Eldritch Horror Theatre

"What... observation?"

Ray's head snapped up. His expression was completely icy, and he practically ground the words out.

Mostly because Fu Qian's last few words had sounded truly bizarre.

Coupled with his earlier claim that this place was filled with indescribable weirdness, it genuinely felt as if they were shrouded in some invisible conspiracy.

In truth, that was exactly what Fu Qian wanted him to think.

He had to give the superhuman something to do, after all.

"An important observation, of course!"

Fu Qian's smile didn't waver in the slightest as he shot a subtle glance toward the camera.

Was he referring to that?

He knew he was under surveillance, of course. Sheriff Jones had driven him out primarily to ensure Mrs. Mary's safety, and tossing him out as potential bait on the side was perfectly normal.

But some inner intuition told him it wasn't that simple. He had a nagging feeling that Fu Qian meant something else entirely, and that the glance was nothing more than a diversion.

This guy knew things he didn't.

As the thought crossed his mind, a wave of instinctive revulsion rose in Ray's chest. He fought the urge to pry Fu Qian's head open.

But he couldn't afford to be impulsive right now!

"That's not bad. It's safer, anyway. Much better than vanishing without a trace."

Ray replied, feigning a casual tone.

"Exactly. You always have to look on the bright side. Maybe Cartman and the others just found this place too boring and went back home to throw a party."

Matching Ray's performance, Fu Qian immediately adopted a conversational tone as well, glancing at the countdown at the same time.

"Maybe by tomorrow noon, they'll be calling to invite you back to party with them."

"That's impossible. They can't go home."

Ray sounded remarkably certain.

"Why's that?"

Fu Qian's interest was instantly piqued, his eyes lighting up.

"By the time Cartman disappeared, the police should have already set up roadblocks on the way out of town. He can't leave this place."

Ray explained, sounding completely natural.

Not bad at all!

Although his two statements seemed perfectly coherent, the first felt entirely genuine, while the second felt more like Ray was mimicking Fu Qian's own behavior—simply finding a plausible-sounding excuse to cover his slip.

To some extent, it might even be a test to see how much Fu Qian knew beyond the bounds of common sense.

For example, whether he had explored the complex Underground structure Fran had mentioned, and what he might have found down there.

Of course, Fu Qian agreed with the assessment that Cartman had most likely never left the Small Town.

According to his earlier theory, anyone pushed to an extreme psychological state would trigger the superhuman state. Therefore, Jessica and Cartman's abnormal behavior could both be attributed to an active episode.

In Jessica's case, it was likely driven by sheer terror.

It had originally been a thrill-seeking vacation. But right from the start, her companion had hit and killed someone with his car, then displayed a cold, terrifying calmness far beyond that of a normal person as he flawlessly cleaned up the scene and demanded she keep it a secret.

For a twenty-year-old college student, that was certainly a bit much to handle.

When they returned yesterday at noon, Jessica was clearly in the worst shape. Given the bizarre events that followed, combined with the realization that her boyfriend was completely unreliable, it was no surprise she had quite literally scared herself into a breakdown.

As for her current whereabouts, that was less certain. Fu Qian leaned toward the theory that she had managed to escape the area.

She was indeed the one who had opened that secret passage. While Cartman was busy negotiating with Ray, she had used that route to slip away unnoticed.

However, during her escape, she had been influenced by Lasik's residual consciousness, causing her to instinctively ransack the place on her way out.

Finding nothing, she had finally taken the exit. As long as she was quick enough, she could have slipped away before the police set up their roadblocks.

But Cartman, who followed later, clearly hadn't been so lucky.

As for why he had also been possessed by Lasik—and why his performance had been even worse than Fran's—Fu Qian guessed the man had simply terrified himself, given he hadn't yet returned to turn himself in.

Ray had gotten into a car crash and demanded that Cartman and his girlfriend keep it a secret. Shortly after, the girlfriend vanished, and the local sheriff just so happened to be Ray's uncle.

Put all those elements together, and anyone with half an imagination could easily dream up a theory of police corruption and murder to silence them.

This was especially true considering that, right after his girlfriend vanished, he had been semi-coerced into staying at the sheriff's own house.

As for Cartman's current location, Fu Qian guessed that since the man didn't trust the police, he was most likely relying on the tiny scraps of information he had acquired while in his superhuman state to hole up and hide somewhere.

"That makes sense. But thinking about it that way just makes it even more terrifying. If he hasn't left but no one can find him, where could he be hiding?"

As he spoke, Fu Qian sighed and cast a very natural glance toward The Mountain.

"This place is simply too big. It's incredibly hard to find anything."

...

That sentence, combined with his gesture, instantly struck a chord with Ray.

"It sounds like you're having a hard time looking for something."

Gritting his teeth, he carefully probed for information.

"I am."

Fu Qian admitted it freely.

"Did you think I was bored enough to come to a place like this just for fun?"

"You certainly don't look it."

Caught off guard by Fu Qian's sudden candor, Ray immediately pressed further.

"So what exactly are you looking for here?"

"You're awfully enthusiastic. Are you planning to help me find it?"

Fu Qian shot back with a grin.

"I appreciate the gesture, but you're not like me. You have plenty of other things to do."

"...You could tell me what it is. I might be able to help."

The more he listened, the more uneasy he felt, but Ray couldn't resist making the offer.

"Is that so?"

Fu Qian pondered for a moment.

"Lasik."

"Is that a name?"

Ray looked confused, appearing slightly concerned that Fu Qian was just spouting nonsense.

"Yes."

"Sorry, but I'm certain I've never heard that name before."

Ray shook his head after a brief moment of thought.

"That's not surprising, but I appreciate the thought."

"Sheriff Jones is already helping me out, actually, but he hasn't had much luck either."

Just like Fran, he lacked Lasik's self-awareness. He had only inherited fragments of information and a vague instinct to search.

Fu Qian made this silent assessment while thanking him.

Ray was also completely insensitive to the flow of time. Fu Qian had deliberately mentioned "tomorrow noon"—a time that extended well beyond the current countdown.

Yet, judging from Ray's reaction, he hadn't noticed anything wrong with that at all.

He probably had no concept of the samsara cycle whatsoever.

"Does this person have any distinguishing features? You can describe them to me, and I'll keep an eye out if I get the chance."

"You won't be able to find him."

Fu Qian glanced toward The Mountain again, his tone turning profound.

"You will never find him. Even if you burn that place to ashes, you still won't find him."

"I don't understand what you mean..."

Ray instinctively sensed that Fu Qian was hinting at something else.

"Of course you don't. You don't understand anything at all."

"But that's fine. It doesn't stop you from being a vital subject of observation."

Fu Qian looked Ray up and down as if appraising an object, his face filled with genuine appreciation.

Once again, he had redefined the meaning of the morning...

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