Eldritch Horror Theatre

Crack!

The moment Ray finished speaking, a handgun slammed into the side of his face, driving his head against the wall.

”My patience has limits, you piece of trash!”

Jones remained expressionless. His voice was freezing cold as he bluntly evaluated his wife’s nephew.

”I don’t like making Mary angry, but I’m not very good at avoiding it, so I still end up upsetting her all the time.”

...

Spitting out a mouthful of bloody saliva that seemed to contain a tooth, Ray finally looked terrified.

Before that blow, he hadn’t seemed to believe Jones would actually hurt him.

Under Jones’s intense glare, he only held out for two more seconds before lowering his head to speak.

”Actually, we did have an accident, but we didn’t just see someone, we hit them... But I swear I didn’t do it on purpose!”Ray’s next words were shocking.

Oh?

Fu Qian watched thoughtfully from the side, recalling the scene of the three of them driving back yesterday.

’So Ray was driving at first, and Cartman only took over after the accident?’

”Keep talking.”

Jones released his grip on Ray’s collar.

”We were driving back from shopping. Cartman and Jessica were being really rowdy, and I was getting annoyed. I got a little distracted when I told them to sit still...”

”The visibility wasn’t great right there. By the time I reacted, it was too late. Someone rushed out and we hit them, sending them flying. But I have no idea who it was...”

”Right at the spot we searched this morning?”

Ray’s answer was clearly an unexpected gain for Jones. However, as a seasoned veteran, he kept his composure and asked in a deep voice.

”Yes...”

Ray gritted his teeth and nodded.

”You hit someone, but you don’t know who?”

”Yeah... I mean yes, because right after that, the person disappeared.”

”What do you mean?”

”Once I realized I’d hit someone, I rushed out to check. But to my surprise, after rolling to the side, the person didn’t try to start trouble. They just scrambled up and ran into the woods without saying a word.”

”Then I looked and didn’t see any obvious blood on the car. I almost thought I was dreaming...”

’They just ran off right after getting hit?’

Jones furrowed his brow even tighter.

”What was the person wearing?”

”I don’t remember much. I only recall that they seemed to be wearing a hat.”

Ray shook his head.

’A hat?’

Jones subconsciously glanced at Fu Qian.

The situation seemed to align more and more with his previous deductions.

That mysterious figure had finished disposing of the body and the car nearby, faking a robbery. But they were unexpectedly hit by a car while leaving, and not wanting to expose their tracks, they chose to run away immediately?

It actually sounded somewhat reasonable.

”So you decided to wipe the car completely clean and pretend nothing happened?”

His mind racing, Jones let out a cold sneer and stared at Ray.

”Yes. Even though their reaction was weird, I figured that since they moved so nimbly, they probably weren’t hurt too badly...”

Ray’s face was already swelling up, and his words were starting to slur.

”It wasn’t until we searched the area later and found that car that I realized things weren’t so simple.”

”But no matter what, I still didn’t want to get involved. I really did hit someone, and if that person was actually Mrs. Harold...”

”Cartman and Jessica promised to keep it a secret for me and not tell anyone. I just never expected that the two of them would go missing one after another.”

”Understood. Very well!”

Jones glared at his wife’s nephew, sneering coldly.

”In a moment, you will go tell your aunt that you are heading out right away to help the police look for your missing friends.”

”This...”

Ray froze for a moment. When he processed the demand, his tone was extremely resistant.

”A lot of people have already gone missing. It’s dangerous out there.”

”It’s dangerous in here, too.”

Jones pointed to the open window.

”And it looks like you were the one who brought this danger.”

”I think after everything that’s happened, you should understand by now that you can’t just shirk your responsibilities.”

”...Then I choose to go home right now.”

”No.”

Jones shook his head again.

”Until this is all cleared up, you are not going home.”

”And other than here, you can stay wherever you want. You can even go back to The Mountain and continue your vacation.”

Without waiting for Ray to reply, Jones opened the door.

”You can get out.”

...

Ray hesitated, looking like he wanted to say something, but ultimately gave up struggling. He lowered his head and walked past him.

”Worldly affairs are hard to predict, huh? But looking on the bright side, it seems I’ve been completely cleared of suspicion?”

Looking at the silent Jones, Fu Qian asked with a smile.

”Until the culprit is caught, nothing is conclusive.”

Jones shot Fu Qian a glance. Even though he said that, he didn’t seem to have much suspicion left toward him.

”Are you sure you can still catch them? It’s been quite a while since Harold’s car was driven off.”

”There aren’t many roads out of here.”

Jones scoffed, his tone full of confidence.

”My people are already guarding the few exits that do exist.”

”My orders to them were to not let any unfamiliar faces out, as well as any specific familiar faces.”

”Understood.”

Fu Qian wore an expression of sudden realization.

He truly was a professional. He might not put much effort into finding people, but he was very prompt when it came to blocking them in.

And without a doubt, those familiar faces definitely included their own group, as well as Mr. Harold.

While Fu Qian was musing over this, Jones headed straight downstairs.

Downstairs, his wife Mary was looking at the wound on her nephew’s face with deep concern, quietly urging him not to be impulsive.

”Ray insists on going to look for his friends.”

Seeing Jones come down, she couldn’t help but complain to her husband.

”I completely understand how Ray feels,”

Jones said slowly.

”Don’t worry, I’ll make sure he stays safe out there.”

...

Since her husband had this reaction, Mary seemed to have nothing left to say.

”The situation is urgent. We’d better set off quickly.”

Jones didn’t waste any more time, stating this directly.

Unlike Ray, who wore a conflicted expression, Fu Qian was naturally prepared for this. He knew that even if he cleared his name, he would most likely get roped into helping anyway.

”I’m going too.”

However, to his surprise, Fran, who had been quiet and well-behaved for a long time, actually volunteered.

Logically, Jones clearly trusted her much more, and she could have easily just kept hiding here.

But at this moment, her expression carried a look of resolve.

”I need to find Jessica as soon as possible. She must be in danger right now!”

”Suit yourself.”

Jones didn’t offer any further comment, simply opening the door coldly and leaving.

Just as they got outside, the Walkie-Talkie in his car rang.

”We seem to have found Harold’s car.”

A somewhat familiar voice came from inside.

’That fast?’

Standing to the side, Fu Qian marvelled silently.