Eldritch Horror Theatre

"You wish!"

Tan Ying rolled her eyes at Fu Qian's sincerity, clearly taking it as a joke.

"You're pretty ruthless, though. Hitting someone with something that heavy—aren't you afraid of seriously hurting them?"

She leaned close to Fu Qian, lowering her voice, her gaze burning.

"Qin Mingze told me you were a dangerous individual. I didn't believe him at first."

"Just a reminder, private investigations are illegal."

Under her scrutiny, Fu Qian didn't feel the slightest discomfort.

It was no surprise that Tan Ying knew about him smashing someone with a Coke. She was probably the one who had told Pei Yanqing about it as well.

Even so, Fu Qian wasn't worried she would suspect him of formatting those five people.

Within a broad enough system of consensus, everyone would subconsciously fit events into it to rationalize them.

So even if he tried to turn himself in, he would probably get kicked out, because the report would be impossible to write.

This was a wondrous and surging "force," acting as a natural cloak for his reckless actions.

"As if you haven't done your fair share of illegal things."

Tan Ying naturally wouldn't be bluffed by a single sentence. She wrinkled her nose and shot Fu Qian a sideways glance.

Before she could say anything else, a highly professional-looking bodyguard hurried out of the elevator and walked up to Song Hang, speaking in a low voice.

Tan Ying had clearly been keeping an eye on that side. She immediately dropped the argument and stepped forward with an expectant look.

"We didn't find her."

After listening to the report, Song Hang slowly shook his head at her.

"We've searched almost everywhere, but there's no sign of your classmate."

As he spoke, he pulled out his phone.

"Something feels a bit strange. I'll get some people to help."

"Okay!"

Tan Ying didn't refuse. To her, finding the missing person was the top priority.

"...The call won't go through?"

A moment later, however, Song Hang frowned at his phone.

"Is there no signal?"

Startled, Tan Ying subconsciously reached for her own phone.

"There is, but it just won't connect... Wait a minute, couldn't you get through to your classmate earlier either?"

Song Hang scrutinized his phone, a sudden realization hitting him.

"Could it be that the communication issue is actually on our end?"

"Try yours."

Without waiting for Tan Ying to reply, he gestured to the bodyguard beside him.

The bodyguard swiftly pulled out his phone, dialed a number, and then shook his head even more swiftly.

...

"It looks like we'd better go outside and try to make contact."

After a brief silence, Song Hang quickly offered a suggestion.

Tan Ying had no objections to this either.

When her initial calls hadn't gone through, she had instinctively assumed the problem lay with Pei Yanqing's phone and hadn't considered this possibility.

If it was just their own signal issue, going outside to call would undoubtedly make things much simpler.

However, before they could move, another man in a black suit came rushing over from the elevators.

"What? We're locked inside?"

Upon hearing the second bodyguard's report, Song Hang almost lost his sharp, composed demeanor.

"How is that possible!"

"It's true. We checked everywhere, and all the exit doors have been locked shut."

The second bodyguard wore a bitter expression, but his tone was absolute.

"Maybe it's just getting late. After all, it's already so dark outside."

Tan Ying looked up; the mall's roof had a transparent design, revealing the gloomy darkness outside.

"It's even more dangerous for her to be alone after dark. We have to find her quickly."

Her voice quickly filled with deeper worry.

She had also grown much slower to notice the unreasonableness of these sudden changes.

Standing nearby, Fu Qian silently evaluated the situation.

The unnatural darkness outside was his doing, of course. Yet, so far, the four people in front of him hadn't noticed anything abnormal about the sudden nightfall.

"What the hell are the people running this place doing?"

Baffled by their sudden confinement, Song Hang was clearly displeased. He stepped to the side and glanced outside.

"It's pitch black out there. I can't see anyone at all."

"We need to get out first, or we might be trapped here all night."

Seeing Tan Ying's worried face, he continued.

"Since the exit routes are locked and they didn't find your classmate, it's highly probable that she already left."

"Fortunately, the elevators are still running. Let's head down first and see if we can get out through the basement."

His logic was sound. Seeing that Tan Ying didn't object, Song Hang calmly took charge, gesturing for everyone to head to the nearby elevator.

Just then, a moderate commotion broke out on the floors below.

It seemed that other people in the mall had also discovered the locked doors and realized they were trapped.

Song Hang paid the noise no mind. The elevator had arrived, and the third bodyguard had returned. He ordered his men to set the elevator to the basement level and motioned for Tan Ying to step inside.

She didn't refuse, but before walking in, she grabbed Fu Qian by the arm, leaving him no chance to slack off.

The rattling elevator doors quickly shut. Under the pale glare of the LED lights, the group of six slowly descended.

"Still no way out. The doors to the garage are all locked."

Unfortunately, after the elevator doors opened, the three bodyguards quickly scouted the area, only to bring back more hopeless news moments later.

...

"To the mall management office. They should have a landline there."

Hearing this bad news, Song Hang stayed silent for a long moment before speaking through slightly gritted teeth.

His intention was clear: since their cell phones had no signal, they would use a landline to contact the outside and get someone to open the doors.

In the information age, one had to admit it was a solid plan.

In an older mall like this, the management office was usually located underground. The bodyguards quickly found a passageway leading upward, guiding the three of them up to search, with Fu Qian silently trailing at the back.

The dead cell phone signals were naturally his doing as well.

Come to think of it, trapping everyone inside the mall was an idea inspired by Classmate Ji Liushuang.

Soon, the six of them found the mall management office at the end of a corridor.

Unfortunately, the office door was also locked.

"Kick it open."

Song Hang didn't waste words, simply gesturing for his men to act.

The bodyguards exchanged a glance and didn't hesitate.

One of them stepped right up and delivered a kick.

Spending too long in a confined space tended to put people in a bad mood, so this kick was brimming with tiger-like vigor, carrying quite a bit of pent-up frustration.

A flimsy wooden door like this naturally couldn't withstand such a violent assault, bursting open on impact.

The office wasn't large, and its furnishings were quite simple. There were only two old wooden desks and some scattered office equipment.

Sitting on one of the desks was a gray telephone.

Without needing Song Hang's reminder, the bodyguards quickly stepped forward and picked up the receiver.

"No dial tone."

A moment later, his face fell in disappointment as he shook his head at the group.

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