Eldritch Horror Theatre

Compared to before, Fran looked noticeably more anxious. As she spoke, she unconsciously glanced around, terrified of being overheard.

Jessica.

The image of the other female student surfaced in Fu Qian's mind.

'Are we really following horror movie rules here? The blonde always gets into trouble?'

"Come inside."

Seeing Fran's panic, Fu Qian stepped aside and motioned for her to enter.

Fran didn't hesitate, squeezing right past him into the room.

"What exactly happened?"

Fu Qian closed the door and thoughtfully shut the windows as well.

This action managed to relax her slightly, allowing her to answer Fu Qian's question much faster.

"Just now... with everything that happened today, I was feeling uneasy alone in my room, so I went to find Jessica to talk."

"But when I went to her room, the door was open and she wasn't inside."

"Neither she nor Cartman was there?"

Fu Qian knew those two shared a room.

"Right. The room was empty."

"Could they have gone out together?"

"Impossible! Leaving aside the fact that the car is still in the yard, I've been watching the outside ever since we got back. I'm certain no one left."

"I see. That is a bit strange."

"But that doesn't really prove anything. And if they're both missing, why did you specifically emphasize that Jessica was gone?"

"Because her things are gone too."

Fran's tone was unusually serious.

"I looked carefully. Her luggage is still there, but all of Jessica's personal belongings are missing. I tried contacting her, but I couldn't get through."

Although she was a bit slow to react, the girl's reasoning was quite thorough.

"And then you came to me?"

"Yes."

Fran understood the implication behind Fu Qian's question and nodded.

"I didn't realize it before, but thinking about it now, Ray and Cartman have been acting a bit weird. I didn't really want to look for them."

"Understood."

Fu Qian nodded, offering no further comment.

"Anyway, this place is giving me a worse and worse feeling. And with the missing Mrs. Harold... Do you think the two could be connected? Should we notify Sheriff Jones?"

Having successfully found someone on the same page, Fran clearly felt much more secure. As her mind grew more active, she spoke faster.

'I certainly wouldn't mind that,' Fu Qian mused in response to Fran's suggestion.

It would provide a perfectly reasonable excuse to reconnect with the police. Even if Jessica wasn't truly missing, the group would likely end up moving downstairs to stay, allowing him to naturally observe the results of Jones's investigation.

However, not everyone would necessarily see it that way.

Although the situation was growing increasingly bizarre, Fu Qian didn't believe for a second that Cartman and the other two were completely innocent.

They had most likely run into something during their trip outside.

Only now, with Mrs. Harold's whereabouts unknown, they would definitely double down on their previous stance and refuse to admit to anything.

At the same time, they definitely wouldn't want too much interaction with the police.

"A reasonable choice. But if possible, it would be best to find Cartman and confirm things first."

Fu Qian answered as he stood up, walking to the door under Fran's puzzled gaze.

Click!

A second later, Fu Qian pulled the door open.

Almost instantly, two figures outside snapped to attention.

Looking up, it was none other than Ray and Cartman.

The two of them had actually crept right up to the door without making a single sound.

Fu Qian's sudden opening of the door had clearly caught them off guard.

"You guys—"

The surprise on Fu Qian's face was perfectly natural.

"Fran and I were just about to go looking for you."

As an ordinary person, Fu Qian's current hearing wasn't actually sharp enough to confirm that two people were hiding outside.

But for a professional task runner, some things were just basic operations.

The way Fu Qian saw it, if he and Fran simply decided to go to Sheriff Jones, it would undoubtedly be bad news for Ray and Cartman.

When something spelled trouble, it was best to anticipate the potential actions of those on the receiving end.

...

Ray and Cartman clearly couldn't tell if Fu Qian had opened the door on purpose.

After a brief moment of hesitation, they quickly convinced themselves to accept the narrative that he had been coming out to find them and had just happened to bump into them upon opening the door.

"We were actually just coming to look for you, too."

The two exchanged a glance before Cartman finally spoke up, explaining why they were outside.

"Oh? What is it?"

Fu Qian picked up the thread naturally, letting them speak first.

"...Jessica is gone."

Completely unaware that Fu Qian had subtly taken control of the conversation, Cartman continued.

"So she really is missing."

Fu Qian's expression didn't change as he glanced back at Fran inside the room.

Just a moment ago, her body had gone almost instantly rigid.

Cartman and Ray were right outside the door. She had no idea when they had arrived or if they had heard what she said. These thoughts spun wildly in her head.

A bizarre disappearance, an old building, and companions acting out of character—it had all successfully ignited the fear deep in her heart.

However, Fu Qian's smooth handling of the situation allowed her to relax slightly.

"Fran is here. That's good."

Out in the hall, Ray followed his gaze and looked visibly relieved.

"After discovering Jessica was gone just now, we went to Fran's room. We thought she might have gone missing too."

"When did you realize it?"

Fu Qian didn't voice any doubts, simply following up with the question.

"Not too long ago. When I got back to the room, I found that Jessica wasn't there. At first, I thought she went to chat with Fran... but then I realized something was wrong."

Cartman answered.

"Because her personal belongings are missing? I heard."

"I was just talking to Fran about it. We were about to come find you to discuss whether we should notify Sheriff Jones."

"After all, things are looking a bit strange right now. What do you think?"

...

The two men outside hesitated.

"One thing we can confirm for now is that Jessica didn't leave through the front door. Considering how big this place is and that there are areas we haven't checked yet, shouldn't we look around first, just in case she got lost?"

"Besides, even if the sheriff comes, it will take some time. If Jessica is out there alone for too long, she might get scared."

Ray suggested a moment later.

"Sure."

Fu Qian immediately agreed without even consulting Fran.

Regardless of how genuine the concern in his tone was, the suggestion itself was perfectly reasonable.

Besides, he had his own curiosity about this place.

Furthermore, given the bizarre situation, Fu Qian couldn't be sure if insisting on going straight to the sheriff would spark a conflict.

Even if he made the first move and took the two of them down, considering Jones's ambiguous attitude, his own future freedom of movement might be compromised.

"So, where do we start?"

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