Chapter 269: The Clown in Town (Part 6)
William walked to the sink.
With a crack, he pulled the entire sink out and set it aside.
Except for Judy, everyone else's eyes widened instantly.
Just now, when William claimed to know some exorcism methods, Sheriff Real thought it was something like "chanting the Bible."
He didn't expect...
He silently waved behind him, and the two officers standing at the bathroom door tactfully stepped back.
The positions they had been standing in were not chosen at random. In case of an "accident," the officers could control the dangerous personnel in an extremely short time.
William noticed these small movements, but he didn't expose them.
"Sheriff Real, let me borrow your flashlight."
The narrow and gloomy water pipe was illuminated by a strong beam of light. It was filled with dark red filth, and the pungent smell was nauseating.
William took out a bottle of Holy Water. "For now, it seems the monster can travel through the sewer environment. We must restrict this; otherwise, it will be very difficult to catch the other party," William said.
Real narrowed his eyes.
"The town's drainage system is very old. Above ground, the wastewater from residences and roads is separated into different pipes, but ultimately they all merge into the same sewage pool underground."
"If we go underground, we can close the passages there for a short time."
William shook his head after hearing this: "Underground is the clown's lair. Going in recklessly is no different from seeking death."
"Then what do you plan..." Real asked.
"Temporarily seal every sewer drain, taking each apartment or residence as a unit."
Real frowned: "Although this is a safer method, the town is so large, and the police department simply doesn't have enough manpower."
"Moreover, this will definitely cause opposition from the residents. Once all the drainage outlets are closed, the whole town will stink."
William smiled slightly: "Don't worry about that. But before that, I still need your help to gather all the town's residents in one place."
This was the true reason he called the police.
The clown had existed in the town for so long, its power had very likely subtly influenced the people here. Just like the light screen covering Beverly's father's eyes not long ago.
So, to completely eradicate it, they had to ensure there were no evil remnants on the residents of Derry.
But for William, a foreigner with a religious background, gaining the residents' trust would be very difficult.
However, with the help of the local police department, doing this would be much easier.
Real looked troubled after hearing this: "Gathering people like this will very likely cause a panic..."
"This problem is very easy to solve," William said.
"What do you want to do?"
"Sheriff Real, have you ever heard of community welfare handouts?"
"What?"
Two hours later.
Several patrol cars appeared on the roads everywhere in Derry town. These vehicles didn't sound their sirens; instead, they continuously broadcasted the same message through their loudspeakers.
"Good news! Good news! Residents of Derry town! The town is giving you subsidies!"
"Head to Derry Square now to buy daily necessities at super low discounts, and you can also receive free eggs! What are you waiting for, hurry to Derry Square..."
The passionate voice echoed throughout the town.
Inside the patrol car.
Two officers pulled their hats down extremely low, especially the officer in the passenger seat, who had almost completely reclined his seat.
"Hey Evan! You jerk! Didn't we agree to face this together!"
"No way, Dave, this is just too embarrassing. When I signed up for the police academy, I never thought I'd become a salesman."
"This is all for the child disappearance cases; even the Chief agreed. Hurry up and crank your seat back up; the people outside are all looking at me!"
Dave hurriedly reached over to the passenger seat, but was continuously swatted away by Evan.
"Evan! You!"
Wherever the patrol cars passed, many residential doors opened from the inside.
"Am I seeing things? Aren't those police cars? Are they playing a prank?"
"Issuing subsidies? Buying daily necessities at a discount? There's such a good thing?"
"Honey, come look at this..."
Because North America is vast and sparsely populated, the residents here would always stock up on enough supplies all at once when shopping.
And Maine was even more special. Located in the extreme northeast of North America, close to Canada, the climate here was very cold.
Especially since the winter is very long, the demand for heating supplies is massive, causing the prices of such items to keep rising.
Although it was still a few months away from winter right now, the residents would prepare in advance every year.
This way, the purchasing price could be slightly lower.
And today they actually heard about buying things and getting subsidies! This was something that had never happened before!
For a moment, everyone grabbed their cash and mobilized everyone in the family to head out.
