Eldritch Horror Theatre

For a few seconds, the image on the surveillance monitor seemed to freeze.

Standing absolutely motionless, Ray stared intently at Mrs. Mary.

Across from him, Mrs. Mary seemed a little frightened by his reaction.

But some sense of responsibility kept her from backing down. She continued to glare at him, hoping the young man would realize his mistake.

Click!

Beside him, Fu Qian heard Sheriff Jones reach for his gun.

Clearly, while he was willing to use his wife to test the waters, he didn't want her in any actual danger.

At the same time, the sheriff clearly had no affection for Ray and looked as if he wouldn't mind putting a bullet in him on the spot.

How decisive!

Fu Qian offered a silent word of praise. Just then, the frozen footage on the monitor finally moved.

Ray let out a long breath, his gaze sweeping toward the camera—perhaps by accident, perhaps not.

"Auntie, I know you care about me, and that's exactly why I didn't want you to worry."

"First of all, please believe me. I would never do something that stupid."

By the time he finished, he sounded as if he had made a decision.

"I promised I'd keep my classmate's secret."

Ray sighed, his eyes turning resolute.

"I'm not sure why Fran and the others came to that conclusion. The only possibility I can think of is that they mistook Cartman's stash for mine..."

"Really?"

His tone and demeanor were highly convincing. Mrs. Mary's expression softened slightly, though she still sounded half in doubt.

"Of course it's true."

"There's an easy way to tell. You've met Cartman."

Ray smiled bitterly and pointed to himself.

"Between him and me, who do you think is more likely to have that kind of habit?"

"That's true..."

Mrs. Mary frowned slightly, then gave a small nod.

Based on their previous interactions, Cartman had clearly struck her as the more delinquent of the two.

"And another thing."

Seeing his aunt somewhat convinced, Ray rubbed his stomach.

"Can I eat dinner now? I can already smell the fish soup."

"Once you see my appetite, you'll know I don't touch that kind of stuff."

Uh...

In that instant, Mrs. Mary's expression completely relaxed.

"Well, whose fault is it for insisting on staying out here!"

Her tone carried a hint of reproach as she helped Ray open his lunchbox.

"Take your time eating. Just leave the dishes here when you're done."

Satisfied that the food was still hot, she handed him the utensils. After watching him take his first bite, she bid him farewell in much better spirits.

"Jones didn't know I left. I need to hurry back before he goes looking for me."

She made no further attempt to persuade Ray to move back. He had been quite firm about it earlier, and she decided to respect her nephew's wishes.

"Also, with so many strange things happening lately, don't go wandering around at night."

"Don't worry, I won't go anywhere."

Ray agreed obediently.

"Good."

Mrs. Mary didn't nag him any further and turned to leave.

...

Meanwhile, back in the car outside the motel, Fu Qian noticed Sheriff Jones stiffen.

The man probably didn't believe Ray was truly as pure as the driven snow.

Yet Ray's performance just now had been truly flawless.

Why were kids these days so hard to deal with!

A moment later, Jones even glanced up at Fu Qian. From his eyes, Fu Qian could read that exact sentiment.

The difficult one isn't the kid; it's someone else.

Fu Qian answered silently.

Out of everyone, Fu Qian likely best understood the implications of Ray's reaction.

Given such a perfect performance, there was no doubt the guy was currently in a superhuman state.

His scare tactic had been quite a success.

And Ray's subsequent series of words and actions had been an absolutely flawless response.

Confronted with a fabricated accusation, he chose to counter with his own fabrication, even specifically throwing Cartman under the bus to take the heat.

Since both Cartman and Jessica were missing, there was obviously no way to verify his claim anytime soon.

Shocked into his superhuman state, he must have immediately realized that Mrs. Mary was being watched when she came to deliver the food.

He might have even guessed the camera's location.

...

"Want to go in and have a chat?"

Fu Qian asked with a smile, seeking Jones's opinion as he watched Ray eat on the monitor.

"Is there any point?"

Jones holstered his gun with a cold snort.

He didn't have much trust in Fu Qian, either.

The only reason he had tagged along was to see if Ray would show any unusual reactions under that kind of accusation.

But judging by the guy's current attitude—regardless of how much truth was in his words—he was clearly prepared to deny everything to the bitter end.

Unless they planned to extract a confession through torture, confronting him directly would be pointless.

"You can go chat with your classmate if you want. I need to head back."

He signaled the deputy to give Fu Qian the room number, then opened the car door and stepped out.

What a great family man!

With a look of admiration, Fu Qian followed suit, getting out of the car and walking straight toward the motel.

He's actually going?

Seeing this, Jones's expression stiffened slightly.

He hesitated briefly, wondering if he should follow. But glancing back at the deputy and the monitor in the car, he ultimately set off toward home.

Knock, knock!

He only knocked twice before the door opened from the inside.

"Fu Qian, you're here."

Ray didn't look surprised. His expression a bit distant, he turned and went back to his seat.

"Come in."

"Sorry, I'm eating dinner."

"No problem. The fish soup smells great."

Fu Qian sat down casually beside him, nonchalantly acknowledging that he was staying at Jones's house again.

...

Ray's eating slowed; it seemed he had lost a bit of his appetite.

After a moment of silence, he set down his spoon. Frowning, he began aggressively demanding accountability.

"Where did you get the idea that I was using special drugs?"

Not bad!

Faced with the interrogation, Fu Qian secretly praised him.

Given how quickly Fu Qian had arrived, Ray could almost certainly deduce that he was being monitored.

He was undoubtedly very concerned about whether the hidden corpse had been discovered, but asking outright what Fu Qian and Fran had found on The Mountain would definitely make him look guilty.

Approaching it from a place of personal grievance made his questioning feel much more natural.

And to explain the situation, what Fu Qian needed to say was essentially the same.

As expected of someone on his second time around, his adaptation to the superhuman state was much more natural!

It was a pity that up against Fu Qian, he was doomed to be disappointed.

"It's possible I was mistaken. Maybe it belonged to Cartman."

Fu Qian casually bluffed, even borrowing Ray's own excuse.

He highly doubted that Ray would dare argue with him too much while under surveillance.

"Speaking of Cartman, have you found him?"

"...No. I couldn't find a single trace."

Staring intently at Fu Qian, Ray quickly chose to drop it.

"I never thought we'd run into something like this. It feels like this place is filled with an indescribable creepiness."

A moment later, he changed his tone, his face full of emotion.

"Who knows, maybe I'll vanish without a trace too."

Is this a lament from Lasik?

Fu Qian mused.

"How could that happen! You're an important subject of observation."

It took Ray a moment to register what Fu Qian had just said. He jerked his head up, but only saw a mysterious smile.

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