Chapter 90: Camping (6)
The gas station was located between the village and Red Oak Camp, about 35 kilometers from the camp.
Although the distance wasn’t far, the road was full of winding mountain paths. For safety reasons, they couldn’t drive too fast. As a result, the jeep took over half an hour along the road before the three of them finally arrived at the remote gas station.
The gas station was run-down, far more dilapidated than Old John’s small station. The exposed gas pumps were already rusted. To fill up, they first had to catch the fuel in a bucket and then pour it into the car with a funnel.
The previous long drives and chainsaw work had already consumed quite a bit of fuel. Everly drove the car next to the pump, grabbed a metal bucket to catch the fuel, and also mixed some blended fuel to fill the chainsaw. Meanwhile, Old John used this time to go into the small convenience store next to the station, pick fuses off the shelves, and attempt to strike up a conversation with the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper, just as Misha had described, was a very fierce-looking old man. His skin was wrinkled like a dried walnut shell, with a large, grotesque burn covering the right side of his face. His teeth were crooked, he was constantly chewing tobacco, and he wore a filthy leather apron. With that appearance, he could easily pass as a villain boss in a horror movie set.
Yet, despite this appearance, when the teenagers drove toward Red Oak Camp, he kindly warned them to watch out for the “monster that lives in Emerald Lake.” Clearly, he was a member of the good-aligned faction responsible for giving useful tips.
Both Everly and Old John felt that this man must know some valuable information.
“You’re saying the monster from Emerald Lake has escaped? That’s not good… because it’s a being that can be trapped but cannot be killed…” Although the old man had initially acted like a riddle-keeper when he appeared, he wasn’t really tight-lipped. After Old John handed him a pack of expensive cigarettes, the shopkeeper quickly, just like a game NPC, spilled the information the three wanted.
“Judy—well, I mean the mother of that monster—she was an extremely unfortunate woman. Her parents were obsessed with a heretical cult and dedicated her to their evil god. When she became pregnant, Judy was forced to give birth to Gary, who was revered by the cult members as the ‘child of God.’ Later, the cult was disbanded, and Judy finally freed herself from her parents’ endless control. But she still couldn’t escape the shadow of her past, because that child, Gary, was a complete monster—he controlled her entire life!”