This was originally a garage, but now it's been turned into a workshop. The inside is cluttered with things, completely unlike the clean and tidy old house with very few items.
"Did you get the fishing line?"
"Not yet," the agent shook his head and said, "This place is really too remote. Even if I wait for a friend to send it, it'll take a while. Can I see the fishing rod you're making?"
Linda handed what she was holding to him. The agent took it and inspected it, finding it was as she said, her craftsmanship was quite good. Although it's made of wood, it looks pretty decent. However, possibly because Linda hasn't seen a modern fishing rod and is working based on imagination, the balance of this rod has some issues, and the flexibility is not enough.
The agent thought for a moment, then said, "You should thin the tip a bit and make it softer, otherwise, you can't reel in a fish. Migratory fish are very strong, you must have enough strength and patience to beat them, and good tools are indispensable too."
Linda nodded and began modifying the fishing rod. But just at that moment, footsteps came from outside the door, and Aunt Cain's voice gradually approached from afar.
"Linda, Linda!! Are you there? Are you fiddling with those damn things again... Oh, dear, Mr. Rodriguez. Sorry to bother you. I just wanted to remind you, dinner is ready..."
Aunt Cain originally looked fierce, but when she saw the agent was also in the garage, her demeanor did a 180-degree turn, and she immediately beamed with joy.
And it was precisely at this moment, while the agent was talking to Aunt Cain, that Linda quietly hid that fishing rod. Aunt Cain seemed to think she behaved well and didn't check what she was doing.
After she left, the agent pretended to be slightly offended and said, "Your mother is great, warmly hosting us, and she conducts herself with the elegance of high society. But for some reason, she just keeps trying to matchmake us."
"You're not interested?" Linda suddenly spoke. The agent turned his head and saw her flash that peculiar smile again.
"I have a fiancée," the agent said, "When I return to America this time, we're going to get married."
The agent didn't see any disappointment on Linda's face. She just withdrew that smile and focused back on her work.
Now was a rare chance, so the agent just wanted to gather more intelligence, and he said, "This small town is indeed quite remote. For a young and beautiful girl like you, it might be hard to find a decent family here. If you could go to a big city like Los Angeles, you'd surely have a better life than now."
The agent knew full well that he should attempt to flirt at this moment, but he simply couldn't. The script neither allowed for auto-play nor for skipping. He was left to persuade in a more subtle way.
"I won't go," Linda said, "I can't go either."
"Is it your mother not letting you go? She's indeed too old to handle the hassle, but you're still young after all..."
The agent said a few more words, but Linda didn't respond, so he had no choice but to leave and prepare to eat. When he returned to the living room, the table was already filled with dishes. The agent went upstairs and called Hunting down.
This time they sat at the table, and before they could eat, Aunt Cain said, "Let's sing a hymn together."
The agent was slightly taken aback, not expecting this segment. But this was an old tradition. Some conservative Christian families, besides saying grace before meals, would occasionally sing a short piece of hymn—the same old type sung in church.
"In our garden~ there are many little birds~ the birds lay many eggs~ and can't fly away~"
Aunt Cain started singing, but the lyrics made everyone look at each other. Shiller, considering himself somewhat knowledgeable about religion, was aware of most of the Catholic and Protestant common knowledge, whether it was the Bible, hymns, or prayer rituals he was very clear about, but never heard such lyrics.
Compared to a hymn, it sounded more like a children's song, but with a sort of aria tone. Ignoring the lyrics, it did sound like a Catholic prayer song.
Aunt Cain finished the introduction, looking at everyone, seemingly expecting them to start singing. But not just Shiller, Peter and Kate also couldn't sing, so they remained silent.
Aunt Cain's face gradually darkened. She said, "Young people nowadays are increasingly disrespecting God, behaving like this will bring you no good end. Kate, you should also learn it for the child in your belly! Now, sing with me!!!"
"Sorry, Madam, I've never heard such a hymn," Peter couldn't hold back any longer, he said, "Catholic followers must be humble and tolerant. We bear original sin and are not qualified to arbitrarily interpret the Lord or the Pope's meaning; altering the words of prayer is utmost rebellion. I can't do this."
Shiller gave Peter a glance. He knew full well that Shadow Spider-man was no believer. His parents were both radical leftist revolutionaries, assassinated by someone, he inherited his parents' will, leading the leftist movement all along. He didn't believe in God.
However, perhaps due to the strong religious environment in his era, he also had deep knowledge of religion, so he deliberately said that to see Aunt Cain's reaction.
What he said wasn't wrong. The biggest difference between Catholics and Protestants is that Catholics don't have the right of scriptural interpretation. Catholics cannot question the contents of the Bible, nor arbitrarily alter the Pope's and the Church's definitions of the Bible contents. They must use their actions to atone, also called "justification by works."