The streets quickly filled with people.
Derry Square.
The ground here was covered with goods, all just transported from the nearby supermarkets.
William stood right in the center of the square, flanked by police officers and those children.
Not long ago, after he proposed this suggestion, he used the police department to contact all the local supermarkets.
After hearing the reason for the matter, these supermarkets were very willing to cooperate.
For one, they were also local residents.
Additionally, goods placed in supermarkets were meant to be sold. Now that someone was willing to proactively spend money to help them sell, the supermarket owners had no reason to refuse.
And the money for these subsidies came from the Church.
With William's current authority, he indeed could mobilize some resources.
Coupled with the fact that he was commissioned by Archbishop Matthew this time, no one would dare to stop him.
In short, an exorcism ritual disguised as "shopping" was quickly set up.
As more and more people gathered in the square, William carefully observed them.
"These people are indeed affected by the clown's power..."
He noticed that many residents of Derry town had a layer of light screen covering their pupils.
It was just much weaker compared to Beverly's father.
But this could equally shield a certain amount of perception, making them unable to see the anomalies appearing in the town.
"Could you please tell everyone, don't leave immediately after buying your things, come collect another portion of eggs," William turned his head and said.
"Thanks for your hard work," Real instructed the officer beside him.
Although he didn't understand why Father William was so obsessed with giving away eggs, he still chose to do as told.
The latter quickly took the order and left.
Real also mimicked William, putting on a scrutinizing look.
But apart from the smiles on the residents' faces, he couldn't see anything else.
"Speaking of which... this is truly crazy," he clicked his tongue inwardly.
As a remote small town, there had never been such a grand occasion here.
People were madly throwing the cash in their hands at the salespeople, all wanting to buy as much as possible.
Thinking of this, Real secretly took out his phone and urgently sent a text message to his wife before raising his head again.
On the other side.
Seeing that almost everyone had arrived, William immediately activated the magic arrays already set up around the area. Faint white light lit up around the square.
Along with a massive amount of light particles floating into the air, the residents of Derry town suddenly found that their bodies seemed much lighter.
This feeling was very strange, as if they had been wearing a pair of glasses all along.
The crowd just assumed this was the extra happiness brought by shopping, so they didn't take it to heart.
And William didn't stop his hand movements, continuing to use the power of the magic array to dissolve the light particles in the air.
At the same time.
Inside a certain residence in the town.
The bathtub in the bathroom was originally empty, but the next second a massive amount of blood gushed out from the drain.
The liquid quickly spread to the floor, washing a toy ball into the hallway.
Inside the drain, a pale yellow eye was staring intently at the ceiling, waiting for a certain curious lucky winner in the house.
But after fully more than ten minutes passed, no footsteps were heard in the hallway.
A look of confusion flashed in that eye, and then it drove a large amount of blood to knock over a broom on the floor.
An abrupt sound echoed in the air.
Five minutes passed... still no one came.
Gloop... Gloop...
A noisy sound came from inside the drainage pipe, and then that eye squeezed out from the entrance, quickly transforming into the appearance of a clown.
Pennywise raised its nose, sniffing greedily.
The scent of humans was very strong... but they weren't there.
This was somewhat strange.
Pennywise could clearly sense the power of the "light particles". If people weren't home, it would definitely know clearly.
Maybe... this was an accident.
It narrowed its eyes, its body quickly melting into the wall.
A moment later, in the room next door.
Pennywise encountered the same thing again.
Its chest heaved violently, and its face grew larger and smaller, seemingly finding it hard to maintain its current state.
Bang!
After leaving a crater in the wall, it continued to the next residence.
One house, two houses...
Pennywise surprisingly found that the residents of Derry town were all gone!
How could this be possible!
For the past few decades, the people here loved to stay at home during their free time, watching soap operas to pass the time.
That was why it could treat the town as its regular dining room.
What exactly happened...
Pennywise stood in a dark corner, its lower body beginning to dissolve uncontrollably, and its expression grew increasingly gloomy.
Derry Square.
"Good thing I gathered these people here. Otherwise, this massive surplus of 'light particles' would very likely become the foreshadowing for Pennywise to turn the tables," William thought inwardly after purifying the last light particle.
