"Moving a corpse is no job for a weak woman like me, is it?" the fleshy-faced woman quickly tried to refuse. "Just let the two men do it. One grabs the arms, the other grabs the legs, a few steps and a toss, and it's done."
"Hey, you can't say that," the chubby guy retorted, unhappy. "That's a rotting corpse! You think we men aren't scared? Why should it be just the two of us?"
"Yeah, why us?" The black man was also indignant, glaring coldly at the fleshy-faced woman. "The chubby guy and I were the ones who built the fire today. We at least contributed something, but you haven't done a damn thing. You're the one who should be pulling their weight now!"
The fleshy-faced woman's eyes widened. "You… I'm the big sister here, the leader! You're not going to listen to me? Do you still want me to carry you through this instance?"
The black man spat. "To hell with your 'big sister' bullshit. I've seen you for what you really are today—just a useless bitch who only knows how to bark orders. The Doctor is the real expert here. If I'm going to follow anyone, it's him. Who the fuck do you think you are? Why the hell should I listen to you? What skills do you even have to get me through this?"
"You!!!" The fleshy-faced woman's defenses crumbled, and she looked ready to erupt into a stream of curses.
But just then, a chill ran down all three of their spines.
They felt a death glare coming from the same direction.
And so… all three shivered.
They instantly fell silent as cicadas in winter, not daring to argue anymore.
The three of them stared at each other blankly for a good half-minute.
In the end, it was the black man who broke the silence.
"Alright, the Doctor has a point… It's not good to leave the body here. I support moving it." The black man with dreadlocks glanced down at the corpse and said, "To move this thing… a woman probably couldn't lift it. The Doctor is busy right now, so if it has to be me and the chubby guy, I guess it's not impossible."
Hearing this, the chubby guy's expression changed. He looked at the black man with pleading eyes, but was silenced by a sharp glare and didn't dare say another word.
The black man continued, "But if the two of us are carrying the body, we obviously can't hold a torch. Someone will have to hold it for us."
Silence.
Silence.
The fleshy-faced woman, of course, had no intention of volunteering.
The silence stretched on for more than ten seconds.
Then the madam, unable to watch any longer, stood up and said, "Why don't I hold the torch for you?"
But as soon as she stood and glanced at the gruesome state of the corpse…
"Retch… retch…" She bent over and dry-heaved. She had no confidence she could handle the task. After all, the torch didn't illuminate a large area. To ensure the other two didn't fall into darkness, she couldn't stay far from the body.
Seeing this, the black man frowned.
Subjectively, he didn't really want the fleshy-faced woman holding the torch either, since she hadn't been reliable at all so far.
But, with the madam in her current state, she'd be vomiting every two steps. Wouldn't that be a total liability? What if she dropped the torch? That would be a disaster. It was even more dangerous than letting the fleshy-faced woman do it.
At that moment, however, the fleshy-faced woman clapped her hands, her face beaming with joy. "Good, good, you go with them."
The black man had been hesitating.
But seeing the fleshy-faced woman so happy, he completely lost his temper. "Fuck you! No, not the madam. I want you to hold the torch!"
The fleshy-faced woman stiffened. "Are you crazy? What's the difference who holds the torch? She volunteered, I didn't force her. What right do you have to be unhappy about it?"
"The rest of us have at least done something, and now we have to risk our necks to get rid of the body. And you, a useless woman who's done nothing, get to sit here and enjoy the benefits? In your fucking dreams!" the black man snorted. "I don't care. If you don't go, I'm not going either. If we die, we die together. Don't think you can get out of this!"
"You!!!" The fleshy-faced woman was furious and ashamed.
But before she could lash out, she felt that cold gaze on her again.
She was once again forced to calm down.
She shivered a few times.
After weighing her options…
Compared to moving the body, just holding a torch and following behind didn't seem so bad.
If she didn't sort this out now, and the Doctor got impatient later and forced her to move the body, the loss would far outweigh the gain.
"Fine! I'll go with you, alright?"
…
…
Fumiya Jin actually wasn't comfortable with the fleshy-faced woman taking on the role of torchbearer either.
But under the current circumstances—with Nijika in a deep sleep, himself needing to guard the fire, the madam vomiting at the sight of the corpse, and the other two men needing to carry it together—the fleshy-faced woman was the only one left.
Besides, before the three of them set out, Fumiya Jin could see that the countdowns above their heads still showed they would last until tomorrow night.
And all the threats discovered so far were unlikely to kill someone after a full day's delay.
That's why Fumiya Jin had tacitly approved their departure.
After they left, Fumiya Jin observed them in silence.
He watched the flame of the torch slowly recede into the distance.
As the distance grew, the other two figures became blurry, leaving only the burning flame and the silhouette of the torchbearer relatively clear.
The flame moved forward slowly.
After a short distance, it stopped.
They must be dumping the body…
But it remained stationary for a little too long.
During that time, it swayed slightly, but the flame didn't go out.
More than ten seconds passed like this…
The flame began to move again.
But it wasn't heading back toward the bonfire. Instead, it moved in a direction nearly perpendicular to the return path.
Was that… toward the sea?
"Hey… where are they going?" The madam, standing nearby, also watched the torchlight nervously.
Under their watchful eyes, the light moved step by step, slowly, toward the sea…
Although the coastline was invisible in the dark, based on his memory from the daytime and his judgment of the distance… she had to be close to the shore.
Moreover, Fumiya Jin narrowed his eyes and could faintly see… in what should be the pitch-black seawater by the shore… it seemed like some very fine red specks were appearing…
"Something's wrong," Fumiya Jin said. With Nijika's head still in his lap, it was inconvenient for him to get up immediately, so he turned to the madam. "Madam, shout out to them, loudly."
"Uh… okay!"
The madam immediately cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled toward the flame, "Hey!!! What are you doing by the sea? Come back!!"
And the instant she shouted… the torch by the sea, which had been held aloft, suddenly fell to the ground.
The portly figure turned around as if startled from a dream, likely having heard the call.
The next second…
She took off, sprinting frantically back toward the bonfire!
And after she had run a few steps, illuminated by the light of the dropped torch, Fumiya Jin saw what looked like a dark shadow dart through the light in pursuit of her. And then… another, and another!
______
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