Eldritch Horror Theatre

"You only represent yourself?"

In the office, Sheriff Stan reacted as if he'd just heard a joke. He repeated Fu Qian's words, his tone turning threatening.

"You'd better think carefully about what you're saying, or I'll make sure you never leave this place."

'Is that so? Not necessarily.'

Fu Qian mused, watching the brimming confidence of the sheriff.

'What are you going to use to keep me here? That gun on the desk?'

'Too bad pulling the trigger requires hands, and you're getting old.'

While this trip was the very definition of 'how can you catch tiger cubs without entering the tiger's den', a private meeting like this was exactly what Fu Qian had anticipated. The man clearly had secrets he wanted kept in the dark.

In a one-on-one situation, Fu Qian estimated he had at least a seventy percent chance of taking the man hostage and escaping the Police Department.

"Relax. Since I'm here, I brought absolute sincerity. The people of the Warren Family certainly don't have the authority to order me around."

"Alright, then let me see this sincerity of yours."

Stan naturally had no idea the young man sitting across from him was actively calculating the odds of putting a gun to his head. Seeing that Fu Qian didn't appear to be lying, the sheriff pushed down his momentary doubts and took on a much more serious demeanor.

"First of all, the Warren Family wants to ensure Daniel's safety."

Fu Qian carefully weighed his words, keeping a close eye on Stan's reaction as he spoke.

The sheriff's expression, however, remained entirely unchanged.

'A true veteran of the jianghu. Quite the poker face!'

'But aren't you overlooking something? For a sheriff to react so flatly to someone going missing in his own jurisdiction is suspicious in itself, isn't it?'

"Of course, he's a rather impolite young man. I'm not particularly fond of him..."

Sarcastic thoughts aside, Fu Qian continued.

"And second, Joseph is indeed in the hands of the Warren Family."

The moment those words left his mouth, a subtle shift cracked Stan's expression, despite the sheriff's best efforts to conceal it.

'So Joseph really is the key?'

Taking in the sheriff's reaction, Fu Qian silently pondered the situation.

His true goal in coming here today was to figure out the root cause of this whole incident and mine it for valuable information.

Now, he was almost completely certain that Stan was the one behind Daniel's disappearance.

Yet, capturing someone so quickly didn't look like an act of revenge.

Combined with the sheriff's earlier stress response, it felt much more like an act of self-preservation.

The man's earlier question already proved that point to an extent.

Stan clearly believed that the Warren Family had gotten their hands on something damaging to him, making him desperate for a bargaining chip.

If Daniel's men had disposed of the body fast enough, it would seem to Stan as though Joseph had simply vanished.

The sheriff's frantic rush to catch him yesterday had likely been an attempt to figure out exactly what happened.

Unfortunately for Stan, Fu Qian had succeeded in diverting trouble onto others.

Given Stan's massive reaction, there was good reason to suspect Joseph knew something. It terrified the sheriff to think the teacher might fall into the hands of a powerful faction like the Warren Family and be used against him.

"What do they want?"

After a long silence, Stan seemed to finally sort through his thoughts and spoke slowly.

"They actually don't know much. What you should be asking is what I want."

Fu Qian breathed an inward sigh of relief.

The fact that the sheriff was asking that question meant today's operation was already half a success.

Of course, he kept his tone overflowing with absolute confidence.

"I knew it. You're no ordinary student."

Stan glared at Fu Qian, his expression dark.

"Are you the one pulling the strings?"

"You could say that."

Fu Qian's answer was deliberately vague.

"Then what do you want?"

As he spoke, the sheriff's hand rested on the gun beside him, a blatant threat.

"Don't worry, I won't make any outrageous demands."

Fu Qian smiled pleasantly, gesturing for the man to calm down.

"In fact, to show my sincerity, I'll even tell you my end of the bargain first—I will have the Warren Family kill Joseph."

Sheriff Stan gave a visible jolt at those words, a deep wariness flaring in his eyes.

"Why should I believe you?"

"You don't have to believe me, because little Daniel doesn't need to make an appearance until you've confirmed his death."

Fu Qian said cryptically.

His meaning was perfectly clear: if you don't see Joseph's corpse, simply don't release your hostage.

"I can feel your sincerity. So, what do you want?"

Stan scrutinized Fu Qian with unprecedented seriousness.

"You should be able to guess, actually."

Seeing that the man had practically confirmed holding Daniel captive, Fu Qian kept up his vague front.

'He can guess...'

Watching the pondering Stan, Fu Qian felt thoroughly satisfied.

Guidance required strategy. If he had opened with that the moment he walked through the door, Sheriff Stan might have simply drawn his gun.

But after demonstrating sufficient "sincerity," the man was noticeably more patient.

"You're here for the guy behind the door? What's your relationship with him?"

Stan soon spoke again.

"Don't worry. I don't care what you did to him, and I'm certainly not here to avenge him."

Seeing that the sheriff had taken the bait so beautifully, Fu Qian continued his bluff.

"I'm simply looking for something."

"Looking for what?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that. Why don't you tell me what he left behind instead?"

Fu Qian shook his head.

"That is my demand. I want all of his belongings."

"Just that?"

Stan looked genuinely shocked, evidently never expecting Fu Qian's terms to be so simple.

"Yes."

Fu Qian's expression was dead serious.

"The same object holds different value to different people."

"Hmm..."

Stan tapped his fingers continuously against the desk. Finally, as if making up his mind, he gave him an address.

"If you're looking for something, you can check there. Also, I hope to see your sincerity soon."

"Don't worry."

Fu Qian carefully memorized the address while replying with absolute confidence.

By the time he stood up to take his leave, the sheriff seemed to be in a slightly better mood.

...

'A worthwhile trip!'

Walking out of the Police Department, Fu Qian let out a long exhale.

He had finally bought himself some breathing room.

Taking the initiative to approach Stan today was certainly to gather more information, but it was also to stabilize his current situation.

Finding Daniel's whereabouts was completely different from his previous tasks—this mission had no time limit.

Taken literally, the only possible way to fail this mission should be if Daniel died.

Through their negotiation just now, Stan was visibly relieved, which meant Daniel wouldn't be in any major danger in the short term.

At the same time, with him acting as the "middleman," the sheriff wouldn't proactively contact the Warren Family again either.

As for the Warren Family, lacking Stan's deductive motivations, they were likely still completely in the dark. It would take them a long time to draw a connection from a dead teacher all the way to the local sheriff.

It was a fragile and delicate balance, but it should buy him a decent amount of time.

As for the mission itself? Finding Daniel's whereabouts? What a joke—why would he even try looking!

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