Sacrifices?
This was not a good word, especially when paired with terms like "evil god." Even without Ethan's explanation, they understood what they were about to face.
No one wanted to be treated as a sacrifice. Once this was made clear, Curt and the others immediately sided with Ethan and his companions. Even the fact that Ethan had pointed a gun at them earlier could be overlooked. After all, they had been under the influence of strange drugs at the time, and Ethan had been forced to act that way.
In that moment, the young people consciously found a reasonable explanation for Ethan's earlier aggressive actions and no longer regarded him and Logan with the same level of suspicion.
"What should we do now? Escape from here?"
"Escape?"
Ethan shook his head.
"The entire area is sealed by an energy wall created by a special device. This place is an isolated space designed for sacrifices. The only entrance and exit is the cave tunnel we came through."
He glanced at the sky outside, which had already gone completely dark.
"If nothing unexpected happened, that tunnel should have collapsed by now."
The young people's expressions turned grim. No one would be happy to hear that they were trapped.
"Then… what should we do?"
Compared to the others, Marty didn't seem much different. He had been so sluggish from smoking marijuana that it dulled the drug's effect on him. After Ethan removed the influence of the drug, he was nearly the same as before.
"I am an exorcist. I came here to eliminate those monsters…"
"Monsters? What kind of monsters?"
Curt and the others thought the 'monsters' Ethan mentioned earlier referred to the evil god, but from his tone, it seemed he was talking about something else.
"You'll see them soon."
Ethan didn't plan to explain too much. Saying more would only make them doubt him. Only by seeing with their own eyes would they truly believe.
So, let them see for themselves.
"Turn off the jamming device."
Ada shut off the device sitting nearby and put it away. Ethan casually picked up one of the cameras in front of him and saw that its wires had been pulled out.
"Couldn't they use wireless ones?"
Leaving the damaged camera, Ethan turned toward Ada, who casually pointed to a direction, signaling there was still a hidden camera there that she hadn't removed.
Ethan had no choice but to walk over and awkwardly speak to the wall. "I know you can see me, and I know what you are doing and what you want to do. Now I'm giving you a chance… release everything below. Remember, release everything! That way, you still have a chance to finish this job."
After saying it all in one breath, Ethan looked back at Ada.
"Actually, that camera is to your side…"
Ethan's face instantly darkened. He imagined the scene in the monitoring room, himself talking to the wall like an idiot… far too embarrassing.
The young people tried hard to hold back their laughter, while Ada and Logan laughed openly with less restraint. Still, they spared Ethan further embarrassment by not mocking him outright.
As for Ethan's words, they made Ada and Logan realize that monsters were about to appear, and they should prepare for battle.
"You want to clear out all those monsters?"
"Isn't that why we came here?"
Ethan's reply made Logan nod. They were here for fun, and fighting monsters could be seen as a way to vent, like playing a real-life monster-slaying game.
Curt and the others didn't understand the hidden meaning in their exchange, but they understood that Ethan intended to stay here and wait for the monsters to be released.
"We're just going to wait for the monsters to come to us like this?"
They didn't know what kind of monsters these were, but waiting inside a cabin full of cameras, being monitored by others, didn't seem like a good idea.
"Shouldn't we find a safer place?"
"In this area, there is no absolutely safe place."
The mountain looked ordinary, but cameras and hidden devices were everywhere, ready to spray strange gases at any time. These gases directly affected people's judgment and made them act irrationally.
In the original plot, after Curt and Jules were attacked, Curt, injured, returned to the cabin and correctly ordered his companions to stay together and not split up. The people in the monitoring room, seeing this, immediately sprayed gas to affect their intelligence. The group then "wisely" split up, giving the monsters a chance to kill them one by one and complete the sacrifice.
Now that Ethan was involved, such things would not happen. Even if the gas was sprayed frantically, Ethan could prevent it from taking effect.
As for Ethan, Logan, and Ada, their own resistance was strong. This kind of gas had no effect on them.
Just as he thought this, thick white smoke suddenly filled the cabin. Ethan only rolled his eyes. Clearly, those people hadn't taken his words seriously and wanted to "adjust" his intelligence to the level they wanted.
This way, they wouldn't need to do anything extra and could continue their ritual.
Ethan waved his hand. A light breeze formed by magic swept through the room, gathering all the white smoke into his palm. It merged with the ball of smoke he had collected earlier, and after being compressed, it nearly solidified into a grayish-white sphere.
Ada had only recently activated the jamming device, so the people in the monitoring room had no idea what Ethan could do. This was the first time they had seen him in action.
"What just happened?"
Sitterson and Hadley stared at the screen, unable to make sense of it. "Isn't there a clearer angle?"
Most of the cameras had already been removed by Ada. The remaining ones were well hidden, blended with the cabin structure, and had poor angles. They hadn't clearly seen what Ethan did. Or rather, they had seen it, but assumed he was using some kind of device.
They wanted to know what caused the phenomenon and where the tool was hidden.
"In that case, the chemical agents might not be useful. What should we do?"
Hadley looked at the screen. As the person in charge, he had to make a quick decision. Regardless of the outcome, he had to give an order.
"Send out the Buckner family."
According to the original plot, this was the Buckner family's cabin. When the young people didn't choose their own "death," the best option was to send out the Buckners, who fit the setting.
But Hadley felt the Buckners might not be enough. Based on what they had seen before the cameras were removed and jammed, those unexpected intruders were armed.
"Send out some more."
He believed this would be enough. No one, even with weapons, could withstand the siege of multiple monsters. The real issue was how to control the order in which the monsters killed the young people.
To avoid interference from the intruders, he planned to release several groups of monsters to get rid of them first.
"It's best to force them to split up!"
But just then, Ethan appeared on the screen, saying to the young people, "Whatever you do, do not split up. You'd better stay close to us, because something nasty could pop out from anywhere at any time."
By now, the young people had calmed down somewhat and were skeptical about the so-called monsters. Just releasing monsters might not be enough to scare them.
"Besides the monsters, the organization that lured you here also has armed forces. You guys… I'm afraid you are no match for those soldiers."
Calling them opponents was generous. Facing trained soldiers, what choice did these college students have besides raising their hands and surrendering?
Monsters might not scare them, but a group of armed men certainly would.
These words were heard by Sitterson and Hadley in the monitoring room. They exchanged glances, realizing this job had turned into a serious problem.
"Where did these guys come from?"
It seemed their information had been leaked. These people were clearly here for them.
Since the intruders knew what they were doing, why interfere?
What benefit was there in ruining the sacrifice? Were they lunatics who wanted to destroy the world? Fanatical cultists serving some evil god?
"Send out more groups!" Hadley immediately gave a new order, increasing the number of monsters. "Also, have the security department on standby, ready to deploy at any time!"
The so-called security department referred to the armed personnel. Normally, they maintained the base's security, but they could also be dispatched for combat missions.
"Also, notify those outside to begin contingency measures immediately!"
The so-called contingency measures meant finding another group of sacrifices.
Sitterson turned and asked Hadley, "Are you prepared to give up this time?"
"I am prepared to give up."
Hadley believed that if things got out of control, he would eliminate everyone quickly and prepare for another ritual.
"Whether or not we give up will depend on the Buckner family's performance."
(To be continued.)
***
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