Eldritch Horror Theatre

"Why did you go?"

It was such a simple question, yet it clearly delivered quite a shock.

Just as he suspected, she wasn't a regular. She had a specific reason for going out to drink.

Watching a momentarily speechless Tia, Fu Qian kept the thought to himself and didn't rush her.

The mood was already set. Let's see what surprises she could bring him.

Even their current environment was particularly conducive to contemplating life.

"Yesterday, I suddenly... didn't want to be alone."

Gratifying. His patience was quickly rewarded. As Tia thought back to the previous day, her gaze grew slightly unfocused.

"Especially at night?"

"Right. I couldn't think of anywhere else in this place with a crowd... And then, as people left one by one, I started feeling terrible."

True to the saying that the drinker intoxicates herself, Tia quickly confessed her real reason for choosing the bar. She wasn't there for the alcohol; she was there for the living people.

"Terrible in what way?"

He had already worked out the logic of why she woke up in his house this morning, but a core driving force was still missing.

"The dark... Any place the light couldn't reach made me feel... absolutely terrified."

Her sense of immersion was palpable. Tia's breathing carried a slight tremble, but after a deep breath, she finally managed to force the words out.

"Terrified in what way? Was something hiding in it, or was the darkness itself moving, ready to crawl over and swallow you up?"

Showing no mercy, Fu Qian pressed for details.

"Neither... It wasn't something hiding inside, but the shadows forming into something..."

Enduring the interrogation, Tia actually provided them.

"Whenever there was a little patch of black in my vision, my brain uncontrollably simulated it as part of a face... I don't know what was happening. It became even more pronounced after I drank, so I didn't dare have anymore."

That made sense. Otherwise, she could have just gotten blackout drunk. There would have been no need to end up wearing a uniform and giving someone an injection.

Imagining that sight through Tia's eyes, Fu Qian silently accepted the explanation, bizarre as it sounded.

This completely explained why she had followed him of all people. For one, he had left late, and by then, her fear must have built up to a critical point.

For another, if Hake really was her uncle, Tia was likely a bit more familiar with him than with the others.

Even his status as a police officer likely provided an added sense of security.

As for the core driving force he noted earlier—the Face of Shadows that had terrified her so much?

What else could it be—

Glancing around at their surroundings and noting that the person in charge still hadn't returned, Fu Qian sighed inwardly.

While at work yesterday, she had probably experienced something horrific in the Inner World.

...

"Do you think there's something wrong with my head?"

Contrary to her expectations, he didn't show the slightest hint of mockery. That actually seemed to make Tia a little uncomfortable.

Staring at Fu Qian's face, she even managed a beat of self-deprecation.

Deeply mired in her memories, her awareness of her surroundings was understandably dulled. She didn't seem to realize how much time had passed.

"Is it possible that your talent just awakened? I suggest you take some time to discuss art with Rachel, or maybe even book a room over at the prison."

Seeing such a cooperative player in distress, Fu Qian didn't just serve up chicken soup for the soul; he delivered a bowl with a rather peculiar flavor.

"...Why hasn't he come back yet? Shouldn't we head out first?"

Speechless for a moment, Tia quickly snapped back to reality and grasped their current situation.

"Is it possible someone was just bored, heard us come in, and hid in the cabinet to play hide-and-seek?"

Fu Qian, however, remained unhurried, casually scanning the room.

"Who would play hide-and-seek in a place like this—"

Given what they had just discussed, Tia's immunity to fear was obviously running low.

"How did you know I was hiding in here?"

But her exclamation was cut off before she could finish.

Behind Fu Qian, the door of a two-tier metal cabinet pushed open from the inside, and a figure struggled out.

...

"Ah—!"

In that instant, all the fear Tia had been accumulating perfectly detonated.

Realizing what just happened, she practically leaped into the air with a shriek.

Someone was actually hiding silently in the cabinet this whole time? In a place like this?

Just the thought of it was enough to make anyone's scalp go numb, not to mention they had just been discussing the shadows. It was far too fitting.

The only thing worth rejoicing over was that the person had crawled out across from her. If it had been right behind her... though the guy actually standing with his back to the cabinet reacted with inhuman calm.

"Did you see me?"

Even as Tia couldn't help putting herself in Fu Qian's shoes, the person who emerged from the cabinet paid her no mind, locking their gaze solely on him.

"I didn't."

Only then did Fu Qian turn around to size up the newly appeared character. Seemed like he had just cracked two cases at once?

Because that type of cabinet had internal partitions, the space available for hiding wasn't large. Fortunately, the person hiding inside had a rather small frame.

A young girl, definitely underage.

Her appearance wasn't particularly striking, and her expression was even less endearing.

She had large eyes, but as she glared at him, they only added to her intimidating aura.

Her build was slight, and her clothing was even thinner. It was a good thing the chill in this place was purely psychological.

"Bullshit. Then why did you suddenly say that?"

Meeting Fu Qian's scrutiny, the girl showed no intention of backing down, interrogating him sharply.

"I said 'is it possible.' I was still discussing it with her when you interrupted,"

Fu Qian shook his head, directly turning the tables and aggressively demanding accountability.

It was actually the truth.

Believing such a cabinet could hide a person was one thing; it didn't mean he had genuinely discovered any clues.

The young girl was evidently a ruthless person; the cabinet door had been shut completely tight.

Unless someone opened it to look, what signs could there possibly be from the outside?

Therefore, the nature of his earlier remark was purely hitting the date tree whether there are dates or not.

Unfortunately, while this girl might possess decent wits and execution skills, she still suffered from the impulsive style common among the young. One sentence was enough to make her expose herself entirely.

"Who are you, and why are you here?"

Beside him, Tia had also recovered her senses and couldn't help but take over the questioning.

"...I'm looking for someone. A boy."

This time, she actually received a response. After a brief moment of thought, the girl glanced at her and spoke coldly.

Just as he suspected: one of the missing duo.

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