Eldritch Horror Theatre

"It sounds like you've discovered a better version of yourself in the midst of this crisis."

At Fran's suggestion to head down the mountain and her subsequent self-analysis, Fu Qian smiled at the assessment and gave her a mental thumbs-up.

"I'll take your advice. Let's head down now."

...

Fran's expression remained peculiar. Clearly, she didn't find his praise very credible.

But since he had accepted her suggestion so readily, she had nothing more to say.

"Regardless, I still want to thank you."

As she followed Fu Qian outside, Fran spoke in a quiet, distant voice.

"I didn't interact with you much before this, but over the past two days, you've proven far more reliable than I imagined."

Reliable?

Faced with her compliment, Fu Qian sighed inwardly.

"That right there is the problem."

"What do you mean?"

His words clearly piqued Fran's curiosity.

Thinking about it now, the first task was actually quite simple, because everyone here was a potential Lasik.

As long as the intense pressure breached a certain psychological threshold, anyone would enter this "Lasik" state—just like Fran was doing right now.

In the most extreme scenario, if he had shoved Fran into the Iron Maiden at the very beginning of the task, he most likely would have completed it right then and there.

Even setting that aside, given the bizarre circumstances surrounding this group of young people, it was perfectly normal for them to be frightened out of their minds.

Yet, because he was overly reliable, he had subtly become the group's mental pillar, easing the tension to some degree.

From his perspective, this was exactly why Lasik remained so slippery.

His very presence naturally lowered the probability of Lasik showing up around him.

Talk about wearing out iron shoes in a fruitless search!

Naturally, Fu Qian had no intention of explaining this to Fran. He simply let out a hum.

"If that weren't the case, why would Sheriff Jones list me as his prime suspect?"

"Hehe!"

Ducking into the car, Fran let out a laugh at his remark.

Although she hadn't heard the conversation between Jones and Fu Qian, the sheriff's hostility toward him was obvious to her.

Fu Qian wasn't wrong.

People who were excessively calm always drew suspicion.

"The sheriff shouldn't have any doubts about you anymore. I just don't know how Jessica and the others are doing. She's one of my few friends."

Her smile quickly faded, replaced by a sigh.

"Speaking of which, you don't seem very close with anyone here."

"Are you accusing me of being apathetic?"

Fu Qian asked casually as he started the car.

"Of course not. I'm the one who cares, and all I do is cause trouble."

Fran said self-deprecatingly.

"Actually, you're right. I really don't know any of you that well."

Fu Qian replied with complete honesty.

"But despite what you say, you've been very willing to help."

Fran thought for a moment.

"Are you really here looking for someone?"

Her ears were sharp; she had actually overheard his conversation with Jones.

"Yes."

Fu Qian continued to be honest.

"I'm looking for a person named Lasik."

"Lasik..."

Seeing that Fu Qian wasn't joking, Fran muttered the name to herself before shaking her head.

"I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with this area either. I can't help you..."

"It's fine. I've already met him."

"Ah! When?"

Fran was clearly astonished.

As far as she remembered, he was just discussing finding this person with Jones around noon.

"Not long ago."

...

"When you went out with Sheriff Jones?"

Fran thought for a second, surprise crossing her face again.

"In any case, just know that he's connected to this series of disappearances."

Fu Qian smiled, deliberately keeping his phrasing vague.

"Connected to the disappearances..."

Fu Qian's habit of only sharing half the story was undoubtedly infuriating.

In fact, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a genuinely sinister expression flash across Fran's face for a split second.

She lacked Lasik's self-awareness but retained a portion of his memories, along with an extreme aversion to anything beyond her control.

Witnessing this, Fu Qian silently made his judgment.

Moreover, it seemed the obsession with finding a method for Transcendence had been inherited as well.

Even though the original owner of that obsession was already shattered to pieces.

Fu Qian recalled the scene in the secret passage earlier.

If the person who passed by truly was Jessica, then while in the Lasik state, she seemed to be instinctively searching for something.

Did Lasik believe there was an item hidden down there that caused this infinite samsara?

That was a perfectly logical line of thought.

No doubt he had repeated that action thousands of times, and judging by the results, he had found absolutely nothing.

He had essentially helped Fu Qian eliminate an incorrect answer; it most likely wasn't caused by a specific item.

If not an item, then what could it be?

The young men and women on vacation?

Could it be that this story required a happy ending when the countdown finished?

That didn't feel very likely.

Given how thoroughly Lasik knew the Underground of this building, it was hard to believe he wouldn't have thought of that.

Fu Qian looked at Fran's face through the rearview mirror. By now, the sinister look had vanished without a trace.

In Fu Qian's view, over who knew how many cycles of samsara, not to mention a cliché happy ending, even total annihilation endings had probably played out more than once.

Therefore, a plot-based solution could basically be ruled out as well.

But with those two possibilities eliminated, what was left?

I can really understand how Brother Lasik must have felt!

Amid his musings, the car drove past that classic corner.

"What exactly happened here?"

Fran suddenly changed the subject.

"Why do you ask?"

"When you came down, Ray had injuries on his face..."

"And then there was the sheriff's attitude afterward. I have a feeling something happened while they were out buying groceries."

Right now, Fran's mind was noticeably much sharper.

"First of all, I was busy messing with that torture instrument with you at the time."

Hearing this, Fu Qian shook his head.

...

"Secondly, it wouldn't hurt to tell you. Ray probably hit and killed someone right here."

"Okay... Wait, what!"

Fran's voice spiked.

"Hit and killed who—Mrs. Harold?"

"And because the body wasn't found, he refused to admit it, which is why Sheriff Jones hit him... I get it now."

Fran seemed to have figured out quite a lot in an instant.

"Exactly. So the question is: if you hit and killed someone here, where do you think would be the best place to hide the body?"

Once she recovered from her shock, Fu Qian threw out the question with a smile.

Where to hide the body...

Fran stared out the car window, silent for several seconds.

"Faced with that question, more than one place actually popped into my mind... I've clearly never been here before. What is going on?"

"This place is truly blessed with spiritual energy. Perhaps it's a touch of divine inspiration."

"...Do you want to go to those places and try to find the body?"

A moment later, Fran suddenly thought of something, looking up with bright, piercing eyes.

"No."

Unfortunately, Fu Qian gave his answer almost the very second she finished asking.

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