Eldritch Horror Theatre

A safe place.

Looking out the window at the overwhelming curtain of rain, Fu Qian was in no hurry to speak.

The policewoman's tone was entirely sincere, and her explanation held up to logic.

Still, considering the bizarre nature of this world, Fu Qian didn't believe it was as simple as a spreading virus.

"What's wrong? You don't believe me?"

When Fu Qian remained completely silent, Kelly let out a cold laugh.

"I could always take you right back. I bet you wouldn't last five minutes."

"Forget it. I just suffered some workplace violence back there. My access card is probably deactivated by now anyway."

Fu Qian rested his chin in his hand.

"Don't worry, it's not far. At this speed, we'll be there in no time."

Kelly smiled.

"My colleagues and I are barely maintaining order over there. Once enough people gather, we'll organize a group evacuation."

"Understood."

Fu Qian snapped his fingers, though his gaze fell on Kelly's left arm.

He could now clearly see a hastily bandaged wound on her forearm near the elbow.

"Your arm?"

"Just a scratch. It's nothing."

Kelly glanced at the seeping blood, her expression completely indifferent.

"There are hidden dangers everywhere in this place—"

A sharp screech of tires rang out, bringing her words to an abrupt halt.

Under the massive inertia, Fu Qian felt his body slam tight against the seat as the car spun rapidly.

Slamming the brakes in the rain was an incredibly dangerous move. Fortunately, he had the good habit of wearing his seatbelt.

Even in the backseat.

Fu Qian quickly adjusted his posture to brace for the impact. Amidst the dizzying spin, he even managed to glance outside from the corner of his eye.

In that fleeting glimpse, he realized a figure holding an umbrella was standing in the torrential rain right where they had just been.

The spinning car practically brushed right past the figure, yet the person didn't even twitch.

Crash!

A second later, with a deafening noise, the car slammed heavily into a roadside pillar.

But it was exactly this barrier that finally brought the vehicle to a halt and saved it from flipping over.

Still reeling from the shock, Kelly coughed violently, unbuckled her seatbelt, and tried to open her door.

"Are you okay?"

Only then did she remember Fu Qian in the back and turned around to ask.

"I'm fine."

To her surprise, he looked to be in much better shape than she was. He hadn't suffered a single scratch.

Not only that, but he calmly gestured toward her side of the car with his chin.

Following Fu Qian's hint, Kelly realized the figure who had just been standing in the middle of the road was now right outside her door.

Through the cracked-open car door, the person was staring down at her.

Kelly drew her gun almost instinctively.

She never expected someone to be standing in the middle of the road during such a downpour, nearly getting her killed just moments ago.

Thankfully, she had stayed relatively calm in that split second and managed to control the steering wheel.

Now, she could clearly see the person holding the umbrella.

It was a woman in her thirties wearing a blue skirt suit. Her face was pale as paper, and she was staring straight in their direction.

"Do you need help, ma'am?"

Kelly tried to keep her voice steady, but her eyes couldn't help drifting down to the woman's lower half.

Standing on the black asphalt, the woman was barefoot.

Washed by the torrential rain, her feet looked even paler than her face.

"Hello, Officer. Could you take me to find my husband?"

Seeming to understand Kelly's words, the looming woman spoke faintly. Her voice was inexplicably mournful—three parts human and seven parts ghost.

"Don't worry."

Even though Kelly tried her best to hide it, Fu Qian could still hear her heavy breathing.

Being stared down by a figure like this brought a psychological pressure that was truly difficult to control.

"Where is your husband?"

Managing to steady her emotions, Kelly asked cautiously.

"He left a long time ago. I'm worried he got lost."

The woman with the umbrella bent down, her face practically pressing against Kelly's, and spoke in an airy tone.

"So I wanted to ask the police for help."

"Alright, I'll take you to find him. You can sit in the front."

Kelly swallowed hard before finally answering.

"Thank you!"

The woman let out an inexplicable laugh and finally pulled her head back.

Slam!

A split second later, Kelly yanked the door shut and stomped heavily on the gas pedal.

Clearly, she was no longer concerned with her duty as a police officer and had decided that fleeing was the best option.

To her dismay, however, the car had crashed so hard earlier that the front end was wedged tight. It failed to lurch forward.

Panicking, Kelly instinctively tried to throw it in reverse. But right then, with a sharp click, the passenger door opened from the outside.

In her haste earlier, she hadn't even locked the doors.

"Thank you!"

Half of the woman's body was inside the car in an instant.

Kelly's body stiffened. Her hand gripped her gun tight, but she didn't raise it.

Setting aside whether the woman was innocent, even if there really was something wrong with her, it was impossible to predict the consequences of firing a gun in such a confined space.

As she hesitated, the woman lowered her hip onto the seat and turned around, struggling slightly to close her umbrella.

"Ah—"

An uncontrollable gasp squeezed out of Kelly's throat, but Fu Qian immediately clamped a hand over her mouth, stifling the sound.

As the woman turned, her swaying hair revealed another face beneath it.

That face was equally pale. It belonged to a slightly chubby, middle-aged man with vacant eyes.

Then, as if snapping out of a daze, the man's eyes locked onto Kelly.

"Hello."

His tone was full of confusion, as if he didn't quite grasp the situation.

"Did something happen? I came out to buy breakfast, but the road seems especially long today. I can't find my usual spot no matter how hard I look..."

"Oh, we just shut his stall down."

Seeing Kelly completely paralyzed by panic, Fu Qian casually took over the conversation.

"Ah..."

The man's face looked completely taken aback.

"How could that be..."

"It failed a health inspection."

Fu Qian continued spouting his nonchalant bullshit.

Click!

At that moment, the woman finished closing her umbrella and pulled the car door shut.

"Officer, I think I just heard his voice."

She turned back to Kelly, her voice ringing with pleasant surprise.

Upon noticing Fu Qian in the backseat, she seemed startled.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize someone was already in the car. Am I delaying your duties?"

She immediately chose to apologize, though she couldn't help explaining herself to Kelly.

"But I really did hear his voice just now. Was I hearing things?"

"You weren't. We heard it too."

Fu Qian nodded.

"He should be nearby. Visibility is just bad, making it a bit hard to find him."

"You could wait for him in here. We'll keep the lights on, and if he sees a police car, he'll definitely come over for help."

"Um... alright!"

The woman froze for a moment, as if just processing Fu Qian's words, before slowly nodding.

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