Eldritch Horror Theatre

"Let's start with the places we haven't checked yet."

Ray hesitated for a moment, seemingly caught off guard by how readily Fu Qian had agreed, before gritting his teeth and speaking.

It seemed they had already searched everywhere they had been active.

Fu Qian glanced at the camping lantern Ray was carrying. He figured as much; it wasn't surprising in the least.

"Let's get started, then."

Acknowledging a stiff-faced Fran, Fu Qian gestured for the two men to lead the way.

Fran looked visibly reluctant; she clearly preferred heading straight down the mountain to find Jones and the rest.

But considering she didn't even know how to drive, she hesitated for only a couple of seconds before following along.

...

The area where the five of them had been staying was merely the section closest to the entrance.

The unchecked places Ray had mentioned would undoubtedly require crossing the corridors.

The problem was that, compared to their current location, the rest of the estate clearly lacked maintenance and looked far more dilapidated.

Coupled with the recent string of events, the place felt exceptionally eerie as they walked.

As the four of them crossed the creaking corridor, Fran grew visibly tense.

And it wasn't just her. Even Ray, who had made the suggestion, and Cartman wore tight expressions. Their footsteps grew more hesitant with every stride, and it was hard to tell if they were regretting the idea.

Under such a heavy atmosphere, Fu Qian's behavior stood out like a sore thumb.

Although he didn't take the lead at the very front, his posture exuded an undeniable sense of relaxed ease.

He carefully observed his surroundings as he walked, acting as if he were just strolling through a park.

After their initial shock, his casual, strolling demeanor successfully boosted the team's morale, and someone was finally willing to break the silence.

"It looks like no one's been here."

Passing through the doors at the end of the corridor, they found themselves in a hall even more spacious than the last. After a quick look around, Cartman was the first to speak.

Indeed.

Fu Qian studied their surroundings. Most of the doors and windows were shut tight, and the musty smell was undeniably thicker.

Even though it was high noon, the lighting remained incredibly dim.

Judging by the thick layer of dust on the floor, no one had been here recently.

In fact, it was hard to imagine what state of mind Jessica could have been in to keep walking into a place like this.

"Should we head back the way we came and search the other areas first?"

Hearing Cartman's words, Ray chimed in, agreeing with the idea.

"That makes sense to a degree, but it's not entirely accurate."

Seeing Cartman and Fran seemingly agreeing with the suggestion, Fu Qian suddenly spoke up.

"Given the current situation, all we can rule out is this floor and the ones above it."

He pointed toward the staircase at the opposite corner of the hall.

"What if Jessica didn't take our route, but entered this place from somewhere else?"

"You're saying we should head down to the first floor and take a look?"

Ray immediately caught onto his meaning.

"Actually, I was leaning more toward the basement."

Fu Qian smiled cryptically as the three of them grew increasingly grim.

"After all, based on our past experience, we've found some good stuff in the basement."

Good stuff...

Combined with his expression, Fu Qian's words successfully reminded the trio of the horrifying Iron Maiden. Their morale instantly took another massive hit.

Unfortunately, the main culprit paid them no mind and headed straight for the stairs.

A few seconds later, after an internal struggle, the three of them fell into step behind him.

...

The stairs were fairly sturdy and similarly lacked any tracks.

Arriving at the floor below, they found the surroundings even more eerie and dilapidated. Debris littered the ground; even walking as a group, the oppressive atmosphere was stifling.

Fu Qian, however, seemed entirely oblivious to it. He admired the faded glory of the place without breaking his stride. After circling the area, he successfully located a passage leading further down.

"Are you sure this is necessary? It doesn't look like anyone has been down here, either."

Even as the missing girl's boyfriend, Cartman couldn't help but hesitate as he stared into the pitch-black passage.

"As the saying goes, since we're already here..."

After offering this thoroughly unconvincing reason, Fu Qian took the camping lantern from his hand and took the lead down the passage.

In truth, right from the start, Fu Qian never believed Jessica had simply gotten lost.

Given the surrounding environment, Fu Qian didn't think she had the courage to wander in here—or anywhere else—all on her own.

So in his eyes, searching for her as if she were just a lost wanderer was completely pointless.

Something abnormal must have caused Jessica's disappearance; that was what they really needed to focus on.

So no matter what, there was no way Fu Qian was going to skip the basement.

The worst-case scenario was that they'd find nothing, leaving them no choice but to head down the mountain to look for Jones.

...

As it turned out, the worst-case scenario did not happen.

When the four of them made their way down to the first basement level, an open door at the end of an even wider corridor immediately caught their attention.

Judging from its location, it didn't fit into any normal architectural layout. Its design was incredibly plain and unadorned, looking exactly like the sort of hidden passage found in legends.

...

"Are we going in?"

Walking forward and briefly inspecting it, the group exchanged glances, hesitating in the face of this unexpected discovery.

They couldn't be blamed. Standing at the doorway in the dim light, they could see that the passage continued downward into a pitch-black, seemingly bottomless depth. There was no telling where it led.

In such a bizarre place, venturing into such an unknown space required serious courage.

Courage that Jessica most likely did not possess.

"There."

Given the situation, Fu Qian jutted his chin toward the ground, gesturing for the group to look at the marks.

The tracks were quite clear; the door had just been opened.

...

That single gesture successfully crushed any excuses they had to give up the search. Both Ray and Cartman fell silent.

"Did Jessica really go down there?"

Fran took a deep breath. She stared at the marks on the ground, her face full of disbelief.

It was obvious that she was more terrified than ever, but her worry for her friend, who might have entered such a place, was equally real.

"I'm not sure. I can only say it's worth exploring."

Fu Qian remarked, simultaneously shoving the camping lantern back into Cartman's hands.

...

Taking it reflexively, Cartman froze for a moment before realizing that Fu Qian was telling him to take point.

A subconscious surge of resistance made him instinctively pull his hand back, but he quickly realized that, as Jessica's boyfriend, he had absolutely no grounds to refuse.

Finally, under the silent gazes of Ray and Fran, he gritted his teeth, raised the camping lantern high, and stepped downward.

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