Eldritch Horror Theatre

Looking for you?

That corner of the party fell perfectly quiet.

Staring at Fu Qian, Butters and the other two wore expressions that were indescribably complicated.

Knock, knock, knock!

But the knocking continued. The person outside was even trying the doorknob.

"You—"

Under the mounting psychological pressure, one of their two supports—a guy with a prominent bump on the bridge of his nose—finally broke the silence and looked at Fu Qian.

"Double milk, double sugar. Are you sure you don't want it?"

However, his urge to speak was abruptly cut off by the voice outside.

Meeting three pairs of suddenly widened eyes, Fu Qian put on a 'told-you-so' look.

"How about I grab my drink before we talk?"

He even politely asked for their opinion.

Click!

When Butters and the other two remained silent, Fu Qian took it as agreement and stepped forward to open the door.

Sure enough, it was the provocatively dressed girl from earlier who had suggested he get a drink.

Although she was leaning against the doorframe looking slightly displeased, she was indeed holding a cup of coffee.

She had actually remembered his specific request and gone out of her way to fulfill it.

He could even see that the milk had been added exactly to his specifications.

"Thank you. Of course I want it."

Faced with such thoughtful service, Fu Qian immediately expressed his gratitude.

"Not bad!"

Taking the cup and having a sip, he offered a very sincere compliment.

...

"What exactly are you guys doing in here?"

Unfortunately, the drink provider—whose name he still didn't know—didn't look very happy.

Snorting, she peeked over Fu Qian's shoulder, seemingly trying to figure out what the men were up to inside.

"Thanks for the trouble, Salma. Do you want to come in and join us?"

The guy with the prominent nose bridge—who had been interrupted earlier—was the first to adjust his emotions, calling out with a smile.

"Sorry, I have absolutely no interest in whatever four men lock a door to do."

Unfortunately, this invitation completely killed Salma's enthusiasm.

Seeing them just standing there chatting, she instantly lost all interest and showed no desire to take even a single step inside.

"Come find me whenever you get bored."

Right before leaving, she specifically threw a wink at Fu Qian, her tone flirtatious.

"Thanks, but theoretically speaking, since I'm drinking this, shouldn't I be the least likely to get bored?"

Acknowledging her gesture, Fu Qian unabashedly raised the paper cup, displaying his own eccentric nature.

"Alright, suit yourself... Mister Wolf."

It was obvious she wasn't used to such a bland response, but Salma didn't dwell on it. She simply turned and walked away.

Although the title she used to say goodbye sounded a bit too formal.

She wasn't an acquaintance, but she seemed to have heard something about his deeds. As for the source...

Fu Qian glanced at the now-calmed Butters and casually locked the door again.

...

"You know Salma?"

By the time Fu Qian walked back to his spot, even Butters had momentarily forgotten about the trouble he had caused and expressed confusion over the brief interlude.

"I don't know her. I just mentioned outside earlier that I didn't want anything to drink... But it seems she knows me?"

Fu Qian shook his head, answering honestly, though his last few words carried a pointed implication.

"...Salma is rarely this diligent."

Sure enough, Butters subconsciously avoided his gaze while throwing out that casual excuse. "Shouldn't we get back to business?"

Seeing the conversation stray off-topic, the guy with the prominent nose bridge coldly offered that reminder, his smile now completely gone.

"Right... you have to help me this time. I really don't want to go to jail... Besides, that guy provoked me first!"

Those words snapped Butters out of his daze. The next moment, he grabbed Fu Qian's clothes and practically growled.

"Don't panic."

Faced with this plea, and with the two bystanders whose expressions had grown cautious following his recent string of actions, Fu Qian took a deep gulp of his coffee, his gaze finally turning sharp.

"Where is he?"

...

"Down below."

His demeanor had turned serious in a single second, leaving his audience somewhat unaccustomed to the shift. Butters, however, felt as if he had caught a lifesaver and answered quickly.

"And the fight happened here?"

Fu Qian nodded, paying no mind to the brevity of the answer.

Although they were already on the first floor, he had roughly surveyed the house's layout before coming in. It wasn't hard to notice an old-fashioned basement on one side with an exterior entrance.

Even in this corner room, a side door led exactly in that direction.

On such an overly lively night, it was undoubtedly a good choice for avoiding discovery.

However, a spontaneous conflict born of youthful agitation shouldn't have necessitated arranging a meeting in a place like that.

So the greater possibility was that it was being used as a temporary hiding spot after the incident.

And while the room the four of them were in looked normal enough, these insiders couldn't possibly be careless enough to leave a crime scene unattended and run somewhere else just to lock the door and scheme, could they?

"Yeah, that guy fell right there."

His sudden shift to an efficient demeanor was quite contagious. For a moment, even the prominent-nosed guy pointed at a corner of the room and spoke up.

"I see. But I have a question. Butters doesn't want to go to jail, but why are you two getting involved? Don't tell me it was a gang beating?"

Instead of walking over to examine the details, Fu Qian grew interested in the man who had just answered him.

"You don't need to worry about that. You just need to know that we are equally unwilling to see Butters get locked up."

Unfortunately, the latter wasn't quite as cooperative, offering only a stiff reply.

"And Butters firmly believes that. Understood."

Nodding, Fu Qian summarized the information he had gathered and drained his coffee in one gulp.

"Then let's head down and take a look."

...

"It was originally locked. We just pried it open..."

In the darkness, a white-painted trapdoor was carefully lifted to reveal the steps below, and Butters quietly explained.

"Be careful, there are no lights down below."

"Understood."

Seeing that the three had no intention of following him down, Fu Qian displayed the composure of a top-tier Scavenger. Only when he had walked step by step into the depths did he turn on the Lighting Equipment in his hand.

The brightness was truly far from ideal, but fortunately, the area wasn't large, and most of it was occupied by a hodgepodge of clutter.

A seemingly burly body was curled up in a twisted posture amidst the junk, a blinding pool of red spreading beneath it.

And a jacket was wrapped around its head.

The props were genuinely well-made.

Under the watchful eyes of the three people behind him, Fu Qian stepped forward without the slightest hint of hesitation. He crouched down to inspect the gruesome scene, silently marveling to himself.

As an expert in flesh and blood, even though he currently had the physique of an ordinary person, being this close to such a massive amount was enough to make some judgments.

Whether it was the floor or the jacket, the level of gore was almost unbearable to look at, but it wasn't real blood.

This undoubtedly magnified the probability of the second possibility to an infinite degree: the whole thing was just a meticulously arranged prank. However—

Fu Qian proceeded to place his hand on the "corpse." He waited quietly for a few seconds and gave a slight nod.

He didn't know if Butters and the others realized it, but this was real.

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