The clown had been taken care of.
Meg and Little Jack cautiously peeked out from the second floor.
Everything that had just happened had left them utterly stunned.
There really were things this terrifying in the world.
“Yay! Liam is so cool!”
Little Jack was the first to recover, jumping up excitedly.
This was way more thrilling than anything on TV.
Liam walked into the bedroom and found Kent there.
Meg had already given him emergency treatment, and he was wrapped head to toe in bandages.
When Kent saw Liam, he struggled to sit up.
“Mr. Liam, I can’t thank you enough. My whole body hurts right now, but at least my mind is finally at peace.”
Liam nodded.
Kent was in excellent condition now.
As long as he rested and recovered properly, the worst he would be left with was a few scars.
That was far better than being possessed by the Clown.
Then Kent spoke up.
“Liam, are you going to put me on your show? To be honest, I look pretty embarrassing right now.”
Liam answered seriously.
“I might turn what happened into a story, but I’ll protect your privacy. Things like this keep happening, and someone has to step forward and warn innocent people.”
“As long as you don’t take any pictures of me.”
Even through the gauze, Liam could see Kent smiling.
He no longer seemed bothered by the idea.
“By the way, Mr. Liam, I have to pay you for this.”
Finally, they had reached this part.
It wasn’t Liam’s main reason for doing this, but there was nothing wrong with earning some extra money to support his career while Exploring the Truth.
Kent directed Meg to take a thick envelope from a box in the bedroom.
“This is the commission I made from selling three houses last month. I’m sorry it isn’t more. We’ve never had much in savings. You know how expensive it is to raise a child, even when Little Jack is as well-behaved as he is.”
Liam accepted the money without hesitation.
It was Kent’s gesture of goodwill, and it was also payment Liam had earned.
There was no reason to refuse it.
Even as Liam was getting ready to leave, Kent called after him.
“If you ever need anything, please call me. I won’t turn you down.”
“Don’t worry. I definitely won’t hesitate to ask.”
Back in the car, Liam finally asked the question he hadn’t had a chance to bring up earlier.
“Lily, why did you say Watson is a bear spirit?”
“Every so often, a sentient creature is born in the forest. They can faintly connect with the ancient ancestors in their bloodline and gain interesting powers. Watson is one of them. Haven’t you noticed how smart he is?”
So that was it.
That explained why the Skinwalker had captured Watson and his mother.
It also explained why Watson was so much smarter than an ordinary bear.
Thinking of that, Liam asked another question.
“Then who is the ancestor of brown bears? Is there any way to make his power grow faster?”
“The Bear Mother, an ancient deity capable of healing the creatures of nature.”
“Healing? I thought it would be some kind of wild, ferocious power.” Liam was a little surprised.
“Before you white people came here, adult brown bears had no natural predators. They had no need for that sort of power. A Spirit Bear’s abilities naturally become stronger as it grows older and heavier. But if you want to speed things up, deal with more things like the one we just encountered. I can let Watson absorb the spiritual energy they leave behind.”
Liam nodded.
He had gained quite a lot today.
Not only had he dealt with the clown suit, he had also gotten an answer about Watson.
In an excellent mood, he waved a hand.
“Come on. Let’s go have a feast.”
…
Some time after Liam left, two men in ordinary maintenance uniforms appeared near Kent’s house.
“I didn’t expect things at Kent’s place to fail. That costume was so much fun too. What a shame.”
“Kent doesn’t matter anymore. We need to figure out who this Liam is. He actually managed to take care of the Joker suit.”
“Let’s report it first and let the higher-ups deal with the headache.”
The two men didn’t disturb Kent’s family.
They simply watched the house for a while, then left.
…
At a drive-thru restaurant specializing in fried chicken, Lily watched Liam go through the entire ordering process with curiosity.
“Is this where you people get your food? How convenient.”
As the car waited in line, Liam said to her, “That’s right. A fast-food restaurant. A place I both love and hate.”
Lily asked curiously, “Tell me something interesting about this place.”
Liam answered seriously.
So many people pass through places like this every day that they’re also breeding grounds for all kinds of urban legends.”
“For example, there was once a woman who bought a bucket of fried chicken. Halfway through eating it, she discovered a deep-fried rat.”
“Wow, she got a bonus,” Lily cut in.
“She certainly didn’t see it that way. Anyway, a few years ago, I used to wander around all kinds of fast-food restaurants out of curiosity.”
“One night, an employee came rushing in, clutching his hand and shouting, ‘My finger is missing! Has anyone seen it?’ We searched for it all night.”
“Then a fat guy finally couldn’t take it anymore and threw up. That was when we found the finger on the floor, still not completely digested.”
“That’s so interesting! Do you have any more stories?” Lily looked delighted.
“Of course. But I’m exhausted today. Come to the TV station tomorrow and you’ll find out. For now, let’s eat.”
The payment Liam had received came to a full six thousand dollars, enough to keep him going for a while.
He immediately bought ten buckets of fried chicken.
Fried food tasted best straight out of the fryer, so they started eating right there in the car.
It was the first time either the bear or the cat had seen food like this, and the rich smell of hot oil immediately drew them in.
Watson shoved his head straight into a bucket.
Amazingly, he effortlessly separated the meat from the bones and finished the entire bucket within minutes.
Liam had been starving for a while too.
He grabbed a drumstick and tore into it.
Half an hour later, everything was gone.
Even Lily had eaten an entire bucket by herself.
Curious, Liam picked Lily up in one hand and weighed her.
He couldn’t understand how something so tiny had managed to eat that much.
Lily spoke contentedly.
“Wow, you people have actually invented food this delicious. Do you eat this every day?”
Liam shook his head.
“Of course not. If an ordinary person ate this every day, they wouldn’t last long.”
“Why? Is there poison in it?”
“Worse than poison. Too much fat is the best kind of poison. It makes people happily eat themselves sick. It’s all part of a conspiracy between the fast-food giants and the pharmaceutical companies.”
Lily nodded repeatedly and looked at him with admiration.
“You know so much. I really did make the right choice following you.”
Liam smiled confidently.
Feeling the warm current surging through his body, he drove back to the cave.
Six thousand dollars sounded like a lot, but with how much he and Watson were eating now, it probably wouldn’t last very long.
It looked like he needed to find a stable source of long-term income.