Chapter 415: Chapter 415: Servant’s Needle (Part 8)_1 Chapter 415: Chapter 415: Servant’s Needle (Part 8)_1 In such a place, there is actually coffee?
Even Fu Qian found this hard to believe when he realized it.
Yet in the dimly lit ruins, the impression given by the sense of smell was mysteriously strong.
Fu Qian soon confirmed again that it was indeed the scent of coffee.
The next moment Fu Qian stopped his hands from sorting the files.
Given his past experiences, he was very skeptical that after he sorted them and completed the task, changes would occur here once more.
There had to be a demon when things were abnormal; before that, he felt it was necessary to ascertain the source of the coffee aroma.
On his journey thus far, bizarre incidents had been all too frequent!
Even the task assigned to him was unprecedentedly chaotic.
Under such circumstances, garnering as much information as possible was definitely not a bad thing.
Fu Qian was undoubtedly a man of action; once he had made up his mind, he didn’t waste any time and immediately headed out with the file bag.
Following the route he had taken to arrive, Fu Qian moved in the reverse direction, all the while carefully discerning the odors in the air.
Very quickly, he caught a whiff of the familiar scent again.
It was indeed not my illusion!
As the situation grew more and more peculiar, Fu Qian was nonetheless quite pleased with his discovery.
Following the scent of the coffee, he soon realized it was coming from above.
Taking the escalator next to him upstairs, he almost instantly noticed something unusual up ahead.
Not far from where the staircase led up, there was a half-open room separated by glass.
Two walls were slanted shelves, resembling those you might find in a travel bookstore.
And in the corner of the bookstore, on the counter, there was actually a person lying down.
Without a doubt, this was the first person Fu Qian had encountered since arriving; whether or not they were alive was still unclear.
Fu Qian thought for a moment, then went straight ahead and knocked on the counter.
“Sorry, we’re closed,” said the person lying down, who moved slightly and then slowly lifted their head after a moment.
It was a middle-aged man with hair as messy as a bird’s nest, currently staring with dead fish eyes and speaking in a listless voice.
Not only was it a living person, but it was also someone familiar!
This was none other than the irascible bookstore owner Bernard whom he had encountered in Byeluk.
With this strange turn of events, Fu Qian couldn’t help but cluck his tongue in wonder.
The next moment, he displayed the attitude of someone who was exceptionally sociable, sitting down across from the counter without minding the other’s unfriendly gaze.
Fu Qian had a deep impression of Bernard; if he remembered correctly, back in Byeluk, the man had even warned him not to wander around at night.
And his last appearance at the funeral, it always felt like Bernard knew quite a bit about many things; his identity was mysterious.
But despite the mystery, seeing him here in this scene was still too eerie.
“We’re closed—”
Seeing that Fu Qian was completely unmoved by his attempt to send him away, Bernard appeared quite displeased.
However, as he was about to shoo away him for the second time, it seemed he recognized Fu Qian’s face and abruptly stopped speaking.
“Is it really you?”
The man’s expression finally changed slightly.
“How did you end up here?”
“Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that?”
Fu Qian rolled his eyes.
“You’ve expanded your business quite nicely, eh?”
“You mean me? Why would I be here?”
Bernard repeated Fu Qian’s question, and the next moment, burst into a loud laugh.
In this silent building, the laughter was undoubtedly conspicuous and could attract anything at all.
Fu Qian, however, did not attempt to stop him but instead looked down at the counter.
On the counter covered with a thick layer of dust, a small clean area had been wiped, with two coffee cups placed on it.
The scent he had detected earlier clearly originated from here.
But why were there two cups?
Could there be another person?
Yet he had checked moments before, certain that no human-like entity was nearby.
“`
Cough cough cough!
It seemed that Bernard finally choked on his own saliva, his laughter turning into a cough.
The next moment, he stood up while coughing and walked to a corner of the room.
Soon, a bright light suddenly lit up before his eyes.
What’s this?
Under the illumination of the light, Fu Qian immediately recognized the thing in the corner.
“Generator?”
It had to be said, the sense of incongruity was so strong that it nearly left one powerless to comment.
Fu Qian even noticed a coffee machine next to it, seemingly just turned on.
“If you often wake up and wander around looking for things, your ability to find things naturally improves.”
Having turned on the light, Bernard sat back down and took a sip of coffee from the cup in front of him.
“When did you get here?”
Fu Qian pondered and looked at him as he asked.
“Not that long ago, but long enough for me to make a cup of coffee.”
At that moment, Bernard let out a comfortable groan.
“Also, I apologize, but I have to remind you, the other cup isn’t for you.”
Not that long ago, but surely earlier than himself.
Because obviously, the coffee was already brewed when he had come in.
Not minding whether he was well-received or not, Fu Qian silently calculated the time.
“No worries, as a self-disciplined person, coffee usually disrupts my routine.”
Fu Qian spouted nonsense casually while looking around the room.
“This business seems a bit quiet, huh! Was it like this when you arrived?”
“It was even worse than now, I had to expend a lot of effort to tidy it up, but on the bright side, it means I don’t have to bother with giving people change.”
While speaking, Bernard glanced at what was in Fu Qian’s hand.
“What are you holding?”
“My medical records.”
Fu Qian waved them nonchalantly, even going out of his way to let him see the name on the cover.
“Because I need to figure out the state of my health.”
As he spoke, Fu Qian’s face was filled with anticipation, much like a lottery player waiting for the draw.
“Figure out… Hahaha!”
To his surprise, Bernard laughed as if he had heard something hilarious once again.
“Then good luck to you!”
“Also, before you leave, let me give you one more piece of advice.”
“Hmm? Sure!”
“The advice is, there is no advice, hahaha…”
Bernard once again broke into an undignified laughter, then simply collapsed back down.
Clearly having lost interest in conversing, Fu Qian didn’t insist.
He stopped harassing the bookstore owner and simply walked downstairs to leave.
Meeting an old acquaintance in a foreign place is truly a joy of life!
Additionally, it seems like I can now open the records and take a look.
Back downstairs, Fu Qian opened the file he held while reflecting.
…
[Name: Fu Qian]
[Age: 33 years old]
[Symptoms: Sleep disorder… Good life habits… No past medical history…]
…
[… Symptoms worsened, manifesting a strong delusional disorder… Believes that others have been infected and that he is in the midst of a safety incident… Refused medication, showed improvement after the third psychological intervention…]
Delusional disorder…
Are you trying to tell me that all this is just my imagination?
The medical records weren’t kept very well, damaged in many places. After reading the visible parts, Fu Qian took a deep breath, looked around, and felt that the situation had become even more chaotic.
“`