As opposed to that, Protestantism believes in justification by faith, which means, as long as you believe, you've already atoned for your sins.
Many years ago, Catholicism was corrupt and exploited believers, so at that time, Protestantism was more progressive. Believers didn't need to buy indulgences or work for the church lords; as long as you believed in this church, you were a believer.
However, because Protestants could interpret the scriptures as they wished—whatever I say God means, that's what it means—it spawned a lot of cults and various demons and ghosts who spoke but didn't act.
After all, if you could atone in your heart and just claim God should help you, then who would do good deeds? And no matter how horrendous your crimes, if a little inner repentance led to God's forgiveness, then there were naturally no scruples when committing crimes.
On the other hand, after years of reform, Catholicism became more open-minded in terms of doctrine interpretation, and since actions are required for atonement, the church's management is relatively orderly. Of course, those conservatives remain outrageous.
Shiller suspected Aunt Cain might be a cultist, but she didn't preach or have strange symbols in her room, which didn't fit the traditional cultist profile. Is she about to slip?
But unexpectedly, when Peter was so resolute, Aunt Cain softened and said, "It's just a regional hymn of ours, passed down for generations. How is it sinful? Forget it if you don't want to learn, let's eat instead."
The agent figured out that, though Aunt Cain seemed crazy and bad-tempered, she was actually very clever. She seized every opportunity to act, but if the timing wasn't right, she'd instantly change direction, never leaving any handle for others.
Her tactics alone suggested she wasn't from a poor family. Moreover, she wasn't local, so how could she have songs passed down for generations?
The puzzles increased, but the answers remained elusive. After another meal, Linda hurried off to fiddle with her fishing rod, while the agent and the hunter went upstairs to review the day's clues.
"All of this must be related to that circus, but I can't see any connection between the circus and Aunt Cain, or understand Linda's role," the agent said.
The agent analyzed, while the hunter quietly listened. But after a while, the agent gave up, as there were too few clues to form connections, and most possibilities seemed far-fetched, making analysis pointless.
Neither of them was in a good state, so they decided to sleep early. They soon fell into dreams, but elsewhere, Bruce and Kent, resting in an abandoned house, slept fitfully.
As soon as Bruce fell asleep, he entered a dream again. This time, he saw through the man's eyes again, but now he'd donned a clown costume, with a bright red nose in his view, performing enthusiastically on stage.
Just as Bruce predicted, he invited a young and beautiful lady onto the stage to assist with the performance, handing her a box claiming it was a gift. The girl, perhaps seeing such a performance for the first time, eagerly opened the box.
Out sprang a terrifying puppet, causing the girl to scream in fright. Then the Joker rushed out and thumped the puppet's head with a small wooden hammer.
"Damn Pani! How could you scare such a beautiful and noble lady?! Fear not, madam, I'll protect you! I'm going to smash this villain's head hard!"
The Joker's exaggerated and funny act turned the girl's shock into laughter. She bent over the stage, clapping for the Joker's performance, and the Joker gallantly bowed like a knight, escorting her offstage. As the girl left, the Joker winked at her.
Soon, the memory shifted, with the man dressed as a Joker at the circus's makeup mirror, removing his makeup with cleansing oil. In the mirror, Bruce saw his face for the first time—a very handsome blue-eyed man.
Of course, he couldn't compare to Batman or Superman, but among ordinary people, he was quite the dashing guy, especially with classic features and the gentlemanly aura favored by people of the last century.
After removing his makeup, he left the backstage and went out through the backdoor, unexpectedly meeting a brunette girl with blue eyes who was stunned upon seeing the actor.
Then, the man went to a nearby motel, where another girl, different from the previous ones, with heavy makeup and a curvaceous figure, smoking a cigarette, was waiting for him at the door.
"Darling, why are you so late today? I've been waiting half the day. Come in, sweetie, I've prepared just for you..."
"You're so considerate, my dear."
They hugged and kissed intimately before entering the room. As they talked, the topic changed somehow.
"Really? You're a factory owner's son? But I've never heard of your hometown's name, let alone Big Creek Town. I've never even heard of Siv City. What state is it in? My God, Utah?! So far away?!"
Seeing the woman show a moment of hesitation, the man quickly hugged her waist and said, "Though we can't compare to Boston's rich, my father does hold some status locally. And small places have their benefits, my father runs that place. If you marry there, no one will treat you badly."
With a lot of sweet talk, he had the girl completely enamored. As they parted, she clung to his hand and said, "Come find me when your tour ends, I'll wait for you."