Chapter 645: Chapter 645: The Old Path (Three)_1 Chapter 645: Chapter 645: The Old Path (Three)_1 “It feels like something’s gone wrong.”
“Could it be that instead of being taken out by someone else, they did the taking out?”
As he watched the trio get out of the car one by one, a thought popped into Fu Qian’s mind.
“Jessica!”
At that moment, the hardworking female student also came out of the house at the sound of her name.
And clearly, the low pressure of the scene didn’t cause her to overthink; she greeted them cheerfully.
The call was like the bell of dawn, snapping the three back to reality, and they instantly sprang into action.
As the blonde called Jessica hugged the enthusiastic greeter, the two men had already perked up and started unloading things from the car.
Their movements were strikingly synchronized, yet nothing visibly amiss could be seen!
Fu Qian casually observed the three people’s clothes, as well as the items being unloaded from the car.
Everything seemed normal, except the car was a bit too clean.
[Task update: Find Laxik.]
As he observed, the task update finally rang in his mind.
Another person to find? This name alone suggested it was going to be a tough job.
Fu Qian pondered silently, his expression unchanged.
However, one must always look on the bright side; through the process of elimination, it was clear that Laxik wasn’t any of the present company, otherwise the task would be completed already.
That also meant he would have to search the town below.
And as mentioned in the introduction, this was a place far removed from the usual tracks of life, making such a search somewhat troublesome in unfamiliar territory.
…
With everyone’s help, lunch was quickly prepared.
Looking at a table full of junk food, Fu Qian took a big gulp of soda and lounged comfortably.
Having diligent and smart employees to exploit, one could vacation anytime, anywhere.
The so-called good life couldn’t get better than this.
And after lunch, Fu Qian had already grasped the general situation of the group.
The sleeveless T-shirt wearing, well-built guy was Kateman; he seemed to be Jessica’s boyfriend, complete with sunglasses.
Now that his spirits had recovered, one could tell that Kateman was quite active–a central figure of the group.
As for the guy with the glasses Lei, he was the same person mentioned in the character introductions–the odd house belonged to his family as an “ancestral property.”
Moreover, it sounded like the vacation was his idea, and he seemed noticeably irked by Kateman’s overt flamboyance overshadowing him.
The diligent cleaning girl, named Fran, was Jessica’s good friend and had been invited to come along.
He was in a similar position–on the fringes of the group.
Speaking of which, Fu Qian couldn’t help but marvel again at the magic of the warehouse; among this group, his own name stood out absurdly, and yet to them, it seemed completely normal.
After eating and drinking their fill, the group quickly took on a vacationing demeanor, chatting merrily.
Kateman and Jessica even settled in close together.
“Nice cleanup job!”
Lei glanced over briefly, then quickly averted his gaze, and as if to assert his status as the host, he earnestly commended Fu Qian and the second person.
“It wasn’t my doing.”
Fu Qian pointed towards Fran without taking any credit.
“Just tidying up a bit.”
Fran giggled, her pride thinly veiled.
“So what have you been up to here?”
Sensing something off about Fu Qian, Lei with the glasses couldn’t help but ask.
At that question, Fran immediately stiffened, looking over subconsciously.
“Me? Just wandered around a bit.”
Fu Qian remembered Fran mentioning that Lei didn’t like people wandering off.
“Even found something interesting.”
Ignoring her shocked look, Fu Qian continued.
Though it could be seen as a vacation, the task still needed to be done.
The current situation was unclear, and given the trio’s odd behavior, a little probing wouldn’t hurt.
It might even add a sense of danger for them.
…
Sure enough, as soon as Fu Qian spoke, Lei’s expression became stern in an instant.
Even Kateman and another person stopped what they were doing and looked over.
“What did you find?”
After staring at Fu Qian for a few seconds, he finally spoke with a cold face.
“Nothing much, just an ancient torture device.”
Fu Qian had a penchant for stirring up drama with his words.
…
“Didn’t I mention that you shouldn’t run off on your own?”
“Sorry, it was an accident.”
That’s what he said, but there was not a trace of apology on Fu Qian’s face.
After staring at him for a dozen seconds, Lei’s expression finally softened, and the fierce look in his eyes was gone.
“Where did you find it?”
Ultimately, he didn’t fly into a rage or chase Fu Qian away from the place, but instead took a breath and said.
“It’s in one of the rooms below, you can take a look if you’re interested.”
Fu Qian pointed with his hand.
“Alright, then let’s go take a look together.”
Lei didn’t say more and stood up, taking the lead.
The rest of the group had varying expressions, and Fu Qian noticed that Kateman and Jessica looked even more solemn than Fran, seemingly very concerned about Lei’s change in mood.
It seemed it wasn’t an illusion; something indeed had happened outside.
And these three had come to some tacit understanding, pretending as if nothing had happened.
…
Heading down the stairs, the group quickly gathered in the underground storage room where Fu Qian had awakened, and the contents inside gave everyone quite the shock.
It must be said, the Iron Maiden did have a strong visual impact.
Even those who had never heard of such a thing could intuitively sense its brutality.
After the initial shock, everyone’s gaze turned to Lei.
“Is this also a belonging of your family?”
“I don’t know…”
Lei clenched his teeth as he looked at the terrifying object before him.
“The last person to stay here was my grandfather, and I don’t understand why he would have this thing…”
“There’s no need to be so nervous; after all, it’s just an antique.”
“You don’t really believe that this thing has executed people, do you?”
It was Kateman who spoke up at this time.
Even attempting to lighten the mood, he tried to grab the rusty spikes with his hand.
“Judging by the length of the nails, you shouldn’t get pricked if you stand still; want to try going in?”
“Indeed, you won’t get pricked; I’ve tried it.”
Fu Qian chimed in with a smiling face.
This was the truth; apart from being slightly thinner, his build wasn’t much different from the other guy’s.
“…You’ve been inside?”
Realizing what Fu Qian had just said, Kateman’s voice became somewhat rigid.
“Yes, why else would I say it’s interesting?”
Fu Qian spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world and even pointed at Fran.
“She can vouch for it.”
Uh…
Facing the homogeneous stares coming in her direction, Fran felt a bit overwhelmed but in the end simply nodded and affirmed with a sound, not mentioning the jokes and counter-kill that followed.
The pressure suddenly shifted to Kateman’s side.
After all, courage was an important component of masculinity.
Although it was a joke, now that someone had admitted to having been inside, not trying it himself would seem somewhat cowardly.
But actually going inside…
He looked at the rusty sharp spikes.