"F**K!" Colton, whose pupils constricted, couldn't help but curse under his breath.

Under the glare of the armored car's lights, countless snowmen with bizarre smiles had suddenly appeared in the snow around them, seemingly determined to block their escape.

"Watch me run you over!"

A trace of madness appeared on Colton's face as he shifted into gear and slammed on the accelerator.

Amid the armored car engine's intense roar, the multitude of snowmen directly in their path were struck and toppled.

Just as Colton was furiously pressing the gas pedal, Felix, with trembling hands, took out the glass bottle he often carried.

After unscrewing the cap, he began to sprinkle the transparent liquid inside over himself and the car's interior.

"What's that? Holy Water? Damn it! Felix, where did you get so much Holy Water? You didn't become an altar boy, did you?"

While Colton, tense and focused on the road ahead, caught sight of his friend's actions in his peripheral vision, an inexplicable impulse made him quip.

"Just shut your damn mouth!" Felix retorted irritably, splashing the remaining Holy Water in the bottle at Colton.

SZZZ!

Unexpectedly, the casually splashed Holy Water acted like acid; the moment it hit Colton, a plume of black smoke instantly billowed from his skin.

"Damn it! That Bizarre has targeted me!"

The strange change on his body made Colton's expression alter drastically. Aided by the Holy Water, he finally detected the Bizarre energy that had been lurking within him for a long time.

At this critical juncture of life and death, he disregarded everything else and reached for his neck.

In the blink of an eye, he drew out a fingernail-sized, golden square.

Twisting off the top of the square, he tossed aside the golden lid.

A small hollow appeared in the center of the now-opened square.

Inside the hollow, a pinch of ochre powder was quietly emitting a holy aura.

"Damn it!" Looking at the pinch of ochre powder, a look of pained reluctance filled Colton's eyes.

But the increasingly active Bizarre Strength inside him left no room for hesitation.

Steeling himself, he raised his right hand and poured the ochre powder into his mouth.

SZZZ! Black smoke, accompanied by a burst of holy aura, erupted from his mouth.

"AAAH!" The painful scream startled Felix, who quickly grabbed the armored car's steering wheel.

"Damn it! What the hell did you eat?"

The armored car swayed from side to side, nearly colliding with the guardrails several times.

After a long while, Colton, drenched in a cold sweat and looking utterly exhausted, finally managed a slight smile.

"Fuck, I finally survived!"

"Colton, I think you could have warned me next time!"

Felix, still awkwardly maneuvering the steering wheel, had a grim look on his face.

"No, there won't be a next time!" The weakened Colton waved his hand with difficulty, gasping for breath as he spoke.

Looking at the now empty golden square in his palm, he couldn't help but regret coming to this city.

"What did you just eat? It actually disrupted that Bizarre's invasion!"

"Felix, have you heard of the Holy See's sacred objects?"

He was a bit unfamiliar with the term "sacred objects" upon suddenly hearing it, and had to think carefully before recalling its origin.

"Sacred objects? Where did you get that? Haven't they always been under the control of the Holy See?"

Colton shook his head. "How could such a precious thing come into my hands? I was merely in charge of transporting a sacred object once and happened to collect some 'naturally' shed powder, that's all!"

"The Military has the Holy See's sacred object?" Felix's eyes narrowed. Thoughts raced through his mind.

As if sensing his thoughts, Colton said, a hint of regret on his face, "Stop thinking about it. I heard that thing was hijacked in Portland. Of course, the official statement is that it was 'lost'!" After speaking, he sat up straight and took the steering wheel from Felix.

"What a real pity!" Felix exclaimed, a similar look of regret dawning on his face at the news.

Colton paid no attention to the other's psychological shift. Having regained a good deal of his Strength, he swept his gaze around to check their current location.

Then, with a turn of the steering wheel, he drove the armored vehicle onto a wide road and floored the gas pedal.

"Now that the mission has definitely failed, you'd better start thinking about how to face your Uncle Dalton!"

Colton's reminder instantly darkened Felix's expression.

Thinking of that infuriating old man, his heart immediately churned with irritation.

"Fuck!" He vehemently struck the car door beside him. Rapid thoughts flickered through his mind.

That damned Dalton wasn't the real issue; it was the Rockefeller Family behind him. They absolutely couldn't be allowed to abandon him because of this mission's failure!

As the two drove towards Eielson Air Force Base, each preoccupied with their own thoughts, they failed to notice something.

On the road the armored vehicle had just passed, a snowman suddenly emerged from the thick snow at the roadside, its dark eyes fixed intently on the distant, departing vehicle.

Meanwhile, in the central area of Fairbanks City, outside the Four Symbols Spirit Trapping Formation deployed by Chu Feng, snowmen were continuously emerging from the thick snow on the ground. Gazing at the brightly lit buildings in the distance, an eerie aura began to spread from them.

"Hmm?"

Chu Feng, who had fallen asleep not long before, was abruptly awakened by a strong, bizarre presence.

His drowsiness gone, he stood up, walked out of the building, and squinted toward the west.

The bizarre presence was coming from that direction.

Can't everyone just get through the night peacefully?

Shaking his head, Chu Feng's figure disappeared on the spot.

The next moment, he was already at the western barrier of the Spirit Trapping Formation.

The continuous ripples on the Spirit Trapping Formation's barrier and the growing number of strange snowmen not far beyond it immediately caught his eye.

"What are these things? Are the snowmen having a party?" The sheer number of these bizarre snowmen genuinely surprised him; he hadn't expected this Bizarre entity in Fairbanks City to have such a whimsical side.

Moreover, the snowmen's pitch-black eyes conveyed a strange sense of vitality, making Chu Feng wonder if their bodies contained living human souls.

Too bad. The commission I accepted this time isn't a combat mission; otherwise, I'd really like to open the barrier and have a proper 'exchange' with you all.

After Chu Feng appeared, the ripples on the barrier noticeably intensified; clearly, the appearance of this living person had piqued their interest.