
There were several urgent matters that needed to be done.
First, confirm whether Skye really died because of the Smile Curse.
Relevant materials were very likely recorded in the Church.
Second, judge whether the curse could be transmitted through media.
Just now when observing the picture, William didn't feel any evil power on it.
This showed that the "Smile" after the fact didn't possess cursing ability.
If it was the same during the live broadcast, then there would be far fewer potential danger sources.
Finally, solve the source.
If it was confirmed that this time was really the Smile Curse, he must find all the audiences at that time and give them a thorough purification.
The incubation period of the Smile Curse is 4 to 7 days, after which it would make the possessed person's spirit completely break down.
And it had only been two days since the "Concert Accident"; William still had ample time.
Dei Seminary, Commission Room.
Flora was still on duty here. After greeting her, William went to the equipment alone.
He quickly found the event report regarding the "Concert."
But the assessment result surprised him somewhat.
"...Through on-site investigation, no residual evil aura was found, therefore an exorcism commission is not recognized..."
William rubbed his chin.
That singer's manner of death was too bizarre; the possibility of evil existing was very high. Why did the Church make such an assessment?
He found Flora and heard the explanation from the latter.
"The Holy Clergy Members responsible for the investigation also had similar suspicions, but they searched all over the vicinity of the venue and found no clues. Plus the recent shortage of manpower in the Church..."
With no result at the Church, William decisively chose to find an old acquaintance.
Philadelphia Police Department.
"Oh! William, I was just hesitating whether to look for you!"
A sturdy physique, a handlebar mustache, and those big white teeth.
Sheriff Gordon looked pleasantly surprised, patting William's shoulder forcefully.
Compared to last time, William's physical strength had now improved a lot.
He felt the Sheriff's strength, estimating he could take the other party down in one second.
"Sheriff, I came this time for the singer Skye Riley." William smiled slightly.
"Hey! I knew it."
Gordon rummaged through the desk, which was piled high with file materials.
He quickly pulled one out and handed it to William.
"Inside is our investigation of Skye's whereabouts the week before her death." Gordon said with his hands on his hips.
William nodded and opened the seal of the file.
"...One week before the incident, Skye had approached a drug dealer to buy restricted prescription drugs. Upon investigation, the drug dealer is named Louis, a former high school classmate of Skye..."
"Louis's corpse was found in a luxury apartment, the cause of death being a heavy blow to the head. When the forensic doctor arrived at the scene, the deceased maintained a smile..."
"Multiple people who had private contact with Skye stated that Skye showed anxiety, yelling, and fear more than once, and claimed to have seen strange people..."
"...Skye received treatment at a private hospital. According to the diagnosis log description, the patient was in a coma for over 12 hours. During this period, she mentioned words like 'Killed mother', 'Smiling face', 'Fake death' multiple times, but later the patient woke up normally..."
Besides the above, the remaining content was no different from what the Church saw, so William put the file back.
Onset time, smiling face, suicide...
Through these characteristics, William was basically certain this was the Smile Curse.
He immediately informed Gordon of the commission he had handled before.
"To think there is such a terrifying evil spirit." The Sheriff's eyes were full of shock.
William nodded: "So we must immediately find the audience from that time..."
He told the other party his thoughts.
"I support you very much... but." Gordon revealed a troubled look.
William raised his eyebrows: "What's wrong?"
Gordon said: "This incident caused a terrible impact on society. Not only did many celebrities jointly petition the police department to investigate thoroughly, but even the White House sent inquiries."
"For this reason, the Philadelphia Police Department must give the people an explanation, otherwise, there will be another shake-up in the department."
"The new Chief has been worrying about this for several days. Last time I went to him, wanting to commission you to investigate, but was driven out."
Gordon shrugged helplessly.
"Do you think public opinion will accept the statement of a charlatan! Rather than blaming an evil spirit, it's better to find someone to pose as a Middle Eastern terrorist organization; that looks more plausible!"
The Sheriff imitated a certain tone and said: "These are the Chief's exact words."
William shook his head helplessly: "Supernatural events have occurred more than once in North America recently; is your Chief unaware?"
Gordon patted William: "There are always some conservative and stubborn people in this world; they only believe what they believe."
"Ha." William spread his hands, "I couldn't agree more."
"But as a Sheriff who was first in the police academy major, first in the Philadelphia Police Department combat competition, and has the most beautiful daughter in the whole police department, I still have some 'Privileges'."
Gordon smiled mysteriously, revealing his sturdy muscular arms.
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