Although the residual power in a single resident wasn't much, gathering these people together, the extracted energy still couldn't be underestimated.
By this time, the shopping in the square was nearing its end, and people began to head back home one after another.
And the police officers had also started their work long ago.
Besides the eggs, every resident received a small glass bottle.
They were told this was a drain cleaning product.
And the Derry Police Department was conducting an annual environmental sanitation overhaul, hoping the residents would cooperate with the department's work.
The crowd naturally wouldn't refuse.
They had reaped a rich harvest today; quite a few people even suspected they were in a foreign country.
After all, such welfare activities wouldn't appear in a capital-first country.
Before long, tranquility was restored to the square.
Sheriff Real sent his wife off and arranged the subsequent wrap-up work before finding William again.
"Is it time to go underground now?"
But William shook his head.
"Sheriff, such a large crowd activity couldn't possibly be without omissions. After the purchase list comes out shortly, please dispatch personnel to investigate. Remember to hold the holy artifacts I gave you..."
Before those people came to the square, William had already given instructions—to register the address of every purchaser.
The purpose was precisely to check for omissions and fill the gaps.
"That's no problem," Real nodded.
"Are there any abandoned houses in town?" William suddenly asked.
If he remembered correctly, in the original work, the children seemed to have explored some abandoned house.
Real thought for a moment: "There is indeed a house that hasn't been lived in for a long time, right at the end of Derry's Third Street."
"That house has been abandoned for decades. I remember there used to be a well there; it was where the town residents drew water."
William nodded: "We are going there right now."
William and the group drove to a certain street.
Very few people lived here; the surroundings were just the edge of the forest.
And at the end of the street, a dilapidated wooden house stood quietly.
This was a Gothic-style building.
A pointed roof, old and blackened outer wooden walls, long-withered weeds in the yard, and a twisted dead tree...
The scene here was completely out of place with the surroundings, as if it came from some magical world.
"I... have walked past here."
At this time, that boy Eddie, who was unusually sensitive to dirty environments, spoke up weakly.
"Every time I pass by the house, I feel like I hear someone calling my name."
Because Beverly had nowhere to go, coupled with Judy's pleading, William could only temporarily bring this young girl along.
And seeing this, the group of boys also insisted on tagging along.
Considering that these children were key figures in the original work, William decided to bring them.
At this moment, even without Eddie's reminder, William could spot the anomaly.
In his vision, this house was not made of ordinary materials.
Its interior was filled with the abnormal energy William had seen on the clown.
Moreover, with the house's fence as the boundary, the entire interior seemed to be a separate world. As long as one stepped into the yard, they would be affected by this power.
At the same time, quite a lot of energy nearby was gathering towards here.
William guessed that it was the residents of Derry town pouring the Holy Water into their drains as instructed, which forced the clown to retract this portion of power.
And there were no anomalies at the drainage outlet near the Kissing Bridge either.
According to the reports of the officers who went there, they found the missing children's clothes.
Furthermore, cries for help kept coming from inside the drain, and something tried to rush out, but was blocked by the holy artifacts nearby.
Looking at it this way, this house should be the "upstream" of the clown's lair.
The root of all "evil" lay within it.
"Do you need me to mobilize police forces to storm in here?" Sheriff Real looked serious.
After the evidence gathered by his subordinates and his own personal experience...
At this time, Real completely trusted the young man in front of him.
"No, wait a little longer."
William took out his monocular telescope as he spoke.
"But there is one thing I really need the Sheriff's help with."
"Please speak."
"I need some high-horsepower vehicles. Of course, if there's something like a tractor, that would be even better," William said. "Oh, right, also prepare a few sturdy ropes."
"No problem."
Sheriff Real quickly went to make arrangements.
During this time, William observed the surroundings of the wooden house and set up ample defensive measures.
After settling these, the sheriff also brought in a large construction vehicle as requested.
"This vehicle is now yours to use." Real tossed over a key. "What are we doing next?"
William picked up the thick ropes on the ground and then smiled slightly.
"Demolishing the house."
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