The rain poured down heavily.
Lightning darted across the dark and oppressive sky, creating a terrifying scene.
Boom! A muffled thunderclap sounded.
The torrential rain incessantly hammered on a car driving away from Kennedy International Airport.
Father York lay back in the rear seat, glancing at the ceaseless flow of rain against the window, feeling not terror but contemplation and calm.
Although New York, being one of the more humid cities in America, often experienced rain, it had been a long time since it had seen rain this heavy.
Turning his head, York looked at the person next to him.
Novice nun Eileen, dressed in a white novice's habit, sat properly with her body straight.
"Relax," Father York said with a gentle smile.
Boom! The thunder continued to roll.
Eileen tensed up instantly but managed to speak,
"I will, Father."
Noticing Eileen's hands tightly gripping her habit, Father York smiled.
"Are you afraid of the thunder?"
Eileen honestly replied, "A little, but please believe, Father, I will quickly adapt to the climate here and won't interfere with your work."
Hearing this formal response, York, accustomed to working alone, simply replied,
"Alright."
Just then, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.
"At this time?"
York glanced at the car's center console.
[22:21]
A call after ten at night usually meant something was up.
With this thought, York took out his continuously vibrating phone to check the screen.
Unexpectedly, the call was from an unfamiliar number, one he didn't recognize.
Yet, this unknown number reminded York of Hailey's girlfriend, Bridget, before he left on his trip.
Was her name Bridget?
Regarding the random mission, York didn't decline the unfamiliar call. Under Eileen's gaze, he tapped to answer.
Before he could speak, a crying voice, very soft, came through the phone.
"Father York! I'm Bridget, Hailey's girlfriend. There's something evil in my house! Can you come over, please save us!"
Hearing this string of words, York wasn't surprised but narrowed his eyes, instinctively analyzing.
The voice, mixed with exhalations and hoarseness, made him easily picture Bridget hiding somewhere, avoiding something, perhaps the demon he had predicted.
Thinking this, York didn't ask any questions but calmly said,
"Address!"
At that moment, Bridget on the other end seemed very relieved, coincidentally mentioning a location in the area of Kennedy International Airport, also known as the Queens area.
"Queens, Woodside on Tenth Avenue, Reed Apartments…"
However, as soon as the address was mentioned, footsteps and the sound of something scraping against the floor were heard.
"Hey! My darlings, where are you?"
Click, the call was abruptly ended.
York looked emotionlessly at his phone screen, recalling the last sentence with its devilishly teasing tone, silky smooth.
So, to what extent had the possession progressed? York looked at the driver arranged by the church.
"To Woodside on Tenth Avenue…"
By his nature, York would normally prepare a sufficient number of exorcism tools before acting, but unfortunately, there wasn't much time to prepare in this case.
The driver, sitting in the driver's seat, immediately nodded and changed direction.
"Alright, Father York."
York looked back at his phone screen, scrolling through his contacts.
"Father, what happened?" Eileen asked.
"A paranormal event related to a demon."
York smiled calmly and dialed Hannah, a hacker known for her intelligence gathering.
At this hour, she would still be awake.
He lacked much information, and the few words from Bridget weren't enough to trigger the random mission.
Of course, just going to Bridget's apartment building might trigger the random mission, but it wouldn't hurt to know more in advance.
Soon, the call connected, and Hannah's voice came through.
"Yo, yo, yo! Father York, got a job?"
Ignoring the implied meaning, York calmly said,
"Check the origins of the Reed Apartments on Tenth Avenue in Queens for me."
After speaking, York hung up.
Beep! Somewhere in a bathroom.
"Seems urgent, Reed Apartments…"
Hannah, lying in the bathtub, slightly raised her eyebrows, placed her phone aside, and stood up from the bubbles, revealing all.
Boom! The thunder continued.
While waiting for the information, York asked the driver,
"How much longer?"
The driver, calm, knew what was meant and replied,
"Ten minutes, Father York."
"Hmm."
York responded emotionlessly, thinking the wait a bit long but enough to prepare.
Seconds later.
Hannah, now covered by a blanket over her splendid figure, looked at the data on her laptop and hit the enter key.
"Sent!"
As she spoke to herself, a success notification appeared on the laptop screen.
Simultaneously.
York felt his phone vibrate, picked it up, and opened the encrypted email from Hannah, entering the password to begin reading.
Surprisingly, the history of the apartment building was quite complex.
According to Hannah's information, the Reed Apartments were built on the site of a bank from the early 20th century and were now old and near demolition.
But what caught York's attention was a historical photo in the data, showing two men, one a priest and the other a well-dressed capitalist, with a sign reading "Reed Bank" in the background.
York narrowed his eyes, muttering to himself, then smiled slightly as the mission prompt sounded in his ear.
[Random Mission Triggered] [Exorcise the demons from the entire Reed Apartments]
[Mission Reward: +27 Attribute Points] [Accept/Decline]
"27 points of difficulty, accept the mission."
York stared at the now accepted mission on the virtual window, turned off the email on his phone screen, having completed the mission trigger. There was no need to look further.
[Acceptance Successful]
___________________
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